Liz’s Road Trip by Bernadette Marie – Review by Christie Mitchum
Liz’s Road Trip by Bernadette Marie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Liz’s Road Trip by Bernadette Marie is an emotional yet hopeful little gem of a book!!!
The book opens on a pretty sad note. Liz Evans has just lost her beloved grandmother. As she is going through her things, she finds a letter that will completely change her life. Her Gran wants her to take her back to her home, in Florida. When she gets there, a mystery man, Mark, will tell her all about the Gran that she didn’t know. So, she embarks on a trip with Gran and Gran’s cat, Cosmo, that will possibly end up being an adventure that could finally lead her to a forever romance and a life filled with joy beyond her imagination!
At times, Liz was extremely frustrating for me. Her moods could swing from hot to cold, especially in her burgeoning relationship with Mark. I wanted to shake some sense into her, but as I sat back and digested more of her story, I began to understand her more and have sympathy for her. She just lost the woman who sacrificed so much to raise her after Liz’s mother died. In addition, she discovers that her grandmother had many secrets and had a life she knew nothing about. I imagine that Mark knowing those secrets impacted her relationship with him as well. It was all those complicated and complex emotions that made the book so good.
There were so many reasons I loved this book. I liked that Marie pulled on my heartstrings and had me really invested in the characters, especially Liz. Gran was not physically present in the book, but she played such a pivotal role in the plot and pacing of the book. She was still teaching Liz lessons after she was gone. My favorite thing about the book was the growth that Liz went through. She began the book as pretty self-centered, but by the end of the book, a lot of that self-centeredness was gone. Most importantly, she went from just living a good life to a life well-lived, and that is exactly what Gran wanted for her all along.
I haven’t read a book by Bernadette Smalls, but this one won’t be my last one. She is a very talented writer who knows exactly how to pull her readers smack dab in the middle of her story. If you like a sweet romance full of emotions, you should definitely give this one a try!!!!