The Road to Tender Hearts is a story about PJ Halliday, a 60-year old lottery winner, who comes up with a plan to journey across the country to woo his recently-widowed high school girlfriend, who had married his best friend many, many years prior. Before he could set out, however, he finds himself the legal guardian of his niece and nephew, neither of whom he knew existed until now. His daughter becomes an unwilling accomplice in his antics, and the four begin an unforgettable and unique adventure to the Tender Hearts Retirement Community.
I was hooked by page one, because what gets you invested more than a death-attuned cat? Chapter one does an exemplary job of setting the tone for the rest of the book: it's blunt, bleak, but still manages to find humor in the darkness of the world. However, it did, at times, feel excessively angsty, rushed, and I did not feel there was much depth in the characters' relationships with one another. The characters, themselves, were more-or-less one-note. It's true they are able to overcome their differences and come together in the end, but besides PJ, who was still only just starting to make progress in his personal journey in the last quarter of the book, I can't say with much confidence that any one character was much different from how they were at the start, nor do I think they were all that likable. I also found Annie Hartnett's prose to be very direct; it does not leave much to the imagination as it tells you exactly who this cast is and what they're thinking, almost as if you are being guided to feel a certain way about them.
Despite my critiques, I did find the story to be incredibly captivating. It consistently had me at the edge of my seat, wanting to know the fates of the two kids and their borderline-crazy great uncle. I would most certainly read this book again, and I do highly recommend it. 100% worth the read. Out now!
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