Originally published: 29 April 2021

Author: Beth O’Leary

Published by: Quercus Books

Genre: Up-Lit

Length: 416 pages

Reading dates: 5-9 May 2021

Addie and her sister are about to embark on an epic road trip to a friend’s wedding in rural Scotland. The playlist is all planned and the snacks are packed.

But, not long after setting off, a car slams into the back of 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 four-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?

I love Beth O’Leary and was lucky enough to receive proofs of her first two novels The Flatshare and The Switch both of which I loved! My boyfriend wanted to know how The Road Trip, a book I brought myself on publication day jumped ahead of all the other books I have to read and I had to tell him I just couldn’t wait!

I’ll get this out of the way and tell you I loved it! Yet again Beth O’Leary has written a great story full of romance and humour. The ultimate awkward situation, Addie’s journey from Chichester to Scotland doesn’t turn out the way she was expecting. Squashed into a Mini with her and her outgoing sister Debs is a random stranger who they’ve agreed to give a lift to, her ex Dylan and his annoying friend Marcus. Addie and Dylan haven’t seen each other since they broke up around 2 years earlier and there is still considerable tension between them.

We travel back to when Dylan and Addie met when he was on holiday in Provence and she was the caretaker to the house and they were instantly attracted to each other. But Dylan had his problems – he comes from a privileged background so is a little spoilt and Marcus is a bad influence on him and also takes an instant dislike to Addie which makes things awkward. The story is told from both Dylan and Addie’s POV and in dual timelines too and I Ioved this.

I really liked Addie and her sister Debs but really struggled to warm to Dylan and really quite disliked Marcus but it soon became apparent why both men behaved the way they did.

As the gang travel to Scotland, they meet one problem after another and their are plenty of amusing mishaps. There are also themes around mental health and depression, especially in the men and it is good to see this addressed.

Romantic and funny, with some fantastic characters this is yet another hit from O’Leary! I just love her stories and writing and can’t wait for book 4!

About the author:

Beth O’Leary is a Sunday Times bestselling author whose novels have been translated into more than thirty languages. Her debut, THE FLATSHARE, sold over half a million copies and changed her life completely. Her second novel, THE SWITCH, has been optioned for film by Amblin Partners, Steven Spielberg’s production company. Beth writes her books in the Hampshire countryside with a very badly behaved golden retriever for company. If she’s not at her desk, you’ll usually find her curled up somewhere with a book, a cup of tea and several woolly jumpers (whatever the weather).

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OLearyBeth