I enjoyed this book, the characters were well written and felt very real. The anxiety of the main character really carried through, and the romance that blossomed was great. I will definitely check out other books by this author.

Gigi owns and operates "Love Interest" a romance book store. She has lived a very sheltered life having grown up living above the book store which her parents owned until their death. Gigi is a romantic daydreamer and has become obsessed with a voice from one of her audio books and believes he is her solemate. The voice belongs to Zane Wilkenson of England, a tour guide in his family business, "Wilkenson Tour company". On Gigi's 30th Birthday, her friends surprise her with a 10 day trip to England on a bus tour which Zane will be the tour operator. Nothing goes as she plans and it's one disappointment after another until she finally realizes life puts you in situations for life experiences and growth. This was a fun, easy enjoyable read.

This book has many different aspects to it.
* enemies to lovers
* Love triangle
* Book lover main character
* A life-changing , transporting trip to England
* Ode to romance novels
* Quirky cast of characters
* Will-they-or-won’t they.

This was a wonderfully charming read. It is a cozy romance that you will want to curl up with.

I loved all the different characters who were on the bus tour. They were all very interesting.

This is a fun read and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a cozy read.

A special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book!

I was lucky to have met the author at an in person event and got a personalized copy of the book!

I really enjoyed the story and after listening to how Chantal actually traveled to London and personally toured all the places, I loved it even more!

After the loss of her parents, Gigi becomes super focused on an audiobook of the story that helped her parents fell in love with each other. Gigi falls in love with the narrator of the story, a man named Zane that just happens to own a tour company in London, England.

Gigi's friends, wanting to send her on an adventure for her birthday, book a ticket for her to join the tour.

As nervous and excited as Gigi is about the tour and meeting the one and only Zane, she definitely gets more than she bargained for.

This is a wonderful story about friendship, family and finding love where you least expect it.

I really enjoyed this book with Gigi looking for love with her soulmate, Zane. This was interesting as I could definitely relate to Gigi and where she was in life. I loved Gigi and her quest for adventure at her own pace. There was a wit, humor, and romance all wrapped up in one.

The synopsis for Two for the Road was delightful and gave me high hopes for this book. Sadly, those high hopes weren’t met.

Here are some things I liked:
Gigi’s brother, Lars
Angus
Charlotte
Francis
Glimpses of England (I love England!)

The above mentioned side characters brought life to the story. Both Lars and Francis seemed to have stories of their own that I wanted to dig deeper into. Angus and Charlotte were so warm and sweet that I wanted to claim them as my own fill-in grandparents, or at least have Angus be my tour guide and Charlotte be my seat mate on my next trip to England. It’s unfortunate that these characters didn’t play a bigger roll in the story.

Here are some of the things I didn’t like:
Gigi.
The lack of chemistry between romantic interests

I found Gigi so unlikeable that she ruined the story for me. I found her obsession with Zane’s voice to be unhealthy and stalker-ish. I found she was very immature, self absorbed, ungrateful, and even a bit of a mean-girl. (However, I also thought she would make a terrific creepy character in a psychological thriller.)

Another thing I found lacking was the powerful spark of chemistry that happens in a good romance. (That spark is essential if you’re going to have characters fall deeply in love after only a few short days.) Gigi’s laser-like focus on her obsession made any potential sparks in the story fizzle out. This made the ending of the story feel incredibly unrealistic and rushed.

Although this book didn’t resonate well with me, I will definitely recommend it to library patrons looking for a light, uncomplicated romance.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
#NetGalley

Two for the Road by Chantel Guertin explores the dream and fantasy we have in our heads of how things should go and whether that’s really the best outcome. To be honest at the beginning of the book I really did not like the main character Gigi. It felt like she was so focused on one outcome, one way of things working out and she couldn’t enjoy anything unless it was what she was planning. I really enjoyed how this character evolved and started to embrace the journey rather than the destination or result she thought she wanted. In the end this book was engaging and you start to root for not only Gigi but the other travelers on the bus trip.
Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

After DNFing my last book, I knew I needed my next read to be a guaranteed win, and this book was it. Along the same lines as “Iona Iverson” and “The Lost Ticket”, this book was all kinds of good vibes and British wanderlust (someone take me to the UK!!)
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Perfect for those who enjoy:

💕Found family
📚Books about books
🥰Sweet romance
🇬🇧Britain (for real, take me there!!)
🪴Coming of age (at any age)
❤️‍🩹Loss and healing
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A huge thanks to @netgalley and @doubledayca for this complimentary copy. I may just need to find a hard copy of this one for my home library.

We follow Gigi as she travels on a bus tour through the English countryside. Gigi is on this tour because she had this fantasy that the narrator of one of her favourite books is her dream man™️. By going on this tour, (he’s the tour guide) she is going to meet her destiny ✨. It’s a ridiculous concept in reality but so perfect for a rom com.


The author did an incredible job of describing the landmarks and touristy excursions that Gigi encountered along the way. I felt like I was on the tour with her.

This book features a delightful group in the form of Gigi’s fellow travellers. You really get to know them over the seven day tour. One of my favourite aspects is this book is how the author incorporates so many other books. Since Gigi owns a bookstore, of course she thinks and mentions books that reminds her of something she’s experiencing. I loved that added detail.

Thank you @TandemCollectiveGlobal and @DoubledayCa for my copy so that I can participate in this readalong. ⁣I was also approved for this on @NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley!

