Three Keys by Laura Pritchett is the story of Ammalie who has lost her husband and is struggling in her new state of life. We meet Ammalie as she heads off on a trip to find herself. I enjoyed parts of this book and then sometimes felt it was dragging a bit All in all I enjoyed Ammalie's story and especially her relationship with the dog she rescues during her first stay.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of Three Keys in exchange for an honest review. Three Keys is available now.

loved this mystery and keeping secrets and the different point of views. Also loved trying to figure out who did it . I enjoyed the mystery behind it.

It’s probably quite obvious that the cover of THREE KEYS by Laura Pritchett is what initially drew me to this novel—it’s stunning. After reading the first sentence of the synopsis, I immediately requested it on Netgalley. Read this:

“𝙉𝙚𝙬𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙪𝙣𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙮𝙚𝙙, 𝙖 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙞𝙙-𝙛𝙞𝙛𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙨𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙛𝙛 𝙤𝙣 𝙖 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙒𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙮, 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩-𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙤𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙋𝙀𝙉 𝙐𝙎𝘼 𝘼𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙙–𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙧.”

I’m all for a good adventure story about a woman in her mid-fifties roaming around the American West and beyond. Heck, yes. Bring it on. This book gave me some major Eat, Pray, Love vibes but felt way more down-to-earth and relaxed. I guess I just found Ammalie, the female protagonist much more relatable (and likable) than the one in EPL.

READ THIS IF YOU ENJOY:

- Mature/middle-aged female characters
- Hiking and exploring
- Roadtrips and #vanlife
- Arizona and Colorado settings
- Random acts of kindness
- Reflections on loss and grief
- Themes of motherhood and marriage
- Risky behavior and taking chances
- Self-discovery and soul-searching

Ammalie is a phenomenal character, and I absolutely LOVED going on this journey with her, but must say that the random people she meets along the way are what truly make this novel. They were pure gold, and touched my heart and soul!

If you want to go on an epic adventure with a quirky, charming, and admirable woman, please give THREE KEYS a go. You won’t be disappointed. It was a total joy to read, and gets 4/5 solid stars from me!

Ammalie's husband died unexpectedly of a stroke. The grief and stress caused by his death and all the issues that arise after a person dies led to a big fight between Ammalie and her son, Powell, who has requested that she give him space. Ammalie is on good terms with her sister, Apricot, but the closeness they had when they were younger is gone, and their conversations are fairly superficial, especially as Apricot does not want to openly confront the cancer that will likely one day take her life. Ammalie has also lost her job, as the restaurant where she was a waitress burned down in a fire, and the rebuilding process has been slow. Ammalie finds herself at loose ends -- an unemployed middle-aged widow.

To try to find herself, she decides to go on a road trip, revisiting a location in Colorado that was meaningful for her and her husband, and then visiting two locations (New Mexico and New Zealand) that were meaningful to her husband. However, instead of making reservations or getting permission to stay at these three places, she is living in her car as she travels, "breaking" into the cabin in Colorado, trailer in New Mexico, and house in New Zealand, hoping to keep her presence in these locations a secret while she discovers what she needs to discover. Her plan will not work out as intended. Yet, she will have quite the adventure, meet some very interesting people (some of whom will become lasting friends), rescue an abused dog, help multiple people and receive help in return from multiple people, discover an inner strength she did not know she possessed, make peace with aspects of her past, rekindle family relationships, and find a new purpose for her life. The story has plenty of funny moments, and plenty of tender moments.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really liked it, stuck with me & would recommend
A very well crafted journey of self discovery that's much more palatable (to me) than something like Eat Pray Love. Losing your partner suddenly forces you to change in the blink of an eye, it just takes some time realize it and for Ammelie, it's a grand adventure. The concept of the keys was very interesting, fueling the journey. The characters were well developed and felt very real to me. The story did eventually come together, making a veritable pretty bow, almost too perfect, that I guess you sometimes need after all that emotional growth.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, NetGalley, and author Laura Pritchett for providing me with a digital ARC copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Three Keys is out July 16, 2024.

Ammalie is waiting on her son, Powell, to be stable in his adulthood before divorcing his father, Vincent, but then Vincent then dies of a stroke. She felt trapped in her mundane life with Vincent pulling away from her that now without him, she feels lost and needs to find herself. She sets off on an adventure, and uses it as a way to say goodbye to Vincent. Three places he visited in his life, one with her, she adventures on her own pushing herself to find herself. Along the way she meets, and sorta deceives, people who end up helping her. In the end the truth comes out but who doesn't love an Eat Pray Love kind of story?

The premise of the book is endearing and it was something I couldn't put down. While parts of the story are far fetched, its a story and a feel good story at that.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

Relatable read. I really enjoyed Three Keys. Following Ammalie on her adventures was sometimes like looking in a mirror. I could definitely relate to some of what she was feeling. I liked the writing style and the way the book was laid out. When I wasn't reading, I was thinking about the characters. I liked her justification for doing all the things she did; she was deep enough but open enough to lay it all out there with an explanation that was sometimes made sense to only her. I'd definitely recommend this read.

Three Keys by Anna Prichett was a horror show for me. I never ever want to bash an artists work. I’m not built that way. However I trudged through to the end of the book. I figured I owed the author that much. I was so annoyed with the main character. She was not someone I could relate to at any time in the book. I wanted to take Ammalie and send her to a therapist. The Three Keys is a road trip that this character takes rediscovering her early days with her husband. (Apparently they liked to take keys when they left.)

She is like a fourteen year old who hasn’t planned a thing, jumps in her beat up old car and drives across the country hitting these three places on her way.

I couldn’t empathize at all with Ammalie’s situation While it is only fiction her decision to use three unreturned rental keys to basically squat her way across the country was distasteful and that’s just the beginning of what I didn’t like.

