Welcome to the Short N’ Sweet Book Review! For the ten years that I’ve been reviewing books on this blog, I’ve written long, wordy reviews that, let’s be honest, not a lot of people are probably reading. I’ve recently decided to shorten those reviews and get straight to the point – what is this book about, who wrote it, where you can find and a short review on what I loved, liked and maybe thought could be better.
Today’s review is a best friends to lovers romance, told over a fun road trip that includes baseball and cats, which is basically my bread and butter – A Thousand Miles by Bridget Morrissey!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
ABOUT THE BOOK
After a decade of silence, Dee and Ben reunite for a road trip they once promised to take. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.
Dee Matthews is the cohost of the smash-hit podcast Did I Forget To Tell You?, where she interviews family, friends, and past lovers. Nothing is off limits, except for one man (known on the show only as Name Redacted) who happens to be her high school best friend Ben. During their senior year spring break, Dee and Ben took a road trip to visit Ben’s grandma. They buried a time capsule in her backyard, pledging to return in ten years to open it. Then their friendship fell apart in spectacular fashion. They haven’t spoken to each other since.
Ben Porter’s life since that moment has been unexciting but comfortable, until his grandma reveals a family secret that flips his whole world upside down. Her dying wish is for him to stop doing what is safest and go after what he really wants. He starts by showing up on Dee’s doorstep with every intention of fulfilling their long-ago promise. Despite her reservations, Dee can’t say no. This trip could be her chance to give her listeners the Name Redacted interview they’ve been begging for–and finally put her unresolved feelings for Ben to rest.
As the miles fly by, Dee and Ben’s friendship reignites. But the closer they get to reaching their destination, the more apparent it becomes that their attraction to each other cannot be ignored. Their last adventure ended in disaster, and they’re about to find out if any hope of a future together is in the rear view mirror.
~~~~~
Genre: Romance
Pages: 368 pages
Part of a Series?: Standalone Novel
Release Date: June 21st, 2022
Publisher: Berkley Books
Source: Borrowed Library Ebook
Find the Author: Website / Instagram / Twitter / GoodReads
FIND THE BOOK:
GoodReads / BookShop (support your local indie!) / IndieBound / Barnes and Noble / Amazon / Audible / Book Depository / Apple Books / Kobo / Google Play
SHORT N’SWEET REVIEW
I’ve had Bridget’s book, Love Scenes, on my TBR list for a long time now and I immediately put a hold on this new book at the library, as soon as I could. I didn’t expect to get it as quickly as I did but I was totally stoked that I did. Bridget did a signing at my FAVORITE bookstore, The Ripped Bodice, on Saturday, with two of my favorite people, Austin Siegemund-Broka and Emily Wibberley, and I was beyond sad that I had to miss it, since I had to work.
Reading this book just days after it released and enjoying every single moment of it almost made up for it.
I am, and probably always will be, the biggest fan of the friends to lovers trope because my life literally is this trope haha. I literally married my best friend turned boyfriend turned fiancé turned husband three months ago. So yeah, I’m a big fan. The fact that the main characters, Ben and Dee, remind me of Daniel and I just is the cherry on top of the cake.
I was hooked into the story from the moment I started reading it last night. I consumed most of it before I dropped my phone on my face and realized that it was totally past my bedtime and that I needed to go to bed and I finished the rest of it this afternoon and immediately wanted to share how I feel about this book because its been awhile since I’ve truly had a five star read and this book did that. It had so much that I loved but I love a good road trip story. When you trap two people in a car for a long time, it makes those two people face literally anything and everything. Secrets you’ve kept. Feelings you’ve hidden. Sexual tension you’ve tried to deny. All of that is there with Ben and Dee but it also was fun and lighthearted and full of adventure and romance and pure friendship. From the moment that the two characters reunite in the first chapter, you can feel the connection and the history between them and THAT is what hooks you from the beginning.
But I also like the layers of the story. I appreciate that it’s more than just Ben and Dee. It’s their family and friends, their jobs, their pasts and futures, their own dramas, their own struggles outside of their friendship and relationship. I also really appreciated that Bridget didn’t drag out what happened between the two main characters in the past and just weaved it in as a part of the story. I appreciate that. I think a good secret is awesome but sometimes it feels like a huge build up to something super anti-climatic. This wasn’t like that at all and it just made Ben and Dee’s relationship stronger and more believable. I love that from the moment they reunite, they aren’t just long silences and despair and tortured glances and all of that. I love that the time apart nearly feels like nothing and, while they need to face what has happened in the past, that they still can joke with each other, talk with each other and connect with each other. I truly loved that so much.
I’m also fully convinced that the podcast that Dee hosts with her friend, Javi, is based on the friendship between Gillian and Patrick on True Crime Obsessed. Dee’s podcast has NOTHING to do with true crime but the podcast transcripts at the beginning of chapters are SO fun, and the banter reminds me of GP and PH SO much and I’m probably just making it up because I love that podcast but I’m telling you – gives me the vibes.
I also love that this book gave me two of my favorite things – baseball and cats. Ben was a baseball player in high school and it plays into the story in different ways and as a huge baseball fan and a writer of a baseball romance, I was so into it. There’s also a cat the comes into play and I can’t say more than that because, you know, spoilers, but its wonderful and I love it too.
I know that these reviews are supposed to be short and sweet but honestly I just loved this book so much and I just devoured it so quickly. Ben and Dee’s relationship is so sweet and pure and real and I loved to watch it unfold, both in the memories and in the present. I love the fun of a road trip and the things that are discovered along the way. I loved the throwbacks to things that I remember from my own teen years, since Ben and Dee are around my age. I loved everything about this book and now I am not going to be waiting to read Love Scenes anymore because I’ve fully fallen in love with Bridget’s books and you can tell because I don’t give out five stars lightly and this book was definitely a five star book!
RATING:
5 out of 5 Stars