I am so glad I had the opportunity to read and review this book. I am moving to London in September and I felt like this was the perfect way to introduce myself to the UK setting. I appreciated the way that love in its many forms is explored and celebrated in this book. I loved getting to know each of the characters too! I would recommend this to my friends!

Such a great story that you could FEEL and envision all the sights that the characters were surrounded by. Guertin did a phennommmm job of putting the atmosphere, the experiences and all the feels into words for a reader like me to pick up this book and be transported on the bus tour with all the people, sights and emotions. It makes me want to jump on plane, fly over the pond and join a tour RIGHT NOW! ...add to that feeling is also the extra bonus that as I was reading this Tandem ReadAlong, Chantel was graciously posting reels about her time in England as the story was being written and the tour unfolded, us readers were also transported on a daily ride with photos playing out to capture the story's tale. It was magical and added to the entire reading experience!

I cannot say enough about this amazing story, the readalong journey! I hope everyone picks up this book for a great RomCom experience that is not your ordinary story - it's WAY better xox

I want to thank NetGalley, Chantel Guertin for being so amazing while participating in the Tandem Readalong, thanks to Tandel Collective, and also the publisher, Doubleday Canada, for providing me with an eARC and physical copy of this publication. In return, I have promised to provide an unbiased review.

I unfortunately DNF this book at 65%. I tried to push through and I might come back to this. Admittedly not in the right headspace right now but it’s got some cute moments I want to see through!

I’m a big fan of closed door romances and this one did not disappoint. Two for the Road by Chantel Guertin features LGBTQ+ representation, a single first person point-of-view, slow burn, and a bus tour with a broody bus driver.

Meet GiGi. She is a bookstore owner in Michigan whose friends gift a ten-day bus tour through England for her birthday. The scheduled tour is guided by the narrator to an audiobook that meant a lot to her parents. Meet Zane. He is an audiobook narrator about to host a ten-day bus tour through England. Then, a family emergency befalls him and delays his joining the small group tour. Will this be the perfect meet-cute GiGi’s read about in her romance novels for years? Will it even happen now?

I liked the road trip, as Guertin really illustrated the settings with her words. I also got really invested in the side characters. The eclectic group created by Guertin brings humour and tender moments integral to the story. I loved learning about them all!

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Random House Canada and Doubleday Canada for an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

📚Romance book store owner in search of love
🚍England 10 day road trip
👥Quirky characters
💭Single POV

This story follows Gigi who owns a romance family book store. She is a romantic at heart and believes in soulmates, but after having a bad dating history she is taking a leap and starts her quest to find the man behind her favorite audio-book who she believes is her soulmate.

My thoughts:
This was an enjoyable romcom, but I had a hard time connecting and empathizing with Gigi. At times her obsession with her soulmate were a bit cringe, and I also think the story took a really long time to get somewhere interesting or to see her growth and when things were starting to happen the soulmate entered and that was another long stretch.

I did enjoy the group of characters that were on the tour with Gigi and their individual interactions and bonds with her. I especially liked Taj's dry humor, overall the group had so many interesting backgrounds and stories and it was so cute to see the connection that they developed as time went on.

I will say, that this left me wishing I planned a trip to England, the scenery and the hotels sounded perfect. I really wanted to like this more as the synopsis sounded dreamy, but as mentioned it took me a long time to get into it and while it wasn't for me I can see how others may enjoy this lighthearted romance novel.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Random House Canada and Doubleday Canada for the copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.

This was a super fun read. I adore England and it was like visiting an old friend.
Sweet romance and a likeable heroine,

I must say, when I first read the synopsis, I found the premise of the book a bit cringey for me. But it ended up being such a light, cute read that made me feel all warm and fuzzy. I liked most of the characters except for Zane, who I thought was a bit too full of himself. But all the other supporting characters were lovable in their own way and gave the story a nice backbone. All in all, if you want something lighthearted to read, I definitely recommend it!

This is a fun, breezy romantic comedy with book-centric elements. I delightful read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

*I rated this book a 3.5 stars and rounded up to 4*

This book is cheesy and predictable and often unrealistic. However, I have to say, once I got into the story, I enjoyed it and finished it in a day. Gigi's character sometimes reminded me of myself and I loved the eclectic cast of characters on the tour with Gigi, they added a nice balance to the story. I really liked Taj's character and I loved the idea of the book setting being on a tour across England. If you are looking for a profound romance novel... this is not that. However, if you're looking for a light, fluffy, unrealistic read, I truly recommend this.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Great story idea, I'm a sucker for bookish romance books and this one had promise!

Sadly I just did not like Gigi, she started ok but all her insecurities and preconceived ideas about the trip were too much for me! You can tell from the beginning this ultimate trip is not going to go as expected but Gigi is so closed off to even try because her only focus is Zane! By the end of the book it becomes clearer the reason but it didn't fully do it for me!

Also, I would love to go in that 10 day trip because it sounded amazing! all those beautiful places, their descriptions just made me want to go there! Loved that!

I did not fully connect with the character but this was a good book!

This was such a cute rom-com! I haven't been too into this genre lately but I really couldn't put this one down. I love when characters have a love for books and the fact she was a bookshop owner was even better. This book had me smiling and was highly enjoyable! Thank you for this fantastic ARC.