Ah! Beth O'Leary is my favourite author right now. I found this one a little slower compared to The Flatshare and The Switch, but once I got through 1/3rd of the book I absolutely flew through the rest. Her characters are always so well developed and endearing, and her writing is amazing. Another easy 5-star read!

Felt a little shallow - The Flatshare was astoundingly good, so maybe I'm judging unfairly, but it didn't have the same emotional heft.

Like some of the reviewers, I found this book ultimately left me a little cold. I suspect it was the genre as much as anything else but I had heard good things about the author and hoped to be charmed. There was a lot to like and some of the humour was laugh out loud but I think it felt for me a little formulaic.

Beth O'Leary does it again!

I absolutely loved The Road Trip. Beth brings to us her brilliant characters and wonderful prose, all weaved together in this latest uplifting love story.

With scenes from the past cleverly woven into a current day squashed road trip in a mini with four old friends and one new one, I felt like I was there with Addie feeling all the feels.

Wonderful.

Thanks so much for the opportunity to read and review.

I enjoy Beth O'Learys previous books and couldn't wait to read this one, and I was not disappointed! Thoroughly enjoyable and I would definitely recommend.

I was so excited to get my hands on Beth O’Leary’s latest novel after loving her previous two and it’s certainly true what they say ‘third times a charm’!!!⁣
⁣
I loved how Beth told the story from both Addie and Dylans POV and how she transported us back and forth between timelines, showing us glimpses of their past relationship and what led to their breakup.⁣
⁣
With five people squished into a Mini Cooper together for way too many hours, you can imagine there were some fraught moments in that car and it sure wouldn’t have been my ‘ideal’ road trip! ⁣
⁣
But, I though Beth’s character development was great and there were some real laugh out loud moments for me in this book! ⁣
⁣
A great Summer read that I definitely recommend, (in fact I have already bought a copy for a friend and she loved it). My new favourite Beth O’Leary Book!!! ⁣
⁣
⁣
Thanks Netgalley and Quercus Books for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

It breaks my heart to say that I had to DNF this one, I simply could not enjoy it! Having read her other two books, I was looking forward to the O’Leary magic. It started off on a strong note and then it all went downhill from there. Unfortunately this book was filled with toxic, shallow and superficial characters, that made it difficult to connect with. The time jumps felt choppy and although the MC’s had a fairly decent history, it didn’t feel like they were truly holding hope for a second chance. Overall the car ride felt like it was long and boring…I simply had to request to be dropped off, almost half way through the trip!

Once again, Beth O’Leary mixes a gorgeous romance with secrets, big issues and amazing character development. I loved how much was bubbling under the surface throughout the novel and how much I didn't and know was desperate to uncover, but without being frustrating.

Really enjoyed it!

I wished I liked this book more. After reading O’Leary’s, The Switch, I was ready to get charmed by her characters and writing again. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case.

I did not like any of the characters despite them all being fully fleshed out and complex. Addie and Dylan had no chemistry and it was difficult to root for their relationship. The insta-love was a turn-off because there wasn’t any development or insight into why they loved each other.
However, I appreciated how O’Leary shed some light on sexual assault and stalking. I wished that it wasn’t so glossed over so quickly because those are both serious topics to discuss.

Overall, this was not for me. But take this review with a grain of salt, many others adored this, so this could be the book for you!

I love Beth O'Leary's writing. Flat Share is still my favourite among her books, but I enjoyed all of them. Veyr uplifting, entertaining with endearing characters.

Thanks a lot to NG and the publisher for this copy.

After reading and enjoying The Switch by Beth O'Leary last year, I was excited to see this book available for request on Netgalley- and even more so when I was accepted to review it.

I adore the way she writes her adult contemporaries- light hearted and not taking itself too seriously, while also not shying away from some more hard-hitting topics.

This book is split into two timelines; the present where Addie, her sister, Addie's ex Dylan, Dylan's toxic best friend and one random are forced into proximity on a road trip to a wedding, and the past where we discover what caused the breakdown of Addie and Dylan's relationship.

I liked both timelines for different reasons. The present was super enjoyable in a chaotic and rom-com type fashion. The past began as a romantic young love story but evolved into something darker as it progressed. As a result of the drastic differences between chapters, the tone shifted quite considerably throughout. If you aren't a fan of tonal shifts, particularly in romance/contemporaries, this may not be the book for you. It didn't bother me too much, but there were times where I wanted a little more of the romance and less of the rich people/ toxic friend drama.

