Thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for this eARC!

What a book to read in the middle of unprecedented winter weather in Texas AND a pandemic. Summer in Provence in the "then" sections, and summer in England/Scotland and the titular road trip in the "now" sections. So many people together in close quarters and so many descriptions of warm days.

I just enjoyed Addie and Dylan's story so much, there were many road trip shenanigans and GREAT side characters. If you liked Beth O'Leary's past books, I think you will like this one. Would read a Deb book (or actually there are a lot of side characters in this one who could have their own book.

Ah, Beth O'Leary has done it again. What a great book! I started and finished it today - good thing it was a holiday and I had nowhere to go. When is her next book being released?

Strong characters that evoke deep emotions. Creative story telling. Loved the relationship between Addie and her sister. Desperately wanting Addie and Dylan to find a way to work things out. Rodney was a plot twist! lol So glad there was a HEA.

Thanks for another wonderful contemporary romance!

Just finished reading THE ROAD TRIP by Beth O'Leary. I received this ARC from Berkleypub via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Official publication date is June 1st, 2021.

As a huge fan of THE FLATSHARE, I couldn't wait to read this one.

Addie and her half sister Deb are road tripping to their friend Cherry's wedding in the north of Scotland. It's supposed to be a fun girls trip. But when a car slams into the back of theirs 5 minutes into the trip, their plans go out the window.

Dylan, Addie's ex who she hasn't spoken to in two years turns out to be the driver of the other vehicle. It seems he and his best friend Marcus are also heading to the wedding, and their car is now totalled. So Addie is forced to offer them a ride, even though she despises Marcus with a passion.

The car is soon overwhelmingly full and Dylan and Addie can't avoid confronting their history during this excruciatingly long drive, will they make it to the wedding on time and in one piece? Will they be able to forgive each other and move forward?

Told from Addie & Dylan's point of view, alternating between the then and now, will keep you hooked to the last page. The chemistry is on 🔥 between these two, and the band of misfits friends we get introduced to along the way made the story. Definitely a must read about love, friendships and second chances.
(⭐⭐⭐⭐💫/5)

4.5 stars

Aptly titled, _The Road Trip_ centers on both a literal road trip and a metaphorical journey through the past and into the present of a couple's relationship, dissolution, and whatever readers find in the here and now.

When the novel begins, the main characters, Addie and Dylan - who alternate perspectives in "Then" and "Now" sections, move from separate journeys to a mutual friend's wedding to a joint journey in a Mini...with Addie's sister, a rando, and Dylan's trash best friend, who is truly and obviously awful from his arrival on the scene. In the "Now" sections, all kinds of hijinks ensue, and these obstacles add humor and opportunities for reflection. The "Then" sections provide a glimpse into the couple's origin story and ultimately what causes their breakup and leads them to where they are now.

O'Leary has a knack for writing engaging love stories that are not overly sappy/absurd/or victimy for the women characters, and I love the guaranteed infusions of humor. While the central characters have a lot of work to do, O'Leary leads readers to believe that with their characters - and hey, why not? For readers, too! - anything is possible.

Wow! A trip to a wedding trapped in a car with your over protective sister, a random guy you found on Facebook, your ex who broke your heart into pieces and his bestie who did everything in his power to force two of you break up!
Good luck Addie!
Did you like the idea of ex lovers- new enemies’ longest road trip with one of the most disturbing chaperones! Oh, this is just the beginning! Things will get messier! I can guarantee that!

This will be longest trip of yours filled with grudge, resentment, unfinished businesses, unresolved issues, bottled up anger, frustration!

Addie and Dylan hasn’t seen each other for two long years after their tragic breakup and when Dylan drives to Scotland where the we’d takes places, he realizes her car is in front of him: oh boy, he can see her waving hand! Of course he gets panicked to see her after long time, accidentally crushing his car into hers( correction his grumpy bestie Marcus’ Mercedes he’s driving and the car Addie is driving belongs to her sister)
Miraculously Addie’s sister Deb’s car survives with a few scratches as boys’ car is totaled! It seems like Addie has every right to leave them in the middle of the road and drive off! We don’t know the whole story about their break up but as we get snippets of Dylan’s shy and guilty looks and Addie’s efforts not to have eye contact with him and the little information we get : he left her as she was crying out her eyes, we can sense he might have done something so bad!

