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calistacyq 's review for:
The Road Trip
by Beth O'Leary
With a whole lot of toxicity, The Road Trip by Beth O'Leary is about two exes who have been forced to go on a road trip together to head to a mutual friend's wedding.
Summary: Addie Gilbert and Dylan Abbott used to date but have since cut contact. On their way to a mutual friend's wedding, Dylan's car accidentally crashes into Addie's from the rear. Now, they have to share a car and go on a road trip to Scotland together.
Tropes/Genres:
• second chance
• road trip
• insta-love (past timeline)
• contemporary rom-com
• set in Chichester, UK (road to Scotland)
Review: This book lacks depth and has a whole lot of issues. Most of the characters are annoying. The only good thing about this story is the pacing, but that's not very important when the plot isn't up to scratch. It's a shame, given the interesting premise.
A lot of things in this book ticked me off, but I'll put all the details after the review since they contain spoilers. Meanwhile, let's talk about other aspects of the book.
This story is told through alternating perspectives: Dylan takes the odd chapters, while Addie takes the even chapters. The book also alternates between the past and present timelines every few chapters. This allows readers to understand the situation from both perspectives and learn about their history while following along the road trip.
Addie and Dylan are so toxic that it's hard to overlook the red flags. I don't buy their love story from the past timeline, nor do I root for the second-chance romance in the present timeline. I don't even think they love each other. It feels like they merely lusted for each other. He didn't even trust her, and she also had her own issues. They are honestly better off without each other.
Along with the main characters, almost every character in the story was annoying, except Deb, who is Addie's fun and supportive sister. Marcus is probably the most annoying character in the story, but it feels like the author deliberately made him as awful as possible to lighten the negative attention on the couple.
While the author tried to include heavier topics such as a toxic family, cheating and manipulation, it only destabilises the plot when there isn't a strong foundation to begin with. The inclusion also felt tokenistic, considering how little depth there was. The toxicity of everything that happened between Addie, Dylan and Marcus ruined the book for me.
In conclusion, this book has a nice premise but poor execution. The characters are annoying, and the romance is hard to get behind. However, while the plot is subpar, the pacing is good. I also like the use of dual POV and timeline to show readers the full story in bits and pieces. I still think this book has a lot of issues, though.
[SPOILER ALERT (putting it after the entire review so that the flow won't be disrupted)]
The author used sexual assault as a plot twist, but it just made everything worse. It honestly scares me that Addie almost got raped, and Dylan didn't have enough trust in her to believe that she wouldn't have cheated on her. He didn't even let her explain. I don't care if he felt sorry about it after he was told the truth. He didn't let her explain. He didn't trust her. He doesn't truly love her.
It's not just Dylan. Addie also has issues. When her relationship with Dylan got rocky, she found herself being drawn towards Etienne, the head teacher, who eventually tried to rape her when she rejected his advances. It's insane because the only thing that held Addie back from actually committing the physical act of cheating was the fact that she was in a relationship, but that sure as hell didn't stop her from flirting with him. That's still cheating.
While the sentiment of forgiving each other because they weren't the versions of themselves that they were anymore is sweet, I find it unbelievable that they could just forgive each other like that. Maybe it's because they both had something to feel guilty about, so they were more focused on redeeming themselves rather than faulting the other person for what they did. There were red flags everywhere. It honestly baffles me that Addie and Dylan got back together after the things they did to each other. Perhaps they are a match made in hell.
I think it's also ridiculous how the author handled Marcus. Apparently, he tried to tear Addie and Dylan apart because he loved her and felt that it was torture to see her and Dylan together. That's just crazy. I don't even understand how Marcus can be forgiven after all the bullshit he pulled throughout the book. It almost seems as if the author deliberately made Marcus incorrigible just for the sake of creating that object to drive the couple apart.
The inclusion of darker themes, such as Dylan's toxic father and enabling mother (who forgave him for cheating), feels tokenistic because it lacks depth. It feels like this was only included for the sake of creating trouble for Dylan. It was a huge reason for the strain in Addie and Dylan's relationship, and it was also one of the drivers of the breakup. It feels like the exploration of such topics only served to create conflict between Addie and Dylan instead of organically representing the struggles of a toxic household.
