What do you think?
Rate this book
To Boldly Go
ASIN B079BBBB33 moved to the more recent edition
When life gives you lemons, drink limoncello.
Taryn's trip of a lifetime is finally happening. She's saved money, researched, planned, and created an itinerary that will allow her to travel Italy...and finally tell her best friend that she's in love with her. But those plans are ruined when she wakes up alone, her crush gone. Her plans did not include being alone and stranded in Milan.
Now Taryn's dream vacation is a nightmare.
Enter Holly, a fellow traveler: young, full of life, and comfortable traipsing off the beaten path. Holly feels a connection with Taryn and wants to salvage her trip. After all, they're in freaking Italy! But their radically different travel styles and age differences make for rough terrain.
Together, they boldly go into unexplored territories of the heart, and may just discover love.
When life gives you lemons, drink limoncello.
Taryn's trip of a lifetime is finally happening. She's saved money, researched, planned, and created an itinerary that will allow her to travel Italy...and finally tell her best friend that she's in love with her. But those plans are ruined when she wakes up alone, her crush gone. Her plans did not include being alone and stranded in Milan.
Now Taryn's dream vacation is a nightmare.
Enter Holly, a fellow traveler: young, full of life, and comfortable traipsing off the beaten path. Holly feels a connection with Taryn and wants to salvage her trip. After all, they're in freaking Italy! But their radically different travel styles and age differences make for rough terrain.
Together, they boldly go into unexplored territories of the heart, and may just discover love.
235 pages, ebook
First published January 25, 2018
42 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
Em Stevens
11 books74 followersEm Stevens was shortlisted for most likely to succeed. She’s a best-selling author of queer fiction. When she isn’t writing she enjoys all that NC has to offer, from mountains to the sea, wine and distilleries. Em and company, including two furry friends, reside in Raleigh.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
July 19, 2018
Very sweet story :)
February 13, 2018
.
I feel like I'm missing something recently, I read books with good reviews and somehow can't find what other readers did. I couldn't find anything that would entertain me in this one.
I feel like I'm missing something recently, I read books with good reviews and somehow can't find what other readers did. I couldn't find anything that would entertain me in this one.
January 8, 2020
Em Stevens writes the most perfectly romantic love stories!
This has been my second book by her and To Boldly Go has everything I look for in a Romance. Strong yet flawed protagonists that feel real and are willing to go outside their comfort zone and overcome their issues in order to become a good partner. A wonderful journey: This book felt like a trip to Italy. The places and foods were so well described, it was a true pleasure! And of course, a beautifully romantic happy ending that left me swooning.
The story line was absolutely perfect and Missy Cambridge's narration was very enjoyable. I would have liked for her to be a little bit more enthusiastic in some parts of the narration. But she has a very warm voice and very cute accents.
This book is a fantastic choice when looking for a lesbian Romance and I can wholeheartedly recommend it!
This has been my second book by her and To Boldly Go has everything I look for in a Romance. Strong yet flawed protagonists that feel real and are willing to go outside their comfort zone and overcome their issues in order to become a good partner. A wonderful journey: This book felt like a trip to Italy. The places and foods were so well described, it was a true pleasure! And of course, a beautifully romantic happy ending that left me swooning.
The story line was absolutely perfect and Missy Cambridge's narration was very enjoyable. I would have liked for her to be a little bit more enthusiastic in some parts of the narration. But she has a very warm voice and very cute accents.
This book is a fantastic choice when looking for a lesbian Romance and I can wholeheartedly recommend it!
July 20, 2018
A wonderful trip
There were so many things I enjoyed about this book that I can even forgive that it made me cry. This is a really great story.
There were so many things I enjoyed about this book that I can even forgive that it made me cry. This is a really great story.
January 31, 2018
A light and entertaining romance novel.
Em Stevens has written a very sweet book called To Boldly Go. The title is a quote from Star Trek's famous opening credits. Taryn and Holly find each other at a train station in Italy. This is Taryn's dream two week vacation that she planned to take with her best friend and long time crush. Daphne took off in the early morning hours and left Taryn behind without her cellphone or her plane ticket home. In a panic, Taryn rushes out to the train station hoping to spot her traveling companion, but she gives up and returns to her Milan hotel room. After cleaning up and checking out, she's back at the train station, ready to fly home and can't even figure out how to use the payphone to tell her mother. This is how Holly comes across Taryn swearing at a telephone. At first she wants to assist with the phone calls, but then she tries to convince Taryn not to leave her Italian holiday prematurely. Holly asks Taryn to accompany her on her travels with nothing but a destination in mind.
