This book focuses around a road trip to a wedding, which started of as Addie and her sister, but they ended up having to bring her ex and his best friend along... and a random guy. This had the perspectives of Addie and ex boyfriend Dylan and goes between the past and present, helping give more context into their relationship and how they got to how they are now. I did not like this as much as Beth O'Leary's previous books, this just felt less like her than the others honestly. Also I would say to check trigger warnings as this book does contain toxic relationships and mentions of rape. That also felt really out of place. Some bits of this book I did enjoy, I found the whole dynamic quite funny in places but frustrating in others. Some of the characters were so so unlikeable even though it felt like O'Leary was trying to make them have redeeming features. The whole story itself felt very over the top, I expected a bit of drama considering the synopsis of the book, but I expected it to be a little more believable, it just felt too outrageous. This isn't a book I would go out of my way to recommend, but if you are a fan of Beth O'Leary it may be worth giving this a try when it comes out later this month, but please be aware of the trigger warnings and that this has a different sort of feel to her previous books.

If I'm honest with myself I geninuely not sure I really like this book. I enjoyed aspects of it and there were bit that I laughing out loud for (which is rare for me) but I just felt that this lacked something to make it a great romance read.

I loved Deb and Addie and at times Dylan but I really did not like Marcus. I felt there was too much of him in the story and it took away from the Addie and Dylan's story

My other issue was with pacing. I was so close to DNF as I was just bored in the first half of the book. It began slowly and only really picked up towards the last 60% of the book. Then the book seemed really fast paced and a lot of the loose ends were tied up quickly.

However, there were serious topics such as sexual assult, depression and addiction which I felt were dealt with well and pushed this romance book beyond a light hearted forgetful story.

Maybe I just not a huge fan of the second change romance trope or maybe this book just lacked some of the charm found in other romance books. I liked this book but it was nothing more than an ok read for me.

*thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review!

After reading The Flat Share by Beth O'Leary and absolutely adoring it, I had super high expectations for The Road Trip. However, it just unfortunately didn't do it for me.

This book heavily focuses on second chance romance which from reading this book, I have certified that I really dislike. The protagonists had a lot of history and the yearning just seemed to be dead between them both which made the book quite slow to get through. I also found that the time jumps from past to present were placed at really odd times and again, it kind of made the reading experience a lot longer and harder than it really needed to be. Travelling with these characters was just a little boring and I was really struggling in wanting to pick this book up and considered dnfing it before slugging through it.

There were definitely funny elements of this book, however and whilst I disliked the second chance romance and the travelling within this book, I definitely think that those that like these tropes, would love this book!

Absolutely loved this!
Narrated from both sides of a relationship, getting the two sides of the story. I Loved the characters , in which who you get to see all sides of, the good with the bad! Don’t want to say much as I don’t want to give anything away! But I’m sure a lot of people will relate to the characters in someway or another!
The Perfect summer read! Beth has done it again, if you loved the previous the flat share & the switch you will adore this!

So I absolutely loved both the flatshare and the switch by Beth O’Leary which meant this one had a LOT to live up to.
This book splits between then and now. Now - Addie sets off on a road trip to a friends wedding with her sister and a random wedding guest in tow - only to be unexpectedly joined by her ex boyfriend and his best friend. That’s a lot of people in a Mini Cooper 🤣Then - tells the story of Addie and Dylan’s relationship. The highs and the lows. I enjoyed most of the characters (especially Addie and her sister Deb but Marcus not so much) and you do really get to know them on this long road trip but the first half of the book was a little bit slow for me. It picked up pace in the second half and was overall a goodie. I’m such a Beth O’Leary fan and the charm of the characters in the first 2 books made them 5 🌟 reads for me. I didn’t fall in love with the characters in the road trip the way i did with Eileen and co tho 💖 I think they’re a lot to live up to!

