“Life isn’t about the destination. We all end up at the same place. Love is what gives our journey meaning.”

Happy Trail by Daisy Prescott is another precious gem from the SmartyPants Romance Universe. This story focuses on “The Runaway Fiancée,” Olive Perry, who is hiking the Appalachian Trail alone after a proposal gone wrong and surly park ranger Jay Daniels who is sent to clear hikers from the trail ahead of a winter storm. Sparks fly when the two get trapped in an abandoned moonshiner’s cabin. While the time they spend together is brief, it is significant and life-changing.

This book had a good mix of comedy, romance, charm and depth. I highlighted more passages in this story than I have any book I’ve read in a long time. A couple of my favorites are:

“Why does every girl want to be a mermaid? Or a unicorn? They don’t exist. Be a narwhal if you want a horn. Or a rhino. They’re super cool and couldn’t care less about what other people think of them.”

“A measure of a person’s worth is synchronicity between their words and actions. No one should be judged on the color of their skin or the money they do or don’t have, nor should we bear the weight of our family’s deeds and words.”