First Chapter Review: The Road to Me by Laura Drake

 

I received the first chapter of the women's novel, The Road to Me, by Laura Drake from Pump Up Your Book. 

BLURB:  Jacqueline Oliver is an indie perfumer, trying to bury her ravaged childhood by shoveling ground under her own feet. Then she gets a call she dreads―the hippie grandmother she bitterly resents was apprehended when police busted a charlatan shaman’s sweat lodge. Others scattered, but Nellie was slowed by her walker and the fact that she was wearing nothing but a few Mardi-Gras beads. Jacqueline is her only kin, so, like it or not, she’s responsible.

Despite being late-developing next year’s scent, Jacqueline drops everything to travel to Arizona and pick up her free-range grandma. But the Universe conspires to set them on a Route 66 road trip together. What Jacqueline discovers out there could not only heal the scars of her childhood but open her to a brighter future.

COVER: I love this cover. The character looks younger than the age I would expect Jacqueline to be in the story, so I am guessing it is symbolic of her childhood. It is a beautiful cover. 

FIRST CHAPTER: Jacqueline travels to Arizona to pick up her grandmother (Nellie) who escaped from the group home because they would only release her to the next of kin... and she is it. Frustrated, and not keen on spending time with the grandmother she feels abandoned her, she thinks this will be a quick trip and she can get back to her life. She is wrong.

KEEP READING: Definitely! Jacqueline, or Jack as her grandmother calls her, draws the reader into her story right away. The reader feels her anxiety, frustration, and pain as she thinks about all the reasons she doesn't want to be the one to get Nellie, but knows there isn't anyone else. You wander through bits and pieces of Jack's childhood--just enough to understand where she is coming from. Not only does the author drop you right into the action, she paints a picture of both her characters right away, and you want to know more of their story. 

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ The Story Plant (April 19, 2022)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1611883253
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1611883251 

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I received a copy of the first chapter from the publisher through Pump Up Your Book. This First Chapter Review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.