Smexy Books

Romance and Urban Fantasy Reviews

  • Review Request
  • Contact
    • Smexy Reviewers Profiles
    • New Reviewer Application
    • Contact
  • Advertising
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • By Genre
      • BDSM
      • Contemporary
      • Erotic
      • Fantasy
      • F/F
      • Historical Romance
      • Historical PNR
      • LGBTQ+
      • M/M Romance
      • New Adult
      • Urban Fantasy
      • Paranormal Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Romantic Suspense
      • Young Adult
    • By Letter Grade Rating
      • A Reviews
      • B Reviews
      • C Reviews
      • D Reviews
      • DNF Reviews
  • Features
    • New Releases
    • Smexy Deals!
    • Retro Review
    • Weekly Wrap-Up
    • Blog Tour
    • Scenic Sunday
    • To Be Read
    • Guest Post
    • Top Ten/Happy Friday
    • Smex Scene Sunday
  • The Psy/Changeling Channel
You are here: Home / Berkley / Review: The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary

Review: The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary

June 23, 2021 by Kate 4 Comments

The Road Trip
The Road Trip by Beth O'Leary
Contemporary Romance
June 1, 2021 by Berkley

Reviewed by Kate

Having read The Flatshare and The Switch by Beth O’Leary, I had an expectation going into The Road Trip. The expectation was that The Road Trip would be lighter on the romance arc, but funny and heartwarming and sweet regardless. However, The Road Trip didn’t really fit those expectations. The Road Trip is a book with a reader’s guide at the back, and a content warning list that feels like it could be a mile long. Sure, there were funny moments (the scene where Rodney thinks Deb has drowned in a river was a highlight), but overall, I was disappointed. 

The Road Trip is told in “Then” and “Now” chapters and alternates between Addie and Dylan narrating. The “Then” chapters tell of the start and end of Addie and Dylan’s relationship, and the “Now” chapters are the story of the road trip to a friend’s wedding, when Addie, her sister Deb, random wedding-goer Rodney, Dylan, and Dylan’s friend Marcus end up smushed in a Mini Cooper for an over 10 hour drive. 

Now, I love a good road trip romance, because forced proximity is great, and what better kind of forced proximity than in a car? But for this story, I didn’t feel like it was a great set-up for resolving the relationship issues of Addie and Dylan. As the reader learns, they broke up for a reason, and being shoved in the car with three other people doesn’t feel like a great place for communication or an honest discussion of what has changed since the break-up to allow for a second chance at the relationship. 

Though we got both Dylan and Addie’s narration, I never felt like I understood Dylan, and I didn’t really understand why the two of them were together. They spend most of the “Then” chapters apart or fighting. In the “Now” time, one thing that Addie views as an example of how Dylan has changed since they broke up is that he allows her to buy her own lunch without making a big deal out of it – and that would be a lovely example, except Dylan has been cut off by his father and no longer has any money. So it doesn’t feel like it was an intentional effort by Dylan to change for Addie, but just kind of a side effect of his life choices. Additionally, the description of the book makes it seem like there are just some lifestyle differences that split Dylan and Addie up, but it is (in my opinion) way worse than that – and (also in my opinion) 100% Dylan’s fault. So I don’t quite understand how 24 hours could convince Addie that Dylan should be forgiven.

And then there’s Marcus. Whew. That man is a piece of work. He clearly is depicted as having addiction and mental health issues, but he does some rather unforgivable things in the name of “supporting” Dylan. His storyline was so wild that there was a point about 75% in that I actually thought to myself “is this a thriller disguised as a romance novel?” And even in the “Now” chapters, Marcus is still a bit of an asshole and I don’t feel like there was enough demonstrated change or sincere remorse to merit Dylan giving him another chance at friendship. 

I originally wrote this review without including this spoiler, but I really think that it’s important for a reader to know what they’re getting into. Basically, I can’t explain how *bad* the break-up and events leading up to it (and why I feel Dylan and Marcus are almost irredeemable) are without completely spoiling the plot, so if you don’t want to know, please skip this spoiler:

Spoiler

Marcus starts following Addie around to “prove” to Dylan that she is not a good partner for him. After a day at work, Addie and the principal at her school have a glass of wine together in his office – Addie had been sending him text messages and was feeling slightly guilty about the interactions, but it had not gone farther than that. When they were in the principal’s office, he grabbed Addie and kissed her within view of the window, and then backed her up and tried to go farther, but Addie ran away. Marcus, having followed Addie, was watching outside the window, sent Dylan a picture of Addie and the principal kissing and Dylan shows up. The principal comes out of the school and tells Dylan some story about how Addie came on to him, etc., and Dylan believes him. Dylan goes home to Addie, and won’t let her tell her side of the story, and breaks up with her. He finds out a week later from her sister that she was almost raped, but Addie won’t talk to him about it, aside from asking him not to tell Marcus. So Marcus still doesn’t know until the “Now” chapters of the road trip.

