This was a great book! After a surprising event in her life, Wren has taken off on a geocaching trip. She meets Marshall in a chance encounter on the trail. I enjoyed Wren’s story. And I enjoyed her journey during her outdoor adventure.

This is a lovely meditation on grief and how each person processes it differently. Each grief situation is shown to be just as valid as another – nothing is made to feel lesser. It’s also how adults should relate to each other in real life and a romance that ends very happily. (There’s also a sadly real situation on how women move through the world.)

I learned more about geocaching, which I’d been somewhat aware of for years, but didn’t realize that a) it was still a thing and b) the rules around it. If I was more of a hiker, I’d try it myself.

I really liked this and thought that everything was handled deftly and loved the conclusion.

Definitely recommended!

I received an ARC from NetGalley for my unbiased opinion.

#TrailOfLostHearts #NetGalley

I loved the first book I read by this author which was The Girl He Use To Know and I loved it. I loved the writing. I had to read this one. I like the authors writing style. This one deals with loss and grief. It makes you feel. You feel for the characters and what they go through.

DNF

This book was fine. It didn't have anything that really intrigued me, and while I could've finished it, I could just tell that it was going to be average read.

The Trail of Lost Hearts is a beautifully written contemporary romance focusing on two lost souls and the healing process each undertakes separately and together. What an emotional roller-coaster from beginning to end, it's equally heartwarming and heart wrenching. I enjoyed the writing style and how each character's traumatic life events were revealed. It's one of those books that you can't put down but want to put down because you don't want it to end.


Thank you St. Martin's Press for this gifted ARC.

This story definitely gave me Wild vibes.
Our FMC starts on a wilderness journey of geocaching while dealing with heartbreak.

It was not an easy journey for her , but made easier by the swoon-worthy MMC.

The main characters bond and heal over their traumas in a way that was moving and realistic.

The Trail of Lost Hearts is the recent release from Tracey Garvis Graves and if you've not read a book by her yet, you are missing out. I know that when I pick up a book from Garvis Graves I am going to get a good story and well-developed characters and sure enough, this book gave me both.

This story kicks off with our main character Wren going on a hike and Garvis Graves pulled me in with the questions I had about her and what she was doing on her own as well as the situation she was finding herself in. When Wren discovered geocaching, it quickly became the thing that motivated her to get out of bed after taking some pretty big hits and now as a way to take back control of her life she decided to take a solo trip to Oregon but finding herself in a dangerous situation on a trail, she wonders what she's going to do.

Enter Marshall Hendricks, a psychologist searching for distraction as he struggles with a life-altering blow of his own. Though Wren initially rebuffs Marshall’s attempt at hiker small talk, she’s beyond grateful when he rescues her from a horrifying encounter farther down the trail. In the interest of safety, Marshall suggests partnering up to look for additional caches. Wren’s no longer quite so trusting of the universe―or men in general―but her inner circle might argue that a smart, charismatic psychologist isn’t the worst thing the universe could place in her path.

As Wren and Marshall slowly become more than just friends to each other, they learn how to trust again and I loved how Garvis Graves built this relationship. It felt real and at times, complicated and hard but I could also feel how much these characters wanted to figure it out. It is an emotional read but in all the good ways.

If you're looking for a new contemporary, adult romance consider picking this one up. This author is an auto-buy author for me because I can always count on her books to give me a great story with real characters and if you haven't read her backlist yet, you should go and grab them too..

While sitting in her fiance’s hospital room, Wren Waters receives a blow so devastating that she doesn’t even know if she can recover. In an effort to reclaim her life, Wren heads to Oregon for a solo vacation geocaching, needing desperately to get out of Ohio for a while. On the hiking trail, Wren meets Marshall Hendricks, who is also on a mission of healing, and as both are geocaching, they decide to team up.

There’s a lot going on in this book, just the way I like it! Wren is incredibly strong and she and Marshall work together really well. I enjoyed seeing the story unfold and appreciated the supportive friends and family both Wren and Marshall had.

I was so excited when I saw that Tracey Garvis Graves had a new book out. I’m so happy to save I loved it as much as I hoped I would! It is a bit on the heavy and emotional side, but it is so well written. There was a lot of talk of geocaching in this book, which I know nothing about, but it was fun to read about. I loved the Oregon setting in this book, it made me want to visit there even more than I already did! If you enjoy forced proximity and open door romance, you’ll love this book! I highly recommend checking it out!

Thank you Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Oh my, this book. As a fellow griefy gal, this book hit me in all the feels. I really enjoyed the grief mixed with the wilderness pieces. I think fans of Tracey Garvis GRaves will also enjoy this one. Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read!

Trail of Lost Hearts is my first book by author Tracey Garvis Graves. It was an emotional love story that gave me my happy ending. This book is a great pairing with nonfiction novel, Wild by Cheryl Strayed. This book is perfect for readers who enjoy camping and hiking.

Likes:
*Intense opening that draws you into the story.
*Outdoorsy setting along the Pacific Crest trail.
*Characters who deal with real like experiences.

Dislikes:
*Open door scenes

I received an advanced electronic copy from publisher St. Martins Press books and Netgalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview this book. #smpinfluencer

This book combines Wild by Cheryl Strayed with Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and tied up with a mature and respectful romance. I appreciate romances with older (ie- not early 20s) characters. But sometimes even with the age, the author doesn't give them maturity, maybe to explain why they are single or to create foils for the relationships. So when an author has to adults acting like adults and being mature in their communications and decision making, it is refreshing to me. There can still be complications in creating a long lasting romantic connection without huge dramas, immaturity and miscommunication. The quiet, more emotional pieces can make just an impactful a story, and definitely did with this one.

