Review: A guy, a motorcycle, a roadtrip, a dog and a girl...
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 21, 2014
This is one of the books I was gifted by the author in Berlin, and the blurb really captured my attention, so I just had to read it soon. It is a really entertaining story, with very likable characters, and an ugly dog.Evan Chance is a very successful corporate lawyer, but sometimes he really hates his clients. Still, he gets paid handsomely to use the loopholes in the law. So why does he feel so dissatisfied with his life? He does have a gorgeous fiancée, who is also a collegue. They have big plans to change the company when they will be able to take it over. But then Evan’s mentor and surrogate father dies unexpectedly, and he really has to decide what he wants out of his life. His mother recently sent him a bucket list he made when he was twelve years young, and he is appalled that he has accomplished so little of the items that were so important to him as a little boy.When his fiancée does not show any feeling at all at the funeral, and is ready to take over the office that same day, Evan has had enough. He is not willing to sacrifice everything and especially himself to his career, and he realizes he never really did love Tessa. She was just convenient, and she seemed to share his dreams. But now his dreams have changed, and Tessa has dumped him like a hot potato.And so Evan sets out on a road trip across America on his old motor cycle. To see the Grand Canyon; to swim with dolphins in the ocean. But he is just a few days on the road when he accidentally hits a dog with his motorcycle, and the motorcycle needs to be repaired. The vet he takes the dog to is actually a people doctor, but she does treat the dog and Evan is stuck with him. He has to stay in the little town for a few days until his motor cycle has been repaired, and he will use that time to find the dog’s owner, and to get to know the lovely doctor better...Caitlyn Sorenson is drawn to the handsome drifter and when he asks her out to dinner, to her own surprise, she agrees. Evan is too well dressed to be a real bum, and like her, he has been living in New York. Still, she enjoys her new life in the small town where her grandfather had his practice. Especially now she does not try to live up to her mother’s impossible expectations anymore. But a harmless fling with a man who will be gone forever in a few days, why not?And so Caitlyn and Evan and the dog spend some time together, and they do become closer than they wanted to. The local chief of police sure regrets his joke of sending Evan with the wounded dog to Caitlyn’s door now, and all the other local’s try their best to get Evan to stay in town, offering him housing and jobs and whatever else he can possibly want. But Evan is determined to fulfill his childhood dreams now that he has come so far. Will Caitlyn just wait for him?I really enjoyed this book from the start, with Evan’s quirky hippie family and his many siblings. The choice he made was the right one in my opinion, he was no longer happy in his job and high life in New York. It was fun to discover how it is to take it one day at a time, not to plan anything and just see where you end up. Of course, having lots of money and a loving family to fall back on makes it very easy to just pack up what you need and take off.I also liked Caitlyn a lot, she has tried so long to satisfy her parents, who just never were satisfied with their children. She finally had enough, she burned out as a surgeon, and now lives a quieter life as a village doctor. The local head of police is very interested in her, but she is not interested in him. The handsome stranger at her door rouses her interest though.I really liked how they both went into this little affair with their eyes wide open, and how they fell in love when neither of them is ready for it. The dog sure adds a nice accent to the story as well and I felt really sorry for him when Evan took off again, and he was left behind.All in all, a very nice contemporary romance, without misunderstandings or scenes, that just made me smile. I will certainly read more books by Nancy Warren.8 stars.© 2014 Reviews by Aurian </p>