Customer Reviews

It Should Have Been Me (Little Black Dress)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Carrie thinks she's got it all figured out. An upcoming wedding, a well planned out life. And then the unthinkable happens. Her fiancé decides that they aren't working anymore and ends it, just like that. The breakup came out of nowhere. There were no signs or hints that it was coming. It's time for Carrie to pull herself together and move on.

In this funny, lighthearted romance, Carrie takes an adventurous path to self discovery. Starting over isn't easy, but this woman is winging it quite well....for the most part. There was that little incident that led her to meeting Matt Landor for the first time. First impressions are everything, and she didn't make the best one.

In many instances, Matt and Carrie get on one another's nerves. A road trip forces the two to bond a little more. Who knew what that would eventually lead to? Their stubborn pride could cost the two real love if they aren't careful.

Carrie Goes Off The Map is enjoyable, enlightening, and fun. The author creates believable characters that the reader will love or or dislike, depending on their role in the story. The path to happily ever after for Carrie and Matt takes readers on a roller coaster ride of ups and downs, memorable moments, and along the way will meet some charismatic characters that leave their mark in this well crafted novel. Set in various places, including some of Europe, the pacing flows smoothly from one thing to the next.

If you enjoy a contemporary novel that has the high potential to leave a smile on your face after the last page is read, then don't miss out on a chance to read this story. Hurry and get yourself a copy.

Originally posted at The Long and Short of It Romance Reviews

This is a fun read and most satisfying novel and I agree with many of the previous reviews. But what no one has mentioned is that this book came out in 2009 in the UK under the title "It should have been me". This really should be mentioned somewhere to prevent people from buying a book they may already have...
I wish Amazon would give the actual original copyright date or some hint that a book was previously released under a different title. This is a big flaw in the system here and it needs to be fixed!

Carrie Goes Off the Map is a very enjoyable road trip novel through England. Carrie is two weeks away from marrying her long-time boyfriend Huw, when he drops a bombshell; he is breaking up with her. Carrie had put aside her own dreams of becoming an actress for Huw and had spent the years since graduating from college helping Huw run his family dairy farm.

Suddenly, without a purpose in life, Carrie moves in with her friend Rowena and tries to determine what her next move will be. Rowena tries to cheer Carrie up by planning a European road trip in a vintage VW camper named Dolly. Unfortunately, Rowena is unable to go at the last minute and has found a new companion for Carrie, the handsome Dr. Matt Landor.

Matt is back from his work in Tuman after an unfortunate accident. Commanded to take four months off to rest and get himself back together, he is not sure what he is going to do with his time off. Matt was friends with Huw back at the University, and after meeting Carrie again at a bad moment (it's a classic moment in the book, I don't want to ruin it for those who haven't read it yet!) he is officially intrigued. Together they go on a tour of Southern England and learn how to move on with life. And also learn more about each other.

I really enjoyed this book. At one point, a barber cuts Matt's hair and says that he looks like a modern Mr. Darcy. There were indeed elements of that classic story in this book with Carrie and Matt meeting again after so many years and having a misunderstanding that sets the two at odds at first. Carrie was much more against Matt than he is against her. Their delightful friction kept me entranced throughout the book.

I also loved the description of the road trip in the campervan. It sounded like a lot of fun. Phillipa Ashley wrote a great guest post for my blog describing her travels in a campervan as part of the research process for this novel.

I also really liked an odd thing too, that Huw was a dairy farmer. The descriptions of the mega farm and life on the farm reminded me a lot of life around Wisconsin, aka Dairyland USA. It made me realize that things really are not that different between the United States and England. It was funny that Huw was considered quite a catch as he was a rich farmer, which is the same as some of the farmers in my county who are millionaires. Family farms are not the same as they used to be anywhere anymore it seems.

Overall, I found Carrie Goes Off the Map to be a delightful book with great characters, romance, and a wonderful journey. Phillipa Ashley has become one of my new favorite contemporary romance authors.

Phillipa Ashley has a fun, lively style to her writing that keeps the tempo moving in her stories, and her characters progressing. I'm always struck by writers who can get me to care about the main character quickly, and I always seem to feel that way with Ashley's heroines. In this case, Carrie could be any woman who has been dumped by her man/fiance. However, her situation seems compounded by feelings of all the time she lost and for being played a fool. It's not as if the relationship fizzled out and they both knew it wasn't right, it was like being jilted and left the outsider and the unwanted. All you have to do is add a main male lead character who is charismatic, attractive, aloof, and a Mr. Darcy comparison, and you have a real recipe for sure romance.

