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

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book follows our main characters Addie and Dylan, as they journey to Scotland for their mutual friend, Cherry’s wedding. Alongside Addie’s sister Deb, Dylan’s questionable friend Marcus and random facebook stranger Rodney, the two exes are forced to share an awkward car ride that lasts much longer than previously planned, after not having spoken in two years.

Throughout this plot line, the reader is also given flashbacks of their relationship: their meeting in France one summer and the whirlwind commitment, but not until the end do we discover what lead to the breakup two years prior.
Although I somewhat enjoyed this book, compared to the other two O’Leary books I’ve already read, it just wasn’t the same caliber.

The entire subplot about Rodney being a stalker and following Cherry to her wedding was weird and I don’t think the scariness of that really shone through. Marcus was a dick the entire time and even though he may have apologized, I don’t think we saw any change in character worthy of redemption. Plus, he also was stalking Addie? Why so many stalkers???


Finally the twist ending (the breakup reveal) left me unsatisfied. I’m not sure how I felt about the whole thing and I don’t know if I like that Addie forgave him… I’m not sure I would’ve. Sure it was a mistake, but that’s clearly Dylan having a lack of trust for Addie because of his insecurities and she did absolutely nothing to warrant a response like that. Especially after what she had JUST gone through. 
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