I really liked the premise of seeing the couple meet for the first time and dipping into their relationship and life over the years and how it and their feelings evolved.
I love a slow burn but I couldn’t really click with what was going on. It didn’t really feel like they couldn’t be together then she was quite terrible to him when he needed her (I understand her reason but I couldn’t connect with it) so I just didn’t end up caring if they got together or not.
I enjoyed the writing style and the ideas but perhaps I just didn’t like the fmc that much and didn’t really care what happened to her.
The narrators were great

Thank you to NetGalley and AE Titles/S&S Audio for this ALC! Wow did I fall hard for Marin and Teddy as they navigate life from their college graduation to adulthood. The sporadic meetings and genuine feelings for each other made this story an easy one to absolutely adore. Prepare to have your heartstrings pulled.

Short synopsis: Following a post graduation drive from Iowa City to NYC, Marin and Teddy keep running into each other over the years across different cities and even continents.

My thoughts: This is likened to a modern day When Harry Met Sally, and I adored it. For a short story we get a lot of heavy emotional baggage, a lot of swoon, and a sweet romance that actually makes sense to me because of the eight years difference from beginning to end.

There was a point in the book where I wanted to yell at Marin to get it together, and the ending wrapped up a little too quickly, but overall that’s what I expected with a short story.

Read if you love:
* Road trips
* Second/third chance romances
* NYC setting
* Friends to lovers
* Grief and loss

I enjoyed this book in audio format. The narrators felt just right for the two main characters -- to be frank, Marin is a frustrating character, and I thought the narrator captured her perfectly. This book packs a lot of emotional punch into a short length, and that translated well into audio format for me. As when I read this in written format, I appreciated the realism of the depiction of years of hurt and mistakes and growth. I remain somewhat unconvinced that these two will really be happy together, but the story captures what a powerful role they each play in the other's life regardless of the romantic outcome.

Kellen Boyle and Hallie Ricardo bring Erika Veurink's Exit Lane to life in this newest addition to the 831 Stories compendium. Two college graduates with only a friend and a hometown in common end up road-tripping to NYC to start the next chapter of their lives--separately because they're strangers. But one kiss along the way is all it takes for them to remember the other, no matter how many years pass or new relationships they start. (It gives off strong When Harry Met Sally Vibes, only messier.) Finally the stars align, and they have one incredible weekend, but a scary diagnosis throws them off-course again, until literally the last couple of pages.

This one has great bi-rep, and it's very queer-positive, but I didn't love the messiness of it all. When people love each other, I just want them to get their heads out of their butts and love each other already, instead of all this back and forth, almost-cheating, not quite cheating, off and on and off again nonsense. Another book that has similar vibes is You, Again by Kate Goldbeck. Also didn't love that one. Whoopsie. Not a fan of mess, I guess. (Maybe because I've seen it play out in real life, and it's not as romantic as all that.)

Not all books can be a hit for all readers, and I know there are going to be people who looooove this one, just like I loved a lot of the other books by 831 Stories. Thank you to the publisher & S&S Audio for my advance review copy.

I absolutely loved this story. The road trip aspect was great and the characters felt real and relatable. A romance book for adults! Realistic! I love you 831!

I really enjoyed listening to Exit Lane. Erika Veurink’s sharp, honest writing and the engaging narration gave the story so much heart. As someone who loves When Harry Met Sally, this had the same witty, thoughtful vibe that made me smile throughout. A quick listen that was fun and enjoyable.

Listening to Exit Lane was a completely different experience than reading it. The narration deepens the emotional weight of the story, making the grief and intimacy hit harder. Raw, reflective, and heartbreaking, this audiobook left me both full and broken.

The story bookended quite well. Loved the “when harry met Sally” feel but there were parts that didn’t work for me. I thought the FMC was a bit too standoffish at times. MMC gave golden retriever energy. Overall, worth the read. Narrators were great.

I received an arc from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

831Stories gives us h another five star romance!

