Meet Ash Lynch, a twenty-something with a dysfunctional family background and a monotonous job as a magazine distribution and sales rep that does little else than pay the bills. A chance meeting with a dream girl, Zoe, brings a new sense of hope and light to Ash’s routine – until he discovers that she is seeing his colleague and friend. A second, more disturbing revelation from within his own family jolts him out of his reverie to re-evaluate his life and direction. Jaded and at a crossroads, he meets Miller, bartender at a local watering hole. The two become firm friends, with Miller slowly but surely coaxing Ash from his shell. Leaving his job and family, Ash takes off (rather spontaneously) on a trip across Europe with Miller. The new surroundings and the distance from his ‘old’ life and ‘old’ self, invigorate Ash.

At the novel’s core is friendship, and while I enjoyed the bond shared by Miller and Ash, Ash’s relationship with Jake, his sister’s partner, is just as important. Taking Off, the second book from this bookseller-writer is a warm, funny and engaging read.