This blog post may contain affiliate links. If you buy something that I recommend, I will get a small commission. Purchase through these links will not cost you anything extra, and will help me cover my book blog’s expenses. Thank you!
Book Review of Girl Abroad By Elle Kennedy—A Book I’d Sell My Soul To Erase From My Brain
Synopsis of Girl Abroad By Elle Kennedy
When nineteen-year-old Abbey Bly gets the opportunity to study abroad for a year in London, it’s the perfect chance to finally slip out from under the thumb of her beloved but overbearing retired rock star father. She’s ready to be free, to discover herself – but first off, to meet the girls she’s rooming with.
That is until she arrives at her gorgeous new flat to discover those roommates are all boys. Charming, funny, insufferably attractive boys. And off-limits, with a rule against fraternizing between housemates after the unwanted drama with the previous girl.
Abbey has never considered herself a rulebreaker. But soon, she’s lying to her father about her living situation and falling for not one, but two men she can’t have: her rugby player roommate and a broody musician with a girlfriend.
Not to mention, her research for school has gotten her tangled in a deeply hidden scandal of a high nobility family, surrounding her with secrets on all sides.
If there’s any hope of Abbey finding love, answers, or a future in London, she’ll have to decide which rules – and hearts – might be worth breaking . . .
Genres/Categories
Young Adult/New Adult (YA/NA) Contemporary Romance, Drama, Mild Mystery, Moderate Spice.
Trigger Warnings
Alcohol use, manipulation, attempted assault, mention of death/abandonment.
Some Tropes
Forced proximity, found family, mistaken identity, love triangle, scandal, forbidden love, the other woman (eek), instalove, Mary Sue.
Review of Girl Abroad
Daughter of a former rock star as a protagonist, a study-abroad program set in one of the most majestic cities in the world, a misconception leading to roommates of the opposite sex, AND the promise of a scandalous mystery. Not to mention, a cute cover to go along with these.
Girl Abroad By Elle Kennedy has all the makings of a literary tsunami of a contemporary YA/NA romance novel.
But what begins as a promise of an incredibly scintillating and perhaps even titillating adventure ends up being the complete reverse.
Here’s why:
Abbey Bly’s Character Arc Gets an F
I get Abbey’s reasons for studying abroad. She wants to make new memories in a setting where they aren’t eclipsed by her father’s adventures; London is a fresh canvas.
She vows not to mention her father to her new “friends”. But 5 pages later, she does the exact opposite, practically shouting out into the world that her father is a famous rockstar.
And then there’s another page in Girl Abroad where Abbey examines herself and proclaims that she’s “not like other girls”, so she’s “surprised” that she has several guys pining for her.
That internal monologue came off as slightly unfeminist, and highly unfair to the “other girls”.
It felt similar to when I watched Netflix’s Damsel (Check out my review here).
If all the “other girls” have rock-star fathers and love triangles, then maybe I live on Mars.
Love Interests or Lust Interests?
Love triangles frustrate me. I always seem to root for the person that isn’t going to be chosen.
But in terms of Abbey’s romantic prospects, there wasn’t much to root for.
Both were drop-dead gorgeous, demanding attention wherever they went. And they were incredibly gifted in matters of the bedroom.
Beyond one’s fascination with rugby and his penchant for walking around shirtless, and the other’s desire to travel, Abbey’s lust interests weren’t explored at all.
In the 400+ pages that Girl Abroad has, not once did Abbey have a substantial, meaningful conversation with either of them.
Having so many pages (or a year in the storyline) was enough opportunity for her to sit down and have a heart-to-heart with one of them or both.
There would have been some evidence that Abbey is genuinely in love with these men if they had engaged in frank conversations.
Only sexual chemistry isn’t something to cheer about.
And the amount of times the word infuriating is used to describe a certain lust interest is infuriating.
The less-than-intriguing supporting characters and mystery plot
Have I mentioned that Girl Abroad is over 400 pages long? Oh—it also has an epilogue.
Yet, our supporting characters weren’t given more than a name, and stereotypical traits such as using “luv”, and “darling” in almost every sentence.
The minor mystery plotline came with its side of scandals and suspense.
Even so, however intriguing it may have felt at the beginning of the novel, it wasn’t done justice. It felt incredibly anticlimactic.
Final Thoughts on Girl Abroad
While Girl Abroad had its flaws regarding characterization and plotting, Elle Kennedy’s writing did stand out.
She has a strong, almost enviable ability to string the most relatable and beautiful paragraphs together.
I genuinely enjoyed her reflections on what it means to engage in self-discovery via Abbey’s character.
This is also not the first time I’ve read a book by Elle Kennedy.
After seeing all of the excitement on BookTok, BookTube, and Bookstagram, I gave in and read The Deal (A book from Elle Kennedy’s Off-Campus series).
While it wasn’t a favorite, I found it the perfect balance of sweet, entertaining, spicy, and insightful.
So, as someone who has had a taste of Elle Kennedy’s writing AND as a frequent consumer of YA or New Adult Contemporary Romances, especially ones set in other countries for my required dose of wanderlust, Girl Abroad did not hit the mark for me.
That is not to assert that you might not like it fellow readers. Taste is subjective, after all.
Girl Abroad is being adapted into a TV series
Girl Abroad is going to be adapted into a TV series by one of the showrunners of Bridgerton—Chris Van Dusen to be exact.
Since I adore Bridgerton, I’m hoping that the screen adaptation of Girl Abroad will surpass the text.
Girl Abroad By Elle Kennedy in a Nutshell
Pros
Relatable writing, quotable, fast-paced, has a well-done spice that may appeal to some readers.
Cons
Lack of exploration of characters, anticlimactic mystery plot; the romance felt predictable and undesirable.
Recommended for
Girl Abroad is great for anyone looking for a book set in historic England that is sure to get you out of a reading slump. Also, the whole “accidental flatshare with boys” concept reminded me of XO, Kitty.
So Girl Abroad could be a good book to read if you loved XO, Kitty (if you are a fan of the TATBILB universe created by Jenny Han and want more books like XO, Kitty, click here!)