Whatever it is about a woman who has been scorned and left aside that draws a man in, I'll never quite understand, but we all seem to love it. I can't say that I know of anyone who has done that in real life (gotten together on the back of a nasty split, although I know they exist), but there is something appealing about having that resolution. This story isn't an easy get together though. Much of the story is spent traveling the countryside, as Carrie and her handsome doctor, Matt, take a road trip to forget their woes. As any road trip is bound to do, the two get into their quarrels and eat their fair share of gas station fare. With that comes short tempers, but also a number of conversations brought on by fatigue and heightened emotions.

As with Phillipa Ashley's novels, I really enjoyed this newest one. Carrie's story is one that many women will recognize and see themselves in from start to finish (or at least wish to).

As a card carrying Anglophile, I relish stories from British authors, both historical and contemporary. CARRIE GOES OFF THE MAP is a fun "road trip" story that begins with outrageous laughs and ends with heartwarming cheer.

Phillipa Ashley offers an older heroine in Carrie, who thought life was safe with her college ("uni") boyfriend, Huw. They have lived together and worked together on his family farm for 10 years. When Huw calls off the wedding days for the blessed event, Carrie finds herself at a loss of a fiancé, home, and job. She retreats both physically and emotionally. I could relate to Carrie's pain and dilemma. Carrie's emotions are further tested by Huw's quick wedding to someone else, leading to a very funny revenge scene that proves to be embarrassing (but one that readers will congratulate Carrie for doing).

Carrie's friend, Rowena, suggests a road trip ala "Animal House":

Boon: "This is ridiculous."
Pinto: "What are we gonna do?"
Boon and Otter: "Road trip."

Yet Rowena backs out when her dream job - a small role on a daytime drama - requires her immediate relocation to London. Rowena recruits a "uni" acquaintance, Matt, to take her place on the road trip. Matt is adrift during mandatory leave as a charity doctor in remote locations. Carrie and Matt share this one trait - a certain detachment from real life - but they clash as road companions. Carrie expected to travel Europe; Matt's expired passport limits them to England. Their personality conflicts leads to many laugh out loud moments as they travel to the next best destination - Devon.

Devon allows Carrie to throw back her ring where Huw proposed. It turned into a symbolic "release" for both Carrie and Matt as they encounter the surf culture, take new lovers, and come to terms with who they are. Only after the road trip is over and Matt has returned to the South Pacific do they realize that they have fallen for the other. Phillipa Ashley delivers a predictable ending but one that is satisfying. Along the way, Ashley treats the reader to an "endless summer" where Carrie and Matt seek to be free spirits but find that they are grounded by the other.

I appreciated the glimpse into British culture, including the sacred rituals that make the Brits so lovable to American audiences. Some Americans may not understand the slang language throughout the book. Yet any reader will understand, and sympathize with, the raw emotions that Carrie, Rowena, Matt, and even Huw experience. Although the book spans almost two years, it is a fast read that I could not put down. Recommended read for a lazy afternoon.

I requested an ARC from SOURCEBOOKS.

MY THOUGHTS
ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT

Carrie is asked by her best friend, Rowena, what she would ever do if she caught her fiance cheating on her. Never thinking that Huw would ever do such a thing, she makes up clever ideas about what she might do. Neither one could even imagine that he could ever cheat on her, but right before the big church wedding, he calls it off after a ten year relationship. Rowena rescues Carrie from their shared home and decides they need a road trip to get the bad taste out of her mouth. Everything is set to go until Rowena lands a role on a soap opera but quickly finds a replacement so that Carrie can get her mind off the horrible breakup and have a month on the road.

The replacement Rowena finds for herself is Matt. A dashing doctor that has been working in a doctor without borders type of organization in a tropical island. Matt has a horror that he is trying to forget himself. He was involved in an accident and is sent home by his boss to recuperate. Carrie meets Matt again at her ex's wedding where she intends to disrupt it but he convinces her otherwise. They do end up on the trip where each of them grow to like each other. After several false starts and mixed signals between the two of them, some which are incredible funny and terribly sweet.

I love Phillipa Ashley's writing style and her romances are so wonderfully put together, you find yourself taken away to another place with them. Carrie is so believable and down to earth that you want to try and make her feel better after her horrible relationship. You just know that Matt with his damaged background and playboy ways will come around to find Carrie "the one". I so enjoy these romances since they really have a perfect balance of humor with interesting characters and dialog. Now, I am patiently waiting for Ashley to write me another story.

3-1/2 Stars

Carrie has her life all mapped out: a wedding in 2 weeks to her University sweetheart, life working his farm, and small stage theater. But everything goes off kilter when her fiancé abruptly dumps her leaving her reeling and unsure of her life. Suddenly, she has to reevaluate her life's plan and find her footing. Carrie decides to take a scenic European road trip as a way to restart her life. Along for the ride is the gorgeous Dr. Matt Landor who is on leave from his charity work overseas. Traveling around the English countryside in an old VW van, Carrie starts to re-map her life.

