Gold Trap by Lilly Maytree

What an exciting and unique story!
I simply wanted to step out of my ordinary life and find the Divine Appointment God had planned for me. I’d read about Mary Kingsley, and it occurred to me that if I truly wanted to share an historical biography with my students, hers was it. So (with much trepidation) I booked the cheapest tour I could find to visit the Dark Continent of Africa. Who knew I’d meet a psychic named Vidalia (after the onion?) — not that I should have been surprised (after all, Bremen Tours specialized in “Voodoo relics of the Dark Continent,” or so it was emblazoned on their carry-alls, one of which I owned). But life got really strange when I met a mad (or was he drunk?) professor, a dashing prince (or possibly, the villain), a village headman (the warrior king? Or the prince of thieves?) and a witch doctor who was neither witch nor doctor, but rather the sinister embodiment of a charlatan who preyed on tourists...and let’s not forget the man who started the whole mess—an embezzler-turned-kidnapper…of me! And that’s not to mention floating down a river full of crocodiles, two boys who wanted to hold me for ransom, an earthquake, a cave-in, the leopard in my bed, and a pink hippopotamus. In the end, my Divine Appointment from God held mystery, excitement and a whole lot more. Enjoy my adventure, Dear Reader, because I did! (Goodreads description)

This is one of the most unique stories I've read in quite a while!  Meg, the woman who decides to follow in the footsteps of Mary Kingsley, is a funny, quirky lady who ends up in the craziest situations!  The romance is cute, though I wasn't sure if her mystery man was a good guy or not for most of the story. It was interesting to see what a different culture there is in the parts of Africa she visited, but I want to see it even more after reading this book, though definitely not with a voodoo tour!  I also liked her take on Divine Appointments and faith; it gives you something to think about.  The story got a little convoluted near the end, but I enjoyed it overall.  This was a new author to me and I plan on checking out her other books.

I received a free pdf copy of this book from bookfun.org in exchange for an honest review.