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The Holiday Adventure Club #4
May Day in Morocco
Morocco in spring time--colorful markets by day, balmy desert nights, and romance galore.
Lucy Landish is hitting her stride professionally: her Holiday Adventure Club travels have taken her to Italy, Scotland, and the French West Indies, but now it's time to take another travel group abroad, this time to Africa during Morocco's annual rose festival. Along for the trip is a world famous rockstar who wants a break from the limelight; a dying man whose last wish is to to make peace with his adult children; and--inexplicably--Lucy's ex-husband, who'd like to make peace with her.
The series that takes readers around the world and leaves you feeling hopeful about love and life is back for another installment, this time with all the exotic foods and bright colors that make Morocco magical.
Lucy Landish is hitting her stride professionally: her Holiday Adventure Club travels have taken her to Italy, Scotland, and the French West Indies, but now it's time to take another travel group abroad, this time to Africa during Morocco's annual rose festival. Along for the trip is a world famous rockstar who wants a break from the limelight; a dying man whose last wish is to to make peace with his adult children; and--inexplicably--Lucy's ex-husband, who'd like to make peace with her.
The series that takes readers around the world and leaves you feeling hopeful about love and life is back for another installment, this time with all the exotic foods and bright colors that make Morocco magical.
- GenresHoliday
169 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 25, 2022
26 people are currently reading
81 people want to read
About the author
Stephanie Taylor
43 books116 followersStephanie Taylor writes a romantic comedy series about a fictional island called "Christmas Key," as well as several other standalone romance, YA, and middle grade titles.
You can check out her website at: www.redbirdsandrabbits.com
You can check out her website at: www.redbirdsandrabbits.com
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 6, 2022
I had some issues with this book. I still enjoyed the story and the format, but there were things going on in the book that really interfered with my enjoyment.
One problem I have had with the series so far has been the relationship between Lucy and her mother. One of the two reasons Lucy left Buffalo and her job as a medical examiner was because her mother's agoraphobia was getting worse and she was developing dementia to the point that she couldn't really take care of herself. So Lucy shops online for groceries for her mother--from several hundred miles away, pays her bills, liaises with emergency services who are called out on occasion, but refuses to visit her to see how things are going. While I appreciate Lucy's need to get away, leaving a parent living with worsening dementia on their own, with no one available to actually check on her is incredibly selfish and irresponsible. In this book, Lucy's aunt has stepped up to take care of her sister and Nick has volunteered to go up to Buffalo to get things under control while Lucy is on her trip. That's all great, but it still doesn't negate Lucy's responsibility toward her mother, whether it's fair or not, and the way this is handled throughout the series makes me more uncomfortable with each new book.
For someone with a major role in the story, I wasn't ever able to get a feeling for Deacon. Yes, he was a superstar who was on this trip to recover from a bad breakup, but he just wasn't more than a cardboard character who occasionally spouted dialog of great insight. He kept saying he felt like Maple's big brother, but I didn't find his refusal to call her by her name (always going with some version of it, like "Mapplethorp" or "Mapes" or "Maple Pancakes" to be affectionate, nor his lack of respect for her role as he insisted on going off on his own, making her job as his assistant that much harder. His taking the two middle-aged fans who were on the tour to bed just made him less relatable, particularly since after their "walk of shame" out of his tent in the morning, the two fans basically disappeared from the story.
Maple's story was really badly mishandled. Fairly early in the story she muses about how she's never been attracted to anyone and hasn't been happy about it, but hasn't gone for counselling either. It comes out through her own memories that she was lured out of her home when she was 14 by a couple of boys and violently raped, but nothing was done about it. She then went on to be a personal assistant to a number of abusive stars, culminating in Deacon, whose treatment of her, while better than previous employers, really isn't significantly better, just more subtle. Then she talks to Lucy about how she's never felt attracted to anyone, Lucy says some wise things and suggests counselling and suddenly Maple is feeling more hopeful. Then on the trip to the desert, she makes a connection with one of the trek leaders, who is close to her age and who, by treating her respectfully, makes her feel safe, and suddenly she's well on her way to recovery, throwing off her all-black wardrobe for bright colours, and agreeing to see a counselor. And Omar, who has been responsible for this sea-change, is never mentioned again--no indication that she is going to keep in touch with him ever again; he played his part and can now fade into the background. The whole storyline brushed over and trivialized the experiences of women who have been sexually assaulted. I can understand why Taylor didn't want to delve into it too deeply in what is supposed to be a fairly light read, but in that case, don't try to address it at all. Give the character a simpler, less traumatic issue to be dealt with.
I really disliked the entire storyline with Jason, Lucy's ex-husband. His reason for being there was to ask her to sign over the inheritance she had received from his aunt, with whom she'd had a very close relationship. He proved that he was the selfish, dreadful man that she had talked about in the previous books in the series and I didn't find it necessary for him to make an appearance at all. The Executor of the estate should have contacted her immediately upon the aunt's death and this all could have been handled the same way Taylor has dealt with Lucy's problems with her mother.
The one storyline that I did think was handled well, and which pretty much saved the book for me, was that of Corbin and his children Jander and Nishelle. Having fairly recently been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, this trip is to give him the opportunity to tell his children about his disease and to let them know that, because he saw his uncle die from the disease, at the point in the future when he felt the time was right, he was opting for assisted suicide. Taylor did an excellent job of portraying the effects the disease was having on him so far, his care for his children, and their love for him.
