The Road Trip tells the love story between Addie, a young aspiring teacher, and Dylan, a rich guy who dreams of being a poet and seems talented enough to pull it off. After meeting at a friend's Summer house, Addie and Dylan date for a while, and then, for some reason unknown at first, split up. The story picks a few years after when they meet again on the way to a wedding.

The title, The Road Trip, and the book's summary sell it as a road trip experience, and if you've read as much fanfiction as me, generally these are funny, quirky, and light. Maybe fanfiction gave me wrong expectations because this book is anything but that. The story follows Addie and Dylan's POVs, and it's split between the present, where they are on a road trip, and the past, from the moment they meet until they split up. With so much stuff happening, the road trip isn't the focus. It's only there to bring some humor into the story, but it isn't enough to lift the weight that lingers with these character's drama.

I won't go into many details on how heavy this story is, you can check the trigger warnings to have an idea. But all throughout the story, you'll be wondering, "Okay, what happened to Addie and Dylan?". And it isn't that hard to figure out, although there are some twists.

Although being a side character, Marcus is the most interesting of them all, along with Grace, who I wish was explored more. He's heavily flawed, has severe abandonment issues to the point of sabotaging Dylan's relationships, but that mess is intriguing. Which is something that lacks with the main protagonists.

🔹 Dylan comes off as a privileged guy with daddy issues and first-world problems. But he's a true artist at heart, and there's evident growth into independence.

🔸 Addie, on the other hand, isn't well developed. I can't remember a single trait of hers apart from being a teacher and having every single guy lust over her. She's not boring or annoying, but she feels empty and as if she's only there to develop the male's stories. Deb, her sister, is fantastic and life goals.

This is a second-chance romance, which is one of my favorite tropes. That's also what saves this story because if it was about their initial love story, it's way too insta-lovey for me. Addie and Dylan meet under the Provence sun, and there's an immediate raw attraction that jumps into "I love you" too quickly. So, of course, they're doomed. They have a lot of communication issues, and a shadow called Marcus hanging over their relationship.

Another highlight is Dylan and Marcus' deeply toxic friendship. They're childhood friends, and each other's support, for good or bad. However, it evolves into being way too co-dependent and hurting others by trying to stick together. At the beginning of the story, you know they had a fallout, and as the story goes on, you find the reasons why and how both men change over time.

The Road Trip did not meet my expectations since it was a different story from what I expected. It is more dark, raw, with messy and flawed characters, and a second chance romance that may end up being a nice beach read.

Despite hearing all the mixed reviews about this one, I was still excited to finally get around to reading it. I loved The Flat Share and The Switch and obviously because of this, I still had high hopes that maybe I'd be in the camp that thought this one would be as good. Sadly it wasn't. I'm not saying I hated it though. It was just okay. There were some funny parts during the road trip and while the character's were each unique, I didn't really love any of them. I'm still looking forward to seeing what O'Leary will come out with next.

Thanks to the folks at both Edelweiss and Netgalley and the publisher for my complimentary copies of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I have read, liked and happily reviewed the author's previous two books. The writing continues to be great even in this story, but the story itself was not appealing to me.
I would recommend reading this for the author's ability to draw characters and include conversations in the plot without making it seem stilted. The lead protagonists were once together, we are told, when they crash into each other (literally). They then make a very cramped road trip which is beset with problems. This half of the book was good, and if it was the only section, I would have rated it higher. In a dual timeline perspective, we are shown the past of how the original relationship progressed. The narrative swings between the past and the present and between the two voices, making for four different frames of reference, and this is where I was a little lost. Usually, I love a multi-pronged approach to the unravelling of secrets, just not like this.
An equal number of the supporting cast is lovable, and the other detestable, making for a vivid set of behaviours throughout the crazy road trip. I shuddered to imagine all those roadblocks that the people faced while on the road. There are some challenging friendship/family toxic dynamics discussed here which play a significant role in the events.
I will definitely pick up another book by the author, despite my reaction to this particular one, since I found the writing itself smooth and a quick read.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

Wow this book was very different to what I was expecting. I expected a funny road trip story with an added comedic ending when these characters eventually arrived at a wedding that would probably have things going wrong too but this book had many many more layers than that.

