The Wandering Season Review

About the Book

 Unraveling the tangled roots of her family takes her places she never expected.

Veronica Stratton, a specialty food broker with a business riding close to the margins, visits her parents in idyllic Estes Park for Christmas. With the holiday comes a DNA test from her younger sister and an engagement ring from her longtime boyfriend. The test confirms her secret she's adopted. The ring rattles her even more, and she realizes that she might not be as ready to commit as she'd thought.

With so much that she'd counted on suddenly falling apart, Veronica is looking for an escape. Inspired by her best friend, she plans to go to Europe to see four of the places listed on her DNA ancestry report. She treks to County Mayo in Ireland; the Dordogne region of France; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Tuscany in Italy. She hopes to learn a bit about where her family lived and to make more connections for her struggling business, but she finds that each stop brings her visions of her ancestors that raise more questions than they answer. And among those pressing questions is how brooding Irish restauranteur Niall Callaghan will fit into her visions for the future. (Goodreads)

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My Thoughts

I was hooked by the premise of this story and I started in with pretty high expectations. This novel had a bit of an Eat Pray Love vibe where Veronica travels to the different countries and finds romance and food etc. The first half the book is the best and I enjoyed it immensely. The ancestry twist is interesting and while there is humor there is a lot of heart between family and also friends. There is an adoption thread that takes unexpected twists and turns that I wasn't expecting. The last part of the book moved a bit slower for me but was still enjoyable. There is a little bit of a time travel element in the form of "visions" of the past. Is this realistic? Of course not. Yet, isn't this fiction? I enjoyed it because it is a unique idea and just imagine if you could see your ancestors from so long ago?! The food conversations and details are delightful and add so much to the story. Be warned, this book will probably make you hungry! Overall I found this to be an enjoyable read with some fresh character perspectives. 

Four Stars.

"I received this book from NetGalley for free. All opinions are my own and I was not required to write a positive review."