Continuing our trend of ARCs lately, I was given the chance to read Under the Influence by Karina May.
Karina is an Aussie author, and this was (to my trash-can memory, at least) my first novel that takes place in Australia (and Peru, too!). In Under the Influence, we follow Louise, tight-laced and no nonsense banker, as she's given the opportunity of a lifetime: the chance to travel with an Insta-famous influencer to Machu Picchu in Peru! The other half of this dual-POV story follows Blake, Tinder-viral and looking to use his newfound--er--notoriety to do good for others by way of bringing clean water to the same areas of Peru that Louise will be visiting. During their not-so-cute meet cute in a bar in Sydney, the two clash, and, well...you know how we love a good enemies-to-lovers around here.
I really thought this was a cute story, especially because I loved all the little nuances of an Australian writer versus an American writer. The slight differences in spelling, and learning Australian slang, was really enjoyable for this American girl to experience. I do have to point out that it felt to me like the setup of this story drug on quite a bit longer than necessary...my Kindle tracked that I was 48% through the book before much of anything actually really happened to the main characters. Sure, their lives and background had to be set up, but that could have, in my humble opinion, been done more quickly. Since the buildup took so long, the ending was, unfortunately, very abrupt.
All in all, Under the Influence was a cute, quick read that fans of a cute, low-stakes romance will enjoy!
Love always,
Mandy
