Running Home by T.A. Hardenbrook
|Goodreads|4 starsAmy's Review:
There are so many wonderful things I can say about this novel. Let me start by saying that I loved the chapter titles. I loved that there were no chapter numbers, simply a song name and band. This totally helped me get into the right mindset for the upcoming chapter ... perfect choice :)
Carmen and Walker are total BFFs. From eight to eighteen they were inseparable. I imagined late night studying, football games, bon fires, parties, a little trouble, many long talks, etc. Carmen is haunted by the past of her junkie parents and resents being raised by her grandparents. Walker is the friend that shows her life is still ok to go on living. Through school they are super tight and totally rely on each other. But Carmen has bigger plans for her life.
Leaving Walker devastated, Carmen starts on her new life. She is expecting amazing opportunities and friendships and that just isn't the case. She quickly learns that to make it in the city of lights you need to learn to shed your soul. Hitting rock bottom Carmen runs to the only place she has ever felt safe ... the arms of Walker.
To me, this story was semi predictable. No I did not see all the crazy things coming that Carmen would go through. But I feel like I knew ultimately how the story would end. I loved all the twists and turns throughout and I loved the vivid descriptions T.A. Hardenbrook used when describing the characters. At the end of the story is a brief description for another book coming out Winter 2013 ... I am totally excited to see what is next to come from this author!
Synopsis:
*This novel is intended for 18+ for mature content. Strippers,porn, drugs,law enforcement, and of course romance are all included in this package! Carmen always had a wild streak about her while growing up in this small town. Everyone use to say her only saving grace in this world was her best friend Walker who tried to keep the flighty girl grounded. But life was too big for her to live in this one stop light kind of town; she had dreams and wants that could take her anywhere but staying there. Anything was better than being stuck in the perpetuating cycle of being born and dying in this hell hole she called the reality of a small town girl. Walker was the only anchor that could hold her home, she lived for that boy. So how do you explain to someone that staying there would only suffocate the possibilities of making a better life for oneself? Running away was the only option, and leaving a piece of her heart with him would keep her strong out in the real world, at least she hoped it would. After years of trying to make it on her own, struggling through life and trying to stay clean, the only reality she sees at surviving now is going back to the place she tried so hard to break free from. Unsure if her old life is willing to accept the choices she has made, the lone thought that matters to her is hoping she still has the only man she has counted on her entire life in her corner. You can always go home, but will they be willing to take you back?