The Road Trip
an hilarious and heartfelt second chance romance from the author of The Flatshare
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4.0 • 291 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
The instant UK Sunday Times Bestseller
'Beth O'Leary is that rare, one-in-a-million talent who can make you laugh, swoon, cry and ache all in the same book' Emily Henry
'Read this! Absolutely loved it!' Christina Lauren
Addie and her sister are on an epic road trip to a friend's wedding in rural Scotland. But, not long after setting off, a car slams into theirs. The driver is none other than Addie's ex, who she hasn't seen since their traumatic break-up two years earlier.
Dylan and his best mate are heading to the wedding too, so Addie has no choice but to offer them a ride. And with four hundred miles to go, they can't avoid confronting the very messy history of their relationship . . .
Will they make it to the wedding? And, more importantly, is this really the end of the road for Addie and Dylan?
'Funny, relatable and tender' Red
'This book is perfect' Rosie Walsh
'Beth is quite rightly earning her title as "Queen of Uplit"' Prima
'If Richard Curtis and Nora Ephron made a story baby' Zoella Book Club
'So romantic and moving and brilliantly told' Louise O'Neill
'O'Leary does it again! The Road Trip is another sure-fire hit, filled with characters you won't forget' Mike Gayle
'An achingly tender love story' Richard Roper
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
From the author: “The idea for this novel—two people crashing their cars and having to drive somewhere together—had been brewing in the back of my my mind for years. But it was missing a piece—it was almost like it was half an idea. Then I hit on something: ‘If they’re exes then they’ve already had one love story and this could be two love stories about one couple.’ I found that really interesting. I loved the idea of interweaving a story where you know that the love is going to end and a story where you’re sort of starting at the end, hoping that they will get back together. That really excited me. The idea of switching between timelines was really new for me and it taught me a huge amount. The challenging part was changing their voice to signal that they had evolved, and yet I never wanted it to feel like it was someone else. That took a lot of finessing. I think I just sort of let go with this book. It’s my hottest, most atmospheric and most moody book, and I think I was allowing myself to play a bit and reach for different things.”
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A pair of exes travel from England to Scotland for a friend's wedding in O'Leary's delightful third contemporary romance (after The Switch). Sisters Addie and Deb Gilbert are heading north in a Mini that's seen better days when they're rear-ended by Addie's ex, Dylan Abbott, and his obnoxious friend, Marcus, who always did his worst to sabotage their relationship. Marcus's Mercedes is totaled, so the sisters feel obliged to squeeze the guys into the backseat with Rodney, a friend of the bride's who needed a lift. From there, the trip becomes an extended nightmare of hilarious breakdowns, rescues, and pit stops peppered with snide comments, hurt feelings, and rivalries old and new. The present narrative is interspersed with flashbacks to Addie and Dylan's relationship and devastating breakup. Over the course of their misadventures it becomes clear that these two still love each other—but have they matured enough to make it work? As with her surprise hit, The Flatshare, O'Leary expertly balances humor and heart while introducing a zany cast of 20-somethings. Though some readers may balk at the grammar (" ‘Sorry,' me and Rodney say simultaneously"), the breezy, conversational tone fits the novel's mood. Readers won't want this crazy road trip to end.
Customer Reviews
An emotional roller coaster
Loved this book so much! The highs the lows and the in between. An easy read that I could not put down. Another fabulous book by Beth O'Leary with loveable characters.
Delightful read
This was my first read by Beth O’Leary, but I had heard such good things, I signed up to review this book! I’m so glad I did and that I was able to get an early copy! This book was so surprising! It didn’t go how I thought it would, and was even better! I loved this second chance close proximity romance! Dylan was nothing like what I expected (in a good way) and Addie was just wonderful. I loved how things progressed and how you figured out things along the way. It had flashbacks which I love, that gave context to the current situation. It kept you in suspense and wondering! It had me full on laughing at some points, but was also full of emotion. There was a couple of giant bombs and twists! I really really enjoyed this book and all the characters in it! 4.5 stars from me! I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
Too long by half
Author
English. Studied English at university then worked in children’s publishing. Wrote her first novel, The Flatshare (2019), on her train commute from the Home County to London for work. At the risk of having my masculinity derided (that ship sailed long ago), I quite liked it, although I passed on her second The Switch (2020). This is number 3 for Ms O’L.
In brief
Addie and her bestie (female) plus a hanger-on (male, gay) head off in a Mini before dawn (playlist check, drinks check, snacks check) bound for a friend's wedding in the north of Scotland. They’re probably too young to have seen Four Weddings and a Funeral, but even if they had, they’d be anticipating trouble ahead, not getting rear ended at 4:30am by a Mercedes containing our gal’s ex (ugly breakup two years earlier) and his mate, also bound for the Highland nuptials. The Merc has to be towed, but the Mini sustains barely a scratch. All five of them cram into it for the trip. What could possibly go wrong?
Writing
Third person narrative from POV of Addie. Ms O’L’s prose is easy to read, which fails to compensate for the snoozefest plot. The page count could have been halved without detriment to the story IMHO.
Bottom line
Grumpy old white male readers dabble in chick lit at their peril.