Dessa is a single mom, who was out with friends when the earthquake hit. Fifteen-year-old Beegie had run away from her foster home and was on the bus during the earthquake. Dessa doesn’t know if her three-year-old daughter is dead or alive because the cell towers are down and the streets are a disaster. Beegie and Dessa are brought together in these chaotic circumstances, and they have to travel across L.A. to find Dessa’s daughter.

This story was about the big earthquake that is predicted to hit California one day. I’ve only experienced a very small earthquake in Toronto years ago. I can’t imagine what kind of devastating situation like this earthquake could create.

The actual earthquake wasn’t the problem. The disaster came in the aftermath, with buildings and infrastructure destroyed and people breaking laws. In this story, people went crazy looting buildings, robbing people and attacking people. People behaved horribly to each other. It was really upsetting to read, but especially after the pandemic of the last year, I’ve noticed that people really don’t care about protecting others by changing their behaviour. It was difficult to read, but, unfortunately, it was an accurate depiction of human nature.

There were some very difficult scenes to read. Some of these scenes included rape, abuse, murder, suicide, and discussion of abortion. I definitely think these things were part of an accurate depiction of the after effects of a natural disaster, but they were still difficult to read.

This was an intense earthquake story.

Thank you HarperCollins Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is way depressing and shows the worst side of humanity.

Dessa, a single mom, is enjoying a rare night out with her girlfriends when an earthquake hits. And not just a tremor. The city devolves into chaos and Dessa is having a hard time getting home to her three-year-old daughter. Tragedy causes Dessa to cross paths with Beegie, an orphan ring to escape the torture of her foster home. Despite the difference in skin color and perceived places in life, the two join together to Dessa's child.

This is the most depressing book I've read in years. Page after page, author Bridget Foley introduced the characters to the worst of humanity. With the earthquake, people became animals. Even Fred Rodgers would have found it hard to look for the helpers. This lowered my bond and kept me from wanting to turn the page and see what catastrophe would happen next.

The best part of the novel is that it gives you a good look at the disparity in our life. Certain sections of cities aren't cared about and those are typically poor and housed mostly minority. But it also challenges people against basing ideas on how people present themselves. Dessa was decked out in her only good jewelry for a special occasion but everyone thinks she is rich when she is barely managing to keep her apartment in a poorer part of town. Foley challenges the reader to truly understand the characters she presents.

Overall, this isn't something I'd recommend. I already know how horrible the human race is. But this would be a good book to include in book clubs that are only used to one certain kind of life.

Just Get Home by Bridget Foley

Earthquakes in California are real…and there is always the underlying thought of, “What if this is the big one?” as the earth rumbles and shakes. Having been through a few and seen the damage they can wreak makes this story all the more real and…”earthshaking” to think about the “what ifs” should a HUGE trembler ever hit California. Two people form an unusual alliance as they make their way through devastated Los Angeles to reach safety and what they face is thought provoking, dark, and sometimes painful to read.

What I liked:
* Beegie: fifteen, orphan, in the foster system, hard backstory, a survivor, strong, resilient, and deserving of a better future.
* Dessa: single mother, conflicted, in a dead-end relationship, treading water, difficult relationship with her deceased mother, both parents deceased, loves her daughter, grew on me over time.
* That I found the story believable and could imagine finding myself in such a situation.
* The way the difficult situations were written
* Knowing the location well so being able to visualize where the two women were
* That both women were stronger than they realized and grew stronger as the story propgressed
* The alliance/friendship that developed between the two women
* Thinking about what the future for the women might be – hope it is better than their past
* Seeing glimpses of both of their lives before the earthquake
* That they both survived the ordeal and found a way forward…at least for awhile

What I didn’t like:
* Beegie’s rotten luck in life: mother, foster parents, social worker, what happened to her the night of the earthquake
* Dessa’s mother, the man who fathered her child, that she was a bit wishy-washy, and her reasoning was so much different than I wanted it to be
* Not knowing what happened later – an epilogue might have been nice
* That human beings in a chaotic situation can be so horrible to one another – opportunistic hedonistic and ruthless

