Books Read & Giveaway: My Map of You by Isabelle Broom

Holly Wright has had a difficult few years. After her mother's death, she's become expert at keeping people at a distance - including her boyfriend, Rupert.

But when Holly receives an unexpected letter explaining that an aunt she never met has left her a house on the Greek island of Zakynthos, the walls she has built begin to crumble. Arriving on the island, Holly meets the handsome Aidan and slowly begins to uncover the truth about the secret which tore her family apart.

But is the island where Holly really belongs? Or will her real life catch up with her first?

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Isabelle Broom's debut novel My Map of You is one of the many books in my TBR pile that has been waiting patiently all Summer for me to read and review.  Sadly I hit a bit of a reading slump earlier in the year due to a number of factors and it has taken me much longer than I would have liked to get over it.  One of the ways I'm trying to get back on track is by trying to do a few concentrated theme reading weeks, as I haven't been on holiday this year and had a few days off this week I decided to travel via books instead! 

In My Map of You we meet Holly Wright, a young woman who has been deeply affected by events in her past especially the loss of her mother.  She in turn has become a people pleasure putting other people's needs first, especially her boyfriend Rupert, to the detriment of her own well being.  So when she receives a letter out of the blue telling her she has inherited a property on the Greek island of Zakynthos, from an aunt she never knew, she finally decides to do something for herself and heads off to the island which sets her on a path of self discovery. 

From the moment Holly receives the letter and later arrives on the island, it's clear that there were a lot of deeply hidden secrets waiting to be uncovered.  What had happened in the past between her mum and aunt Sandra that had torn them apart and why had Sandra never tried to contact Holly before?  I can't really go into any more detail as don't want to spoil it for readers but with the help of new friends Holly does begin to find out bits and pieces of the puzzle that will help her understand the past.   

Oh my this was such a gem of a read from the first page to the last, I simply loved it.  It was clear to see from the beautiful writing and stunning descriptions that the author absolutely loves the island of Zakynthos, just reading of Holly's outings around the island following the map she'd discovered made me want to jump on a plane and see all the locations for myself.  I wouldn't hesitate to recommend My Map of You as it's the perfect holiday read for any time of the year.  But the good thing for me having read and reviewed this so late is that I don't have too long to wait until the next book is published as A Year and a Day is due out on 17th November.  

And now for a little giveaway... earlier this year I was lucky enough to have been invited to Isabelle's book launch where I bought a copy of My Map of You which she kindly signed for me to give away to a follower of the blog.  But not only can you win a copy of Isabelle's book I've also decided to include this gorgeous passport BookBandz which I had planned for another feature which I've had to shelve for now.  Simply follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter form below to enter. 

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