The Road to Hope

I had a four-hour care ride ahead of me last Friday night, and as the Tall Man was driving, I got to do some decent reading. So I flicked through my TBR collection on my Kindle, and decided on some good ol' rural romance.

My roadtrip read, and the first of four books I managed to finish last weekend, was The Road to Hope by Rachael Johns.

For those of you familiar with Rachael's work, The Road to Hope is the follow-up to Jilted. You probably don't need to read Jilted before reading this, however you'd be missing out on an awesome read - and there will be some things that just make more sense if you do.

Here is what I thought of The Road to Hope:

I read The Road to Hope from start to finish on Friday night, only breaking to eat and get my sleepy Tiny Overlord out of the car. I just could not - and did not want to - put it down.

I was thoroughly and happily absorbed in Lauren and Tom's story. There is heartache and pain hinted at in each of their pasts, and it's easy (at least it was for me) to see how this guided them and their actions. I could definitely understand why some people might find Lauren a little difficult, but I really loved her. She wasn't all hard edges - there was a real vulnerability and humanity living beneath the surface of her, and I wanted to shout at some in the book "Just give her a go". Tom's troubles are more recent, but you totally get why he has chosen to live as he is.

Their connection is immediate, and their chemistry is undeniable. However I really loved that they didn't zoom straight into some sans-pants action. The development of their attraction, and their romance, is so wonderfully done.

As in a lot of Rachael's work, there is no shying away from the tough stuff, and the realities of rural and small-town life are spot-on. The peripheral characters are perfect, and the scenes with the residents of the home both had me in stitches and tugged at the heartstrings. The character of Lauren's brother is a fascinating one and I would love to know more about him - you'll understand why when you read this.

The Road to Hope is certainly not short on that special brand of humour and emotion that Rachael brings so beautifully to every book. A perfect read to kick off my weekend, and one of my favourite reads of the year so far!