Teddy and Marin have finally graduated college. A mutual friend has organized from them to carpool together traveling from Iowa to their new corporate jobs in NYC. It’s truly the set up of When Harry Met Sally. It has that same nostalgia mixed with this yearning for something bigger—better than before. It’s this hope and fear that coalesces into a feeling of being in your early twenties.

But damn.. the story goes so far beyond that opening chapter and it took a turn I didn’t see coming. Chance encounters and run ins and waiting for the right time, the perfect time, the right circumstances. And the reality that life can, and will throw curveballs.

Their romance is intimate yet scattered over several years, the epitome of physical touch as a love language, and is perfect for anyone who loves a character who makes shitty decisions because *news flash*, humans make mistakes!

The narration is SO good. At first, I felt mildly hesitant, but the accents of these two fit the characters perfectly. As an Australian, I don’t know what to name it, but it just gives the same vibe of When Harry Met Sally. Corporate worker, small town New Yorker… kind of nerdy?

Described as a read perfect for fans of You Again, and as a self proclaimed number one biggest fan of that book, can confirm it hits a similar spot.

I LOVEEEED THIS!!!

I laughed, I cried (!), and I blushed throughout this sweet story of two “friends” who are bound to end up together—no matter how much (or how long) they deny it.

I’m not a When Harry Met Sally fan (I’m sorry, but Billy Crystal is just not it), but I do agree that this book has those vibes. And One Day vibes 😭😭

Spice was surprising!! Like a 3-3.5/5 🌶️🌶️🌶️

(Thank you, 831 Stories and Netgalley, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.)

This debut novella follows Maren and Teddy through their adult lives post college. I did enjoy the story overall, however I do think that the missing chunks of 2-3 years in several places would have been better with those gaps filled in and fleshed out into a whole novel. Especially the last gap for Teddy, there is so much missing as is, I venture to think that this would have been a 4 star listen for me with more to the story especially in this last gap. I did really enjoy the dual narration, both of them did a great job conveying the emotion of the passages. I'd love to see this book become a full novel, I'd definitely give it a listen! I'd also happily listen to another book by Veurink. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this audiobook novella.

I will always support debut authors, and I'm loving this one from Erika Veurink. Exit Lane is a witty, deeply personal, and propulsive story that feels like a blend of your favorite on-screen love stories. I love how Erika captures the messy, charming, and often complicated journey of two people who just can’t seem to stay out of each other's lives.

The story centers on Teddy and Marin, whose post-graduation road trip leaves them with enough animosity to last a lifetime. But as we all know, life has a funny way of throwing us curveballs. Over the next eight rocky years, their paths continue to cross through chance encounters and transatlantic visits. The narrative's strength lies in its ability to capture the "high-octane yearning" between the two main characters, making every detour, argument, and near-miss feel earned and authentic. Their love story isn’t a straight line, but a series of delightful, humorous, and sometimes heartbreaking detours. I love the book as well as the audiobook, narrated by Kellen Boyle and Hallie Ricardo.

this was brilliant! i loved every second of this book. it brought so much depth and personality that felt entirely original. i was entertained the entire time. the narration brought this story to life and i’ll forever recommend

I’ve said it before and I will say it again: 831 Stories create bingeable romance novellas you cannot help but love. I finished Exit Lane in one sitting (and may have stayed up way past my bedtime to do so).

EXIT LANE follows Marin and Teddy over the years after they take a cross-country road trip from Iowa to NYC to begin their respective post-grad lives. What starts as a simple drive shifts into years of chance encounters and lingering almosts.

Marin and Teddy are two flawed characters trying their best and making messy mistakes that, at times, feel unredeemable. I suspect some readers will find certain decisions difficult to forgive, and at first I did too. Yet the strength in this story lies in how authentically these characters are written: imperfect, vulnerable, and real in ways that mirror life itself. That authenticity allowed me to focus less on the wound inflicted and more on the rebuilding. If I had one wish, it would be to dig deeper into Marin’s backstory and the source of her compulsory need for control.

