Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - The Road Trip

Beth O'Leary has delivered a dual timeline second chance roadtrip romance that doesn't shy away from complex, difficult and at times unlikeable characters. While I was invested in Addie and Dylan, their relationship was just so stifled by Marcus' presence, almost from the beginning. I think we needed some real halcyon days completely apart from his friends. Though part of their arc together is recognising that their friendship is was toxic, the Dylan/Marcus plot could have benefitted from a little more evidence Marcus being, like, worth the trouble?

I would recommend Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren or Happy Place by Emily Henry over this for anyone looking for a second chance dual timeline, but I didn't have a bad time reading it so I wouldn't not recommend it. I will definitely be seeking out Beth O'Leary's other work.

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aseel_reads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Just another sweet story by this author. I was a bit worried that I wouldn't vibe with their relationship during the first flashback, but it quickly became very engrossing and I wanted to understand their history immediately.

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yareliz's review

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medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

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meredith_williams_'s review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

This book was so melodramatic. I went in expecting a romcom, and while there were moments of comedic relief, the overall story was a bit pretentious and felt like I was reading a less glamorous version of an episode of gossip girl. The main characters fall in love one summer abroad but their relationship struggles due to class divide and family expectations. A few years later, they reconnect on the way to a friend’s wedding when the MMC breaks down and has to road-trip to Scotland with the FMC. I liked the alternating timelines between past and present as it kept the reader engaged with the main characters’s love story, but when the reason for their original break up was revealed, I was over it. I did not think what the MMC did was easily forgivable despite his mental health struggle and honestly felt that the main couple should just stay broken up.

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jessicastewart's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

I liked this book and was going to give it 3* but the last 2 hours of the audiobook hit different! So good :)

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chloewilson_13's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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