A fabulous premise and synopsis gave me very high hopes for the book however the book, itself seemed to fall flat.

I couldn't help but be influenced by the lack of proofreading and editing in this early-read edition. The use of "couple" without "of" following it, she "could" instead of "couldn't" care less all bothered the English Major in me., and I'm afraid" affected my enjoyment of this book. I truly hope the published version reads better.

Toby is an 82 year old living on a ranch she is getting too old to keep up. Her adopted daughter, Nola Jean, returns to visit on a mission to find her birth mother and also to convince Toby to give up her farm and move into town.

There are some lovely descriptions of the area and of nature, yet it somehow does not hang together some of the ore moving sections are buried in unclear and perhaps unnecessary verbiage. Joern is obviously a skilled writer, but perhaps the writing was adversely affected by the novel having been written during the Covid lockdown. The author admits that Toby's Last Resort was a response to questions asked at readings of her previous novels about what became of Toby.

Perhaps if I went back and read those previous novels I would have related better to the characters in this one.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest reviews.

Toby's Last Resort
by Pamela Carter Joern
In this thoughtful and moving novel, Pamela Carter Joern probes the complications of family relationships, identity, belonging, and the impact of long-held secrets.

This is one beautifully written book. Toby's last Resort paints a beautiful picture of the prairie and Sandhills of western Nebraska. And the women...came to life, in smiles, courage, and heartbreaking moments you feel deeply. What a movie this would be. Bravo, I LOVED the entire painting.