The two women bond, as only traveling companions can. The sights, foods, experiences, and joys of Italy combine with their shared love of women, their recent disappointments in life and their interest in Star Trek to deepen their budding friendship. Holly manages to calm Taryn down and keep her from reverting to her normal type A personality. Taryn helps Holly confront the demons that drove her so far from home and on a six week long solo trek around Europe. Despite a decade of difference in their ages and fundamentally different worldviews, Taryn and Holly take a chance on each other. As strangers thrown together in a foreign country, these characters learn to depend on their own extraordinary kindness, trust and attraction to guide them along the journey.
To Boldly Go relies on fate to entangle the lives of two women who never would have met anywhere but at an Italian train station. The novel then uses the travel motif to intermix their ongoing adventures with time spent getting to know each other and sharing heartfelt confidences. I admire Em Stevens as a writer and like reading these novels, but I wasn't as impressed by this one. Most of the energy involved in the book was spent on setting up the premise and revealing the characters' motivations. It seem to run out of steam by the end. I can't decide if the ending felt flat, contrived or rushed. I really did like this novel and can happily recommend it to other lesfic readers.
Em Stevens has written a very sweet book called To Boldly Go. The title is a quote from Star Trek's famous opening credits. Taryn and Holly find each other at a train station in Italy. This is Taryn's dream two week vacation that she planned to take with her best friend and long time crush. Daphne took off in the early morning hours and left Taryn behind without her cellphone or her plane ticket home. In a panic, Taryn rushes out to the train station hoping to spot her traveling companion, but she gives up and returns to her Milan hotel room. After cleaning up and checking out, she's back at the train station, ready to fly home and can't even figure out how to use the payphone to tell her mother. This is how Holly comes across Taryn swearing at a telephone. At first she wants to assist with the phone calls, but then she tries to convince Taryn not to leave her Italian holiday prematurely. Holly asks Taryn to accompany her on her travels with nothing but a destination in mind.
The two women bond, as only traveling companions can. The sights, foods, experiences, and joys of Italy combine with their shared love of women, their recent disappointments in life and their interest in Star Trek to deepen their budding friendship. Holly manages to calm Taryn down and keep her from reverting to her normal type A personality. Taryn helps Holly confront the demons that drove her so far from home and on a six week long solo trek around Europe. Despite a decade of difference in their ages and fundamentally different worldviews, Taryn and Holly take a chance on each other. As strangers thrown together in a foreign country, these characters learn to depend on their own extraordinary kindness, trust and attraction to guide them along the journey.
To Boldly Go relies on fate to entangle the lives of two women who never would have met anywhere but at an Italian train station. The novel then uses the travel motif to intermix their ongoing adventures with time spent getting to know each other and sharing heartfelt confidences. I admire Em Stevens as a writer and like reading these novels, but I wasn't as impressed by this one. Most of the energy involved in the book was spent on setting up the premise and revealing the characters' motivations. It seem to run out of steam by the end. I can't decide if the ending felt flat, contrived or rushed. I really did like this novel and can happily recommend it to other lesfic readers.
August 13, 2018
I read To Boldly Go by Em Stevens for the Lesfic Book Club hosted on the Lesfic Readers and Writers Slack group. I really had no idea what I was getting into with this book, but I was pleasantly surprised. It made for a great summer read.
The book took me a little while to get into. I found Taryn to be a little annoying in the beginning. But she really grew on me as the book progressed. I liked that she kept her type A personality but was willing to accommodate the needs of others. Holly was my favorite character. I liked how she was willing to roll with the punches. She also accepted Taryn just like she was and accommodated her needs the best way she could. I was a little shocked by Holly’s backstory. It wasn’t what I was expecting but I feel like it really added to her character.
My favorite part of the book was the descriptions of Italy. It made it feel like you were there with the characters. The talk about food in this book made me hungry the whole time I was reading it. I also enjoyed all of the Star Trek references splatted throughout the book.
I would recommend this book to anyone that likes destination romances.
The book took me a little while to get into. I found Taryn to be a little annoying in the beginning. But she really grew on me as the book progressed. I liked that she kept her type A personality but was willing to accommodate the needs of others. Holly was my favorite character. I liked how she was willing to roll with the punches. She also accepted Taryn just like she was and accommodated her needs the best way she could. I was a little shocked by Holly’s backstory. It wasn’t what I was expecting but I feel like it really added to her character.
My favorite part of the book was the descriptions of Italy. It made it feel like you were there with the characters. The talk about food in this book made me hungry the whole time I was reading it. I also enjoyed all of the Star Trek references splatted throughout the book.
I would recommend this book to anyone that likes destination romances.