One problem I have had with the series so far has been the relationship between Lucy and her mother. One of the two reasons Lucy left Buffalo and her job as a medical examiner was because her mother's agoraphobia was getting worse and she was developing dementia to the point that she couldn't really take care of herself. So Lucy shops online for groceries for her mother--from several hundred miles away, pays her bills, liaises with emergency services who are called out on occasion, but refuses to visit her to see how things are going. While I appreciate Lucy's need to get away, leaving a parent living with worsening dementia on their own, with no one available to actually check on her is incredibly selfish and irresponsible. In this book, Lucy's aunt has stepped up to take care of her sister and Nick has volunteered to go up to Buffalo to get things under control while Lucy is on her trip. That's all great, but it still doesn't negate Lucy's responsibility toward her mother, whether it's fair or not, and the way this is handled throughout the series makes me more uncomfortable with each new book.
For someone with a major role in the story, I wasn't ever able to get a feeling for Deacon. Yes, he was a superstar who was on this trip to recover from a bad breakup, but he just wasn't more than a cardboard character who occasionally spouted dialog of great insight. He kept saying he felt like Maple's big brother, but I didn't find his refusal to call her by her name (always going with some version of it, like "Mapplethorp" or "Mapes" or "Maple Pancakes" to be affectionate, nor his lack of respect for her role as he insisted on going off on his own, making her job as his assistant that much harder. His taking the two middle-aged fans who were on the tour to bed just made him less relatable, particularly since after their "walk of shame" out of his tent in the morning, the two fans basically disappeared from the story.
Maple's story was really badly mishandled. Fairly early in the story she muses about how she's never been attracted to anyone and hasn't been happy about it, but hasn't gone for counselling either. It comes out through her own memories that she was lured out of her home when she was 14 by a couple of boys and violently raped, but nothing was done about it. She then went on to be a personal assistant to a number of abusive stars, culminating in Deacon, whose treatment of her, while better than previous employers, really isn't significantly better, just more subtle. Then she talks to Lucy about how she's never felt attracted to anyone, Lucy says some wise things and suggests counselling and suddenly Maple is feeling more hopeful. Then on the trip to the desert, she makes a connection with one of the trek leaders, who is close to her age and who, by treating her respectfully, makes her feel safe, and suddenly she's well on her way to recovery, throwing off her all-black wardrobe for bright colours, and agreeing to see a counselor. And Omar, who has been responsible for this sea-change, is never mentioned again--no indication that she is going to keep in touch with him ever again; he played his part and can now fade into the background. The whole storyline brushed over and trivialized the experiences of women who have been sexually assaulted. I can understand why Taylor didn't want to delve into it too deeply in what is supposed to be a fairly light read, but in that case, don't try to address it at all. Give the character a simpler, less traumatic issue to be dealt with.
I really disliked the entire storyline with Jason, Lucy's ex-husband. His reason for being there was to ask her to sign over the inheritance she had received from his aunt, with whom she'd had a very close relationship. He proved that he was the selfish, dreadful man that she had talked about in the previous books in the series and I didn't find it necessary for him to make an appearance at all. The Executor of the estate should have contacted her immediately upon the aunt's death and this all could have been handled the same way Taylor has dealt with Lucy's problems with her mother.
The one storyline that I did think was handled well, and which pretty much saved the book for me, was that of Corbin and his children Jander and Nishelle. Having fairly recently been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, this trip is to give him the opportunity to tell his children about his disease and to let them know that, because he saw his uncle die from the disease, at the point in the future when he felt the time was right, he was opting for assisted suicide. Taylor did an excellent job of portraying the effects the disease was having on him so far, his care for his children, and their love for him.
July 2, 2022
Holiday Adventure Club-4
As Lucy sets off to Morocco for May Day with another charming cast of characters she leaves z budding romance with Nick back in Florida as he helps her deal with her ailing mother in Buffalo. Lucy comes to terms with several pieces of her life including her ex his and who shows up on the trip with a proposition for her. Lucy comes into her own on this adventure and shares I treating characters along the way. A family with a secret illness, a rock star hiding out and more. Nkw...on to Figi!
As Lucy sets off to Morocco for May Day with another charming cast of characters she leaves z budding romance with Nick back in Florida as he helps her deal with her ailing mother in Buffalo. Lucy comes to terms with several pieces of her life including her ex his and who shows up on the trip with a proposition for her. Lucy comes into her own on this adventure and shares I treating characters along the way. A family with a secret illness, a rock star hiding out and more. Nkw...on to Figi!
February 13, 2024
personal problems aside
Lucy is dealing with many things going into the Moroccan trip. She is dealing with Dev, Finding out her ex is on the trip, her mother is not doing better, and wondering how she will be able to do her job while dealing with her personal life. I honestly felt for Lucy this entire story because she just didn’t know how to deal with anything. I am hoping she handles it better in the next book.
Lucy is dealing with many things going into the Moroccan trip. She is dealing with Dev, Finding out her ex is on the trip, her mother is not doing better, and wondering how she will be able to do her job while dealing with her personal life. I honestly felt for Lucy this entire story because she just didn’t know how to deal with anything. I am hoping she handles it better in the next book.
September 13, 2024
Lucy runs the Holiday Adventure Club and this time she takes a group of travellers to Morrocco to ride on camels and experience life in an idyllic setting. A man is travelling with his two adult children as he has news to tell them and he wants this to be a special occasion for them to remember. Two older women travel together and a rock star with his assistant. A most enjoyable read
March 21, 2023
Really enjoyed this one. Lots going on in the story and I felt like I was one of the guests on the trip to Morocco - especially the overnight camel desert trip.
Looking forward to starting the next book in the series and travelling to Fiji
Looking forward to starting the next book in the series and travelling to Fiji
October 21, 2025
I was surprised by how much I liked this!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews