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The One #1
The Long Way Home
I need you, Ava.
I am desperate. For you. For touch. For a kiss. For the scrape of your hand down my stomach. For the slide of your lips across my hipbone. The sweep of your thigh against mine in the dulcet, drowning darkness. For the warm huff of your breath on my skin and the wet suck of your mouth around me and the building pressure of need reaching release...I am mad with need.
Wild with it.
I cannot have you. I have lost you, as I have lost myself.
And so I go in search. Of myself, and thus the man who might return to you, and take you in his arms.
I loathe each of the thousands of miles between us, but I cannot wish them away, for I hope at the end of my journey I shall find you. Or rather, find myself, and thus…you. Myself, and thus us.
I am taking the long way home, Ava.
***
Christian,
I’m losing my mind, and I don’t know how to stop it. I shouldn’t be writing to you, but I am. I’m friendless, loveless, and lifeless. You’re out there somewhere, and still you’re all I really have. I hate my reliance and dependence on you, emotionally and otherwise, and that reliance is something I’m coming to recognize. I hate that I can’t hate you as much as I want to. I hate that I still love you so much.
I hate that there’s no clear solution to our conundrum. Even if we could forgive each other, what then?
I hate you, Christian. I really do.
But most of all, I don’t.
It’s complicated.
Complicatedly (still) yours,
Ava
THE LONG WAY HOME is the story of a married couple, Christian and Ava, both writers, as they cope with the loss of their son and the damage that loss causes to their marriage. This moving story, alternately heartbreaking and heartwarming, is the first in a brand-new contemporary romance series by bestselling author Jasinda Wilder.
I am desperate. For you. For touch. For a kiss. For the scrape of your hand down my stomach. For the slide of your lips across my hipbone. The sweep of your thigh against mine in the dulcet, drowning darkness. For the warm huff of your breath on my skin and the wet suck of your mouth around me and the building pressure of need reaching release...I am mad with need.
Wild with it.
I cannot have you. I have lost you, as I have lost myself.
And so I go in search. Of myself, and thus the man who might return to you, and take you in his arms.
I loathe each of the thousands of miles between us, but I cannot wish them away, for I hope at the end of my journey I shall find you. Or rather, find myself, and thus…you. Myself, and thus us.
I am taking the long way home, Ava.
***
Christian,
I’m losing my mind, and I don’t know how to stop it. I shouldn’t be writing to you, but I am. I’m friendless, loveless, and lifeless. You’re out there somewhere, and still you’re all I really have. I hate my reliance and dependence on you, emotionally and otherwise, and that reliance is something I’m coming to recognize. I hate that I can’t hate you as much as I want to. I hate that I still love you so much.
I hate that there’s no clear solution to our conundrum. Even if we could forgive each other, what then?
I hate you, Christian. I really do.
But most of all, I don’t.
It’s complicated.
Complicatedly (still) yours,
Ava
THE LONG WAY HOME is the story of a married couple, Christian and Ava, both writers, as they cope with the loss of their son and the damage that loss causes to their marriage. This moving story, alternately heartbreaking and heartwarming, is the first in a brand-new contemporary romance series by bestselling author Jasinda Wilder.
First published June 30, 2017
About the author
Jasinda Wilder
140 books11.8k followersNEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, WALL STREET JOURNAL and international bestselling author Jasinda Wilder is a Michigan native with a penchant for titillating tales about sexy men and strong women. Her bestselling titles include ALPHA, STRIPPED, WOUNDED, and the #1 Amazon and international bestseller FALLING INTO YOU. You can find her on her farm in Northern Michigan with her husband, author Jack Wilder, her six children and menagerie of animals.
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June 28, 2017
ARC provided by author in exchange for an honest review
Since The Long Way Home is about a married couple who corresponds with each other through letters and emails while separated, I think it’s fitting that I write my thoughts in a letter format as well before I write a formal review. So here it goes.
Dear Jasinda,
Wow!!!! You took me by surprise with this book. I honestly was thinking this book would be your typical second chance romance but I was wrong. You made this book something else. Something more meaningful and real. This book held you hostage right off the opening pages and I was lost with your words as Christian and Ava’s story was so much more than a typical couple fighting but a story of their own personal struggles, demons and survival. This is a story that will resound to everyone who has ever felt pain, grief, resentment, loss, and love. So I just want to say thank you, Jasinda for your brutal honesty when it comes to love and pain.
Did I love this book? Absolutely.
Did this book break my heart? Of course.
Did I want to drown in your poetic and heartfelt prose? Without a doubt, yes.
So while I can go on and on and rave about this book, I won’t because it will just be a bunch of ramblings of how much I loved this book. So thank you, Jasinda. Thank you for Christian and Ava’s story. Thank you for giving your readers a glimpse of real heartbreak and real love. Thank you for bringing your readers home to a romance that is utterly raw, fragile, and beautiful.
Always a fan,
Michelle xo
The Long Way Home was one of the most brutally honest, real, heartbreaking, vulnerable emotional love stories that I had the pleasure of reading. Jasinda Wilder worked her literary magic with this book as she spellbound readers to Christian and Ava. They say there are two sides to every story and the truth usually lies somewhere in the middle. And in The Long Way Home, Jasinda will allow her readers to hear the two sides.
Now that he is gone, I have lost those things, and I have lost you, and thus I have lost myself. I’m sorry, Ava. I wish I had the strength to go on, but I don’t. Goodbye. ”
They say home is where the heart is. But what happens when the heart of a marriage starts to crumble right before your eyes when the death of Christian and Ava’s baby, Henry destroyed them. Broke them. Made them feel empty and have resentment towards each other. Can a couple who loved each other so fiercely ever find and piece back that love or will their sorrow and anger drown them pushing them further apart from each other? What happens when one of them leaves?
Christian loves Ava with all his heart. She was the only one that belonged there. She was his life. His muse. His everything but when Henry died, Ava's sprint died as well. She became the shell of a woman. She distanced herself from Christian. She didn’t talk to him. She made him feel unwanted. She rather drink her pain and sorrow away than look at him.
I am angry with you, Ava. So very angry. You lost Henry the same as I did, but you claimed all the grief for yourself, leaving none for me.”
Ava loves Christian. He was her first love. He was her provider. Her lover. Her best friend. He was her heart but the death of their son, destroyed her. She was a mother but with no child. She felt empty and blamed God for taking away their baby. She didn’t know how to deal with her grief because a part of her life was gone and so she dealt with her pain by distancing herself from the outside world. Like Christian, she drowned her pain in alcohol.
When Christian finally had enough of the silence and emptiness, he decided that it was best for him to get away. And so he left Ava. If he didn’t leave, he knew that he would resent and begin to hate Ava. And so Christian bought a sailboat to find peace and home.
Christian remains behind her, clinging to her. Breathing her scent. Begging her— silently now— to respond, to turn to him, literally and metaphorically—for comfort. But there is only silence.”
While readers may automatically jump on the bandwagon and say Christian is awful for leaving his wife in her time of need, please don’t do it. Like I said there are two sides to every story, and so begins the real heart of this book as Christian and Ava navigate the storms of their marriage and their love for each other.
The beauty of The Long Way Home is the unfiltered and raw vulnerability of Christian and Ava. These two were far beyond perfect. They were real characters who felt love, loss, hurt, anger, and bled. They wore their heart and emotions on their sleeve. They didn’t hesitate to let each other know how they felt for each other. They loved each other but at the same time didn’t know how to repair the cracks of their marriage. The writing was phenomenal.The story was utterly raw and visceral. The characters were the heart and soul of this book. And Jasinda Wilder’s words was food for your soul.
