A beautiful romance novel that follows the story of Gigi, who is all things romance. From owning a romance bookstore, reading and quoting famous romance books, to following a possible soulmate on a journey to England, Gigi has been raised a romantic all of her life. Gigi follows her heart to England, based on the idea of soulmates that her parent's love story instilled in her. Once in Europe we follow Gigi's adventures as she meets new people, sees new places and finds love interests as well as finds herself.
The descriptions in this story are so vivid and well developed, that it felt like I was watching a romantic comedy. I had a hard time putting the book down and was sad when the story was over, as I enjoyed it so much.
I would highly recommend to anyone who loves a good romance.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

This sweet rom-com had me hooked from the very beginning! Gigi’s love for books, her use of them as an escape/coping method, and the fact that she owns a romance bookshop made her character so charming!

Most of the book is set in England, and the tidbits of history and touristy info throughout made me feel as though I were on the Spires, Shires and Shores tour myself.

Gigi and Taj’s bickering and bantering made me continuously chuckle, and I was rooting for them as soon as they met!

I’m thrilled to have discovered another Canadian author, and I will definitely be reading more of Chantel’s books in the future.

An enjoyable rom-com, but one of the characters was pretty unappealing so I didn't like his parts! I enjoyed the side friendships--it reminded me of a book from last year of random people who meet on the subway. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

While I was unsure at the start, this book totally won me over and left me swooning!!🥰

Gigi, a set-in-her-ways romance bookstore owner from Michigan is gifted a trip to England to join a bus tour led by none other than her favourite audiobook narrator (and presumed soulmate), Zane. Only, when Gigi arrives, things don’t quite go by the book…

A truly cute and quirky read, Two For The Road is full of love, personality and friendships. I loved getting to witness Gigi’s internal journey and uncover the lives behind each of the secondary characters on the trip.

With highs and lows, this story and its characters just felt so real and genuinely touched my heart. Not to mention totally refuelling my desire to visit England. Although some of this story revolves around serious topics like grief, anxiety and family issues, it never felt gloomy or sad but rather uplifting and inspiring.

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

DNF @ 40%

I really wanted to enjoy this book because the premise was so cute but it just was not for me. It took a while for me to get into it and it just felt like it was not going anywhere.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

I really enjoyed it! I thought Gigi’s obsession with one of the male characters was a little much but I loved her relationship with Taj and Charlotte!

This is a new Author to me. I found Gigi Rutherford, bus driver, Taj and Zane Wilkenson's story fun to read. The description of the towns and cities in the UK that Gigi goes to made me feel like I was back there again, redoing my trip from last year. I enjoyed reading. I received a copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Overall, I enjoyed the story. I appreciated Gigi's friends wanting to help her find her dream guy. I found the idea of kind of falling for someone through their voice on an audiobook to be an interesting and different start to the story. It was also nice to see growth in Gigi and how she dealt with different situations.

What gave me pause:
- I could have done without the love triangle (just not my preference)
- was a bit repetitive (so many mentions of her parents falling in love over the same book).

Again, overall, an enjoyable read.

I was lucky enough to receive my copy of Two For The Road from Penguin Random House Canada & NetGalley!

The premise of this book is that our FMC, Gigi falls in love with the narrator (Zane) of her favourite romance novel. It’s not just any book though; it happens to be the book that was integral in her own parents fairytale-like meet cute. Her parents who tragically died 8 years ago. Zane’s works as a tour guide for his parent’s British tour group company and Gigi’s friends gift her a trip to England to go on Zane’s tour and experience her meet cute with the man she believes she’s destined for (where can I sign up for friends like this?). However, on arrival it turns out Zane isn’t able join them for the first couple days…if at all! Meanwhile, she has to put up with the grumpy but very attracted bus driver, Taj, who somehow makes her forget about Zane while she’s around him…

Guertin does a wonderful job describing the various sights and sounds of England that really provoked my dreams of going back to the UK. I’d love to explore the areas of the country mentioned in the book that I have yet to see.

However, unfortunately, the book was a bit of a bust for me. The main issue was the personalities of the characters… I really really disliked Gigi for a big chunk of the book. She came across as extremely whiny, uptight, and ungrateful. When she found out there was a possibility that Zane wouldn’t join them on the trip; she seriously had to consider wether she’d continue on the trip or turn around and go back to Michigan! You know, the trip that HER FRIENDS PAID FOR!

