An unforgettable and breathtaking novel of love, loss, and the unexpected routes that life takes from Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Kerry Lonsdale.With her deceased sister’s Route 66 bucket list in hand, California girl Joy Evers sets out on a cross-country road trip to meet up with her fiancé, checking off the bullets along the way.Singer-songwriter Dylan Westfield has … way.
Singer-songwriter Dylan Westfield has a serious case of wanderlust and a broken-down car. Stuck at a diner between LA and Flagstaff, he meets Joy, his complete opposite. She’s energetic. He’s moody. She’s by the book. He’s spontaneous. She believes in love at first sight. He thinks love is a complicated mess. But Joy has a brand-new convertible.
They strike a deal. She’ll drive him to New York. He’ll pay for gas. Only three rules apply: no exchanging of last names; what happens on the road, stays on the road; and if one of them wants to take a side trip, they both must agree.
A heart-stirring love story that spans a decade, Side Trip explores what-if. What if Joy and Dylan had exchanged last names? What if he’d told her she made him believe love was worth the risk? And what if they hadn’t made that second deal when they couldn’t say goodbye?
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What do I say about side trip? It was an amazing book. Kerry really knows how to keep her readers on there toes there was several spots where she keeps you on your toes I wish this book did not have to end. But they say all all good things must come to an end. I was so not expecting how the book ends but that is Kerry for you keeping her readers on there toes. Giving her readers curve balls after curve balls. Joy and Dylan are quite the pair. I hope someday inwill get to make my own side trips. This is definitely a must read
I have loved all of Kerry Lonsdale books, but this one takes the prize. It’s goes back and forth from when the “side trip” happens and the present but Kerry does it so well you will never feel lost, it just flows so well. It will make you sad, it will make you smile and go awwwww, it will make you cry, you will feel every emotion there is to feel when you read this book, you will also the love that you will feel in this book. I don’t reread many books these days because there are so many good ones to read, but this one deserves to be read again and again! I could have read this book in one setting but sadly I was not prepared and did not have my kindle with a full charge. Thank you for the Side Trip Kerry they are always the best part of any trips you take!
Wowza what an amazing book!!! This book makes you feel EVERYTHING!!! Laughter, big sloppy tears, sadness, and joy!!! Joy sets out to drive cross country completing her deceased sister’s bucket list along the way. Along the way, she meets Dylan. He is also going to New York and his car is broken down. He offers to pay for gas if Joy will let him ride along with her. Road Trip is a book about what ifs. The story takes place over the course of 10 years and is told by both Joy and Dylan. I LOVED Joy! She is so real and authentic. You feel everything Joy does. I thoroughly enjoyed this amazing book and its wonderful characters! I devoured every precious word of this amazing book!!! I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.
Wow, what a trip. Loved the ending but did some crying to get there. Read the lyrics but want to ask, What was on the wall?
Side Trip by Kerry Lonsdale is a story of . With her deceased sister’s Route 66 bucket list in hand, Joy Evers sets out from California on a cross-country road trip to meet up with her fiancé in New York. She’s determined to check off each item as she goes. During a stop in a Ludlow diner, she meets Dylan. Dylan Westfield is a singer-songwriter on a trip of his own. Unfortunately, his car has broken down. They strike a deal. She’ll drive him to New York and he’ll pay for gas. They have three rules: no exchanging of last names, what happens on the road, stays on the road, and if one of them wants a side trip, they both must agree. They find they are complete opposites. Joy is energetic. Dylan is moody. Joy believes in love at first sight and Dylan thinks love is a complicated mess. Soon, they realize that they are both hiding secrets and their motivations. Will they find the peace they hope to find on the road? Will they be able to leave the events of the road trip behind?