We’ve both been altered by this, Ava. I accept the blame that is due to me. But it’s not all mine. You don’t deserve this; I don’t deserve this; we don’t deserve this, as a couple. But yet it’s what has been placed upon us, and I think we’ve made a hell of a mess of it.”
All I can say go read this book. It was breathtaking, devastatingly beautiful and heartfelt. The truth hurts and I love that Jasinda allowed us to see that the truth of the matter was that no one was to blame. Things just happened that was beyond their control but what Christian and Ava can control is the next chapter in their life to be together or go on their separate ways. I seriously can’t wait for the second part of this book as readers like myself hope Christian and Ava can finally navigate their long way back home with the help of love as their compass.
Jasinda Wilder
Since The Long Way Home is about a married couple who corresponds with each other through letters and emails while separated, I think it’s fitting that I write my thoughts in a letter format as well before I write a formal review. So here it goes.
Dear Jasinda,
Wow!!!! You took me by surprise with this book. I honestly was thinking this book would be your typical second chance romance but I was wrong. You made this book something else. Something more meaningful and real. This book held you hostage right off the opening pages and I was lost with your words as Christian and Ava’s story was so much more than a typical couple fighting but a story of their own personal struggles, demons and survival. This is a story that will resound to everyone who has ever felt pain, grief, resentment, loss, and love. So I just want to say thank you, Jasinda for your brutal honesty when it comes to love and pain.
Did I love this book? Absolutely.
Did this book break my heart? Of course.
Did I want to drown in your poetic and heartfelt prose? Without a doubt, yes.
So while I can go on and on and rave about this book, I won’t because it will just be a bunch of ramblings of how much I loved this book. So thank you, Jasinda. Thank you for Christian and Ava’s story. Thank you for giving your readers a glimpse of real heartbreak and real love. Thank you for bringing your readers home to a romance that is utterly raw, fragile, and beautiful.
Always a fan,
Michelle xo
The Long Way Home was one of the most brutally honest, real, heartbreaking, vulnerable emotional love stories that I had the pleasure of reading. Jasinda Wilder worked her literary magic with this book as she spellbound readers to Christian and Ava. They say there are two sides to every story and the truth usually lies somewhere in the middle. And in The Long Way Home, Jasinda will allow her readers to hear the two sides.
Now that he is gone, I have lost those things, and I have lost you, and thus I have lost myself. I’m sorry, Ava. I wish I had the strength to go on, but I don’t. Goodbye. ”They say home is where the heart is. But what happens when the heart of a marriage starts to crumble right before your eyes when the death of Christian and Ava’s baby, Henry destroyed them. Broke them. Made them feel empty and have resentment towards each other. Can a couple who loved each other so fiercely ever find and piece back that love or will their sorrow and anger drown them pushing them further apart from each other? What happens when one of them leaves?
Christian loves Ava with all his heart. She was the only one that belonged there. She was his life. His muse. His everything but when Henry died, Ava's sprint died as well. She became the shell of a woman. She distanced herself from Christian. She didn’t talk to him. She made him feel unwanted. She rather drink her pain and sorrow away than look at him.
I am angry with you, Ava. So very angry. You lost Henry the same as I did, but you claimed all the grief for yourself, leaving none for me.”Ava loves Christian. He was her first love. He was her provider. Her lover. Her best friend. He was her heart but the death of their son, destroyed her. She was a mother but with no child. She felt empty and blamed God for taking away their baby. She didn’t know how to deal with her grief because a part of her life was gone and so she dealt with her pain by distancing herself from the outside world. Like Christian, she drowned her pain in alcohol.
When Christian finally had enough of the silence and emptiness, he decided that it was best for him to get away. And so he left Ava. If he didn’t leave, he knew that he would resent and begin to hate Ava. And so Christian bought a sailboat to find peace and home.
Christian remains behind her, clinging to her. Breathing her scent. Begging her— silently now— to respond, to turn to him, literally and metaphorically—for comfort. But there is only silence.”While readers may automatically jump on the bandwagon and say Christian is awful for leaving his wife in her time of need, please don’t do it. Like I said there are two sides to every story, and so begins the real heart of this book as Christian and Ava navigate the storms of their marriage and their love for each other.
The beauty of The Long Way Home is the unfiltered and raw vulnerability of Christian and Ava. These two were far beyond perfect. They were real characters who felt love, loss, hurt, anger, and bled. They wore their heart and emotions on their sleeve. They didn’t hesitate to let each other know how they felt for each other. They loved each other but at the same time didn’t know how to repair the cracks of their marriage. The writing was phenomenal.The story was utterly raw and visceral. The characters were the heart and soul of this book. And Jasinda Wilder’s words was food for your soul.
We’ve both been altered by this, Ava. I accept the blame that is due to me. But it’s not all mine. You don’t deserve this; I don’t deserve this; we don’t deserve this, as a couple. But yet it’s what has been placed upon us, and I think we’ve made a hell of a mess of it.”All I can say go read this book. It was breathtaking, devastatingly beautiful and heartfelt. The truth hurts and I love that Jasinda allowed us to see that the truth of the matter was that no one was to blame. Things just happened that was beyond their control but what Christian and Ava can control is the next chapter in their life to be together or go on their separate ways. I seriously can’t wait for the second part of this book as readers like myself hope Christian and Ava can finally navigate their long way back home with the help of love as their compass.
Jasinda Wilder
November 13, 2021
5 STARS
"You’re where you belong. Just…without me.”
I haven’t read a Jasinda Wilder book in years and OMG what heck have I been missing? Her writing has greatly matured and I was immersed in the story, her word choices, and her ability to truly give me insight into the characters. I loved the way the story was revealed while Ava and Christian were so very real to me!
Ava and Christian a blogger and witty wife and a famous writer husband go through something so devastating to their marriage that their pain, grief, cocoon both in different ways. Tragically, not many marriages can survive what they have lost and yet everything in me wants Ava and Christian to find their way back to one another. What happens when your loss destroys not only you but the person who’s your anchor?
"Henry changed us. Me, you, and us. He was our ending, Ava. God, what a vile thing to say. But it’s true, isn’t it?”
As Christian sets sail to heal himself the story and communication is honest, real, witty, and unexpected.
"Yes, I left you. I wish I could make excuses or give a better reason, but I can’t. I accept your hate, because I deserve it. I abandoned you, as you said, in your time of greatest need. But it was also my time of greatest need, and I was utterly alone.”
This story does end with a cliffhanger and the epilogue sure threw me for a loop. The writing was beautiful, the story unique and so heartfelt and real. Now the only thing left is to search for a support group on Facebook and a release date of book two of this series!
"I have lost you, as I have lost myself.”
"You’re where you belong. Just…without me.”
I haven’t read a Jasinda Wilder book in years and OMG what heck have I been missing? Her writing has greatly matured and I was immersed in the story, her word choices, and her ability to truly give me insight into the characters. I loved the way the story was revealed while Ava and Christian were so very real to me!
Ava and Christian a blogger and witty wife and a famous writer husband go through something so devastating to their marriage that their pain, grief, cocoon both in different ways. Tragically, not many marriages can survive what they have lost and yet everything in me wants Ava and Christian to find their way back to one another. What happens when your loss destroys not only you but the person who’s your anchor?
"Henry changed us. Me, you, and us. He was our ending, Ava. God, what a vile thing to say. But it’s true, isn’t it?”
As Christian sets sail to heal himself the story and communication is honest, real, witty, and unexpected.
"Yes, I left you. I wish I could make excuses or give a better reason, but I can’t. I accept your hate, because I deserve it. I abandoned you, as you said, in your time of greatest need. But it was also my time of greatest need, and I was utterly alone.”
