A brilliantly-told story about the impact that travel and exploration can have. An honest and enthralling tale about self-discovery, life-changing interactions and fantastic travel companions! Loved this book so much.

Unfortunate DNF - i'm unsure if I had the wrong end of the stick but I wasn't expecting this to be like an historical diary entry of countries. I got to roughly 8% before deciding this novel was not for me.

I appreciate the publisher sending me this

Travelling is such a a big interest of mine, I knew I had to read this when I saw it advertised. It is honest, inspiring and makes you want to get up and go and pack your bags! Travelling solo seems to be something that a lot of us are afraid of doing yet Kate writes about her travels in a way that makes you less afraid. I loved reading about her journey!

This is a pleasant and lightweight read that would nicely pass a few hours on a plane or a beach. It's undemanding but slightly superficial. The personal stuff is engaging enough but the parts about solo female travellers are what I really came for. There isn't much depth to these section, though a comprehensive bibliography is included if you wanted to research further. That said, the blending of the author's personal life with the stories of these women is nicely done. There is some interesting discussion of the reasons for solo travelling as a woman and also some helpful tips for doing so. Funny at times, touching at others, with a few moments of genuine emotional insight. Easy, breezy reading that can be used as a springboard to find out more about the inspirational women featured.

I loved this at the beginning but it faded out as I read through. It felt like jt didn’t know what it was trying to be, a travel memoir or a history of prolific famous travellers. Slightly disappointed.

I really really loved A Trip of One's Own. Being not much of a non-fiction fan, I can't praise it enough for toeing the line of being more than just Kate's own experiences.

Falling completely enamoured with all the women mentioned is enevitable. Whether or not you want to do as they did, it definitely feels nothing short of empowering to see how they thrived. From natural dangers to the state of society at the time, these women are all marvels and I definitely want to read more from each of them myself now that I have had a taste of their lives.

Couple this with Kate's own fascinating life and I desperately want to have this book as a coffee table read. Something I also never do is tab or mark my books, but I want to do that with this. To be able to flick back to a certain story or helpful tip will be a great mindful thing to do, not only is this book about travel but about better steps can you take towards feelings in your own life.

Minor spoiler but the fact that Kate goes and meets with one of the women of which she is sharing this story, how powerful is that? These women don't necessarily think of themselves as something special, but they truly are and to meet one of them must have been an experience to remember forever.

I particularly enjoyed the section at the end, "How to travel at home". I'm not particularly adventrous myself. Having anxiety, the thought of travelling alone sounds as enticing as throwing myself into a volcano. But I love to live vicariously through others, and so it was nice of Kate to share things I might do myself. Even if I only get as far as my garden in a tent with a projector and some films I have already seen a million times.

Just wonderful, absolutely wonderful. Managing to be both heartfelt yet lighthearted makes this a real gem and I will go out of my way to read about Kate's adventures and look forward to this new journey that she is on with all those who support her.

Was it a page-turner? As this is a non-fiction book, there is no rush to the end to find out ‘whodunnit’. However, it’s such an engaging read that I did find myself wanting to keep going… and to pack a bag (with the book in it!) and leave on an adventure!
Did the book meet my expectations? I didn’t have time to create any expectations around this book as I was intrigued by the title and I started reading it straightaway! I mean…. Travelling? Yes, please! A reference to A Room of One’s Own? Yes, please! Now that I’ve reached the end, I can say that I found it incredibly interesting. There are so many amazing women I didn’t know anything about and A Trip of One’s Own made me thirsty for more of these stories.
Three words to describe it. Inspiring. Informative. Feminist.
Do I like the cover? Yes, it’s bold like all the women described in the book!
Have I read any other books by the same author? This is the author’s debut novel and I haven’t read any of her pieces of journalism although I am now tempted to go and do exactly that!