Wren and Marshall both have grief to work through, and while Marshall is good at helping others, he struggles with opening himself up and working through his own pain. I appreciated having a novel show a man realizing he needs help and seeking out resources for that. I also felt so much for Wren and respected how she worked through her trauma, both alone and with Marshall's help. Her maturity and grace in the back half of the novel was truly admirable. This was an incredibly touching story about second chances, and ultimately finding what you need.

The Trail of Lost Hearts by Tracey Garvis Graves
Four Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟

I just finished *The Trail of Lost Hearts* and wow, what a ride! This book had me hooked from the first page.

The characters felt so real and relatable, especially Wren. I found myself rooting for them through every challenge and heartbreak. The setting was beautifully described too – I could almost feel the trail beneath my feet and see the stunning landscapes.

The only reason I’m not giving it a full five stars is that there were a couple of slow parts in the middle that made me itch to skim ahead. But honestly, the rest of the book more than made up for it. If you’re looking for a heartfelt story with a bit of everything, this one’s definitely worth the read.

I really enjoyed this book, it starts with two unlikely people be friending each other and continuing the story as their romance blossoms. No one is expecting them to develop feelings for each other let alone them. A lot of unexpected occurances happen and they need to figure out what to do about it.

4.5 stars (rounding up)
Not going to lie-I saw this cover and kinda thought this book would reflect the story. However, I was so pleasantly pleased with how much I loved this story (sorry to whomever came up with the cover art!)!
I loved these characters, I loved the setting and the outdoorsyness, I loved the mature way these characters communicated, and I loved the romance.
Finished this just a little over 24 hours!
Love this author!

The Trail of Lost Hearts is the second book I’ve read by Tracey Garvis Graves and she’s now made my list of auto read authors. Resilience is a theme of this story and there were many beautiful moments that captured my heart.

I don’t want to divulge too much of the plot because it’s best just to follow the main character, Wren, on her journey. Quite literally she is on a journey. After facing some major life stuff she decides to take a solo trip to Oregon to go geocaching. Her hobby involves using GPS and locating markers or containers which have been placed all over the great outdoors. Maybe this trip will be the jump start she needs to get her life back on track.

Recommend if you are looking for a contemporary fiction read with some depth that will also make you smile and laugh.

I thoroughly enjoyed the entire first half of this book. We had two lonely broken individuals and they were really going through it. But they were adults in their mid 30s!!! Who communicated!!!! And it was marvelous! There were incredible conversations about grief and healing and this was shaping up to be a really great book. I was looking at a very solid 4 star read.

Then the second half kicked in and the twist happened. I hated every second of it and lost an entire star because of it. Wren turned into the person she was accusing Marshall of being and what’s worst of all is she knew it. Her inner monologue was constantly how unfair she was being and how aware she was of what a hypocrite she was being. Ugh. She was keeping a huge secret while inwardly chastising him for keeping his own secrets. Newsflash, he wasn’t keeping secrets, just dealing with his own grief that she was fully aware of the whole time.

Idk why the author made the choice she did but it turned into a very bad soap opera. The story already started with these characters dealing with a hell of a lot more than anyone should, unexpected deaths on both their ends. And then some major betrayals on top of it. Now the author added this soap opera twist that just added such unnecessary drama and angst. It would’ve worked so much better if they took their time and healed slower than throwing that curveball at them to force things along.

The entire second half made Wren entirely unlikable. Once Marshall came back into the picture I warmed up to her again. He made her a better person. And I hate that I only liked her again because he was back.


Thank you to St Martins Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

Had all the promise of being a winner...⁣
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Summary⁣
Wren Waters, a 34-year-old woman who travels from Dayton, Ohio to Eugene, Oregon for a week-long solo geocaching expedition to help her heal after two life-altering losses. Wren finds solace in the outdoors, and geocaching becomes her therapy. She meets Marshall Hendricks, a psychologist, and the two go on personal journeys towards healing. The book is about overcoming grief while finding oneself.⁣
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I loved the set up, I loved Wren, and I loved the hiking element. But at some point around the 30 percent mark, it went off the rails. Too many far fetched and over the top situations/events started to happen and it lost me. I finished because 1) I also had the audio so that made bumping up the speed and 2) I did need to find out what happened with Wren and Marshall.⁣
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Thank you @netgalley for this free copy in exchange for my honest review.⁣
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Have you read any by Tracey Garvis Graves? I remember enjoying The Girl He Used to Know so I'm not sure of I'm completely finished reading TGG but this one put me on skeptical island.

This is a go-to-author of mine! Tracey Garvis Graves is a brilliant storyteller and knows how to get a reader invested in the characters.

Get ready for a heart-wrenching and roller coaster ride with Wren and Marshall. They will take your emotions on a wild ride! This book had me grabbing my tissues. Not only is this read a tear-jerking, angsty love story, it will truly bring all the feels out on each page. Again, another bravo book from this author!

I love Tracey Garvis Graves and this book was no exception. Just wonderful, I love the characters and the story so much. Highly recommend, thank you for my copy!