Travel Fiction That Will Take You Around the World
Reading can transport you anywhere. And having a book you can temporarily get lost in will help you dream of new adventures or wait patiently in line at the boarding gate. Whether it’s a story about families meeting for the first time, second-chance romance, or even a murder mystery, books about traveling remain a quiet yet popular genre with jetsetters. And the audiobook versions mean less luggage for you and more space for trinkets and souvenirs. Next time you find yourself on a plane, maybe each one of those passengers has a unique story that could be the inspiration for one of the titles we’ve rounded up for you. Here’s a list for you to bookmark for the next time you dream of your next flight.
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Add to BookshelfThe Lust Crusade
by Jo Segura
Sometimes, air travel is the best way to escape a bad situation. That’s the case with Daniela and her brother’s best friend, Theo, who is an archeologist. Daniela has had a crush on Theo for the longest time. When Theo went missing, Daniela was devastated, but she used her librarian skills and imagination to fly to Greece to mourn his disappearance. However, when she arrives in Greece, her heart drops when she sees Dr. Theo Galanis, alive! When she finally reconnects, she discovers he’s been abducted. Together, they come up with a plan to escape, while his captors continue to seek a treasure that only Theo can locate.
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$19.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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The Flight Attendant
by Chris Bohjalian
For readers who need a bit more grit in their airport adventures, here’s an adventure you will want to land quickly with. Cassandra enjoys all the perks that come with being a flight attendant. But Cassandra is a hot mess; she drinks, parties, and is always looking for a mischievous adventure wherever she lands. But one night in Dubai changes everything when she drinks too much, blacks out, and wakes up to a dark-haired stranger in her bed. As her eyes adjust, she notices blood and knows something went terribly wrong. Confused, Cassandra makes a series of questionable decisions …
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$16.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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People We Meet on Vacation
by Emily Henry
Here’s your reminder to take this book off of your TBR (because you know it’s there) and read the New York Times bestseller and now Netflix movie because this story is great across all formats. Picture two friends who are total opposites, vacationing annually for over a decade. But their trip to Croatia changed the dynamic of their relationship, and now they barely speak! Poppy decides enough is enough and invites her friend Alex for one more trip to hash everything out. With the perfect blend of vacation vibes, second-chance romance, and friendships, this book is the ideal read for those layovers.
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$35.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop
by Roselle Lim
Travel from the warm streets of California to the romantic streets of Paris, France, in this enchanting, magical realism novel where possibilities are truly endless. Vanessa Yu has a gift that she does not love. She can read people’s fortunes, both the good and the bad. Vanessa is exhausted from the aftermath of her ability. It has brought her shame and caused irreparable damage to her relationships. However, she convinces herself that if she can learn how to control her power, she can lead a happier life. Along with her aunt, Vanessa learns Paris through food, hope, and dreams while working at her aunt’s magical tea shop.
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$16.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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Rental House
by Weike Wang
An unlikely couple from two different backgrounds struggles to appease their parents, their social circles, and themselves in this thoughtful novel, which unfolds over two family vacations years apart. Keru is the daughter of Chinese immigrants who set high expectations for her that she feels she will never reach. Her husband, Nate, is a white professor whose rural roots don’t reflect his upward mobility aspirations. As they travel to two separate rental vacation destinations, the couple realizes their marriage also includes accepting each other’s families. Charming and quirky, this book is for families that can relate to kooky trips with their loved ones.
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$18.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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Love in Plane Sight
by Lauren Connolly
Being a jetsetter doesn’t require rich parents or a six-figure income. Sometimes, the act of flying can symbolize joy, as in the case of Beth Lundberg. Beth is a waitress who is barely making ends meet, as all her income goes to paying her mother’s medical bills. But her brother’s best friend, George, who is a grumpy and guarded person, saves her life by taking over a tiny aircraft saving her life. Now, her admiration is turning into lust, and when George offers her free pilot lessons, she has to determine if she should pursue love or obtain a pilot’s license so she can earn more income.
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$19.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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The Stolen Queen
by Fiona Davis
This historical fiction will transport you to New York City during the final years of the Great Depression. Anthropology student Charlotte Cross was excited about the opportunity to travel to Cairo, Egypt, to finally get first-hand experience to dig and study Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. But after an unfortunate loss, her career trajectory changed, and she’s kept a low profile. Fast-forward about 40 years, as disco remains on the rise, a young woman named Annie lands the opportunity to work with a magazine editor for the Met Museum. When Annie meets Charlotte, they find themselves in the middle of an international scandal when an Egyptian artifact goes missing, which forces the women to travel to Egypt for answers.
