Lo Zhao-Jensen was only a child when her mother died and she remembers very little about the woman who brought her into the world. What she does know is that her mother, along with her sisters, Mei and Ellen, had psychic abilities and was able to visualize her soulmate. That special talent seems to have skipped Lo and she worries that without being able to identify her one true love she is destined to live as cousin Lin, alone and miserable.
Encouraged to follow in her parents’ career footsteps, Lo is studying science in college. She’s not enjoying her courses and her social life is boring, too. At a frat party, she’s making out with her current boyfriend, Mark, when she has a vision. She sees an unrecognizable cityscape and smells a rich espresso-like scent. Are her psychic talents finally kicking in?
Amy Lea
Hoping to get closer to the mother she never knew, Lo plans a trip to Italy where she can visit all the cities her mother once toured. When she tells Mei and Ellen about her dream-like illusion, they are excited. What she saw was a sign that she’s about to meet her soulmate. They remind Lo that the first stop on the trip is Venice, often called “the city of love.” Lo is excited and apprehensive.
Her friend, Bianca, signs on for the journey but the day before they are scheduled to leave, badly injures her foot. Lo, determined to make the trip, convinces her best male friend, Teller, to go with her. Teller’s girlfriend, Sophie, has just broken up with him, so Lo’s invitation is well-timed. Perhaps this will be the journey they both need to find their true loves.
There are echoes of When Harry Met Sally in Amy Lea’s Something Like Fate. In that 1989 film, Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan), become friends after a long car ride from Chicago to New York and, over the next 12 years, keep bumping into each other. One question looms over their relationship: Can men and women have a friendship that doesn’t include sex? Lo and Teller met in high school when they worked at the local movie theater in their hometown. While their romantic relationships often fail, their friendship remains steadfast. But their feelings for each other will be severely tested on this Italian adventure.
Lo’s mother and Lei backpacked through Italy, staying at student hostels. Teller, always the more organized of the two, books some of the hostels, others they find on the spot. While most of the rooms they check into are clean, they often have only one bed. Sleeping together and not touching is the first test of their friendship.
One plus for staying in hostels is that fellow travelers are friendly. Teller attracts the attention of one, Riley, while Lo’s encounter with someone is slightly more dramatic. About to be hit by a runaway cart filled with suitcases, she’s pushed out of the way by Caleb. When he embraces her to make sure she’s not hurt, she smells coffee. Is Caleb her soulmate? He seems attracted to Lo, too, so their stay in Venice is truly magical. They share gondola and vespa rides. Caleb is a free soul who doesn’t even own a cellphone. He takes life as it arrives, an attitude that Lo finds appealing.
Lo and Teller are no longer traveling alone since Riley, Teller, as well as other hostel friends, become a group. While Lo enjoys her time with Caleb, the green monster rears its head when she sees Teller with Riley.
Spoiler alert (although not unexpected), Lo will have to choose between Caleb, her possible soulmate, and Teller, her best friend. While we can guess how this romance will end, getting there is most of the fun. Along the way, we are treated to descriptions of Venice, Rome, Florence, and the Amalfi coast. Anyone who has visited these cities may recall their own romantic stories, whether those included finding a true love or just having a memorable time.
Something Like Fate
Amy Lea
Top photo: Bigstock
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