Chasing Stardust: one young woman's journey of self-discovery and love

Chasing Stardust by Erica Lucke Dean is a road trip adventure where a daughter learns who her mother was before her, finding your own strength and maybe even finding love. Even though she thought it was crazy, she made a promise to her dying mother. Zoey Jones is tasked to spread her mother’s ashes along the path her eccentric grandma, G-Lo followed in 1972, David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust tour, the same path her own mother took later in life. Taking Go-Lo’s ancient Cutlass, with her mother’s journal and her mother’s ashes, Zoey hits the road. After breaking down in Nashville, Zoey meets Dash Hammond at an all-night diner. Dash is a recent college graduate who is spending his summer trying to escape his father’s expectations. He offers to drive Zoey to her destinations. What adventures and life lessons will they learn on the road? 

Chasing Stardust was a choice for October’s Amazon First Reads. Described as a “funny and heartfelt novel,” the beginning fell a little short for me and I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy it. However, as Zoey and Dash head out on the road together, I found myself cheering for Zoey as she learns about the person who mother was before she became a mom. Zoey finds her own rebel spirit buried deep inside. I enjoyed Dash’s character too as he is fighting a different battle than Zoey; however, he is determined to make good on her promise to help her finish her trip. By the end of the book, I was very happy that I continued Zoey’s story and I enjoyed her growth and fighting spirit. It was also cool to learn about David Bowie’s tour and the icon himself. I highly recommend Chasing Stardust. 

Chasing Stardust is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

Miles and Miles of You: road trip adventures and romance

Miles and Miles of You by Jennifer Bonds is the first book in The Harts series. Lucy Gonzalez had had enough! She quits her job as a personal assistant to Miles Hart. She’s decided to take the jump and hit the road as a travel influencer. She hitches up her grandma’s vintage Airstream and takes a trip along Route 66 as @SoSavvyTraveler! Her plan is to show the best places to see and eat on a shoestring budget in two weeks. What she didn't plan on was company. Miles Hart shows up, determined to bring her back to Triada, his company with his brothers. He is also determined to prove to her that she can’t make it as a travel influencer. They make a bet. If Miles wins, Lucy will give up the influencer plan and come back to Triada. If Lucy wins, he will never bother her again. 

I actually read the second book in the series, Not Today, Cupid, last year and immediately placed Miles and Miles of You on my TBR list. Miles and Miles of You is a great story with fun banter, road trip adventures and a bit of spice. Lucy and Miles are great characters with personal past hurts that they struggle with and this trip helps bring them forth and works toward growth. Lucy’s grandma, Celeste, was a great source of laughs as she interacts with Lucy’s Instagram posts. While I did not enjoy Miles and Miles of You as much as I did Not Today, Cupid, I enjoyed this story. I laughed. I smiled. I closed the book with happiness and eagerness for the third brother’s story. If you enjoy a road trip romance with fun banter and great adventures, I highly recommend Miles and Miles of You. 

Miles and Miles of You is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

She's Up to No Good: a sudden trip leads to life changing events

She’s Up to No Good by Sara Goodman Confino is a story of a sudden trip that leads to life changing events for two women. After four years of marriage, Jenna is blindsided when her husband asks for a divorce. With time on her hands and her life at a crossroads, she agrees to accompany Evelyn, her eccentric maternal grandmother, on a road trip to the family’s seaside Massachusetts hometown. As they hit the road, Evelyn begins a story of her star-crossed teenage romance with a young man named Tony. A story that she has hidden deep in her heart for seventy years as the events had changed the course of her life. When they arrive, Jenna meets Joe, Tony’s great-nephew. As their new friendship grows, Jenna begins to gain the confidence to find a new perspective and put her broken life back together. She learns that healing can come at the unexpected moments in a woman's life. 

I purchased She’s Up to No Good as a part of Amazon’s First Reads program. I love stories that intertwine past and present relationships. It was described as a “funny, poignant, and life-affirming novel about family, secrets, and broken hearts” However, a few chapters in and I was bored. I didn’t care for Jenna and Evelyn. Jenna is so annoyingly whiny for a woman who is supposed to be 34 years old. Evelyn is described as feisty but it comes across as downright mean. She doesn’t care who she hurts or manipulates. I did not find any of the situations funny that were supposed to be “funny.” If anything I was cringed more than I laughed. The story is also way too long. Sixty-two chapters of drawn out drama and family secrets. Overall, I was bored and did not care for either woman and her personal journey. I do not recommend She’s Up to No Good. 

