Side Trip

By: Kerry Lonsdale

Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin, Sarah Naughton

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)

Amazing Story!! Loved it!!

Loved this book!! The side trip, the romance the back and forth. But most of all I was so not ready for the twist. Such a great twist that I thought I saw coming but totally didn't. So we'll written.

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.

Sexy and Intriguing

You care about these two broken characters from the start and root for them on their journey. Two strangers meet at a roadside cafe on Route 66. She is still grieving her sister’s death from 8 years ago. He’s fulfilling his recently deceased father’s final wishes. They both have painful secrets that they’re afraid to share. Naturally, they’re attracted to each other. Since she’s engaged to someone else, they fight it, and the sexual tension is excruciating.

It’s a romance novel. It has to have the pull and tug at your heartstrings. I liked the motif of a road trip, which is why I picked it. The readers are both terrific. Sarah Naughton and James Patrick Cronin fit the characters so well. Cronin has a sensual wounded rocker voice that melts! I get a little irritated at people holding back their thoughts and true feelings, a common theme on romance stories. Lonsdale sends our emotions on a side trip, or two. I liked how it ended, but wasn’t thrilled with how we got there.

what an amazing story

Oh how I loved this book! Definitely a must read. From beginning to end I couldn't stop reading it.

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!

kerry's best!

Loved every minute of this book. Audio version was exceptional. Writing supurb and performances excellent. Loved Joy and Dylan and their journey. The takeaway was a life lesson we should all strive for.

another great book by Kerry Lonsdale!!!

Kerry is by far my favorite author. I've read all of her books. Side Trip is another great book that I love! I was furious with Kerry about halfway through but kept reading, glad I did! A must read!

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!

Wow. Amazing emotional roller coaster!

Just wow. I loved every bit of this. THANK GOD for the ending. This will be one that I listen to again in the future. Hoping there will be a sequel! I need more Dylan and Joy! This has made my top ten. Takes you back to a time when you had a world of opportunity in front of you.

Not sure what the other reviews about "so much foul language" are talking about. There are maybe three cuss words in the whole book; not a big deal at all.

Hubby listened

loved the book andy hubby asked me to not listen to it unless he was in car.