Miles From Where We Started

Title: Miles From Where We Started

Author: Cynthia Ruchti

Publisher: Gilead Publishing

Genre: Christian Fiction, Contemporary

Source: Own

My Review:

I love how Cynthia Ruchti's books are stand-alone novels. Miles From Where We Started lives up to its title.

Miles From Where We Started was our book club pick for this month. I enjoyed the book, but it got mixed reviews from our group. Half of us enjoyed it, while the other half struggled to finish it. I think one thing we all struggled with was the foster care aspect. Having been a foster parent, I know how difficult it is to take a foster child across state lines. A trip like the one in the book seems highly unlikely. When I took a foster child across state lines, DSS had to know the address and phone number of the people we were staying with.

Other than that, I did enjoy the book. Mallory and Connor are struggling in their marriage. They are both at fault but do not see it that way. Their faith is as weak as their marriage. Both of them experience character growth, but I still didn't like Conner very much at the end of the book!

As the couple goes on the journey of a lifetime, they are forced to be in close proximity to each other, and Judah. The trip highlights their issues, but with help from those they meet, they might find they are not as far apart as they once thought.

I loved Judah. He added much-needed humor to the story. I enjoyed the deeper, thought-provoking moments in the story as well, there were many.

★★★★/5

Synopsis (Goodreads): 

These no-longer-newlyweds want out of this road trip--and their marriage. Too bad they can't find the off-ramp.

Weeks away from their one-year anniversary, Mallory and Connor Duncan can't even agree on how to end their marriage. But when a last-minute crisis lands them on a three-thousand-mile road trip together, Mallory wonders if their story may not be over after all.

The trip begins to unravel before the key is even in the ignition, and an at-risk, trouble-seeking missile of an eleven-year-old is unexpectedly launched into their travel plans. Close quarters get even tighter, and the couple believes this whole experience will spell disaster.

But as new challenges pop up around each bend, Mallory and Connor are surprised by the strengths they see in one another--and how they complement each other. Their first year of marriage hasn't been the arm-in-arm togetherness they expected . . . but can they find a new beginning when the road ends?