Some of the fellow of travellers on the bus were really irritating and the characters didn’t mesh well enough to pull off the found family vibe she was going for. That said there was a moment at the end of the book between Gigi and another member of the tour that got me quite misty eyed.

As for Zane, I can’t really say it was his personality I disliked about him. Instead it was his lack of personality. I felt that his character was really underdeveloped and I didn’t know in the end what his motivations were. Does his interest in Gigi come from an honest place or is he the type of tour guide who tries to seduce any pretty girl on his tours? Is he a player or a dull history nerd? And what was his relationship with Taj like before Gigi came around? I would have liked to seen some interactions between the two of them but there wasn’t really any.

However, I did love Taj! There’s something about a persnickety gorgeous guy that just does it for me. Throw in the fact that he’s a reader and swoon! I love a guy who smiles with just the corner of his lip when he’s trying not to show his amusement or nonverbally sharing an inside joke.

Despite my issues with the characters, I still found myself smiling at the end of the climax. The ending, while unrealistic, is really sweet and worthy of a romcom loving girl.

2.5⭐️

Two for the Road follows Gigi on a trip to England, who is infatuated with Zane, an audiobook narrator, and hopes to meet him on a ten-day tour.

This was a wild ride. We have a 29? 30? year old woman, who turns down date after date, believing her soulmate is someone she has never met before. After discovering this 'soulmate' (Zane) is a tour guide in England, Gigi's friends book a trip for her, for the chance to meet him and see if anything happens. When Gigi gets to the tour, Zane isn't there, and she spends a solid amount of time complaining and sleeping through the trip, This seemed pretty ungrateful, and the whole thing just gave stalker-ish vibes, when it was supposed to be a planned meet-cute?

I did like the other characters on the bus. Charlotte and Angus and even Francis and the others had my heart! While the entire group had their odd moments, the side characters were pretty likeable.

On the subject of the tour, I didn't understand how Gigi just kept going off from the tour and somehow finding her way all the time. I've never been on one, but it just seemed really lax? I was confused. The bus driver, Taj, soon becomes a person of interest. I thought he was cool, but I felt like it was always Gigi opening up, and I just wanted to know what his story was. This made the novel drag a bit in the middle as well.

One thing that did keep it going was the setting descriptions. This novel definitely renewed my interest in going to England one day, it was described beautifully!

Unfortunately, the conflict at the end was nonsensical to me, and the ending was so unrealistic, but it was at least romantic. Two for the Road was a decently clean romance; it might not have been great for me, but I can still see it being enjoyable for others.

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

Overall the story is a “coming-into-herself” story about Gigi, who travels across the globe to find her soulmate and learns you can’t plan love. The English touristy background is lovely, and the cast of characters is perfect.

Gigi, as a main character, isn’t likeable and a touch too self-absorbed. The side characters in this book really make it.

The story drags too much in the middle, then wraps up too quickly at the end without the love interests actually addressing their issues (what’s Taj’s real deal anyway? He doesn’t want to go into the family business but does it anyway across the world??)

Definitely room for more main character/story development but overall a sweet story.


Thanks netgalley for the ARC

I really wanted to like this book, but it ended up being just fine. It read more like a woman's fiction book than a romance, though the female main character does get a HEA (fyi, closed door romance).

I struggled to empathize with the FMC, who came across as a person who really should have been in therapy and was clinging on to the past and also onto a dream and letting those guide her life choices. She also came across too temperamental for me, snapping back at other characters when they said something that upset her. But, how could they know it would upset her given that she didn't share much about herself?

Just not a book for me.

Gigi owns a romance bookshop in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and so is unsurprisingly a romantic at heart. After a breakup and a string of bad dates, her best friends buy her a tour of England for her thirtieth birthday as a way to meet her soulmate. But a cast of quirky characters join her on the bus tour, and her plans quickly go out the window. Will she stick to her guns and find the man of her dreams, or will she throw expectations and caution to the wind, and let life happen?

As a disclaimer, I'm not much of a romance reader. So within the first few chapters, I was slightly off-put by the story setup. Gigi seemed to be slightly sad and pathetic, and I didn't hold high hopes for the rest of the story. However, I'm glad I stuck it out. I was pleasantly surprised by the other characters, the bonds that Gigi forms, and the life lessons she learns along the way. The plot, formulaic, was not entirely predictable and the descriptions of the English countryside and the moments of romance were immersive. There is more than fluff here, there are some key moments of real emotion.

