The Road Home: Langley Park Series by Krista Sandor / / Book Review
I’m back! As promised in my last post, I’m here to tell you all about The Road Home by Krista Sandor. This is the first book of her Langley Park Series. Krista Sandor was kind enough to send me her book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
The Road Home
We meet Jenna Lewis, who lives an unsettled life as she moves around every two years for her teaching job. She trains students and teachers to implement the “Gwyer Reading Program” into their school setting. Moving around suits Jenna because it means she can remain guarded and never have to form any lasting connections. Jenna has been running away from her past and is desperate to hide it from everyone, even if that means lying. Jenna’s upbringing by her mom and her mom’s terrible boyfriend was less than ideal, to say the least.
Out of nowhere, after no contact for more than a decade, Jenna gets a call where she learns her mother got admitted to a psychiatric center in Langley Park.
Jenna drops everything and dashes over to Langley Park, which is a town near Kansas City. Jenna is familiar with this area because she and her mother lived there briefly when Jenna was just a teen. Soon after arriving, Jenna bumps into an old acquaintance, Zoe, who warmly greets Jenna. Zoe quickly solves Jenna’s lack of housing issue by offering up her brother’s carriage house apartment. Enter Zoe’s brother, single dad, Ben Fisher. Ben and Jenna had a heated moment together as teens that they both never forgot. Will a spark reignite between the two? They both have tortured pasts that they must put behind them in order to move on…
Sooo…
I’m not gonna say what happens but I will say there is A LOT of sexy time action in this book if you know what I mean. Ya know…they get down. They get dirty. Got it? I’m not mature enough to elaborate anymore. I will never look at a pantry the same, just sayin’.
In addition to plenty of horizontal extracurricular activities, there’s also lots of love. Everything about The Road Home oozes with perfection from the picturesque town (I want to move there!), the lovely friends, and of course, the beautiful lovers. For me, it was a great escape from reality. I cared about Jenna and Ben from the start and rooted for them. I was drawn into the town and the people in it. The town and people remind me a little of Stars Hollow from the Gilmore Girls, which was one of my favorite shows.
If I ever date a guy again and we ever have a little dispute, I will tell him to message Krista Sandor on her Instagram @kristasandor before responding to me. So if a guy says, “Well, I don’t know what to say…” I’ll say, “Put Krista Sandor on speed dial because she will know what to say!” Ben Fisher knows what to say! And I thank him for that.
Trouble brewing
It’s not all sunshine and rainbows in The Road Home because, throughout it, there’s someone shady who is following and taunting Jenna. Also, Jenna is trying to reconcile with her mom despite the awful upbringing she had with her. The Road Home combines two of my favorite genres- romance and suspense. Who is following Jenna and can her mom be trusted? Jenna is smart and competent but I was a couple of steps ahead of her while reading it. Some suspense books make you feel a bit dim when the big reveal comes, but this one made me feel like I was pretty smart. I like feeling smart! It also made me more invested as I was yelling at Jenna in my head to hurry up and figure it out before she gets herself in real danger. She had me worried!
Final thoughts
I definitely enjoyed reading this sweet romance. It was a nice escape that brought my mind to a cool town with great people in it. It’s a good reminder for this single female, how important it is to have good, supportive people in your life.
It should be noted that the book tackles some troubling issues like suicide, abuse, and neglect. Those difficult subjects are handled with care by the author.
If you need an escape and would like a fun, sexy read in a super sweet setting, then I would definitely pick The Road Home up.
To learn more about the author, Krista Sandor, The Road Home, and the rest of her Langley Park Series, head over to her website at kristasandor.com.
Thank you, Krista Sandor, for sharing The Road Home with me! I loved Jenna, Ben, Kate, and the rest of the Langley Park gang!
My reviews of books 2 and 3 in the series will be coming soon! ❤️
That’s a similar title to my novel, The Road Ahead. 🙂
Oh cool! What’s yours about?
