Book Review: The Road to Enchantment

When she was a child, Willow’s father cheated on her mother and left their family in shambles. She and her mother moved to New Mexico, where she felt like an outsider among the Apache people. Her only saving grace in her mother’s strange and eccentric new life was Darrel, a young Apache boy who would become her best friend in the world.

Fast forward many years, and Willow is a musician living in Los Angeles. She finds out she’s been dumped, and that her mother has died in a tragic accident on the same horrible day. And when she returns to New Mexico to settle her mother’s affairs and sees Darrel for the first time in years, he realizes before she does that she is pregnant with her ex-boyfriend’s child. She also discovers that her mother had financial problems. All she has left is her mother’s winery. Will it be enough? Will she be able to get back on her feet and figure out her next step?

Kaya McLaren’s The Road to Enchantment is a touching story that brings the past and present together, all told from Willow’s unique and subjective perspective. Earlier in her life, Willow viewed her mother as a selfish and strange person, but as the story unfolds, Willow begins to recognize her mother’s strengths and the positive moments that they had together. Though Willow is not perfect, she learns a lot along the way. In many ways, this book is a real coming of age tale, as Willow steps on to a new path and discovers what she really wants. This story is also about the family that we find during our journey through life, the people that come alongside us and lift us up when we fall. Darrel and his grandparents, full of wisdom and intense love for Willow, are those people.

I made my way through this book in just a few short days, and many of its words still resonate with me. If you love a good book about discovering yourself and appreciating the good people in your life, you’ll love this story.

This review originally appeared on Luxury Reading.  Luxury Reading provided a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.  I received no compensation and all opinions expressed here are my own.