I couldn't really connect with the book. I wish I'd enjoyed it more, and maybe I will in the future, as it might have been a wrong book at the time, but I expected to like it more.

I know this review is very late, but even though many people I trust recommended this book, it was just too hard for me to read CONTENT wise. The whole idea of one of the characters having gone through conversion therapy was too much for me. I didn't realize even the IDEA of reading about would feel so upsetting. So even though i have nothing against the book, it was just not for me.

really liked this. There is nothing in life I like more than road trips so I jump at the chance to read books about MC's on them. This story had a lot of depth and was very emotional in places. I really enjoyed the overall plot and both of the MC's. I also marked down a few places they went for my future roadtripping. I had never read either author before but will keep an eye out for future books of theirs.

**ARC provided through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

I cherished this book. Completely. I loved Ethan and Nick, both of whom are, if not flawed, at least scarred deeply. Their experiences and personal histories are so painful to read but always full of hope that they will come out of this improved and even perhaps restored.
Ethan lost his beloved Scott in a school shooting. That’s a horrible way to lose anyone. How do you recover? I have no idea. It’s too heartbreaking to think about. When Ethan graduates from high school he takes the road trip he and Scott had always planned – to drive across the country from Virginia to the Pacific Coast. After that, what? Ethan takes Scott with him in a manner of speaking, hoping that he could somehow manage to move on. His contact with Scott’s mother is so endearing. Not long into his trip he nearly runs over Nick, who is fleeing his own demon.
Nick lost his only brother, after which his parents sent him to a pray-the-gay-away camp. There he met a man who attached himself to Nick like a leech. In his vulnerable state Nick allowed Kyle to come to mean too much to get rid of him, but running away from the camp is his first step toward the independence he needs. After Ethan picks Nick up and they continue Ethan’s trip together, it’s partly because Ethan doesn’t really want to be alone on the trip he planned with Scott and partly because Nick thinks he has no other options at the moment.
They have many adventures crossing the country, some funny, some goofy, some nostalgic, and some sad. I can’t tell more without spoiling the story but it’s worth the time to read it. I encourage you to do so. A wonderful book!

A lot of books I’ve read lately have been leaving me with a mixed reaction, and this is another one.

The scenario for the novel is interesting, if somewhat unlikely. Following his high school graduation, Ethan is taking off on a road trip he planned with his best friend and boyfriend, Scott. Since Scott was killed a year ago, though, Ethan is treating the trip as a memorial rather than anticipating a fun time. However, when he almost runs over a hitchhiker, Nick, Ethan finds himself with a passenger after all. But Nick has his own baggage—he’s just turned eighteen and left the conversion camp his parents sent him to after he was injured by his abusive ex-boyfriend, Kyle. Nick doesn’t want to go home, so a cross country trip with Ethan sounds like a great idea. Unfortunately, Kyle proves less than willing to just let him go.

I like hurt-comfort stories, so this book should have been perfect for me, since both Ethan and Nick are suffering and provide support for each other. Some of the moments between them really worked, and I could buy into their friendship turned more. However, at other times, I just didn’t quite feel the relationship between the two 18-year-olds. It might be a telling commentary on their romance to note that I thought the most powerful scene in the book involved a telephone conversation between Ethan and Scott’s mother rather than any involving Ethan and Nick.

All in all, it's not a bad book, just not as good as I was hoping it would be. It's supposed to be the first in a series, though, and I'm curious about where the authors are going with the next book, so I'll probably give it a try.

A copy of this book was provided through NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

Detour is a tale of two broken boys, meeting up by chance, and learning how to believe in themselves and heal.

Ethan had been planning a road trip, post graduation with Scott. Now that Scott's gone, he sets off on the trip alone. Everything changes when he ends up picking up a stranger, Nick, during a storm at the beginning of his trip.

As Ethan helps Nick, he is completely unsure of him, not knowing if he's a runaway, or why he's traveling alone. Ethan just couldn't abandon him, feeling it's the right thing to take Nick with him on more of his trip.

I absolutely love that Ethan doesn't force Nick to tell him the truth, knowing it's just too difficult. As Ethan tells him to lie and make up his story, what follows is fantastically funny, as well as sad.

Ethan and Nick are just so damn loveable and broken. Their lives have not been easy and both are suffering and unsure of what to do with their lives. They have both faced horrific traumas and are lucky to have found each other.

As they continue on their journey, they open up to each other and end up finding a whole lot more than either expected.