This story does end with a cliffhanger and the epilogue sure threw me for a loop. The writing was beautiful, the story unique and so heartfelt and real. Now the only thing left is to search for a support group on Facebook and a release date of book two of this series!
"I have lost you, as I have lost myself.”
Shelved as 'hell-fucking-no'
August 5, 2017Husband and wife lose their child and instead of sticking it out and fighting for his wife he leaves her to go on a fucking boat ride around the world or some garbage.
He cheats on her while on the boat while still married. Yes, even though he stops the actual sex he says he got really damn close so I count every other sexual act as CHEATING.
The heroine, having been left by her piece of garbage husband, goes through therapy and whatnot and does end up almost sleeping with someone else too. SO FUCKING WHAT. I wish she had fucked someone else. She deserves so much better than a piece of shit husband that would leave her when she needed him the most no matter how much angst she caused him. HER CHILD DIED. Of course she was going to be broken. He should have been there for her instead of abandoning her and then hooking up with another woman.
He cheats on her while on the boat while still married. Yes, even though he stops the actual sex he says he got really damn close so I count every other sexual act as CHEATING.
The heroine, having been left by her piece of garbage husband, goes through therapy and whatnot and does end up almost sleeping with someone else too. SO FUCKING WHAT. I wish she had fucked someone else. She deserves so much better than a piece of shit husband that would leave her when she needed him the most no matter how much angst she caused him. HER CHILD DIED. Of course she was going to be broken. He should have been there for her instead of abandoning her and then hooking up with another woman.
June 28, 2017
Do you know those books that just suck you in, and you're in total turmoil with the characters, and you love and hate right along with them. This is one of those books. I finished it last night, and it was the first thing I thought of this morning. This is one that leaves a lasting impression.
September 15, 2017
4 stars ❤
Honestly I didn't expect anything like that.The story was so different.The Long Way Home was an emotional and unique story.The writing was beautiful and flawless.
This story follows a married couple after a tragedy through emails,letters and journals.It is obvious that they both really love each other but just cannot be together at this time and they need time apart to see how things goes and what will happen.
I find the story original and I have many feelings while I was reading it.There were moments that both characters missed me .
I honestly don't know what to expect next yet I'm so excited.Jasinda Wilder did an amazing job .
Honestly I didn't expect anything like that.The story was so different.The Long Way Home was an emotional and unique story.The writing was beautiful and flawless.
This story follows a married couple after a tragedy through emails,letters and journals.It is obvious that they both really love each other but just cannot be together at this time and they need time apart to see how things goes and what will happen.
I find the story original and I have many feelings while I was reading it.There were moments that both characters missed me .
I honestly don't know what to expect next yet I'm so excited.Jasinda Wilder did an amazing job .
July 1, 2017
This for my safety gang friends . Hope its helpful
They are not together, not divorce either (just separated) and he was about to have drunk sex. He was at the OW's entrance, kiss her, Touch her boobs. OW is stroking, squeezing H's Cock and he did nothing but when he sees his wife , Ava the h when he's about to push in the OW. They stop
h want on date with her therapist, kissed him and like it. And also had his cock in her hand stroking and still like its. OM had his hand on her boobs and in her pant. Its not they H thats why they stop
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Shelved as 'no-way-jose'
July 2, 2017https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Good thing this is fiction. This looser should die as well. He's a waste of oxygen.
Good thing this is fiction. This looser should die as well. He's a waste of oxygen.
Want to read
July 9, 2017
June 24, 2017
This book mesmerized me. I finished this book 3 days ago and still can't recollect my thoughts enough to write a review. Here's to trying!
Ava and Christian are a married couple who are suffering from the grief of losing their child. They are so in love but cannot recover from the tragedy. Unable to cope, Chris leaves Ava on a journey to re discover himself.
This book hooks you from page one. It has everything which you expect in a 'Jasinda book'- emotions, great plot, sexy times, amazing writing and an unconventional ending.
I loved everything about this book. The chemistry between Ava and Chris was scorching hot. I was a bit sad when the book ended but I'm sure the author is working hard to get the next book out in this series. If you want to read a book this week, make sure it's this one. Highly recommended!
I'm so excited to read the rest of the books in this awesome series. Loved it! <3
Ava and Christian are a married couple who are suffering from the grief of losing their child. They are so in love but cannot recover from the tragedy. Unable to cope, Chris leaves Ava on a journey to re discover himself.
This book hooks you from page one. It has everything which you expect in a 'Jasinda book'- emotions, great plot, sexy times, amazing writing and an unconventional ending.
I loved everything about this book. The chemistry between Ava and Chris was scorching hot. I was a bit sad when the book ended but I'm sure the author is working hard to get the next book out in this series. If you want to read a book this week, make sure it's this one. Highly recommended!
I'm so excited to read the rest of the books in this awesome series. Loved it! <3
June 29, 2017
I am at a loss for words after finishing The Long Way Home. This book is raw and absolutely broke my heart. I can't put into words just what I'm feeling. It was brilliantly written and did just what it was supposed to do. I was completely absorbed in Ava and Christian and I felt every raw and emotional moment. I was gasping at the end of the book wanting more. Jasinda Wilder never fails to amaze me. 5 brilliant stars!
June 28, 2017
Well this was a really different story for me. That in itself was really refreshing for someone who reads a lot of books. Most of the story is told in letter form, between the main characters and it does jump around a little bit but that only enhanced the reading experience for me.
Christian and Ava are grieving the death of their baby son. They have been together for a number of years and have one of those awesome marriages that people often admire with envy. However, nothing can prepare anyone for a life changing loss such as this. They know each other inside out but this depth of grief is something that has taken Ava away from Christian.
Ava is buried so deep in her own head and soul that Christian just cannot reach her. No matter what he does or says, he just cannot connect with his wife. This poor man, who too is grieving the loss of his son, finds himself also grieving the loss of his wife. My heart broke for him, he is desperate for any small sign of hope from her but there is just nothing.
After three months of this he makes provisions for Ava, buys a boat and sets sail to give her the space she so desperately wants from him. That at least finally gets a reaction from Ava. And thus begins their correspondence with each other. It seems that they needed the distance to be honest and finally talk.
‘I miss you, and I don’t want to. I understand why you left,and I don’t want to understand. I want to wallow in my rage, but I get it.’
The conversations they had were not all serious and thank goodness because OMG at times there were intensely sexual discussions, like really hot ones that had me completely turned on one moment and feeling really sad for them the next. It obvious that they both really love each other but just cannot be together at this time in their life.
I don’t think anyone really knows how they would deal with a traumatic event like this until you are actually going through it. There were moments when I got really pissed at Ava, I just couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t cling to the man who loves her and seek comfort in him.
We follow Christian around on his travel adventures, the people he meets on his journey and his own personal internal battles he has along the way. Then just as I thought that these two may be making some headway with each other, Jasinda decided to wave her meddling wand and flip what I had in mind on it’s head. And if that is not enough she slides in a cheeky cliff hanger! Well played Jasinda ☺
Christian and Ava are grieving the death of their baby son. They have been together for a number of years and have one of those awesome marriages that people often admire with envy. However, nothing can prepare anyone for a life changing loss such as this. They know each other inside out but this depth of grief is something that has taken Ava away from Christian.
Ava is buried so deep in her own head and soul that Christian just cannot reach her. No matter what he does or says, he just cannot connect with his wife. This poor man, who too is grieving the loss of his son, finds himself also grieving the loss of his wife. My heart broke for him, he is desperate for any small sign of hope from her but there is just nothing.
