Miles from Where We Started - Cynthia Ruchti

Imagine being stuck in a car, with not only your husband who has asked for a separation, but also an 11-year-old kid whom you barely know, for a 3,000 mile road trip, where your lodging is a tear-drop camper that's mostly bed, and your nightly destinations are unknown until you arrive.  This is the situation that Mallory has found herself in, and while she sets out with high hopes that she can convince her husband, Connor, to rethink his separation question, it's going to take everything in her to get through this crazy trip facing a reluctant husband and a rebellious foster kid.

This was such a unique setting and plotline; it took me a little bit to get into it, but once they were on the road, I was so intrigued by the people they were meeting and the destinations the company sponsoring the road trip was sending them to, that suddenly a road trip and camping sounded like a great idea!  I love that this author makes her characters feel so real; Mallory and Connor are facing some hard stuff that they should be facing together, but they're each trying to deal with it separately and the reader gets to see how that plays out and their individual motivations for such.  In addition, Judah - the 11-year-old - adds the complicated dynamic of not being able to talk out their problems, and they have to figure out how to show this toughened kid that life isn't always going to kick him when he's down. 

I give this book 4 stars; I really enjoyed the trip itself and all of the characters along the way. Also, isn't that cover gorgeous?!

You can find Miles from Where We Started HERE.
You can find the author's page HERE.  Everything I've read from her has been unique and thought-provoking - I look forward to reading more!

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

Catching Christmas - Terri Blackstock

When Finn Parish takes a call from his cab dispatcher to pick up a customer, he doesn't expect an elderly lady in a wheelchair, who may not be completely lucid.  Nor does he expect to have to help her at the doctor's office, or to be called back to her house the following day.  Regardless of his expectations, Finn finds himself drawn into her life, and compelled to help her, whether out of guilt, or his conscience, he's not entirely sure.  He's also not sure what to make of Callie's grandaughter, Sydney, whom he at first takes to be detached and uncaring about her grandmother.  Sydney, however, is fighting her own battles of trying to save her position as a first-year associate at her law firm, while caring for her ailing grandmother.  As the two are drawn together through Callie's needs and wants, they each begin to see their own purposes in life with a new perspective.

Yes, it's only October, and that may seem too early to read a Christmas book, but probably not this one.  While the book has Christmas in the title, and Callie's goal is to spend a nice Christmas making sure that Sydney isn't alone for the holiday, Christmas itself was just sort of tangential to the important parts of the story.  Maybe it would feel more like a Christmas book if I were to read it at Christmas; who knows?

Finn was such an interesting character, I wish there were more to his story here.  But it was fun to watch him go from grumpy, reluctant cab driver to really being invested in Callie's well-being, and even the anger that provoked in him at finding out who was supposed to be helping her, and making sure that the doctors were taking care of her.  Sydney, also, was dealing with so much that it made her character feel more complex than the amount of information we were given about her.  Trying to balance an ever-increasing work load in a job that made her question herself, versus trying to care for the grandmother who'd shown her such love as a child was taking a toll on her, and it took Finn, the former haute-cuisine chef and current cab driver, to really point out to her the choices that she still had.  And, of course- Callie - even if she wasn't sure of everything going on around her, she was always kind and sweet, frequently redirecting conversations with "where are my manners"? She made it seem possible that the unlikely pairing of Finn and Sydney could be drawn together just to make her happy.

A cute book overall; I give it 4 stars.  If anything, I wished for more story to delve deeper into these characters' lives, past, present and future!

You can find Catching Christmas HERE.
You can find the author's page HERE.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley.  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.