Did I enjoy this book? I did but found myself skimming at times
Would I read more by this author? I might

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin-Mira for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4 Stars

Dessa, mum to three-year-old Olivia, hasn't had a night out for ages. She receives an invitation to go for dinner from her friends Heidi, Gretchen and Laurel. The women met in Venice Beach, California, while they were students at University. The evening is a hen night for Heidi who is soon to be married and after their meal, they head off to a club for dancing. Sipping her drink and realising she is drinking her cocktail more quickly than she should be she heads outside and takes a call from her babysitter, who relays the news that Olivia is sick. Dessa rings Joe, Olivia's father and starts to walk home when a devastating earthquake strikes. The earthquake had immediate calamitous effects that threaten to overwhelm Dessa, but she remains focused on getting to Olivia. Meanwhile, streetwise Beegie, fifteen, wakes up in a world where everything has turned white and someone is calling her Queen Elizabeth. She had been travelling on a bus to avoid the foster home she lives in but is badly treated in the hours immediately following the earthquake. Both Dessa and Beegie continue to experience gross abomination as they deal with the earthquake's after-effects.

Set In LA, main protagonist Dessa, a single mother working full time, has a complicated relationship with Olivia's dad. The other main character is spirited teenager Beegie who is wise beyond her years and has been in many foster homes. A lot of hurt has arrived at her door from her various foster caregivers, and she is a traumatised young woman. The reader meets her as she is deciding to take the night off from her domineering foster mother, Barb. Beegie has been through some dreadful experiences in her young life and endured other life-changing events such as the death of those dear to her.

Dessa and Beegie meet and support each other throughout the days after the earthquake. A novel about relationships, some weighty topics are mixed into the melting pot and I couldn’t put this book down. There was always something going on, along with some truly terrifying episodes and Bridget Foley's portrayal of Beegie and Dessa's gamut of emotions were so well portrayed that I felt as though I could envision what these characters were living through. A super, compelling, engrossing and highly affecting novel that, in my opinion, is a must-read.

A special thank you to MIRA Books and the author for a complimentary copy of this novel at my request received via NetGalley. This review is my unbiased opinion.

An intense read. It read almost like a screenplay of a disaster movie. You know…one of those movies where each time you breathe a sigh of relief that the heroine has survived once again, another obstacle appears, once again leaving you holding your breath.

Dessa, a single mother, leaves her daughter with a babysitter to attend a party with her best friend. Beegie, a teen in an unhappy foster home, is riding a city bus. Then a massive earthquake hits Los Angeles. Dessa and Beegie cross paths and must depend upon each other to survive…to just get home.

It really took a while for me to get into the story. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it, especially the dual timeline aspect. But about 75% through the book it came together for me. I loved the relationship that developed between Dessa and Beegie.

The story is raw and has quite a few triggers, a rape scene in particular, so be forewarned.

I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions are my own.

When an earthquake hits Los Angeles, Dessa finds that she is too far from her two-year-old daughter Ollie. Dessa left Ollie with a new babysitter for an unusual night out. The earthquake had immediate devastating effects that traumatize Dessa, but she remains laser focused on getting to Ollie.

Another person dealing with the earthquake in this story is Beggie, a teen foster child who was riding around on public transportation in order to avoid the foster home that she lives in. She is badly treated and thus finds herself away from safety now that she is out on the streets.

Both Dessa and Beggie experience unspeakable horror as they are dealing with the after effects of the earthquake. Dessa is using any means she can to get home to Ollie, and at some point she runs into Beggie. The two reach an unspeakable pact and begin traveling together. Dessa just wants to get home, and tries many times to contact Ollie and the babysitter by cell phone. However, with cell towers being down, Dessa is left in the dark as to the safety of her toddler.

Beggie's journey is of a different nature, and what ensues is a sad look at her tragic past. Her connection to Dessa during this tumultuous journey is wrought with danger, but they unite in a way that reaches the deepest levels, both of sadness and trust.

