I really wanted to like this book, but ultimately it was just okay. I found the use of present tense sometimes odd, when obviously all of this occurred in the past. The constant now just felt strange.

The writing meandered around and didn’t really have any story or a direction, which quite frankly does remind me of travelling. There were a few chapters that were done differently than the rest of the book, such as one as several letters to a friend. That was okay, I liked how it was broken up. Some parts of the book read better than others, mainly because those felt like something was going on.

Often the author writes about what she is reading and goes into some details, background, and provides quotes, and this should be very interesting since the books are about the place, but ultimately it wasn't.

I doubt any real passages or scenes will really stick with me, with the exception of the Scotland chapter. Mayes and her husband share a house with some old friends and there were some good moments in the chapter, this is about the only one I really enjoyed. In the end, maybe she just wrote about too many places in the book. Too many places it all blended together.