I never feel good giving books a 1 star rating, and I rarely do that. However, it is warranted in this case. I was very excited for Where to Nest. As someone who loves to travel, I really thought I would have a lot in common with the author and was excited to hopefully have some connections with the author's experiences. This was nothing but a train wreck, however. Which I feel guilty saying, because I never want to say negative things about someone's experiences. She's the only one who can tell her stories and I give her praise for taking this step in writing her stories for the world.

The problem I had is that so many of these stories were super uncomfortable to read. And not uncomfortable in a good way. But so bad that I had to skip past some of them just to get to the next chapter and next story. There were some aspects throughout her stories that I enjoyed, but they were highly overshadowed but everything else. There was way too much focus on her partying and romantic endeavors and that's not what I expected when I jumped into this story.

I wanted to read this one, but I am unable to download the book because it is unfortunately archived.

Thank you #Netgalley for the copy.

In this read, we follow Kristen and her need to travel. More than once she picks up and travels internationally to start over. In each chapter we visit a new city filled with interesting experiences. She has had both good and bad experiences, some will make you laugh while others may make you sad or uncomfortable with the situations she gets in. I do commend her for travels and doing it all on her own!

I think I am not the target age (I'm 50), but I enjoyed this because I love reading about Americans living around the world. She is writing for a younger audience-she is constantly talking about the men she hooks up with as "hot". The last 1/3 I skimmed a bit, but it was still a fun book-especially for younger women interested in living abroad!

I appreciate NetGalley for sending me the ARC for this book. Unfortunately, it wasn't for me. I wanted to hear more about her travels, but instead it was about the decisions she made while traveling. It was interesting to hear about the various places that she lived, but it was difficult to stay hooked.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book. It was fun getting to travel vicariously through the author!

Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this memoir as much as I assumed I would. The author seemed to focus more on her decision-making than on the traveling adventure itself. While I didn't fully connect with this story, I have no doubt others will. Thanks to NetGalley and Rising Action Publishing Co. for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review - pub day is 4/2/24!

The author has certainly had quite a few travel adventures! This book was fun to read, especially if you love travel adventures yourself. The author regales her journeys through many parts of the world, along with her journeys of self-discovery and road to adulthood. This would be fun to read on your own summer adventure.

This was such a delight to read, I never wanted to put it down! As an expat myself, there is so much to relate to the author's adventures. Even though she went through very different experiences than I did, the ideas are common to anyone who has experienced moving around (even within a country) to try to find oneself. This was not just a series of anecdotal funny stories abroad, but really about what it means to become an adult, all the processes we go through during such adventures trying to figure out who we want to be, how we want to be, what we want to be. This was written well, it was an easy read, but also very entertaining and makes you reflect on yourself. I highly recommend it. And the only negative thing I have to say is the cover of the book will unfortunately make many people not pick up this book who otherwise would enjoy it. The cover gives off a very different vibe than what the book really is.

I didn't enjoy this memoir as much as I had hoped. Perhaps I went into it with the wrong expectations, as I was anticipating more of a travel memoir describing unique places and experiences. I love traveling and was looking forward to reading about many places that I've never been. However, this memoir seemed to focus less on the places and more on the author's career decisions, partying excursions, and casual romantic entanglements. The travel locations were only briefly depicted as a backdrop, and I just couldn't relate or find much interest in a lot of her personal stories. The stories were often disjointed and rambling, and I found myself bored and skimming sections. The author did share some insights throughout her journey of self-discovery which I did find valuable, but overall it was too long a journey to get to the destination. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

This is a refreshing memoir – very readable and packed with interesting incidents. There is a sense of energy and adventure evident across the pages which I liked.

The book starts with Kristen mentioning her anxiety as she is about to move to China. The narration then shifts back to her background of growing up in Connecticut, her family and friends. She developed a passion for travel in her teens and followed her impulse, moving across several countries as she worked. She was in college in Paris and Luxembourg, making relationships which soon ruptured. As part of her courses she got to interview political leaders in Germany & Netherlands on nation building. She mentions how in Netherlands she was impressed by how even protestors were taken care of. A stint in Kenya to help a friend with a startup followed – a very challenging period where she had to brave eyeballing & sexist comments from client & colleagues. A longer stay in China, working for a wine distribution company, came next. This had its challenges as well – with business colleagues and a health scare. There are descriptions of vacations to Thailand, Greece and Japan. She finally moves to LA and into stage performances/comedy. This has been her calling since and she also visited Kazakhstan to give a talk.

There is a good mix of humour and more serious matters. As with most memoirs, there is almost no critical evaluation of poor decisions though. Most of her moves are made out to be completely impulsive and brave (maybe they really were?).

A life of adventure till she found her calling, which made for some good reading.

My rating: 4.25 / 5.

I enjoyed the author's voice and sense of adventure here. Her travels felt real and visceral (and at times, discombobulating and funny). Read this if you have wanderlust and want to travel to many places! Thanks for the ARC.

Where to even begin? This book is such a hilarious treat. Boyfriends who pee the bed and have serious sleep issues (I’m one of those people!). Being a cool adult after years of feeling uncool. Friendships that come and go. I don’t know that I’ve ever read anything as relatable as this memoir. It feels like PASSPORT TO PARIS and other MaryKate and Ashley travel movies all grown up. It was just what I needed to read in the middle of a snow storm during January, the worst month of the year. It’s so laugh out loud hilarious. I think fans of Amy Schumer’s memoir would also enjoy this one. There’s another theme a lot of women can probably connect with: being in a budget when you grow up around the ultra wealthy. Toxic parents who hate each other more than they love their own youth.

It also perfectly depicts the pre Me Too soft sexism in the workplace, particularly experienced by millennial women, as well as being an adult child of divorce. And even in all this sadness, there’s so much humor.

If you’re in your thirties, you’ll love taking a trip down memory lane with this memoir. I can remember all the popular songs and movies Kristen notes during the early 2010s. This reminds me of the fun of being a young professional unencumbered by kids and marriage back then, as well as why I’m glad that part of my life is over.

This book deserves a standing ovation!

A must for the adventurers in your life! I was drawn to her writing style and have added to my travel bucket list. This was an enjoyable read.

“There was so much joy in the freedom of not caring or even knowing what others would think of you—finding excitement in a water bug or, as you overturned a rock, a blue crawfish, its claws up in fighter mode.”*

Kristen Van Nest shared stories of her global travels as she built businesses and explored various career ventures. Each chapter showcased her adventures and her tenacity through business, pleasure, and relationships both platonic and romantic.

I really liked how Van Nest provided a sense of each place she visited from the food to the atmosphere and political climate. She displayed fearlessness as she fought off unwanted advances from a colleague and dealt with blatant tech bro misogyny at a start up and a roommate from hell.

I appreciated the author’s candor about her relationships and the hard work she put in to fulfill her goals and dreams. I did not, however, enjoy the parade of colorful euphemisms for her genitals in a chapter that showed her dealing with a health issue. I’m sure it was an attempt at gallows humor, but it did not work for me.

This memoir delivered what it promised and more as Van Nest immersed herself in the culture of each place, making the most of each opportunity and bouncing back from every misfortune. I have no doubt that she, along with Nala, the street cat she adopted in Shanghai, can weather any storm.

Thanks to Rising Action Publishing for providing an Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley.

*Please note that my review is based on uncorrected text, and the quoted material might be altered or removed from the final version of the book.

I love to travel and reading Van Nest's book was a delight. I loved her adventures and the places she shared about. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. Five stars.