Two years after their relationship ended, wealthy Oxford student Dylan and working-class Addie meet again on the road to a wedding in rural Scotland. Forced to share a small car among other guests, Dylan and Addie must confront the choices they made that tore them apart—and ask themselves whether that final decision was the right one after all.
O’Leary is a brilliant social observer and a fearless, diabolical plotter. She arranges nuances of character, class, personality and situation for maximum chaos ... It’s an intense romance with a wildly wicked sense of humor ... Providing an intimate view of all the emotional turmoil that entails, this brutal but addictive second-chance romance is the relational equivalent of a 365-degree tour of a five-car pileup ... O’Leary’s humor, insight and occasionally bonkers plot twists command attention all the way through, and the ending is miraculously, gloriously redeeming. The Road Trip is a romantic rollercoaster that you won’t be able to turn away from till it’s done.
... a second chance romance laced with humor, miscommunication, and a carful of quirky Brits with some seriously bad luck. Beth O’Leary laid on the charm and the feels in this standalone novel ... There were a lot of layers to the story, with each character–not just Addie and Dylan–all making mistakes and dealing with their own situation. I’ll admit to wanting to yell at, well, just about each and every one of them at some point. (lol) But overall I laughed and shook my head more at their antics than anything. Addie’s sister Deb was an absolute hoot ... If you’re looking for the perfect beach read, look no further than Beth O’Leary’s latest madcap adventure.
Beth O'Leary's The Road Trip follows the classic rom-com trope of throwing together two people who have a past relationship, a horrible breakup and tons of sexual tension and then watching them suffer. It's quite delightful ... the narrative bounces between those months in France and the present, a structure that might be more complicated than this frothy story deserves. But hey, it's almost June, the world is starting to open up again, and it's fun to dream of France and Scotland and long driving vacations. Is the plot unlikely? Highly. Does the book, at nearly 500 pages, go on too long? Certainly. Is it amusing and perfect for summer? Quite definitely yes.