This was a really insightful memoir about everything travel but also beyond going into this I thought it would just be about all the places Kate Willis has gone and just to give a much more deeper look into that country.. but oh was I so so happily surprised when it surpassed that and was so much more... alongside Willis Talking about how Travel has helped her (solo travel especially) she also gives Tips on travel and what’s she learnt.. and plus we got a great glimpse into the lives of the many female solo adventurers who have inspired Kate!! Plus the Women she talks about in this book.. I want to learn so much more about them and read their books on their travels and the trials and tribulations they all had to face!!
Wow I can’t wait to travel again

It was a great read, but there was just something missing. Before reading, I expected to be taken to these countries by simply reading the words on the page, however, some of the descriptions felt short. This surprised me because of her experience as a travel journalist.

With this in mind, it did provide a wonderful escape. Although some descriptions fell short, there were more that captured the feel and essence of a place. It was fascinating. I particularly loved the focus on a different female travel journalist through history! It was that boost I needed to prove I can travel alone and being a woman should not stop me from doing just that.

The idea of this book gave me high expectations and I was excited to start reading it however I was slightly disappointed overall.
I enjoyed reading it however I found it hard to relate to it in a way which is probably why I didn't enjoy it as much. I struggled to read past the halfway mark but I hate not finishing a book so I continued, albeit at a slow pace. There was potential within this book but I think it just missed the mark.

I absolutely loved the premise of this book; unfortunately it did not deliver.

The writing was disappointing and although the historical stories were interesting, the connections to Kate’s own life were tenuous at best. The author did not engage with the reader and in fact came across as slightly shallow and selfish in the way she discussed her life. In particular her blasè attitude to motherhood; the fact that she apologised for this makes me think she knew how it came across: irritating and smug.

I almost gave up, but the second half of the book was much better. The author seemed to mellow and there was a more genuine side to her writing.

That said, for a travel journalist I was surprised that the places visited were not described more vividly. Having been to a few places, the author did not do them justice. Nor was there enough information on the women who had made similar journeys.

Had this focused primarily on the women travellers it would have been a much better book.

Wow, this was such a fun filled, adventure stirring and fascinating read. I loved all these marvellous women’s stories and adventures to far away lands from bygone eras to well this author herself. I especially loved her own accounting of jetting off to not just find herself but as a way to escape her feeling of not being with someone and needing her space to just be. I also loved how in the end it will all work out in ways she didn’t realise it would and that’s just life being good to us all. This was a hilarious, wonderful book and one I will always go back to.

This book is a mix of famous female solo travellers and one girls account of her own solo travels after a relationship breakdown. Really enjoyed the chapters describing the women pioneers who travelled solo before it was acceptable. Also liked some of the tips at the end of each chapter, mostly useful. The personal story weaving its way through the book was an awakening and maturity of a women who has now found her favourite location. As a mature solo traveller I felt some tips totally out of place in a modern world but enjoyed the journey. Thank you #NetGalley for the copy.

What a wonderful book! Kate's writing is really refreshing - full of sparkling prose, humorous anecdotes and inspiring women - reading it felt like a trip in itself. Kate has a talent for capturing the feel/essence of a place in a seemingly effortless handful of words. The references to art, history, literature, religion, language, food etc. are fascinating. Each chapter focuses on a female travel journalist from history, a wonderful girl power boost that expertly embellishes Kate's own travels and her wider life journey. The inclusion of Kate's tips for solo travel were a wonderful addition - practical, accessible, inclusive and inspiring. The perfect post-lockdown read - sit back, relax and travel the world from your sofa... or get planning your next trip!

The new 'Eat, Pray, Love'. Wholly recommend.

In a strange quirk of reading I started this straight after reading Woolf's A Room of One's Own and they made great companion reads.
Wills manages that fine balance of personal history, research and travel tips - at the moment all we can do is travel in our minds so this book was great!
I loved the tips for travelling alone as well as all the new writers to discover.

Thanks so much to Bonnier for letting me read A Trip of One's Own. I was immediately intrigued by this book, which is a combination of memoir, travel writing and travel history, exploring the lives of intrepid women travellers of the past. It also has plenty of really excellent tips about how to navigate solo travel as a woman! To be honest, my solo travel experience is limited. But I still really enjoyed this book and my only real complaint is that there's only 270-ish pages of it as I would have loved even more of Kate's own travel experiences! I could read about women travellers forever and, if you're the same, then I would really recommend A Trip of One's Own. It's out in April and it has made me even more desperate to resume travelling after lockdown.