Road Trip Collection by Jolene Betty Perry, Sarah M. Eden, Ranee` S. Clark, Annette Lyon, Heather B. Moore & Aubrey Mace Genre: Contemporary Romance Publication date: May 10, 2016 Format: This book was provided in a PDF format by Annette Lyon as part of her Street Team. You can read the collection here: https://www.amazon.com/Road-Collection-Timeless-Romance-Anthology-ebook/dp/B01C13N136/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&refRID=VT7QC2EDCAVDK6KE443N&linkCode=sl1&tag=annelyon-20&linkId=e14c4d6e54973fc2b7317d9943b63c1c Ok, so this book is a collection of 6 short stories, all set in a road trip setting. Each one varies in nature making them all different from each other and interesting to read. For the review, I will be reviewing each separate story, so this may turn into quite a long post. The first story is What Falling Feels Like by Jolene Betty Perry. It was a quick and really fun read. The characters didn't need any introductions at all but they also felt pretty well developed. It took me about 40 minutes to read through it and it was around 55-60 pages in PDF format.
The story switches between the POV of Kendall and Tyler. It alternates every chapter so it was pretty easy to keep up with who’s talking. Now a little information about the characters. Kendall is a 24 or 25 year old (based on my calculations) that has just divorced from her husband and now owns a business where she fixes up old and broken campers and RVs and then sells them. Of course, she still hasn't forgotten her old feelings for her best friend’s younger brother, Tyler. Tyler is a year younger than Kendall and builds furniture for a living. The only other characters in this story is Tyler’s sister Ivy, a phone call from Kendall’s ex, an old man who they meet along the way, and the mention of Kendall’s parents. One thing I do wish for is that the ending moved slower so we could read more details. I feel like it would have been more interesting to see events fold out slower. The ending is also predictable; just because these types of books almost always end the same way. So there was nothing surprising about the end but was still worth the read. The second story was Antiques Road Trip by Sarah M. Eden. Ok so as a naturally fast reader, I was flipping through the pages of this story so fast. It moved along smoothly and super fast. I just wanted to keep reading until I hit the end. Kelsey, a high school teacher who loves the Jane Austen era, entered into a competition to basically, live in that time period for 3 days and act as the character that she was assigned. Of course, she meets this really hot guy and, because it's a romance novel, they're stuck in the same carriage together and have to act as an engaged couple. That ‘really hot guy’ that I just mentioned is Devon, who is only on the show because of his sister, who has ASL. As always, the ending was predictable although the story itself took some unexpected turn of events. I actually liked how it ended because it didn't leave me wanting to read more (which isn't a bad thing at all). Everything ties up at the end, making for a more or less happily ever after. The third story in this collection is Wouldn’t it be nice by Ranee` S. Clark. This was also a fun read that kept me going until I hit the end. Again, it didn’t leave me wanting to read more, meaning that it answered all the questions that I had. I like the idea of this story: childhood friends who turn into something more after 20 years. Personally, these are some of my favorite types of stories to read in the romance genre. One thing that set this story apart from the first 2 is that there's an epilogue that tells about their ‘happily ever after.’ So the characters in the book is Jac, the main protagonist; her sister Ivy and best friend Ariell; their ‘dates’ (fiance, date) and Ariell’s brother Hudson. Jac just broke up with her boyfriend due to his job and refusal to make time for this road trip. To make up for the extra seat, Ariell invites her brother along and the rest in basically history. I really enjoyed the story and will definitely be reading more by this author. The fourth story is Head over Heels by Annette Lyon. This was one of my favorite stories in the collection. I really liked the idea of travelling and blogging (also because it is one of the things that I’ve always wanted to do). So basically, the main female character is Tristan and she blogs about the single life for a living. Then at the comic con that she attends, during a speed dating round, she meets Mac, and she believes that she may actually like him. Long story short, after the session, she and him both slip away and Tristan can’t find him anymore. Tristan receives a call from a hotel in Vegas and needs to find a way to get there. Her best friend Alyssa figures out a solution involving a Mackayla (Mac). There was a basic misunderstanding with both of them and then the story goes on from there. I absolutely loved Tristan’s best friend Alyssa because she is so sneaky in getting the two together. Everything that happened in this story has almost happened to me in real life (welcome to high school *I say sarcastically*), with planning the dates of one of my friends. Basically, I share the same feelings as Alyssa. (Funny thing, the friend that I set up was named Alyssa). I seriously loved the ending of this story, showing that bloggers may actually have a happy ending (jkjk) but the story is still amazing. And the fifth story is Two Dozen Roses by Heather B. Moore. This story was such a sweet read. Dayna, the founder of a travel agency, is set off on a road trip with her mother from LA to Oregon, and her mother insisted that they follow a guide, stopping at all the places a travel group has deemed worthy. On the other hand, Roman and his brother promised his late sister that they will take the trip together. Coincidentally, they meet at all the same places because they are following the same list and Dayna and Roman takes an interest to each other. Roman’s brother on the other hand, is used to girls falling instantly at them so he’s placed in a weird position between it. I really enjoyed the story. I will never get tired of reading a story about a independent lady finally finding a man. The sixth story is Try, Try Again by Aubrey Mace and is definitely one of the weirder (not exactly in a bad way) stories that I’ve read. So Sarah is the main character and Justin is her love interest. They used to both work at a bookstore together until they both move on after Justin kisses her after he breaks up after with his girlfriend. The only thing I didn’t like about the book is that the first half of the story jumps between the past (six months ago) and the present tense. Also the fact that Sarah and her, might I mention, pregnant friend just jumped into a car to find Justin at a viewing. Overall, this wasn’t the best story that I read in this collection but nonetheless was a well written story. Overall Collection: I give this collection an 8/10. It was a fun read that I read over the span of 2-3 days, whenever I had a free moment throughout the day. I enjoyed some of the stories more than others but overall, the entire collection was well written and lots of detail in every way. If you like romance set in the road trip and the ‘love at first sight’ setting, I really recommend this book and you guys should all read this soon. So what did you think about my review? Will you be reading the collection once it comes out? Leave me your thoughts in the comments below or find me on social media. ~Brooke
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About me!Brooke's a high schooler who loves to read all sorts of books. She's happy to be able to share all the books she's reading with all of y'all. Archives
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