Review of Side Trip

I just finished Kerry Lonsdale’s new book and my emotions are all over the place. This book is amazing!! It is a character driven love story and it is one of the best books in this genre I have read. Joy is traveling across the country as a bucket list tribute to her late sister. Her sister Judy had decided on the bucket list just before she died and Joy is completing it as she makes her way along Route 66 from California to NYC. Joy has just finished college and is moving to NYC to be with her fiancé and begin her career there. By chance Joy meets Dylan, a singer/songwriter, in a diner after his car breaks down. He is also heading to NYC and is performing in small town bars along the way. They decide to drive together and put certain rules into place. They aren’t going to learn each other’s last names etc and once they part ways that will be the end of their contact. They also agree if one of them decides to take a side trip along the way they both have to agree to it. Both Joy and Dylan are carrying a lot of emotional baggage and as they travel they build an amazing connection with each other. They are a great couple and I loved their rapport. The book is told by both Dylan and Joy and is told before, during, and after the road trip. They both experience regrets, doubts and what if’s about their lives throughout the book. I just loved this book which kept me filled with anxiety and anticipation until the end. If you are only going to read one romance book this summer make this one it. After having my heart ripped out and thrown around I can’t stop thinking about these characters. Definitely a book you will want to read!