The Road Trip

Swing and a miss for me, although I appreciate the fact that Beth O'Leary was trying for something a little more substantial than [b:The Flatshare 36478784 The Flatshare Beth O'Leary https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1552471375l/36478784.SY75.jpg 58189559] and [b:The Switch 45134200 The Switch Beth O'Leary https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1573576865l/45134200.SY75.jpg 69811310]. Although The Road Trip starts with a car crash that puts ex-lovers Addie and Dylan together in a small car on the way to a mutual friend's wedding, the chapters of the novel that portray the rise and fall of their relationship almost two years ago feel like a slow-motion, inevitable wreck as well. There are red flags everywhere - Addie feels like she has to maintain the fun, wild persona she took on over summer break even when the couple returns to regular life, Dylan lets an obviously toxic relationship with his childhood friend Marcus poison the well, and the two never have frank conversations about the vast differences in their backgrounds and family dynamics. Unfortunately, when the end comes, it's because Dylan does something that in my opinion is completely unforgiveable : he believes Marcus' claim that Addie is being unfaithful to him when the truth is that her boss has responded to her (not quite innocent) flirtations by trying to rape her. And despite Dylan's almost immediate realization that he has screwed up big time, and subsequent sincere efforts to change for the better, I couldn't bring myself to forgive him, especially when combined with how many times he listened to Marcus, who obviously had his own selfish, twisted agenda.The titular road trip itself has some entertaining moments as the crew tries in vain to get to the wedding in time and lots of things go hideously wrong . Addie's sister Deb is along for the journey, and her fiercely loyal, got-no-f*cks-left-to-give personality was a breath of fresh air. (The less said about the oddball passenger Rodney, the better.) But the overall tone is somber. I've read some negative reviews that lamented the change from O'Leary's more lighthearted two previous books. I have no problem with drama, but ultimately I felt that Dylan (and Marcus) were let off the hook too easily. I would have liked to see a chapter set in the future where we could see Addie and Dylan working on their issues together as a couple, but since we don't, the best O'Leary can provide is a very tentative (and to me tenuous) Happy For Now ending. I'm still giving this four stars because it was a compelling read, but it was not as satisfying as I had hoped.