A young love that resisted time and distance.
Long Walk Home is a lovely second-chance romance set in a beautiful Californian Vineyard.
It is book #3 in the Blue Hills series but can be read as a standalone. I had the pleasure of reading and reviewing the first two books in the series: Summer at Orchard House and Promises at Indigo Bay. Click on the titles to read my reviews.
Our thanks to the author, Bookouture and NetGalley for the advanced reader’s copy.
Book Details
Title: Long Walk Home by Ellyn Oaksmith.
Publisher: Bookouture (April 30, 2021)
Print Lenght: 269 pages
Language: English
ASIN: B08WX7X1ML
Book Description
Lola was struck by just how quickly she recognized him. It had been ten long years since she’d seen him; ten years of thinking that maybe she hadn’t really loved him. But there he was. And he still took her breath away.
Lola has turned her life around since her wild teenage years, but one thing hasn’t changed: how her sister sees her. Her sister Carmen only remembers the mistakes she’s made and can’t see the potential of Lola’s plans to expand the family vineyard business at Blue Hills. But Lola is determined to win Carmen round—and gain her respect once and for all.
Then Lola’s high school sweetheart Gus arrives back in town, and everything changes. He was her first love, the bad boy she used to climb out of windows to see. But he’d broken her heart when he left town suddenly, without so much as a goodbye. And after that, she’d never seen him again. Until now.
Gus isn’t that same rebel anymore. It’s taken everything he has to come back to this town full of bittersweet memories, but he owes it to himself, and to Lola, to make amends. But she’s not that lovesick girl anymore and she knows she can’t let him turn her head again. So why can’t she stop thinking about how his strong arms would feel wrapped around her?
Then fate intervenes, and they’re forced to work together on Lola’s biggest project—and the sparks begin to fly once more…
As the sun sets over the mountains and meadows of Blue Hills, can two people who’d thought they could never be together find their way home to each other?
An utterly romantic feel-good read about being true to yourself and becoming the person you were always meant to be, Long Walk Home will make you laugh, make you cry and show you that true love always finds a way. For fans of Robyn Carr, Carolyn Brown and Mary Ellen Taylor.
From the Publisher’s Blurb
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Review
Lola was the youngest of three sisters whose parents owned a vineyard in California. After their mom passed away, the three shared ownership with their aging father, struggling with Alzheimer’s.
Gus was the highschool boyfriend who came from the wrong family and kept company with the wrong crowd.
When he was arrested, Lola’s world crumbled down, and her father was afraid of her wishing to ever reunite with the good-for-nothing boy.
Ten years forward and Lola was still struggling to find her place in the vineyard and the world.
She had just met a nice guy when she discovered Gus was back in town and so remarkably changed.
The main characters are layered. In a moment, I wanted to shake them to see reason, and in the next, I was appalled by how they were being treated.
Gus stole my heart after a couple of pages. His ability to analyze his past mistakes, understand his family issues, and then change and grow was so admirable.
Lola was immature, but I could not help myself and loved her anyway. I could not agree with her methods, and I wish she could have found a place away from Carmem’s shadow to really prove herself, but her confidence and energy were contagious. She was the heart of the story.
It was wonderful to revisit the Alvarez family, especially the sweet but protective Juan. Stella and Paolo’s twins were noisy but adorable, and the story would not be complete without the lake-obsessed dog Daisy.
Long Walk Home is a romantic, emotional, scenic, and engaging read.
Lovely! My favorite in the series so far!
Disclosure: I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
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About the Author
Ellyn Oaksmith is the USA Today and Kindle bestselling author of the Blue Hills Series, featuring the Alvarez family.
After graduating from Smith College and attaining her MFA from The American Film Institute, Ellyn began her writing career as an award-winning screenwriter in Hollywood. Her books explore the same themes as her screenplays: grit, humor, family and love.
Ellyn lives on one of Seattle’s many hills with her husband and spends as much time as possible on the water as part of a competitive rowing team.
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Lu Reviews Books 
Great review! 😊
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I have a love/hate relationship with second chance romances but this sounds good! Thanks for sharing a review!
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It’s always interesting reading books where you want to shake sense into characters.
♥ Mae
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My heart totally went out to Lola. It’s so tough being the youngest ❤️. Wonderful review, Lu!
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