The Road Home

by L.A. Witt, Greg Boudreaux (Narrator), Michael Ferraiuolo (Narrator)

David Coleman has made some mistakes, and he’ll be living with the consequences for the rest of his life. He’s made decisions that have left him estranged from his once tight knit family. Even now, when David is clean and sober and working his way through medical school with a promising future ahead, his parents refuse to forgive or forget.

When he gets some grim news about his father, David realizes he’s running out of time to make amends. As he comes home for the holidays and his sister’s wedding, he knows it’s going to be tense, but he’s desperate to prove they’re wrong about him. And since they won’t take his word for it, he’s bringing reinforcements.

Hunter Scott will do anything for his childhood best friend, but he never thought that would include posing as his boyfriend. Except David’s family has always respected Hunter. Maybe if they see that David is good enough for Hunter to love, they’ll realize he’s good enough for them too.

But as Hunter and David lean on each other through snowstorms, family drama, and visits from personal demons, maybe this relationship isn’t as much of a performance as it was meant to be.

CW: Recovering addict struggling on-page, references to meth use, combat PTSD, discussions of suicide

Genres: M M Romance, Friends To Lovers, Contemporary, Audiobook, Romance, Military Fiction, Forced Proximity

9 pages, Audible Audio

First published March 3, 2020

About the author

L.A. Witt and her husband have been exiled from Spain and sent to live in Maine because rhymes are fun. She now divides her time between writing, assuring people she is aware that Maine is cold, wondering where to put her next tattoo, and trying to reason with a surly Maine coon. Rumor has it her arch nemesis, Lauren Gallagher, is also somewhere in the wilds of New England, which is why L.A. is also spending a portion of her time training a team of spec ops lobsters.

Authors Ann Gallagher and Lori A. Witt have been asked to assist in lobster training, but they "have books to write" and "need to focus on our careers" and "don't you think this rivalry has gotten a little out of hand?" They're probably just helping Lauren raise her army of squirrels trained to ride moose into battle.

Visit her website at http://www.gallagherwitt.com/.

Reviews

[len ❀ · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I’ve loved you since we were kids. I loved you when you were at rock bottom. and I love you now. Let me be your family.”

Childhood friends to lovers + second chance + fake dating + forced proximity + one bed + cuddling + no miscommunication at any time in any way = happy Elena

In short: Really glad I finally got to reading this. I’ve read very little of this author but want to change that slowly. She has so many books I never know what to pick up.

Funny how I’d gravitated toward him in the beginning because he’d been the only other queer kid in our school, and all these years later, he was the only man I wanted in the world. He’d saved my sanity back then. He’d literally helped save my life in my twenties. But I hadn’t fallen for him because he’d rescued me. He’d rescued me because of the kind of man he was, and that was someone who I couldn’t help but fall for: sweet, caring, understanding. He could look right at me when I was at my very worst, and all he’d see was my very best going through a rough patch. And I was supposed to make it through this—tumbling into bed with him after he’d told my family who I really was and after he’d told me he loved me—without breaking down?

This was exactly the type of childhood friends to lovers story I love to read about. Even though the two men had a “break up” in high school and hadn’t seen each other in years after graduation, their friendship came back to them quickly and steadily. It showed me why I absolutely love this trope—the stolen glances, the shy touches, the jokes that mean more, the mutual pining where they both don’t know they like each other, the reassurances and doubts. Their friendship was already solid so pretending to date was not difficult in the slightest, making the feelings easy to believe. The development is natural. There’s no forced way into it, especially when both men have feelings for one another but are unsure of approaching the topic and how. Despite that, even with the unsure feelings, they communicate how they feel to relieve tension and make sure they’re both in good terms.

I loved how the author wrote this couple. I appreciated how the author made Hunter the type to tell David the truth without sugarcoating it but also respecting his decisions and feelings. He knew David should have walked away from his family long ago and how there was no good reason for david trying when his family didn’t try. Hunter was sweet and understanding, the perfect person for David. I wish David had seen that before but luckily, again, it didn’t lead to any misunderstandings between the two. This story had a lot of moments of fresh breath air.

“Listen to me: you’re perfect the way you are. You deserve people who love you for you who are, and I don’t know if it means anything, but I do. This started out fake, but it’s not anymore.” He swallowed hard. “I didn’t fall in love with who you were trying to be for them. I fell in love with who you’ve been all along. And if they can’t accept that, then fuck them.”

