This emotionally charged road trip story is thought provoking, full of heart-warming characters and beautiful settings. Joy and Dylan are wonderful characters to get to know and I hope to see more of them in the future

I absolutely loved this story. Kerry Lonsdale did not disappoint in her latest read. Told in alternative point of views, I fell in love with both of the main characters. I truly didn’t want this book to end. Highly recommend. Thank you so much Net Galley for the advanced copy.

As always with Kerry's books, this was a joy to read (no pun intended)! I laughed, I cried, and as usual - it made me yearn for true love for myself. I found the main characters to be likeable, but not too unbelievable. I like when you can see a character's flaws as well as their strengths, and Kerry is very talented at making hers come across this way. I received an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review, and my thoughts are my own. Since most of us are stuck inside for a while anyway, why not take a road trip with Joy and Dylan?

Unforgettable!

Fasten your seatbelt, double check it, because you are about to go on an amazing ride!! Once you dive into this story, you won’t want to put it down. I was completely riveted. My heart, was completely invested. Kerry Lonsdale creates an emotional, heartfelt tale. I thoroughly enjoyed and loved every single second of this book.

This is my absolute favorite Kerry Lonsdale book! It is an absolute MUST READ!!!

How would my life have turned out if I had chosen another path at some point in the past? This is the question that came to mind as I read Side Trip by Kerry Lonsdale. When Dylan's car breaks down, he hitches a ride with Joy who is also heading east on Route 66. They are both grappling with their own personal demons as they make the journey together along with a few side trips on the way. It's been a while since I've read a story that produced such a roller coaster of emotions. I can't wait to read this author's other books that are waiting on my Kindle. Thanks to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the advance copy to read and review.

There was a lot about this book that I really wanted to like but just couldn't get into.

It's totally more on the contemporary romance side that a lot of that I've read from this author previously, but I couldn't get into the characters or their choices. It was all so high school complicated to me.

Overall it was an okay read!

I have been all about the book with alternating timelines recently and this one did not disappoint. Actually, I have not been disappointed by a Kerry Lonsdale book yet and I think this one is my favorite of hers. Joy and Dylan were characters I wanted to meet, wanted to join along on their road trip, and was absolutely rooting for. The before and after chapters were pretty much equally strong, and the ending left me confused, crying, and hopeful. The idea of someone trying to live as the one who she lost, that really got to me. I wanted to shake Joy at points but also to sit in therapy with her and find out why she was the way she was. Why Dylan was on the road trip also equally got to me, though I won't say why and spoil anything for you. I flew through this book in just a few short days and towards the end, didn't want to put it down. I give this one 4 - 4.5 stars. In a time where we can't travel physically in the way we're used to, you'll enjoy the road trip through this book. Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the advance copy.

It's 2010 and Joy has never forgiven herself for what happened the night her beloved older sister, Judy, died tragically. Convinced that the accident that claimed Judy's life was her fault, Joy has never confessed her involvement to her parents. Instead, she has devoted herself to living the life that Judy never got to live. In college she majored in the subject Judy loved, when she gets to New York City she will begin working at Judy's dream job, and she has adopted Judy's way of dressing while taking the road trip Judy planned for herself. Along the way, she is seeing sights and eating foods that appealed to Judy, and listening to the music Judy loved. It's all in the name of atoning for her own behavior and, hopefully, assuaging her shame and guilt.

Joy accepted Mark's marriage proposal and the ornate engagement ring he presented her. She does love him, and has convinced herself that she wants to have children with him and they will have a happy marriage. Like Joy's parents, Mark has no knowledge of Judy's list or why Joy is determined to check off every enumerated item. He wanted to join her on the road trip to New York, but she insisted on making the journey alone.

She has barely commenced her cross-country trek when she stops at a retro-styled diner for a cheeseburger and fries, consistent with Judy's love of 1950's culture and clothing. Seated at a table, she looks out the window and notices a handsome guy in the parking lot who is clearly exasperated because his car won't start. Joy holds her breath as he enters the diner and approaches her table. Judy would have called him "dreamy." Joy permits him to use her cell phone, but finds him rude and presumptuous as he grabs the list and studies it. Still, she's intrigued because he's a musician and Joy is obsessed with music. When Dylan explains that he needs to get to Flagstaff because he has a gig there in the evening, Joy agrees to give him a ride.