Oohhh this book sounds really good! Awesome job on the review, Lauren! How cool is it that you’re getting authors reaching out to you now!! Aaahh you’re such a big deal 🙂
Thank you thank you! It was good! I was totally pulled in by the characters and the town!
Haha! I wish I could pretend I’m a big deal but I’m totally not. 😂❤️
Oooo, I just added this to my list! I’d totally read this. Romance and suspense is always a great combination! You did such a great job reviewing it without giving so much away. You also made me laugh with your sexy time warning, which I”m sure many are into. The town also sounds so cute! I loved Gilmore Girls – I’ve watched the series several times! That makes me even more interested! Wouldn’t it be cool to do a tour of this town? Does it actually exists? That would be cool if it did!
Btw, my mug looks so cool next to the book cover, doesn’t it? hehe
Kathy @ Tasty Itinerary
Heyyy! Thanks for reading it! I was nervous about giving too much away so I’m glad you think I didn’t! Hahaha! Sexy time action! I’m so lame! Did I forget this time to say it is a fictional town? Oops! The town sounds amazing. I totally need to move to a place like that!
You mug does look pretty awesome! Thank you again for getting me a ko-fi! That was so exciting! Thank you!! ❤️❤️
I’m not usually into Romance novels but his was a fun read. You’re right, Lauren, the suspense really kept me interested. I had just finished reading several very heavy books so this was a good change of pace, suspenseful but light.
As for the wet sexy parts, that’s definitely not to my taste. Let me just say this: I prefer the real thing rather than reading about somebody else having a great time. If any of your readers like the hot sexy parts of the Romance genre, I highly recommend this book.
It’s impressive that the author reached out to you. I agree with Sarah Smith, you’re movin’ on up! Your review was excellent. Fair and honest.
Thanks for offering me this opportunity to read a Romance novel.
Thank you so much for reaching my review Jane! Haha! I get what you mean about preferring the real thing. You made me laugh! Romance is a newer genre for me too. I’m usually more of the chick lit books in terms of romance but Sarah Smith who you mentioned, has expanded my horizons. 😉 Her blog is called Sarah Writes Smut and I read everything she puts out there! She’s awesome.
I really am liking Krista Sandor’s combo of romance and suspense. I think it’s a pretty cool style.
Thank you for reading my post and the book! ❤️❤️
Got halfway through. Decided that I’ve reached my personal limit on the romance genre for the moment. Sometimes it hits the spot. Other times, meh. I’ll wait till the #literarydatesbookclub gets back to NY.
I gotcha! I’ll keep you all updated on when my next NYC one will be.
I love the whole premise of this book!
First, I am still cracking up at “lots of sexy time.” GAHAHA. I do know what you mean, and bring it on.
Sometimes I wonder if I could move around every two years. How about you? In my 30’s, I think this would be harder and harder since it is already nearly impossible to make new friends. In my 20’s, though, I liked the idea of moving from place to place. I was easily bored, and I loved meeting new people, trying new things, and changing everything up. I didn’t move to escape or be alone, though, like this character.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! Add this one to my GIANT to-be-read pile. You know that I love the bookstagram one for this too. Coffee!!!
Hahaha! I’m a nut, I know!
You’re right. It definitely would be hard moving around now. In my twenties, I lived in SF for a summer (Okay I was 19), do 3 semesters in college in NY count? No that’s not twenties either. I moved back home to Ga in my 20s and then moved in with friends in a town in Ga and then at 26 moved to NYC. Still here today! I’ve just moved mostly throughout Brooklyn while I’ve been here. Now I’m heading into, I can’t even say the age…anyway…it’s definitely harder to make friends as you get older. Also, when you live in an expensive city like NY, many friends you once had while here, have moved away. That’s a bummer! But I’m lucky I still have some good friends here. I’ve never needed a ton of friends, just some good quality ones.
I’m still deciding NYC will be my forever home. We’ll see! I’m curious about the different places you’ve lived in your twenties.
Thanks for reading and commenting! I really enjoyed the book! My next reviews of the series will be coming any minute but maybe tomorrow. 😉
Coffee forever!