another home run from the author!

This book immediately grabbed me and didn't let go until I finished it.

I liked When and Marshall and her friends.

The story was captivating and I enjoyed the second chance and healing.

I finished the book with a warm glow and happy heart.

Definitely will sell at the store when it is published.

4 stars highly recommended


Thank you net Galley St. Martin's Press and the author.

4.5 stars

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to read and listen to The Trail of Lost Hearts in exchange for my review. This is such an intriguing novel. It’s the emotional journey of two people willing to do the heavy lifting to work through their individual grief. I really enjoyed Wren and Marshall and loved watching their story unfold. Their initial meeting was unique - geocaching is new to me! It was an addictive read that I finished in a few days. I’ve read one other by Graves and remember a similar reading experience. I’ll be adding her backlist titles to my TBR.

Wren Waters is adrift in her grief after a couple life-altering events that have shattered her trust in men. With prodding from her best friend, she finally gets back out into the world and discovers a love for geocaching.*

During a solo geocaching trip to Oregon, Wren meets Marshall Hendricks, a kind and handsome psychologist and fellow geocacher who comes to her rescue in a dangerous moment. When he suggests they team up on their quests for the week, she finally agrees. She doesn’t know that Marshall is also grieving a major loss. Perhaps fate has brought them together?

As they get to know one another and Wren shares more about what’s happened to her, she finds a sympathetic and supportive friend in Marshall and a small spark of hope for the future. Unfortunately, the more she opens up and talks about her grief, the more Marshall seems to shut down about his.

As they grow closer, will Marshall ever let his guard down about his past? Furthermore, can they realistically have a future together? I’ll just say that things get very complicated on the path to those answers, but I enjoyed their journey!

This is my first read by Tracey Garvis Graves and it was such a touching and sweet story! It highlighted grief and healing in a way that felt genuine, which made me care for both Wren and Marshall. Their relationship was believable, and it was so refreshing to see two MCs with flaws and vulnerabilities. Their journey was messier, but also more relatable than a typical romance. I also liked that they were in their mid-thirties, which gave the story a welcome maturity.

My one and only complaint is that the dialogue occasionally felt oddly formal and unnatural to how people actually talk. This has happened for me before in books by Isabelle Allende and Jodi Picoult, where the author has important ideas they want to share about certain topics - in this case grief - but it sounds like exposition on that topic being awkwardly forced into dialogue. Thankfully, MOST of the time that wasn’t the case - it just stood out when it was.

All in all, I really liked this and would gladly read another book by this author! I recommend this to those who enjoy a gentle romance with emotional heft, and who don’t mind a little open-door spice!

★★★★

Wren needs to get away, and what better way to do that then fly across the country to the Pacific Northwest for an outdoor adventure. Wren's plan is to geocache, looking for hidden objects, and have some alone time which is much needed after overcoming the biggest mistake of her life. She runs into Marshall on the trail, and their relationship takes off. I really enjoyed the first half of the book as we followed along on Wren and Marshall's travels. We quickly learn about Wren's need to get away, but Marshall isn't as forthcoming about why he had disappeared from his life. And this is where the story takes a dramatic, somewhat surprising turn. Without revealing the surprise, the second half of the book is perhaps a little more introspective and emotional, which ultimately leads the reader to a satisfying conclusion.

If you are looking for a heartwarming love story that packs an emotional punch, this is the book for you. The author does a great job at providing a strong sense of place; she uses that to bring two people together who had significant obstacles to overcome en route to finding each other.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review.

I was so excited to receive a copy of Tracey Garvis Graves' newest release. I enjoyed Heard it in a Love Song and The Girl He Used to Know.

Wren Water's life has been upended by a life altering plot twist she did not expect. She has always believed that the universe will send you what you need when you need it and will she believe that this time?

Wren leaves her life in Ohio to go to the Pacific Northwest to geocache. She used to love being outdoors but in the last few years, she has gotten away from this hobby. Trying to center herself and find what the universe is telling her, she is off on her adventure.

Things do not start out as smoothly as she had hoped. The unexpected travel partner will change everything if Wren will open herself up to the possibility.

Marshall has experienced unimaginable grief and is on his own journey.

This is a story of two individuals who have experienced great loss and have to decide if they can open themselves up to love again. This story will stay with me for some time.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

As someone who is transplanted from Ohio to Washington state, this story truly spoke to my heart. One thing I absolutely love about this location is the beauty and nature that surrounds you no matter where you go in the Pacific Northwest. This author truly captured the feelings and emotions that go into hiking and being one with nature.

The story to me felt more of a story of the journey of self discovery and growth rather than a romance. Wren had experienced intense emotional trauma and reading her piece together the broken pieces with each step she took felt empowering and captivating to read. This author did a great job by taking heavy topics but not having them overtake Wren's personality.

