First line: “I think Dad wants to get back together,” Bethanne’s daughter, Annie spoke with studied nonchalance.
From the inside cover: In the middle of the year, in the middle of her life, Bethanne Hamlin takes a road trip with her daughter, Annie, and her former mother-in-law, Ruth.
They’re driving to Florida for Ruth’s 50th high-school reunion. A longtime widow, Ruth would like to reconnect with Royce, the love of her teenage life. She’s heard he’s alone, too…and, well, she’s curious. Maybe even hopeful.
Bethanne herself needs time to reflect, to ponder a decision she has to make. Her ex-husband, Grant – her children’s father – wants to reconcile now that his second marriage has failed. Bethanne’s considering it…
Meanwhile, Annie’s out to prove to her onetime boyfriend that she can live a brilliant life without him!
So there they are, three women driving across America. They have their maps and their directions – but even the best-planned journey can take you to a turn in the road. Or lead you to an unexpected encounter – like the day Bethanne meets a man named Max who really is a hero on a Harley. That’s when Bethanne’s decision becomes a lot harder. Because Grant wants her back, but now there’s Max…
From Seattle’s Blossom Street to the other end of the country, this is a trip that could change three women’s lives.
My thoughts: This is the latest in Debbie Macomber’s Blossom Street series and I was lucky to get it quite early from my library – the benefit of reserving new books! I enjoyed this book even though it didn’t focus too much on Blossom Street and the friends we’ve come to know and love – maybe the next installment will head back to Blossom Street and allow us to catch up with those friends.
A Turn in the Road is a fun, emotion-filled story about three women at a crossroads in their lives. What happens when the man who turned your life upside down six years ago by asking for a divorce, decides he wants you back again? Bethanne is confronted with just this issue and decides to go with her ex-mother-in-law on a trip across the country, telling herself she will use this time to decide what she wants. At the same time, Bethanne’s daughter Annie is having her own romantic troubles and decides the trip will give her time to think things over. Along the way, we come to find out that Ruth has been struggling with her own romantic woes – part of the reason why she was so insistent on taking this trip to begin with. Armed with maps and a carefully planned trip that will take them from home to their destination, they through caution to the wind and end up taking side trips and deviating from their initial plans. Along the way they meet some interesting new people and learn more about themselves and each other. I hope we have not seen the last of any of these characters in the next Blossom Street book.
(I borrowed this book from the library.)
This sounds like a series that I really should read soon!
I just finished this book, and liked it—except for the character of Annie. what a spoiled brat! Bethanne has to constantly remind Annie of boundaries, but she isn't forceful enough. Annie is trying to push her mother to get back together with her father, monitoring phone calls and texts. Aargh! I like Bethanne's and Ruth's characters, as well as Max's. The book was good but would have been better without Annie, who is very annoying.