I don’t like unbalanced books: too plot-forward, not enough worldbuilding, underdeveloped characters… In the case of The Business Trip, the book is unbalanced in a way I don’t know that I’ve ever seen before: this book is almost all exposition and very little everything else. 

Exposition is a “show, don’t tell” matter, but it doesn’t seem like author Jessie Garcia got the memo, because this book feels like writing the bullet points of what the main characters are going through (this book is multi-POV, but there are two main characters, one having a larger role than the other). It’s full of chapters that feel like, “I did this. Then I did this. Then I did this. Then I did this.” At times it felt as if I could skim entire pages and not miss anything integral to the story. There was no character work, no strong plot (just vague messaging), and no underlying themes that might have given this book any depth or breadth. It all felt as shallow as a puddle. 

I don’t recommend it. I feel like I wasted my entire day. 

I was provided a copy of this title by the author and publisher via NetGalley and the SMP Early Readers Program. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. All reviews rated three stars or under will not appear on my social media. Thank you.