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$29.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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Up in the Air
by Walter Kirn
For some people, traveling by plane all the time is a life goal, but imagine if that were your job? For Ryan Bingham, his permanent address is in the skies as a career transition counselor. He practically lives out of his suitcase, and hotels are his temporary abodes as he travels from airline to airline, firing workers while simultaneously convincing them to chase their dreams. Well, Ryan has his own agenda, and he already has his resignation on his boss’s desk. But first, Ryan wants to reach the sacred one million frequent flier miles before he leaves his job for the next one.
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$18.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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Good Dirt
by Charmaine Wilkerson
Sometimes it’s not people who jet set, but things. In this explosive novel, a family tries to move past a deadly tragedy that took the life of a family member, which remains unsolved. Ebby was a child when her brother, Baz, was fatally murdered. Ebby has long believed that his murder was a cover-up for the family’s missing valuable heirloom. Now, as an adult, Ebby continues to be haunted by this notion and a publicized breakup; she travels to France to try to find some peace. But even across the globe, her brother’s death and her family’s ancestral property are always with her, and now she’s going to do something about it.
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$19.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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Lies and Weddings
by Kevin Kwan
From the author who brought you Crazy Rich Asians, this laugh-out-loud romantic comedy follows Rufus Leung Gresham, the future of the Gresham family, who now must find ways to secure his family’s fortune for another generation. As he calculates which woman to marry to sustain his family’s legacy, he faces a choice: he can shoulder his family’s future, or he can choose real love and ignore the impact that will have on his relatives. In a globetrotting tale that takes us from the black sand beaches of Hawaii to the skies of Marrakech, from the glitzy bachelor pads of Los Angeles to the inner sanctums of England’s oldest family estates, Kevin Kwan unfurls a juicy, hilarious, sophisticated and thrillingly plotted story of love, money, murder, sex, and the lies we tell about them all.
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$18.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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Diana in Love
by Jen Besser and Shana Feste
There is something about the city of Paris that naturally encourages love and possibility. That is exactly what happens when Diana Woods decides to reclaim her life after playing it safe for so long. Now, as a single, divorced mom, she evaluates her next move while her husband seemingly is enjoying his newfound bachelor life. But Diana is not erasing herself, either. She has a website that explores women’s fantasies, which is gaining traction across the web. When a client invites her for a project in Paris, she uses that as an opportunity to reclaim her life, explore endless possibilities, and maybe reunite with an old lover.
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The Sweetest Connection
by Denise Williams
Read by Angel Pean and Teddy Hamilton
Here’s a sweet treat wrapped up in airport baggage for those who aren’t afraid to dream about jetsetting away. Teagan works at a busy candy shop in an airport. Sure, it’s not a glamorous job, but that doesn’t stop her from daydreaming about the endless possibilities of international traveling to seek adventure. But when she comes across an anonymous love letter, she informs her best friend, Silas, to help her locate who the love letter belongs to. Together, they sort through clues as they try to find the receiver and owner of the letter. Even though Silas and Teagan are good friends, Silas wants her more than a friend, and this Cupid excursion might be the excuse he needs to finally share his feelings.
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Fight or Flight
by Samantha Young
It’s safe to assume that not all air travel adventures are filled with cheer and good times. Sometimes, traveling can be a menace, and Ava can attest to that. Ava is not thrilled to be flying back to Phoenix, Arizona, especially since she has to bury her dear friend. Now that she is headed back to Boston, her trip is faced with multiple delays as volcanic ash and other natural elements throw a wrench in her plans. Ava can’t control the weather, but then her first-class seat is taken from her by a Scottish man whose arrogance annoys Ava to no end. But as their mutual journey continues, Ava finds herself becoming attracted to the rude man who took her seat.
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$16.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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The Scent of Burnt Flowers
by Blitz Bazawule
This Afro-surrealist historical fantasy fiction blends events in America during the 1960s and in Ghana simultaneously to create a romantic, unforgettable adventure. Melvin and his fiancée, Bernadette, crash their Chevy Impala into a diner in Alabama. Despite sustaining injuries that are not fatal, the couple decides to flee because they don’t trust the local authorities to return to Ghana for their safety. However, a federal agent has pieced together their real identities and remains only a few steps behind them.
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$17.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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The Volcano Daughters
by Gina MarĂa Balibrera
In El Salvador, two sisters, Graciela and Consuelo, are separated due to the rising and corrupt power of El Gran Pendejo’s regime. Under this dictator’s rule, Graciela has been living with an Indigenous community, surviving as an indentured servant working on the coffee plantations. Even though Graciela is merely a child, at the tender age of nine, she is summoned by El Gran Pendejo to serve as his oracle. Once she arrives, she meets Consuelo, her long-lost sister who was taken away before she was born. As they try to survive the terror of an unchecked dictator, they find themselves trying to escape the genocide that is happening to their community. For these sisters, they will travel around the world as many times as it takes to reunite.
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