Hunter is incredibly sweet and sexy. He’s understanding, perceptive, and encouraging. He always finds ways to reassure David and do his best to accommodate his needs. He’s kind, puts others needs first before his, and does his best to adjust. Still, he has his own baggage and inner demons that he’s struggling with, with his PTSD, pressure to continue making his parents proud, and doubts of his future. The author writes his struggles pretty vaguely at first but we begin to learn more about him as he catches David up on his life. We learn about his life in the military, in the combat zone, and how war has psychologically affected him to the point where he doesn’t want to go back. He feels pressured inside by his parents even though his parents end up supporting his decision making of resigning. Because the story is a romance, the author doesn’t make his past and current struggles an obstacle in the relationship but still adds the necessary elements to create some angst and hurt/comfort aspects.

He touched my face. “I don’t get how your family acts like I shouldn’t even be able to look at you. I wonder every goddamned day how you can look at me.”

My biggest problem was David. Even though I enjoyed reading about him as a character and could easily find myself rooting for him, he annoyed me a few times. I was halfway through when I was frustrated with how he couldn’t step up for himself towards his family, and it’s a little upsetting that it took until the 80% for him to walk away. Character development is great, but I wasn’t a fan of how little we actually saw that development being made. I like to see the characters come to their own conclusions and realizations, where they start having a different perspective. I don’t think it happened with David. The story is almost over when he has a complete 180, going from still trying to get his family to forgive him and move on to completely telling them off. But before that, we never saw those lingering thoughts of why and how his family is toxic. In my opinion, David didn’t really have character development. Character development means nothing to me when we only see it at the end and not throughout the whole story.

Maybe it’s because how I grew up, but for David being in his 30s, I didn’t expect him to rely on his family so much. The answers were right in front of him, and every question and thought he had about his family was his answer for why he should have cut them off then and there. There were times where I understood how he felt and why he wanted his families love again, but it got tiring after a while having to see him be insulted and brought down. He wanted to make amends with his family but his family never tried and only saw him as a “drug addict” and wanted him to apologize for doing porn. They never found ways to support him, love him, rekindle with him, and help him. They constantly belittled him and blamed the porn for his HIV status and addiction. They never listened to him. They claimed to love him but never listened to him, always jumped to conclusions, and immediately made assumptions. The fact that David had to ask Hunter to pretend to be his boyfriend should have been the eye-opener for David to see that his family wasn’t shit. The way David was with/about his family will be different for everyone. I know some people will understand and support him where others may grow annoyed, like me.

Here was the man who’d been my best friend all these years, and who’d let me literally cry on his shoulder when the past caught up with me, and I’ll be damned if he wasn’t still looking at me the same way he had before last night. As if nothing had changed.

All in all, I still recommend this story. Not only for the tropes mentioned above, but for how slightly unique the story and the characters are. David did porn for years, is HIV positive, and is a recovering addict who relapsed seven years ago, and Hunter is in the Navy struggling with PTSD. The author brings a sort of awareness to family by blood versus chosen family. It shows how unnecessary it is to try and have your family’s acceptance and love when it will do you nothing good. We usually read about family members getting a second chance at being part of the main characters lives, but On The Road shows how we don’t always need that. It’s okay to step away and not make amends. It’s a two way relationship, and if one isn’t putting their two cents in, nothing good will come out of it.

[Caz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've given this an A for narration and an A- for content: my review for the June prompt - "Getaway" - for the 2020 TBR Challenge.

Sometimes the ideal book pops into my head for TBR Challenge prompts, and sometimes… it doesn’t.  This was one of those times;  I had a few books on my list, but I wasn’t really feeling any of them.  Then, a few days after my last (unsuccessful) search for something suitable, I picked up a new audiobook without having let the title sink in or reading the synopsis  – I like the author’s work and the narrators are two of my all-time favourites – and realised it would fit!  This is the first time I’ve fulfilled a TBR prompt by listening to a book rather than reading it, but as I tend to read/listen 50:50 these days, I figured it would be allowed ;)

L.A. Witt’s The Road Home is a tender, poignant and sensual romance that combines a number of familiar tropes to produce a story that transcends all of them.  The author tackles some difficult issues - PTSD, addiction, living with chronic illness, the stigma of being HIV positive – incorporating them fully into the story and handling them in a respectful and sensitive manner, but never loses sight of the fact that this is, first and foremost, a romance.