Dylan also has secrets. He is actually on a journey dictated by his late father as a term and condition of receiving his inheritance. Dylan suffers from stage fright, a condition that baffled and frustrated his hard-drinking, hard-loving musician father. Dylan has dreams and goals for his own place in the music industry, and completing the trip plotted by his father is the key to realizing them.

After their first stop in Flagstaff, Joy and Dylan embark on a companionable sojourn along Route 66 in her convertible Volkswagen that will change both of their lives. As they negotiate side trips and navigate from town to town where Dylan must perform each night -- and notify his father's lawyer as soon as he has survived another nerve-wracking gig -- the two travelers learn about each other and themselves. Dylan questions Joy's commitment to living a life that isn't really hers, seeing beyond her fussy blouses and ponytails to the beautiful former daredevil competitive surfer and skateboarder who is incapable of freeing herself from the past and living her own authentic life. Joy sees beyond the man who claims that he has no interest in a relationship because it is impossible for a professional musician to successfully meld endless years on the road and a family life. She recognizes Dylan's talent and vulnerability, and finds herself drawn to the man who can deliver a flawless performance if he can just look out into the audience and see her there, supporting him. Of course, as they draw closer to New York, they develop deep feelings for each other.

To Lonsdale's credit, her characters are honorable and admirable. Neither of them wants to hurt Mark, the worried fiancee who has no idea that Joy has picked up a stranger with whom she is spending every waking moment as she makes her way to him and the life they are about to share. Hence, the agreement that their friendship will end when they reach their destination. Predictably, however, parting is not easy and they negotiate another contract term because embarking on the separate lives they planned before meeting.

In the hands of a less skilled writer, Lonsdale's magical story could have felt contrived and cloying. But Lonsdale deftly paces the development of Joy and Dylan's growing attraction to each other so that their inevitable acknowledgment of their feelings is believable. Less credible is the subsequent deal they make, but Joy is committed to Mark and their relationship, and not yet ready to abandon her determination to heal her own emotional turmoil through steadfast adherence to her carefully constructed trajectory. As the truth about Judy's death and Dylan's tumultuous upbringing take their toll over time, Joy and Dylan each reach their own breaking point and must finally come to terms with their pasts and choices. Of course, both Joy and Dylan know each other's true identity and keep track of one another as time passes. Lonsdale says she "was fascinated not only with the concept of two strangers meeting on the road who decide to travel together, but what happens after the road trip ends" and she plumbs those details over the course of an ensuing decade.

Joy and Dylan are endearing, sympathetic, and likable, and Lonsdale's compassion for her characters' struggles is evident. Side Trip does suffer from what reads like an inability on Lonsdale's part to pick an ending for her story and fully commit to it. For that reason, readers may find themselves resenting that Lonsdale manipulates their emotional reaction to her characters' plight a bit. She can be forgiven, however, when the arc of the story is revealed, along with the message she wants readers to take away from a tale that she readily and accurately characterizes as "pure escapism reading."

Lonsdale's goal is for her readers to "realize that life is short and shouldn’t be lived with regrets. That we should live the life we want to, and not the life others think we should live." And that message is clearly and lovingly conveyed through a conclusion that may feel like a concession but is, ultimately, richly satisfying. Side Trip is engrossing and entertaining -- a perfect book to read by the pool or on the beach, immersed in the lives of two people who are clearly going to find their way to their true feelings and each other, and savoring and pondering the numerous what ifs along the way. In one's own life, as well as in Joy's and Dylan's.

Story is amazing. So in love with this book. Lonsdale pulled on my heart strings more than once. This is so well-written and truly had me captured in this “trip” the whole way. Five stars. Perfection.

Oh what a joyride this book was!! After the loss of her sister,Joy takes a roadtrip on Route 66 in her memory. Who knew the man of her dreams would walk into the dinner where she was eating. In walks Dylan, the car he was driving had broken down and he needed a telephone. He had seen her watching him while he was trying to get the car started. So, he knew when he went into the diner that he was going to talk to her. They struck a deal together. As they drove across the country they decided to take side trips along the way to their destinations.

What an amazing love story. I fell in love with Joy and Dyland. As always the author delivered another top notch book.

Thank you Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I am a fan of the author's previous work and was pleased to review this . Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity. My review opinions are my own.

Joy is a complex likable charcter who has a past she regrets. She lives with blinding guilt over the bad decisions she made in her life and how they framed her life. When her sister passes she decides to take her sister's road trip on Route 66 that she never had the opportunity to try. In a diner she meets a young man she connects with who needs a ride. As they talk she becomes more comfortable with him and they find they have much in common. Joy makes a decision to take him on her trip . Dylan is also carrying immense guilt and burdens of his own. As they follow route 66 they become close and find their lives intersecting in many ways.