I wasn't quite sure about this book set in two time zones and but it developed and grew on me. A plot about love and break-up in the past between Dylan and Addie and present day when the couple are suddenly thrown together again on a shared car journey to a mutual friend's wedding. Two different styles in writing, one quite dark and the other witty and funny with heartwarming tender parts. Well developed characters and overall I could imagine this being made into a film. Certainly, I enjoyed the present journey in the car more than the past love affair with all the intenseness of misunderstanding and frustration. The present day part was an absolute gem with many an expected and entertaining scenarios.

"I catch sight of the expression of the car across from us on the motorway - a middle-aged woman in a cap, staring wideeyed at our car. I glance back at the others and imagine what she's seeing. A motley collection of twenty-somethings cheerfully crammed into a bright red Mini at half seven in the morning on a bank holiday Sunday. She has no idea. If one could harness secrets for energy, we wouldn't need petrol - we'd have enough grudges in this car to take us all the way to Scotland."

Half-sisters sparky and beautiful Addie and forthright and hilarious Deb Gilbert are travelling to friend Cherry's wedding in Scotland, when a chance encounter with Addie's ex, dreamy and easily-led Dylan and his toxic best friend Marcus leads to car-sharing. One very long journey, breakdowns and lost passengers, combines with the occupants' shared and challenging history. Why did Addie and Dylan split up if they were so perfect for one another and will they get back together?

Another emotional read from this author, with a focus on Addie and Dylan's, the protagonists', romance and friendships. The narrative is split between Then and Now and told from Addie's and Dylan's perspectives, so we understand their relationship - how it began and how it broke down. With a cast of supporting and disruptive characters, all fully fleshed-out, this is an engaging and emotional read. Themes of anxiety, depression and consent, along with Dylan and Marcus's unhealthy relationship and the fact that almost every character seemed to be beautiful and desirable, made this not my favourite of the author's works. Although I imagine many will enjoy it. Funny and romantic, but also frustrating and dark in parts. Whilst I would have loved to have lived in the worlds of The Flatshare and The Switch, I don't fancy my chances with The Road Trip, I'm afraid.

Addie has been invited to a wedding in Scotland with her sister Deb. Along for the ride is Rodney. When the car behind them crashes into their car, it turns out to be Dylan her ex and his best friend Marcus. As they are all going to the same wedding they all end up in the car together and it's one car journey none of them will forget.

The story is told from he points of view of Dylan and Abbie and jumps from past to present. Thy have an history and it ended with a bad breakup. All the five in the car have very different personalities and so it's no surprise there are a few clashes!

I enjoyed this book. I loved the characters and loved the storyline. Although I would have hated to be a passenger in that car!

This was a good read, but I didn't connect with any of the characters. There were some funny moments (Rodney looking for Deb made me giggle) but there were also times where I just wanted to scream at the characters. I liked the dual timeline, but did feel that the jump between now & then was a little unclear at times. I enjoyed the wedding scenes & felt that it was a nice ending for Addie & Dylan.

This is a delightful story of love and second chances that reads a bit as a comedy of errors! I’ve always been of fan of this type of movies and feel it could definitely do well as a TV interpretation.

I love have loved both of Beth O’Leary’s books and was excited to read her newest offering. It’s a proper journey both physically and emotionally, I enjoyed the way each character’s story unfolded and the way we viewed each relationship shifting as the we read on. The twists about halfway through the story added extra intrigue and the ending was perfect. The characters in this are slightly younger than me, which I don’t usually have an issue with, but I did find at times this stopped me from connecting so well with them. It didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the book and I think I’ll be getting the audio copy when it is released so I can enjoy it again.
Thanks so much to the author, publishers and netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

A lighthearted, easy read. The characters were all very charming/quirky which helped offset the awkward angst between the exes, and I really enjoyed the dynamics between the characters. Unfortunately though, I really wasn’t entirely blown away by this story, which was disappointing because I absolutely devoured Beth O’Leary’s previous books. But I do think it would be hard to dislike this book. The Road Trip is a sweet, funny, emotional story which I really recommend (but make sure you read The Flatshare too)!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When a book is heavily focused on two characters and the relationship between them, it's really important to connect with said characters. If that doesn't happen, the book will feel like a chore to get through, and unfortunately that was the case for me here.