Unfortunately Addie is bigger person and she doesn’t leave them at the road! They’re jammed in her sister’s portable car. And the bestie Marcus acts like Addie is the one to blame!
What’s his deal with her anyways?

And Rodney, the random guy they met who is also invited to the wedding acts suspicious! Deb seems so furious at both Dylan and Marcus, Addie is still heartbroken and Dylan acts like he wants to earn his forgiveness as Marcus gives killing daggers to Addie!

They already survived from a dangerous car crash but this is not the only problem they have to deal at their long trip which seems like will never end!

We’re going back and forth between Addie and Dylan’s first meeting where she works as caretaker at their villa. As we learn more about relationship dynamics, Marcus’ efforts to sabotage their relationship, Addie and Dylan’s own problems, insecurities about themselves, brassy Deb’s interventions, we finally found out what happened between them!

Well, I already talked too much! I can honestly say I’m not a big fan of Flatshare! Switch was light, soft and more likable book but in my opinion this one is truly the best, more genuine, realistic book the author wrote. Both characters are broken, flawed, dealing with their insecurities, their own traumas. You criticize and get angry at them but you can also easily empathize with them by understanding the real reasons beyond their wrongdoings and misunderstandings.

The conclusion of the story was angsty, emotional, powerful! It started as like soft, laugh out loud, entertaining comedy but it turned into something intense, tear jerker, heartfelt read which earned my five blazing, second chances, romantic stars!

This was truly impressive and I’m so happy I devoured it at Valentine’s Day!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing For sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

I really enjoyed all the different personalities of the characters. Even though at times I wanted to yell at one or two for acting the way they did. The cover doesn’t give away how deep the book gets. I loved the back and forth between now and years prior. The comic relief was great timing and brought a lighter note to the book. Thanks for the ARC Netgalley.

I usually really enjoy Beth O'Leary, however this one didn't resonate for me. I'm not thrilled with flashbacks in my stories your mileage may vary. (Did you see what I did there? The book is called The Road Trip) :)

I really enjoyed the chemistry and connection between Dylan and Addie. This book has some wonderful themes of redemption and forgiveness, with some funny hijinks sprinkled throughout and a lovable cast of characters. I STRONGLY disliked Marcus so much that it made it hard to enjoy the book but the ending redeemed him for me a bit.

3.5 stars.

Thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for a complementary copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.

❎ Another reviewer said that the writing felt more sophisticated than her two previous works and I agree with that. It's definitely a different vibe than The Flatshare or The Switch, but it still has the same warm heart that keeps me rereading her books.
❎ No one seems to handle sensitive topics like Beth O'Leary. She did it perfectly in The Flatshare and once again here in The Road Trip.
❎ The characters felt authentic and you really got that claustrophobic feeling of being in a tiny car with people you aren't entirely comfortable with.

❌ Posh people are pretty boring
❌ The characters weren't really _that_ interesting? I hated how Addie was constantly being described as small. Dylan was ok, but the ~damaged rich boy trying to find his way in life is ehh.
❌ Not enough steam tbh.

I liked this book and sped through it in a day and a half. I would definitely recommend it to patrons interested in contemporary romance or just a good read in general.

When Addie set out on a road trip with her sister to a friend's wedding, she never dreamed that she would end up in an epic journey that included her ex, his best friend, and a strange friend of the bride. However, that is exactly what happens when Addie and her ex, Dylan, get into a fender bender at the start of the journey. They are soon hopelessly delayed by car trouble, traffic, pee breaks, food breaks, and more outlandish circumstances. Trapped in a car with each other for so long brings up the shared memory of their past.

I wanted to love this book but it is honestly filled with toxic people who were in toxic relationships with each other...it was really hard to like or sympathize with anyone in the book and says something (not good) that perhaps Rodney was my favorite character. The flashbacks did nothing to show me why I should want Addie and Dylan to be together. And the nickname Dyl...I just can't with that.