David Coleman and Hunter Scott have known each other for most of their lives, and were even high-school sweethearts at one point, but after a catastrophic break-up in college, ended up deciding they were better as friends.  That friendship has endured through Hunter’s deployments and the addiction that nearly took David’s life, and now, in their thirties, they both seem to have their lives on-track.  David has been clean for seven years and is in his second year of medical school, and Hunter is steadily climbing the ranks in the Navy.

David is practically estranged from his family, who lost all faith in him after he became addicted to meth.  His parents (begrudgingly) accept his sexuality, but his mother in particular rarely misses an opportunity to remind him of ‘everything he put them through’ when he was an addict, and David knows that his parents and brother are just waiting for him to relapse; the fact that he’s been through hell and emerged stronger, that he has the strength to remain sober, and that he got into one of the best medical schools in the country counts for nothing with them; all they see is a fuck-up who will never change.  And even worse, as far as his family is concerned, is the fact that David used to work in the porn industry –in front of the camera – and although he’s apologised profusely for disappointing them and scaring them over his addiction and the fact that he is HIV positive, the porn is something he refuses, point blank, to apologise for.  He’s not ashamed of it and sees no reason why he should be.  But when he receives the news that his father is terminally ill and that this Christmas may well be his last, David decides to have one last try at patching things up. His family doesn’t think much of him, but they do respect Hunter, so David asks Hunter if he’ll accompany him home for Christmas (and to his sister’s New Year wedding) - and pretend to be his boyfriend.  After all, if someone like Hunter thinks David is ‘good enough’, then surely his parents will… maybe not change their minds exactly, but ease off a bit and accept him back into the fold.

Hunter has been the best of friends to David, ready to help however he can and literally helping to save his life more than once.  Despite their breakup, he’s always been in love with David, but hasn’t pushed for anything more, believing it’s better to have David in his life as a friend than not to have him at all.  He knows how toxic David’s family is and privately thinks he’s probably better off without that kind of negativity in his life, but he also knows how important it is to David to at least try to end their estrangement, and he agrees to the plan.

For good reason, they decide to drive from Los Angeles to Washington, even though December is probably not the best time to be driving any distance in the Midwest.  Their plan to arrive the day before Christmas Eve is scuppered when the weather takes a turn for the worse and it becomes dangerous for them to proceed.  In true romance-novel fashion, There Is Only One Bed at the crappy motel they end up at, and one thing leads to another, which leads to … their agreeing it was a mistake that they should go back to how things were before. Which is, of course, impossible.

The Road Home is so much more than the sum of its tropes.  It’s a story about family being more than blood-ties and about learning when to hold on and when to let go.  David and Hunter are beautifully realised characters; they’re flawed and damaged, and their strength and willingness to fight every day to be who and what they want to be is admirable.  Their romance is sensual and passionate and is underpinned by an undeniable emotional connection and sizzling chemistry, a slow-burn which feels completely right for the tone of the story.

I definitely ran the gamut of emotions while listening to this.  The sheer awfulness of David’s family (apart from his sister) has to be read/listened to to be believed (seriously, they made me so angry!) but kudos to the author for making them into characters rather than caricatures.  This is a romance, so the story ends with an HEA for David and Hunter, but it’s also a bittersweet reminder that not everything in life is fixable and that sometimes, the thing you want isn’t always the thing you need.

Greg Boudreaux and Michael Ferraiuolo are, as I said earlier, two of my very favourite narrators, and are legends in the world of m/m romance narration, so having both of them working together again was a dream come true!  The story is narrated from both Hunter’s (Mr. Boudreaux) and David’s (Mr. Ferraiuolo) points of view in alternating chapters, so both narrators get to portray almost all the characters, and have achieved a remarkable consistency when it comes to the supporting cast. (A common complaint about dual narrations is that a character as performed by one narrator sounds too different to their portrayal by the other, but that isn’t the case here.) The same is true of the leads; in both performances, Hunter’s voice is pitched lower than David’s so the listener is never confused as to which character is speaking  regardless of who is narrating that particular portion of the story.  But the absolute best thing about these narrators is that not only are they both as technically accomplished as they come, they’re also incredibly good vocal actors – which, in a book like this, is vital. Their ability to perfectly judge every emotional nuance means that the listener is right there with the characters, experiencing their joy and sadness, passion and heartbreak alongside them.  Both performances are exceptionally good, elevating the author’s words to a new level and bringing the story and characters to full, vibrant life.