The book switches between two timelines. We get to see how Addie and Dylan meet in the past and how their relationship starts and ends. In the present, we follow them, and three others as they take an unplanned road trip together to get to their mutual friend's wedding. I wasn't particularly interested or invested in either timeline.

In the present, nothing really happens. There's a lot of pining from Addie and Dylan, but they don't do anything interesting. Fortunately, these segments were saved by Deb being awesome, Marcus being interesting, and Rodney being a cute marshmallow. Unfortunately, due to the last 30% of the book, most of these positive moments no longer seem so fun in hindsight. I do think I would've been much more invested in this book if the focus had been on Marcus instead. He was one of the more fascinating characters, and I would've loved to do a deep dive into his psyche instead of spending all this time in Addie and Dylan's heads.

As for the past timeline, I found the start of Addie and Dylan's relationship more reminiscent of something I'd expect from a young adult book. It was very instalove--they're both ready to say their "I love you"s after only knowing each other for a week. In fact, after this realization come other ones, like how Addie hasn't even heard Dylan's poetry yet, and how they don't know anything about each other's families. It makes the entire setup fairly unbelievable, and this continues even as the relationship progresses. The breakup was maybe the part that felt most real, even though it took 70% to get to the crux of the matter. And even before that point, but especially after that, I just couldn't root for them to get back together. I didn't feel like they had chemistry, their relationship felt immature, and I was annoyed at all the miscommunication. The main issue of the story is apparently that Dylan isn't a mind reader, but that Addie and Marcus both wanted him to "just know" things. It was also frustrating that Dylan felt much more developed as a character than Addie. Even though we don't see it on page, we're told that he has grown as a person. There is a lot of focus on his family issues, his friends, and of course his relationship with Marcus. Meanwhile, even though Dylan moves to Addie's hometown, we never see much of her life or friends. We also don't get any indications that she had grown since they broke up, other than Dylan saying she seems different.

Honestly, for most of this, I thought a romance between Addie and Marcus would be far more believable.

As with The Flatshare, the author does bring up some serious issues like sexual assault, alcoholism and stalking. However, none of these are tackled with any depth. The effects are glossed over and in some cases, even made humorous.

Oh my giddy aunt Beth O'Leary has done it again! I am torn between crying, laughing and inanely grinning after gobbling this book down in one sitting. I have no self restraint.
Every book she releases is joyous and this is no exception. Her latest tells the tale of a ramshackle group of guests travelling in a mini to a friend's wedding in Scotland and all I will say is that eventful does not begin to cover it. For a start Addie and Dylan used to be in a relationship until Dylan's best friend Marcus (also in the car) got involved. Pop in Addie's brilliant half-sister and new mum Deb (breast pumps abounds) and the hilarious Flapjack King Rodney and it is quite a ride.
Told from both Addie and Dylan's perspectives in the present day and flashbacks to when they first met and fell in love, this novel really packs a punch. I feel rather bereft having finished it but I am certain I'll be buying a copy for everyone I know as soon as it is released.
Thank you so much for an APC Netgalley.

The road trip to a friend's wedding starts badly for Dylan and his friend Marcus. If all the cars to crash into it happens to be Dylan's ex Addie and her sister Deb (plus Rodney the random stranger they're giving a lift to) with the car wrecked they all pile into Deb's mini and attempt to get back on track to the wedding. However there's a lot of baggage for such a tiny car and it's not the suitcase kind. Interspersed with flashbacks of Addie and Dylan's relationship and how it all went wrong can they start again, can they be civil,can they even talk to each other?

I really enjoyed this, it's nothing unexpected and the plot is rom-com material, but it's well done. I wanted to know what had happened to get these characters to this point and where would they go if they ever actually make it to the wedding. Also who the hell is Rodney?