February 7, 2018
Great story
This was a really fun story of clashing personalities and star trek references. I loved it for so many different reasons!
This was a really fun story of clashing personalities and star trek references. I loved it for so many different reasons!
October 6, 2018
After being abandoned in Italy Taryn is ready to run home and sulk in her the sadness of her dream trip coming to an epic fail. She meets Holly who decides to step up and show Taryn that a change in plans can end up being a blessing in disguise, inviting her to join her to a little weekend exploration. After a bit of a rocky start a blessing is exactly what meeting Holly turns out to be for Taryn.
This book was a slow burn for me, not only because of the gradual progression of the characters relationships but also in reference to my feelings towards the book. I will admit that in the beginning there were a few times I got a little bored and at first I found the characters to be just a little too cliche in their personality types. But just as slowly as Taryn and Holly fell in love I fell in love with them. It ended up being a wonderful story about growing and learning to take chances in your lives and with the people in them. It was about letting go of sadness and loss, and boldly going forward and living life to its fullest. The author did a great job of painting the beautiful landscape of Italy where this book was set and I was salivating at all the food they got to try. Somewhere along the way of listening this book captured me and by the end I loved it and was so glad I gave it a chance.
This was my first book by both the author and narrator and I found them to be excellently paired Missy Cambridge delivered a fantastic narration and her accents were spot on for both the international characters and the southern ones. She was a complete joy to listen to.
I say give this book a chance!
This book was a slow burn for me, not only because of the gradual progression of the characters relationships but also in reference to my feelings towards the book. I will admit that in the beginning there were a few times I got a little bored and at first I found the characters to be just a little too cliche in their personality types. But just as slowly as Taryn and Holly fell in love I fell in love with them. It ended up being a wonderful story about growing and learning to take chances in your lives and with the people in them. It was about letting go of sadness and loss, and boldly going forward and living life to its fullest. The author did a great job of painting the beautiful landscape of Italy where this book was set and I was salivating at all the food they got to try. Somewhere along the way of listening this book captured me and by the end I loved it and was so glad I gave it a chance.
This was my first book by both the author and narrator and I found them to be excellently paired Missy Cambridge delivered a fantastic narration and her accents were spot on for both the international characters and the southern ones. She was a complete joy to listen to.
I say give this book a chance!
February 26, 2019
Gosh. If I'd just realised sooner that all it would take to become less cautious and Type A was a one-night stand (sort of) while travelling, all my problems would be solved!
Ah well.
(The book: It's fine. I really don't find Taryn interesting, but more than that I'm struck that in six years of dreaming of Italy, and planning, and saving money, she hasn't learned a word of Italian or heard of Cinque Terre. Tsk tsk, Taryn. I thought you were meant to be Type A!)
Ah well.
(The book: It's fine. I really don't find Taryn interesting, but more than that I'm struck that in six years of dreaming of Italy, and planning, and saving money, she hasn't learned a word of Italian or heard of Cinque Terre. Tsk tsk, Taryn. I thought you were meant to be Type A!)
October 16, 2018
This is one of the most beautiful stories I have ever listened to. And not just because the narrator was fantastic and very engaging. Though she was. I can't lie about that at all. It's a very inspirational story that just kept me wanting to read more and more. So much so that I practically listened to the whole thing in one sitting! I would have had I not gotten up to take breaks now and then.
The only critique I have about this book is that I feel that it should have started at a scene or two of the best friend and her together before the best friend left. Just so you could get a feel for exactly what happened. Her point of view was great, but sometimes seeing it as it actually happens gives a whole new meaning to things.
I fully enjoyed this book. It had some heat, but it wasn't overbearing like some stories can be. In fact the heat actually accented the story. Which is a refreshing change. I loved it. I loved the two main characters. I fully recommend this book. I do want to stress warning of homosexuality and sexual situations.
The only critique I have about this book is that I feel that it should have started at a scene or two of the best friend and her together before the best friend left. Just so you could get a feel for exactly what happened. Her point of view was great, but sometimes seeing it as it actually happens gives a whole new meaning to things.
I fully enjoyed this book. It had some heat, but it wasn't overbearing like some stories can be. In fact the heat actually accented the story. Which is a refreshing change. I loved it. I loved the two main characters. I fully recommend this book. I do want to stress warning of homosexuality and sexual situations.
