This was an interesting book and I think that anyone who read Travels with George by Vivien Fallows will also enjoy this book. Both of these titles are about breaking away from your every day life and doing special and different, really enjoying your life and what the world has to offer. These travels usually happened after a life change for the authors and may be what inspired them to write these books, whether true to life or written as fiction. It is a mix of a travel guide and a life story.

Thanks to HarperImpulse and Netgalley for allowing me to read this title before it publishes on July 6. It was a deportation from my preferred genre of suspense and thrillers, but I totally needed that. I loved the premise of this book. Lori finds her husband of 25 years in bed with her best friend. She grabs a backpack, heads to the airport and books a flight to the farthest destination available. And so her journey begins in Thailand. Although much of the scenery she describes is stunning and postcard-worthy, her most memorable experiences are with the people she meets.

Along the way, Lori finds her purpose and essentially, happiness. She also encounters an injury, some remorse and even a playboy.

I’ll leave the rest for you to find out. I highly encourage you to read this novel, which is loosely based on Horton’s actual life traveling with her husband. I wish I could be more like her.

Part homage to Eat, Pray, Love, and part travel guide of Asia, The Backpacking Housewife follows Lori as she leaves her cheating husband behind in England and goes off to explore Thailand and Malaysia on her own. This book is much more about location than the drama between her husband or her personal growth after her marriage implodes. While the scenery descriptions were interesting, they did get a bit repetitive after a while. And, parts of the main character's reactions to situations were a bit unrealistic. However, if you are interested in visiting this part of the world, this book is sure to inspire your wanderlust.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

This romance novel reads like a travelogue, with a backpacking runaway wife, who travels from the north of Thailand to the south islands and into Malaysia. Lori has run off with her passport and credit card to the farthest country from England she can find on the spur of the moment. Her discovery of her husband's year long affair with her best friend sends her heading to Southeast Asia, to a new adventure and to put distance between herself and her husband. She lands in Bangkok, heads to Chiang Mai, and from there goes south along the coast, from one beautiful beach and lovely island to another, hopping south till she reaches Malaysia. Needless to say, she finds friendships, adventure, independence, and a new romance - a whole new life.
The perfect fairy tale getaway romance. I enjoyed it.

What a hoot! Loved this book, and found it really hard to put down. When Lori catches her husband and best friend together, she grabs her passport and heads out to Thailand. Really enjoyed this book, and the process and progress she goes through to find a balance in her life again. So fun to read about her adventures, and the fun companions she meets along the way. Envious now. and rethinking about a trip to Asia. Would definitely highly recommend this book.

The cover attracted me to this book I hadn't heard of the author but now want to read more by her as simply brilliant so well written and the cover really gets you and wants you to read the book and I wasn't let down I didn't want to put the book down as so excellent. It's an easy read full of adventure, romance, making new friends and finding happiness after an upset and starting over again. Highly recommend with great characters and the story plot is brilliant to.
Lori has been cooking and cleaning and looking after her family especially her husband but suddenly her life changed when she finds her husband in bed with her best friend. She's so upset and quickly packs a backpack and books a flight to Thailand where she has always wanted to go and decides to travel around. She hasn't planned anything and along the way she makes new friends and meets amazing people and sees amazing a sights she never dreamt of. Her sons are worried and fly out to see her and bring her home but once they see her they realise she is happy and leave her to continue her travels. Can she find full happiness again and can she find romance or not.
Simply brilliant read and would love to give it far more than the five stars as deserves it.

What a perfect Summer novel. This would be the best thing to read if you're chilling by the pool or if you're indoors wishing you were somewhere hot (I was the latter)!

I've never read anything by this author before so always a bit iffy on whether I'll enjoy it or not but I needn't have worried. It was interesting, the locations in the story sounded amazing and I wanted to go to every location that Lori did!

I felt for Lori at the beginning of the novel but was quite proud that she just upped and left and done something for herself for a change! It was nice to read about. This is definitely a book I would recommend you read this summer. It was lovely and lighthearted and I will be looking for more novels by this author in future,

The Backpacking Housewife,  Janice Horton

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: general Fiction (Adult)

A mixed read for me, there were parts I really loved, but others that didn't sit quite right for me.
Its a read that starts off with a bang, poor Lori making a horrible discovery when returning home earlier than expected. She grabs her passport and bag and ….she's off, to the destination furthest that's available Right Now.

I would have liked to know a bit more about her home life, kids, mum etc, so I could see how much Lori had changed. I loved the traveling, loved the scenery, the people she met, the places she went and especially her time with the turtles. It made me feel part of her trip, as if I was there with her it was so well written.
It was quite hard though to separate it out into an actual fiction novel rather than a kind of travelogue....and it was fiction I wanted. I wanted Charles to get his comeuppance, to see what he'd thrown away in his arrogance, wanted the best friend to see what she'd lost in Lori, and I did find it a bit hard to believe that someone like Lori, devoted to her family could just up and leave them, with so little contact, so little worry. She seems to tell herself, boys grown up – they'll be fine, mum's got her friends...and doesn't really worry about them or let them know where she is. It just didn't feel quite real there, if it was just her and Charles yes, but she has her two (grown) boys who she loves, has her mum who she's on good terms with and I didn't feel she would have been happy to have just left them like that.
I loved Ethan, a true gentleman, loved how he was with Lori, loved his enthusiasm for life and everything in it. I was supposed though how abrupt the ending was, it seemed to be a little rushed, a bit brief when I expected more. Maybe that's just me though and my romance/HEA addiction. There's certainly promise of a HFN here.

Stars: Four, a wonderful read and escape, made me wish I was there with her, but which felt a little unreal in parts.

ARC supplied for review purposes by Netgalley and Publishers