This book is a well written story that left me feeling uplifted and hopeful. It felt inspirational without the book’s story feeling too emotionally heavy or overwhelming. I felt that those going into this book expecting the romance to be the center of the plot would be disappointed because I felt this book centered more on Wren's personal journey. Don’t get me wrong though, the romance wasn’t lacking, it’s just not the center of the book.


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

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy of this book.

Another winner from one of my favorite authors. Beautifully written, her stories stay with you long after you've finished them. I read very fast yet always find myself savoring her words, re-reading and admiring picture perfect sentences. Such a wonderful writer. These characters go on a journey both physically and emotionally and you're rooting for them from page one. I so enjoyed reading about a healthy relationship between two grieving adults without the usual angst and miscommunication you find so often.

If you haven't discovered Tracey Garvis Graves, you're really missing out. Highly recommend.

I started The Trail of Lost Hearts expecting an emotional read. I was not expecting a page-turner, but that is what I got. Wren Waters, reeling from a one-two punch after the death of her fiance, has finally decided to reclaim her life. She starts by flying two thirds of the way across the country to go geocaching in the Pacific Northwest. She wants to be alone, until she finds herself facing even more punches from the universe. Fortunately, that's when Marshall enters the book. Wren and Marshall team up for the duration of her trip and end up in love (and in bed). So far, this is about what I was expecting.

But I expected the whole book to unfold within the confines of this trip. But that's not the story Tracey Garvis Graves wanted to explore; the scope of this tale is bigger.

As the trip comes to a close, and Wren processes her life up to this point, she realizes how much of herself she's been suppressing to stay with her late fiance. She realizes there were warning signs that all was not well in that relationship--signs she missed. Now, she's determined to live forward in a way that's more true to herself. So, when she realizes that Marshall is withholding important details about his past, she makes the hard call and ends the relationship at the end of her trip. And on the way home, she realizes the universe isn't done throwing curve balls at her yet.

The last half of the book follows Wren as she and Marshall try to put together who they have been, who they are, and who they are becoming. Although Wren's decision to edit important details from what she shares with Marshall in this process made me raise my eyebrows, ultimately the book is engrossing, the characters relatable, and the end satisfying. And the details of setting in the first half of the book are soul food for those who love nature.

This story pulled me in quickly and the first half was really enjoyable. I didn’t care for the plot twist at the mid point, but the character development and growth that had been set up to that point ensured that the resolution was still satisfying. The Pacific Northwest wilderness setting gave me some fierce wanderlust!

This was my first time reading this author, and I now look forward to seeking out more of her backlist!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for gifting me with an ARC to review! All opinions are my own. I enjoyed it!

A new favorite book from one of my favorite authors!! This was an incredibly moving friends to lovers story about moving on after heartbreak and grief and sees two strangers meeting while geocaching in the Oregon wilderness.

34-year-old Wren is still trying to get over learning that her recently deceased partner had a secret other family while mysterious Marshall is a psychologist running from his own grief and guilt over the loss of a loved one.

Together these two bond on the trail and gradually their friendship turns into something more until their week-long trip comes to an end and Marshall leaves Wren wishing for more. Heartbroken again, Wren returns home to discover that the universe has yet another surprise in store for her.

With excellent mental health rep, this book is great for nature lovers and anyone who enjoyed Cheryl Strayed's Wild or Katherine Center's Happiness for beginners. It was also great on audio narrated by Eric Meyers and Kate Handford.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy and the author herself for sending me a physical ARC copy through a giveaway. If you're looking for your next great read this spring look no further!

Steam level: some open door scenes

Two people, working through tragedy, come together to find a new way forward. I love Wren and Marshall together. They are both mature and able to talk through issues. This story is heartfelt and emotional.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

The beginning of this was great, the shared trauma and situation in which they met had me all in, I got the chemistry and I couldn't wait to see them grow and be open with each other. Then the twist happens and it just became super annoying. Wren continuously saying that she wants him to be open about everything with her and nothing can go further with them till that happens but yet she is hiding this secret FOR MONTHS?!?! while saying over and over I'm going to tell him I am, I know I need to tell him soon.....blah blah blah. I would have been fine if that twist happened even at the beginning and they dealt and became closer because of it, they way it came about and ended was so annoying (personally).

Thank you to St. Martins Press, Netgalley and the author for giving me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Tracey Garvis Graves is an auto-buy author for me and reading her books are like a warm blanket wrapped around my shoulders; comforting and a welcomed addition.

The Trail of Lost Hearts was a book that I was looking forward to but ultimately, in the end, wasn’t one I loved.

Garvis Graves has a talent for writing characters we can root for, usually the female main character, but Wren in this story was hard for me to like. She might be written as a “strong woman”, but her lack of personality and her extremely poor communication skills/grudge holding skills are something I couldn’t grasp onto as a reader. Marshall was likable but I felt bad for him in the aspect that he kept trying to win over Wren (even though I know it’s THEIR story…) I saw it as more desperation on his part than romantic but only because I felt Wren was rude as a person.