CARRIE GOES OFF THE MAP was a bit different than I was expecting. It didn't really follow the generic romance storyline. To me, this story was more of a romantic chick-lit story of self-discovery. Both Carrie and Matt have been floating through life and both are trying to figure some things out and make plans for the future.

I enjoyed Carrie and Matt's banter. They knew of each other at university and had a crazy acquaintance leaving Carrie embarrassed every time she sees him again. Both Carrie and Matt are sleeping with other people and doing their own thing and slowly come to talk and become friends.

The book covers about 1-1/2 years with long gaps in the storytelling. This timeframe does well to showcase the growth and changes both make to give a satisfying and believable ending.

do love the English, all those words I do not hear that often when I read so many American novels. But here I get them all and I bloody love it.

Carrie is dumped by her fiancé (who I thought was an utter ass, but later I did change my mind. He was just a man after all.) Poor Carrie is hurt and angry and I like her, and I like her even more when she has a little revenge. Her new leading man is Matt, but things move slowly along and that is a good thing. I really like how it works out in the end. Nothing fast and furious here. As for Matt, oh, he is a doctor out in the jungle, and to top it off, he is hot. Sometimes I liked him, sometimes I wondered about the woman he was seeing. But all in all i liked him and I thought these two should hook up.

Much of the book is about the roadtrip. Carrie needs to get over Huw, Matt has his own issues why he is in England. So there will be sun, sand, kisses, arguing between them and realizations.

Conclusion:
I liked this one because it was sweet, but it was not too sweet since Carrie made her fair share of mistakes. It's life. Cute, happy and a page-turner.

**Review originally posted at my blog, That Artsy Reader Girl**

This book was lovely for several uncommon reasons: 1. The characters are my age! I'm so used to reading about tweens, teenagers, and middle-aged adults. I rarely read about characters who are mid-to-late twenties. It was refreshing. 2. This book is an amazing book to help you feel better after a nasty break-up. I wish I'd had this book a few years ago when I went through one of those. 3. Traveling!!!!! I love books where people travel, and what's better than driving through England in a camper van named Dolly?

So, Carrie is engaged to her business partner: a farmer guy named Huw. One night he comes home from a stag party and tells her he can't marry her anymore. Of course, she's heartbroken. Who wouldn't be? THEN... just 4 months later, Huw is getting married to the woman he cheated on her with! She finds out on the day of his wedding, and runs to the church to crash the ceremony and call him out. She chickens out, though, and just ruins a very expensive flower arrangement outside the church. At this point, her best friend Rowena is pretty worried about Carrie, and decides the two of them need to go on a roadtrip to Italy and beyond. Things are all set and ready to go, when Rowena gets a job on a soap opera and has to back out of the trip the morning of. She mischievously calls on Dr. Matt Landor, an old friend from college to go with Carrie instead. Matt's currently home from a small island where he works as a doctor for a charitable organization, and has absolutely nothing to do. His passport is also expired, and so they can't leave England. Carrie is mortified at this change in plans, but Matt finally talks her into going on a trip with him. They spend just over a month traveling around the English countryside meeting new people, and getting to know each other far better than they expected. Love blossoms among several different sets of characters. There's even a bit of a scary twist that makes you worry for the characters! Mix all of this together with a lot of British slang that I had a hard time understanding at first, and you have a very cute romantic comedy on your hands.

Carrie is hilarious. She destroyed a flower arrangement with a hose! I hope that if my fiance dumps me for a skank named Fanella, I will have the guts to do something like this. I like her sense of adventure, and her determination. Not only does she get over Huw, but she has fun doing it. Matt is the brooding sexy type. Carrie compares him to Mr. Darcy, and I have to agree. He's tall, dark, handsome, troubled, and covers up his love for Carrie with witty banter and silly arguments. He and Carrie have great chemistry. Some of their conversations and flirtatious moments had me laughing. I enjoyed the supporting characters, which included some pretty funny hippie surfer dudes who end up lying on the beach stoned more than they actually surf, and a stuck up gaggle of socialites who add the word "darling" to the end of every sentence.

While you pretty much know how everything will turn out, you don't know how everything will be wrapped up. There were twists, turns, misunderstandings, and some lovely character development. The timeline of the book covers more time than I'm used to (over a year), which was nice. I loved the setting of the book. Carrie and Matt spent a lot of time along the water, and the author wrote some lovely descriptions.

Overall, this was a great read! I really enjoyed the plot line and the writing, although I would have appreciated fewer f-words. I'd recommend this book to people who enjoy travel, England, quirky characters, and romance. It's definitely a nice, happy read that will warm your heart.

**Thanks to netgalley, and the publishers of this book for giving me a free copy in exchange for my honest opinions.**