The Road Home deals with some difficult issues and isn’t always an easy listen, but I enjoyed every minute of it.   Moving, intense, sad and passionate, it’s a wonderful story about true love and second chances - and the fantastic narration makes it a must for fans of romance audiobooks.

[Simone - on indefinite hiatus - · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook: ***5++++++++++ Stars***
Story: ***3.5 Stars***

[Kaje Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

A childhood friends to fake boyfriends to lovers story that packs a lot more punch than expected. The reason Hunter wants his best friend Carter to pretend they're in a relationship is because Hunter's family has been emotionally abusive to him over his past. He did porn, and won't apologize for it. And he's a recovering meth addict, and although he works hard to stay clean, and is even in med school, his family is just waiting for him to slip again.

But his dad has cancer, and his sister's getting married, and he wants to go home. Hunter thinks if he shows up with Carter - an active duty military man everyone respects - they'll maybe believe that he's worthy of returning to the family. But it doesn't turn out to be that easy.

This story delivers several messages about mental health, about following your heart, and about the legitimacy of sex work, in a story that tugged at my emotions. Hunter is far from unusual in wanting his family's acceptance, even when they've not been there for him. And the outcome really worked for me, logically and emotionally.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love L.A. Witt as a writer but his one...??? I'm on the fence...didn't love it but didn't really not love it. There was plenty of angst, but it none of it was relationship driven, so that was a plus in its favor. The family that David was coming home to and hoping to get them to love him again or at least "like" him a little bit...was Toxic with a capital "T". How can any parent do this to their child is beyond my understanding or acceptance. I just wanted to shake him and yell at him to "STOP TRYING TO PLEASE THIS BUNCH"!!!! He could have grown wings and sprouted a halo, and they would still have disowned him. Anyway...back to best friends to lovers...although they were, or had at one time, been lovers...or maybe just boyfriends back in high school. On a road trip home for Christmas. David is still trying to win back his family’s love after going through drug addiction...oh...and choosing to do porn. His parents were mostly focused on the porn, and I can maybe understand that one...but his brother has chosen the drug addiction to hate him for. Of course, that has all been behind him for several years and never mind that he is now clean, sober, "pornless" and in Medical School. Come on...he didn't kill anyone of kick the dog... give the guy some credit for turning his life around! David is lucky to have a friend like Hunter in his life. He is the "perfect best friend". Flourishing Naval career, great family, loving and supportive in every way possible. He is so perfect that he agrees to pretend to be David’s boyfriend on the trip home hoping that David’s family will give him a break and maybe a welcome back to the family or at least let him in the door. I had yet another "slap David up beside the head moment". Sorry guy. If you have to have a "perfect" boyfriend to show your worth to someone, they just aren’t worth it. David stresses so often how his friends from his porn career saved his life and are his family. Dude, stick with them. They love you for yourself!!! Was that loud enough for David to hear??? David and myself, could have used less "on again, off again" from Hunter...but I have to remember that it is just a story...fiction...but unfrequently there is also a great deal of reality to it also. I started to give it 3 stars, but it will get 4 simply for allowing Hunter to be there in David's corner and then calmly picking up his pieces and glueing them back together.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Time of death - 75%

I just can't any more. I can't. I should have known better than to pick up another LA Witt book. Witt's writing simply does not work for me. I know this and I did it anyway. The problem is that I'm too easily tempted by my favorite narrators, and LA Witt has a penchant for using Michael F, which is enough on its own, but then she goes and pairs him with Greg B and I'm done for 🫠 It's like putting a treat under a box and propping it up with a stick. Those two will catch me every single time 😂

That's how I know it's bad. I can't even finish the book with Greg B and Michael F helping it along. I had hope in the beginning, but it became progressively harder to keep listening. The story is just so depressing, and for what point, I don't know. I guess it's part of the journey, but I can't do it. I can't get past all the repetition, which made it impossible for me to connect with the MCs and their story.

I don't know how many different ways an author can say the same thing, but LA Witt should get an award for that alone because I will never be able to forget that David was a sex worker who got hooked on meth and contracted HIV. I feel like 25% of the book was that being said over and over again. What remained was just other flavors of depressing things like Hunter having PTSD and David's horrific family 😭 I couldn't find a bright spot in any of it, and maybe that will be what comes at the end, but I can't suffer another two hours to get there, even with Greg B and Michael F smoothing the way. I hope things worked out beautifully for David and Hunter in the end. Unfortunately, I don't have it in me to see for myself.

[alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

[3.4~3.5]

[annie (NOT spoiler-free) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 stars - make-you-feel-things amazing!

This was my last read of 2024 and it was fantastic.

Story -3.75/5 It's one of those stories which did everything exceptionally right except the ending. The ending was rushed and that left a disappointing aftertaste. Still a great read. Their traumas were fleshed out well and didn't feel artificial or surface-level. Their love, support and care for each other resonated through me and it was so lovely. As a couple, they might just be one of my favourites out there, though I wish I could've seen more of them as a real couple.


Audiobook - 4/5

I agree with len ❀ [hiatus] and Caz's reviews. I'd recommend this but go it minding the TWs.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

How I love a good childhood friends to lovers story. But if you think this story is a cute and fluffy friends to lovers, you would be sadly mistaken. This book is really really heavy and it's probably going to make you angry because there are some seriously awful characters who make you just want to scream because of how terrible they are. But as a whole I enjoyed the story.

It's basically about two best friends who've been friends forever who go home to their small hometown for Christmas. One of them, Hunter, is a recovering meth addict, he's HIV positive, and he previously did porn, but he is now in medical school and when he gets news that his dad is really sick he wants to try and patch things up with his family. Spoiler his family is a piece of shit.

Essentially Hunter asked his best friend David to be his pretend boyfriend because Hunter's family really respects David and his military history. Hunter hopes that by bringing David with him as his boyfriend his family will see that if this really respectable Navy officer can accept their son then maybe they can too.

There's a lot of drama here and it lasts pretty much the entire book. There is some more nuance drama with David's character and PTSD and combat zones etc. there's a lot of trigger warnings for this so please make sure you check them out they're all in the beginning of the book and in the summary.

[Rosabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need an ice cream after this! The feels, the injustice, jesus.

So if you read the blurb you sort of know what this is about, and what i liked of this story is the way the characters were developed.

You have David who made wrong decisions when he was young, hit rock bottom and started climbing up becoming a warrior that wears his scars on sight, because he doesn't have a choice (read and you'll understand). Then you have Hunter who had a not so difficult past, who was there with David in his fight, but that some deamons caught up with him in his adulthood, even though he is hurt he doesn't wear his scars on his sleeves, making people believe that he is a héroe, when he doesn't feel like it.

I identify with Hunter, because he has a wonderful family who supports him, and that is a pressure itself that people tend to dismiss a lot. I admire David because he went through hell and he survived it.

This book is a wonderful and heavy read, that makes you cry, love, learn and empathize. Is important to read the trigger warning because there are heavy scenes in here. But is worth it! Loved it!

And fuck everyone of David's family. 😡

[Leelah🍁♋️ Orion · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable

When you have loved you best friend since the very beginning. That’s this story. Learning that family are the ones who are there for you. These two have been best friends since they were boys and through that friendship they found love. A beautiful love. It was such a joy watching them realize that they had this.

The writing was great, the few side characters even the bad ones were good. The smexy was yummy. The only thing I had issue with was that I felt they should have take his health a little more seriously.

[Didi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Take note of the content warning on the blurb before diving into the pages. This is another of LA Witt’s leaky-eyed, onion-vapor romance that had me sniffling and emotionally wrecked (I’m such a water pot these days)!!

THE ROAD HOME followed the journey of David and Hunter, childhood best friends turned lovers turned (back to) best friends and be there for each other through good and bad - especially BAD - times. Second chance romance that took years and lots of tears to reconcile. It was a sweet, poignant, and cracking love story that spanned beyond romance between two consenting adults but also rethinking the meaning of family.

Told in a alternate dual POVs between David and Hunter, the slow pacing plot revealed each men’s personal demon, their grapple in dealing with it and in accepting help from others. THE ROAD HOME wrecked it for me! I just couldn’t help but rooting for the guys and emotionally triggered for the wrong they experienced at the hand of their supposedly nearest and dearest! I could almost feel the nuanced vibe shifting between David and Hunter, the awkward result of suppressed feeling and yearning. In true Witt fashion, the author didn’t hold back from hung the characters to dry emotionally, I could feel David’s pain and Hunter’s anger alongside.

