The Road to Tender Hearts

 

The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett

Fiction

2025

Narrated by Mark Bramhall

Finished on May 13, 2026

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

A darkly comic and warm-hearted novel about an old man on a cross-country mission to reunite with his high school crush—bringing together his adult daughter, two orphaned kids, and a cat who can predict death—from the beloved author of Rabbit Cake and Unlikely Animals.

At sixty-three years old, million-dollar lottery winner PJ Halliday would be the luckiest man in Pondville, Massachusetts, if it weren’t for the tragedies of his life: the sudden death of his eldest daughter and the way his marriage fell apart after that. Since then, PJ spends both his money and his time at the bar, and he probably doesn’t have much time left—he’s had three heart attacks already.

But when PJ reads an obituary of his old romantic rival, he realizes his high school sweetheart, Michelle Cobb, is finally single again. Filled with a new enthusiasm for life, PJ decides he’s going to drive across the country to the Tender Hearts Retirement Community in Arizona to win Michelle back.

Before PJ can hit the road, tragedy strikes Pondville, leaving PJ the sudden guardian of his estranged brother’s grandchildren. Anyone else would be deterred from the planned trip, but PJ figures the orphaned kids might benefit from getting out of town. PJ also figures he can ask Sophie, his adult daughter, adrift in her 20s, to come along to babysit. And there’s one more surprise addition to the roster: Pancakes, a former nursing home therapy cat with a knack of predicting death, who recently turned up outside PJ’s home.

This could be the second chance PJ has long hoped for—a second shot at love and parenting—but does he have the strength to do both those things again? It’s very possible his heart can’t take it.

My first thought as I read the publisher’s blurb was that 63 is not old. I’m 64, and I certainly don’t think of myself as an old lady. PJ may be middle-aged, but he is not an old man.

Now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, here’s my review:

I started listening to this audiobook after hearing so many great things about the book. But about ten minutes in, I was ready to stop. At first, I didn’t like PJ; he came across as very annoying and needy. I also wasn’t sure about the narrator’s voice. The next day, I decided to give it another chance, and I was hooked. I laughed out loud and fell in love with the characters, especially Luna and Otto. Those two kids reminded me of Bessie and Roland in Kevin Wilson’s dark comedy Nothing to See Here. Then there’s Pancakes the cat, who brought to mind Marcellus the octopus in Remarkably Bright Creatures. Not only is Pancakes able to predict death, (and Marcellus is dying, of course, so there's that additional connection between the two animals), but both animals are highly intelligent with an uncanny ability to observe and understand the humans around them, acting as a sort of observant, wise "Greek chorus."

I’m not sure how the humor comes across in the print edition, but the audiobook is excellent and anything but predictable. Fans of quirky, chaotic stories like Nothing to See Here and So Far Gone by Jess Walter are sure to enjoy this book. And who doesn’t love a good road trip tale?

Recommend.