The Last Chance Road Trip: A Sweet Small Town RomCom Novella (Love in Mirror Valley)

I love stories where family is important, and especially when they're loving and supportive. Ethan's Pops and his Mom were that for him. Val's family and friends are positive and supportive of her also. I love how Val and Ethan are respectful of each other after so many years of being apart. I love their childhood friendship that turned into more until it wasn't. It's a fun, feel-good story with a happy ending that can easily be read and enjoyed in a day.

Nice and light read💖

Wish I could offer more praise than to confirm that this is a fast read, squeaky clean romance. However, that is exactly what this is.

I want to continue reading what happened next with Val & Ethan. How their relationship grew & changed. How Ethan bought the coffee shop & opened a cafe. I ant to know how they balanced running a business & Val having a job too. Where they ended up living & how many kids they had.Val grew up with Ethan they were inseparable. The had tons of sleepovers. They had so many they couldn't sleep without the other sharing a bed. When they got older their parents forbid them from sleeping over anymore. That didn't stop Ethan from climbing in her window every night. With Ethan's mom working nights he didn't like being by himself. Of course, the parents knew what was going on they just never said anything. At some point they both started seeing one another as more than friends. They dated & Ethan was going to give her a promise ring. However, he found out his mom was moving & he couldn't let her go alone. Instead of giving Val the ring he told her he wanted to go back to being friends. He decided for them both. And she didn't fight him on it. He broke her heart! He ended up going to culinary school. He was studying how to be a sous chef. He visited his grandparents during the 4 years he was in school. Val did everything she could to avoid him. She hid when he was in town. He reached out to her several times while he was gone & she never responded. He regretted his decision everyday. They both thought about each other. Val dated one or two guys after Ethan dumped her. They never lasted because she lost interest. Ethan's dates were short because he kept comparing them to Val.When his grandpa died he had to come for the reading of the will. I love his grandpa! He purposely put a treasure hunt (scavenger hunt) in his will. And it said that he had to take Val with him. Ethan wasn't sure she'd go. Were it not for a co-worker & the fact this was for Ethan's grandpa who she loved dearly she would have said no. Grandpa put down locations that meant a lot to Ethan & Val. Places they used to spend a lot of time at. Several times they almost kiss but get interrupted.Ethan realizes he went to school for something that wasn't his dream job. After thinking about what he really wants he gets his future job status figured out. Val keeps jumping to the conclusion that Ethan is going to leave her again. She lets fear rule her life. She runs away so she doesn't have to face the pain. She didn't even let Ethan finish talking to her. Definitely something she will need to work on if she wants the relationship to progress. The ending is sweet but like I said above this was too short & felt unfinished.

Romance level: kissing🔥.This start of the series has me so excited! 😂 the first few lines.I loved seeing the past and present chapters intertwined. It was so well done.Their banter was so chill and really friendly. I liked how she didn't hold a grudge, but also knew to be careful. I liked Val, she was kind & fun.Their stops in the road trip were so cute. I loved the kiss! 🔥 But I also loved how grounded Val was!I loved that they were moving through things. It felt like agony the wait for them to talk about the problem. However it was really sweet when they did.The last chapter was the best! I loved their talks & just how much they meant to each other. Book 2 coming next💙.Fav scenes:🎯Paintball🌳Tree house💦Water park🗻The lake⚠️TW: loss of a loved one.

I loved this! Ethan and Val are so cute! Great characters! I love their second chance and how they were able to learn from their past.

Val and Ethan’s story is packed full of the first love, second chance, sweet romance, and I loved every minute of it. There’s something about small town’s that just make everything better. Learning about their history and reading from another perspective about Ivy just made it feel familiar. How the characters interact with each other made me wish I could dive right into the pages. Knowing how to forgive and move forward, not letting it control your ever decision, something that with time and effort, can be extremely healing.“Chemistry, passion, all that will come and go. But a rock-solid friendship will carry you through the hard times.”“Maybe Pops was onto something with this last cunning plan of his. Maybe this is my opportunity to correct my mistakes and make amends. Maybe this is my last chance to spend real, proper time with the first—and only—girl I ever loved.”“Forgiveness is… complicated. I feel like it shifts, moves, is almost a living thing. If you want to have an ongoing relationship with someone—as I do with Alicia, most of the time—the ability to forgive is key. People hurt people, it’s a fact of life. Forgiveness is what you do with that hurt.”“No one is telling you to forget anything. I’m just saying that you have to keep going. Because when the stars align and things go right… whew. Love is always worth fighting for. My advice is simply not to run away from someone who’s showing you his whole heart.”“You never have to worry about me not wanting you. I am the one who needs to deserve you, Val, who has to deserve a second chance. And I want you to know that I’m going to fight for you. Since spending time with you, it’s like my life has righted itself again. You are my direction.”

It seemed like a redundant retold old story that may have had a different spin but it didn’t so sadly I gave it two stars.

Una novella super carina, veloce, semplice da leggere, completa nonostante abbia un volume precedente (che NON ho letto!).I protagonisti sono due ragazzi cresciuti insieme, che sono stati insieme un paio di mesi da adolescenti e poi si sono separati, perciò è un second chance.Non si ha problemi a leggerla da sola, la novella è assolutamente completa.Scrittura veloce, le voci dei protagonisti sono ben presenti.Val l’ho trovata un po’ immatura, ma per la sua età era giusto che fosse così.Non do le cinque stelle solo perché è una novella e non un romanzo in se.

Ethan and Val were in love in high school, until he left town and left her. She threw herself into a new relationship that she just gets out of 4 years later.Now Val wants to focus on her new job, but Ethan’s Pop’s will sends him on a road trip, requesting that Val come along.They revisit old haunts, remember fun and love, and realize they still want that with each other.Val forgives Ethan, and he’s determined to choose being with her no matter what they do or where they do it.A fun story with interesting stops, but unfortunately the treasure hunt, which was part of the reason for the road trip, falls away. Still a good book, but the treasure would have made a neater ending.