Many Second Chances

My first time reading this author, and I enjoyed every word. I plan to go back a read the others as it is part of a series. The book does stand alone. For me, it was a light, easy, romantic read.

Lola loves working at her family's winery and dreams of leaving her mark on its continued success. Her older sister Carman is standing in her way. Carman makes all the financial decisions for the business. Lola has made mistakes in the past.

Gus is back in town, and he and Lola have a history. He is no longer the bad boy he was when he left without saying goodbye. He is tasked to work on Lola’s secret project. Will her family take her seriously? Can Gus make amends for his youth? I loved Daisy, Lola’s rescue dog.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the advanced copy: this is my voluntary review.

“True love always finds a way”
Long Walk Home is a enjoyable story about how sibling dynamics can cause all kinds of unrest within a family.
Lola is the younger sister and has ideas she wants to implement at the family owned winery. Carmen, as the older sister, doesn’t think Lola is mature enough to make any important decisions on running the winery.
I rather liked all the characters in the story. I especially loved Lola’s rescue dog, Daisy. Her antics made me smile and laugh out loud.
Long Walk Home is a light, romantic read that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Author Ellyn Oaksmith is a new author to me. Her writing style is easy to read. She paints a beautiful picture with her writing.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion. All opinions expressed are my own.

Loved reading this book and series. If you haven't read it yet I highly recommend it. 8 would read the books in order

I received this book for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

I was happy I got this book. Normally I stick to lighter reads but this grabbed my attention and wouldn't let me go.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

Lola Alvarez, absolutely loves working in the restaurant of Blue Hills, where her family’s have a winery which looks out over vine-covered slopes down to the crystal-blue waters of the lake.

But, she also wants to make her own mark on the business, wants to prove to her to older sister Carmen that’s she’s changed from the flighty teen she used to be.

She wants to build gorgeous vacation cabins in the mountain meadow, just above the winery which she thinks will be the perfect addition to Blue Hills. She wants to do this, even if it means going behind Carmen’s back in order to make her dream a reality. Thinking that When Carmen sees how popular they are, she’ll come round.....

Someone she knew very well is back in town, that’s Gus Weaver. He was her first love, a bad boy, for who she used to climb out of windows to see. But he’d broken her heart when he left town suddenly, not even saying goodbye.

That is, until now. Faced with working together, on her project, the old sparks are there between them.

So, can Lola keep her mind on making her dream a reality, when her hearts telling her something else?

We all make mistakes. How we evolve and learn from those mistakes says a lot about who we are as people. For Lola, the consequences of past mistakes makes it hard for her sister to see her as anything as a misguided daydreamer. For Gus, those mistakes meant time in prison.

But both Lola and Gus have dreams for a better future. When Lola’s secret plan to add mini-cabins to her family’s vineyard, she inadvertently creates a job for Gus. The tension and sparks between them are both understandable and inevitable.

This is a story of redemption, love, and trust. Lola is easy to empathize with, and despite all of his past misdeeds, Gus is the bad-boy-turned-good you just can’t help but fall in love with. This has just enough sizzle and conflict to make it a perfect summer vacation must-read.

For the great tension, interesting character dynamics, and the feel-good ending, this book gets a well-deserved five stars.

Long Walk Home by Ellyn Oaksmith will be released on April 30 and is available now for preorder on Amazon.

A Toast for “Long Walk Home"!

The Alvarez sisters are back, and this time, we hear from Lola, the youngest of the family. Told mostly from Lola’s perspective, this story is a look into family dynamics, regrets, and redemption, As with all the stories in this series, it’s set in and around the gorgeous lake town of Chelan, Washington.

Life was going well for the Alvarez family—their winery was finally thriving after the patriarch almost lost it due to his advancing Alzheimer’s, and middle sister Carmen was about to be married to her arch-nemesis-turned-love-of-her life. But then, as pasts have a way of doing, Lola’s caught up to her when her first love showed up in town unannounced after a ten-year absence.

While many sub-characters add color and depth to the story, it’s centered around Lola and Gus.

Lola’s spunky, with that youngest sibling, “I matter, too,” relatability, and is on a mission to prove her worth at the winery and in the family. As a chef in the winery’s restaurant, she works hard and feels underappreciated. Lola has big ideas, though, and isn’t afraid of using a little creative energy to get what she wants.

Ex-boyfriend Gus is the handsome bad boy with a heart, who’s set on making amends for his teenage misgivings while working for a local builder. His walk home is indeed long, and his journey is also relatable. He questions why he thought coming home was a good idea, if he was foolish in trying to make amends for the biggest mistake of his life.