The authors have done a terrific job with this unexpected story, telling it with so much heart, some nice humor, and a whole lot of compassion. It is emotional, heart-breaking, and remarkable. I am so happy to have stumbled upon Detour, as it is an absolute gem.

This was a meet cute kinda book that I enjoyed reading. Likable character's and solid story lead to a likable read.

I loved this book so much! The main characters were awesome!! There was a lot of sadness, grief/loss, abuse, and survivor guilt but both the tone was not sad but instead lighter than I thought it would be. Nick and Ethan were able to overcome so much and move on together, slowly trusting each other and looking ahead. Great dialogue and I also liked the writing. LOVED this one and could not put it down! THANKS NG!!

Super cute story that also addresses the topic of survivors guilt and moving on. And it makes me want to go on a roadtrip across the good ol' u.s. of a!

This wasnt for me. It was written well but it just had too much angst.

Ethan is a grieving 18 year old on a road trip to remember his boyfriend. Why would anyone think that it would be a good idea to let a grieving 18 year old do this?

As if that isnt enough he then picks up Nick, a hitch hiker who has run away from one of those religious re-education camps that seem to abound in the US, and Nick is also evading his parents and a controlling and violent ex.

Anyway thankfully it all ends well. This was just not for me.

Copy provided by Riptide Publishing via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

I’m just gonna lay my cards right out on the table…I completely adored this book. I’ve not read these authors before, but it seems that Detour was a labor of love for the writing duo of Reesa Herberth and Michelle Moore that’s been a long time in the making. If you missed their tour stop on The Novel Approach, you can read it HERE. I got a good chuckle at all the different incarnations Ethan and Nick have gone through over the years! I’m so glad the story ended up as it did, though, because I loved it. The Ethan and Nick we meet in Detour are so fantastic, I have to believe that these are the characters they were always meant to be and the way they were meant to meet and fall for each other.

Sometimes, oftentimes I guess, I have a clear favorite character in a book. That wasn’t the case here. If I had to choose, I think Ethan would jusssst barely edge out Nick, but I adored them pretty much equally. Ethan is the middle child of seven kids. With three older and three younger siblings, he’s probably never had a moment to himself in his entire life. So, I didn’t blame his family one bit for being worried about him as he set off alone on the road trip he was supposed to take with his boyfriend, Scott, who died a little over a year ago. He wasn’t alone for long, however. On his first day on the road, he ends up with an unexpected companion when he nearly runs over Nick, who is hitchhiking on a stormy backroad.

Nick is clearly going through something heavy, but Ethan doesn’t want to push him too hard to find out what it is right away. Ethan is no stranger to dealing with shit that you don’t want to talk about, and he recognizes that Nick is more than a little skittish at first, so he gives him some time to open up, and even offers him the ‘out’ of lying to him if a question or conversation hits a little too close to home. Ethan eventually finds out that Nick is running away from an abusive boot camp that his parents sent him to—though, technically he was allowed to leave, since he left on his eighteenth birthday, the day Ethan picked him up. Ethan also learns that Nick is dealing with his own grief, having lost his younger brother to cancer less than two years prior, and that he’s being stalked and possibly followed by his crazy ex-boyfriend, who was SO creepy and horrible.

One of the really surprising and refreshing things about this story was that even though it was dealing with these very heavy subjects—grief and loss, abuse, and PTSD among them—the authors kept the overall tone of the book very light. And, they did it through humor and the warmth and charm of these two characters. Ethan and Nick were fantastic together. I loved how they both handled their situations with grace and humor and honesty, even when they were vulnerable. Herberth and Moore nail the dialogue and situations the guys get into on the trip. The banter is witty, and fun, and feels true to the characters. It was so easy to get caught up in them, and to find myself full-on rooting for them over the course of the book. There are definitely some moments that are hard, some conversations that were gut-punchers, but the lightness always overcame the dark.

There are tons of things to love about this book, guys. And, I also JUST noticed that it’s titled as the first in a series, Transportation, on Goodreads, which makes me so happy! I can’t wait to see what else Herberth and Moore have in the works; I would love to read more from these authors. Maybe a book for Stefan?? A girl can hope! Check this one out for sure. Detour is a hopeful, feel-good, emotional but ultimately very happy and sweet book. It’s one I could absolutely see revisiting when I need something funny and happy-making to read.

I'm really torn about Detour from Reesa Herberth and new-to-me author Michelle Moore. On one hand, I see why so many of my friends rated it 5-stars, but on the other hand, I just didn't emotionally connect the way I thought I would.