After three months of this he makes provisions for Ava, buys a boat and sets sail to give her the space she so desperately wants from him. That at least finally gets a reaction from Ava. And thus begins their correspondence with each other. It seems that they needed the distance to be honest and finally talk.
‘I miss you, and I don’t want to. I understand why you left,and I don’t want to understand. I want to wallow in my rage, but I get it.’
The conversations they had were not all serious and thank goodness because OMG at times there were intensely sexual discussions, like really hot ones that had me completely turned on one moment and feeling really sad for them the next. It obvious that they both really love each other but just cannot be together at this time in their life.
I don’t think anyone really knows how they would deal with a traumatic event like this until you are actually going through it. There were moments when I got really pissed at Ava, I just couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t cling to the man who loves her and seek comfort in him.
We follow Christian around on his travel adventures, the people he meets on his journey and his own personal internal battles he has along the way. Then just as I thought that these two may be making some headway with each other, Jasinda decided to wave her meddling wand and flip what I had in mind on it’s head. And if that is not enough she slides in a cheeky cliff hanger! Well played Jasinda ☺
June 30, 2017
I am struggling with this review, not because I did not like the book, but because I loved it so much. I want to make sure I do it justice. The Long Way Home by Jasinda Wilder should come with a warning. It was a beautiful, heartfelt and heart-wrenching read. It had all the feels.
Christian and Ava have lost their son and in the process, lost themselves. Jasinda Wilder did an amazing job giving us their story. We meet them in the throes of their loss and devastation. Our heart breaks for them. Through letters, emails and journals, we learn about them, their love and how they got to this point. It was a powerful way to deliver a story with so much feeling.
While each attempt to cope with the devastating loss, they are drowning in their grief. And while Christian struggles to reach Ava, Ava slides down an impossible path and keeps Christian at bay. This leads Christian and Ava down a journey of rediscovery that was both heart-wrenching and heartfelt.
I absolutely loved this book. It was a beautiful story of love and loss. The journey this couple embarks in will touch your heart. Books like these is why we read. Don’t judge the characters too hard. Both were hurting and dealing in the only way they could. I cannot wait for the next book in this series.
Happy reading!
Christian and Ava have lost their son and in the process, lost themselves. Jasinda Wilder did an amazing job giving us their story. We meet them in the throes of their loss and devastation. Our heart breaks for them. Through letters, emails and journals, we learn about them, their love and how they got to this point. It was a powerful way to deliver a story with so much feeling.
While each attempt to cope with the devastating loss, they are drowning in their grief. And while Christian struggles to reach Ava, Ava slides down an impossible path and keeps Christian at bay. This leads Christian and Ava down a journey of rediscovery that was both heart-wrenching and heartfelt.
I absolutely loved this book. It was a beautiful story of love and loss. The journey this couple embarks in will touch your heart. Books like these is why we read. Don’t judge the characters too hard. Both were hurting and dealing in the only way they could. I cannot wait for the next book in this series.
Happy reading!
June 26, 2017
A journey to the center of your heart
Loss is never easy. How do you grieve? How do you keep things together when you're lost yourself? How do you find your way back home?
Ava and Christian literally took me on an emotional ride. Like they feel about each other, I felt the same. Be ready to cry. Be ready to love and hate both characters. Brace yourself for a journey around the world and a journey to the center of your heart.
As stated in the synopsis, keep in mind this book is about grief. In a time of loss nothing is clear, especially those emotions swirling in your mind, the pain that is rooted in your heart. I loved this book. If you are a fan of Jasinda, you will love this book too.
"We were two, and then we were three...and then suddenly we were two. And now I'm just one."
Loss is never easy. How do you grieve? How do you keep things together when you're lost yourself? How do you find your way back home?
Ava and Christian literally took me on an emotional ride. Like they feel about each other, I felt the same. Be ready to cry. Be ready to love and hate both characters. Brace yourself for a journey around the world and a journey to the center of your heart.
As stated in the synopsis, keep in mind this book is about grief. In a time of loss nothing is clear, especially those emotions swirling in your mind, the pain that is rooted in your heart. I loved this book. If you are a fan of Jasinda, you will love this book too.
"We were two, and then we were three...and then suddenly we were two. And now I'm just one."
June 22, 2017
If you think you know Jasinda's writing then you don't. I can feel her evolve as I've read through her books and fallen more in love with each character. But to this book, I received this ARC (which I've already pre-ordered as well! Have to support authors!) for my honest review.
**Warning make sure you have tissues with you while reading.**
While some will certainly have a hard time getting through the first few chapters, it's the emotional roller coaster you need to properly grasp what Ava & Chris are feeling. I literally had to stop reading and go give my rainbow baby a kiss while he slept. Anyone that has every lost a child or deals with the life altering effects of a medically complex child you need to read this. FOCUS on your marriage!! FOCUS on yourself. Invest in each other like you do your child, if you ever reach the point where sadly Ava & Chris did with the loss of your child you will have each other to lean on. The sad tale of A & C and how their love and grief pushes the bounds of their relationship is truly heart-wrenching. Losing your child is life altering and unfortunately it was too much for them. I'm praying as the series unfolds we find out the fate of Ava & Chris! I'm routing for them so much! Thanks again Jasinda for another amazing book. I can't wait for the next one.
Some favorite quotes:
"He'll be gone, but I'll still be a mommy. Just...a mommy without a child."
"I am desperate. For you. For touch. For a kiss. For the scrape of your hand down my stomach. For the slide of your lips across my hipbone. The sweep of your thigh against mine in the duclet, drowning in darkness. For the warm huff of your breath on my skin and the wet suck of your mouth around me and the building pressure of need reaching release. Ava, I need the sweet cream of your cunt-oh yes, love, you'd hate that phrasing as well; you'd shudder and curse me if you were to read it."
"Panic is a tangible thing. It's in my heart, crawls on my skin like lice, scurries through the dark corners of my mind like roaches fleeing a beam of light. It causes my legs to writhe out of my control, sends my feet to carry me away at the oddest hours of the night."
"I loathe each of the thousands of miles between us, but I cannot wish them away, for I hope at the end of my journey I shall find you. Or rather, find myself, and thus...you. Myself, and thus us. I am taking the long way home, Ava."
After reading this, I was profoundly moved and I will be forcing my husband to read this one the book releases next week. It's so much more than a romance/love story. The way Jasinda can convey raw emotion through her writing is EVERYTHING! (Side note: I can't wait to read Delta's story!!)
**Warning make sure you have tissues with you while reading.**
While some will certainly have a hard time getting through the first few chapters, it's the emotional roller coaster you need to properly grasp what Ava & Chris are feeling. I literally had to stop reading and go give my rainbow baby a kiss while he slept. Anyone that has every lost a child or deals with the life altering effects of a medically complex child you need to read this. FOCUS on your marriage!! FOCUS on yourself. Invest in each other like you do your child, if you ever reach the point where sadly Ava & Chris did with the loss of your child you will have each other to lean on. The sad tale of A & C and how their love and grief pushes the bounds of their relationship is truly heart-wrenching. Losing your child is life altering and unfortunately it was too much for them. I'm praying as the series unfolds we find out the fate of Ava & Chris! I'm routing for them so much! Thanks again Jasinda for another amazing book. I can't wait for the next one.
Some favorite quotes:
"He'll be gone, but I'll still be a mommy. Just...a mommy without a child."
"I am desperate. For you. For touch. For a kiss. For the scrape of your hand down my stomach. For the slide of your lips across my hipbone. The sweep of your thigh against mine in the duclet, drowning in darkness. For the warm huff of your breath on my skin and the wet suck of your mouth around me and the building pressure of need reaching release. Ava, I need the sweet cream of your cunt-oh yes, love, you'd hate that phrasing as well; you'd shudder and curse me if you were to read it."