Overall, I went into The Road Trip expecting a lighter read, and I got something much more intense than I anticipated. Though readable, it definitely doesn’t feel like O’Leary’s earlier books, and I was disappointed by how the plot progresses. If you go in knowing what to expect, you may have a better experience than me, but definitely be careful with this one.

Grade: D

Content warnings: Alcoholism, depression, sexual assault, homophobia, emotionally abusive parent

Amazon * Goodreads

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon
  • More
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Filed Under: Berkley, Beth O'Leary, Contemporary Romance, D Review, Discussion, Kate

Comments

  1. DiscoDollyDeb says

    June 23, 2021 at 9:00 am

    I wonder if the book would have been more successful if it hadn’t been marketed as a romance—and if O’Leary hadn’t tried to give the couple an HEA. Although I loathe the despicable “evil gay” stereotype, I could almost see THE ROAD TRIP working better if Dylan and Marcus were closeted lovers and Marcus was trying by his actions to force Dylan to come out. It still wouldn’t make Marcus a likable character but it might have made the storyline a bit more plausible.

    Loading...
    Reply
    • Kate says

      July 4, 2021 at 2:26 pm

      The forced HEA was definitely one of the harder parts to get over – it just didn’t feel real? But I totally see your point about Marcus and Dylan – it may have made Marcus’ actions a bit more realistic if he was in love with Dylan and that’s why he did the things he did, instead of just kind of going off the deep end with regards to their friendship.

      Loading...
      Reply
  2. Bekie says

    December 15, 2021 at 3:47 pm

    Thank you for this review! I was 29% through it, and I was starting to get an uncomfortable feeling about it. The spoiler let me know I need to read this when I am ready, not when I need some light-hearted fun. I am sure I will get back to it because I adore Beth O’Leary, but I am just not up for these topics rn. Also, I am not sure I could ever agree with an HEA from this description. The depiction of abuse in The Flatshare was so much more… empowering and healing. This felt (at least what I got through) like she was just “getting over it”, you know? Ugh.

    Loading...
    Reply
  3. crazedalizamg says

    November 28, 2023 at 4:27 pm

    This is already normal, wow. I can’t even imagine this. I’m just getting goosebumps right now. I also sometimes use https://studyhelper.com/argumentative-essay-samples but not as often as I would like. Everything has its own rules. In general, I like your opinion. That’s how it should be

    Loading...
    Reply

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Welcome to Smexy! If you are reader feel free to use our search feature to find a specific book or browse through our features to find Smexy Deals, New Releases, and book news!

As an Amazon Associate, we do earn from qualifying purchases. We also earn a small commission on affiliate links to Apple, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords,  Booksamillion, and Bookshop,org.

 

Shop our Affiliates!

Amazon

B&N

Apple

Smashwords

Booksamillion

Angela

Melanie

Jen

Kate

Iby

Kate H.

Sign Up for Daily Emails


Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

.

Follow Us!

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on TwitterFollow Us on Instagram

Top Posts & Pages

  • Smexy Deals- Deals for books by Scarlett St. Clair,  Ilona Andrews, Jennifer McMahon, and more!
    Smexy Deals- Deals for books by Scarlett St. Clair, Ilona Andrews, Jennifer McMahon, and more!
  • New Releases- Week of June 30- July 4, 2025
    New Releases- Week of June 30- July 4, 2025
  • Review: Human Rites by Juno Dawson
    Review: Human Rites by Juno Dawson
  • Smexy’s Top Ten Favorite Sex Scenes of 2012
    Smexy’s Top Ten Favorite Sex Scenes of 2012
  • Review: Tusk Love by Thea Guanzon
    Review: Tusk Love by Thea Guanzon
  • Review: Manacled by SenLinYu
    Review: Manacled by SenLinYu
  • Steamy Excerpt from Everything's Better With Lisa by Lucy Eden
    Steamy Excerpt from Everything's Better With Lisa by Lucy Eden
  • Review: The Finish Line by Kate Stewart
    Review: The Finish Line by Kate Stewart
  • Review: The Road Trip by Beth O'Leary
    Review: The Road Trip by Beth O'Leary
  • Smex Scene Sunday
    Smex Scene Sunday

Disclosure

The majority of the books reviewed at this site have been provided for free by publishers, authors, or other third parties like NetGalley or Edelweiss. Acceptance of a free copy does not guarantee a review or a positive review.

As an Amazon Associate, we do earn from qualifying purchases. We also earn a small commission on affiliate links to Apple, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and Booksamillion.

Shop our Affiliates!

Amazon

B&N

Apple

Smashwords

Booksamillion

 

Find Our Reviewers

Angela @fv-angela.bsky.social l Goodreads

Melanie @melonreads.bsky.social l  Goodreads

Jen .@thebooknista l Goodreads

Kate  @kateminasian l Goodreads

Iby Instagram l Goodreads

Kate H. @Naranjadia l Goodreads

Copyright © 2025 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

%d