About the Book:
Two months, six countries, one chance to fall in love…
Travel the world in this swoony enemies-to-lovers romance for fans of Love and Gelato, The Summer of Broken Rules and Jenny Han.
Margot is That Girl – she’s built her online audience from scratch and though her posts may seem shallow to some, she dreams of travelling the world.
Theo Delacour loves nature and dreams of becoming a wildlife photographer, but as the son of an infamous billionaire, he has to deal with nepo baby accusations.
When they both win a brand deal to travel the world representing a chain of luxury hotel brands and meet, they instantly clash. But neither of them can afford to lose the deal and their tour around the world is the definition of forced proximity.
But as they spend more time together – from the markets of Hong Kong to the slopes of Austria – they discover that the online perception may not reflect the person behind the screen. What happens when they switch off and just live in the moment?
Find on Goodreads. Find on Bookshop.org UK (affiliate link).
About the Author:
Jacqueline has had a colourful and dual life thus far; she’s lived in a refugee camp in Sweden, a castle in France, a village in Germany, and spent her formative years in between Los Angeles, London and New York. As a result, she speaks four languages. In 4th grade she won her school’s poetry contest and she has not stopped writing since. She has written in many forms ranging from poetry to screenwriting, from prose to copywriting, and on one occasion a viral jingle.
Jacqueline has a Bachelors in English Literature from the University Of Massachusetts, and a Masters in Screenwriting from Royal Holloway, University Of London. After graduating she wrote her first novel and began writing (and selling) cartoon screenplays. The two years she spent in an arts boarding school in the woods have inspired the particular world described in debut novel Wunderkids. She lives in London with her husband, her excessive YA collection and a hyper husky named Laika.
Interview:
Pitch your book in 10 words!
Eat Pray Love meets 80 Days Around the World but swoony.
Margot and Theo are natural enemies due to the damage caused by Theo’s billionaire father’s negligent business practices that killed people in Margot’s town and destroyed her family’s businesses through contaminated water. The ensuing protests landed her father in jail and now her cousin is risking arrest too protesting as Theo’s dad goes on trial for his crimes. How did you go about maintaining the tension between them and how did you know when to finally break it?
Honestly, I write really sparse in my initial few drafts so the tension only comes in later, layer by layer. In my first draft characters tend to hate each other until they suddenly kiss. In later drafts I go back and slow everything down and add layers of nuance. I knew the tension would break once they both were stripped of their perceived identities so I knew it had to happen after nearly all of the travel was done.
The story might be a romance but it deals with serious issues. At the core of the story is the incredible human, environmental, and economic cost of water contamination by micro plastics and carcinogens caused by Theo’s father. What drew you to this topic?
I wanted to write about two people divided by the internet. I grew up in France and was researching privatization and environmental scandals there, because I feel like the French really fight back on issues, that fiery spirit (the yellow vests) would help me sow more division between the characters. I came across a town with a water supply issue that the local government hid from its people which caused cancer, and I wanted to explore that. You would feel like that’s an issue no one would disagree on, right? But what if you’re from the family that privatized it?
The Maison Partout brand deal takes Margot and Theo all over the world to some incredible locations in luxury. How did you choose the settings and then build them out so the reader can imagine themselves in a setting they may never have the chance to visit?
It starts in Bali because Bali truly is influencer haven so it made sense to have my influencer competition start there. (I had my honeymoon in Bali) They go on to Kyoto, Hong Kong, India, Greece, Austria and Vegas, all very photogenic places. I’ve been to all of them. I personally don’t believe that authors need to go to places in order to write about them, but I find it hard to write about places I haven’t seen and felt. Since I grew up nomadic and continue to be nomadic I’ve seen a lot of places and that helps me write convincing locations (I hope.) But I use hotel websites, local magazines, travel vlogs and many other things to help me as well.
If money was no object, where would you go?
I have a few things on my bucket list that are not budget friendly, one of them would be visiting the Venice carnival and dressing up and staying on the canals. Nordic tours across Norway, Sweden (where I was born) and Iceland.
Social media is a massive part of Margot and Theo’s lives. It’s a brand deal that brings the two of them together and pays all their bills. Equally, it brings them so much hate and keeps them out of the moment. Why did you want to show them trying to find the right balance through the story?
I think because I’m trying to find that balance every day, as are many others. I find myself phantom scrolling, or obsessing about promoting my books online, and my phone takes me out of the moment, but I need my phone for my career. There’s a duality and a balance to strike and yet you feel like you’re never doing enough on socials.
Margot has a crippling fear of monkeys. Do you have any unusual fears that you’ve had to confront – either through dancing or any other means?
I have a crippling fear of monkeys and I’ve projected it onto my character I’m afraid. I’ve been bullied by Macaque in India and I’ve been stuck in an elevator with a langur, a small monkey of unknown origins stole my M&M’s and earrings. They are my Regina George.
Please recommend a UKYA book you think readers will love.
Crossing the Line* by Tia Fisher because it’s an in-verse novel about post code knife crime in London.
Thank you, Jacqueline!
*Affiliate link
#UKYASpotlight 
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