Annie Hartnett has done it again!

This book already had me laughing out loud before the end of the first chapter, so I knew I was in for a treat.

I just love this author’s writing so much and loved getting lost in this world. This story has all her signature ingredients—it’s funny, witty, quirky, delightful, whimsical, and heartfelt. It’s got lovable characters, an adventure-filled cross-country road trip, and a cat named Pancakes who can predict death—what more could you ask for?!

Like her previous novels, this story also deals with some darker themes like grief, alcoholism and a few others (which I won’t mention here so as not to spoil anything). Despite this though, the book never felt heavy. In fact, I didn’t want the story to end.

Would highly recommend to anyone who loved Rabbit Cake and/or Unlikely Animals, or to anyone who has yet to read an Annie Hartnett novel. You’re missing out!

Can’t wait to add a copy of this to my shelves!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House/Ballantine Books for this ARC!

Oh what a lovely book! PJ captured my heart from the start!m, as did Ollie and Luna. My heart broke for those two kids and my heart broke for PJ. I loved this one to pieces and I highly recommend it!

Tear my heart out, will you, Annie Hartnett?

I requested this ARC because Rabbit Cake was probably my favorite read of 2022 (Elvis still lives in my head, let's be real). The Road to Tender Hearts does NOT disappoint. Hartnett is incredible at writing children, trauma, animals...just writing in general, I guess? I adored the tinge of magical realism, including the occasional look at Pancakes' thoughts, and every nuance was thoughtfully written.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

A ridiculously fun cross country road trip story! The humor is on the darker side but this story is full of heart!

PJ. He is a drunk, a lottery winner, a grieving father, a man child who refuses to grow up.

His daughter Sophie.

Two kids, Ollie and Luna. PJ is the great uncle they never met, who got their custody after they lost their parents in a murder-suicide

And a tabby cat who can predict death.

A road trip from Massachusetts to Arizona with a stop at Texas for a paternity test :) A strained father-daughter relationship, ridiculously cute kids and the very best of the characters: Pancakes the cat.

PJ is a loveable fool. I found him loveable as a fictional character. He would be my literal nightmare in real life:) He is not a good father. But he gets a second chance at parenting with Ollie and Luna. He tries, this time, he really tries to do the right things. Lots of things happen on this road trip.

I love Hartnett's story telling style and her dark humor. There are things happening to these characters, seriously traumatic things but somehow she keeps the tone light.

I had a lot of fun reading this book and definitely recommend it.

I loved The Road To Tender Hearts!! It was such a funny, quirky, sad and warmhearted story. I loved the magical realism aspects involved with the cat.

It’s really hard to describe this book but somehow PJ Halliday, alcoholic and lottery winner, inherits 2 young children he has never met and decides to take them across the country to surprise a former lover at her retirement home. This road trip also includes his living daughter and a cat named Pancakes, who happens to bring death with him wherever he goes.
I will be reading more books from Annie Hartnett and recommend this one to everyone. 5 ⭐️ thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine books for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I was a big Annie Hartnett fan and after reading this book I am a bigger fan!

The very first line: “Things were falling apart at the nursing home in Pondtown, a small town in the armpit of Massachusetts,” was quickly followed by the introduction of my favorite character — Pancakes the cat — with his affinity for those whose (sometimes surprising) deaths are on the Grim Reaper’s schedule. And that was it — I was hooked.

A cast of characters: PJ, a lottery winner who has succumbed to alcoholism after the death of a daughter; Sophie, his other daughter who has developed a healthy distrust of him as a parental figure; Luna and Ollie, two youngsters suddenly orphaned in not the healthiest way, suddenly dropped in PJ’s lap; and the aforementioned cat. All set off on the world’s weirdest road trip chasing a fantasy paternity prospect and an equally fanciful long lost love prospect. While each character is a little broken, this only tugs the heartstrings in what turns out to be a positive way. Great dialog, wild and wonderful storytelling sprouting from memories and passed down tales, and some atypical (understatement) attitudes toward life and death.

BOOK REPORT
Received a complimentary copy of The Road to Tender Hearts, by Annie Hartnett, from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books /NetGalley, for which I am appreciative, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary.

In the for-what-it’s-worth category, I was correct some time ago when I gave my thoughts on this author’s debut novel: Annie Hartnett is just getting better and better as she goes along.

This book was sweet and silly and smart and funny and life-affirming and concurrently both totally implausible and completely believable.

If the description of the plot appeals to you, then you’ll probably enjoy spending time with PJ and his motley crew (especially the cat) as much as I did.

