#BlogTour #ChickLit #BookReview | Long Walk Home by Ellyn Oaksmith

Lola was struck by just how quickly she recognized him. It had been ten long years since she’d seen him; ten years of thinking that maybe she hadn’t really loved him. But there he was. And he still took her breath away.

Lola has turned her life around since her wild teenage years, but one thing hasn’t changed: how her sister sees her. Her sister Carmen only remembers the mistakes she’s made and can’t see the potential of Lola’s plans to expand the family vineyard business at Blue Hills. But Lola is determined to win Carmen round—and gain her respect once and for all.

Then Lola’s high school sweetheart Gus arrives back in town, and everything changes. He was her first love, the bad boy she used to climb out of windows to see. But he’d broken her heart when he left town suddenly, without so much as a goodbye. And after that, she’d never seen him again. Until now.

Gus isn’t that same rebel anymore. It’s taken everything he has to come back to this town full of bittersweet memories, but he owes it to himself, and to Lola, to make amends. But she’s not that lovesick girl anymore and she knows she can’t let him turn her head again. So why can’t she stop thinking about how his strong arms would feel wrapped around her?

Then fate intervenes, and they’re forced to work together on Lola’s biggest project—and the sparks begin to fly once more…

As the sun sets over the mountains and meadows of Blue Hills, can two people who’d thought they could never be together find their way home to each other?

An utterly romantic feel-good read about being true to yourself and becoming the person you were always meant to be, Long Walk Home will make you laugh, make you cry and show you that true love always finds a way. For fans of Robyn Carr, Carolyn Brown and Mary Ellen Taylor.

Purchase link:
Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/lwhoaksmith

Long Walk Home by Ellyn Oaksmith is a delightful story about sisters and the bonds that connect them through good times and bad.

The descriptions of the setting are phenomenal, putting me quickly into one of the tiny cabins overlooking the vineyard, hearing Daisy bark in playful joy, and feeling the calm waters of the lake lapping against my feet. The novel is set in the Pacific Northwest, near Seattle, and by the author’s descriptions, I can tell it’s a stunning part of the country that deserves the book vacation the story provides.

I loved the interplay between the sisters and the many universal truths contained within those bonds. They fight, they deceive, but through it all, they love each other, and that is always clear. The father of three headstrong young women steps back, as all good fathers would, and trusts that all disagreements will work themselves out unless it comes to one of his daughters needing protection. Then he is a fierce and loyal protector. The family dynamics reminded me of my own, at times, and this warmed my heart and made the book impossible to put down.

Lola is the youngest of the three sisters and is fighting to break out of the mold that her older sister, who runs the family vineyard, is trying to hold her in. Her sister thinks of her as immature and incapable of following through. But she knows she has grown into a much different person and longs for her sister to give her a chance to prove it. I felt a great deal of sympathy for Lola as she picked wrong path after wrong path in her quests to prove herself.

The romance is more in the past than it is in the present but, for the most part, rings authentic and believable. Gus and Lola are unfinished, and that is clear from the very beginning of the book. They need to either finally, after ten years, find closure or rekindle what once was. Their struggle feels contrived at times but ultimately works itself out in a purely natural manner.

Lastly, I want to give a shoutout to Daisy and her two different colored eyes, her love for bacon, and her innate need to find her way home even when it puts her in danger. Who doesn’t love a story with an adorable dog?

Long Walk Home is the perfect read if you are looking for a heartwarming story about the bonds of sisterhood and all of the craziness that goes along with those bonds.

Ellyn Oaksmith is the USA Today and Kindle bestselling author of addictively fun love stories. She has never run a winery, been attacked by drones or nearly drowned someone but she loves putting her characters in challenging situations. Ellyn also enjoys chatting with readers on social media. Especially when she should be writing.

Ellyn began her writing life as a screenwriter in Los Angeles which, outside of writing hours, is exactly as crazy as it seems in the movies. After hightailing it back to her native Seattle, Ellyn began writing comedic romances and never looked back.

Ellyn lives in Seattle with her husband. She’s part of a competitive rowing team. You can often find her on Lake Sammamish rowing in the dark.

Author website: www.EllynOaksmith.com
Facebook: @EllynOaksmith
Instagram: @EllynOaksmith