The Book:
The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary
Published June 1st 2021 by Berkley
Date read: May 31, 2021
The Characters:
Addie and her sister Deb
Dylan and his best friend Marcus
Buy it on Bookshop.org | Amazon
The Plot (from Goodreads):
Addie and her sister are about to embark on an epic road trip to a friend’s wedding in the north of Scotland. The playlist is all planned and the snacks are packed.
But, not long after setting off, a car slams into the back of theirs. The driver is none other than Addie’s ex, Dylan, who she’s avoided since their traumatic break-up two years earlier.
Dylan and his best mate are heading to the wedding too, and they’ve totalled their car, so Addie has no choice but to offer them a ride. The car is soon jam-packed full of luggage and secrets, and with three hundred miles ahead of them, Dylan and Addie can’t avoid confronting the very messy history of their relationship…
Will they make it to the wedding on time? And, more importantly… is this really the end of the road for Addie and Dylan?
The Review:
When I read the blurb for this one, I was all in–I love books about road trips, and cramming exes, their besties, and one random dude in a car for hours sounded hilarious. I absolutely adored the first few chapters and all the awkwardness that was expected from the summary. After that the book kind of plateaued a bit for me, though. Second chance romance and insta-love are my two least favorite romance tropes, and this book combined both.
Dylan and Marcus’s friendship was extremely toxic, and I got very frustrated with Dylan for not standing up to him. I really enjoyed Addie and Deb’s relationship, though. Deb was by far my favorite character.
There was a clever little twist towards the end of the book that I found hilarious, and I enjoyed the wedding scenes at the end. I also really loved the villa descriptions in the flashbacks of how Dylan and Addie fell in love.
Overall, this was a fun summer romance. Those who enjoy insta-love and second chances will love it!