I enjoyed this book and found it quite heartwarming to read. Its about starting over, trusting others and growing up.

Lonsdale shines as a master of relationship what-ifs play out in this two-sided story of love, growth, and loss!

Joy Evers has been carrying her sister’s death on her shoulders since it happened. She gave up her interests of skateboarding and surfing to make her late sister’s dreams come true. She went to UCLA and achieved a degree in chemical engineering and has lined up a job to develop a new line of lipstick for a large cosmetic firm in New York. She decides to take a road trip down Route 66 on her way to New York from LA to check off the items from her sister’s bucket list before she begins the life she never wanted.

Dylan Westfield loves writing music, but he hates performing. His dad and uncle were well known musicians and he has always been in the shadows except when his dad made him perform on stage. Hid dad recently died and to obtain his inheritance, Dylan must travel along Route 66 and play the same dive bars that his dad did on his way to LA before he made it big. Not only that, but he must drive the same car his dad did, which doesn’t even make it out of California.

By chance, both Joy and Dylan are at the same diner in Ludlow, California. He manages to convince her to drive him to his gigs, but she has three rules. 1. No last names. 2. What happens on the road, stays on the road. And 3. If they take a side trip, both parties have to agree.

Every year in July I look forward to a new Kerry Lonsdale book, which frequently shows up on my top 10 books of the year. This year was no exception! Readers are suddenly thrown into Joy and Dylan’s wild ride and find themselves tagging along for the adventure. This book was both exciting and heart wrenching. Readers will easily connect with either Joy or Dylan. Told from both perspectives, it’s easy to get lost in both of their back stories, present stories, and future stories.

Joy carried the guilt of her sister’s death by herself and wouldn’t let anyone truly see her for who she was. Dylan never wanted a serious relationship because the life of a musician isn’t kind to relationships, which proved true of his parents. But when they are together, something special happens. In her true fashion, Lonsdale’s books have an epic ending that nobody will see coming. At first, I was really angry for what happened because I was cheering for both of them and then I was broken hearted. But maybe a silver lining promise will keep readers fully engaged until the end!

There was a little difficulty at times when the story suddenly shifted between past and present without any kind of visible break, but it didn’t take long to figure out. There is also a lot of language and well as implied sex that makes the book suitable for mature audiences.

I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

Side Trip, by Kerry Lonsdale, is a pure romance with one big twist ... WHAT IF the characters had chosen differently at any of several key moments of their lives. Lonsdale is a talented and creative writer who chose a challenging theme with which to work. By going back and forth in time, the reader is afforded understanding of what led to certain choices and the consequences that flowed from them. I found the book interesting, but ultimately unsatisfying. Life doesn’t give us “do-overs,” nor do we get the chance to see alternative paths that might have resulted from different choices. Clearly, the subtext is to live your own best life. It sounds simple, but of course, it is not. We are different at different times of our life, and what is best at 22 is not visible to the 14-year-old we once were.

This very romantic novel has a complexity that prompts reflection. Thanks so much to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read an digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a fantastic book!!! I was so vested in these truly well developed characters and their story. I didn't want it to end! Joy is on a guilt driven journey through Route 66, living through his sisters bucket list. Her final destination is New York where she will start her life with her fiancee and live out another of her sisters dreams. Enter Dylan, the son of a musician who's car just broke down at the same diner Joy is stopped at.

The two hit it off and come up with a plan to share the ride to New York together, one catch is that they won't share last names and what happens on the road stays on the road, and if they want to venture on a side trip they have to both agree.

Their love story is followed for 10 years. The idea of what if is explored if they had broken their deal. This story stuck with me, it is so well written. I highly recommend it!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

WOW, OMG and any other expletive you can think of. This book is the best yet and I have loved each one by Kerry Lonsdale that I have read. This book is a ride waiting to happen. It’s truly a laugh out loud, tearjerker, heartbreaking, heart fulfilling, story of love, loss, love found and new beginnings all in one. One that will stick with you.

Joy is living her life for her sister not for herself. She has blamed herself for her sister’s death since it happened all those years ago. She doesn’t see that she was only a child and most certainly could not possibly be responsible for what happened. The story of exactly what happened with leave you breathless and it will rip your heart right out too. It’s a sad story for sure but not one that a young girl needs to feel such guilt about. Joy is a kind, caring, compassionate, loving and truly free spirited person who deserves to live her own life.

