About the Book
Synopsis from Goodreads:
In this warmhearted and witty debut, a mysterious gift spurs a widow to take a cross-country journey to find its sender—and along the way, she rediscovers herself.
Evie Walters has lived most of her seventy-one years according to others’ expectations. But on the day of her husband’s funeral, she receives an anonymous an egret orchid. The same flower a Montana ranch hand once gave her decades ago—Novel Daniels, the boy who thought she could do anything.
So now, she does.
Defying her children’s plans to move her into a retirement home, Evie buys a camper van and leaves life in North Carolina abruptly behind. Accompanied by her devoted rescue dog, she heads west to find her cowboy, befriending an unlikely cast of characters along the way. Free-spirited young van-lifers, roadside waitresses, eccentric billionaires, and kindhearted widowers all show Evie a side of life worth living.
But Evie’s drive toward the future takes her back to the past, to memories of the family ranch and childhood dreams. Now, with a second chance as open as the road before her, there’s no telling who Evie Walters will become.
My Review
Newly widowed, Evie Walters is ready to meet the challenges of living without the man she had married fifty-two years ago. Her adult children are ready to take over her life, but Evie isn’t quite ready for that just yet.
When Evie receives a rare egret orchid similar to the one given to her in her teen years by a Montana ranch hand, she’s sure it’s a sign. She needs to go to her hometown in Montana and catch up with Novel Daniels, if he’s still there. Much to her children’s dismay, she purchases a camper van and takes off.
Along the way Evie meets quite a cast of quirky characters. She even rescues a dog, who quickly becomes her best friend. As she drives cross country, she remembers the romance that never had a chance. Perhaps that can change now.
This is a beautifully written, poignant story of a woman trying to get her second chance in life. The journey is truly a soul-searching adventure for Evie and I’m so glad I went along for the ride. It’s a heart-warming tale that touched all my emotions. I wanted the story to continue. I wasn’t ready to leave Evie and the rest of the characters. Although, her children were making me angry.
It’s hard to believe that this is the author’s debut novel. For me, I enjoyed every minute and I’m giving it 5 stars. I would rate it higher, if I gave out more than 5 stars. It’s already going to be one of my “Best of 2026” books.
Excellent debut!
For reading challenges:
Literary Escapes Reading Challenge 2026 (Montana)
Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed a free Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for stopping by and visiting my blog! I always love reading comments and getting to know my readers!
After some careful consideration, I've decided to become an award-free blog. Although I appreciate and am honored by each and every award I've received, your comments and friendship are enough award for me. Thank you all so much for your thoughtfulness.
Due to way too many spam comments, I disabled the Anonymous User comments. We'll see if this works, otherwise I'll have to go back to word verification.