We follow the story of Dylan and Addie. On their way to their friend's wedding, Dylan crashes into Addie's car, and after a year and a half of not seeing each other, they have to drive to the wedding together, along with three other people in the car, her sister, his best friend and a random stranger who just happens to be going to the same wedding. In order to fully understand the story, we follow what happened when they met, and what happens currently.

Two different timeliness - ''Then'' and ''Now''. Two different perspectives - Dylan and Addie. I always enjoy multiple timelines and POVs so this was a bonus for me.

The story kicks off immediately. We're in the middle of the action, and we immediately get to know the characters. But then, everything slows down, as if the story is literally dragging its feet the entire first half.

The second half of the book picks up the pace, with a bizarrely shocking and funny twist regarding one of the side characters, but then also some revelations about the past that I didn't expect.

All of our characters struggle with something, from depression, sexual assault, traumas from childhood... Add a lack of communication to this and sprinkle it off with some rash, impulsive decisions made by people who don't know better and you get chaos, breakups, unresolved issues.

Addie was constantly insecure about always being just average, forgettable. She also expects Dylan to read her mind, instead of telling him what she feels or thinks, and that was annoying. Dylan on the other hand felt like a hopeless romantic, with a clingy friend who he never said no to, and he was basically the doormat.

The side characters were great. I think I actually liked them more than our MCs. But I really had an issue with the whole Marcus thing and felt like it wasn't resolved properly, and just brushed off too quickly.

I know this is probably a case of ''instalove'', but I just couldn't get on board with how quickly they hooked up, and why it happened and how it progressed so fast.

I feel like this was supposed to be a story about forgiveness, second chances, and growing as people, learning from mistakes. But it felt sort of rushed and unnatural.

To be quite honest, I'd totally be eager to pick up more of O'Leary's books. Just because this particular one wasn't a five-star read, doesn't mean I don't want to read something else from the same author, that could potentially be one of my all-time favourites. In tone with the theme of this book, I am all for second chances. And if that sounded cringy or corny, I'll let myself out, thank you :D

The Road Trip by Beth O Leary
I give this book 4 stars

Addie & her sister are about to embark on an epic road trip.
But, not long after setting off, a car slams into the back of theirs. The driver is none other than Addie's ex, Dylan & his best mate Marcus.
Their car is soon jam-packed full of people, luggage and secrets,with a 400 mile journey ahead of them to a wedding.
Will they make it to the wedding on time? And, more importantly, is this really the end of the road for Addie and Dylan?

I’m a huge fan of this author and was delighted to read her new book. This is a book about a 2nd chance at love.Told between Addie and Dylan’s perspectives of what happened then and now.The authors writing style had me connecting with the characters and the story flowed as easily as l turned the pages .lt explores complex relationships and emotions with mishaps and fun along the way.A totally entertaining and touching must read of 2021.
With thanks to Netgalley,Beth O Leary and Quercus Books for my chance to read and review this book.

An enjoyable read, however I felt the story didn’t really get going until about half way through.

The narrative switches between two timelines of now and then, as well as between two perspectives of Addie and Dylan. This worked well in terms of progressing the story, however I found it slightly confusing when switching between Addie and Dylan perspectives to portray the same scene.

I really loved Beth O'Leary's The Flatshare and The Switch. Unfortunately, I didn't love this one quite as much as I hoped. I still enjoyed it, but didn't get any belly swoons. The vibe between the two main protagonists and the character Marcus really irked me and had me feeling uncomfortable the whole book. Also, trigger warning for sexual assault.

I think it’s weird I’ve read two other Beth O’Leary books and still haven’t read the Flatshare, but I’ll eventually get to it, every book I read from her makes me want to read her first book, honestly makes me want to read everything she puts out.
I like her writing style a lot and this is a second chance romance book, which I don’t usually care for a lot but I did care about this one! Also can I just say a Mini Cooper is just goals. All honesty, this entire book is goals! Although I don’t often think I’d get on a roadtrip with my ex... but I do appreciate what it did and how romance can be rekindled!
Thank you for the opportunity to get to read this book and loving it deeply. I highly recommend