I really enjoyed this rom com book based around a trip across Europe. Great characters and lovely descriptions of beautiful cities. A feel good summer read.

A short sweet story about a girl going on a trip and finding her own purpose in life. Empowering, heartwrenching and very simple yet, beautiful. The author has wonderfully portrayed themes self-doubts, love, dilemma, and grief. Absolutely recommend.

This was such a short and lovely book

The book focuses on love and grief but the grief themes are not overpowering and just sprinkled in.

As someone who has been to Rome and Paris, it felt like I was walking the streets of these incredible cities again.

The love story was very sweet and kept me guessing on how she kept bumping into this man.

Lovely, wholesome read and would recommend.

Plot - it was a nice story, I just don’t think it was executed brilliantly.
Pacing - too fast, she’s in all these wonderful places but there’s no real description of them. Having been to rome myself getting the beauty of the city onto the page would be so difficult and I just don’t think it was done well in this book at all.
Romance - I didn’t get any feelings from either the MMC or the FMC, there’s very little chemistry building, there’s no butterflies when they hold hands, no shock of desire when they kiss and when they do finally get to it it’s a no then a heck yeah I’m the matter of a paragraph.
You can tell however, that Penny Pentley has a really good sense of humour with some of the lines she has these characters come out with for example the ‘you guys fuck’ text was hilarious and exactly a question a sister would tease!

This is a very easy read.

Lisa went on a solo trip to Europe and found herself a stalker… (at least that’s what we will call it for now).

I feel like this is definitely how I’d imagine a solo trip would go for me, so I can relate to it.

She seems quirky and honestly, love that she’s following her mom’s itinerary.- I’d be done by the first one.

It’s heartfelt and a must read.

This book was soo cute. It’s a cute getaway vacation book because she is exploring different cities in Europe. However, I wish I was being told more information about the main characters. I felt like I was exploring into this book with no information about the characters. The most I knew from the first 15% of the book was that her parents are both dead.

What as lovely book. As someone who loves to travel, I really enjoyed the travel and exploration element of this story, particularly as I have visited a lot of the places which feature in the book so I could really imagine myself wandering through the streets of Rome and Paris with a sense of nostalgia!
The storyline itself is well written and very romantic without explicit details. I really enjoyed finding out the true identity of the FMC’s love interest, and I was guessing throughout why she kept bumping into him!
The grief element of the story was dealt with sensitively and did not overpower the storyline, but felt subtle yet still, of course, very important to the plot and story.
I would absolutely recommend this book to readers who love romance, meet-cute and travelling! It is a brilliant combination of them all.
Thank you to Penny Pentley for the ARC of this book,

Slow moving plot. Great plot line, but it fell flat for me. The main character interaction was not deep enough. I loved the details of the different museums and foods. I would read another book by this author.

This was a pleasant read, but I did not feel engaged with Lisa, the protagonist.

Elisabeth (aka Lisa) embarks on a solo trip to Italy and France. The itinerary, planned as a mother/ daughter trip, begins just weeks after her mother’s unexpected demise. Lisa’s hesitation to undertake the trip alone is eclipsed by her desire to honor her mother’s memory and by the fact that all the bookings were prepaid and nonrefundable. Consequently, the trip is bittersweet, full of beautiful experiences frequently overshadowed by her grief, which is compounded by having lost her father within the past year as well. Amidst all this emotional turmoil, Lisa meets a man and encounters him in every city on her itinerary. Is this fate, coincidence, or something more nefarious?

While the theme of grief is certainly understandable in Lisa’s circumstances, its dominance in a story that unfolds as an interesting travelogue and budding romance dampened my enjoyment of the book. Lisa’s insecurity eventually leads to an over-the-top emotional reaction that seemed out of proportion to the issue. The ending seemed rushed and unrealistic.

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and will be posted on Amazon upon publication.

The Itinerary by Penny Pentley is exactly what I needed to fuel my wanderlust, while also processing the complex grief that comes with a significant loss.

Lisa was excited to take a trip around Europe with her Mom, something that they planned as a way to move forward following her father's death. But when her Mom dies suddenly, Lisa finds a way to honour the planned itinerary while at the same time working through waves of despair. As an American in Europe for the first time, Lisa finds herself alone and struggling to meet the challenges of the itinerary, but a cute and compassionate stranger will make things a little more bearable, particularly as he keeps showing up in different cities. Stalking or serendipity?

I love a travel-themed narrative, and found so much of this story to be both familiar and relatable. So happy to have stumbled across this charming little gem of a read. 4.5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an ARC.

Cute American-Italian romance read. Get a mix of One Italian Summer (Rebecca Serle), and Eat Pray Love (Elizabeth Gilbert).

Thank you NetGalley for my E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was super sweet. I like that it was evenly split between being a romance AND being a book about overcoming grief.

It’s nice and short so it can bump your read goal and also give you some must dos if you were to travel to Europe.

Read Time ⏱️ 2.5 hours

After the death of her father Lisa plans a trip with her mother to Italy and Paris. Right before the trip her mother suddenly dies and Lisa decides to do the trip alone in memory of her mother.

I enjoyed learning about the different towns and venues she visited and when she meets rocky who keeps showing up on the same trip a lot of fun and romance follows

A very funny and whitty read, Penny has done it once again! Lisa’s character was very sceptical but loveable!

3,5 stars

The book have an interesting story to it, but I was not a big fan of how it played out. Lisa, the main character, is very much an American traveling in Europe which was portrayed well, but also the thing that annoyed me the most. Other than that the story was enjoyable to read and fun.

I grabbed this book from NetGalley on kind of a whim, and I’m sure glad I did! This sweet little book hooked me from the start with a good reminder to always pack a few outfits in your carry-on 🥲

Initially, the premise reminded me of One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle- the story of a young woman going on a euro trip that was supposed to be with her mother, who has died. Other than that though, they’re very different stories. This one was very realistic in terms of what happens when you travel- e.g., if you leave your bag open, someone can reach in. If you make a plan, it’ll probably have to change at some point. Your feet will hurt. But also you’ll make friends fast, learn a ton, see beautiful stuff, eat incredible food, and you’ll bond with random people who help you even from across linguistic barriers.

Hard relate to the main character in so many ways. The bits about grief and anxiety, and the conversations with her sister, it all felt very real. And I was happy to see her make friends and meet a cool guy, but I honestly could’ve just kept reading about her wandering around Rome and every other city, eating pasta and thinking about her mom. Also, “I’m calling the policios” was an excellent line.

The book has cute, tiny twist that I thought was pretty guessable— but I suppose I shouldn’t expect the protagonist to know she’s in a novel.

Fast fun ride through top tourist spots in Europe. Lisa navigates a solo trip that was routed out by her mother. It was a planned itinerary mostly based upon Lisa getting the most out of it. Her mother’s plan for them to see the sites but also for Lisa to enjoy and explore life abroad. Rocky accidentally was her plus one for most of her mom’s plotted out vacation. Who would be better to explore the top hot spots with than a man that has knowledge of these areas. A quick read that immersed you in a whirlwind trip with a male version of TripAdvisor! Thank you to NetGalley for the free advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion

Thanks to NetGalley and Books Go Social for the opportunity to read The Itinerary by Penny Pentley a fun, light read for those who suffer from wanderlust.

So excited for this exciting wanderlust travel adventure. I’m so excited it is a READNOW option. As someone who recently lost my father this definitely hit home. I cannot wait to go on this adventure with our main as well as meet her charming stranger that helps her along the way.