Packed with delicate and intricate issues, THE ROAD HOME is a reflective read that force (me) to look back and rethink my own outlook and perspective toward these issues. Deep, huh. It’s not all heavy duty stuff though, the sizzling romance was woven into the story though not as much as you might expect from a Witt’s work. But I think this is one of Witt’s best contemporary romance - it’s draining, but totally worth the emotional upheaval.


Copy of this book is kindly given by the author in exchange for an honest review.

[Key · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. Specially since it touches some issues with the main characters and their stories that hit close to home for me.
David and Hunter's love story was very well crafted.
Even though sometimes I felt like slapping them to open their eyes and see beyond their damn noses.
Both men went through hell and more, but they were there for each other every step of the way, out of the most deep love for each other.
Dealing with addictions, bad decisions, stress, a chronic disease, PTSD, trying to be up to everyone's expectations even at the cost of your sanity, and THE most toxic and goddamn awful family ever, in a very classy, well written and often times steamy way, makes this book a very nice addition to our shelves.

[L.A. Witt]

Available March 3, 2020.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one overall, but the writing wasn't quite as sophisticated as I wanted it to be. The author covers a lot of different topics/issues of stigmatizations, which I appreciated, but often the conversations between the two MCs would come off as these info dumps of how woke they were and how they couldn't understand why anybody would have a problem with things. And I don't disagree with their points, but, unfortunately, it's also not exactly surprising that some people's parents would have a major problem with their children willing doing porn. I just wish the author had found a way to incorporate these issues in a way that felt a little more nuanced. She succeeded in some ways, like with the military PTSD, but the porn thing is the one I keep coming back to because it felt super out of place? IDK, something about it felt a little shoehorned in, like the author really wanted to make a particular point, and it seemed at odds with the rest of the book. I did appreciate that things weren't completely tied in a nice bow at the end with the family, and that the relationship was actually really low angst given the tension being provided elsewhere.

[William Kibler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too repetitive

The author repeats the sentiments of their characters over and over again throughout any chapters. This book could have been shortened by at least a half a dozen chapters without effecting the story. David's parents were awful and he showed great restraint while handling them. I would have decimated them after just a few encounters.. In generally not a fan of the friends to lovers trope and this story didn't change my mind. There are too many awkward moments and I didn't find the romance very believable. BTW, who shows up for Christmas without presents? Rude.

[Marty R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Copy: Audiobook (Read by Michael Ferraiuolo 🫳 & Greg Boudreaux ♥️)
Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5/5
Spice Rating: 🌶️.5/5
Series: Standalone

POV: Dual (Hunter Scott x David Coleman)

Genre: Contemporary Romance x Christmas Romance x MM Romance

Tags: MM, Military Romance, Fake Relationship, Fake Dating, FTL, Road Trip, Home for Christmas, Family Drama, Family Acceptance, Wedding Date, When he's been there during the dark times,

TW: Former Drug Addict, Addiction Withdrawal, Former Pornstar, Verbally Abusive Family Members, Cancer, PTSD

Very predictable MM Romance, but so cute. ☺️

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars.

[ElaineY · Rating 1 out of 5]

I lost interest by the time they arrived "home".

[DJO]

Bailed pretty early. There looks to be a shit ton of love for this story on GR but sadly I'm not among the lovers. I just couldn't deal with Dave's parents' assholery ways. They haven't even officially showed up in the story yet, but I've heard enough from what backstory we've been given to know I won't be able to deal with them "in person". I'm sure they'll have their come-to-Jesus moment eventually but I'm not sticking around for it. Plus, the second chances trope is just not a fave for me and I didn't realize that was the backdrop until I started reading/listening. No rating.

[Laks · Rating 3 out of 5]

The storyline is good with an estranged son trying to reconcile with his family...but the horrible family put me off. Did they have to be so horrible?

[inaword · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a word: Read the thing! I loved this book. This can be a hard read for some, since it deals with some heavy topics (most prominently drug use, family estrangement, and war trauma), but at its core it’s about love and friendship. David is a recovering meth addict who wants to reconcile with his estranged family. Hunter is David’s childhood best friend who only wants David to be happy. That’s why he agrees to go along with David’s plan of pretending they’re dating so he can get back in his family’s good graces. This involves faking their relationship (but not their feelings, natch) and driving from California to Washington for the holidays. This is not purely a road trip story or a fake-to-real relationship story (though it does have those things in it), it’s more a story of healing and knowing when to let people in and/or keep people out as needed. This story is beautifully written and I felt for David and Hunter right away. David has made some mistakes in his life, but he’s managed to pull himself together with the help of his friends who love him and get his life on track. Hunter is a military man who struggles with his time at war, but still wants to do everything he can to be there for his best friend. Their relationship was amazing. Sure they had their ups and downs, and neither of them know what the future holds, but they were just so in love with each other and were so good for each other it almost made my heart ache. I just really loved them. David’s family (minus his sister) were a giant batch of dicks and I absolutely could not understand them or their reasoning on anything. There are a lot of painful moments in the story, mostly revolving around the way David’s family treats him, but there was also some decent hurt/comfort that helped make up for it. This book isn’t a light read, by any means, but it’s still a great story about true love and second chances, and I loved every second.