I love Kerry Lonsdale’s books and I heard great things about Side Trip. From the very beginning, I was hooked on Joy’s mission to complete the trip her sister never could. Dylan’s mission was a bit more of a mystery. I enjoyed the back and forth between Joy and Dylan’s perspectives as well as the “Before” chapter which occurs on the road and the “After” chapters when the trip is over and their lives go on as planned. Or does it? Can Joy and Dylan really leave what happens on the road, on the road? I didn’t really have an emotional reaction until the second to last chapter when the reader finds out what happens for Joy and Dylan. I feel the last chapter and the epilogue were unnecessary and undid the emotional impact of that one chapter. The secret Joy was hiding was all too easy to figure out as it has been done before. Overall, I did enjoy the story, especially the spontaneous moments on the road. I do recommend Side Trip as a fun road trip story.
Side Trip is available in paperback, eBook, audiobook.
Side Trip wrecked my soul!!
I read my first Kerry Lonsdale book Everything We Keep back in 2016 the day it released, call it fate. Up until this point I have read everything that she has written, and I am constantly surprised at how her stories can pull you in and keep you hooked until the very last page. Side Trip was no different but it was also 100% different. I had been putting this book of for about a year because I wasn’t sure it was my thing. Boy, was I wrong!! This book was nothing like I expected a relationship that forms in one of the most unexpected places that spans a decade and will leave you breathless.
After Joy’s sister dies, she decides to take the trip of a lifetime, a trip that spans cross country following route 66 with a bucket list that her sister created for herself to do one day. On the first leg of her journey Joy is having lunch at a diner on her way to Flagstaff when an extremely attractive man is having car troubles. Joy might believe in love and the beauty that comes with it but up to this point she has never seen a man that takes her breathe away, until him. After failing at fixing his car, Dylan walks into the little diner to use the phone but isn’t able to. He is instantly intrigued by the girl sitting alone with her basket of fries and a phone. When he asks to borrow her phone, he never suspects the words that are about to pop out of his mouth. A deal that could help him get to where he is going and help Joy mark an item off her bucket list. As with any road trip there are rules, no last names and what happens on the road; stays on the road. Thus, begins Joy and Dylan’s 10-day journey that could quite possibly change their lives forever. Good or bad.
For me, this wasn’t a book I could have sit and read because there were parts that could have been considered “slow” or “tedious”, so I am glad I decided to do the audio. In this book, the details do matter and listening to James Patrick Cronin and Sarah Naughton narrate this book was perfection!!
From about 83% on I was a sobbing mess, even though I had figured out what was to come nothing could have prepared me for the ending that Lonsdale created. Her books tend to take turns you don’t expect but this was a whole other world of hurt. Was it worth it? 100%, even if I was sobbing into my computer at work. If you have never read a Kerry Lonsdale book, do yourself the favor and read one.
Tears streaming down my face, this was not what I expected. Absolutely loved this book!
Side Trip is the 1st book I have read by Kerry Lonsdale but it won’t be the last. This is a love story filled with regrets, what if’s and just a wonderful story driving across the country. It was such an amazing story that you just couldn’t put down especially the last few chapters. It made you laugh, cry and amazed, which every good romantic novel should do. What a surprising great ending. I highly recommend this book and I can’t wait to read more of her books.
4.5
Wow. Why has it taken me so long to read this author? Kerry Lonsdale’s story telling, is addicting, unique and unputdownable. Joy is traveling across country via Route 66 from California to New York. She is on her way to meet her fiancé, and along the way she meets Dylan whom becomes her travelling companion. Through forced proximity and honest conversation Dylan and Joy have an amazing connection, that both try very hard to resist. This connection causes Joy to re-evaluate her life, her decision to marry her fiancé and whether or not he is the right man for her and she is able to finally talk through her sisters death and the guilt she feels behind it. The book is emotionally taxing in the best way. It left me feeling so much. The last few chapters were the most impactful and the tears were freely flowing down my face. Reading this book was a beautiful experience and I could never have imagined the impact it would have on me. I will be on the look out for more work by this author. Such incredible writing!
I’ve been chewing on this review all night. It’s not often a finished book keeps me up so late.