"Panic is a tangible thing. It's in my heart, crawls on my skin like lice, scurries through the dark corners of my mind like roaches fleeing a beam of light. It causes my legs to writhe out of my control, sends my feet to carry me away at the oddest hours of the night."
"I loathe each of the thousands of miles between us, but I cannot wish them away, for I hope at the end of my journey I shall find you. Or rather, find myself, and thus...you. Myself, and thus us. I am taking the long way home, Ava."
After reading this, I was profoundly moved and I will be forcing my husband to read this one the book releases next week. It's so much more than a romance/love story. The way Jasinda can convey raw emotion through her writing is EVERYTHING! (Side note: I can't wait to read Delta's story!!)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 4, 2017
Reading this book was like a breath of fresh air.
This story is so much more than your typical romance... it's exquisite, emotional, heartbreaking and raw.
It takes you into a journey of a life, opens your eyes to the real problems and feelings between a couple. It's refreshing and welcome!
The whole story hurts. Even after some days, it still hurts to remember everything that happened along those pages.
Also, this is one of those books that you will love or hate. Now the real question is: can you see what really happened or do you stick with the obvious? Can you stop and think about both POV and measure their actions? Who's wrong and right? There's no such thing... and the beautiful part is when you see that.
This story is so much more than your typical romance... it's exquisite, emotional, heartbreaking and raw.
It takes you into a journey of a life, opens your eyes to the real problems and feelings between a couple. It's refreshing and welcome!
The whole story hurts. Even after some days, it still hurts to remember everything that happened along those pages.
Also, this is one of those books that you will love or hate. Now the real question is: can you see what really happened or do you stick with the obvious? Can you stop and think about both POV and measure their actions? Who's wrong and right? There's no such thing... and the beautiful part is when you see that.
June 30, 2017
Tugs at the Heart!
Ava and Christian's story is full of such true raw emotion. The heartbreak and the honesty of how they feel for eachother is so real. I couldn't put this book down! An emotional, take my breath away, tears flowing story! Ive read it twice now and the 2nd time still a sobbing mess. Loved loved loved this book! 10 plus stars!!
Ava and Christian's story is full of such true raw emotion. The heartbreak and the honesty of how they feel for eachother is so real. I couldn't put this book down! An emotional, take my breath away, tears flowing story! Ive read it twice now and the 2nd time still a sobbing mess. Loved loved loved this book! 10 plus stars!!
July 1, 2017
I loved and hated Chris and Ava.. I loved reading through there emails and letters.. I loved how they were reconnecting with each other but I so heartbroken how the story was left you hanging.. how long before the next book there are too many questions on how could you end it this way.
June 29, 2017
Emotional. Heart wrenching. Achingly beautiful. It rips you apart and makes no promises to put you back together. An amazing book that will make you flip pages faster and faster to see what happens next.
June 23, 2017
The Long Way Home by Jasinda Wilder is the first installment in The One Series.
This book gutted the hell out of me! I literally just finished the book and now I´m sitting here with a major book hangover.I have no words to tell how much I love this book. It was nothing like I expected and everything I could have asked for at the same time. Let me tell you this is a book that stays with you.
Meet Christian and Ava. Both are writers and they have to cope with the loss of their infant son. Both grieve totally different. While Ava shuts down, Christian left and leaves Ava behind.
They are destroyed, broken shells, shattered, wrecked.
The Long Way Home is a heart wrenchingly story about loss, pain and desperation.
It is raw and gritty, a rough read, very emotional and made me cry.
I started reading The Long Way Home and was hooked from page one. I couldn´t put it down. I wanted to take a breather, but I couldn´t put it down. And now that I´m finished the book I want to read the next installment.
Favorite Quote: " I am taking the long way home, Ava. "
Every time Jasinda Wilder releases a new book I think, this is it. It can´t get better. But every time this brilliant author does it. The next one is even better.
The Long Way Home is beautifully thought out, beautifully told and beautifully written. I felt every single one of these characters emotions in the words.
I Highly - Highly recommend The Long Way Home and wish I could give more than 5 Stars!! Thank you Jasinda Wilder!
This book gutted the hell out of me! I literally just finished the book and now I´m sitting here with a major book hangover.I have no words to tell how much I love this book. It was nothing like I expected and everything I could have asked for at the same time. Let me tell you this is a book that stays with you.
Meet Christian and Ava. Both are writers and they have to cope with the loss of their infant son. Both grieve totally different. While Ava shuts down, Christian left and leaves Ava behind.
They are destroyed, broken shells, shattered, wrecked.
The Long Way Home is a heart wrenchingly story about loss, pain and desperation.
It is raw and gritty, a rough read, very emotional and made me cry.
I started reading The Long Way Home and was hooked from page one. I couldn´t put it down. I wanted to take a breather, but I couldn´t put it down. And now that I´m finished the book I want to read the next installment.
Favorite Quote: " I am taking the long way home, Ava. "
Every time Jasinda Wilder releases a new book I think, this is it. It can´t get better. But every time this brilliant author does it. The next one is even better.
The Long Way Home is beautifully thought out, beautifully told and beautifully written. I felt every single one of these characters emotions in the words.
I Highly - Highly recommend The Long Way Home and wish I could give more than 5 Stars!! Thank you Jasinda Wilder!
June 29, 2017
I am at a complete loss for words as to what to write here, this book broke my heart and left me reeling and in tears. This is the type of book that sweeps you away with it and leaves you in heap of tissues at the end.
Ava and Christian took me on their heartbreaking journey after the tragic loss of the baby son and my god the emotions were just crazy, I loved and hated both of the characters as they tried to pick up the pieces of their lives after a loss that nobody ever wants to experience.
Jacinda Wilder has a way with words and I really love her style. I really recommend this tortuous tale of broken hearts. You will be really surprised just what you get from this story
Ava and Christian took me on their heartbreaking journey after the tragic loss of the baby son and my god the emotions were just crazy, I loved and hated both of the characters as they tried to pick up the pieces of their lives after a loss that nobody ever wants to experience.
Jacinda Wilder has a way with words and I really love her style. I really recommend this tortuous tale of broken hearts. You will be really surprised just what you get from this story
June 30, 2017
Spoiler Free Review
This is a spoiler free review and I will not talk about anything that happens in this book. I will say that it is a story about a marriage that fell apart after the couple faced the worst thing that could happen to anyone. Rather than coming together to get through their trying times, they both withdrew within themselves. Neither one of them was right or wrong, they were both severely damaged and surviving the only way they could. Marriage is hard in any circumstance because it's about compromising, giving rather than taking, and communicating. Ava and Christian were thrown into life changes that spiraled out of their control. They didn't have time to adjust to one change before the repercussions of that change evolved into another change that could not be managed or fixed. The outcome left them devastated and forever changed as individuals as well as a couple.
I remember the first time I picked up a Jasinda Wilder novel and fell hopelessly in love with her writing. It was when Falling Into Your released in 2013. I was blown away by this novel and quickly downloaded her previous books. Throughout the past four years Jasinda has grown as a writer and branched out into many other genres besides New Adult romance. She has published The Big Girls Do It Running, healthy lifestyle non fiction books, and has even become a national figure with her diet and healthy living program. Her program is successful because she tackles the real eating and exercise issues most people face daily and offers guides that are practical, sensible, and easy to follow. With her latest release, A Long Way Home, she's back to the kind of novel that made me fall in love with her writing. The difference is that she has grown as writer and has found more compelling ways to take the readers on an emotional journey that is unforgettable. I was wrecked in a way that only Jasinda can do to me as a reader.
