I read two fantastic books by the author late last year and couldn’t wait to jump on this one. One of the things I enjoyed from these books were the unforgettable characters and the humor that kept me laughing a lot through out the two reads. To say the least, I had high expectations for this one.
Reading ‘The Road Trip‘ a few pages in was at first was not what I expected as the author did something completely different with this book. Dylan and Addie broke up 20 months ago and have not seen each other since then. As Addie and her sister Debb embark on a road trip to a close friend’s wedding in Scotland, a car rams into theirs, and it turns out that Dylan is the driver accompanied by his best mate Marcus. Since Dylan and Marcus are no more able to use their car, they have no other choice but to join Addie and Debb as they are all headed for the same wedding. Stuck in a car together for hours on end, a lot of issues, emotions and tempers are brought to the fore causing Addie and Dylan to reflect on the past, their choices and decisions.
This was a story that carried with it very heavy themes such as emotional abuse, toxic relationships, sexual assault, intimidation, love, friendship and second chances. I guess this book started slow for me because of my expectations for it to be more upbeat than it actually was but when I got into the story, I was eager to follow it up to the end. I think the author did very well with really representing how easy it is for one to remain in a toxic relationship (which is not a romantic relationship) with a narcissist and abused emotionally for so long but not actually know it. It also showed how much power most parents have over their children and how this affects children negatively even in adulthood because of the burdens that parents put over them in terms of how they want their children to turn out. This usually leads to a lack of self confidence, low self esteem and depression. My favorite character was Debb as I liked her fearless and also supportive nature. As for Dylan and Addie, I wasn’t quite sure if they were ready to move on at the end of the story. However, the end of a story is never really the end of a story, it could actually be the beginning of another so who knows??
While I recommend this book as a really good read, I need to warn that there are certain triggers around the themes I mentioned above so approach it with caution.
Rating: 4 Stars
Published: April 29th 2021 by Quercus
Pages: 414
Genre: Contemporary Romance
The Author:
Beth studied English at university before going into children’s publishing. She lives as close to the countryside as she can get while still being within reach of London, and wrote her first novel, The Flatshare, on her train journey to and from work. You’ll usually find her curled up with a book, a cup of tea, and several woolly jumpers (whatever the weather).
Copyright © Biyai Garricks
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Biyai Garricks, rovingbookwormng.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