I liked this story. Very readable and the characters grow on you like they’re supposed to. Solid plot and impeccable timing. I wanted to keep reading and I did, which is how I got this one done in four evenings. I loved the music aspect. The descriptions were so spot on and I now want to hear the soundtrack.
My only gripe here is with the repeating mental angst the characters put themselves through. So many authors are filling space with this introspection these days. It’s overkill.
I do highly recommend this book. Go read it, take yourself on an adventure true with Dylan and Joy.
I love the twist at the end.
July 21, 2020
Sweet, if young, romance.
I enjoyed the complicated relationships between sisters and between partners in this story. They were on the younger side for this old lady, but still enjoyable. As usual, the sex…yuk.
It’s been a while since I’ve read a romance novel so wonderful. One of the best books I read this year and definitely on the list of my all time favorites. I was really devastated towards the end before I read the actual ending. I actually re-read the ending the next day just to make sure I didn’t image it, I needed this story to end so beautifully.
This one is full of a lot of emotion.
Joy is taking this road trip on Route 66 from California to NY when she meets Dylan at a diner.
They decide to share the ride East.
Both have secrets they keep hidden but they cannot deny their attraction.
So Good, I loved it even though it made me cry.
Enjoyed! This was a really great summer read! Side Trip was hard to put down and the surprise ending didn’t disappoint.
In this riveting novel, Route 66 is a metaphor for the routes our lives take with all the side trips we experience. This novel, that’ll have your emotions running all over the place, is a story of “what ifs” and can we ever stop asking ourselves “what if?” Joy couldn’t and your heart will ache for her and Dylan. And then, you’ll ponder your own “what ifs” and maybe wish you had a Dylan sometime in your life – even for just a short trip.
My favorite Lonsdale book yet! I loved everything about Side Trip. It was impossible not to root for Joy and Dylan’s hopes and dreams. I found their connection so endearing. And the last 30 pages were A RIDE! Highly recommend.
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: 07/07/2020
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This is the first book I have read from this author. I love the cover. The synopsis is unlike anything I have ever read before.
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: This book was phenomenal. We follow Joy who is trying to fufill the Route 66 bucket list of her deceased sister when she runs into Dylan who is stuck in-between LA and Flagstaff. This book was written beautifully. By far my favorite contemporary romance book I have ever read. This was a breathtaking novel full of emotion. The romance that occurred in this book was so beautiful. Kerry did an unbelievable job hitting me right in my core with a book that made me smile and cry. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting a fantastic contemporary romance novel. This book will be coming out on July 7th, 2020 so make sure you pick up a copy!!!!
It’s 2010 and Joy has never forgiven herself for what happened the night her beloved older sister, Judy, died tragically. Convinced that the accident that claimed Judy’s life was her fault, Joy has never confessed her involvement to her parents. Instead, she has devoted herself to living the life that Judy never got to live. In college she majored in the subject Judy loved, when she gets to New York City she will begin working at Judy’s dream job, and she has adopted Judy’s way of dressing while taking the road trip Judy planned for herself. Along the way, she is seeing sights and eating foods that appealed to Judy, and listening to the music Judy loved. It’s all in the name of atoning for her own behavior and, hopefully, assuaging her shame and guilt.
Joy accepted Mark’s marriage proposal and the ornate engagement ring he presented her. She does love him, and has convinced herself that she wants to have children with him and they will have a happy marriage. Like Joy’s parents, Mark has no knowledge of Judy’s list or why Joy is determined to check off every enumerated item. He wanted to join her on the road trip to New York, but she insisted on making the journey alone.
She has barely commenced her cross-country trek when she stops at a retro-styled diner for a cheeseburger and fries, consistent with Judy’s love of 1950’s culture and clothing. Seated at a table, she looks out the window and notices a handsome guy in the parking lot who is clearly exasperated because his car won’t start. Joy holds her breath as he enters the diner and approaches her table. Judy would have called him “dreamy.” Joy permits him to use her cell phone, but finds him rude and presumptuous as he grabs the list and studies it. Still, she’s intrigued because he’s a musician and Joy is obsessed with music. When Dylan explains that he needs to get to Flagstaff because he has a gig there in the evening, Joy agrees to give him a ride.