The moment I picked up The Long Way Home I was drawn into the story and could not put this book down until I finished it. While reading this book I experienced an array of emotions that changed with each passage. One moment I was sympathizing with Ava and literally hating Christian's actions and then the next moment I thought Ava was the most selfish, uncaring person and Christian was justified by his actions. My heart broke for both of them and I felt their despair in the depths of my soul. I felt their pain as well as their lost identities. Through their letters to one another the reader got to experience their pre marriage relationship, their early marriage relationship, and the catalyst that tore them apart.
There was something else that made this novel more unique and more compelling than any other novel I have read. The novel was driven by Christian's and Ava's letters to each other but the reader was experiencing the separate lives they were living at that moment. The book focused on their relationship from the early beginnings to the present day. Christian and Ava were the main focus of the book even though there were a few other supporting characters that helped propel their story. And then the book takes a completely different direction and the supporting characters take over and completely wrap the reader up in their lives. This novel took a completely different direction and by the end of the book the reader is almost more involved with what is going to happen in their lives rather than Ava's and Christian's lives. It ended on two big monumental cliffhangers.
The writing was absolutely brilliant and very well thought out. After talking to Jasinda herself at UtopiaCon 2017, she gave me a little insight of what is to come next. This series was intended to take the reader's on several emotional journeys and there are more characters with their own stories making an entrance. By the end of the series all of their stories will be wrapped up and deeply connected with one another. In many ways it's like the real journeys we take through life. People come and go in our lives and leave their mark on us forever.
I highly recommend reading The Long Way Home by Jasinda Wilder.
June 30, 2017
4.5 stars--
ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 30, 2017
I need you, Ava.
I am desperate. For you. For touch. For a kiss. For the scrape of your hand down my stomach. For the slide of your lips across my hipbone. The sweep of your thigh against mine in the dulcet, drowning darkness. For the warm huff of your breath on my skin and the wet suck of your mouth around me and the building pressure of need reaching release...I am mad with need.
Wild with it.
I cannot have you. I have lost you, as I have lost myself.
And so I go in search. Of myself, and thus the man who might return to you, and take you in his arms.
I loathe each of the thousands of miles between us, but I cannot wish them away, for I hope at the end of my journey I shall find you. Or rather, find myself, and thus…you. Myself, and thus us.
I am taking the long way home, Ava.
***
Christian,
I’m losing my mind, and I don’t know how to stop it. I shouldn’t be writing to you, but I am. I’m friendless, loveless, and lifeless. You’re out there somewhere, and still you’re all I really have. I hate my reliance and dependence on you, emotionally and otherwise, and that reliance is something I’m coming to recognize. I hate that I can’t hate you as much as I want to. I hate that I still love you so much.
I hate that there’s no clear solution to our conundrum. Even if we could forgive each other, what then?
I hate you, Christian. I really do.
But most of all, I don’t.
It’s complicated.
Complicatedly (still) yours,
Ava
THE LONG WAY HOME is the story of a married couple, Christian and Ava, both writers, as they cope with the loss of their son and the damage that loss causes to their marriage. This moving story, alternately heartbreaking and heartwarming, is the first in a brand-new contemporary romance series by bestselling author Jasinda Wilder.
•••••••••••
REVIEW: 4.5 stars--Like the story line itself, my review will be differ from the norm-my norm-or how I usually put my thoughts to words. Like most reviewers I follow an outline, rarely depart from a prescribed pattern but there are occasions when a reviewer, and in this case, an author, follows a path that is both familiar and yet, not. Such is the case with Jasinda Wilder’s THE LONG WAY HOME focusing on Ava and Christian St. Pierre, a married couple who barely survived a devastating loss- a death that destroyed their marriage but not their love.
THE LONG WAY HOME follows Christian as he embarks on a journey around the world to escape the desperation and heartbreaking grief that has consumed the woman he once loved. A voyage of discovery that will help Christian St. Pierre find the person he once was or the man that he should be. Told from first, second and third person points of view through introspective thoughts, email, journal entries, blogs, present day, past, and the memories of what was and what may never be, THE LONG WAY HOME is a story about death and loss; grief and heartache; and one couple’s struggle to survive the fall out of their marriage, their friendship, their relationship, their love.
Jasinda Wilder’s use of symbolism, amplification, imagery and metaphors sets the mood and tone for a story that reads more like poetry than prose. Ava and Christian’s stream of consciousness, represented through correspondence, emails and letters illustrate the pain and the depth of emotion of one couple’s spiral into the depths of grief, not only over their mutual loss and heartache, but the loss of affection, understanding, compassion and love. There is a fine line between love and hate, and it is this line that our couple traverses throughout the story. Together our couple is unable to move forward; separately, they will learn that loneliness is better than being alone.
THE LONG WAY HOME is an emotional story line; a tragic look at grief and loss; a profound, intense and dramatic tale. Poetic in its’ presentation THE LONG WAY HOME is a thought provoking and heartbreaking essay about one couple trying to find their way back home.
Copy supplied for review
www.thereadingcafe.com
ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 30, 2017
I need you, Ava.
I am desperate. For you. For touch. For a kiss. For the scrape of your hand down my stomach. For the slide of your lips across my hipbone. The sweep of your thigh against mine in the dulcet, drowning darkness. For the warm huff of your breath on my skin and the wet suck of your mouth around me and the building pressure of need reaching release...I am mad with need.
Wild with it.
I cannot have you. I have lost you, as I have lost myself.
And so I go in search. Of myself, and thus the man who might return to you, and take you in his arms.
I loathe each of the thousands of miles between us, but I cannot wish them away, for I hope at the end of my journey I shall find you. Or rather, find myself, and thus…you. Myself, and thus us.
I am taking the long way home, Ava.
***
Christian,
I’m losing my mind, and I don’t know how to stop it. I shouldn’t be writing to you, but I am. I’m friendless, loveless, and lifeless. You’re out there somewhere, and still you’re all I really have. I hate my reliance and dependence on you, emotionally and otherwise, and that reliance is something I’m coming to recognize. I hate that I can’t hate you as much as I want to. I hate that I still love you so much.
I hate that there’s no clear solution to our conundrum. Even if we could forgive each other, what then?
I hate you, Christian. I really do.
But most of all, I don’t.
It’s complicated.
Complicatedly (still) yours,
Ava
THE LONG WAY HOME is the story of a married couple, Christian and Ava, both writers, as they cope with the loss of their son and the damage that loss causes to their marriage. This moving story, alternately heartbreaking and heartwarming, is the first in a brand-new contemporary romance series by bestselling author Jasinda Wilder.
•••••••••••
REVIEW: 4.5 stars--Like the story line itself, my review will be differ from the norm-my norm-or how I usually put my thoughts to words. Like most reviewers I follow an outline, rarely depart from a prescribed pattern but there are occasions when a reviewer, and in this case, an author, follows a path that is both familiar and yet, not. Such is the case with Jasinda Wilder’s THE LONG WAY HOME focusing on Ava and Christian St. Pierre, a married couple who barely survived a devastating loss- a death that destroyed their marriage but not their love.
THE LONG WAY HOME follows Christian as he embarks on a journey around the world to escape the desperation and heartbreaking grief that has consumed the woman he once loved. A voyage of discovery that will help Christian St. Pierre find the person he once was or the man that he should be. Told from first, second and third person points of view through introspective thoughts, email, journal entries, blogs, present day, past, and the memories of what was and what may never be, THE LONG WAY HOME is a story about death and loss; grief and heartache; and one couple’s struggle to survive the fall out of their marriage, their friendship, their relationship, their love.