I'm not a huge YA/NA reader (these guys are 18, so just on the cusp of NA), but I like a meet-cute story and I figured a road-trip would be a great setting for one. I really had no idea how incredibly angsty this book was going to be. I mean... real trauma here, folks.

For some reason, it was hard for me to focus on this story. It took me ages to read, and I had no issues putting it down. I enjoyed it when I read it, but I wasn't glued to my Kindle. I wish I felt that spark of empathy instead of sympathy and really connected to the characters more.

The romance also was a little iffy for me. I enjoyed these two together, but I really wanted to send them both to therapy more. There was so much... well, MUCH happening with both of them in their personal lives that I wanted to hug them more than see them find love.

I loved that we got a POC MC (hispanic, I think), but I wish we had more descriptors of the two guys. There was a vague reference to one having darker skin and then a brief Spanish-speaking part later on, but I had trouble picturing each of them. I like really vivid descriptions of my MCs. To be honest, what we did get a lot of detail on (the buildings, the road-side sights) bored me a little.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and I can see why people loved it, but it wasn't a home-run for me.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Sarah – ☆☆☆☆
This is the story of an unlikely romance between Ethan, a recent high school graduate, and Nick, the hitchhiker he picks up on the first night of his graduation road trip. Neither boy is what he seems and both boys have endured unthinkable traumas.

I immediately loved both Nick and Ethan. The first taste of adult freedom is a heady rush and the joy they both take in their relatively mundane and predictable travels is contagious. I quickly grew bored of the road trip (why do Americans get so excited about travelling through their own country?) but the boys are funny and sweet and innocent and damaged and sometimes tragic. I fell hard for them both.

Beyond the road trip, this is a young adult/new adult book with very heavy adult themes. At 18, Nick and Ethan have both survived horrific experiences and the authors don’t shy away from the emotional fallout. Both kids feel real and their emotions are often raw, unfocused, and complicated. The humour and the banter between Nick and Ethan keeps the story lighter than their issues suggest; but while I thoroughly enjoyed their story, this isn’t always an easy read.

4 Stars!



After graduation, Ethan starts the one-month-long trip that he's been planning for years and that he was supposed to take with his boyfriend, who died tragically. He's dealing with panic attacks and survivor's guilt and he's not sure he's actually going to make it until he almost runs over a hitchhiker a few hours into his trip and breaks his promise to his parents that he won't pick up hitchhikers on the road.

Nick, having just turned 18, checked himself out of the school/pray-the-gay-away camp his parents had enrolled in and is escaping from his past, even if he's not ready to really cut the strings that tie him to his abusive ex.

The two of them hit it off, striking an easy friendship that slowly morphs into more as they learn to trust each other while traveling through the country and visiting all sort of places, while they work on their issues. However, Nick's past might be getting too close for comfort and there's only so much running he can do, until it catches up with him.

This was such a delightful coming of age, hurt/comfort read! Both Nick and Ethan were adorable and my heart broke for all that they had gone through at 18, and maybe because of that, they both felt a bit more mature than your regular 18-year-old. I loved the progression of their relationship, from strangers to friends and finally, to lovers. They had amazing chemistry and their conversations were a thing of beauty.

This is my first book by these authors, but I really liked their writing style. It flowed well and the story was well-paced and interesting, perhaps a bit slow in the middle, but still intriguing enough to keep me wanting to find out what would happen next. Very recommendable!

*** Copy provided via NetGalley for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***

4.25 Stars


Ethan has had an epic road-trip across the country planned for a long time. His boyfriend, Scott was supposed to accompany him on the trip, but Scott was tragically killed, so now Ethan, a newly graduated 18 year-old, sets off on his own. Upon leaving, he almost immediately breaks one of the most stressed upon promises to his parents, not to pick up a hitchhiker, but hey, he almost ran Nick over, so that changes everything, right?

Nick, also 18, is on the run from the pray-the-gay-away camp he’s spent the last year and a half at, as well as from his abusive ex, who is partially responsible for Nick’s stay at the camp. Ethan and Nick set out to together explore the country and along the way build a friendship that eventually turns into more.

This wasn’t always an easy read, both Ethan and Nick are a bit broken, but as they travel across the country and get to know one another, they slowly start to open up and build a trust, as well as begin to heal. Nick and Ethan form a beautiful friendship that eventually leads them to love.

This was a lovely, yet heartbreaking story of hurt and healing. It’s well-written and flows well. I enjoyed traveling across the country with these two young men, and although Ethan and Nick visit some spooky places I’d never even think about visiting, it was enjoyable all the same.