She’s Up to No Good is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

A Road Trip to Remember: one road trip can change someone's life

A Road Trip to Remember by Judith Keim is a story of a life-changing road trip. Agatha “Aggie” Robard talks her granddaughter, Blythe, into driving her from their home in Boston to Florida, to see old college friends along the way. One college friend in particular, Donovan Bailey, the man she was planning to marry after college but circumstances took them on different paths. Aggie hopes to show her serious granddaughter that life can be fun too. However, their trip needs to be a secret. While the rest of the family is in Hawaii on vacation, Aggie and Blythe set off. All goes well and it looked like they would be able to keep their secret. Until a series of accidents leads their lives on a path they never saw coming. Will this new path show them that there are new possibilities everywhere. 

I was expecting a story about an amazing road trip. However, the road trip takes place in the first third of the book and not much happens while on the road. It seems like the road trip was just to explain Aggie and Donovan’s history leading up to their reunion. Most of the events happen in Florida as Aggie and Donovan reunite. There was no real conflict with all the conflicts being resolved a bit too quickly. Everything is tied up in neat little bows with everyone happy and getting along. I didn't even feel a connection to any of the characters. The story was a bit too predictable and dragged in certain points. Overall, I liked the story and I enjoyed the premise that life is too short without some fun but it wasn’t the road trip story I expected. 

A Road Trip to Remember is available in paperback, eBook, and paperback

Side Trip: when a road trip becomes life changing

Side Trip by Kerry Lonsdale is a story of . With her deceased sister’s Route 66 bucket list in hand, Joy Evers sets out from California on a cross-country road trip to meet up with her fiancé in New York. She’s determined to check off each item as she goes. During a stop in a Ludlow diner, she meets Dylan. Dylan Westfield is a singer-songwriter on a trip of his own. Unfortunately, his car has broken down. They strike a deal. She’ll drive him to New York and he’ll pay for gas. They have three rules: no exchanging of last names, what happens on the road, stays on the road, and if one of them wants a side trip, they both must agree. They find they are complete opposites. Joy is energetic. Dylan is moody. Joy believes in love at first sight and Dylan thinks love is a complicated mess. Soon, they realize that they are both hiding secrets and their motivations. Will they find the peace they hope to find on the road? Will they be able to leave the events of the road trip behind? 

I love Kerry Lonsdale’s books and I heard great things about Side Trip. From the very beginning, I was hooked on Joy’s mission to complete the trip her sister never could. Dylan’s mission was a bit more of a mystery. I enjoyed the back and forth between Joy and Dylan’s perspectives as well as the “Before” chapter which occurs on the road and the “After” chapters when the trip is over and their lives go on as planned. Or does it? Can Joy and Dylan really leave what happens on the road, on the road? I didn’t really have an emotional reaction until the second to last chapter when the reader finds out what happens for Joy and Dylan. I feel the last chapter and the epilogue were unnecessary and undid the emotional impact of that one chapter. The secret Joy was hiding was all too easy to figure out as it has been done before. Overall, I did enjoy the story, especially the spontaneous moments on the road. I do recommend Side Trip as a fun road trip story.

 

Side Trip is available in paperback, eBook, audiobook. 

The Long Way Home: sometimes you need to leave to find home

The Long Way Home by Karen McQuestion is the story of four women on an unexpected road trip. Each woman is at a crossroad in their lives and this trip could be the catalyst that propels them to make a choice forward or not. Marnie is a 35-year-old kindergarten who is grieving the loss of her longtime boyfriend as well as the loss of her “stepson” Troy, as the Troy’s mother whisks him away, cutting off all contact. Rita is dealing with the aftermath of her daughter’s murder was the man she believes is responsible can go free. Laverne is Marine’s reclusive elderly neighbor. And Jazzy, the young, vibrant woman who has a special ability that brings them all together on a road trip to Las Vegas. Four strangers on a trip across a two-thousand-mile journey, what could go wrong? How will the trip change the lives of these women? Or will it?

The Long Way Home is a great book about self-discovery, overcoming fears, and reaching for your heart’s desire. I enjoyed every character. Marnie for her caution and determination. Rita for her strive for justice. Laverne for throwing caution to the wind to take the trip with three strangers. And Jazzy, the driving force bringing them together and pushing them along. While some of the events were a bit far-fetched, but great adventures always are, the overall message is the same: sometimes leaving helps you find home, even if its back where you started. I recommend The Long Way Home, it had me hooked from page one and I read into the night to finish it.

The Long Way Home

is available in paperback and eBook