Eleanor’s Travels is a really nice, relaxing book that’s all about travel. It follows the story of Eleanor on her trip around the world, seeing new places and meeting new people. Here’s my book review of Eleanor’s Travels by Aisha Urooj.
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Overview of Eleanor’s Travels
Eleanor’s Travels follows the story of Eleanor, a 21 year old woman, as she travels the world. I won’t give any major spoilers in my book review of Eleanor’s Travels by Aisha Urooj, so you can enjoy reading it for yourself first!
Eleanor is travelling the world solo, having been given money from her parents. She travels to many places, including Australia, Brazil, Italy, Spain, Egypt, Japan and more. Each chapter of this book focuses on a new place that Eleanor travels to. Although she misses her best friend, Cassie, from home, Eleanor meets many new people on her travels and has many adventures. She makes some great friends. And throughout the book, there’s the underlying question of whether she’ll find love on her travels.
This book is part 2 of a trilogy. However, it’s easy to follow this book even if you haven’t read the first book in the series. I only read this one, and didn’t feel like I needed to have read the first before reading it.
If you’d like to read this book, click this link or the picture below to buy from Amazon (affiliate).
What I liked
I enjoyed reading this book. It had a really easy to read writing style, perfect for a relaxing sunny afternoon. The writing made it feel like you were in Eleanor’s head, and I got a good idea of her personality from the way it was written. She was a likeable character, and her character developed throughout the story as she learned more about herself and the world.
I loved the descriptions of each place in the world. I’d been to some of the locations, so I enjoyed reading those and remembering when I was seeing the sights mentioned in the book. There were also a lot of places mentioned that I haven’t been to. And I found it inspiring to read about those. All the places described sound amazing and I’d love to travel to all of them. It definitely inspired me to start planning my next adventure so I can visit more of the places Eleanor went to!
Eleanor’s Travels is a self-published book, and I liked that. I enjoyed reading a self-published book, and feeling like I was supporting a new author. There was something about it being self-published that made it feel a bit more personal and authentic – like I knew it hadn’t been through a load of editors, so the author’s personality could really shine through.
What I wasn’t so sure about
There were a few parts of this book that I wasn’t so keen on. One part was that Eleanor just got given a large amount of money from her parents, which meant she was able to travel the world for a year at age 21. However, most 21 year olds don’t have super rich parents who are willing to support them. It just felt a little bit unrelatable for the majority of readers, including myself. I think I would have related to the character more if that had felt a bit more realistic.
There were also some encounters with local people or other travellers that felt a bit unrealistic. I know from my own solo travels that it can be difficult to meet people. But for Eleanor, it seemed like she only said a sentence or two to some people, and then was spending the day with them or going back to their homes to meet their families. There were lots of examples like this where, although it made a nice story, I would have preferred it to feel a bit more realistic.
A lot of the chapters felt quite short as well. Often there was one chapter per country. So there was just some description of the country, maybe one short conversation with someone she met, and then we’d move onto the next chapter and next country. I think sometimes I’d have appreciated spending a bit more time in each country so we could really get to know that country and the people Eleanor was meeting. But I appreciate that would have made the book a lot longer, as I also enjoyed the variety of countries mentioned.
Would I recommend Eleanor’s Travels by Aisha Urooj?
I’d definitely recommend Eleanor’s Travels by Aisha Urooj. It was a nice, fun, relaxing read. It’s a perfect book to take on holiday with you and read on the beach or by the pool. Or alternatively, it’s a nice book to read at home on a cold winter’s day, as you can daydream about being in the sunny locations mentioned in the book. Eleanor’s adventures in all these countries definitely inspired me to want to travel more. I definitely want to visit all the places mentioned in the book! So if you’re looking for an easy to read book that will inspire you to travel, this book is perfect.
If you like the sound of this book, buy yourself a copy for this weekend here! (affiliate)
If this book has inspired you to think about travel, it’s time to start planning your next trip! The UK is a beautiful place to travel, with beautiful scenery in Wales and Scotland. Or you could visit some of the amazing cities in Europe, such as Prague, Berlin or Vienna. The USA is full of amazing places as well, like the Florida Keys, San Francisco and the Olympic Mountains. Start planning your travels and live life with no regrets!