I did end up liking the previous book I read from this author, The Switch, a bit more than this follow up. However, in saying that, this book was still an easy to read, fun beach read with some emotional grit to it. This has just reinforced my desire to finally go back and read O'Leary's debut, The Flatshare, which I have heard perhaps the best things about out of her catalogue.

★★★☆☆.5 stars

Thank you to Quercus Book for this ARC

Release Date: 29 April 2021

Romantic, funny – a fab heart-warming story of love lost, friendship and forgiveness.

The story follows Addie, who along with her sister Debbie, are starting out on their epic road trip to their friend’s wedding in Scotland. Everything changes when Addie’s ex, Dylan, (also on his way to the wedding with his best pal Marcus) crashes into the back of their mini, so invites them to travel to the wedding with them.

The journey is filled with adventure and dilemma, and they soon start to wonder will they ever get to Scotland on time - whilst Addie & Dylan wonder if there is still something between them and if the past can ever be forgiven.
I cannot tell you how much I loved this book – just read it, you will not be disappointed.

Thank you to NetGalley & Quercus Books for the copy of this book, in return for an unbiased, honest review.

I really enjoyed Beth’s first two novels, this was not as memorable. This book was enjoyable but not your usual romantic comedy. It was a second chance scenario with messy characters full of flaws. At times it seemed dark and slow. Some of the supporting cast particularly Deb and Marcus were brilliant characters, if in the case of Marcus toxic !
This is certainly not a light summer read but definitely interesting. Let’s see what Beth comes up with next !
Thank you to Netgalley, Quercus Books and Beth for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review

Contemporary romances are not normally my bag I must admit. But after reading and loving Beth’s last two books; The Flatshare and The Switch I was really looking forward to reading her latest book, The Road Trip.

It is a light hearted and at times amusing read. She manages to bring out the thoughts and feelings to the two main character vividly. I loved how the characters were flawed in one way or another which made them like feel real people.

On the whole it is a heartwarming story but it has a lot more to it with a lot of gritty themes running throughout. Such as sexual assault, class difference, mental health, alcohol/drug abuse and dysfunctional families.

However, there was just something missing for me in this book compared to her previous ones. A lack of charm perhaps? I predicted everything that happened too so none of it came as a surprise. The parts with Rodney were just bizarre and I felt like it made the book take a turn at the end that it didn’t really need.

I still recommend this book and I still want to read any future releases from Beth as she is certainly a gifted, fun writer who brightens up my reading in between all my darker books I usually tend to read!

Thanks to @quercus and @netgalley for letting me read the arc.

I'm a huge fan of Beth O'Leary and loved her previous two books. This book focuses on Addie and Dylan's relationship - we move back and forth in time with a dual perspective which means we get to experience the story of how they met as well as their relationship in the present day.

Things didn't end well for them and we get to see their awkward reunion and subsequent accidental road trip with some of their friends. Although the story was fun, I didn't connect with either of the main characters like I did with O'Leary's previous books. I think a lot of it was personal preference as I didn't particularly enjoy either of the timelines or settings, and the different perspectives and timelines could be confusing at times.

Regardless I cannot wait to pick up O'Leary's next book as I usually really love her writing.

Addie & Dylan meet and fall in love over a summer holiday but Dylan's best friend Marcus is always the third person in the relationship causing strain. 2 years after the split Addie and Dylan find themselves squeezing into a mini with Addie's sister, Marcus and Rodney (?!) on their way to their friends wedding in Scotland. The story is told in past and present from Addie and Dylan's point of view so we see why their relationship didn't work and where they are now.
Really enjoyed this book. The relationship between Addie and her sister was great and I was rooting for Addie and Dylan. The Rodney twist was great.
Would definitely recomend.

The Road Trip - Beth O’Leary

Addie and Dylan, Dylan and Addie.

Beth O’Leary skilfully weaves a homage to young love and the sometimes messy paths we navigate, in order to find where we belong and with whom.

Addie and Dylan come from very different worlds, their paths cross during one heady summer in the south of France and a connection is formed, but their love struggles to survive the pressures of the real world and the influences of their very different backgrounds.

Two years after their traumatic break up, Addie and Dylan find themselves thrown together again on an epic four hundred mile car journey to Scotland for the wedding of a mutual friend. What follows is a road trip with a host of characters, a breast milk pumping sister, a stranger who needed a lift to the wedding and all of their collective baggage - physical and metaphorical…

Told as a dual narrative, ‘then’ being when Addie and Dylan met and the ‘Now’ being the road trip, the reader is left wondering what happened between Addie and Dylan and how it all went wrong? As the trip unfolds, so too does the story of the break up.