Dylan is traveling cross country for his own reasons when he meets Joy and the two decide to travel together. They make a pact and stick to most of it. Dylan has a lot going on and is a somewhat private person and doesn’t want what he is doing to be made public. He has his reasons and you will learn what and why he is doing what he is doing. He’s also a very kind, caring and compassionate, loving person who is afraid of falling in love. He’s seen a lot in his life that makes him feel this way.

This is a very emotional book. Well written and filled with such hope for the characters. They will feel like people you know and love. You will hurt with them and for them. Cry with them and for them. The scenery feels so beautiful all the way from California to New York. The side trips are exceptional and will leave you breathless. You will feel like you are right there in the middle of it all.

I absolutely loved this book and didn’t want it to end, though that ending floored me. Wonder characters, plot, scenes, build. It was one of those books that makes you feel and you will love all those feels. This author outdid herself. No wonder it came so easy to her writing this one.

Thank you #NetGalley, #KerryLonsdale, #LakeUnionPublishing for this ARC. This is my heartfelt review.

I gave it 5/5 stars and a high recommendation to all.

This one sounded very interesting and I enjoyed the parts about the real places along Route 66. The actual story was a little to "romancey" for me with the main character causing me to roll my eyes. The last 20% however really saved the book for me. It was a unique perspective and I don't want to give anything away, but I thought it was excellent! The author really surprised me and I loved the ending of the book. I would recommend this to people who enjoy romances and love stories.

What if? You will probably start asking yourself that question throughout this adventure of Side Trip by Kerry Lonsdale. What if I went left instead of right? What if I said yes instead of no? For Joy Evers a mistake made 13 continues to haunt her as she graduates college and embarks on a road trip across Route 66-her late sister's bucket list in hand. Newly engaged Joy meets musician Dylan at a diner. An unorthodox agreement takes place-she'll drive him to NYC as long as they don't exchange last names or search for each other after they arrive in New York. What follows is a windy trip filled with music, tension and discovery. Reaching JFK and saying goodbye to Dylan, Joy begins asking what if she had told him the truth?

If you are familiar with Kerry Lonsdale you know you're in for an adventure-I was wondering if this novel was a bit of a departure from her other books-and heartbreak and redemption. It's not a departure but a deeper examination of the road taken and not taken. Be prepared for a journey that you will stay up late to finish!

The music references are a great technique and create a soundtrack of sorts for the novel-this is a great summer read-4.5 stars!

Thank you to Kerry Lonsdale, the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Two kindred souls both on their own journey's ,meet one fateful day. Joy and Dylan connect through music as they drive to each destination and a few side trips along the way .Their friendship helps Joy shed her past and Dylan slay his demons. This lovely eye opening road trip will resonate with every reader .

I just finished Kerry Lonsdale’s new book and my emotions are all over the place. This book is amazing!! It is a character driven love story and it is one of the best books in this genre I have read. Joy is traveling across the country as a bucket list tribute to her late sister. Her sister Judy had decided on the bucket list just before she died and Joy is completing it as she makes her way along Route 66 from California to NYC. Joy has just finished college and is moving to NYC to be with her fiancé and begin her career there. By chance Joy meets Dylan, a singer/songwriter, in a diner after his car breaks down. He is also heading to NYC and is performing in small town bars along the way. They decide to drive together and put certain rules into place. They aren’t going to learn each other’s last names etc and once they part ways that will be the end of their contact. They also agree if one of them decides to take a side trip along the way they both have to agree to it. Both Joy and Dylan are carrying a lot of emotional baggage and as they travel they build an amazing connection with each other. They are a great couple and I loved their rapport. The book is told by both Dylan and Joy and is told before, during, and after the road trip. They both experience regrets, doubts and what if’s about their lives throughout the book. I just loved this book which kept me filled with anxiety and anticipation until the end. If you are only going to read one romance book this summer make this one it. After having my heart ripped out and thrown around I can’t stop thinking about these characters. Definitely a book you will want to read!

This is a nice light summer romance to get lost in. We immediately get immersed in the lives of Joy and Dylan and watch their friendship grow. It’s a book of what ifs and living your own full life. Side Trip is an entertaining love story to quickly devour. #SideTrip #KerryLonsdale #NetGalley