Side Trip by Kerry Lonsdale
Two individuals thrown together by chance, as they are both taking a trip from California to Chicago on Route 66, then on to NYC.
Joy Evers, just out of college is about to journey across country to fulfill her sister Judy's bucket list, and to join her fiance in NYC and start a new life.
Joys sister Judy, died when she was just 18 and Joy 14, but Joy has been carrying guilt about it ever since it happened. Finding the list her sister had written, feels like it could be a way of keeping her memory close.
Dylan Westfield a singer and song writer, also has an agenda as he takes this journey. He needs to play and sing at small bars across the route, something his father wanted him to do after he died, but which Dylan dreads.

They meet at a diner at the start of the trip, where Joy is having lunch, and Dylan's car breaks down, and so their journeys begins as strangers, but soon close friends.
I loved this journey of self discovery, building of trust and a closeness and having a lot of fun doing their side trips,the only stipulations for the trip are no last names, what happens on the road stays on the road and both must agree on the side trips.
Joy and Dylan are wonderful characters, who keep us rooting for them through out the story, and wondering what happens to them as they part ways in NYC.
This is a very emotional read as they open up to each other and doubt their choices.
I must say the end had me a tied up in knots.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for a copy of this book.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This was one beautiful and intense story. Joy and Dylan's story is captivating. Unputdownable!

Okay this book started out ok but then it got just ridiculous and I was just not believing it. I mean the sister goes on a road trip to fulfill a bucket list for her sister? Huh? And then she drives around with this country singer randomly. I was out fairly early on this.

I have been a big fan of Kerry Lonsdale and like her others, this book did not disappoint! I always enjoy a good love story and found myself invested from the beginning with Joy and Dylan. This is a book of chance meetings and what might have been.

Make sure to checkout this book when it is released on July 7, 2020 #SideTrip

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for this advanced copy.

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC of “Side Trip”.
The comments and review of this book are my honest opinion.
After the tragic death of her sister Joy feels, for reasons known only to her, the need to complete the bucket list that she found in Joan’s belongings.
Knowing that traveling Route 66 will perhaps bring some unforgettable experiences, what Joy doesn’t expect is wish for her trip to never end.
It’s been a long time that I have wanted to skip to the end of a book in order to be sure there was a happy ending. But I’m glad I didn’t. I would have missed crying and laughing through a wonderful book. Side Trip by Kelly Lonsdale is one trip I was glad to be on for the wonderful ride!

With her deceased sister’s Route 66 bucket list in hand, California girl Joy Evers sets out on a cross-country road trip to meet up with her fiancé, checking off the bullets along the way.

Having done this exact trip I relished the thought of going over all the great sites that Joy experienced. Unlike her, I didnt hook up with a Dylan for that journey. This great story covers sadness, joyfulness and love and romance. Joy picks up this hitchhiker going the same route after his car dies. But what she didnt bargain for was the feelings she had for him, the secrets they kept from each other or the unbelievable ending of this trip.

I loved the twists and turns this book had but nothing in the book beat the ending. It completely blew me away. Through laughter and tears, this book needs to be on your TBR list. Thanks to #Netgalley for this ARC, #SideTrip is another great Lonsdale read. #KindleUnlimited#fourstars

“It isn’t easy loving someone from a distance, which is why I owe you an apology. I tried to stop loving you. That’s why I produced Joyride. I thought if I worked on the project and got my words out into the open, that loving you without being with you wouldn’t hurt so bad. It didn’t work. It just made me love you more and myself less. I didn’t keep what happened between us on the road. I shared it with the world knowing you would hear the tracks. I should have asked you beforehand, or even mentioned something after, but I didn’t. And for that, I’m sorry. Forgive me?”His voice breaks over the last word. “Yes,”she whispers.
Dylan whispers, “I love you, Joy.”
“I love you, too,”she whispers back.

#SideTrip #NetGalley #BookReview

Special thanks to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

Give me to packs of tissues please, i can't stop crying, this is the first novel to me by Kerry Lonsdale.

I don't know what i should say about this novel, i have a mix of felling, i am not a big fan of Fiction genre but i pick this book because it's Womens Fiction and i really loved it.

