Blog Tour: Five Go Glamping by Liz Tipping

Title: Five Go Glamping

Author: Liz Tipping

Publisher: Carina

Publication Date: 28 August 2015

Blog/website: www.liztipping.com

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Thanks to NetGalley and Carina for providing me with a copy of this book for review.

I loved Enid Blyton’s The Famous Five series when I was younger and, as such, I instantly loved the title for  Five Go Glamping.

In choosing to read Five Go Glamping, I was expecting a light-hearted, easy-to-read book and that is exactly what I got!

Fiona is sensible and responsible. She lives her life with a determination to meet her ‘five year plan’ and is virtually driving herself crazy with her need to follow that plan. This is despite working in a job she hates, whilst being in a long-term relationship with a man she barely sees. Her life consists of sharing meals on Instagram rather than with her boyfriend, Connor. Life is really not so good. So when things start to unravel at work, and Fiona starts to worry about becoming a mad-cat lady, she jumps at the chance for a free holiday with her best friends, Sinead, Steph and Kirk (plus Kirk’s new puppy, Brian Harvey). What could be better than a few nights  away glamping in the relaxing countryside? It quickly becomes clear that the holiday is not exactly as they hoped, being at a new-age retreat and without any WiFi signal or hair straighteners! Fortunately, Fiona quickly finds the local pub and the landlord, Sam, following which she starts to enjoy her holiday…

With regards to the characters, I initially found Fiona to be somewhat annoying with her ‘five year plan’. However, once out in the countryside, she proves herself to be a funny and likeable main character. Her thoughts and concerns are realistic, if not slightly exaggerated. Sam, is the opposite of Fiona. He is slightly gruff, disorganised, has a dislike of technology and an apparent disdain for ‘townies’, despite him previously being one himself. As a reader, I didn’t learn much about the supporting characters, however I got a strong sense of the relationship between Fiona and her friends.

There are a lot of humorous moments, such as the odd shower lady and getting stuck in the mud, all of which were in keeping with the overall light-hearted and fun feel to the story. There is also the humorous element provided by the hippies, with weird trousers, grizzly beards and an abundance of mung beans!

There is a romantic angle to the story as Fiona finds herself stuck between boyfriend, Connor, and pub landlord, Sam. The romance element develops slowly and is very sweet. Through spending time with Sam, Fiona learns that a bit of spontenaity in life is not a bad thing, not everything needs to be planned! She also learns to appreciate life through her own eyes and not through a camera lens. However, is this new outlook on life enough to tear Fiona away from her old life in the city and from Connor?

Overally, this is an energetic and lively story, packed full of friendship, romance, mishaps and laughs. I raced through the book and I enjoyed Liz Tipping’s style of writing, which made me want to keep on reading long after I should have been in bed!

Five Go Glamping is a fun, lively and entertaining story, perfect for a holiday read.

Amazon UK- Kindle: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00YALQPDQ

I’m Liz Tipping and write romantic comedies.