I can’t even mildly suggest that you read this. I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. I felt like it started slow, but it quickly picked up. I am so glad I got a copy of this book!

Really loved the concept! This started out really strong and I loved the commentary on women’s bodies as they age as well as the small tidbits about race, gender and the planet ( though I could have used more)! Part three kind of lost me because I all of a sudden didn’t believe it., why was the narrator keeping her cash flow from the reader?? That part was weird. Otherwise I enjoyed! Rounded up from 3.5.

Ammalie is one of the most frustrating characters, likeable one moment and insufferable the next. After the death of her husband, who wanted to divorce her, her son headed off to college, and the loss of her job, she decides to go on a trip of self discovery. Ammalie has three literal keys in her possession that represent a place her husband Airbnd'd/rented, and she plans to use these keys to basically squat her way across the country. Along the way she meets interesting people, and animals, and is either super broke or spending wads of cash on nonsense, naming every inanimate object, and being an unreliable narrator to her own life. There were parts that I could relate to and some that didn't resonate. It does tend to get a little preachy or hippie, but there are some golden nuggets of wisdom as well. The story is as inconsistent as the main character. A lot of people will like this. For me, it was ok.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Dell for providing me with an advance e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. Look for it now in your local and online bookstores and libraries.

This is one of those books that makes you want to go on a journey with yourself. It has all the makings of making you feel feelings about those you love and yourself. Highly recommend

A mid-fifties woman on her own goes on a big adventure with three keys that open doors to homes she hopes to stay in while on her trip... unbeknownst to the owners. I didn't connect with the main character and couldn't get behind the choices she was making, they just didn't make sense to me. It was full of illegal adventuring, which had the potential to be exciting, but it somehow didn't always hold my attention. I loved the concept of finding ones self after a dramatic life change by making more big changes. I like the idea of a solo adventure. It just fell a little flat for my taste.

An adventure story filled with interesting supporting characters. The story touched on many places and topics I am not as familiar with, which I enjoyed. It makes me want to look for sea glass.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Dell for the ARC opportunity.

A novel for the outdoor enthusiast, I was moved and inspired by Three Keys in a way I wasn't at all expecting! Our protagonist is middle aged and feeling alone in her life as her husband has passed away, she's lost her job and her son seems to want nothing to do with her. On a mission to get back to "her", she travels across the country, squatting and adventuring in three locations. She finds new faces to love and connect with along the way, and learns more about herself than she could have imagined. A great reminder of what it means to care for our earth and each other, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel!

Ammalie feels lost. Her husband is dead, her son dropped out of college, and she lost her job and is living in her car. Now she drives to New Mexico and rescues an abused dog named Lady. Finding an abandoned trailer, she lives there for a while and meets fellow squatter, Kit. Later she has a medical emergency and her thoughts go to Levi, a handsome man who had a crush on her when she was waitressing. At this point it's really depressing until several things help her understand she has had three "keys" in life: her husband, her job, and her role as a mother. It's been billed as a second "coming of age" novel and it's every bit as heartwarming as it is heartbreaking!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

At middle age, Ammalie finds herself a widow, jobless, and an empty nester. But who is Ammalie REALLY? In Three Keys by Laura Pritchet, she sets off on three different solo adventures to discover her true self and become freer.

Inspired by three keys that she had in her possession, Ammalie finds shelter in Colorado, Arizona, and New Zealand, using her keys to unlock her new living quarters - even if she doesn't really have permission to be in any of those places. But each place reminds her of something, usually having to do with her late husband, and each place helps her discover something about herself and the land around her.

Discussion questions at the end help guide book clubs, but I'm sure there will be enough to talk about organically. This book is for anyone who feels stuck, not seen, and who really wants the courage to do something outrageously courageous.

Three Keys is published by Dell and is available to purchase now. I received a free e-ARC in exchange for this review.

“Once you find yourself, it’s your obligation to lose yourself.”

✨ Genre: Literary fiction
💙 Steamy rating: Mild
⚡️ Profanity: High

Ammalie is in her fifties, recently widowed, and unemployed, so she takes off on a cross-country & international adventure. The catch is that she has three keys from Airbnb type properties she and/or her husband once stayed at. She decides to trespass and “squat” in these places. She meets a slew of interesting characters on her adventure. This was a lovely mix between Wild by Cheryl Strayed and Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Though parts were slow, the book was engaging overall and much different than books I usually read. I loved the variety of the places she traveled to and her “minimalist/outdoorsy” experiences. The main character was obviously grieving and going through a lot, which made her self discovery so interesting. Sometimes I’m not even sure I liked her, but I was still rooting for her.

Triggers: Animal cruelty, drug addiction, death of a partner, stroke, illegal immigration, and Cancer

Than you @randomhouse and @netgalley for arc of Three Keys. It was special!

In her mid-fifties, Ammalie is adrift, having lost the "three keys" to her life's purpose: her role as wife, her work as a mother, and her job as a waitress. She sets off on a road trip with three literal keys - to other people's rental properties - hoping to find a spiritual rebirth.

The story moves at a leisurely, descriptive, occasionally aimless pace. While the narrative voice is realistic and compelling it is sometimes confusing (Ammalie's emotions run high, and she doesn't always think clearly, which the narration reflects) and frequently unsympathetic (her journey is characterized by poor planning and self-righteous theft).

But the story deepens and becomes more interesting as it progresses. Despite Ammalie's rather nebulous goal, the author did a wonderful job of bringing her story to a satisfying conclusion. Ammalie comes out of her journey with a better sense of herself and a refreshed zeal for life; several new friends and renewed relationships with the friends and family she left behind.

Even though I was sometimes frustrated with the journey Three Keys took me on, its destination was well worth the trip.