DESCRIPTION
A darkly comic and warm-hearted novel about an old man on a cross-country mission to reunite with his high school crush—bringing together his adult daughter, two orphaned kids, and a cat who can predict death—by the beloved author of Rabbit Cake and Unlikely Animals

At sixty-three years old, million-dollar lottery winner PJ Halliday would be the luckiest man in Pondville, Massachusetts, if it weren’t for the tragedies of his life: the sudden death of his eldest daughter and the way his marriage fell apart after that. Since then, PJ spends both his money and his time at the bar, and he probably doesn’t have much time left—he’s had three heart attacks already.

But when PJ reads the obituary of his old romantic rival, he realizes his high school sweetheart, Michelle Cobb, is finally single again. Filled with a new enthusiasm for life, PJ decides he’s going to drive across the country to the Tender Hearts Retirement Community in Arizona to win Michelle back.

Before PJ can hit the road, tragedy strikes Pondville, leaving PJ the sudden guardian of his estranged brother’s grandchildren. Anyone else would be deterred from the planned trip, but PJ figures the orphaned kids might benefit from getting out of town. PJ also thinks he can ask Sophie, his adult daughter who’s adrift in her twenties, to come along to babysit. And there’s one more surprise addition to the roster: Pancakes, a former nursing home therapy cat with a knack of predicting death, who recently turned up outside PJ’s home.

This could be the second chance PJ has long hoped for—a fresh shot at love and parenting—but does he have the strength to do both those things again? It’s very possible his heart can’t take it.

Annie Hartnett has done it again! What a wonderful book filled with flawed characters who will none the less steal your heart. PJ Halliday is an alcoholic lottery winner who through a series of events winds up with custody of great niece and nephew. They end up on a road trip with PJ's daughter and a cat who can predict deaths. The result is a heartfelt romp through the US. A must read!!

well damn, another 5 star read. let me give you some backstory on what it's about because maybe, just maybe you would want to read it too.

PJ Halliday, 63 y/o, a millionaire scratch ticket winner with a failing heart, spends his days numbing his grief in the bar, trying to forget the loss of his daughter, the prom queen, who died years ago. his best friend and ex-wife, who are now planning to marry, try to shield him from the world’s pain—cutting out sad news that involves children & animals (he doesn't even eat bacon) and catering to his every need. but when PJ stumbles upon an obituary about a long-lost love, now widowed and living in an Arizona retirement home called Tender Hearts, something stirs in him, and he sets out on a road trip in search of closure and a maybe, a second chance at love. but along the way, PJ inherits two orphaned kids after a tragic murder-suicide and reconnects with his estranged daughter and a strange cat named Pancakes with an unsettling connection to death follows him, and the kids are convinced their movie-star father is out there somewhere.

as PJ struggles to navigate these lost souls and tangled pasts, he finds that, in the end, love and redemption come with their own costs. besides the absurdity and heartbreak, he learns that life’s messiness—its pain, loss, and unexpected kindness—can still teach us how to move forward, even when we feel like we’ve lost everything. a story of tragic second chances, where the laughter is tempered by the shadows of grief and the hope that maybe, just maybe, love can heal even the deepest wounds.

serious thoughts about this book:
THIS WAS GOOD. TOO GOOD. GOT THAT BACKMAN VIBE TO IT.
i highlighted so many sections in this book because the writing was just so beautiful. there were so many moments that truly captured the depth of humanity. each character is deeply flawed, yet they all tugged at my heart. i found myself wanting to be with them, to talk to them, to understand them better. it really pulled me into its journey lol because it was filled with adventure, excitement, and dark humor at times. i was left craving more. every goddamn line of the dialogue was so PERFECTLY crafted. the plot, the ending—this book gave me everything i hoped for.

did i have questions after i finished the book? was i confused at times?

absolutely. but this whole story reflects the struggles of real life, where we’re often left with more questions than answers.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★
thank you thank you Random House Publishing Group.
i already pre-ordered my physical copy!

Oh I loved this story so much. Such a rich cast of characters who will stay with me for a long time. I have been a fan of Annie Hartnett since Rabbit Cake. Unlikely Animals is one of my favorite books of the past 10 years. I can't imagine any reader could NOT love The Road to Tender Hearts. It's funny and heartwarming and unique. I laughed, I cried, I didn't want it to end. Five enthusiastic stars.

PJ Halliday, 63 years old with a bad ticker spends his time hanging in the bar drinking up his million and a half dollars scratch ticket win. Still grieving over his prom queen daughter's death years ago, his best friend and his ex-wife ,who are planning to marry soon, make sure his needs are met, even to the extent of clipping sad news out of the paper so he doesn't have to see it. When they go off on a vacation, PJ reading an obituary discovers the girl he thought he was in love with is now widowed and living in the Tender Hearts retirement community in Arizona. Meanwhile a strange series of events leads to a murder suicide leaving two young kids parentless and in PJ's care. Oh, and PJ's long estranged daughter shows up as well as a cat that has an intimate connection with death. An uproariously comedic and tragic roadtrip ensues as PJ heads toward true love and one of the kids tries to meet up with the movie star she is sure is her real dad. It is filled with death and destruction, strange coincidences, as well as kindness and heart warming tenderness.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book, but it was really good and heartwarming! I still don’t know what to make of Pancakes, the agent of death cat, but that’s okay. It was a funny, sad, sweet, and slightly bizarre story that I really enjoyed. I can’t believe how it all ended up and it was quite a ride the whole time. Check this one out, you won’t regret it!

Another exceptional book from Annie Harnett! She has a unique voice and is adept at writing heartwarming, witty, quirky novels that manage to deal with difficult topics with both humor and depth. Hartnett is brilliant at creating characters that you can really fall in love with. I absolutely adored these characters, all of whom are flawed in some way, sometimes make bad choices, but still manage to warm your heart. I loved this one as much or even more than Unlikely Animals. I will read anything she writes in the future! If you want a hopeful, adventurous, emotional, witty read and enjoy some quirkiness (there is a cat that is one of the stars of this book!), then you will also love this book! Also would recommend for fans of Kevin Wilson.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review. Publication date: 4/29/25

Thanks to Random House/Ballantine for this ARC of 'The Road to Tender Hearts' by Annie Hartnett.

This was a really enjoyable road trip-based novel populated by a cast of complex and engaging characters.

From top to bottom, there's not a single perfect individual in this - every one of them, from children to the oldest characters, is flawed in some way by events and experiences in their younger lives (and usually for some very dark reasons). They find themselves thrown together through an unlikely set of circumstances and must learn to live with and love each other. They're all on a road trip seeking different outcomes, outcomes each one thinks will make their lives (and everyone connected with them's lives) better but there are many twists. turns, and reveals along the way.

There's a lot of comedy and lightheartedness in this book but it's mirrored by a lot of serious issues including alcoholism, child sexual, physical, and emotional abuse, murder, suicied/self-harm, and abandonment. It's a real triumph for the author to be able to include so much comedy and humanity against a backdrop of all of that human suffering.

This would make a real good film or TV series.

Before I begin my review, there are two things you should know.
I received an ARC copy from NetGalley & the publisher in exchange for my honest review. I appreciate this opportunity! My review will not be influenced in any way by the gesture, but I appreciate the opportunity.
You should know that Annie Hartnett has captured my heart with her two first books, Rabbit Cake and Unlikely Animals.

“A darkly comic and warm-hearted novel about an old man on a cross-country mission to reunite with his high school crush—bringing together his adult daughter, two orphaned kids, and a cat who can predict death.”

Even though this is “just a fiction” piece, I highlighted more sections than I do in most non-fiction pieces because there were just so many moments of true humanity displayed. Between exes, people who barely knew each other, and between PJ (the main character) and nearly everyone he met.

All of the characters are deeply flawed, each pulled my heartstrings. I found myself wanted to be with them, talking to them, understanding them more. This book truly pulled me in for the ride!
There is adventure, excitement, and my favorite kind of humor that Harnett produces in a way that is subtle, dark, yet still somehow hopeful (I know, I don’t get it either!), and ends up leaving you wanting more and more.

Each set of dialogue seems to be edited to perfection.

This book, the plot, the ending---it’s everything I wanted from this book.

Were there unanswered questions? Yes. But, this book is a representation of the hardships of real life, and life often leaves us with many unanswered questions.

As usual, Annie Hartnett won my heart over again.

Anyone who knows me well knows that I have a fierce love for everything Annie Hartnett writes. This love blossomed from the first moment I read her debut novel, Rabbit Cake, and intensified to a near obsession with Unlikely Animals and the perfection of when it arrived in my life. That’s why I was overjoyed—and just a tiny bit nervous—when I was approved for an ARC of her third novel, due to be published in April—The Road to Tender Hearts. I just knew that I was going to love it.

But what if I didn’t? After all, Rabbit Cake and Unlikely Animals had set the bar incredibly high.

Well, friends, I just finished the last page of The Road to Tender Hearts, and I can say, without hesitation, that I had absolutely no reason to worry. The Road to Tender Hearts is yet another beautiful work of art, one that is currently settling itself into my heart next to Hartnett’s other two novels. Her whimsical style of writing is on full display in The Road to Tender Hearts, and the characters she has crafted are beautifully flawed.

The story follows the journey of PJ Halliday as he unexpectedly finds himself the guardian of two orphaned children. As they set out on a cross-country journey, along with PJ’s youngest (and sole surviving) daughter and newly acquired cat, Pancakes, they come to know—and love—all the messiest parts of one another. Hartnett somehow managed to make PJ lovable and kind-hearted while he made very irresponsible, foolhardy decisions regarding the care of the children, his relationships with his loved ones, and his sobriety.

I found myself getting increasingly frustrated with PJ as the book progressed, which, in turn, brought me closer to understanding PJ’s daughter’s anger and resentment of her father. The children, Luna and Ollie, were perfect representations of children who had experienced profound trauma while still maintaining their naivety regarding the workings of the world. As for Pancakes, well, I always love a good animal character, and Pancakes is no exception. Hartnett managed to provide him with his own distinct personality and use him as a vessel for the tiny hint of magical realism that gave this book one of many touches of whimsy amidst deeply emotional themes.

And that, ultimately, is what I love most about Hartnett’s works. In all three of her books, she has taken serious subjects such as death and helped readers find the magic and humor in everyday life, even when things might feel bleak. The Road to Tender Hearts is quirky, sweet, tragic, and poignant, all in one beautiful little package, and I can’t wait for the rest of the world to fall in love with it as I have.

PJ Halliday is living on borrowed time. Despite winning the lottery, he lives in a small town in Massachusetts where he grieves the loss of his daughter and marriage, has had 3 heart attacks, and drinks quite a bit. When he reads in the obituaries that his high school sweetheart's husband has passed away, he believes that this is the chance he missed years ago, and decides to pack up the car and drive out to Arizona to win her over.He's acquired quite a few passengers by then, his other daughter,  his niece and nephew, who are also recovering from a tragedy, and a nurse home cat named Pancakes. You'll get caught up in the road trip and be rooting for PJ as they get closer and closer to their destination.There are some great characters here, and the book starts out with Pancakes, who is very endearing. At the local nursing home, Pancakes predict who will die next by showing up in their room hours or days before and sitting on them. The fact that he shows up at PJs door after escaping the home, gives you a sense of foreboding, and you hope this time that Pancakes is mistaken. The inner monolog of the cat alone is worth the read.Then there is PJ's ex-wife and fiance, whom he has breakfast with every day, who seem very tolerant of him and grounded. There's his estranged daughter who gets coerced into doing all the driving, then the precocious children that ride along with them. This is an endearing story and you'll be sucked in from page one. I haven't read any of this author's other books but will now have to check them out!

4 stars.

PJ Halliday is sixty-three and lives in Pineville, Massachusetts. He won 1.5 million dollars on a scratch off a few years ago. He goes to his ex-wife and her boyfriend’s (his best friend) every day for breakfast. He lost his eldest daughter when she was in high school and barely speaks to his youngest…or she barely speaks to him for lots of good reasons, not the least of which is his problem with alcohol.

Then he reads the obituary of an old high school friend and finds that his death means his old flame, Michelle Cobb, is back on the market. He decides to drive cross-country to her home in Arizona to pledge his love. However, before he can leave, he receives an inheritance of sorts from his only brother, from whom he has been long estranged: two young children, Luna and Ollie, his brother’s grandchildren. He is also adopted by a cat named Pancakes.

So, naturally, PJ, his daughter, the kids and Pancake end up hitting the road, seeking both Michelle and Luna’s potential father (she believes) a soap opera star. It’s all a long story. I enjoyed every minute of it.

This was quite cute, not laugh at loud funny, but amusing. It’s filled with well-drawn, endearing characters, especially Pancakes, but also Ivy and Fred, PJ’s ex-wife and best friend who are incredibly well-rounded despite being absent for most of the book, Hartnett is just that good. I would definitely look for more from her. This isn’t my normal sort of read, probably (I tend toward the more dark and depressing) and maybe it’s just what I needed in my life. Worth looking out for.

This book was really funny. I enjoyed the quirky characters. If it were a movie, I'd totally watch it. The plot twists were wild, which made it all more hilarious. A cat that predicts death?!

I loved this book so much!! Funny but dark. Sweet but sad. All of the characters were perfectly written. If Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe made a baby with Nothing to See Here, you’d end up with this masterpiece.