October 16, 2018
Wonderful Story & Adventure! 🇮🇹💛💚💙💜♥️🇮🇹
To Boldly Go
By: Em Stevens
Narrated by: Missy Cambridge
This was a nice change from my usual genres. Em Stevens wrote a wrote a wonderful story of two young women who met by chance while traveling in Italy. Each had their own reasons for their travels but the trip turned a different direction after they met. Great character development, I loved how they grew as they found out more about each other and in turn themselves. Lots of emotional moments but fun ones too. Love the Star Trek references in the story and title too. Thank you Em Stevens for the great story and for taking me to Italy with your detailed descriptions of the places visited. 🇮🇹
I listened to the Audible edition, Missy Cambridge does a fabulous job narrating the story and bringing the characters to life. She performed the voices of all the different characters, switching back & forth effortlessly keeping the story in a perfect flow. Parla anche italiano perfetto!! Thank you for a great listen!
Thank you 🎧AudiobookObsession
To Boldly Go
By: Em Stevens
Narrated by: Missy Cambridge
This was a nice change from my usual genres. Em Stevens wrote a wrote a wonderful story of two young women who met by chance while traveling in Italy. Each had their own reasons for their travels but the trip turned a different direction after they met. Great character development, I loved how they grew as they found out more about each other and in turn themselves. Lots of emotional moments but fun ones too. Love the Star Trek references in the story and title too. Thank you Em Stevens for the great story and for taking me to Italy with your detailed descriptions of the places visited. 🇮🇹
I listened to the Audible edition, Missy Cambridge does a fabulous job narrating the story and bringing the characters to life. She performed the voices of all the different characters, switching back & forth effortlessly keeping the story in a perfect flow. Parla anche italiano perfetto!! Thank you for a great listen!
Thank you 🎧AudiobookObsession
January 30, 2018
Fun and a bit geeky
This is a sweet story about two women who meet by chance while vacationing in Italy and end up falling for each other while helping each other deal with some fairly heavy life issues and bonding over their mutual love of Star Trek. The characters are well developed and the chemistry between them is fantastic. The Star Trek references are extremely well done, but I might just think that because I agree with Holly's choice for "favorite captain". (Not the most popular choice and the reasoning the character gives was like reading my own thoughts on the topic... Eerie!) There were a few spots where some better proofreading would have helped, but not enough to impact my enjoyment of the novel.
This is a sweet story about two women who meet by chance while vacationing in Italy and end up falling for each other while helping each other deal with some fairly heavy life issues and bonding over their mutual love of Star Trek. The characters are well developed and the chemistry between them is fantastic. The Star Trek references are extremely well done, but I might just think that because I agree with Holly's choice for "favorite captain". (Not the most popular choice and the reasoning the character gives was like reading my own thoughts on the topic... Eerie!) There were a few spots where some better proofreading would have helped, but not enough to impact my enjoyment of the novel.
March 13, 2018
Light and delightful to read.
This was a great distraction for me. It was a sweet story, with great character development. I needed this. Something not too dramatic, with characters that are flawed but actually good people.
There is an age gap, but I honestly didn't see it as an issue. The characters' level of maturity matched, so the age never appeared evident to me unless mentioned.
This is a HEA, and after reading the author's note at the end... I'm glad it is. I was fully prepared to accept a sad ending (life doesn't usually play out the way you'd want, so it would add a hard lump of realism to a plot that already touches on some serious subjects), but damn I was glad it ended the way it did.
This was a great distraction for me. It was a sweet story, with great character development. I needed this. Something not too dramatic, with characters that are flawed but actually good people.
There is an age gap, but I honestly didn't see it as an issue. The characters' level of maturity matched, so the age never appeared evident to me unless mentioned.
This is a HEA, and after reading the author's note at the end... I'm glad it is. I was fully prepared to accept a sad ending (life doesn't usually play out the way you'd want, so it would add a hard lump of realism to a plot that already touches on some serious subjects), but damn I was glad it ended the way it did.
February 16, 2022
I really liked this story for a number of reasons: great character development; wonderful setting in Italy; a mixture of culture, art, and food; and a beautiful story of the MCs growing deeply as a result of each other's acceptance and personal self-reflection and growth.
There were some interesting contrasts in the story like Trekie culture and Italian art/cuisine; the American relentless pace and Italian spontaneity; and of course, the MCs in which you had Holly, who was relaxed and ever laid back, and Taryn, who was the 'need-to-have-everything-well-planned' person in order to feel safe and in control.
I loved many of the themes explored in this book and the many lessons that were exemplified between the characters. I definitely would love to read more of Em Steven's work.
There were some interesting contrasts in the story like Trekie culture and Italian art/cuisine; the American relentless pace and Italian spontaneity; and of course, the MCs in which you had Holly, who was relaxed and ever laid back, and Taryn, who was the 'need-to-have-everything-well-planned' person in order to feel safe and in control.
I loved many of the themes explored in this book and the many lessons that were exemplified between the characters. I definitely would love to read more of Em Steven's work.