In terms of structure this book played right into my favourite things because it was a dual narrative at the same time as having multiple timelines. You have to have a level of concentration to make sure you don't miss the changes in voice and in time though be warned. We follow Addie and Dylan when they first met and in the here and now when they're squished into a mini together and they don't want to be. Slowly everything is revealed and we get to know them and their situation. I did love reading about how they met and it really had me intrigued as to why they had not been speaking to one another prior to this surprise joint road trip.

I liked Dylan and Addie as characters but I did feel at times like I was just getting to know one of them and we would switch narrative and I would almost forget what I had just learned and have to be reminded of it again once we got back to their character either in the past or the present. They also go through some issues in their lives related to a lot of key themes surrounding mental health and toxic work environments that I felt like were just touched upon and could have been developed just a little bit more.

This book offers up some great side characters in the form of Deb and Marcus and again both of these characters face issues that a lot of readers might also be facing. I felt like on occasion their stories were somewhat more developed thinking of them as just side characters than our main characters but I did like their addition to the cast and I loved how much spirit and energy both of them brought to the mini as well as the past storyline. I feel like this writer has a style that is reminiscent of a screenwriter in that all of the books I have read by this author have felt like they're playing out as a movie in front of me and this one is no exception. The characters feel true to life and the setting is so vivid you feel as if you are walking/driving it along with the main players in the book.

I did enjoy this novel although it did have a couple of moments of leaving me wanting more. I will definitely continue to pursue this author's writing and I look forward to what she releases next.

Two sisters (Addie and Deb), Addie's ex Dylan, Dylan's toxic best friend (Marcus), and a random guy (Rodney) have to cram into a tiny mini for a long long trip to Scotland to attend a mutual friend's wedding. And unsurprisingly, the ride won't be smooth at all.

The story is told in dual timelines, switching between the road trip and the history of Addie and Dylan's relationship. From their first meeting on vacation at a French villa, we see them attempt to grow their relationship despite Marcus interfering every step of the way. In the present timeline, the mishaps keep making it increasingly unlikely everyone will arrive on time for the wedding, and they all discover that other people's lives can be quite deceiving.

I know not to expect a straightforward romance from Beth O'Leary, but this second-chance story felt a lot darker than her previous ones with regards to Addie and Dylan's past relationship. On top of that, most of the characters in this book come across as entitled, immature and dysfunctional, and it was very hard to feel any sympathy for them at all.

Perhaps the one thing that prevented me from liking this book more was its lack of charm and feel-good vibes. O'Leary's previous two books had plenty of both while also dealing with darker topics, but it seems like she forgot to add them to this story. There were fleeting moments of humour and cuteness, but they were so few and far between that it was like they weren't there at all.

Despite all of the ridiculous things that happen on the way to the wedding, the most unbelievable element is Addie and Dylan getting back together at the end. Their problems from the then-timeline are so huge, it is unrealistic to have them end the story seemingly on the way up the aisle themselves.

I'm a huge lover of Beth O'Leary, I've read a number of her books and this one did not disappoint. I was hooked from start to finished and found myself never wanting to put the book down. I was laughing and grinning my whole way through the book.

From start to finish I found myself trying to read faster because I couldn't wait to see what happens next. Beth always keeps the positivity throughout her books, no matter the subject. I love road trips and do go them quite often so this book was right up my alley. I also loved the different point of views throughout the book, a true, romantic love story while in Scotland.

Thanks to Netgalley and Beth for allowing me this amazing ARC!

The Road Trip is the third book I have read by Beth O'Leary and I did enjoy the story, some parts made me laugh out loud, and the story stayed with me for a couple of days, however, it wasn't quite the high of The Flat Share or The Switch, and I just didn't feel that connection with the characters, hence the 3.5 /4 star rating.

The book is a romantic comedy, centred on the love story of Addie and Dylan, from when they fall in love in France one summer, to the end of their road trip at a friends wedding in Scotland. The story is told through two timelines (then and now), and from both Addie and Dylan's viewpoints. The past is divulged little by little throughout the road trip.

The trip itself is full of mishaps and craziness, with some laugh out loud moments. What is meant to be a trip between Addie and her sister Deb, turns into an often fraught one between them, Rodney- a random stranger, Addie's ex Dylan, who she hasn't seen for two years, and his best friend Marcus. Over the course of the road trip the relationship between the characters and is explored, so we come to understand what actually happened between them.

