Book Review: Only in Spain by Nellie Bennett

Nellie Bennett, Author of "Only in Spain."
"Only in Spain" by Nellie Bennett Had Me at First Stomp
“Only in Spain” by Nellie Bennett Had Me at First Stomp

Thank you, Nellie Bennett. Because of you I’m now dreaming of grabbing a floor-length skirt layered with ruffles and heading off to Spain to learn flamenco. Before reading “Only in Spain: A Foot-Stomping, Firecracker of a Memoir about Food, Flamenco, and Falling in Love” the idea never crossed my mind but because you so eloquently shared your sacrifices to follow your passion to learn authentic flamenco, I want to run away with gypsies, too.

Perfect for summer reading, “Only in Spain” is a love story, travelogue, and inspirational reminder to follow your passions. In addition to offering a generous taste of flamenco, it’s one of the few books on Spain written from a woman’s point of view.

Nellie, a shop girl in Sydney, Australia, discovers the fiery, sexy art form of flamenco and decides the only way to truly learn the Spanish dance is to travel to its motherland. She made sacrifices to save for the trip and while living in Seville, Spain as a means of survival. All ends well not in a traditional fairytale kind of way but in an empowering, coming of age way.

Nellie Bennett, Author of "Only in Spain."
Nellie Bennett, Author of “Only in Spain.”

With each powerful stomp and graceful turn, I felt as though I was on the dance floor learning flamenco alongside Nellie. I felt her exhaustion after each dance session, frustration with the language barrier, and anxiety of running out of cash and living on a budget.

For anyone who feels stuck in life, “Only in Spain” is an inspirational reminder you have the ability to make the leap to live the life you want.

Now excuse me, just like The Kite Runner lead me to Afghanistan and Eat, Pray, Love has me dreaming of Italy, India and Bali, I need to rework my bucket list as I add “flamenco lessons in Spain” to my list.

       

Disclosure: I received an advanced copy of the book for review purposes and this is my truthful opinion about the book. This post also includes affiliate links.

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Jenn

Jennifer A. Huber is an award-winning travel and outdoor blogger and writer in Southwest Florida. Originally from Buffalo, N.Y., a hiking trail led her to a career path in the tourism industry for more than 30 years. She spent a decade with a park management company in Yellowstone, Death Valley, and Everglades National Parks. She founded the travel blog, SoloTravelGirl.com with the goal of inspiring others to travel alone, not lonely. The unexpected death of her former husband in 2008 reminded her how short life is. His passing was a catalyst for sharing her experiences with the goal of inspiring and empowering others to travel solo. Jennifer holds a Travel Marketing Professional certification from the Southeast Tourism Society, is a certified food judge, member of the NASA Social community, and alum of the FBI Citizens Academy. When not traveling, she is either in the kitchen, practicing her photography skills, or road tripping with her dog, Radcliff.

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