Throw in a family wedding, unrealistic expectations, tiny homes, a beautiful lake, and a loyal dog, and you’ve got an entertaining feel-good story filled with real, lovable characters.

This is an easy, fun read filled with vibrant descriptions of both the lake and town of Chelan. Now that I’m finished, I’m sad to see the Alvarez family go. What a nice way to tie up the series!

I must say I didn’t realize this was part of a series of books until I finished it. It can be read as a stand alone, and for the most part it stands up nicely.

Thank you @netgalley and @bookouture for an advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Lola is the youngest of the Alvarez sisters and wants her opinions and views to be heard. She goes behind her sister Carmen’s back to add some tiny cabins to the family vineyard. But little does Lola know that her contractor recently hired her ex boyfriend who just moved back into town to work on the tiny cabins...

This book focuses on more than just romance and is about family and changing the narrative within your family. It reminded me a little of fix her up in that Lola wasn’t taken as seriously as she wanted to be. I think if you are a fan on small town second chance romances you would like this book. I will say, even though it held up like it’s own book, knowing now that there are previous books I would have liked to have read them first. I think it would have explained more about Lola and Carmens relationship. I enjoyed the imagery created in this book and would love to be in their small town in Washington! Oh and there’s an adorable dog named Daisy!

Long Walk Home is a story about family and love. It follows Lola, the youngest daughter, as she struggles to find her place within her family and their family business. It's a story about resolve and redemption.

Colors, sounds, and feeling tone create a sensory experience that is spot on to the Chelan area.

The first two chapters were tough for me. Details, long sentences, and misspellings made me put the book down several times. The protagonist comes across as a spoiled child. Complaining a lot about how unfair her life is.

However, I kept reading and found by the end of the third chapter the story became more interesting.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to give an honest review.

This is the third book in Ellyn Oaksmith’s series but it stands alone quite strongly. Lola is the youngest of three sisters. She behaves just like the rebellious youngest too. Her older sister Carmen runs the winery but frustratingly won’t allow Lola to have an opinion at all. Not about the sexist head chef Neil that she hires, about expanding into “tiny home” cottages on the property and her father keeps sending eligible gents into the restaurant kitchen to introduce them to Lola. But Lola has managed to raise the capital to build the tiny homes from angel investors and when she is introduced to Hildago, a builder, she presses ahead and gets him to start building. Only problem is that the building is being done by Gus, Lola’s childhood sweetheart. The only hard to believe part is that Carmen doesn’t find out about the building until it’s nearly complete. And the end comes together very quickly with everything working out happily for all the characters. Not totally believable but an enjoyable read if you don’t question the believability and rate of forgiveness 😉👍🌟

This is another book where I ignored the synopsis as I was more interested in reading books from across the pond. I am thrilled that I picked this book in order to help scratch that itch.
I finished this book in a single sitting and loved it. The story may have been a little obvious, but there’s a certain enjoyment in assuming how it will end and then reading on, to discover how it reaches that foregone conclusion.
The premise hangs on several relationships that Lola Alvarez has or has had. There’s Gus, her school day ex-boyfriend who was sent to prison. Her strong-minded sister, Carmen, and their father, Juan, who wants to see her settled with a nice man. Then there’s Neil, the misogynistic chef who treats his staff like imbeciles whilst telling them that he’s trying to make them better. Thank goodness for Daisy, the dog who shows Lola pure devotion, most of the time.
Digging deeper into this story reveals a trail of unresolved feelings and poor choices. There’s good reason for Carmen’s treatment of Lola and Juan is well placed to want to see his youngest daughter happy.
A special mention needs to go to Hidalgo Ruiz. He’s a gentle soul who genuinely cares for Lola and reacts kindly, when he discovers that Lola has duped him into constructing her ‘tiny cabins’. It’s easy to see that Lola would be happy and well cared for, if she could find a way to return his interest, but the heart doesn’t always do what is easiest.
This was a lovely escape to a lovely mountainside winery.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Long Walk Home by Ellyn Oaksmith is a second chance romance.

Lola Alvarez was living with her dad and her sister at the Orchard House in Chelan. They owned the Blue Hills Winery. Lola also owned the
Blue Hills Winery Blog where she posted her dreams about the winery and restaurant. As the youngest and most rebellious kid, no one was taking her seriously, especially about her business dreams. She wanted nothing more than to run the kitchen of their restaurant and create the tiny cabins up the hill but her sister Carmen was adamant that it won't be happening anytime soon. That pissed her off so much and when she met the cute contractor she saw it as a sign that this was her chance so she went behind her sister's back to do it. This could make things between her family better or worst but it was a chance she was willing to take.

