Melting an Ice Queen is a trope I must admit to being partial. And Amanda Radley does it so well. In ‘Detour To Love’, her first novel for Bold Strokes Books, she has hit the jackpot. Beautiful settings, adorable characters, and a love story to set the heart a flutter, make for a perfect read.

High-flying businesswoman Celia Scott is on the way to Tokyo to accept an award she does not want. She starts the day off in a foul mood, and things go from bad to worse when her travel plans go south. Talented artist Lily Anderson is on the same flight, hoping that her online friend might turn into something more. The two women rub each other the wrong way, but sometimes wonderful things come from unlikely beginnings.

I loved the crankiness of Celia. Who can resist the sexy older woman, especially one who gives off an abrasive vibe? Lily sees past the icy exterior. She sees something in Celia worth waiting for. Each woman brought something to the other that made them a better person. It was a fantastic story and captured my heart.

I was given this ARC to review.

Celia is a successful investor heading to Tokyo to accept an award which is a sickening reminder of the worst moment in her life. On a flight she already isn't keen to take, she's met with trial after trial which has her desperate to turn back and head home. The one bright spot is meeting Lily, an artist on the way to meet her online crush in Toyko, who keeps Celia on her toes and surprises her at every turn. Celia learns a lot about herself and suddenly a whole new future lies in front of her, but will she take a chance on it? And on love?

I have followed Radley's career from the beginning, from fanfiction to YLVA to self-publishing and now to BSB, and every single work has been brilliant. The characters are so strong and fascinating and unique. I feel like Radley knows them so well that they come alive for the reader and creates this incredible story that captures your heart. The bulk of this story happens in a matter of days, and yet Radley can create a strong relationship that feels like a slow burn even in the short timeline. There isn't much physical interaction between the two mains but holy moly the tension and the chemistry sizzles off the page. The dialogue is so witty and it really drives the story forward, all the while the romance is very much a slow burn. My heart ached for both Lily and Celia at times but this is balanced with laugh out loud moments, I seriously don't know how she comes up with such hilarious ideas!

I can't recommend Radley's books more! I look forward to the next one as always.

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a quirky sweet age gap romance., between Celia and Lily. Lets just say it was not love at first sight nor like at first sight. There were some really funny parts and some really sad and heartbreaking parts in this story as well. I won't go into detail but it does move the story along at a fast clip. I would recommend this book too anyone that loves a good romantic age gap romance between two women who really care about each other and take their time to get to know each other before being intimate. I have read a few books by this author and will read more in the future. I really hope for a sequel to Celia and Lily's story soon.

This has been a sweet and touching romance with the peculiarity that it has almost no physical interaction between the two protagonists, focusing more on the emotional and psychological part they are going through, both in their personal situations and in the way each of them helps the other.

They have nothing in common and their way of meeting each other is a bit comical. The two have to make the London-Tokyo trip, which lasts about twelve hours. Celia is a mature woman, an executive in the insurance industry, who goes there looking for a premium she doesn’t want. Lily is a young woman who is going to meet her online girlfriend, very hopeful and eager to do so.

From the first encounter between them, at a sandwich stand at the airport, they enter a verbal tug-of-war that none of them seem to be able to avoid. And then circumstances make them have adjoining seats, Celia a bit tipsy, Lily dreading the nightmare of having this rude seatmate on such a long trip.

But then things don’t go the way they should, neither on the plane trip itself nor on the other revelations they are forced to show, reluctantly. Because, is it worth trusting a stranger you should never see again? Or is that why it is easier to trust them? Because, is it worth trusting a stranger you should never see again? Or is that why it is easier to trust them?

For me, despite the lack of physical interaction, this story has been very enjoyable to read and has aroused my interest in knowing what experiences they came from and where they ended up.

As expected, the plot revolves around two women who go from annoyances to partners. The story line is funny and the banter keeps it moving quickly. I just didn’t feel the romantic chemistry. The progression of the friendship was smooth, but the love portion was abrupt and out of no where. I appreciated the two main characters and the joys and heartaches they endured both apart and together, but the relationship didn’t feel real.

MY RATING 3/5 STARS

Overall, the book had some pretty good moments, but it also had a few things I didn’t really like. I had a pretty hard time actually getting into the book in the beginning because of the writing style. However, once I got further into the book that quickly changed, and I didn’t have any problems after that.

Another thing that made the book less enjoyable in the beginning was Celia. She was honestly pretty annoying, but I can also see that the author did this on purpose. Celia clearly states herself multiple times that she knows that what she is saying and doing in the beginning of the book, is just because she is cranky and overwhelmed with having to go to Japan.

One of the things I really loved seeing was Lily and Celia having to suddenly emergency land in Copenhagen. Since I’m from Denmark myself I love getting to see books incorporating small scenes and stuff that mentions Denmark.

Another thing I liked was how realistic all of the relationships felt. Lily’s relationship with her grandmother is clearly complicated, but it was also very realistically portrayed. The same goes for the evolving relationship between Celia and Lily. Throughout the book we get to see them go from being total strangers at the airport to two people who go through a lot together and ends up having a more meaningful relationship than they ever thought they would end up having.

