ARC REVIEW: Somewhere Along the Way by Anna Gomez
Along the way, she stumbles upon Graham Mead, a mysterious stranger with a secret identity, who becomes her unexpected travel companion. Each pit stop reveals new truths from her mother’s letters, unveiling a poignant love story and the reasons behind her departure. From state to state, Charlie and Graham unravel their pasts, confront their fears, and discover a love that goes beyond their personal journeys.
But as they reach their destination, they must face the harsh reality of their separate lives: Charlie needs to find her mother, and Graham needs to rebuild his life. Pulled in different directions, can they find each other in the right place and at the right time, twice?
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SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY is a must-read for anyone who believes in the magic of unexpected encounters and the healing power of love.
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Once again, Anna Gomez/Christine Brae gives us a story that resonates deep down into your soul. A story filled with poignant life lessons. Lessons that are predetermined but also ones of unexpectedness. A story about how life delivers the good, the bad, and the ugly. And how it's up to us to determine how we react in response to them.
Somewhere Along the Way is not only a road trip between two strangers who grow to become a lifeline for one another but also this rollercoaster we call life. It's a road trip that depicts the repercussions of grief, while also illustrating pure unadulterated love, kindness, compassion, self discovery, and healing. It's a road trip filled with mental illness, death, trepidation, devotion, bereavement, yearning, calamity, maturation, and passion. And in my humble opinion, it's a road trip well worth taking.
Charlie and Graham. Celia and Edgar. Two soulmates. Two couples. Intertwined by fate, family, loss, and friendship.
While I absolutely adored all of the characters between these pages, Celia is who I connected to the most. I really loved seeing her through the letters she'd written to Edgar, and essentially to Charlie. Witnessing the destruction her mental illness caused and what it cost her brought me so much pain and heartache. I cried right along with this sweet mama who lost it all, due to no real fault of her own. There's nothing like being a prisoner to your own mind. As someone who suffers from BiPolar Disorder (though not to the extreme of Celia's), I got her. Her struggles echoed parts of my own. I wanted so bad to hug her. To tell her she wasn't alone. That she'll find that light at the end of the tunnel. To hang in there. As a mama, I couldn't even begin to imagine the emptiness she felt not having a relationship with her daughter. But I completely understood why the decision was made the way it was. And she had my deepest sympathy.
Due to this, it was pretty damn awesome to see Celia navigate and recognize her mental illness, to find her spot in the world, and then to finally get a win, a happily ever after.
I also absolutely loved observing Charlie learn about her mama, watching her cycle through those myriad of emotions. And in the end, seeing her show so much grace and mercy for a woman she'd never met, but only knew through her father's memories, and now her mother's own words (letters).
I can't forget Graham. He was the best copilot a girl could ask for. It's no wonder Charlie fell head over heels for this mysterious, handsome man, who was no stranger to tragedy. Even fighting his own demons, he made sure Charlie was always safe, understood, and supported.
Gomez did an amazing job showing how forgiveness played a huge role in this book. Not only of others, but of themselves. To feel that forgiveness, which bleed off the pages, and then watch them move forward healed the broken parts of my heart.
I think this quote is the epitome of this journey:
"Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future. Author: Paul Boose"
Then there was that last 10% or so. A perfect touch to an already moving story.
I definitely wasn't ready for it to end. I wanted to spend so much more time with Charlie, Graham, and Celia.
This is a journey I would recommend reading. While it isn't filled to the brim with smut, it's a touching and emotional one. One of my favorite things about Anna Gomez's/Christine Brae's books is the real, relatable people within them. I love the fuck out of the fact they are flawed, facing authentic issues, not contrived drama for the sake of the story. Her characters and worlds are always perfectly imperfect. And Somewhere Along the Way was no exception.
Highly acclaimed author Anna Gomez (pen name Christine Brae) was born in the city of Makati, Philippines and educated abroad before moving to Chicago.
Her award-winning titles include In This Life, My Goodbye Girl, The Year I Left, and the multicultural/women's fiction series From Kona with Love, which is in development for Film/TV. She and her co-author have been covered by outlets such as People Magazine, Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Deadline Hollywood, Home & Family, and Publishers Weekly.
Most recently, Gomez was featured on CNN Philippines, Modern Parenting (Asia), Campaign Brief Asia and Ad Age (US).
She is Global Chief Financial Officer for Mischief at No Fixed Address. Prior to this, she was the CFO of Leo Burnett, a global advertising agency owned by Publicis Groupe.
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