Blog Tour: I Will Follow Him

If you’re in the mood for a sunny, summery chick lit novella to while away an afternoon by the pool, then look no further!

Book: I Will Follow Him by Holly Tierney-Bedord

Read before: No

Ownership: E-ARC provided by author via Rachel’s Random Resources. All opinions my own.

A bachelor party on a cruise ship. What could go wrong?

When private detective Francie is hired to spy on a groom-to-be as he and his bachelor party set sail for the Caribbean, she thinks she’s landed herself a week of paid vacation. Between lounging in the sun and sipping margaritas, she just needs to–best case scenario–report back that he’s on the up and up, or–the unfortunate, more likely scenario–snap a few photos of her target in compromising positions, buy a box of sympathy chocolates for her client, and then collect her pay along with a nice golden suntan.

Blame it on the island breezes or the alcohol, but within hours of setting sail, Francie’s leisurely vacation gets complicated when she starts making careless mistakes. Like accidentally becoming friends with the groom and falling for his best man.

Can she get herself and her mission back on track, or has she blown her cover and possibly even her career?

This novella is the written equivalent of sun, sea and sangria! We meet Francie as she orders an enormous cocktail at the bar on a cruise ship, then settles down to spy on the man she’s been hired to follow, but she can’t help being noticed and accidentally becoming friends with his group. This really sets the tone for the book, with Francie’s endearing awkwardness throwing her into hilarious situations – she may be a private detective, but she’s not great at keeping that privacy element! It’s a lot of fun to watch her desperately try to get her job back on track, as her horrible client keeps phoning and her mark’s best friend keeps getting more and more attractive…

I breezed through this in an afternoon – it’s a very easy read, and would be perfect for whiling away a few hours in a hammock somewhere. It will definitely make you want a drink with a little umbrella in it! The romance is very sweet and believable, and despite both the shortness of the story and the shortness of the cruise, the characters feel like they have space to breathe and work out what they want. It’s definitely not a slow burn, but it doesn’t feel at all rushed, and Francie still has plenty of time to focus on getting her life together, rather than just being overwhelmed by the relationship. As things come to a head, you’re really cheering for her to succeed and be happy.

I have to admit, I don’t read much contemporary romance, but this is exactly the kind of fun and funny read that I really enjoy on holiday! If you like the sound of this, you can find it on Amazon here – and there are seven more books in the Oceanic Dreams series, so there’s plenty more fun to be had… Four out of five stars!