Generally speaking, this was a pretty good book, and it had a lot of cute and heartfelt moments, and I really enjoyed seeing the characters development throughout the story. However, I still felt a bit weird about the age gap between Lily (25) and Celia (51).

This was my first Radley and I’m happy to say it won’t be the last. This was a sweet easy-read romance, with an age-gap, an ice queen type character, and settings in more than one country, ensuring that things are kept interesting.

Lily is an artist traveling to Tokyo to meet the person she hopes will become her girlfriend for the first time. On the plane she meets Celia, an insurance executive on her way to Tokyo to accept an award. Lily is excited about her adventure, Celia would rather be anywhere but there.

I don’t want to give away too much about why Celia feels the way she does about herself and her career, but I really appreciated how Radley incorporated different sides to Celia, and how her friendship/relationship with Lily encourages her to see other sides to the situation.

Whilst it only forms a small part of the book I really enjoyed Celia’s time with her brother and the contrasts/similarities between the two.

I enjoyed how Radley played the conflict between Celia and Lily out throughout the book, rather than focussing on one big particular blow-up. The continued conflict and then points of understanding between the two makes the development of the trust between the two more natural and a nice read. The character development of both is strong, both individually and together.

The storyline has interesting plot points to keep you reading but is at its heart a romance between two people who on the surface are opposites and I think all romance fans would enjoy this one.

I received an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first read by Amanda Radley. Detour to Love was filled with serious topics such as the death of a son and catfishing, but balanced with solid age gap (25 years) chemistry between Celia and Lily and witty banter. The portion of the book about “Alan” is comedic genius. 3.5 stars

I received an ARC from Bold Strokes Books in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5

I really enjoyed this one wow. This was my first time reading Amanda Radley's work but I'm definitely going to check out her other works cause I really had fun with this one.

The book is not very plot driven, if you're looking for a solid, overarching adventure or purpose, this isn't exactly that. We follow these two women who end up in different uncomfortable/unsafe situations, find each other and from there on, they start to bond and fall in love, and boy is this a slow burn. The book plays like a mini rom com series in my mind which works cause of the characters. This opens up for opportunities to insert really adorable and hilarious scenes with the two and that is my favorite part of the book, the humor. The

These two characters just click really well and it's not really an instant love trope, their banter was so fun and make them so likable as characters. The British humor is a bonus, love the sarcasm, dead panned jokes especially from Celia. Their chemistry just felt very natural and lovely, it didn't feel forced despite the short amount of time they spent getting to know each other.

It took me a while to start liking Celia at first because my first impression of her was 'wow, our main character is a Karen, I'm worried', but thankfully as we see more of her, through her other interactions with people and Lily, she really grew on me. Her determined, no bullshit attitude was great, I love how she carries this calm confidence that made her so attractive. And putting her next to Lily really makes her more endearing at times cause she can be so sweet. Lily's character didn't stand out as much to me, she was obviously the softer, more gentle one but she also sets very clear boundaries when needed which I liked about her. Also her attraction to older women, same girl.

The writing was good, nothing really stood out to me but the prose was really easy to get through. The highlight was definitely the dialogue, which can be so witty and adorable at times. The book explored heavier topics as well which I did not see coming, but appreciated, it talks about grief and family members not being accepting of one's sexuality, etc. Would recommend.

<i>tw mentions of suicide, homophobia (not physical violence), drug usage mentioned, implied alcoholism</i>

This book is a slow burn romance between 20 something Lily, a children’s book illustrator and Celia, a middle aged businesswoman. The two are seated next to each other on a flight from London to Tokyo. After a series of travel disasters, the two wind up spending a significant amount of time together and developing feelings for one another. Both characters experienced significant personal growth over the course of the story. The book also touches on the sensitive issues of grief, mental health, homophobia and alcoholism. I enjoyed seeing how the characters let go of their losses, recognized their strengths and resilience. The romance was incredibly understated and I would have liked for that aspect to have been explored more in the story.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bold Strokes Book for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a huge fan of Amanda Radley, so I was loving forward to this new read. I'm also a sucker for an age gap, ice queen romance so if you are as well, you'll be pleased with this read. Not only is this a depiction of how a sweet, genuine connection can grow between two people, this book also deals with some tougher life moments. Would love to see a series about these two.

4.5 Stars

I should start this review off by saying I’m a huge Amanda Radley fan. It’s going to take work for her to write a book I don’t love. “Detour to Love” is classic Radley. It’s a slow burn, ice queen, age-gap, and low heat romance.

Celia and Lily meet while traveling to Tokyo. Celia, 51, is an executive going to accept an award she really doesn’t want. Lily, 25, is finally meeting her crush in person after years of talking online. Their journey is interrupted and they are forced together after some unusual circumstances.

Celia really starts off as the rude ice queen. Over time her story comes out and you can’t help but feel badly for her and see her in a different light. Lily, comes across as very sweet (and patient), if a little naïve. However, she doesn’t put up with Celia’s rudeness and calls her out on it time after time.

