On My Way There

by Jaycie Morrison

Maxine Terrell lurches into adulthood madly in love with a woman and her child. Unfortunately, Daphne Polk is someone else’s wife, and her daughter Lena is someone else’s child. But Daphne’s been there for her ever since Max and her father weathered a terrible tragedy, one that’s still whispered about in their small Texas town. After years of hope and heartbreak, and too many lies to count, Max seems poised to settle for the various "friends with benefits" she encounters.

Unexpectedly wealthy after her father’s death and emotionally adrift with no idea what she really wants from life, Max decides to take to the road and signs up to become a truck driver. During her training in Lubbock, she meets Trillian—“Thrill”—and manages to screw things up from the start. After another chance encounter and a sweet kiss she can’t forget, Max begins to rethink not only what, but who she really wants.

As Max traverses the open road, her journey of impossible love, loss, and courage mirrors her voyage of self-discovery. But before she can look to the future, she must come to terms with the history she’d rather forget.

312 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 1, 2023

About the author

Jaycie Morrison is a second generation native Dallasite who is also in love with Colorado and now splits her time between the two. She lives with her wife of twenty-eight years and her ten-year-old blue heeler. As a youngster, she and her friends entertained themselves making up and acting out stories featuring characters from popular TV shows or favorite bands—lots of action and a little romance even then! A voracious reader, she always wondered what it would be like to write a book and found that once she started, it was almost impossible to stop. Her first novel, Basic Training of the Heart, begins a series that combines her love of the written word and of history.
Jaycie still enjoys reading, along with learning how to pair wine with gluten free cooking, playing guitar, being out-of-doors in the mountains, and spending time with friends and family.

Reviews

[Marilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, Morrison has put her own spin on a contemporary romance. There is nothing 'usual' about this story. It deals with serious issues. The main character is involved with a married woman. The characters are complex and, for the most part, likable. Also, as a trucker, the main character has an unusual occupation, which I always enjoy. I stayed-up late two nights in a row because I was immersed in the flow of the story.

[Sandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

'On My Way There' is a book that is at times, difficult to read, and that is purely because it is a story about broken people. Please don't let that scare you off. The result is a story that is heartwarming and rewarding, and proves that good things can happen with growth and acceptance.

The pivotal MC, Max has had more than her share of trauma in her life and because of it, she has lived her life accepting less from those around her. Her best friend (with benefits) Daphne, is a very confused and destructive person and unfortunately, as Max is in love with her, Max bears the brunt of this woman's incapacity to care for anyone but herself. This is what makes it difficult to read.

Max gives Daphne every possible consideration and still, Daphne treats her like s**t. Their history plays a huge part in this and I think Max feels she owes it to Daphne to try and save her from herself, just as Daphne saved Max from physical assault when she was a kid. And yet, Max keeps going back for more because that is what we do, as humans, we keep going back to what we know whether it is good for us or not. Eventually, Max realises that the kind of love she has for Daphne is not what she wants. As the story unfolds, Max grows, and with the help of her new friend Thrill, learns that she wants more out of life, she wants the happiness that's been denied her for so long.

Jaycie Morrison has a knack of capturing characters in true honesty, and is not afraid to write about the good and the bad that exists in us all. It's refreshing to see. It's messy, complicated and sometimes hard to digest, just like life really is. I feel like a broken record as every review I write for this author says the same thing. However the fact remains, Morrison knows her craft well. As with this book, her characters are the story.

Definite 5 stars from me.

[Nathalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so different from other books I wasn't sure that 1) I liked it and 2) how I was gonna rate and review it.

We meet Max, a butch lesbian who is involved with Daphne, a married women who also happens to be her neighbour from when she was a kid. Their involvement is messy to say the least. It did not stop me from shipping them though even though Daphne treats Max like sh1t and I was a bit iffy about their first time. Felt kind of inappropriate to me due to the age difference.

But as the story continues their affair grows on me and I start rooting for them. Max travels around for work and meets lots of new people. She also has affairs with other women as she is considered single. It was weird to me how Elise suddenly became 'it' for Max when I could barely remember her when they had first met. Could also just be that I have a bad memory especially when there are more than 3 characters in a scene.

This book is well written and has depth. It's also rough sometimes with all the pain and grief the characters go through.

An ARC was given to me via Netgalley in return of an honest review.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about overcoming internalized childhood trauma step by tiny step.

This is a very well written book with interesting characters and a storyline that hasn’t been done to death by every other LesFic author on the planet. Morrison grabs her readers’ attention by the throat and doesn’t let go until the last page. There is no part of this book that sags or wavers in excellence. A real plus is that angst isn’t used as filler. The main characters are well drawn and likable and readers will find themselves smiling as they interact. Morrison allows us to see the flawed main character grow and mature as she finally becomes a fully functional adult as she progresses through her life.

Kudos to the author for writing this book and to Bold Strokes Books for publishing it.

My thanks to Bold Strokes Books for an eARC..

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure about this book. It has many positives but overall I didn’t warm to it because I found Daphne too irritating. I wanted to give her a good shake and tell her to get a grip of her life. I did like Max, though even she annoyed me at times :-) The brightest character was Lena and the author is excellent at capturing the innocence yet maturity of a child. I loved her scenes.

The plot was different to the usual lesfic tropes and I always applaud writers who try something new. The book is well written and I will look out for other work by Ms Morrison.

I was given a copy of the book by NetGalley

[Misha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. Max is such a warm-hearted and relatable protagonist and her development is naturalistic and engaging to follow, from high school to a truck driving career as an adult. I appreciate when a book has nuanced and well fleshed-out characterization for all the characters and this one absolutely delivers. Very impressed, although I would have liked a bit of a different conclusion with Daphne at the end, and would definitely read more from Morrison.