#BookReview: Unstuck by Stephanie Stuckey

Fascinating And *Southern* Tale Of Near-Death Of Road trip Staple. Stephanie Stuckey has led a life few Georgians have. She is a scion of a family that had become somewhat rich and somewhat powerful over the last century, whose grandfather once proclaimed (per Stuckey, here in the text) that he had made more money than his grandchildren could ever spend (but which they did, again, per Stuckey here), whose father had been a Congressman and who herself had been a State Representative for nearly 15 years. Both she and her father are UGA alumni, both from well before the era where the HOPE scholarship made such an achievement much more doable for many Georgians.

All of this is included here, but really, this is the tale of the ascent to those heights… and the downfall from them, as changes mostly made by others – as well as a few mistakes made within the company – led to near non-existence of the family company, fortune, and even legacy.

Herein lies a quintessential Southern tale of Southern family and business acumen, of a legacy built, nearly destroyed, and of one woman’s fight to restore that legacy to all that it had once been… and maybe, just maybe… even increase it for her own children.

The story is told with all of the grace, grit, and wonder of a granddaughter who clearly grew up living at least some of the history involved, but only much later in life finding out all that she *didn’t* know, including just how fundamental the black community was to her (white) grandfather’s success in the era of Jim Crow, and how mutually beneficial and respectful the relationships there were. Up to and including Civil Rights activists actively encouraging their people to stop at Stuckey’s, knowing that they would be treated with the respect they didn’t always get in the South in that era.

As someone who has also uncovered lost family history later in life – and who has lived in some of the regions this tale centers around, as well as, yes, having sampled quite a few of the family’s candies-, this was a story I could connect with on several levels, even as my own family was… let’s go with “not quite so fortunate” over the years, to the point that when I graduated from Kennesaw State University near the turn of this Millennium, I was the first in my family to have graduated college at all.

Overall truly a triumphant and hopeful tale, well told with the respect, humor, and candor one doesn’t always get in such deeply personal tales fraught with such sensitive topics as race relations in the South. Very much recommended.

This review of Unstuck by Stephanie Stuckey was originally written on May 24, 2024.

#BookReview: Amazing Gracie by Laura Drake

Beautiful, Emotional Tale Of Survival. This is a road trip tale, and thus you go in expecting both some bumps and some growth, but *how* Drake manages to execute on both is quite remarkable. Drawing on the entire American soldier experience from the Forgotten War in Korea to the modern War on Terror in Afghanistan – America’s longest war – and also incorporating the realities of being poor in America, this is one of those fiction tales that may in fact hit a little too close to home for many – but read it anyway. The one group of people that I may say stay away from this book, perhaps, is those who struggle with cutting, as it is in fact a significant part of this story and is shown extensively enough to be uncomfortable – and yet still all too real – for anyone. Beyond that though, the grit, realism, and ultimately hope shown here are quite cathartic even to those who have never been in these exact scenarios, and there are several points late in the book where you’ll swear whatever environment you’re in while reading them has become quite dusty indeed. Truly an excellent tale, well told, and with particular care to all of the subjects it brings forth. Very much recommended.

This review of Amazing Gracie by Laura Drake was originally written on April 21, 2023.

#BlogTour: The Road To Christmas by Sheila Roberts

For this blog tour we’re looking at a somewhat innovative “shotgun road trip” approach to a somewhat standard-type Hallmark Christmas tale. For this blog tour we’re looking at The Road To Christmas by Sheila Roberts.

Here’s what I had to say about it on Goodreads:

Hallmarkie If Hallmark Did Road Trips. This is one of those almost 80s-cartoon feeling… “interesting”… blends of road trip tale and Hallmark Christmas tale. There are three separate road trips going on here – grandparents, parents, and siblings – all going their own routes and having their own adventures along the way to joining up with youngest sister and her husband and newborn for Christmas. There’s some hilarity, some heart strings being pulled, some solid road trip fun, some solid Christmas fun, a lot of small town charm – in multiple small towns, also in departure from pure Hallmark format – and a healthy dose of moralizing/ preaching about the joys of family and the sacrifices we sometimes make for them. (Which is where the “almost 80s-cartoon feeling” comes in.) Ultimately a solid blend of a few different popular formats, and the “shotgun” approach also works quite well and is fairly innovative. Ultimately this is a solid tale well told, and is very much recommended.

After the jump, an excerpt from the book followed by the “publisher details” – book description, author bio, and social media and buy links.
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#BookReview: The Road To Me by Laura Drake

Baaaa! Goat! But seriously, this book packs a *lot* in to its 320 or so pages. Both road trip comedy – including the aforementioned goat – and serious family drama, this is Drake at her best knowing when to make the room so dusty your eyes can’t help but leak from the strain and when to pull back and make you have to be careful about throwing out your back you’re laughing so hard. Ultimately a heart warming tale that many will identify with in so many ways, I happened to read this book on the week of the 9 year anniversary of my own grandmother’s death – making it hit a little different for me. For Laura’s cowboy romance fans, know that there is in fact a romance subplot here, and the trials and hijinx of Route 66 are on full display as well – so while there aren’t so many Stetsons, the West is very much integral to even this story. Very much recommended.

This review of The Road To Me by Laura Drake was originally written on April 16, 2022.

#BlogTour: The Girl In The Picture by Melissa Wiesner

For this blog tour we’re looking at a solid road trip romance that really does work for fans of Kerry Lonsdale and Diane Chamberlain, as the publisher notes – both of whom are authors I’ve read and reviewed on this very site. For this blog tour we’re looking at The Girl In The Picture by Melissa Wiesner.

Strong Road Trip Romance. This is a really solid road trip romance full of misunderstandings, some hijinx, tragic backstories for our main characters, and an element or two of danger – all while traveling the backroads of America as two strangers who happen to get thrown together due to, well, a major misunderstanding. 😀 You’ll laugh some, you’ll cry some, you’ll imagine yourself getting a bit wet – from rain, get your mind out of the damn gutter -, and yeah, you’ll probably fall in love with these two yourself. Very much recommended.

Below the jump, the “publisher details” including the book description, author bio, and social media/ buy links.
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#BlogTour: The Summer Seekers by Sarah Morgan

For this blog tour we’re looking at a book that is a great summer/ road trip tale with a ton of heart and a lot of laughs. For this blog tour we’re looking at The Summer Seekers by Sarah Morgan.

Fun Summer / Road Trip Tale With Heart And Laughs. This is one of those books that is great escapism, and yet also clicks on so many levels in your “real” world – almost no matter your situation. You’ve got a lot of growth here across three generations of women in a family (80 yr old grandmother who wasn’t always around for her daughter and who has secrets, 40s ish mother who is at the end of her rope, twin teens daughters who are doing usual Zoomer teen girl stuff) – but then you *also* throw in a reasonably well developed husband (not a focus of the tale, and yet not written as an absolute brute either) and a pair of strangers with their own well developed and complicated backstories. Truly a great road trip tale along the classic Route 66, with the usual hilarity and hijinx along the way – and *also* truly a great summer “break from reality” tale of finding yourself and what really matters – both in one (longer, 400+ page) book. Very much recommended.

After the jump, we have the first chapter of the book as an excerpt, followed by the book details from the publisher.
Continue reading “#BlogTour: The Summer Seekers by Sarah Morgan”