It's such a heartwarming story with wonderful characters. It's a well-written book, it's told from the third point of view and every chapter has its own self-explanatory title. The plot is so interesting and sweet filled with so many lessons. Half of the book is about family issues and self-worth, and the other half about the romance between Lola and Gus. Also, the story is filled with second chances. The first one was about Lola, who despite her previous bad plans she wanted to prove her worth. The second one about Gus, who wanted to prove he had changed. The third one was about their love story. It's such an inspiring book, it teaches you that no matter what happens you have to get back on your feet and try again. The characters were incredible, especially Lola she was my favorite. She was a girl who wanted to create something on her own and make her family proud. She was so admirable with her passion and her hard work. I liked Gus as well, he tried to fix his life but even though he loved her he didn't push her, he went from a troubled teenager to a gentleman.


In general, this is a book that makes you feel really good when you finish it. I will rate it with 5 stars.

Last Walk Home is a lovely second-chance romance set in a beautiful Californian Vineyard.

It is book #3 in the Blue Hills series but can be read as a standalone. I also enjoyed reading and reviewing the first two books in the series: Summer at Orchard House and Promises at Indigo Bay.

Lola was the youngest of three sisters whose parents owned a vineyard in California. After their mom passed away, the three shared ownership with their aging father, struggling with Alzheimer's.

Gus was the highschool boyfriend who came from the wrong family and kept company with the wrong crowd.

When he was arrested, Lola's world crumbled down, and her father was afraid of her wishing to ever reunite with the good-for-nothing boy.

Ten years forward and Lola was still struggling to find her place in the vineyard and the world.

She had just met a nice guy when she discovered Gus was back in town and so remarkably changed.

The main characters are layered. In a moment, I wanted to shake them to see reason, and in the next, I was appalled by how they were being treated.

Gus stole my heart after a couple of pages. His ability to analyze his past mistakes, understand his family issues, and then change and grow was so admirable.

Lola was immature, but I could not help myself and loved her anyway. I could not agree with her methods, and I wish she could have found a place away from Carmem's shadow to really prove herself, but her confidence and energy were contagious. She was the heart of the story.

It was wonderful to revisit the Alvarez family, especially the sweet but protective Juan. Stella and Paolo's twins were noisy but adorable, and the story would not be complete without the lake-obsessed dog Daisy.

Last Walk Home is a romantic, emotional, scenic, and engaging read.

Lovely! My favorite in the series so far!

Disclosure: I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

*This review will be posted on https://lureviewsbooks.com on 04/30/2021*

Home, no matter how long it takes to get there, is worth the struggle.

Lola Alvarez has a dream.  She wants to stand on her own two feet. “Make her mark on the family business.” Step out of the shadow of her older sister, Carmen. One way of doing this is adding tiny cabins to the family’s Blue Hills Winery and restaurant. Throw true love into the mix and she's good to go. But it won’t be easy as past and present collide in this gentle romance about family, forgiveness, and courage.

Standing in the way of Lola’s dream are her overbearing restaurant manager and sister, Carmen. Gordon Ramsay wannabe “Horrible Neil,” Aka: Chef Jerk on Steroids. An overprotective father, Juan, who's in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. And a choice between two men: steady, respectable Hidalgo Ruiz of Ruiz Construction and Gus Weaver, newly released ex-con, master carpenter, and Lola’s high school heart throb.

After his release from a ten-year prison stint, Gus is hired by Hidalgo to build Lola’s tiny cabins. This, while the relationship between Lola and Hidalgo heats up. Catch: Lola hasn’t exactly come clean to anyone about anyone else, the building project, or the tangled web of the past. And when Lola fires Chef Jerk on the eve of Carmen’s wedding, which he was going to cater, and Gus and Hidalgo square off, can disaster be far away?

Set in the stunning beauty of Chelan, Washington in the shadow of the North Cascades, Long Walk Home offers a mouth-watering menu of simmering romantic tension, familial friction, heart break, confusion, and intrepidity in the face of seemingly overwhelming odds. It’s tightly written and reads quickly, with each chapter flowing seamlessly into the next.

Pro tips:
Keep an eye out for Daisy, Lola’s faithful Australian Shepherd mix. Scene stealer!
Don’t read this book when you’re hungry. The descriptions of cooking and meal prep inside the Blue Hills kitchen will have you drooling!

Long Walk Home is well-written, expertly paced, and packed with (mostly) memorable characters. This is a sweet and gentle read. If you’re hungry for bright and nimble fiction flavored with romance, forgiveness, rugged natural beauty, delicious food, family, and robust word pictures seasoned with hope and humor, take a bite out of Long Walk Hope.  It's better than dessert!

#LongWalkHome #NetGalley