Just Get Home is a tension-filled, dramatic and emotional read that was utterly compelling. I was very drawn to both Dessa and Beggie and their individual plights, as well as what ultimately brought them together. As a mother, I could only imagine being separated from my young child due to distance and tragedy, all the while finding unbelievable strength to get to my child.

I don't read many disaster books, but this one was truly exceptional. The writing was remarkable, the character development was fabulous and the pacing was precise. The emotional edge in this story never once let up, thus giving me all the feels in this amazing book that I simply could not put down.

Many thanks to MIRA and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

I admit that it was hook, line, and sinker as soon as I read the blurb of Just Get Home. Between the earthquake and the promise of an action-packed disaster thriller with an almost dystopian feel, I knew I simply HAD to read this story. And my instinct didn't lead me astray, as Just Get Home turned out to be an absolutely fanastic story that I was unable to put down until I reached that final page. It's a story that crosses genre boundaries to create a plot that is both unique, intense and basically an emotional rollercoaster.

As I already mentioned, it is really hard to place Just Get Home into just one neat little genre box. Is it a disaster thriller? Yes. Is it an action thriller where the main characters have to face one dangerous situation after the other? Yes. Does it have a dystopian feel about it? Absolutely. But does it also focus on the background of the characters and include a variety of different elements including (child)abuse, foster homes, cheating and difficult family situations? Without a doubt. What might seem like a simple story that focuses on the aftermath of an enormous earthquake ended up being so much more, and Just Get Home will offer you so many different layers to unwrap along the way... Trust me, this book isn't just pure adrenaline, but offers so much more!

Talking about the earthquake: I think the descriptions of both the event and the aftermath are very well done and are used perfectly to show human nature and how people might react in similar situations. Sure, certain parts of the plot might feel a bit farfetched, but somehow I personally didn't mind as it only helped shaping that image of human turned monster once disaster strikes. This lack of compasion, survival instinct and violence also returns in the tragic home situation of Beegie, which was likewise heartbreaking to read about. Just Get Home is most definitely not a happy read, and while it has moments of hope shine through, as a whole it is the dystopian feel and disaster thriller that set the tone for the story.

The two main characters are total strangers that are suddenly pushed together as they try to survive. Both teenage Beegie and single mom Dessa have complicated backgrounds; especially Beegie has a tragic past and trigger warnings are in place for (child) abuse and rape. The character development is realistically done and it was fascinating to see the two interact and react to the things happening to them. They were definitely part of the reason this story ended up working this well, and I really liked how the plot was wrapped up in the end.

In short, Just Get Home turned out to be an absolutely fascinating story that defies genre boundaries. It offers us a disaster thriller with an almost dystopian feel, a lot of action and a lot of dept as well as a range of further elements... If you are looking for a little something different that will keep you on your toes and on the edge of your seat the whole time, Just Get Home is an excellent choice.

Just Get Home - even the title suggests intensity, and it is about as intense as it gets. We've all heard the earthquake catastrophe stories, those about the "Big One" hitting. There are numerous books and movies about it. This is one more such tale, but at the same time, it's not the typical story at all. All the elements are there, but this one feels more about the characters than the shock value. Dessa and Beegie certainly go through one shocking thing after another as they try to survive the aftermath of the earthquake, but the emotional aspect was what really kept the pages turning for me. It is a catastrophe thriller, but Bridget Foley adds that little something extra that sets it apart from the crowd. I will advise caution because parts of this one are definitely not for the faint-hearted, but if you enjoy this type of thriller, I'd recommend giving it a read.

JUST GET HOME by Bridget Foley is a completely engrossing and unique suspense/thriller by a new-to-me author that I could not put down! Starting with “The Big One”, this story brings together two disparate characters who are trying to survive the lawlessness, chaos and devastation to just get home.

Dessa is enjoying a rare night out with her best friend and fellow bridesmaids. When her babysitter calls to let her know her three-year-old daughter is sick, she immediately leaves for home. Before she can get to her car, the earthquake hits. With all communication down, Dessa races to get home not knowing if her daughter is dead or alive.

Fifteen-year-old Beegie is riding a city bus to escape an unhappy foster home until morning when the earthquake hits. She has had terrible experiences in foster care and awakens to being pulled from the bus by two men. All she wants is to get to her foster home and hide.