I loved this trip that Dylan and Joy made it and had a tour to all America by the car, it's amazing trip and i hope to made one like this soon.

I loved Joy character but i don't love the way she act, she want to be with Mark because he is good for her and she felt guilty that he loved her but she have a felling for Dylan after she met him.

She destroyed her life and Mark life and also Dylan with her stupid decisions when she married Mark , live with him like nothing happen but in her mind she still with Dylan. She wasted her life with someone she is not in love with him when the real one who love her died, but i loved that the author don't made fell sorry and they were finally reunited.

I loved the cover so much, it's so natural specially the face of the model.

I've read all of Lonsdale's books and have enjoyed them, but something about the characters in Side Trip really appealed to me. Did Joy living her sister's wishes annoy me at times? Yes, but I still felt endeared towards her, which is a testament to the author's great character development. It was a sweet and believable love story and while I wanted them together sooner, I understood why they weren't.

I will say I didn't *love* the ending; if anything, it felt stilted, the magic realism did not feel as seamless as I would've hoped, though I imagine can be fixed in a later edit.

Looking forward to more work by this author (from what I see, a new series!).

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Joy is engaged and is on a journey by herself down Route 66. She is attempting to complete her late sister's bucket list. Along the way, Joy meets Dylan. Together they will complete a journey that has very personal meaning to each of them for very different reasons. This is a book that made me feel both happy and sad. I really enjoyed it.

This is not my usual type of book. It’s essentially a love story, but it’s also not in the old style of chic-lit either.

Newly engaged Joy is solo-journeying Route 66, following her dead sisters bucket list when she meets Dylan.
In a way, you can guess the outcome, and you wouldn’t be wrong, but there is a twist. The twist makes the book satisfying, and it made me laugh and cry along the way. The author switches between before and after throughout the book, and also between Joy and Dylan’s side.

This is my first full read since the UK Coronavirus lockdown. My usual style is psychological thrillers, having moved away from love stories a long while ago. But to be honest, this was just perfect to read for me right now. A little escapism, and I really enjoyed it, reading half of it in one afternoon/evening.

It’s not fluffy. It’s not a travel book (shame as I’d hoped for more Route 66 insight, but hey ho!). But it is very enjoyable. A solid 4.5 stars.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars / This review will be posted at BookwormishMe.com on 23 June 2020.


Joy is the epitome of the “California girl.” She’s on a road trip down Route 66, driving a convertible New Beetle, listening to 50s music, wearing 50s clothes and making stops at every 50s and 60s roadside attraction and diner along the way. But this isn’t the real Joy. The real Joy is a surfer girl. Levis cutoffs and flip flops. So why is she impersonating someone else?

Dylan is pissed off and frustrated. He’s stuck in a diner parking lot with a piece of crap car that’s he’s supposed to be driving across the country. Then he spots Joy in the diner. He approaches Joy to borrow a phone, and maybe get a ride somewhere. Joy finds him incredibly rude and annoying, but agrees to give him a lift to Flagstaff, AZ. However, there is one side trip they have to make along the way.

As a native Californian with a little red New Beetle (not a convertible, sadly,) this book screamed to me. Loved the premise of a new college grad making a trip across the country to meet her fiancé in New York and getting sidetracked by a handsome guitar player. The book was intriguing, moving back and forth between before - the actual road trip, and after - when the road trip ends. I laughed and cried with Joy and Dylan.

Lonsdale has written a keeper. A book that could be a great beach read, but for me was a great quarantine read. It brightened my spirits while stuck inside during this health crisis. I loved how Lonsdale described in her author’s notes about the book coming to her in a moment. The whole story! Her writing and storytelling are a gift. Loved this one.

I fell under the spell of this book from the beginning. Joy and Dylan really came alive in the pages. They were both so complex and full of life. I smiled and laughed. My eyes filled with tears more than once.

The descriptions of Route 66 made me want to take my own trip. I’d love to make memories of my own like the ones Joy and Dylan make on their trek.

LOVE her books! You will be hooked from the first chapter! I felt like I knew the characters on a personal level. A must read! Just like her other books, I could not put this down, a d read it in one sitting!

