All you need sometimes, is a bit of magic and belief

Synopsis

Sofia’s due to marry rich Rio businessman, Cristian… only, she’s just learnt that her daughter Ida is about to lose her eyesight. When she decides to take Ida on one, last ‘memory trip’ to the Scottish Highlands, Sofia’s impoverished family become alarmed. So close to the big wedding, she’s forced to keep the real reason for her trip a secret…  

Handsome Scotsman Cal’s a dream tour guide… but he’s got somesecrets of his own. Unknown to the others, caring Cal usually works as a male escort… a job which keeps him trapped and compromised, and also keeps any real chance of love at bay. Meeting the girls, Cal is poignantly about to reconnect with the side of him that once longed for more.

Meanwhile, Sofia’s faced with the dilemma of how best to support Ida whilst keeping her fiancé and family on side. Questioning how ‘free’ she really is… Sofia’s now forced to consider what price she’s prepared to pay, to follow her conscience and her heart?

My review

Not coming from a wealthy family, Sofia surely exceeded expectations, as she is soon getting married to rich businessman Cristian in Rio.
But when at the last check – up with her daughter Ida, Sofia learns that Ida will inevitably lose her eyesight, Sofia wants to take Ida on one last, amazing trip to the Scottish Highlands. Even if her own family is constantly warning her of not jeopardizing the imminent wedding. So obviously, Sofia keeps her own reasons for the trip a secret, as nobody, not even her own fiancé understands her.
Arriving in London, Sofia is surprised when not Ray is being her tour guide, but Cal. Cal, who is helping out his friend Ray, but is also a male escort .
While Sofia, Ida and Cal are following William Wallace’s steps in the Highlands, Cal finds himself reconnecting with a side of him he thought he had lost.
And Sofia is struggling with keeping her family in the dark and a fiancé wanting her to return home even if there is a small chance for Ida to keep her sight.

I always enjoy reading stories about women who made their own luck, despite what cards Life has thrown them.
While Sofia comes from a rather poor, yet loving family, she created her own path to happiness by following her dreams.
And that brought her at the place where she is now, engaged to a wealthy man, Cristian. Cristian may seem the answers to all her prayers, but being engaged to a busy man, isn’t always as easy. Add the fact that his own family is a very close unit, sharing everything, doesn’t make it always better.
But I kept thinking that as long there is love, it would all be good. 

However, wealth isn’t everything in the world, as Sofia and her daughter Ida know all too well. My heart broke when the news was that Ida would lose her sight, in a short period. I cannot imagine how devastating that news would be for real people… 

So obviously, I totally understood Sofia and her determination to take a trip with Ida and go to the places that Ida is obsesses with, namely the places where William Wallace lived, and Ida has binge-watched ‘Braveheart’ even a little bit too much.
Who doesn’t love a girl who loves watching ‘Braveheart’???
And I absolutely took their side while everyone wanted to change their mind, because why would Sofia take a trip when her wedding is so near? 

I must admit, I didn’t always like Sofia’s family… While I understood how her marriage would benefit them too, couldn’t they really put Sofia’s happiness in first place? I found them very selfish at moments, and the further along I read into the story, the more my feelings towards them only grew stronger. 

Even Cristian disappointed me… while it’s clear rather early in the story that Sofie and Cristian aren’t really madly in love with each other, why couldn’t he understand that Sofia would grasp any tiny bit of hope if there was a way to help Ida?
And I understand the importance of family, I truly do, but sometimes not everything needs the seal of approval of every member, and sometimes issues needs to be solved with the people concerned and not add extra people in the equation. 

With Sofia and Ida on their trip, I had my fingers crossed hoping that this would be the real answer to their prayers, as I couldn’t bear seeing the light and fire go out in Ida’s eyes. Because even if she is just a young girl, she is very mature for her age and she deserves all the best. 

I don’t think that many of us readers have ever met a real male escort, but I think that our imagination can surely run wild!
And Cal for sure keeps our imagination going, but we also see a whole different side of him. While his looks may make me swoon, his behaviour and Cal being Cal, made me fall in love with him.
I fell in love with him seeing how he helps out his old friend, I fell in love with him the way he acts with Ida, I fell in love with him when he went lengths to make the trip even more memorable and magical than planned, I fell in love with him how he understands Sofia and I fell in love with him how he never crossed a line.
Although, I loved him a little bit less when he let his boss command him! 

I found this a deep, wonderful, hopeful story, about three people at a crossroad in their lives. They know that each decision they take, will change their paths.
Hope is always the last thing to die, and even if that has died, there will always remain a tiny sparkle of it alive. It’s up to us to decide if it’s worth igniting it again or not.
Belonging is not something we feel out of duty, but we feel it with our hearts, just like Freedom. While the easy option may mean to give up some of our freedom, it isn’t always the right thing to do. Sometimes it is better to lose some, and have that sense of belonging, freedom and home. Because home isn’t always the place we know, but can also be a place we have never been before, and can be a place where our heart feels at home.