The Long and Winding Road

Bear, Otter, and the Kid Chronicles, Book 4

By: TJ Klune

Narrated by: Sean Crisden

Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

Sequel to The Art of Breathing.

Family is not always defined by blood. It's defined by those who make us whole - those who make us who we are.

And here, at the end, Bear and Otter will be tested like they've never been before.

There's a knock at the door from a little girl who has nowhere else to go.

There's a phone ringing, bringing news they do not expect.

There's a brother returning home after learning how to stand on his own.

As these moments converge, all of their lives will change forever.

Beginning in Bear, Otter, and the Kid and continuing in Who We Are and The Art of Breathing, TJ Klune has told a saga of family and brotherhood, of love and sacrifice. In this final chapter, the events of the past pave the long and winding road toward a future no one could have imagined.

©2017 TJ Klune (P)2017 Dreamspinner Press

GREAT LISTEN!!

I loved all booms in this seriers. Bear, Otter and the Kid are great. Great family and side characters. Goes to show you Blood does mean family you can make your own. Was said the story ended..

Followed the whole epic

This series is not over the top. It’s not fancy or overly dramatic. It’s not crazy. It is a beautiful illustration of what chosen family can be and also how it is. Loved every second, even the scenes that hurt and burned.

Awesome Series and Conclusion

TJ Klune has spent 10 years crafting these wonderful group of flawed characters that find a way to make life work for them and achieve happiness. They make their own family. What a great ride. Beautifully written. So loved all of the books in the series. You laugh and you cry and throughout you are pulling for these characters. THANKS!!!

A MUST READ

Awesome read., I laughed, and cried and laughed til I cried. I love this family. Wanted more. More of Dom and Tye, more of Izzy, more if the twins. Just more.

I love this series so much

I am in tears, for Pete’s sake, over the end of this series. I love these people, every single one of them. What a journey. I read BAOTK first about a year ago and it was perfect. I was so happy with it, and laughed so hard over many parts, that when I read the blurbs on the following books, I didn’t read them. They sounded intense and unhappy. But in the last week I decided to try the second book. The hardest thing about that book was the lack of Sean Crisden. That one had another narrator, and he just didn’t seem right. Thankfully, Sean came back for the rest of the books. He WAS that huge family, and made them real. I finished the rest of this series one right after another. I have bought them all for my permanent library. Like Otter said of Bear, and Bear of Ty, I will never let them go.

Still Standing

This book. This series. These characters. This author. TJ Klune is an author that can evoke so much emotion with even the most banal of statements. He has created an entire family of characters that one can't help but wish to be real. I want these people to be real people, so much. I want this series to never end. Since it has to end, as all things do, I think this book was perfect.

Beautiful conclusion

🎧 Do you remember how it all began?

I do.

It was a heart-breaking and devastating first meet all those years ago. We've followed these guys for a long time now. When we got to know them they were really only two. A solid team, alone among people who tried their best to love them. Yet they were so very afraid to let them in

🎧 I'm his big brother. For the longest time, I was all he had. It's not like that anymore

We were there through the ups and the downs. We've cried with them, laughed with them. We've done so much with these people. They've become part of our family. And it's always hard to say goodbye to family. But sometimes you have to let go. And that doesn't mean there won't be visits in the future, but for now, it's time to move on.

The Long and Winding Road is written in three parts, the past, present and the future. And while the past doesn't bring any surprises it does bring clarity. We get to experience the missing years when the Kid was at college, breaking our hearts all over again - but then, what else is new with this series? We experience the happy moments and the scary moments when Bear and Otter finally are ready for more children. We meet Corey and Kori for the first time (kind of). Then we go back to where it all began, back to Seafare.

Then there is the now. When everything changes in the span of an afternoon. With the ring of a doorbell and the ring of a phone. Life changes in an instant - just as life in Seafare has a tendency to. We know this, that's nothing new. It's life. So we follow them when they are trying to figure everything out. We watch them live. Because when we first met them, they weren't living, they were only existing. They have come so fare since then. They are not alone anymore - it was inevitable.

🎧 family is not defined by blood. It's not always who you're born to that you're stuck with. It's what you want it to be, what you make of it. It's the people around you who see you at your worst and are not afraid to pick up the pieces when you fall apart. It's the people who can call you on your bullshit. It's the people who look at you each time they see you like they haven't seen you in years. It's the people who you fight for. It's the people you'd lay down your life for. It's the scariest thing in the world, but, if you let it, it's also the greatest.

There are a lot of times while listening (or reading) this book you think: so that happened.... or more likely just what did Bear just say??? I know I really should be used to it by now, but still.... It's nice to know that some things stay just the same.

Lastly, we see snippets from the future. We realise that life have moved on in Seafare. There have been ups and downs while we've been gone. But it's a life well lived. It's a bit bittersweet to say goodbye. But it is time. It won't be forever, and we know that life will go on, with all that it entails.

Sean Crisden was great. There were so many moments during this book that I wondered at Crisden's ability to keep from laughing like a maniac. Especially when Bear is... being Bear. Asking, ahem interrogating Anna about pregnancy and what to expect. Every tangent he goes on.... I don't know how he did it, because I sure burst out laughing more than once. He captured the characters and situations just right and every second I spent listening I was there, in Seafare experiencing it all alongside these wonderful people.

🎧 Roads can diverge.
It’s tough but true.
It’ll be okay. In the end.
So you’ll go one way.
And we’ll go another.
Maybe one day we’ll meet again.
But even if we don’t, remember this:
We have lived.
We have loved.
We have lost.
But we’re standing. For all that we are, we’re still standing.

A copy of this book was generously provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review for Love Bytes

love the family so much

been following this book since the beginning it's sad that it ended already but the ending is worth it 😍😍😍

Funny, emotional...wonderful.

The Long and Winding Road is broken up into three parts: Past, Present, and Future. The Past is a lovingly done recap of the series, including explaining the events that lead up to The Art of Breathing.

I LOVED THIS. I cried, I laughed, and my heart was so full of love for these characters and these stories. TJ does not let fans of this series down: he doesn't rip your heart out (too) much, and what he does bruise he absolutely makes all better by the end. Make no mistake, this is a love letter to the characters and to those of us who love them so much.

Honestly, I was just a teeny bit disappointed in the narration. One of the reasons to have the same narrator perform all the books in a series is for continuity, and I felt like Sean Crisden was off in the character voices. Maybe it's because I recently re-listened to the other audios in the series, but the voices seemed different upon this listen; some subtly and some drastically, but it was noticeable to me.

That being said, the narration is still really good. The character voices that are used are distinguishable and consistent throughout, and Sean brings out the humor and emotion of the story beautifully, and his pacing and timing are wonderful, as always.

I 100% recommend this, but I strongly encourage you to read the other books in the series first. In my opinion, this should not be read as a standalone.

This is Us

This was a perfect end to the most heartwarming and beautiful love story and family that I have ever read! my heart is full and happy after having read this series! Thank you TJ for Bear, Otter, the kid, Dom, Creed, Anna, JJ, AJ, Izzy, Noah, Lily and Everyone!