The pacing was a bit off, too. I felt like it was two different stories in one book; one about geocaching and one about motherhood. The transition from one to the other was a bit clunky and I kind of wished the whole book was about geocaching and their longer adventures together with it instead of bringing a child into the middle of the book.

I think Garvis Graves is a writer I will always admire for her smooth storytelling and her books that let you get lost in them, but The Trail of Lost Hearts was a miss for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️From Publisher St. Martin's Press: Thirty-four-year-old Wren Waters believes that if you pay attention, the universe will send you exactly what you need. But her worldview shatters when the universe delivers two life-altering
blows she didn’t see coming, and all she wants to do is put the whole heartbreaking mess behind her. No one is more surprised than Wren when she discovers that geocaching—the outdoor activity of using GPS to look for hidden objects—is the only thing getting her out of bed and out of her head. She decides that a weeklong solo quest geocaching in Oregon is exactly what she needs to take back control of her life.

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.

What begins as a platonic road trip gradually blossoms into something deeper, and the more Wren learns about Marshall, the more she wants to know. Now all she can do is hope that the universe gets it right this time.
*************************
My review: I have read several of TGG's books and one of them (The Girl He Used to Know) was one of the best books I read in 2022. I was excited to get this advance copy to review. The book captured me from the start. The events of Wren’s past, and then Marshall’s, are revealed slowly with great build up. They are two hurt people who need to find something that matters. While searching for geocaches (really searching for something to help them heal) they literally run into each other. Marshall seems too good to be true, but he is also searching and hurting. Right place, right time and Wren believes in signs.

But just when things may be better, the curveballs of life come back into play. I admit, I was caught off guard but TGG is great at tugging on the heartstrings. I should have seen it coming!

"...You realize that the scales have tipped and the weight of the sadness you feel is finally lighter than your happiness."

A great book about love, loss, determination, healing, and being in the right place at the right time.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Thank you to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book I exchange for my review.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book for my honest review and for bringing this book into my life.
Huge fan of the author Tracey Garvis Graves so I will read anything she writes always. BUT, BUT!!!!! This book is just everything I want from a book and more. I am not going to write some profound review that is for the professionals, but what I loved about this book was characters you can root for and whose journey will stay with me for a long time. I know I will think about this book months, maybe years down the road. What made them special for me was that their challenges and emotional baggage was real. Its wasnt just some silly miscommunication, these people dealt with some real stuff. Their journey to try to heal themselves brought them together but ultimately their own strength was what allowed them to move forward. I was happy to root for their happy ending or for them to be apart if that was what made them whole. I stayed up late to read this book and I finished it in less then 48 hours. That doesnt happen often but when I does, you can be sure it was well worth the lack of sleep and ignoring my family.

An emotional rom-com that will have you reaching for a box of tissues. A few steamy sex scenesbut nothing over the top. Just a lot of emotional baggage from both Wren and Marshall that keeps the story going on. Just wish there was one more chapter or at least an epilogue.

Thank Netgalley for the ARC

A smart, warm romance that gives a good portrayal of dealing with grief. Well developed characters. I learned a lot about geocatching. I will read this one again!

⭐️⭐️⭐️½

I have lots of mixed feelings on this one. I really enjoyed the first 60% of this book. It was a 4.5 - 5 star for me up until that point. I loved Wren and Marshall's journey of finding a sliver of happiness in all of their grief. I used to love geocaching so it was easy to get wrapped up in their adventure. When things turned romantic for them, I couldn't get enough.

And then things changed and it felt like a completely different book. The pacing was off from that point and the dialogue/emails/messages were too stiff and polished. And those dreams - it felt like it dragged out the story more than necessary. That last 40% didn't give me the feels like the first part of the book. I was disappointed with how it played out.

On a good day, I think I could have overlooked the flaws and given it 4 stars.

Steam level: 🔥🔥🔥
⚠️: grief, assault, infidelity (not between the main characters), fatal car accident

I mostly enjoyed the first half of this novel. After a double whammy tragedy, Wren was having trouble getting out of bed until her friend introduced her to geocaching, which is when you go hiking with an app that leads you to an object left by strangers. It gets you outside in nature, but more than a hike, it has a goal. Because she can work from anywhere, she decides to heal her broken heart geocaching solo in the Pacific Northwest. When a friendly hiker tries to chat her up, she shuts it down, only to be rescued by him not much later. She doesn’t particularly trust men after having ample reason not to, but he *seems* like a good guy, and maybe he can look out for her and help her feel safe, so they go on healing journeys finding hidden objects in beautiful places.

I liked both Marshall, a psychologist, and Wren, a social media consultant, but there were several things about this story that didn’t work for me, and I can’t tell you what they are without giving things away.

NetGalley provided an advance copy of this novel, which RELEASES MARCH 26, 2024.

What an unexpectedly sweet read. I’m not sure what I anticipated but what unfolded in these pages were characters who captured my attention, and a story that touched my heart. I became invested in their journey and their outcome and didn’t want to stop reading.

[ARC from Net Galley but opinions as always are my own]