Jasinda Wilder’s use of symbolism, amplification, imagery and metaphors sets the mood and tone for a story that reads more like poetry than prose. Ava and Christian’s stream of consciousness, represented through correspondence, emails and letters illustrate the pain and the depth of emotion of one couple’s spiral into the depths of grief, not only over their mutual loss and heartache, but the loss of affection, understanding, compassion and love. There is a fine line between love and hate, and it is this line that our couple traverses throughout the story. Together our couple is unable to move forward; separately, they will learn that loneliness is better than being alone.
THE LONG WAY HOME is an emotional story line; a tragic look at grief and loss; a profound, intense and dramatic tale. Poetic in its’ presentation THE LONG WAY HOME is a thought provoking and heartbreaking essay about one couple trying to find their way back home.
Copy supplied for review
www.thereadingcafe.com
June 30, 2017
Okay, so one look at the blurb and you know you are in for a painful story and a long and bumpy ride with The Long Way Home. What you may not know, is just how quickly and thoroughly you will be affected. Within mere pages I was totally and completely gutted by this story. But that's just the beginning, The Long Way Home is a story that makes you feel so deeply it will consume your every thought and every waking moment and leave you absolutely reeling.
A distinctive narrative consisting mainly of letters and journal entries giving a unique perspective on scattered thoughts and experiences making up the whole of this tumultuous story unlike any I've experienced before. Told from three different perspectives to give all possible sides to the story, we switch between Christian's inner thoughts, to Ava's, to third person. All of which I found kept me intimately connected to each character in their pain and their sorrow as well as their inner turmoil and their struggle to heal and kept me thoroughly enthralled in their intensely gripping and excruciating story every step of the way.
Beginning with all the usual hardships and drifting apart of new parenthood, we are struck senseless with the unthinkable right out of the gate leaving you sobbing and breathless, angry and grief stricken right from the start. A heartbreaking, soul crushing story of loss after loss after loss and the fight to overcome one in order to possibly salvage something from another, something that doesn't need to be broken and perhaps with just a little communication, effort, and commitment from both sides, might possibly be repaired once again.
You will, quite possibly, alternately love and hate these two characters and even simultaneously love and hate them, but you will also feel for them, root for them, want to fight for them, want to give up on them, want to hug them, and strangle them, and hit them upside their heads until they are able to open their eyes to see what they have been missing all this time, until they swallow their pride, and hopefully finally reach out for the help that they so desperately need from one another. You are guaranteed to be turned upside down and inside out by the emotion and the nature of the narration of this story, but it will be one ride you will be begging to stay on indefinitely and take over and over again.
I have never been quite so impressed with two particularly separate and opposing viewpoints. These two characters are complete opposites all the way and the execution of these two utterly different and distinct points of view was flawless and remarkable. Often when getting both perspectives it can feel a bit repetitive with a few glaring differences in personality, but largely still seeming to be told in the same overall voice. This is not the case with this narrative. Ava and Christian each definitely have a mind and a voice all their own making for one heck of a fascinating and compelling read.
After the wringer we are put through for most of the book, the story does stop pretty abruptly making you want to throw your reading device of choice right against the wall. This sudden ending isn't necessarily a cliffhanger, but it does definitely leave you with an abundance of unanswered questions which will just about drive you crazy. Although I am psyched about the direction the next book is headed in , I most definitely feel like I need to know more about the resolution of this story before moving along to the next.
An altogether emotional and extraordinary story. The Long Way Home is like no other story I've encountered in both plotline and storytelling yet ranks right up there with some of the most captivating and touching. If you crave something different and love to feel, not just angst or joy or even anger, but just about every emotion you can imagine, this is one you do not want to miss.
A distinctive narrative consisting mainly of letters and journal entries giving a unique perspective on scattered thoughts and experiences making up the whole of this tumultuous story unlike any I've experienced before. Told from three different perspectives to give all possible sides to the story, we switch between Christian's inner thoughts, to Ava's, to third person. All of which I found kept me intimately connected to each character in their pain and their sorrow as well as their inner turmoil and their struggle to heal and kept me thoroughly enthralled in their intensely gripping and excruciating story every step of the way.
Beginning with all the usual hardships and drifting apart of new parenthood, we are struck senseless with the unthinkable right out of the gate leaving you sobbing and breathless, angry and grief stricken right from the start. A heartbreaking, soul crushing story of loss after loss after loss and the fight to overcome one in order to possibly salvage something from another, something that doesn't need to be broken and perhaps with just a little communication, effort, and commitment from both sides, might possibly be repaired once again.
You will, quite possibly, alternately love and hate these two characters and even simultaneously love and hate them, but you will also feel for them, root for them, want to fight for them, want to give up on them, want to hug them, and strangle them, and hit them upside their heads until they are able to open their eyes to see what they have been missing all this time, until they swallow their pride, and hopefully finally reach out for the help that they so desperately need from one another. You are guaranteed to be turned upside down and inside out by the emotion and the nature of the narration of this story, but it will be one ride you will be begging to stay on indefinitely and take over and over again.
I have never been quite so impressed with two particularly separate and opposing viewpoints. These two characters are complete opposites all the way and the execution of these two utterly different and distinct points of view was flawless and remarkable. Often when getting both perspectives it can feel a bit repetitive with a few glaring differences in personality, but largely still seeming to be told in the same overall voice. This is not the case with this narrative. Ava and Christian each definitely have a mind and a voice all their own making for one heck of a fascinating and compelling read.
After the wringer we are put through for most of the book, the story does stop pretty abruptly making you want to throw your reading device of choice right against the wall. This sudden ending isn't necessarily a cliffhanger, but it does definitely leave you with an abundance of unanswered questions which will just about drive you crazy. Although I am psyched about the direction the next book is headed in , I most definitely feel like I need to know more about the resolution of this story before moving along to the next.
An altogether emotional and extraordinary story. The Long Way Home is like no other story I've encountered in both plotline and storytelling yet ranks right up there with some of the most captivating and touching. If you crave something different and love to feel, not just angst or joy or even anger, but just about every emotion you can imagine, this is one you do not want to miss.
June 27, 2017
Add To GoodreadsBuy it on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2rHA26Y
Oh my. This novel gutted me. I thought that I would just spend a nice afternoon reading and relaxing and I ended up all teary eyed and using that I would have to wait to get answers. No authors quite bring the feels like Jasinda and Jack do.
This novel follows a couples journey after their child dies. As a mother reading this, I broke. I cried far too much with this novel. I can't even imagine the pain, but this novel drops you right into that situation and it guts you. Ava and Christian have been through the thick of it and they are stuck, drowning. That leads Christian to do what he thinks is the best option, to leave. He goes to find himself. He goes to find himself, to do what he things he needs to so he can save his marriage.
All the while, Ava is drowning even more. She has to find her way to the surface on her own. She has to find he will to keep going without her son and husband.
This book was so much. It was a couple broken and trying to heal, but at the same time it was a couple who needed to find who they were again without each other. In the end it truly is a long way back home to each other. They needed to deal with their grief, and for Ava and Christian that wasn't with each other.
I loved each word of this book. I savored each word and each time those words made me hold my chest because it hurt. I can't wait to read the next novel. This one ended with such force that I need the next book
Synopsis:
I need you, Ava.
I am desperate. For you. For touch. For a kiss. For the scrape of your hand down my stomach. For the slide of your lips across my hipbone. The sweep of your thigh against mine in the dulcet, drowning darkness. For the warm huff of your breath on my skin and the wet suck of your mouth around me and the building pressure of need reaching release...I am mad with need.
