Off the Map

The Lost Girls #2

by Jane Tara

Hana is French. Actually, she’s Australian-Japanese. She just chooses to be French, and she has waited her whole life to visit the city of her dreams. Paris! But for Hana and her friends, Paris becomes the stuff of nightmares with everything going wrong from the moment they arrive.
Enter Drago, the gorgeous Slovenian guy they keep bumping into. Drago hears about their run of bad luck and invites them to stay in his family’s hotel in Slovenia. But for Hana, there are two problems with this:
Firstly, Ljubljana isn’t Paris...
And... Drago is not French.
Hana is outvoted by her friends, who think an unplanned Slovenian adventure will be the best way to salvage their trip. So she finds herself in a country she didn’t even know existed, with a guy who might just be everything she ever wanted, learning the greatest lesson of her life...
SometimeS you need to get loSt to find yourSelf.
• 5 friends
• 8 countries
• 1 amazing adventure!
An exciting new series about friendship, travel and love...

215 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 8, 2019

About the author

Jane Tara has published over a hundred children's books, several plays and five novels. She's a daily meditator, a sucker for a rescue mutt and, most of all, a front-row cheerleader for her two sons. She spent thirteen years wandering the world and lived in five countries but is now happily at home in Sydney.

For more information, and Jane's musings about meditation, manifestation and more, follow her on Substack.

Reviews

[Tegan Liddell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved Off The Map by Jane Tara. It was a great mix of travel and romance. I couldn't put the book down as I wanted to know what happened next. I loved reading about Slovenia and Paris. I can't wait to read the rest of the Lost Girls series.

[Lois Flores · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lost Girls Off The Map is a joyful, messy, and unexpectedly thoughtful travel adventure that captures exactly how plans fall apart, and how the best experiences often begin because of it. Hana is a wonderfully relatable protagonist. Her obsession with Paris, and her firm belief that becoming “French” will somehow complete her, feels both funny and deeply human. Watching that dream unravel almost immediately sets the tone for the book: nothing goes to plan, and that’s the point. The early Paris mishaps are chaotic and entertaining, but they also subtly highlight Hana’s rigidity and need for control. The shift from Paris to Slovenia is where the story truly comes alive. Ljubljana, with its slower pace and warmth, becomes a surprising contrast to Hana’s imagined version of Europe. Drago could easily have been a cliché love interest, but he’s written with sincerity and charm, and his quiet confidence provides a grounding presence amid the group’s chaos. Their interactions feel organic, awkward in the best way, and genuinely earned. What I loved most was the friendship dynamic. The five girls feel distinct, flawed, and real, supportive one moment, infuriating the next, exactly like real travel companions. Jane Tara captures the tension, humor, and bonding that comes from being young, broke, and far from home. Beneath the fun travel narrative is a gentle but powerful message about identity, expectations, and letting go of who you think you should be. Hana’s growth doesn’t come from finding the perfect city or the perfect man, but from allowing herself to be changed by where she is. Light, heartfelt, and quietly insightful, this book is perfect for anyone who’s ever planned their life down to the last detail only to discover that getting lost might be the best thing that ever happens to you.

[silene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Travel fiction is awesome!

Off The Map was the second, inspiring, fun and well-paced story in the Lost Girls series, about a group of girls travelling in Europe. Off The Map was about them exploring Paris. Or not??

Told from the perspective of one of the girls, Hana, Australian-Japenese, who set high expectations for Paris. With an interesting cultural background and a strong interest in interior design, she wanted Paris to be the place where she enjoyed her passion truly. But everything falls apart when her hotel is nothing compared to what she ordered and Paris brings along many disappointments.

However, as things look very bleak for Hana, who is stressed because of her unmet expectations and family/friendship problems, the girls meet a 'hot guy' (I'm being generous and closing my eyes on this annoying stereotype) named Drago who offers them a holiday in Ljublana instead of Paris.

Now I agree with Hana: that sounds like a freaky plan. I mean, this hot guy who could be anyone. But the other girls put that aside. "Hot guy and beautiful city!!! AWESOME!" Well for Hana (and me) it wasn't and it took a lot of convincing to get her on board (me too, haha). But she realises a little later that she actually likes this Drago (he's quite safe and reliable, phew!) and they fall in love, they blush for a few pages, kiss, etc, etc. [ Typical YA romance ]

I liked the group dynamics of the characters. They seemed like a cool gang, friendly with each other but also quite diverse. There were ups and downs in their relationships and I could see this happening in real life. [ Awesome characters ]

Overall, I enjoyed this book --> 4.5 stars. The romance was very close to Insta-love, but what else do you expect from a short-ish, light-hearted travel book? This was better than I thought it would be, and I will read more travel fiction in the future. Off The Map was a perfect, fun read to kick back and unwind with during the holidays.