Welcome to Litsy!

There is nature vs. nurture, and then there are the things that shape us because we don‘t have them. For the.Hills children, that absence is their father and when they go on a cross-country road trip to meet each other and confront him, they realize what it means to be family and what home truly is. I absolutely loved this. Each character felt so real and distinct. I was happy to be along for the ride on this adventure.

This enemies to lovers road trip book takes the characters from one national park to another. It was a perfect fit for the trip I just took as we visited many of the same places. It was spicier than I expected, but I loved the characters, former high school rivals, and they way they pushed each other and became a safe place for each other to be vulnerable as they process grief. Recommended if you want a romance that takes place on a trip out west.

'Look,' I said. 'We went wrong somewhere.'

Martha turned her head and couldn't believe what she saw. On the horizon, in all its unreality, was the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

'It's tiny,' she said. 'Like a replica in an amusement park.

"That's it all right. I can say with some confidence that we're not in Florence.'

Image via Wikipedia.

What are you supposed to write....When tanks are rolling into cities where friends of yours live? What are you supposed to write when you realise you don't understand the world any more - I mean in an absolutely fundamental way - when all your certainties collapse, when you realise that the bubble you live in is just that, a bubble that could burst any minute?'

'Something feels off. There's something up with him.'
'Hardly surprising under the circumstances, is it?'
'No, something else. I don't know what.'
We listened to his breathing. It was fitful, with long pauses between gulps of air.

"The appointment is tomorrow at two,' I said. 'And tomorrow is tomorrow, even if we get there today.'

'Fucking physics'.

While I am the target audience for a Kevin Wilson book, I‘m definitely not the target audience for any book involving estranged families coming together. This was that and it was okay and sometimes good and then it ended too abruptly.

This book had a lot of hype; while it was good, it wasn't amazing to me. Sort of funny, a bit heartwarming, but likely not one that will stick with me. There were a lot of questionable characters especially Tom's mother.

Well shoot,I really liked Wilson‘s previous books and loved the idea of half siblings were complete strangers embarking on a a road trip to find the father who abandoned them all. The problem is that there seemed to be only the idea of a story here. The characters were one dimensional, the journey itself was kind of boring, and the ending was so unsatisfying. Happy others seem to be enjoying it but I didn‘t like this one at all.

June's #WeeklyFavorites, at long last. Traveling threw me off, and I didn't finish any books between the 7th and 14th, so here's a cardinal for that spot. I think my favorite of these was the tagged.

@Read4life

Are we completely sure this was written by Kevin Wilson? It lacks the humor and the wittiness and weirdness we know him for. It really doesn‘t feel like him at all. But maybe he was trying something different?

I did enjoy it, I thought it was an interesting story. It just wasn‘t what I expected at all. And the ending felt abrupt, like the book was unfinished.

Oh well, hopefully he‘ll return to his old style with the next book.