This review is written with thanks to Quercus for my  copy of The Road Trip.

Blurb:

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?

Review:

I’ve read a few of Beth O’Leary’s books before and always enjoyed them, and The Road Trip is no different. I don’t read romance stories very often, and I love how Beth O’Leary manages to find a twist on the genre that makes her stories fun and intriguing. 

The premise of The Road Trip is wonderful and I’m simply in awe of the number of people Beth O’Leary can fit in a small car. There’s clearly tension between the occupants and this provides a lot of hairy moments, but also some funny ones too. The protagonists are Addie and Dylan, and we hear most of the story from their point of view, as the timeline switches between then and now and we gradually learn how their relationship ended. I immediately warmed to the central characters, but they are extremely well supported by Debs, Marcus, Rodney and Cherry. I loved these characters too and I love the way the author has developed them so that we are also able to learn about their backgrounds, relationships and what makes them tick. She is brilliant at observing how people interact and how relationships works and this makes the characters feel incredibly authentic.

Among all the fun (and there is lots of it) Beth O’Leary touches on some serious issues and this gives both the characters and the story extra depth. I really appreciated the way she explores these issues, allowing them to unravel slowly for maximum impact on the reader.

I am looking forward to reading more by this author!

The Road Trip is available from Amazon.