Kerry, you have done it again. I loved this book, Side Trip. It is such a good story! Where is my Dylan?! Lonsdale has the best characters, flaws and all. You fall in love with these people and I personally, would love for the stories to keep going and going. If you have never read a Kerry Lonsdale book, she is amazing. Her writing style flows and is super easy to follow. If her time line does jump around, as it does in Side Trip, she clearly marks every chapter. It is easy to follow time changes and character changes too.

In Side Trip, Lonsdale introduces us to Joy. Joy lost her sister in a car accident. In an attempt to keep her memory alive and to accomplish her sister's last wishes, Joy sets out on a cross country trip to knock a few things off of the bucket list. Joy comes across Dylan and together they take many "side trips" on their way to their intended destinations.

I highly recommend if you haven't read a Kerry Lonsdale book, you absolutely should check one out soon! As for Side Trip, I highly recommend it. Bring your tissues! I will continue to be a Lonsdale fan and will always look for her newest works. Special Thanks to NetGalley, Kerry Lonsdale, & Lake Union Publishing for the advance digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

#SideTrip #NetGalley

This book takes you on a road trip where the main character decides to drive to New York from the west coast before moving in with her fiance. A chance encounter with a man possibly will change her life. It's a case of the what ifs while she works on checking off her deceased sister's bucket list where she feels responsible for her sister's death. Who does she feel most connected to? Her fiance or the man she got to know while on their road trip. While I couldn't really connect with the characters, the read was heartfelt especially towards the end. I really can't say any more without giving away what happened. Thank you, NetGalley, and the author for the ARC.

I am a fan of Kerry Lonsdale. I was excited to be given the opportunity to read side trip. It was definitely not what I was expecting but I enjoyed it and read it in one sitting.

Joy is taking a road trip that her sister always wanted to take. She feels obligated to fulfill her sisters wish. Joy has a life people dream of. She is engaged to a good man and is moving to New York to be with him and start a dream job at a cosmetics company. Her life is a dream, but is it her dream??

Dylan Westfield wants to fulfill a contract and move on with his life. He is a songwriter (and sometimes singer) who wants to start his own label. When his car breaks down at a diner he catches Joys eye and they make a deal. They are both headed to New York and are planning to make stops in similar places. Joy will give Dylan a ride and he will pay for gas.

Along the way they learn about themselves and each other. The People they were before and how it shaped the people they are After.

Great characters and wonderful read.

This was a beautiful story. I have to say I saw several of the plot elements coming and by the time was about 3/4 through was expecting to not be able to give this book more than 3 stars. However, the final turn I didn’t see coming and redeemed my overall view of the book. Now that’s not to say there are not problems with it especially in regards to that fateful night for Joy and Judy, but if you suspend overthinking it you can love the story that finishes and love Joy & Dylan along the way.

I want to thank Kerry Lonsdale, Lake Union Publishing, & Netgalley for allowing me to be apart of an early reader group on this novel.

SIDE TRIP was an engaging, emotional, and fun read from beginning to end. The main characters, Joy and Dylan, were well developed and their chemistry was tangible. This story is an exhibition of the complexities of love, both familial and romantic. It encompasses loss and fear, joy and passion, confusion and frustration, and delivers a truly unexpected twist at the end; just when you think it’s ending, think again! Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the honor of reading an early copy. Even more thanks to you, Kerry Lonsdale, for delivering yet another captivating read.

I received this book "Side Trip" from NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own. This was a great book and I could not put it down. I was going to give it 4 stars but the end bumped it up to 5 stars. A bit of crying because I got so attached to the characters. Definitely Kerry Lonsdale's best book yet! You need to read this.

I loved this book - could not put it down!! I only wish I could have heard the music to go along with Dylan's shows, especially because it seems like he has the voice of an angel. It definitely was an emotional roller coaster. What I really loved in this story were the characters - they were real, flawed, and complex. They weren't the perfect couple hiding one small secret - it was real problems they were facing. Also... the ending... OMG... I'll just say it will definitely leave you thinking!!!!

Thanks to Lake Union and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.