A Palette cleanser. Quick and easy to read with zero mental effort required.

This was a welcome light read outside of my "comfort genres" and between my heavier more atmospheric and thought-provoking book choices for the month it really helped to put my previous books of the month into perspective. The Road Trip is chaotic fun and if you've been on a road trip with family or friends or colleagues - it can be quite the experience.

I had heard of the author via the TV series Flatshare which I must confess I could not finish (I believe I ended on episode 3 or barely started the episode, I can't be bothered with tv at the moment so I've given up on watching any for the foreseeable future) still, I remember thinking it would make a great book. Well, turns out it was already a book and there were more books including this one.

I decided to start with this book as opposed to reading "The Flatshare" because I think I'd rather forget the tv show first and then read that book. I enjoy O'Leary's writing style. It is very contemporary or rather colloquially rooted in the here and now so it really feels like you're on location, in the car with the occupants and listening to all the madness. It manages to bring 21st century London and surrounds to life. The French countryside comes to life in flashbacks aptly titled "Then" It's got everything, some tears, some laughs, some sappy moments and feels like an actual road trip; and, I tell you something for nothing: a road trip in a mini is just asking for trouble.

I would recommend this book for people who are venturing into reading for the first time in ages or who are looking for a light read. Some of the comedy might not land exactly but it is a great Sunday picnic in the garden on a spring day kind of book. It's also a good pick if you're not really a romance reader and looking for less melodrama and more realistic "achey-breaky" stories.