Dessa and Beegie are thrown together on the desperate city streets and form a fragile partnership to help each other to just get home.

You will need to put time aside to read this book because once you start, you are not going to be able to stop. Ms. Foley has written two protagonists that come to life on the page. Completely realistic, and at times disturbing characters, situations and an emotional rollercoaster takes you from page one to the end. Ms. Foley does not shy away from the dark issue of rape during this lawlessness, an uncaring foster system and racial issues. None of this is handled salaciously, but with a realistic outrage against the perpetrators and empathy for the victims.

I highly recommend these unforgettable protagonists and this emotionally well written story!

Title: Just Get Home
Author: Bridget Foley
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 4 out of 5

Dessa, a single mom, is enjoying a rare night out when a devastating earthquake strikes. Roads and overpasses crumble, cell towers are out everywhere, and now she must cross the ruined city to get back to her three-year-old daughter, not even knowing whether she's dead or alive. Danger in the streets escalates, as looting and lawlessness erupts. When she witnesses a moment of violence but isn't able to intervene, it nearly puts Dessa over the edge.

Fate throws Dessa a curveball when the victim of the crime—a smart-talking 15-year-old foster kid named Beegie—shows up again in the role of savior, linking the pair together. Beegie is a troubled teen with a relentless sense of humor and resilient spirit that enables them both to survive. Both women learn to rely on each other in ways they never imagined possible, to permit vulnerability and embrace the truth of their own lives.

I like Beegie quite a bit, but Dessa…not so much. She is far too passive for me, letting life—and the people in it—treat her however it will without standing up for herself. Like, passive to a pathetic degree. Solid writing and description—I’ve never experienced an earthquake and I’d like to keep it that way—enough to place me firmly in the scenes, but my dislike of Dessa was a big problem for me in reading this.

Bridget Foley lives in Idaho. Just Get Home is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Harlequin/MIRA in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link live 4/8.)

3.75 stars Thank you to Harlequin Publishing for giving me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. A thriller on the verge of dystopian horror, Just Get home was anxiety inducing as we are following two character's timelines that meet during the hours following a cataclysmic earthquake in L.A California. There are some serious trigger warnings in this book so please be aware of them before going in:

Rape
Murder
Violence
Child Abuse
Ableist Language

It took a while for me to get into the story as I was unsure of how to feel about the dual timelines and the events leading up to our characters present day. At first I did not see the background context as necessary and did not feel any connection to either of the characters. If anything I pitied Beegie and found Odessa as uninteresting. But when things began to explode, that all changed. It later became readily apparent as to why we needed the background context to understand our protagonists mental state during the apocalypse. Conversations were had on the "white savior narrative" that were real and raw. If Odessa's actions do not seem to make sense in the beginning, give it time, as by learning more about her as a person, things start to fall into place.

This story really examines the speed at which society falls apart in the face of disaster. When faced with extreme circumstances, how do our morals hold up to the mirror of our expectations? A mother's story of going to great lengths to be reunited with her daughter, we are on the edge of our seats as obstacle after obstacle is placed in the path of Dessa and Beegie, who simply want to get "home" in whatever sense that means for them. Bridget Foley asks us to reflect on each of the situations our characters endure to determine what actions we would take in the face of such grave dangers. This was an adult thriller that I might recommend as an introduction for adult readers into apocalyptic horror.

Just Get Home by Bridget Foley is a thriller that held me in its grip even when I desperately wanted to run and hide.

What I Liked

The intensity of the story is absolutely incredible. Human predators and animal predators abound in this epic survival tale of the aftermath of a natural disaster. The horror of the LA earthquake is described so well that I felt like I was there experiencing it with Dessa and Beegie. At various points, I didn’t know if I could take it anymore. The story wouldn’t let me turn away, though. I sped through the pages hoping that there was a light at the end of the tunnel that I was in – a rat-infested, quickly filling with water tunnel.

