Book review of Clancy Goes To France by Emma Kate Herbert

My review today is for Clancy Goes To France: A Mother and Daughter Take On A 3,000 Mile Road Trip In Continental Europe With A Vintage Car (Travels With Lola On The Back Roads Book 1) by Emma Kate Herbert. This memoir about an unusual road trip in France ticked so many of my boxes I couldn’t wait to start reading it.

Clancy Goes To France

We join Emma, her 3 year old daughter Lola and their 40 year old Peugeot (Clancy) as they make a 3000 mile road trip around France, recording what they see every day to share with Emma’s father whose MS and cancer mean he is unable to return to France. I felt it was a lovely thing to share her experiences while fundraising and raising awareness about MS along the way. I loved the author’s passion for her subject, her determination and her honesty about the ups and downs she experienced and although I’ve read many travel memoirs in France this one really does offer something a bit different.

The responsibility on Emma’s shoulders as the only adult in charge of a vintage car, a three year old, plus all the driving, route planning and decision-making made for an exhausting challenge where she often struggled to live up to her own expectations of her dream trip. I think she did a marvellous job and really shouldn’t be disappointed at what they failed to see, as from personal experience no matter how many road trips you take in France, there is always more to see.

The pace of the book was good and her descriptions of France kept me interested, but I did struggle a bit with the flow, as I felt there was a lot of unnecessary repetition in the narrative. While this never stopped me wanting to read more, I would have had a more enjoyable read without the sense of déjà vu.

What I loved more than anything was Emma’s attitude of seizing the moment and taking the adventure and I couldn’t help feeling Lola is one very lucky little lady to have a Mum like Emma and I hope they continue to travel and make memories together. I also hope that through this book she is able to encourage others to make their own memories.

Clancy Goes To France: A Mother and Daughter Take On A 3,000 Mile Road Trip In Continental Europe With A Vintage Car (Travels With Lola On The Back Roads Book 1) is available in ebook format from Amazon, with the paperback version coming soon.

You can follow Emma and Lola at their website www.livinglavidalola.com and on Facebook where she shares plenty of photos. Emma is an active fundraiser for the MS (Multiple Sclerosis) Society and will be making donations from the sales of this book to them.