This is strangers to friends to romantic love. We don’t really see much of the romantic love until the epilogue. Watching them become friends and really get to know one another was a joy. They’re each dealing with some painful things going on at the time of their meeting and by chance are able to help each other. Neither has a close group of friends and because of their circumstances, they provide the support the other needs.

As I said above, this is very low heat. There aren’t any explicit scenes so if that’s a must have for you, you should look elsewhere. I didn’t find it lacking but I also wasn’t expecting it.

In the end, this a really well written romance about two people who come into each other’s lives at the right time. I recommend this to romance fans who enjoy fun and funny banter.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books in exchange for an honest review.

Netgalley Review:

I really enjoyed both MCs. They had good chemistry and were humorous. My only critique would be (being careful of spoilers) the plotline around "Allen". That whole plotline felt like it should have been heavier. It was a very tragic and upsetting part of the story but the characters seemed very capable of whimsy around it. I would read more by this author. 3 stars.

ARC provided via NetGalley because of Patreon.

I really enjoyed this book. Good characters and naturalistic and fun dialogue to establish a dynamic absolutely up my alley and this book has this in spades. Amanda Radley has the ability to introduce us to these ice queen characters that are extremely unlikeable, even by the standards of that trope, and by the end, make us fall in love with them. This was certainly the case here.

There are points where I was smiling or laughing out loud at the excellent banter between the two leads, and I really enjoyed the journey (literally and metaphorically) each of them is on to grow and help each other discover something important about themselves.

I gave this book five stars because I will definitely be coming back to re-read this later. This is in my top three books by this author, whose work I obviously enjoy enough to support on Patreon. Looking forward to the next book and I wouldn't mind a sequel with these characters either.

More than romance, this book is about grief, but it has humor. The characters are very different but find themselves drawn to each other after some bad moments. Do not expect a lot of sex on its pages, this is a slow burn romance, but is was a very nice reading.

What a snappy, witty read. The back-and-forth dialogue between Celia and Lily is fun and fast. Celia is all barbs and rudeness at the start, Lily seems sweet but she can hold her own. The two of them are thrown together a number of times and from there a relationship grows.

The romance is quite understated and drawn-out, but that’s not the main part of the story. I really like how the two of them support each other and help each other through some tough times.

Nothing really gets resolved until the very end, leaving little time to see them together as a couple, but I enjoyed the journey very much. The running jokes they have are hilarious, and the darker moments are handled thoughtfully.

My rating: five stars

This was a story of discovery and moving on from tragedies. Lily and Calia are extreme opposite and start out as enemies but circumstances push them together.
I have to say I was disappointed there wasn't any hooking up. I kept waiting for it and then nothing. The characters and the storyline was deep and properly developed but I missed the sex.

I absolutely adored this story! Celia and Lilly meet by chance on a flight from London to Tokyo. They might have gotten off on the wrong foot but there was an immediate pull towards each other. They’re forced together in a number of unfortunate events but eventually form a fast friendship. This book took you around the world which made it even more enticing to read! So many places in this book I haven’t been and made me want to visit! It was such a great enemies to friends to lovers with an age gap romance!

This book gave me all the airport and travel vibes I was missing this year!

I finished this in one day. It was addictive. The story just wanted you to keep reading it, the chapters were the perfect length to keep you interested, the characters were so charming, and the issues in the book were addressed so well.

I love short chapters. I think they're the best for when you have too much to do and you just want to read a chapter or two as you take a break. This was perfect just for that. I would work on a project, then read a chapter or two, love the characters even more, then get back to work. And so the loop went on.

The best part of this book was how it portrayed emotion with the two main characters. It wasn't any 'love at first sight' or 'this is the person that's meant for me'. Throughout the story, you can sense the feelings and the trust growing slowly, and that was so lovely to witness. You don't read that everyday.

I think this was a beautiful story and I'm so glad I got the chance to read it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books, Inc. for the earc for an honest review.

Celia Scott is a high profile executive on her way to Tokyo to received an award she doesn't want. Among the many unfortunate events of the trip she meets Lily Andersen, an artist, traveling to Tokyo to meet a friend she met online and has fallen in love with. The annoyance and dislike is mutual between the two women, and that is before they even made it inside the plane. The trip results in detours neither woman was expecting and in a connection neither was prepared for either.

As always, A. Radley has written an amazing, sweet and slow burn romance. I was hooked from the first page. It was sweet, funny, witty and loving. I absolutely loved both characters and I really liked how they bonded and treated each other. One thing I truly appreciate about this author is how authentic and real the romance and characters are. I did not want the book to end. This will definitely be a yearly read. Can't wait to get the paperback and add it to the Radley collection in my bookcase.

This is an age gap romance, and no one does age-gaps romance better than A. Radley. I have been a fan of this author before she joined Bold Strokes and I am very happy she is part of that team now. Hopefully her amazing stories will reach more people.

This ARC was provided by Netgalley in exchange for a honest review