March 1, 2018
Spectacular
Em Stevens has outdone herself with To Boldly Go. This is the story of Taryn and Holly who meet in an Italian train station after Taryn's traveling companion and potential love interest deserts her three days into their Italian vacation. Taryn and Holly help each other to deal with their issues, some of which are impactful and life altering. This book really pulled at my emotions making me laugh, cry, and contemplate life. The book did have several spelling and grammar errors especially in the latter part of the book, but that did not detract from my rating. I'd highly recommend that others read this book.
Em Stevens has outdone herself with To Boldly Go. This is the story of Taryn and Holly who meet in an Italian train station after Taryn's traveling companion and potential love interest deserts her three days into their Italian vacation. Taryn and Holly help each other to deal with their issues, some of which are impactful and life altering. This book really pulled at my emotions making me laugh, cry, and contemplate life. The book did have several spelling and grammar errors especially in the latter part of the book, but that did not detract from my rating. I'd highly recommend that others read this book.
May 4, 2018
A beautiful story with every feeling you can think of
You know those cliched words from old film theater posters, “I laughed! I cried!” This book was like that. It was a wonderful, well crafted story with characters I wanted to invite to my house for dinner and crazy board games. Just read this. If you don’t like it, you have no heart! (Ok you probably do, but I won’t be inviting you to my house for dinner and crazy board games.)
You know those cliched words from old film theater posters, “I laughed! I cried!” This book was like that. It was a wonderful, well crafted story with characters I wanted to invite to my house for dinner and crazy board games. Just read this. If you don’t like it, you have no heart! (Ok you probably do, but I won’t be inviting you to my house for dinner and crazy board games.)
February 27, 2024
I really liked how the leads met each other in this book. I think that's partially because I also had a brief friendship around the same time with someone I met in a very similar way. However, the pacing was all off - the ending with IMO should have taken place a couple chapters before the end, so we could actually .
February 12, 2018
Exciting and sensual !!
What an enjoyable read. I absolutely love this author's writing style. And I definitely recommend this book. It made me feel so many different emotions. The main characters have awesome chemistry. Sizzling, exciting and fun. It has a nice plot with some interesting twist.
What an enjoyable read. I absolutely love this author's writing style. And I definitely recommend this book. It made me feel so many different emotions. The main characters have awesome chemistry. Sizzling, exciting and fun. It has a nice plot with some interesting twist.
October 15, 2018
This was my first F/F and I really liked it. I loved the story. The author did a great job describing Italy and I felt like I was there with Taryn and Holly. I enjoyed the banter and the chemistry between the two.
February 14, 2022
Very nice story
Beautiful and detailed story about new challenges and new chances. The story and the characters are nicely described it just is some cases there are too many inner thoughts. My first book of Em Stevens but definitely not the last for me.
Beautiful and detailed story about new challenges and new chances. The story and the characters are nicely described it just is some cases there are too many inner thoughts. My first book of Em Stevens but definitely not the last for me.
March 2, 2022
Taryn and Holly are two vastly different women. They meet under the worst circumstances. They work together mostly as adversaries to make the best of a situation. Age gap, close proximity play a big part in the story. Very good book. It left me wanting to see into the future.
January 31, 2018
Unexected
I really enjoyed this book. Not at all what I expected. Some twists and turns that kept things interesting. Good job!
I really enjoyed this book. Not at all what I expected. Some twists and turns that kept things interesting. Good job!
August 4, 2018
Well, they did indeed boldly go and I went with them. A really good read with a glass of white wine in the sunshine. Thank you.
January 1, 2019
Surprise vacation fling with an age difference and, on Holly's part, a background of grief. The HEA was nice but felt as if it were grafted on to the original story.
February 16, 2022
A fun read. A pair of very engaging protagonists.
March 15, 2022
It was an alright start
The book started alright but I really detest the ending. Basically it's very open ended with no wrap up whatsoever.
The book started alright but I really detest the ending. Basically it's very open ended with no wrap up whatsoever.
April 1, 2018
Dunno but this did not work for me...found the first 60 percent the lead irritating and then skimmed the rest just to get through it
April 21, 2018
Sweet and a little nerdy in the best way. Plus feels like you’re touring Italy too
I’m not a big fan of romance novels and am also heterosexual but I loved this book! The characters , the setting, the story, Star Trek references, all of it. Great read!
I’m not a big fan of romance novels and am also heterosexual but I loved this book! The characters , the setting, the story, Star Trek references, all of it. Great read!
October 14, 2019
Great storyline with characters that give everything to you as the listener. Performance was fantastic, Missy has a very expressive voice.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews