The Road Before Us

I love reading books that reference places I’ve been. “The Road Before Us” is that, as evidenced by my photo above from our trip to Arizona.

Admittedly, getting into this book took me a bit. There seemed to be a lot of things going on (which was true) and I was struggling to focus, which may be all me and nothing about the book. Just an honest assessment of where I was when I started this book!

But once I was invested in these characters, which was actually fairly early on, I was hooked. I loved the Route 66 nostalgia, dual-timeline stories that overlapped as one character created a documentary, the plot surprises, and how their backstories shaped who the characters were as people.

I like Christian fiction that isn’t cheesy but includes references to truth on which we can build stories & lives. That’s what this book is in the best ways.

About the book

From the back cover: How far would you go to fix the mistakes you’ve made? For Jade Jessup, the answer is 2,448 miles.

Once one of Chicago’s significant financial advisors, Jade lost her credibility when her fiancé (and coworker) stole millions of dollars from their clients in a Ponzi scheme. Now she’s agreed to help one of them – an aging 1960s Hollywood starlet named Berenice “Benny” Alderidge – seek financial restoration.

Jade sets off along Route 66 with Benny and her handsome adult foster son, Bridger, who is filming a documentary retracing the 1956 trip that started the love story between Benny and her recently deceased husband, Paul. Listening to Benny recount her story draws Jade into memories of her own darker association with Route 66, when she was kidnapped as a child by a man the media labeled a monster – but she remembers only as her dad.

Together, these three travelers will learn about family, forgiveness, and what it means to live free of the past. But not before Jade faces a second staggering betrayal that changes everything.

“The Road Before Us,” a 336-page paperback, is published by Revell (May 21, 2024).

About the author

Janine Rosche is the author of With Every Memory, as well as the Madison River Romance and Whisper Canyon series of novels. Prone to wander, she finds as much comfort on the open road – including Route 66 – as she does at home. This longing to chase adventure, behold splendor, and experience redemption is woven into her stories. When she isn’t traveling or writing novels, she teaches family life education courses, produces The Love Wander Read Journal, and takes too many pictures of her sleeping dogs.

*****

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review, thanks to Revell Reads. These opinions are my own.