The Chosen Path by Jason Hershey - Blog Tour Review

Today on Life Of A Nerdish Mum I am pleased to be hosting today's stop on the blog tour for The Chosen Path by Jason Hershey

The Chosen Path 

From the author of the emotional "To Die To Live", comes the next riveting chapter of one man's search to find his purpose in life. 

Thelonious "Theo" Mitchell, now a college freshman, is eager to put the death of his friend, Draven, behind him. Devoting himself to school and sports, he meets Sabrinna, a beautiful co-ed who sweeps him off his feet. Untrusting and hidden behind a wall, he allows himself to fall for her. 

Will he find his soulmate and someone who can restore his faith and trust in people? Or will she leave him reeling and continuing his search for a purpose in life?

My Review

The Chosen Path is the second book in the Thelonious Mitchell series and follows on from To Die To Live. I haven't read To Die To Live, but I was still able to pick up The Chosen Path and read it without any problems. There are things that are mentioned from the first book though which may possibly be spoilers, however this can definitely be read as a stand alone if you choose. It's novella length too and I haven't read a novella in a while, so I really enjoyed the shorter length which was perfect for the story told. 

I pretty much never read contemporary (except crime novels) so this was a big step out of my comfort zone, but I chose to read it as the synopsis really caught my eye, I'm really glad that I decided to take the chance and read it as I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed the more natural pace of the story and the fact that more time could be spent on the characters rather than world building as we're already in that world. 

Theo is an interesting character and has obviously been through a lot in his short life, but still wants to love and trust and is overall a positive guy. It was interesting seeing a teenage romance blossom from the perspective of a boy and actually written by a male author. There are things that Theo thought that I would never think a boy/man would think, but they obviously do. Sabrinna the love interest of Theo was more of an enigma and I'm not sure I ever really figured her out, but she's a teenage girl and I remember being one and still never figuring out other teenage girls! 

I did got lost in the time line of things a few times, but that could very well have been more to do with how invested I was in the story and wondering what would happen next, than anything to do with the writing, 

I really enjoyed The Chosen Path and will be picking up To Die To Live, to find out more about Theo and I'm looking forward to what happens next for him in the next book. 

I gave this book 4 stars

About The Author

I was lucky enough to have Jason Hershey as a guest on my Getting To Know... feature, so if you'd like to read more about him, please click here. 

I have been a teacher for over 10 years, teaching everything from kindergarten to high school. I am originally from Phoenix, Arizona, graduated from Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas, and currently reside in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. I have a BS in Elementary Education. I am married and have 3 sons. This is my first book, but I have two others in various stages of completion; a children's book as well as a "sequel" of sorts to this current book.

Don't Forget To Check Out The Rest Of The Tour

An Auchenvale Christmas by Emily Anne Brandon - Review

I don't normally read Christmas themed books, but last year I made my first attempt as fitting in a Christmas novel to join in with the holiday reading festivities. It was an unmitigated disaster and my choice did not work out for me at all. I was unsure as to whether I was going to venture back into the Christmas literature world again this year, but I got the chance to read An Auchenvale Christmas by Emily Anne Brandon and the synopsis sounded great so I jumped right back in and I'm glad that I did. 

An Auchenvale Christmas

What would you do if you had to spend an entire weekend with your picture perfect family in a tiny Scottish village at Christmastime? What if your parents were so disappointed in your life choices that they thought you should go to therapy? What if your three successful sisters were all married to rich, handsome men? How do you admit that your thirty-something life looks more like a twenty-something life? How do you explain the humiliating chaos of crappy jobs, never-ending singledom and a permanent lack of cash flow? 

You don’t. You lie. 

The Fitzgeralds come together every year for the weekend before Christmas. It’s tradition. But Robyn can’t face a whole weekend of disappointing everyone yet again, so when a timely opportunity presents itself, she runs with it. She runs all the way to her childhood home with it. 

A perfect Winter novella to curl up in front of the fire with. 

My Review

Robyn is the main character in An Auchenvale Christmas and she is a perfectly average person, working perfectly average jobs and enjoying her girly nights out with her best friend. All of this isn't good enough for her family though who are all high fliers and so she is dreading the weekend before Christmas and the annual trip home. I found Robyn really relatable and I enjoyed listening to (reading) her Scottish brogue and the Scottish words that she uses.  

Robyn meets Jack her local bar tender who offers to help her out and pretend to be her boyfriend to make her trip home a little more bearable. Jack is an absolutely wonderful leading man and is really the perfect guy. He helps a girl out in need and loves her for what and who she is, not needing anything more than that. He's also hot and intelligent so he really is the whole package! 

Robyn and Jack make the trip to Auchenvale which I could picture vividly thanks to the authors fantastic descriptions. I really could feel the cold of the snow and see the beautiful countryside, and they brace themselves for a weekend with Robyn's family. Nothing is as it seems though and everyone has their own problems, some people are just better at hiding it than others. 

I really enjoyed this book and I loved that there was a happy ending. There were also some laugh out loud funny moments which really added to my love of the book. I read an Auchenvale Christmas in one sitting as it was so much fun and so easy to read. It definitely made me feel Christmassy and I'm extremely happy that I read it. This book has renewed my interest in trying out Christmas books. 

I gave this book 5 Stars.