The characters are interesting, however I didn't fall in love with them, the two main characters are my favourites, however I wasn't keen on Addie's sister Deb, Marcus was a pretty toxic character (who tried to redeem himself too quickly by the end), and Rodney....no spoilers...but he is definitely odd!
Though the characters had potential there was nothing that had me really rooting for them or wanting there to be a happy ending for everyone unfortunately.

The story does touch on some very topical subjects, such as homophobic parents, toxic friendships, anxiety and depression, which makes it a bit of a darker romantic comedy and I feel in this way it was a little bit different, which is a good thing.

People will definitely enjoy the book. It just wasn't one of my favourites.

Thank you to Netgalley and Quercus Books for a copy in return for an honest review.

✍🏼 Book Quote:
“I’m not... I’m not the person I was,” I tell him, my voice thick with tears. “I’m so different now.”
~ The Road Trip

Oh no! Here goes my unpopular opinion.. 😞

Let me start by saying I have LOVED Beth O’Leary’s books The Flatshare and The Switch! Adored them! Both being 5 star reads for me. I was REALLY looking forward to reading The Road Trip!

Unfortunately this just didn’t work for me... we follow Addie and Dylan as we alternate between now and then. ‘Now’ being them on a road trip to a wedding, forced into the same car after an accident. They have not spoken for over a year since the incident that ended their relationship. ‘Then’ being the start of their relationship, when Addie is working as a villa manager for the summer and Dylan was the person renting the place. It sounds so good! But it just wasn’t it for me...😞

Their relationship felt very insta-love and I didn’t really feel the connection. Besides that, Addie’s character felt quite flat, there just wasn’t much to her personality. Dylan was very indecisive which I found so frustrating! I just wanted him to stand up for himself and stop letting his father and Marcus walk all over him. Marcus was an absolute tool who’s behaviour was really toxic. He did unforgivable things and yet he just got away with it.. then we have Rodney, who was the weirdest part of the whole thing.. like what? Without spoiling anything, I just didn’t understand!

I really wanted to love this.. but the further I got, the more I disliked it. I know so many people are loving this one so please don’t let my review deter you from picking it up! I just didn’t connect with the characters which for me means I didn’t care much for their story in the end.

Despite this one not being my favourite, I will definitely pick up whatever Beth releases next having loved her previous books ☺️

🎧 Song vibe:
Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper

I really wanted to love this book. I adored The Flatshare, so I was hoping for something just as charming. I was disappointed.

There were multiple reasons why The Road Trip didn’t work for me, and the rest of this review is going to be spoilery, so proceed with caution.

Let’s start with there characters.

Addie: She was basically a blank slate without any prominent character traits. I liked her fine, she was simply boring.

Deb (Addie’s sister): Deb’s only purpose was to make pregnancy jokes, which were annoying instead of funny. There’s also some subplot about her wanting to get pregnant from some guy by “forgetting“ contraceptives, which I found completely messed up.

Marcus: I hated him. He was Dylan‘s best friend and a complete asshole. He stalks Addie and had some serious issues. They shouldn’t have let him back into the friend group, he deserved no redemption. His alleged love for Addie was not a valid excuse for his actions.

Rodney: At first it seemed like his purpose was comic relief, but he later turns out to be Cherry’s stalker. His behaviour is ridiculed and played as a joke. Haha, so funny. Not.

Moving on to the plot, writing style, and other things I disliked about the book.
About half of the story plays in the past, so there were a lot of flashbacks that I didn’t really love.
The humour wasn’t for me. It felt childish and unfunny.
The friendship between Marcus and Dylan was completely toxic and Marcus did not deserve a second chance.
There’s a sexual assault scene and I hated how it was dealt with in the book.

I think that’s it for this review.

Overall this book was an utter disappointment to me and I personally wouldn’t recommend it.

Addie and her sister, Deb, are on their way to Scotland for their best friend’s wedding. They’ve got it all planned, with music and snacks and lots of laughter. Oh yes, and Rodney in the backseat, a last – minute addition to the journey. But then the accident happens, when another car crashed with their Mini, going completely out of order. It wouldn’t be so bad but the worst thing is that the girls know the passengers of this other car: it’s Addie’s ex – boyfriend Dylan and his best friend Marcus, also going to the wedding. A duet she’d rather never set her eyes on. Against their better judgement, Addie and Deb agree to let Dylan and Marcus travel with them – it’s now 5 people and luggage in a Mini Cooper, plus tons of bad memories and resentment. Will they make it to their friend's wedding in time? Will Addie and Dylan confront their past mistakes? What can possibly go wrong?!

