The Road Trip Book Review

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The Road Trip is the third book from the fantastic writer Beth O’Leary – I enjoyed The Switch and I adored The Flatshare so I was very much looking forward to this too! This book is dual narrated switching between our two protagonists Dylan and Addie. Both on a road trip to their friend’s wedding, calamity ensues when Dylan’s ride is totalled so he has to join Addie and her sister for the hours and hours to get to the wedding! With a complicated history and an awkward car journey ahead, it’s time the two of them addressed what happened, and maybe try and fix it.

Reading this made me realise how much I love second chance romance because while they’re not that realistic (no romance reads truly are), I like how they emphasise that romance isn’t a smooth road with no hitches. Often things go wrong, sometimes for the better and sometimes people are presented with a second chance to get it right – and that’s kind of beautiful!

Addie and Dylan were a complicated couple but again I love the imperfection of their relationship. That coupled with the complex side characters such as Addie’s sister Deb made this book feel three dimensional and made sure I was emotionally invested. Addie and Deb’s relationship was very heart-warming and as a single mother, Deb also presented another relatable aspect to the book as well.

The journey this plot takes is actually quite unexpected – it starts off fairly light-hearted but takes the reader to quite dark places and by the end it wasn’t what I had been anticipating at all when I’d started. It very much reminds the reader that everyone is dealing with things we have no idea about and not to assume anything. With emphasis on looking after your mental health and not enduring toxic relationships, I loved the messages O’Leary was trying to send.

While I think the ending was a little rushed, it didn’t take away from the book’s impact and I think this is a brilliant and unexpected romance read. With an emotional plot, complex characters, and even more depth than The Flatshare and The Switch, this is potentially my favourite of O’Leary’s yet.