Dylan also has secrets. He is actually on a journey dictated by his late father as a term and condition of receiving his inheritance. Dylan suffers from stage fright, a condition that baffled and frustrated his hard-drinking, hard-loving musician father. Dylan has dreams and goals for his own place in the music industry, and completing the trip plotted by his father is the key to realizing them.
After their first stop in Flagstaff, Joy and Dylan embark on a companionable sojourn along Route 66 in her convertible Volkswagen that will change both of their lives. As they negotiate side trips and navigate from town to town where Dylan must perform each night — and notify his father’s lawyer as soon as he has survived another nerve-wracking gig — the two travelers learn about each other and themselves. Dylan questions Joy’s commitment to living a life that isn’t really hers, seeing beyond her fussy blouses and ponytails to the beautiful former daredevil competitive surfer and skateboarder who is incapable of freeing herself from the past and living her own authentic life. Joy sees beyond the man who claims that he has no interest in a relationship because it is impossible for a professional musician to successfully meld endless years on the road and a family life. She recognizes Dylan’s talent and vulnerability, and finds herself drawn to the man who can deliver a flawless performance if he can just look out into the audience and see her there, supporting him. Of course, as they draw closer to New York, they develop deep feelings for each other.
To Lonsdale’s credit, her characters are honorable and admirable. Neither of them wants to hurt Mark, the worried fiancee who has no idea that Joy has picked up a stranger with whom she is spending every waking moment as she makes her way to him and the life they are about to share. Hence, the agreement that their friendship will end when they reach their destination. Predictably, however, parting is not easy and they negotiate another contract term because embarking on the separate lives they planned before meeting.
In the hands of a less skilled writer, Lonsdale’s magical story could have felt contrived and cloying. But Lonsdale deftly paces the development of Joy and Dylan’s growing attraction to each other so that their inevitable acknowledgment of their feelings is believable. Less credible is the subsequent deal they make, but Joy is committed to Mark and their relationship, and not yet ready to abandon her determination to heal her own emotional turmoil through steadfast adherence to her carefully constructed trajectory. As the truth about Judy’s death and Dylan’s tumultuous upbringing take their toll over time, Joy and Dylan each reach their own breaking point and must finally come to terms with their pasts and choices. Of course, both Joy and Dylan know each other’s true identity and keep track of one another as time passes. Lonsdale says she “was fascinated not only with the concept of two strangers meeting on the road who decide to travel together, but what happens after the road trip ends” and she plumbs those details over the course of an ensuing decade.
Joy and Dylan are endearing, sympathetic, and likable, and Lonsdale’s compassion for her characters’ struggles is evident. Side Trip does suffer from what reads like an inability on Lonsdale’s part to pick an ending for her story and fully commit to it. For that reason, readers may find themselves resenting that Lonsdale manipulates their emotional reaction to her characters’ plight a bit. She can be forgiven, however, when the arc of the story is revealed, along with the message she wants readers to take away from a tale that she readily and accurately characterizes as “pure escapism reading.”
Lonsdale’s goal is for her readers to “realize that life is short and shouldn’t be lived with regrets. That we should live the life we want to, and not the life others think we should live.” And that message is clearly and lovingly conveyed through a conclusion that may feel like a concession but is, ultimately, richly satisfying. Side Trip is engrossing and entertaining — a perfect book to read by the pool or on the beach, immersed in the lives of two people who are clearly going to find their way to their true feelings and each other, and savoring and pondering the numerous what ifs along the way. In one’s own life, as well as in Joy’s and Dylan’s.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader’s Copy of the book.
Story is amazing. So in love with this book. Lonsdale pulled on my heart strings more than once. This is so well-written and truly had me captured in this “trip” the whole way. Five stars. Perfection.