Hello there, bookworms and Happy Friday-Eve! We’re almost to the end of another week and as usual, I’m so ready to throw in the towel. I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling beyond mentally drained. I just looked on my desktop and counted the book cover images I save in order to keep tabs on what I have to blog and review, and as of today, I’m 17 posts behind schedule. Huzzah for that, I suppose? I’m forever apologizing to you guys but life is cuckoo and I just need to get better at saying no to filling up my day-to-day schedule so that I can get back to focusing on the blog as well as my own writing.

Tonight, I’m bringing you a little article I got to write this past weekend, as well as a book review so let’s get to it!

In perfect timing with my 5th anniversary on the blog, I was contacted by the company Zavesti to write a featured post and share my creative journey with blogging and building a site to help influence and inspire others to do the same and follow their creative passions. It was so fun to look back a few years and see how far this blog has come in such a short time and as stated in my anniversary post, I have all of you to thank for that! To learn a little more about me, my journey as a reader, writer, and blogger, and the creation of this space, head to Zavesti and check out their Spotlight post here.

Okay, I’ve blabbed about my woes and things long enough, so let’s dive into the review. I’ve been fortunate enough to have read some pretty stellar books so far this year, and tonight’s is no different. While I’m editing content at work, I listen to headphones and usually throw on an audiobook while I’m moving around. After a recent listen of The Summer Garden, book three in the Bronze Horseman series by Paullina Simons, I knew I was in an absolute funk until I found something just as magical as one of my favorite love stories ever. After a little research, I settled on the Audible version of Lone Star, a stand alone, coming-of-age love story also written by Paullina Simons and I’m so glad I did.

From the bestselling, acclaimed author of Tully and The Bronze Horseman comes the unforgettable love story between a college-bound young woman and a traveling troubadour on his way to war—a moving, compelling novel of love lost and found set against the stunning backdrop of Eastern Europe.

Chloe is just weeks away from heading off to college and starting a new life far from her home in Maine when she embarks on a great European adventure with her boyfriend and two best friends. Their destination is Barcelona, but first they must detour through the historic cities of Eastern Europe to keep an old family promise.

Here, in this fledgling post-Communist world, Chloe meets a charming American vagabond named Johnny, who carries a guitar, an easy smile—and a lifetime of secrets. From Treblinka to Trieste, from Karnikava to Krakow, from Vilnius to Venice, the unlikely band of friends and lovers traverse the old world on a train trip that becomes a treacherous journey into Europe’s and Johnny’s darkest past—a journey that jeopardizes Chloe’s plans for the future and all she ever thought she wanted.

But the lifelong bonds Chloe and her friends share are about to be put to the ultimate test—and whether or not they reach Barcelona, they can only be certain that their lives will never be the same again.

A sweeping, beautiful tale that mesmerizes and enchants, Lone Star will linger long in the memory once the final page is turned.

I absolutely adored every minute I spent with Chloe traipsing across Europe. Being with her and her friends made me realize that I don’t miss those teen years where kids are petty about every little thing. Chloe’s friends were no different. They knew how and when to bring the drama with them as they moved.

It’s when they met Johnny Rainbow on a train that things begin to change. Each character began to face realizations about themselves and about each other. There’s nothing like traveling with others to make you realize what kind of people you’ve surrounded yourself with.

I enjoyed getting more history lessons from Simons and her characters as they moved through Poland and other areas of Europe to visit family and locations that impacted humanity and left their dark marks in the world. Chloe’s friend Hannah might not have appreciated the group’s excursions but I certainly did. Once Johnny was in the picture, he brought both knowledge and incredible tension to the little group. Still, I enjoyed witnessing Chloe being so disgusted by him and then slowly evolve to become totally enthralled by him.

It’s when things go awry in Europe and everyone eventually makes it back state-side that life shifts gears completely. All the craziness Chloe, Hannah, their boyfriends Mason and Blake, and their latest companion, Johnny have to endure in trying to move from city-to-city causes them to grow apart more than come together. Once they’re home again, they’re not the happy quartet they once were and adulthood shifts their perspectives on life.

Chloe and Johnny are from two different worlds, and she spends her college years trying to find him again, and that research and adventure leads her to things and people she never thought she’d find.

This was a longer story, almost 700 pages, but listening to it on Audible just made it feel so magical for me. Paullina is absolutely phenomenal with her words. I did compare this story to The Bronze Horseman a LOT because that series is one of my favorites and I wanted the same feeling of enchantment to wash over me with this book too, and it did, in its own way. I won’t give anything away because the last thing I want to do is spoil this for you, but if you are a fan of The Bronze Horseman trilogy, you need to give this a go. I promise, the comparisons and familiarity is there for a reason and you won’t be disappointed when you get closer to the end of the story.

Lone Star was filled with adventure, friendship, romance, tragedy, history, and utter heartbreak, but my goodness, with the good and the bad combined, it was an absolutely fantastic journey.

If you’re looking for something to read this weekend, look no further and check out this utterly gorgeous story!