The performances by Kellen Boyle and Hallie Ricardo were fantastic, and made this book even more bingeable.

Thank you 831 Stories Romance & AE Titles / S&S Audio for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I want to start by saying this is BY FAR my favorite 831 Stories release. I was blown away by the emotional depth Erika packed into such a short story. Teddy and Marin were both fascinating characters—on paper they don't work at all but from the very beginning their chemistry was palpable. The romance was top tier. Especially Teddy’s POV. I don’t even have words, I just know that this book made me feel those tingly butterfly feelings whenever Teddy and Marin bantered, argued, talked on the phone, sang silly songs together, or secretly yearned for each other across continents. Just completely swoony. Even though their story was messy, Teddy and Marin delivered a masterclass in how to quietly pine for your best friend across time and distance and endless life obstacles.

That said, the narration definitely did not work for me, which is so disappointing given how much I enjoyed reading the ebook. The narrator for Teddy felt like SUCH a mismatch for how he was portrayed in the book. I wanted to hear a voice that was a little deeper or gruff and that conveyed Teddy's emotions more naturally—the burn of his longing for Marin, the ache of his heartbreak whenever she wasn't in his life. This narrator did none of that for me. It felt more contrived or like a too-dramatic stage performance. Marin's narrator was slightly better, but still didn't quite hit the mark for me. She nailed Marin's cold detachment that defines her personality, but she didn't bring the warmth and levity that comes when she's around Teddy.

Overall a pretty big miss on the narration, but I'm still giving this 4 stars because I loved the story itself so much.

This is my favorite 831 Stories romance so far! It’s modern day When Harry Met Sally, with some twists. It’s also a heavy story for a novella, but that made it more complex and enjoyable. Overall this was fun, sexy, and grown up. It was a romance, but a real life romance.

I thought the narrators were great for this book!

exit lane had so much potential. i was drawn in by the premise: a post-grad car share, a little serendipity, and that "if it’s meant to be, it’ll find a way" vibe. the early chapters worked best for me; teddy and marin had a spark that felt real and grounded in that awkward, hopeful window of early adulthood.

but the further the book went, the more it unraveled for me. there are literal years that pass without these two talking. while i can buy lingering curiosity or attraction, i struggled to believe that kind of intermittent contact could realistically become love. they don't know each other well enough to justify the intensity we're meant to believe in.

and the third act breakup? one of the worst i've read in a while. teddy is waiting on test results, finds out something life-altering right after sleeping with marin for the first time, and she gets mad at him for not telling her. then she leaves. it felt not only cruel but totally unearned given the story arc.

i was also uncomfortable with the optics around marin's queerness. the fact that she exclusively dates women (written poorly and explored without any depth, might i add) until teddy comes along felt like a lazy and problematic use of bi or pan representation, particularly since we're never treated to any meaningful conversation with depth and respect about her sexuality

there were glimmers of something here. a few sharp observations, a good hook, and a structure that could have worked. but ultimately, the story felt emotionally thin and didn't earn its ending. sometimes missed connections are just that.

Exit Lane had so much potential and in many ways delivered a compelling story. The dual POV structure was absolutely brilliant, getting inside both Teddy and Marin's heads really enhanced the emotional depth of their journey and made their connection feel more authentic and layered.

However, I struggled with some of the relationship dynamics. Marin's treatment of Teddy felt unfair at times, and I found myself frustrated with how she handled certain situations. What bothered me even more was how quickly Teddy seemed to forgive her. The resolution felt a bit too easy given the hurt that had been caused. I would have liked to see more growth and genuine accountability before they moved forward.

The writing itself was engaging and the premise was solid, but these character choices kept me from fully investing in their happily ever after. Still worth reading for fans of dual POV romance, just be prepared for some frustrating moments along the way.


Thank you netgally and S&S audio for the advance copy!

Quick, enjoyable and has a solid amount of depth. I enjoyed both of the characters and felt all their emotions throughout the trials and tribulations they faced in this quick novella. Another hit from 831 stories!