Having read and loved Beth O’Leary’s two previous books, I couldn’t wait to get my mittens on „The Road Trip“ – just imagine the high expectations and joy!!! However, and I’m saying it with great sadness, this book didn’t live up to the previous ones and to my expectations. Maybe I hoped too much, I don’t know, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I though I would. First of all, I really had a feeling that there is nothing happening. There were some funny moments in the „Now“ parts, well, they were truly hilarious and made me smile but other than that it was as if the book was not moving forward. There was no action. No events. Nothing happening. Going round in circles. A lot of pining from Addie and Dylan but that’s all. Then Dylan… I’m sorry, but Dylan must have been the weakest male character ever. No backbone, no own opinions, feeling like a wet blanket and I truly couldn’t see the attraction between him and Addie. I was waiting for he sparkles to jump off the pages, because Beth O’Leary can write like this, but this time there was not one small flame between those two, which, as a result, made the whole romance aspect too flat for me to enjoy it. I wanted Addie to be happy but I wasn’t sure if it’s really Dylan she should be happy with, you know? There was much more life in her than in Dylan and somehow they simply weren’t a good match for each other. His indecisiveness and the fact that he was always choosing Marcus were two factors that really didn’t change throughout the story. He seemed not to have a personality, to be honest, was so easy to be manipulated by actually everyone and it started to feel frustrating.
It was Deb who has saved the „now“, with simply being awesome, funny and straight – talking.

The whole thing between Addie and Marcus, Dylan’s best friend, was tiring and it took too long for the explanation why Marcus was like this towards Addie. I must admit, I was suspecting it’s going to be THE reason, although I was hoping for something stronger and not so obvious. Quickly, very quickly, he stopped being funny and turned into a fierce and absolutely unlikeable character. I don’t think there was more to him then met the eye and I don’t think he was under – developed. I simply think he was just like he was written, nothing more, nothing less, and there is no need for diving deep into his psyche because we wouldn’t find anything there - no explanation why he was like this, what has driven him, what made him tick like this. I honestly thought that it would be better if Addie ended with Marcus at some point.

I think the idea is great but the book lacks in exectution and I missed the charm and feel – good factor that Beth’s previous books were oozing with. There was too much toxic relationships in this story and the whole atmosphere felt too sad. Altogether, „The Road Trip“ is a story about second chances that also touches, in a different way, and thanks to the author for this, upon mental illness and depression, showing how it can affect whole groups of people. It was not what I was hoping for, but still it was an enjoyable read that had it moments and I’m sure it will appeal to many readers. I only hope it was a „slip“ from Beth O’Leary and that her next book is going to be on „The Switch“ and „The Flasthare“ level again – she’s still on my auto – buy authors’ list!

I read Beth O’Leary’s novels in lockdown last year and loved them both. When this came up for request on NetGalley I was quick to apply. I waited weeks and weeks to be approved and it finally came through.

Addie and her sister are about to embark on an epic road trip to a friend's wedding but, not long after setting off, a car slams into 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?

In her latest offering, author Beth O'Leary tells another unusual story. Being cramped in such close quarters for an extended period of time can bring out the worst in anyone. Multiply that by five and you know you have a hopelessly comical setting.

As the travellers progress on their trip, the story alternates between Then and Now. If that seems a tad complicated, there are some quirky characters for balance - Addie's sister Deb, Dylan's friend Marcus, and Rodney the tag-along. Their crazy journey makes a fascinating narrative, so much so you almost forget about the reason for their travel.

Wildly amusing that you'll split your sides from laughing hard but also hear the cracks in your heart from the unpredictably tender love story.

This ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Quercus Books UK.

I absolutely love Beth O’Leary's writing and will forever read all of her books but this wasn’t as good as The Flat Share for me.

Maybe it’s because I’m not loving this genre at the mo but I could never give any of Beth’s books a bad review as they’re such happy & feel good books.

Although there was some challenging chapters in this book, I loved Addie & Dylan! Hated Marcus & definitely want to go out for a drink with Deb! I even liked Rodney! 😂

If you want something easy to read then this is one for you!

