Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - The Road Trip

THIS BOOK REQUIRES TRIGGER WARNINGS FOR SEXUAL AND EMOTIONAL ABUSE.
I just couldn’t get along with this book. I didn’t like the relationship between Dylan and Addie (horrible names btw) before they broke up nor at the end of the book. I really just couldn’t picture them together and didn’t ship them at all. All the characters are two dimensional, and rich to the point they felt fake and so distant from real life that I really struggled connecting with them on any level. O’Leary’s books have been on such a downhill trajectory that I won’t be buying her next book until it has high enough ratings to convince me otherwise.

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lollyreads's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

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taynicole2698's review

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emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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fayereadsbooks's review against another edition

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emotional funny medium-paced

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

4.0

I enjoyed reading Beth O'Leary's third book. I doubt anything will top the Flatshare for me but this was a totally fab read.

The book follows the story of Addie and Dylan and is told in a then and now narrative. Then follows Addie and Dylan meeting, their relationship and their eventual break up. Now is about when driving to a mutual friends wedding, they crash into each other and have to do the very long journey with a mis-matched car full, and naturally chaos endues.

I enjoyed reading both characters perspectives but wasn't overly fond of either of them, they were both pretty good but nothing memorable. Dylan is very privileged and his group of friends reminded me of people from the TV show Made In Chelsea, they are just so fancy but in a way they don't realise how privileged and lucky they are.

For the first around half of the book I thought it was okay but I especially enjoyed the second half. I liked the ending of the book and thought all of the plot points and storylines were were concluded and wrapped up well

There were a few topics that I didn't expect to be in a book like this so I definitely advise checking content warnings

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santinasimile's review

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dark emotional funny reflective sad slow-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

3.5

While I love an awkward forced proximity story, this one just left me anxious.

The writing and structure of this book are great. I feel like Beth just gets better and better, however the story and characters left me uninterested or straight anxious.
What started off fun and quirky, soon turned into dragged out insta-love with what felt like a forced dramatic element thrown in. I felt no connection to the characters and did not like where the each ended up

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