[read the full post at In A Word]

[Notforgoodgirls · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. Just eh. The main characters sound the same so I regularly had to check which POV I was reading. His (I say “his” because I genuinely can’t remember which person was which) family are so two dimensional - a cardboard cutout of evil villains, and I find it hard to believe that people who were so judgmental of his “mistakes” would be completely fine with him being gay.

Every conversation felt like it was between two robots pretending to be human, and the whole book is just shuttling between family Xmas events and laboriously describing what time their alarm was set for in the morning, or what they were going to eat for breakfast.

Also my biggest pet peeve - this could have been done 75% earlier if they had just communicated with each other, but they each kept inventing elaborate reasons why it wasn’t ~the right time~ to talk.

Snooze.

[Stéph62Hapiot · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

J'ai beaucoup aimé nos deux personnages, on ressent l'affection et l'amour qu'ils se portent. J'ai apprécié la manière d'aborder leur relation et leurs moments d'intimité.

En revanche, ça a été compliqué de subir l'attitude des parents de David et surtout celle de son frère qui est tout simplement imbuvable.

[Bette · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Fabulously Gripping & Heartfelt Story! Amazing Narration & Audible Listen🎧

The Road Home
By: L.A. Witt
Narrated by: Greg Boudreaux, Michael Ferraiuolo

This is not your usual romance novel, it is so much more. L.A. Witt is a gifted author with a wonderful writing style, you could feel how much heart she poured into this book, the emotions are raw and gut wrenching at times. You could feel the characters pain and turmoil, you could also feel the love between them even though they themselves fail to admit it at first. David Coleman has not always made the best life choices but with the help of friends he has gotten past that and is doing well, he is a med school student with two years to go. His family does not recognize his achievements because they can not forgive him for his past mistakes, even some that he does not consider a mistake. He heard of his fathers illness and wants to go home to make mends, his sister is also getting married. Not wanting to face them alone he asks his best friend, Hunter Scott, to go with him, since his family thinks highly of Hunter and respect his career choice he wants him to be his pretend boyfriend, hoping it will earn him a higher opinion from his family. Holiday flights are expensive so they decide on making it a road trip instead. But winter storms make their travels difficult, but not as difficult as David’s family. Holy moly, I wanted to smack his brother in the head to knock some sense into him, his Mother and Dad were no bargain either. The only one standing in his corner was his sister, Hunter too, he not only stood in his corner but he defended him too. In addition learning more about David’s past we learn how Hunter feels about his career in the military and how he suffers from PTSD. I loved how real the author kept it all, showing the demons some soldiers face after returning from hostile territory. She also shows us sometimes families we choose or make are stronger and more supportive then ones you are born into. This is a great friends to lovers romance, the story is beautifully plotted with plenty of drama, angst, heartfelt emotions and a solid romance years in the making. L.A. Witt, thank you for another wonderful novel and emotional rollercoaster ride.

🎧📚🎧 And for the amazing narration, Michael Ferraiuolo and Greg Boudreaux do an awesome job portraying these characters, humanizing them as they bring them and their story to life. I love how they own their roles sounding natural and believable in the role they are playing. They set the perfect tone for the story and you could feel how much heart they put into their work as they capture their characters emotions and project them into their performance. They are entertaining storytellers and a pleasure to listen to. Thank you for another awesome listen🎧

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

**********Contains Spoilers**********

I rated this book 3.5 but I marked it up to 4 stars. I enjoyed this book but it definitely wasn’t as good as other books I’ve read from LA Witt in the past and I found that it dragged on a wee bit. David’s family has never let him forget that he’s a m*th add*ct, used to do p*rn and blame him doing p*rn on him contracting HIV but he got HIV from sharing n*edles. He;s only relapsed once since then and everyday is a struggle but he’s busted his a*se to get clean and is now in his second year at medical school. Even though he hasn’t touched dr*gs in 7 years. His sister is the only one who actually listens to what he’s saying. His brother is as such a d*ck he wont even let David hug his nieces because he thinks that they’re going to get HIV. David isn’t ashamed of doing p*rn but his parents want him to admit that he is. Really his friends that he met while doing p*rn were the guys that saved him from his controlling ex and helped get him into rehab and were there every step of the way. They even rung David’s best friend Hunter and told him about the situation so Hunter headed to LA as soon as he was able to get emergency leave to be there for David.

