Reviewed by Valerie
TITLE: #20DaysToLA
AUTHOR: Tanya Chris
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 265 pages
RELEASE DATE: August 18, 2020
BLURB:
Braxton has a plan. To fly out to LA where he has an apartment and a coveted entry level job waiting for him. To build a life filled with the security and stability he never had as a kid. To find a husband who’s a lot like him: steady, smart, responsible, and capable of making good choices. To leave Connecticut and everything in it behind him, including his mother, her revolving door of suitors, and his straight ex-stepbrother.
Craig has a plan. To convince Braxton to drive out to LA with him. To see every last sight along the way, no matter how weird or expensive or out of the way. To have one last hurrah before embarking on the adult life he’s in no way ready for. And maybe to act on the bisexuality he’s kept to himself so far.
Whose plan wins? Is twenty days enough to make it from Connecticut to LA and from ex-stepbrothers to friends to happily-ever-after? Will Braxton’s stuffed bear, Mr. Lovey, find a real-life bear friend? Find out in this slow burn, friends to lovers, opposites attract, bi awakening, road trip romance in which there’s ONLY ONE BED.
REVIEW:
If you have to forego your vacation this year, come travel vicariously with Braxton and Craig on their cross-country adventure. This is one of the best road trip themed books I’ve read in the M/M genre because, yes, it’s about the development of their relationship, but the actual road trip is not just a means to an end, it’s the focus of the story, and it’s great fun! The narrative feels so real to me, like I was reading a work of non-fiction – a travelogue or travel memoir – and I loved it. My two favorite book genres are MM romance and travel literature, so this book hits all my buttons.
Twenty-three-year-old Braxton has graduated college and is packing up his life in Connecticut to move to Los Angeles. Practical and reliable, he has a solid job and apartment already lined up. He has his airline ticket, is having his stuff shipped out, and is all set until … his meddling mother schemes for him to drive instead with his former stepbrother, Craig (stereotype of the straight, sexy jock) who is also recently graduated. Against his better judgement, Brax allows himself to be talked into going primarily because Craig is jubilant about the prospect, and because Brax has had a crush on Craig since forever and hey, nice eye candy.
Brax and Craig barely know each other anymore and are opposites in personality. Brax already has his life planned out, to include a responsible, dependable husband with whom he’ll have kids and become a boring soccer dad. Boring is good. Boring = reliable, and reliable is the antithesis of his mother growing up. This is how Brax approaches life; stability is what he craves. Craig, meanwhile, decides at the drop of a hat to move to L.A. despite not having a job or place to live, or any idea what he wants to do with his life. Carefree to the core, Craig thinks maybe he’ll be an actor, or stuntman, a body double, or a climbing guide, a personal trainer …
What makes this book such a joy is the itinerary of sightseeing they do and the real attractions they visit, from a giant grasshopper sculpture to a magical growing rock formation to a memorial a dentist made for his dog out of teeth. And there are the more mainstream sites like the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, and Devils Tower. The best part … author Tanya Chris includes the real itinerary at the end of the book, complete with links, so you can visit the sites, too, even the clothing-optional hot springs!
Somewhere along the way, they face the Last Hotel Room Left With Only One Bed In It dilemma. Craig reveals that he’s bi and interested in Brax, so they hook-up and have lot of tent sex in one national park after another. They also have lots of adventures as Craig challenges Brax to step out of his comfort zone and try scary things like rock climbing and windsurfing. Brax is proud of his accomplishments but keeps reminding himself of the life he has set up in L.A.: the stable job in finance with unlimited growth potential and the search for Mr. Perfectly Staid Husband.
In the end, the boys bring out the best in each other. Brax is open to being more spontaneous and adjusts his narrow view of his future. Craig becomes more responsible about his future and doesn’t just live for today anymore. I started dusting off my soapbox and was all ready to start ranting about an unhappy ending when at the ninety percent mark things were still dismal, but Ms. Chris pulls it off with a great ending and even better epilogue. I just have to mention that Ms. Chris had me chuckling at her turn of phrase many times, for example “artificially-induced relaxation” for getting stoned.
#20DaysToLA is a very enjoyable book. And the cover is wonderful. For those of you who would like to experience some good ol’ (sometimes goofy) Americana along with your romance, give this book a try.
RATING: 
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