Lovingly depicted by the author, Greece (and its food in particular) seems irresistible. Our heroine and her erstwhile romance is much less interesting. The major problem is that Natalie comes off as unfocused and undisciplined -- not so much OCD as immature. Schoolwork comes last and Natalie and her girlfriend spend the entire vacation sneaking off and having private adventures without any regard for chaperones or a budget. It actually would have been a lot more interesting for Natalie to get busted on one of her escapades. It would have provided a small dramatic edge to the story, which otherwise seems trite. Despite some "third act" drama (a term actually used by the author herself), this is largely a travel guidebook to Greece and its more picturesque spots. It excels at enumerating the must-see places and describing in mouth-watering details the cuisine. The romance and Natalie's behavioral challenges are far less compelling and less fully enumerated.
Friday, August 14, 2026
Love in Ruins, by Auriane Desombre
Natalie is spending a month this summer in Greece on a high school trip. She's supposed to be studying the cultural antiquities and working on a project. But instead she's distracted by Melanie, the pretty daughter of one of the instructors on the program. It all comes at the worst possible time: Natalie is trying to sort out having been recently diagnosed formally with OCD and how, because of her condition, relationships always seem to defeat her. Every romantic attachment she has seems doomed and there is no reason why this new one should be any different. But under the hot Mediterranean sun, anything seems possible.
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