I’m a huge fan of books about finding yourself in nature. For me there nothing quite like roughing it in the woods and enjoying all of the beauty that nature provides. In the debut novel, A Long Ride Home by Jenna Layne a young woman comes to terms with who she is as she meets a beautiful stranger on her bike ride down the coast.
Here is a short blurb about the book:
After breaking up with her long-term boyfriend back in Seattle, Hannah Evanston embarks on the journey of a lifetime. With only her bicycle for company, her goal is to pedal 1,300 miles down the east coast and discover herself along the way.
A pit stop in the small southern California town of Wellington Cliff may hold the answers Hannah seeks. Bumping into the beautiful, charismatic Shannon Caruso outside a convenience store is just the tip of the iceberg for Hannah. When Shannon, a fellow cyclist from Chicago, invites Hannah to camp with her, Hannah begins to realize that her interest in Shannon may be developing into something more than friendly admiration.
But Shannon is riding away from her own scars too, scars that may be impossible for Hannah’s fledgling feelings to overcome. Can Hannah allow herself to follow her heart and win Shannon’s in the process? Or will their choices take them down different roads?
I really liked the chance meeting of Hannah and Shannon. Neither of them was looking for someone but once they found each other they were drawn in. Overall, I thought that the romance was really well crafted. The cave scene really hooked me I enjoyed seeing them work out their feelings. The angst was just right and kept me guessing as to how things would work out.
Overall my favorite part about the book was the nature aspects. Camping and hiking are two of my all-time favorite activities. It was nice to see it represented so well in the book. There are some beautiful descriptions of the surrounding area that really sucked me into the setting of the book.
A Long Ride home has amazingly written side characters. My favorite being Macy. She was such a ball of energy I enjoyed every scene she was in. Diego was a close second for favorite side character. I liked how he helped Hannah to realized that while everything may seem perfect in someone life it doesn’t mean they don’t have their own problems.
My one problem with the book was the sex scenes. For me, they were a little too intense for my liking. While I like a little light bondage, it didn’t seem to fit in with the way I viewed the characters. This might not be the case for everyone though.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a cute outdoorsy read.
A Long Ride Home is available on Kindle Unlimited by clicking here.
The Lesbian Bookworm 