The only negative I can see, apart from the unrealistic premise, is the fact that every so often, there are descriptions that could have been cut. Random people with dogs will appear on a footpath. There's a focus on the details of a street, a drink, or a sandwich that cannot be accounted for by added texture to a scene. A seasoned reader expects those details to be important, but they never become pertinent. Perhaps Chekhov's gun doesn't apply to the romance genre? I'd have to read more to be certain.

Gigi is the owner of a romance bookstore, who has always believed in soulmates, and the power of stories to bring about love. Her parents met because of a book, and she is hoping that same book will bring her, her own happy ending in the form of the audiobook narrator. For her 30th birthday, her friends get her a vacation in England of a 10 day tour of famous churches, guided by Zane, the narrator she fantasizes about. From the minute she arrives in London nothing goes to plan, and her trip, and her search for love may end up looking different to how she always pictured it.

The cast of characters in this one were amazing. They were all so fun and complex and brought a lot of depth to the story. There were big themes of grief, fighting expectations, and living authentically.
There was humour, sadness, joy, and understanding. It was over all a lovely reading experience.

A rom com with a travelogue. I really liked this one.

Georgia Rutherford, aka Gigi, grew up living above a bookstore her parents owned. As the current owner of the bookstore she renamed it Love Interest and only sells romance books of various sub-genres. The audio book version of the book her parents met while reading is dear to her heart. So dear that she's 'fallen in love' with the narrator's voice. On her 30th birthday her best friends present her with a vacation to England led by a tour operator who is the narrator of this book. His life mirrors Gigi's so what it must be a match made in the stars.

The tour group had interesting people and the sites were described so nicely that it felt like being there. When Zane Wilkenson fails to arrive to guide her 10 day tour Gigi has to hope he will show up soon - which he eventually does. From there things are not smooth sailing but other parts of the touring team keep her safe.

Loved the way the author handled the ups and downs of Gigi's decisions.

I love unpredictability, especially in a romance. Two for the Road incorporated just the right amount of it - enough to keep me turning the pages but not so much that I felt frustrated or disappointed. I loved the geographic details and the "journey" Gigi took - from "stuck in the past" to 'embracing the present". A great, atmospheric romance.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.
I really like the fact that the author is Canadian.
The setting is in England and I really enjoyed some of the descriptors. I now want to visit Bath!
The story was a romantic/comedy in my opinion. It was an easy read. Some parts were a little slow at times but then it would pick back up again. The search for Gigi’s happily ever after has some road blocks to avoid and the path changes here and there.
I would recommend this book to others who enjoy light romantic comedies.
The rating that I would give this book is four out of five stars.

I really did not enjoy this book. The premise in the beginning, with Gigi travelling to Europe to meet some person she is obsessed with, was weird. It was not romantic to me. The sideline of the brother running the shop didn't add much to the story, in my opinion. Once Gigi arrived in England, the story felt predictable (SPOILER) the person she was there to meet was not there! Obviously, then she was awful even though she had feelings for somebody else and then was awful again. The guy that she wanted to meet was awful (shocking) and she goes back for the guy she met while on the trip (duh!). I was really, really disappointed with this book. I did not care about the characters. I really enjoyed Chantel's book "Instamom" so I am sad that I didn't enjoy this one. Thank you, though to the author Chantel Guertin and the publisher Penguin Random House Canada for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. I hope to read and enjoy whatever is next for the author more than I enjoyed this book.

This was a fun read. I was unsure at first but once it got going I really found Gigi and Taj to be endearing and enjoyed the other characters on the tour.

It was a cute romcom type of book that hit the right spots but wasn’t too over the top. It wasn’t spicy ( huge plus for me!) and I really enjoyed the chat her development.

The only confusing thing is that the titles are different for canada and the USA.

This book has so many emotions and is more than just Gigi’s love story. This is definitely one of the rare books where I love all the side characters and was so invested in their stories as well as the main characters.
Gigi is loveable and quirky and definitely likes things done her way which I really connected with and more I read this book, the more I didn’t want it to end.
I also thought the ending was just perfect for Gigi and her love of romance.