Addie and her sister are about to embark on an epic road trip to a friend's wedding in rural Scotland. The playlist is all planned and the snacks are packed.
But, not long after setting off, a car slams into the back of theirs. The driver is none other than Addie's ex, Dylan, who she's avoided since their traumatic break-up two years earlier.
Dylan and his best mate are heading to the wedding too, and they've totalled their car, so Addie has no choice but to offer them a ride. The car is soon jam-packed full of luggage and secrets, and with four-hundred miles ahead of them, Dylan and Addie can't avoid confronting the very messy history of their relationship...
Will they make it to the wedding on time? And, more importantly, is this really the end of the road for Addie and Dylan?
Review: Wow this book was very different to what I was expecting. I expected a funny road trip story with an added comedic ending when these characters eventually arrived at a wedding that would probably have things going wrong too but this book had many many more layers than that.
In terms of structure this book played right into my favourite things because it was a dual narrative at the same time as having multiple timelines. You have to have a level of concentration to make sure you don't miss the changes in voice and in time though be warned. We follow Addie and Dylan when they first met and in the here and now when they're squished into a mini together and they don't want to be. Slowly everything is revealed and we get to know them and their situation. I did love reading about how they met and it really had me intrigued as to why they had not been speaking to one another prior to this surprise joint road trip.
I liked Dylan and Addie as characters but I did feel at times like I was just getting to know one of them and we would switch narrative and I would almost forget what I had just learned and have to be reminded of it again once we got back to their character either in the past or the present. They also go through some issues in their lives related to a lot of key themes surrounding mental health and toxic work environments that I felt like were just touched upon and could have been developed just a little bit more.
This book offers up some great side characters in the form of Deb and Marcus and again both of these characters face issues that a lot of readers might also be facing. I felt like on occasion their stories were somewhat more developed thinking of them as just side characters than our main characters but I did like their addition to the cast and I loved how much spirit and energy both of them brought to the mini as well as the past storyline. I feel like this writer has a style that is reminiscent of a screenwriter in that all of the books I have read by this author have felt like they're playing out as a movie in front of me and this one is no exception. The characters feel true to life and the setting is so vivid you feel as if you are walking/driving it along with the main players in the book.
I did enjoy this novel although it did have a couple of moments of leaving me wanting more. I will definitely continue to pursue this author's writing and I look forward to what she releases next.
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