In her debut novel crackling with humor, heart, and an unforgettable cast of characters, Miriam Parker follows one woman's journey from Iowa to New York City to California wine country, to figure out what being true to oneself really means.

After years of dreaming of and working toward a life more stable than the one she grew up in, Hannah is finally about to have everything she ever wanted. With a high-paying job, an apartment in Manhattan, and a boyfriend about to propose, all she and Ethan have to do is make it through the last couple of weeks of grad school, and the future they had planned will be theirs to keep.

I really enjoyed this book! The characters were wonderful and the setting was amazing! I respect that Hannah took the hard road and we got to see her through that instead of taking the easy way out.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks for the opportunity to read this title. Unfortunately, it fell flat for me. Therefore I will not be posting a review.

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the chance to read and review, "The Shortest Way Home"
by Miriam Parker. A nice work of women's fiction! I really enjoyed the flow of the book. The characters were interesting and that kept me wanting to read more. A perfect summer read!

I enjoyed getting to know the characters in this book. They seemed to be snippets of real people -- people discovering themselves; even though the scenarios seemed to not be realistic. In general, I'm not a big fan of this genre, so the storyline seemed to move along slowly. Ultimately, I read it, it was okay. Nothing wrong with it, per se, just not my favorite cup of tea.

I really enjoyed reading this story. It follows Hannah who left Iowa for college and moved to New York to work at a famous jewelry store. She then went to grad school in California where she met Ethan who maps out their future. High paying jobs in New York City, an expensive apartment and eventually marriage. A weekend trip to Sonoma changes all that when Kate is offered a job at a winery on the verge of collapse. She decides to do something for "me" and gives up her job at Goldman Sax, sends Ethan to New York and immerses herself into the winery and it's quirky family. She discovers she does pretty good on her own and the winery begins to thrive. I like that Hannah is a little older, 30, and she's not worried about kids and a husband like her mother. Hard to believe this is the first novel for Miriam Parker, the characters are so real and vivid. You'll smile and cry for Hannah as she makes decisions that can effect everyone around her. Good read. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Hannah thinks she's got her life planned out: graduate, marry her boyfriend, take a high-powered job in NY, and live the "good life." And then a couple of weeks before graduation, a weekend getaway to wine country in California changes everything. Suddenly she's not sure whether she wants the life she's constructed.

I was expecting a romance, but she ends up breaking up with the boyfriend (smart) and backing off on starting a new relationship with the owner's son (after they sleep together), so it's not a romance novel. It's more of a finding-yourself-after-grad-school story.

I have no idea what's up with the title, as the main character seems to take the LONGEST way to figure out where home is and to come to terms with where she's from & call her mom back. Hannah had so much growing up to do--I never did quite grasp her need to flee her humble roots.

For readers' advisors: character doorway is primary. Contemporary setting, leisurely pace.

This is a sweet, fun story. I liked Hannah immediately, and I especially appreciated that the whole book didn't completely revolve around her romantic life. There is a lot of privilege in The Shortest Way Home, which could have been annoying, but I still liked the community of characters that author Miriam Parker built up around Hannah. I also enjoyed watching Hannah develop as a character over time and "find herself." Maybe not the deepest book in the world, but it was a quick, entertaining read. I enjoyed it.

2.5 stars

I found a number of things to like in The Shortest Way Home: the descriptions of Sonoma, California; the descriptions of the wine drunk by the characters; the descriptions of the food consumed by the characters. Miriam Parker has a great knack for setting the scene really well.

However, the book kind of drove me crazy for a couple of reasons. The first was the premise itself: I’m fine with suspending disbelief now and then, but the idea that a winery owner would create a marketing job for Hannah based on 5 minutes of chatting during a tasting is beyond absurd. That Hannah took the job is actually a little less absurd, given that she was kind of subconsciously looking for an out from the future that seemed laid out in front of her—a job at Goldman Sachs and marriage to her stuck-in-the-mud boyfriend, Ethan. The whole timeline of everything that ensues is similarly rushed, and I didn’t quite know why; the book would have worked just as well (in fact, even better!) if its events had been spread out over a year, rather than a summer.

The second big issue I had—and I read an advance copy, so perhaps some of this was cleaned up in proofs—was that characters frequently repeated themselves for no apparent reason, so the same information was given time and time again. There were also a couple of occasions where characters directly contradicted themselves (was William ever planning to return to Sonoma? First he says yes, then many chapters later he says no). The book needed one final good round of editing to smooth all of those things out.

I did like that The Shortest Way Home involves a romance, but the romance isn’t the point; the book is about finding yourself and the place where you belong. There’s enough good here that I wish I could rate the novel more highly, but its weaknesses are too fundamental for me to recommend it to others.

I just couldn't suspend believe on the actions of the heroine. It just seemed so far-fetched. And because of that it was difficult to continue reading. This was did not finish book for me.

Easy read, nice linear story line that was easy to follow without too many characters. Enjoyed the setting most of all. I liked the incorporation of social media and the sense this was happening now.