To sum it up, I have a lot of issues with this book. Thanks.
Summary: Addie Gilbert and Dylan Abbott used to date but have since cut contact. On their way to a mutual friend's wedding, Dylan's car accidentally crashes into Addie's from the rear. Now, they have to share a car and go on a road trip to Scotland together.
Tropes/Genres:
• second chance
• road trip
• insta-love (past timeline)
• contemporary rom-com
• set in Chichester, UK (road to Scotland)
Review: This book lacks depth and has a whole lot of issues. Most of the characters are annoying. The only good thing about this story is the pacing, but that's not very important when the plot isn't up to scratch. It's a shame, given the interesting premise.
A lot of things in this book ticked me off, but I'll put all the details after the review since they contain spoilers. Meanwhile, let's talk about other aspects of the book.
This story is told through alternating perspectives: Dylan takes the odd chapters, while Addie takes the even chapters. The book also alternates between the past and present timelines every few chapters. This allows readers to understand the situation from both perspectives and learn about their history while following along the road trip.
Addie and Dylan are so toxic that it's hard to overlook the red flags. I don't buy their love story from the past timeline, nor do I root for the second-chance romance in the present timeline. I don't even think they love each other. It feels like they merely lusted for each other. He didn't even trust her, and she also had her own issues. They are honestly better off without each other.
Along with the main characters, almost every character in the story was annoying, except Deb, who is Addie's fun and supportive sister. Marcus is probably the most annoying character in the story, but it feels like the author deliberately made him as awful as possible to lighten the negative attention on the couple.
While the author tried to include heavier topics such as a toxic family, cheating and manipulation, it only destabilises the plot when there isn't a strong foundation to begin with. The inclusion also felt tokenistic, considering how little depth there was. The toxicity of everything that happened between Addie, Dylan and Marcus ruined the book for me.
In conclusion, this book has a nice premise but poor execution. The characters are annoying, and the romance is hard to get behind. However, while the plot is subpar, the pacing is good. I also like the use of dual POV and timeline to show readers the full story in bits and pieces. I still think this book has a lot of issues, though.
[SPOILER ALERT (putting it after the entire review so that the flow won't be disrupted)]
The author used sexual assault as a plot twist, but it just made everything worse. It honestly scares me that Addie almost got raped, and Dylan didn't have enough trust in her to believe that she wouldn't have cheated on her. He didn't even let her explain. I don't care if he felt sorry about it after he was told the truth. He didn't let her explain. He didn't trust her. He doesn't truly love her.
It's not just Dylan. Addie also has issues. When her relationship with Dylan got rocky, she found herself being drawn towards Etienne, the head teacher, who eventually tried to rape her when she rejected his advances. It's insane because the only thing that held Addie back from actually committing the physical act of cheating was the fact that she was in a relationship, but that sure as hell didn't stop her from flirting with him. That's still cheating.
While the sentiment of forgiving each other because they weren't the versions of themselves that they were anymore is sweet, I find it unbelievable that they could just forgive each other like that. Maybe it's because they both had something to feel guilty about, so they were more focused on redeeming themselves rather than faulting the other person for what they did. There were red flags everywhere. It honestly baffles me that Addie and Dylan got back together after the things they did to each other. Perhaps they are a match made in hell.
I think it's also ridiculous how the author handled Marcus. Apparently, he tried to tear Addie and Dylan apart because he loved her and felt that it was torture to see her and Dylan together. That's just crazy. I don't even understand how Marcus can be forgiven after all the bullshit he pulled throughout the book. It almost seems as if the author deliberately made Marcus incorrigible just for the sake of creating that object to drive the couple apart.
The inclusion of darker themes, such as Dylan's toxic father and enabling mother (who forgave him for cheating), feels tokenistic because it lacks depth. It feels like this was only included for the sake of creating trouble for Dylan. It was a huge reason for the strain in Addie and Dylan's relationship, and it was also one of the drivers of the breakup. It feels like the exploration of such topics only served to create conflict between Addie and Dylan instead of organically representing the struggles of a toxic household.
To sum it up, I have a lot of issues with this book. Thanks.