Side Trip

By: Kerry Lonsdale

Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin, Sarah Naughton

Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

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 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?

©2020 Kerry Lonsdale Inc. (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Smart, sexy, and unexpected - Side Trip is everything that makes a novel unputdownable, which is why I devoured it in two days. Kerry Lonsdale’s latest demonstrates what fans like me already know: she just keeps getting better and better.” (Camille Pagán, best-selling author of I’m Fine and Neither Are You)

“Route 66, a convertible, a folk singer, and fate combine to make a confection of a novel in Kerry Lonsdale’s Side Trip. Scoot into the back seat to watch what happens. What a wild ride!” (J.P. Monninger, international best-selling author)

“Kerry Lonsdale’s Side Trip is an absorbing, poignant exploration of the road not taken and the pitfalls of failing to follow one’s heart.” (Jamie Beck, best-selling author of the Cabots and Sanctuary Sound series)

Good but didn’t need so much fowl language

This book was good but I wish authors did not feel the need to use so much fowl language! It is not needed to make the story good.

Great Book

I loved this book. It is easy to follow and it had all the feels. But, when chapter 32 ended I just about lost my mind! I couldn't believe it. Then chapter 33 happened and I could breath easy again. I love an author that catches me off guard.

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.

Great till the end

I'm not going to give spoilers but this book was pretty good up till the last couple chapters. It took a weird side trip that, had the possibility been eluded to throughout the story may have worked, but because it came at you from left field was just off putting and ruined it for me. Honestly, I didn't want to keep reading after it, but I did since I'd come this far. The author should have just stopped where the story ended.

OMG that ending!!!!

I literally threw my phone down when I was listening to the last 45 minutes and glad I stuck it out. The author got me!!! The only down side to the book was the back and forth with the past and present, sometimes it was hard to follow. But it was worth a credit!

Wow just wow!!!

Let me start off by saying I loved the narration! Both narrators did a fantastic job! I loved the book majority the way through and then had a I hate this book moment but still ended up loving this book! It was overall a really good listen.

Almost

Let me just say I almost stopped listening toward the end. Life is rough right now with fires in California (I live in the forest), & Covid-19, & I was saddened by where the story was headed, thinking I can’t listen anymore. I did & thankful for it.

Some of character’s thoughts seemed juvenile
(Dillon), & didn’t ring true. The story does make me wish I’d been more in tuned with what was best for me, & more courageous when I was younger, instead of letting myself be influenced too much by what everyone thinks. 😬

4.5 stars!

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!

The narrators did such an incredible job, such powerful emotional performances.

This story will stick with me for a long time to come!

You will squeak, cry and laugh!!

I love this book!! I judged Joy right off the bat and was totally wrong about her!! I couldn't put the book down!

Not your typical love story

What an amazing story line! Perfect amount of love, laughter, heartache, romance and what ifs.

Loved it

A beautiful love story, with excellent narration!
I loved the writing and the way the story progressed.
Kept me interested all the way through.
The narrators both did such a great job bringing the characters to life!