The Shortest Way Home by Miriam Parker
Source: NetGalley and Overdrive Audio/Public Library
My Rating: 2½/5 stars

**MINI-REVIEW**

The Bottom Line: I struggled with this book and had I not listened to it, I most certainly would have added this title to my DNF list. With the exception of the dog, I found every major character in the book to be tremendously selfish and hard to like. While I completely appreciate circumstances led to so many of each character’s decisions, they had choices and each often made the wrong decision and simply caused more hurt, resentment, and anger to fester. With so many years of negative energy swirling around, it isn’t a great surprise the tone of this book is relatively depressing. So, why didn’t I DNF this book? Because I really liked the setting, all the information about the wine, winemaking, and the vineyard, and the steps taken to make the setting so much more than it has been for so many years. Had the setting been populated with more likeable, sympathetic characters, I most certainly would have assigned a far higher star rating. As this is the author’s debut novel, I don’t want to throw the baby out with the bath water. From a technical perspective, there is nothing wrong with this book, and I think, given time, Miriam Parker will be a very good author.

This book was a definite comfort read, like drinking a bottle of wine and eating a bag of chips. It was by no means realistic - Hannah just quits her life and with the snap of her fingers has new job, family, home, etc. Ta da! Despite the required major suspension of disbelief, however (and the distinct lack of accurate wine-related details), it was an enjoyable book for a gal looking for a little escapism - despite the implausibility, Hannah's story makes a nice dream for those of us without the option to just quit the life paths we're on!

It’s hard to believe we’ve come to the unofficial end of summer. Why do summers go by so fast, and winters drag on? If you want to hang on to a little bit more of summer, this month’s Book Report has a few books that will help you do that.

Miriam Parker’s delightful debut novel, “The Shortest Way Home,” begins as Hannah and her boyfriend, Ethan, are celebrating their impending business school graduation with a trip through Sonoma wine country before their move to New York City, where Hannah will begin a coveted job at Goldman Global Investment Research.

They end up at a lovely small family-owned winery, Bellosguardo, where Hannah becomes enchanted by Tannin, the family dog, and the beautiful setting. Hannah strikes up a conversation with the owner’s son, William, and after awhile, she begins to brainstorm some terrific ideas to drum up more business for the small winery.

Hannah is the kind of person who likes to talk to the locals to find out where the best places are; Ethan likes to research and plan, and follow that plan to the letter. Ethan prefers to observe, Hannah prefers to interact.

Hannah can’t get the small winery out of her head, and when she discovers that she left her wallet at the winery, she returns and meets William’s mother, Linda, who offers Hannah a summer job at the winery working on marketing.

Her excitement gets the best of her, and Hannah decides to take the job, which doesn’t pay much, but allows her to live in a sweet little cottage at the winery. Ethan is dumbfounded that Hannah is willing to give up a high-paying job in New York to work at the small winery. He is also concerned what this will do to their relationship, as he loves Hannah and hopes to marry her.

I adored “The Shortest Way Home.” If you are a wine lover, as I am, this book is for you. It will have you planning a trip to beautiful wine country, or in the case of central New Yorkers, heading over to one of the many lovely local wineries in the Finger Lakes region to taste the best of what it has to offer.

I also think Parker realistically portrays the difficulties of owning a small family business, and the incredibly hard work it is to keep a business afloat. I related to Hannah and Ethan’s habit of looking at a business and coming up with ways to make it more successful (my husband and I like to do that, too).

“The Shortest Way Home” is the perfect book to end with this summer. Pour a glass of your favorite white wine, take it out to your comfy front porch chair and settle in for an enchanting read.

This book had a great and promising premise but not enough follow through on the story. I was unable to connect with the story or the characters.

*Actual Rating: 2.5/5 stars

I wanted to love this book, and at first, I very much did. It was easy to read and the story moved at a nice pace. But I greatly disliked the constant back and forth rumination of Hannah's life. There would be an interesting bit in the present tense that I wanted to stick with, but then the author would switch back to an event in the past that didn't hold my attention. After a while, it made me lose interest in the entire storyline and the overly dramatic and unbelievable occurrences within it.

This was an enjoyable read that was light and refreshing. What begins as a vacation in wine country turns into a total change of lifestyle and goals....... and includes, of course, a romance.

The Shortest Way Home was just the light, refreshing read I needed after a string of heavier books. Hannah Greene arrives in wine country for a get-away with her boyfriend before moving to New York and entering the corporate world. She falls in love with Sonoma and suddenly, she sees a new life for herself and decides to chart a different course. I loved the beautiful setting, the characters, and the strong female lead. This was a fun, witty read that left me thirsty for wine and ready for a trip to Sonoma! 🍷 Thank you @duttonbooks for this advance reader in exchange for my honest review.

At first, I was intrigued but the premise: hot shot MBA graduate turns down best job in the world with the best company in the world, thus losing her fiancé-to-be, to take over marketing and outreach for a struggling Sonoma winery -- where there just so happens to be a hunky, talented son. That's why I kept forging through strange, convenient twists of plot, of forgettable characters meant to be meaningful, all the ... Well. I won't go on -- I didn't go on with this story, recognizing only 25% of the way through that it really wasn't for me.

This was a great book. The character development was fantastic, and I loved the ending ;) I will definitely be reading more of Miriam Parker in the future--you have a devoted fan!

I really liked the setting of this book and that it was really about recreating yourself in a place where you belong. I loved all the talk of the different wines. Parker is great at building a world that you feel like you are really there and want to go there.