I loved how well the characters of Dessa and Beegie are developed. No aspect of their persona was left unexplored. It resulted in two characters who inspired empathy and a determination to survive. The many layers of bother characters are raw and tragic, and I want to say their plights were unbelievable. Still, I know they are both genuine for people in our society. My heart bled for both of them as their stories unfolded. They found each other during such a tragic time.

This story has all the violent triggers – including sexual - so readers need to know they are picking up a graphically intense tale. If they have any problems with triggers, they need to proceed with caution. I felt like I almost developed triggers where none existed from the power of this tale. I don’t often include trigger warnings, but I think they are needed before entering this novel’s world.

I’m leaving this review relatively short, as there are so many spoilers that I do not want to give away, but that is in no way reflective of how much this story holds between the covers. I could write pages upon pages about it if I did include spoilers.

To Read or Not to Read

If you can handle the power of a survival story that feels disturbingly real and offers so much to take away, this is a novel that you won’t want to miss!

The summary really caught my attention, but I struggled with the book. The pace was slower than expected, and I had a hard time connecting with the characters. Things did improve as the book went on, but it still fell a bit flat for me overall. The latter half is definitely the stronger part of the book.

This book was emotionally charged. As a mother, I was in a state hoping Dessa finds her way home to her daughter and my heart broke for Beegie.

Set in California after the big one hits these two women on a chance encounter team up to get home. Though danger lurks around every corner the women learn to focus and move forward.

I was on the edge of my seat throughout this book. The author did not leave one emotion untouched from fear stemming from assault and natural disaster to the love of a mother for her daughter. I was an emotional wreck reading this book.

The author did a brilliant job capturing the emotions and relaying them through Beegie and Dessa. As a mother, I could not imagine having to go through what Dessa did to find her way home. Nor could I even have dreamed a child could suffer as Beegie did.

This book is worth a read but be prepared to take a huge rollercoaster ride through your emotions.

Just Get Home is one step down from an apocalyptic dystopian novel – a disaster survival story set in LA. We meet mother Dessa who is trying to get home to her daughter from a night out downtown and Beegie who was riding a bus when the world turned upside down. I really liked the partnership between the two female characters; their backgrounds and way of seeing the world are so different and it really felt like they learned something from each other in the end. I also enjoyed how their stories were interwoven at the beginning without you really realising it at first. Also please note that there should be a trigger warning for sexual abuse and rape in this book.

My main criticism of the book was something that I had to check with other people before I wrote in this review! The earthquake itself happens in a place that usually gets small scale earthquakes a few times a year (although nothing on this scale). Although the earthquake is very bad, it is not a global catastrophe and even suburbs around the city are unaffected. It therefore seemed very unrealistic that in the 5 minutes after the earthquake hit people were raping, pillaging and looting places and everything had turned into an ‘only out for yourself’ scenario with added American terror of guns. I would have understood if this had been a global event where everywhere was affected or if this event had been a few months in the past and we were in the middle of a dystopian society but it just seemed bizarre at how quickly human levels of depravity were raised. Usually when an earthquake hits other parts of the world there are stories of people coming together to help and care for their fellow humans which did not seem to be happening here.

It also felt like the story was trying to point out how evil men can be; and as a woman I totally get that, but I found it a little unfair. The only men we meet in the book are terrible; either wielding guns, raping the women or manipulating the world around them which felt unbalanced. I also thought that although the ending had a nice climax to the events, it seemed a little too wrapped up and ‘happy ever after’.

Overall, Just Get Home is a simple story of survival, but hyperboles events to get its point across. Thank you to NetGalley & Harlequin Mira for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

At first I had a hard time understanding the book since it is told in two different perspectives. But after some time I started to enjoy how the stories of Beegie and Dessa interconnected in a weird and tragic way. With the goal of just getting home to her daughter after an earthquake, Dessa ends up meeting some strange people and situations along the way. Beegie is a teenager that goes through a lot for one single night, but her life will also change substantially after the earthquake.

Book: Just Get Home
Author: Bridget Foley
Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars

I would like to thank the publisher, Mira Books, for sending me an ARC.