I expected a light humorous read, but the characters in this book are flawed and carry a lot of trauma, there are also a host of toxic relationships. Given the heavy topics, O’Leary still managed to build lightness into the plot which kept it from erring on the dark side. Having said that, I also feel that some of the traumatic events could potentially be triggering for some.

Addie’s sister, Deb, was the highlight of the book for me and was definitely the most likeable character.

The Road Trip is not your usual romantic comedy, but I found it an enjoyable read and I think you will too!

Thanks to NetGalley, publisher Quercus and author Beth O’Leary for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

I liked this book, but I didn’t love it.

The characters were well-rounded and cleverly written, but I found the plot itself to be a little predictable as a whole. There was only one moment that surprised me. It added a slightly further depth to the plot and fleshed out one of the characters, who up until that point had been a little two dimensional. Don’t worry, I’m not going to reveal anymore; you’ll know when you get there!

This is dual timeline book. It’s full of people making mistakes, repeating mistakes and then hoping for second chances. I felt like this was the prequel to their story and that a second book using the same characters would actually grip me more. I wanted to know how they healed, not why they were hurting.

“Thought about how it would feel to stand in the same room as him again, wondered if I’d be able to do it without bursting into tears.”

The main thing that prevented me from loving it more was the lack of charm. While there were some cute moments and laughs sprinkled in, they weren’t consistent throughout the journey. I haven’t read the authors others books; The Flat Share and The Switch, but I’d heard SUCH good things. Maybe I just set my expectations a little too high.

Having said all this, I would still recommend the book and the author.

In The Road Trip, through a dual narrative, we are taken on a non-chronological journey through Addie and Dylan's relationship.

In the early chapters, focused on the past, we experience their first meeting in the form of a summer romance. In the present day, now as exes, Addie and Dylan are comedically thrown together again on a road trip to a friend's wedding. O'Leary's talent is perfectly balancing a light-hearted read with serious subject matter. She slowly reveals information about their break up whilst exploring serious issues such as mental health and consent.

If you enjoyed The Flatshare, you will definitely love The Road Trip! Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books for this ARC.

The Road Trip tells the love story between Addie, a young aspiring teacher, and Dylan, a rich guy who dreams of being a poet and seems talented enough to pull it off. After meeting at a friend's Summer house, Addie and Dylan date for a while, and then, for some reason unknown at first, split up. The story picks a few years after when they meet again on the way to a wedding.

The title, The Road Trip, and the book's summary sell it as a road trip experience, and if you've read as much fanfiction as me, generally these are funny, quirky, and light. Maybe fanfiction gave me wrong expectations because this book is anything but that. The story follows Addie and Dylan's POVs, and it's split between the present, where they are on a road trip, and the past, from the moment they meet until they split up. With so much stuff happening, the road trip isn't the focus. It's only there to bring some humor into the story, but it isn't enough to lift the weight that lingers with these character's drama.

I won't go into many details on how heavy this story is, you can check the trigger warnings to have an idea. But all throughout the story, you'll be wondering, "Okay, what happened to Addie and Dylan?". And it isn't that hard to figure out, although there are some twists.

Although being a side character, Marcus is the most interesting of them all, along with Grace, who I wish was explored more. He's heavily flawed, has severe abandonment issues to the point of sabotaging Dylan's relationships, but that mess is intriguing. Which is something that lacks with the main protagonists.

🔹 Dylan comes off as a privileged guy with daddy issues and first-world problems. But he's a true artist at heart, and there's evident growth into independence.

🔸 Addie, on the other hand, isn't well developed. I can't remember a single trait of hers apart from being a teacher and having every single guy lust over her. She's not boring or annoying, but she feels empty and as if she's only there to develop the male's stories. Deb, her sister, is fantastic and life goals.

This is a second-chance romance, which is one of my favorite tropes. That's also what saves this story because if it was about their initial love story, it's way too insta-lovey for me. Addie and Dylan meet under the Provence sun, and there's an immediate raw attraction that jumps into "I love you" too quickly. So, of course, they're doomed. They have a lot of communication issues, and a shadow called Marcus hanging over their relationship.

Another highlight is Dylan and Marcus' deeply toxic friendship. They're childhood friends, and each other's support, for good or bad. However, it evolves into being way too co-dependent and hurting others by trying to stick together. At the beginning of the story, you know they had a fallout, and as the story goes on, you find the reasons why and how both men change over time.

The Road Trip did not meet my expectations since it was a different story from what I expected. It is more dark, raw, with messy and flawed characters, and a second chance romance that may end up being a nice beach read.