A review by joinreallife
The Road Trip by Beth O'Leary

3.0

Oh man, I'm so disappointed I didn't love this one more. Both of Beth O'Leary's previous books have been absolute homeruns for me, and I had high hopes because it has a similar narrative structure to People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry which I absolutely adored. And listen, I'm not a person who expects romcoms to not address serious things or just be light and fluffy, or for books with illustrated covers to somehow only be happy and popcorn. But there were several plot points/tropes here that hindered my enjoyment, first and foremost how super angsty it was - that's not my bag. Ultimately, though, I just don't believe in Addie and Dylan, and that's the kiss of death for a romance. The flashbacks to their previous relationship just seemed incredibly toxic, with a complete lack of communication. One of my favourite things about O'Leary's previous books is how great she is at building relationships, and that building of Addie and Dylan's relationship here was like 95% about other people. So I didn't feel invested in the HEA or even an HFN.

I did love Addie as a character, but I loved her sister Deb even more. I enjoyed the female friendships in this book, though unfortunately I don't know that any of them pass the Bechdel test...I liked the narrative structure, of having "then" and "now" moments to go back and see the foundation of how we arrived at the current situation. The anxiety and depression rep was strong, mirroring some of my own experiences. My favourite part was the writing, because I am a sucker for Beth O'Leary's writing. Overall, not a book I'm mad I've read, but not going to the top of the list for me.

CW: stalking, on-page attempted rape, anxiety/depression, alcoholism
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