I’m just going to be honest. I had no idea what to really expect when I picked this one up. I was actually surprised at how much I enjoyed this one. It was super fast paced and action packed. It gave me more movie vibes than it did book vibes. It’s not a bad thing though. I loved how fast paced this was.

The plot was pretty simple. As the title implies, it is about a woman and her quest to get home. An earthquake as struck and the main quest of the woman is to get home to her daughter. Throughout the whole book, the quest remains clear. Not only do we have the journey of a mother to get back to her daughter, we also get to see what a disaster can do to a person. We see her hide when something terrible happens to another woman. We see the best of people come out as well as the worse. We get to see people just doing anything that have to survive. Some of the things in this book are going to leave you with a sick feeling in your stomach. Yet, at the same time, it will really make you question yourself and make you wonder what you would have done had you been put into the same situation as these characters.

We have a very small cast of characters. I was fine with this. In a disaster story, you really don’t need a huge cast of characters, at least that’s what I think. By having a small cast of characters, you are given the chance to really form deep bonds with them. You get a chance to truly experience the events with them. You will find yourself cheer for them and will feel all of their pains. I like getting all of these feelings from my books. It shows me that I am fully invested in what is going on.

The reason I gave this a four star instead of a five star was because, even though I enjoyed it, I just felt that this storyline has been done before. While it is a pretty strong novel, it just felt like we’ve seen both this plot and characters before. I would have liked to see something a little bit different or the ending go a different direction than it did.

Anyway, I had a fun time with this one. It comes out on April 13, 2021.

Youtube: https://youtu.be/QPeuWpl0grc

What a thrilling and action packed read! I really loved Dessa and Beegie! There were many tense moments throughout where I was unsure what would happen next. I always love books where characters from different walks of live meet up and go trough a difficult journey together. This book was very well done.

This book was impactful, visceral, anxiety-inducing. I spent the majority of this book with my heart racing. I read this at a fever pitch, a deep intensity to find out what happened to everyone, what will happen to Dessa and Beegie. I was not prepared for the emotional rollercoaster that this book was going to send me on. Dessa, a young white mother separated from her daughter because of a night out with old friends, struggles to find her way back home so she can reunite with her daughter. Beegie, a young Black girl alone and isolated, separated from a foster home she hates and fearful of the monsters in the world looking desperately for a way to protect herself and make people afraid to mess with her. When these two paths cross, they become an unlikely partnership sent off a difficult journey of surviving the aftermath of a horrible earthquake.

The description of the book says it's the Big One, the one that separates California from the rest of the U.S. and there was never any confirmation of that in the book. It felt more to me like it was just a massive earthquake that California/LA hadn't experienced in a long time, if ever. I think how Foley described the earthquake and the effects of it were brilliant. I felt like I was there, I could picture everything happening and felt the rush of panic that comes with that. Dessa and Beegie's fear was my fear, their anger, my anger. I truly hoped for the best for them even while every chapter told me it was hopeless. The brief pockets of calm and stillness only added to that sensation of dread even as it fed the hope. I don't want to give away the ending of this book, but I will say it is worth it to make it to the end.

If you feel like you can handle a book that has quite a lot of triggers (rape, sexual assault, death, physical assault, guns, suicide, child sexual assault, and general violence) then I think this is worth it. I don't think all of it was necessary, the rape scene didn't have to happen in my opinion, I think it was just more misery on a plate that was already full of it (and to that effect, did that plate even need to be as full as it was?). I understand the point of the scene, but I feel like it could have been accomplished with less. That is something that I would love to discuss with other readers so I want you, if you feel comfortable, to read this book and then come back to me with your opinions! Let me know how you felt about everything too.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bridget Foley and Harlequin for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

I struggled with the beginning of this book for some reason, there is plenty of action and it is interesting, but I just didn't connect with either character on their own and I almost gave up. But I am glad that I didn't. I pushed through and once you get a little further in, it gets much more interesting and I really enjoyed the characters together and how they pushed, but yet supported one another. There were so many pulse pounding moments in the last half and I rushed right through it to see if they would get a happy ending. Definitely recommend to those who like a slower paced thriller with lots of action.