Having read and enjoyed Beth's previous books I was really looking forward to reading her new one and I wasn't disappointed. It was a very fun and heart-warming read packed full of emotion. It had some great characters too.
I would definitely recommend reading this book. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

I would firstly like to thank Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Funny, sweet, and brilliantly told, The Road Trip is another fantastic read from this author!
Filled with loveable characters that I'm definitely not going to forget in a hurry, this book delivered a heartfelt charming story about first loves, break-ups, moving on, growing up, and jealousy - all in one moving car!!
Addie and Dylan's relationship is one I rooted for from the very beginning, and it is explored wonderfully through 'now' and 'then' chapters. Add in Addie's straight-talking sister, Deb; Dylan's somewhat rude friend, Marcus; and Rodney, who is just tagging along for the ride - and we have a road trip to remember!
'The Flatshare' is still my favourite read from Beth O'Leary, but I throughly enjoyed this one! Uplifting, joyful and incredibly heartwarming, I highly recommend this book! Can't wait for O'Leary's next!

This is a fun filled, joyful read, although I’m not sure I’d be as brave as Addie and her sister Deb in sharing such a trip with an ex boyfriend but that’s exactly what they do after the literally bump into each other en-route to a wedding in Scotland.

As I’d expect from O’Leary this certainly wasn’t going to be your usual road trip but one with plenty of mishaps along the way.

Highly recommend this to anyone looking for a fun, heart-warming read.

Many thanks to Quercus Books and NetGalley for the review copy.

It was an intriguing start to a book with a man rear-ending his ex at the start of a road trip for a mutual friend's wedding. I was immediately interested in finding out more about their relationship and why it ended.

This book had hardcore summer vibes, which made me happy as the outside world isn't providing much summer at the moment.

The flashback stuff in France to when they first met was the book's real strength. Who doesn't love a love/lust at first sight book?

The characters were not as good as the usual Beth O'Leary cast, in that I couldn't fully understand the motivation for some of the richer characters, but everything else was great. I also felt like the friendship between the two main guy characters wasn't as fully explored as I would've liked.

The relationship made me cry a tiny bit.

The Road Trip by Beth O'Leary is a feel good story about past romance and new chances.

I found this book really confusing, especially at the beginning as so many characters are introduced at the same time that it was hard to follow the story.
I also found that going from present to past confused me so much that at times I really couldn't tell what was going on.
Main characters are likable and there were some funny moments throughout the book while they encountered many mishaps.
I really disliked other character who really took over quite a lot of the story which at times was pretty slow paced and I tended to lose interest.
I liked very much other books by this author by can't say that this one is my favorite.

Brilliant book. I couldn't put it down!
Dylan and Addie find themselves on a road trip to a wedding in Scotland.  They used to be a couple but not any more.
I loved the strange sequence of events that caused the story to happen in the first place and the nightmare journey that ensues. I also love the flashbacks and other characters with important roles in the story.
Great mix of a great storyline and comedy moments.
Highly recommend this book

IMAGINE being on a road trip with your ex, in an overstuffed car with the most mismatched bunch of people?

❣Beth O'Leary chips away at the pieces of our heart once again with an adorable romance, packed with witty dialogues and characters with a penchant for drama, in her latest ✨The Road-trip✨.

❣A slow ride, with history seeping through every action and each friendly (haha, not really!) banter. Beth gives us a predictable and seemingly easy romance, in her classic easy-going manner- seeking out the vulnerable bits of your soul and delivering a story that will linger long after the book is over.

❣ My best guess would be that it's the characters who keep us hooked. ADDIE- slightly freakish, with sarcasm up her sleeve... DYLAN- with his charming smile, guilt over the past, and basically the mother-hen in this car full of weirdos... MARCUS & DEBS- obnoxious, spontaneous, and outgoing, also softies at heart.

❣BETH will be a FAVOURITE, for a long long time.

My favourite Beth O'Leary book so far. I've really enjoyed Beth's previous books but this one really did tick all my boxes.
I really enjoyed the whole forced proximity of the road trip with a mixture of past and present storylines. Lots of complex characters some of which you don't want to like but by the end you can't help but feel for them. I really felt this story. I didn't see the twist coming and I love to be surprised in a story. I listened to the audio along side the book and the narrators did an amazing job with the characterisation. Cant wait to see what Beth brings us next she is definate becoming an auto buy author for me.