Wild with it.
I cannot have you. I have lost you, as I have lost myself.
And so I go in search. Of myself, and thus the man who might return to you, and take you in his arms.
I loathe each of the thousands of miles between us, but I cannot wish them away, for I hope at the end of my journey I shall find you. Or rather, find myself, and thus…you. Myself, and thus us.
I am taking the long way home, Ava.
***
Christian,
I’m losing my mind, and I don’t know how to stop it. I shouldn’t be writing to you, but I am. I’m friendless, loveless, and lifeless. You’re out there somewhere, and still you’re all I really have. I hate my reliance and dependence on you, emotionally and otherwise, and that reliance is something I’m coming to recognize. I hate that I can’t hate you as much as I want to. I hate that I still love you so much.
I hate that there’s no clear solution to our conundrum. Even if we could forgive each other, what then?
I hate you, Christian. I really do.
But most of all, I don’t.
It’s complicated.
Complicatedly (still) yours,
Ava
THE LONG WAY HOME is the story of a married couple, Christian and Ava, both writers, as they cope with the loss of their son and the damage that loss causes to their marriage. This moving story, alternately heartbreaking and heartwarming, is the first in a brand-new contemporary romance series by bestselling author Jasinda Wilder.
June 26, 2017
Such a powerful, heart-wrenching, anger inducing, heat inflicting, suspenseful read. This book is exquisitely well written and brings you through the character's lives in the form of being there, then in the form of emails to each other, then letters with in-between doses of what is going on with them in the moment. You think that you can't handle this read, but you can't turn away from it as the characters have captured you and you can't get away from them.
The characters are extremely well written and quite well defined and complex. Chris is handsome, talented as a writer and is totally and completely in love with his wife. Ava is smart, beautiful, also talented and is completely in love with her husband. These two suffer a traumatic loss that threatens to break them completely apart, and it does break them apart, but not completely. There is still the love, still the want and need for each other but this event has taken it's tole on them in similar but completely different ways. They are both hurting, grieving and rather than turn to each other for support and strength, Ava shuts down. She goes into herself and looks at Chris, no she looks through Chris and it's killing him. He needs her just as much as she needs him, although she doesn't acknowledge that fact until it's too late.
This heartbreaking story will pull you in and have you feeling every ounce of emotion that these two are feeling, every bit of anger they feel - you feel, every bit of pain that they feel - you feel, every fear they feel - you feel. It is an amazing read that will have you turning page after page to see if they will ever be together again. He's heading home, hurricane, damage, he's lost at sea, she's buried under rubble. You begin to get hopeful, waiting for that happy ending and you read and read and then....yep you guessed it... you have to wait to see if he survived, if he is ever found, if she survives her own ordeal and what will happen next.
Amazing read and I truly, highly recommend this book! (Trigger for some as there is the death of a child involved).
The characters are extremely well written and quite well defined and complex. Chris is handsome, talented as a writer and is totally and completely in love with his wife. Ava is smart, beautiful, also talented and is completely in love with her husband. These two suffer a traumatic loss that threatens to break them completely apart, and it does break them apart, but not completely. There is still the love, still the want and need for each other but this event has taken it's tole on them in similar but completely different ways. They are both hurting, grieving and rather than turn to each other for support and strength, Ava shuts down. She goes into herself and looks at Chris, no she looks through Chris and it's killing him. He needs her just as much as she needs him, although she doesn't acknowledge that fact until it's too late.
This heartbreaking story will pull you in and have you feeling every ounce of emotion that these two are feeling, every bit of anger they feel - you feel, every bit of pain that they feel - you feel, every fear they feel - you feel. It is an amazing read that will have you turning page after page to see if they will ever be together again. He's heading home, hurricane, damage, he's lost at sea, she's buried under rubble. You begin to get hopeful, waiting for that happy ending and you read and read and then....yep you guessed it... you have to wait to see if he survived, if he is ever found, if she survives her own ordeal and what will happen next.
Amazing read and I truly, highly recommend this book! (Trigger for some as there is the death of a child involved).
July 26, 2017
I had no idea what to expect when I started this book. I knew one thing and one thing only about it, and that is that Jasinda Wilder never EVER disappoints. She writes with passion and elegance, heart and soul. And once again she exceeded all of my expectations.
The Long Way Home tells the story of love and loss, heartbreak and healing. This book is unrelenting in the way that it just grabs ahold of your heart and does not let go.
I don't want to say too much because I went into this book blind, not knowing what to expect and I LOVED the element of surprise that it held. The way that Christian and Ava's story is told to us. You feel their desperation and their intense love for one another. Their passion.
While they crave each other with such a fierce intensity, in a way that they feel incomplete. I love that the characters seek to find their own strength, wanting to be completely whole on their own before giving themselves to one another.
This is SUCH an amazing beautiful story, told in such an original mesmerizing way.
The Long Way Home tells the story of love and loss, heartbreak and healing. This book is unrelenting in the way that it just grabs ahold of your heart and does not let go.
I don't want to say too much because I went into this book blind, not knowing what to expect and I LOVED the element of surprise that it held. The way that Christian and Ava's story is told to us. You feel their desperation and their intense love for one another. Their passion.
While they crave each other with such a fierce intensity, in a way that they feel incomplete. I love that the characters seek to find their own strength, wanting to be completely whole on their own before giving themselves to one another.
This is SUCH an amazing beautiful story, told in such an original mesmerizing way.
July 2, 2017
WOW! This book is different than anything I've ever read. It's like a personal glance into Ava & Christian's life. We are reading both of their personal emails, notes, letters & blog entries to or about their daily struggles of their shattered lives. It's an intense, real feeling book that will have you on the edge of a cliff, hanging with emotion, anger, saddness & love! I could not stop reading & didn't want it to end. I can't wait for book 2 to see what happens with Ava, Chris, Delta & Johnny.
June 29, 2017
I am at a complete loss for words as to what to write here, this book broke my heart and left me reeling and in tears. This is the type of book that sweeps you away with it and leaves you in heap of tissues at the end.
Ava and Christian took me on their heartbreaking journey after the tragic loss of the baby son and my god the emotions were just crazy, I loved and hated both of the characters as they tried to pick up the pieces of their lives after a loss that nobody ever wants to experience.
Jacinda Wilder has a way with words and I really love her style. I really recommend this tortuous tale of broken hearts. You will be really surprised just what you get from this story.
Reviewed by Donna
Ava and Christian took me on their heartbreaking journey after the tragic loss of the baby son and my god the emotions were just crazy, I loved and hated both of the characters as they tried to pick up the pieces of their lives after a loss that nobody ever wants to experience.
Jacinda Wilder has a way with words and I really love her style. I really recommend this tortuous tale of broken hearts. You will be really surprised just what you get from this story.
Reviewed by Donna
July 1, 2017
The Long Way Home is beautifully written and has surly left a lasting impression that will stay with me forever. Once I finished, I was seriously at a lost for words. Christian and Ava's story captured my heart within the first few pages of the book. I could feel every emotion they were feeling...their pain, their heartache. I think I cried the most I've ever cried while reading a book!
This is definitely a must read...and in my opinion Jasinda Wilder's best work to date.
This is definitely a must read...and in my opinion Jasinda Wilder's best work to date.
June 30, 2017
Ava and Christian's story is full of such true raw emotion. The heartbreak and the honesty of how they feel for eachother is so real. I couldn't put this book down! An emotional, take my breath away, tears flowing story! Ive read it twice now and the 2nd time still a sobbing mess. Loved loved loved this book! 10 plus stars!!
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