The Road to Tender Hearts: A Novel

The book opens with a cat named Pancakes who curls up with the dying and seems to effectuate their death. When the cat takes up with an elderly alcoholic, P.J. Harriday, the reader might assume that the man’s end is near. However, the man is propped up by his ex-wife and her accommodating new husband. While they are away, on vacation, P.J. inherits two children and, along with his skeptical daughter, takes them on a wild ride to court his recently widowed high school sweetheart.

This certainly is a creative and interesting premise for a novel; however, this reader found the story line extremely dark and not that funny. The characters seem rom-com predictable with the usual precocious kids saying precocious things and suspense building as to when P.J. will fall off the wagon. The daughter who has suffered trauma and is distanced from her father, also predictably has a change of heart. The author has written four books and is acclaimed as a writer.