They all became his support system and were more family to him than his own. Hunter has been in the Navy for years and has recently got a promotion. His family is so proud of him but he’s miserable. He doesn’t have it in him to go to another war zone. He suffers from PTSD but I found it was glossed over pretty quickly. David’s dad is sick and wants to go home to see him so thinks it’s a good plan to ask his best friend Hunter to be his fake boyfriend to take some of the pressure off him, as if his family will hopefully view him as having his life together, if Hunter is with him. I would’ve loved a bit more passion between the main characters, as they seemed more best friends that care about each other greatly, consider each other family so they fell a bit flat for me. Hunter’s parents are awesome and I’m glad that they care about David so much, in spite of knowing his past. I’m looking forward to reading more books from LA Witt in the future and I’d definitely recommend this book and author to everyone.

[Jenny Saul-Avila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book SO much. Yeah, I could think of a couple small things I would've been interested in knowing more about, especially even more detail about how David & Hunter's high school years together led to later events, but it's not as if anything was outright missing - I'm just willing to be greedy about it. Some readers might think that maybe there's a bit too much repetitive internal monologue here and there in the book, but I've seen SO much worse that this didn't ding my annoyance bell; it was more something I thought about in retrospective critical analysis. All in all, I enjoyed it as a book with a great mix of sweetness, bitterness, sadness, comedy, serious issues, and romantic moments. I also found David & Hunter perfectly likeable.

The audio was good in that both narrators were excellent, (unsurprising considering who they are), but it didn't need two narrators - one or the other would've been fine. The fact that they were each good made me less bothered by the difference in voices for the same characters depending on which person narrated - that's something that has bothered me so much in other dual narrated books that I've switched to a print/e-book version. I never felt tempted to switch with this book.

[The Word Nerd Reviews Blog · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a beautiful book! My heart absolutely bled for David, his family are monsters!! Hunter had it right when he described David's mother as a "sad excuse for an egg donor."

I read and listened to this one via Whispersync. The narrators, Michael Ferraiuolo and Greg Bordreaux did an absolutely amazing job of capturing the emotion in this one. These two play off each other beautifully, I wish there were more books out there with both of them!

I'd highly recommend this one, especially with the audio. Michael and Greg brought tears to my eyes a few times, and also many happy grins.

An emotional journey, but with enough humour that it's never heavy or depressing, and a beautiful HEA.



All my reviews can be found on my blog: The Word Nerd Reviews
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[queerdo · Rating 3 out of 5]

took me an hour & a half. a solid book, but more of an “empathy read” than a fun read, or a challenging read, or a literary read, or a cathartic read, or what have you. like, the characters are almost flesh, & i get a chance to step into
lives/circumstances that aren’t mine - almost consensual-like(?), that is, without feeling like a creepy voyeur/exploiting those whose lives/circumstances aren’t fictions that one can step in & out of.


& i love love love how sex work-positive this book is, how honest and non-dramatic it is about hiv, & how couples therapy is something they seek out from the get-go. like, people should go to therapy when they’re doing well, when they have the energy & capacity to work on things that they wouldn’t during a crisis, so that the crises don’t end up so very critical. and this applies double to people in life-partner-y type relationships. hell, prioritizing healthy communication in any consensual relationship is such a great decision. yay 4 therapy!

[Rosie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolute must read

What an amazing book! I couldn't put it down. The characters were great, emotions were dealt with perfection and the story lines were dead on. I don't know a lot about PTSD but addiction and I are very well acquainted. I've been sober 42 years. I too have an awesome support system. I've read a lot of books with addiction as a story line but your book is the only one that stayed true to how it actually happens. Not just with the entire process but with how recovering addicts handle other people, families also, attitudes about subjects they don't really know anything about. This book was beautifully written and explained so much about subjects people don't want to talk about. Thank you so much for sharing this book.