This story is packed with so much emotion and it brought me to tears more than once. While I would have liked a more solid ending, I have faith that although Ethan and Nick are young, they’ll have a long and happy future together. This was an enjoyable and recommendable read!

*copy provided from author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

I very much agreed with Ethan's road trip as a method of self-reflection and healing. It was great to see him thinking through his sadness and issues. The postcards he sent were the epitome of survivor guilt and gentle love. The story of his lost love, slowly revealed, showed a lot about Ethan's safe life.

It's a strong comparison to Nick's circumstances, and the darkness his backstory brings to the road trip. Nick's attempts to solve his own problems were understandable, but I was so glad when he opened up honestly to Ethan and started to trust.

This is a sweet read, full of messages about overcoming adversity, and the style of writing made it even better. I found myself truly engaged and keen to cheer these boys on to their happy-ever-after. The ending was a bit abrupt, but as I return now to write this review, I see it's a number one. I am pretty certain the idea of a series wasn't here before.

So yay, more adventures, more travels maybe, more deepening of this relationship. Only no more stalkers, right?? Thanks Netgalley and Riptide for advanced copy. Detour is out May 7.

This was one of those stories that had so much angsty potential. Ethan is coming to grips with a devastating loss and trying to get out from under the protective cocoon his parents want to keep him in. Nick is the complete opposite, sent away when he needed help the most, he suffers greatly until he can finally break free. They couldn't be more different, but on a dark road in the middle of a torrential downpour their worlds will collide and it should have been a glorious tearjerker of a read.

True story, I cry over two things: Christmas commercials and books. Full on waterworks, ugly sobs, snot everywhere. It's an outlet for me because I rarely ever reach that emotion in real life. So, I was confused when the dark, heavy stuff appeared on the page and I wasn't feeling a thing. It bothered me a lot actually because this book deals with a lot of dark heavy stuff, but the connection was lacking. What I did respond to was the humor. Both Nick and Ethan fall back on it constantly, and I got that more than anything else in the book.

The cross-country journey is ripe with fun places to visit (yes, I am planning a trip to the Titanic reenactment) and I loved all the kitschy stuff, but I didn't quite believe that Nick was ready to be with Ethan or that they had a chance unless Nick got some serious help reconciling his ghosts.

The book is well written, with a lot of vivid imagery, and characters you want to root for. I don't know why I didn't connect, but don't let that stop you from trying Detour.

Wow, this book hits you right in the feelz. As someone else already stated, don't judge a book by it's cover. This story is so much more emotional and deep and well written than the cover would lead one to initially believe.

Instead of summarizing what happens in the story, which should really be experience without spoilers, I want to talk about the feelings and journey of these characters. Both of them are hurt and scarred, carrying emotional burdens that weigh them down. What struck me the most was how natural their connection felt right from the start. When you think of insta-love stories, you might cringe a little because you don't feel their connection. That was NOT the case with Detour. Ethan and Nick are special in so many ways, and I never once doubted their feelings for the other. They may have been strangers, but I think their souls recognized each other.

Ethan is a good kid (young man) and he sees that Nick is in trouble and despite warnings from his family about picking up hitchhikers, Ethan brings Nick along for his trip across the country. This should have been a scary situation, but both of these guys were so sweet and adorable and in need that I didn't want to roll my eyes even once (eye rolling as a result of their antics was purely from incredulity not derision ;) ).

Nick, sigh, Nick. He was sent to a "pray-the-gay-away boot camp" which let's just say Ethan was tempted to commit homicide more than once. I don't want to give anything away since it's important you read and hear about these on your own. But I can tell you that riding with Ethan on his trip, he was able to feel safe for the first time in a long time. And how telling is that, since Ethan is technically a stranger?

I did not want to put this book down and never once felt like the story dragged. I didn't skip any of the words, which I am known to do (shhh!!!), because I had to absorb every last bite of information and romance these two dished out. I highly recommend this one and give it 5 super big road trip stars/10 pots!!!

A story of two lost and broken souls meeting completely by accident (literally) and discovering happiness--and love--can be found in the unlikeliest of places. The authors handled the weighty issues in the book with grace and delicacy. Would 10/10 read (and shed tears) again just to spend more time with Ethan and Nick. One can only dream their story is continued...

This was such a sweet story. I know they each had really heavy issues to deal with but the sweetness to how they each dealt with each other was so nice. If I had some criticism it would be that it started to feel a little long to me towards the end but other than that, such a nice story.