Title: Two for the Road
Author: Chantel Guertin
Type: Fiction
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Date published: December 13, 2022
A complimentary physical copy of this book was kindly provided by the Penguin Reads program bu Penguin Random House Canada in exchange for an honest review.
Sometimes there are detours on the road to love . . .
Gigi Rutherford loves love stories. She reads them, she sells them at her romance bookstore, and she could spend hours imagining the meet-cutes of every couple she encounters. But beyond her shop’s walls, Gigi is out of stock when it comes to her own love interests. And instead of enduring bad date after bad date, these days she’d rather curl up at home with her favourite audiobook and the only man that makes her heart skip a beat: Zane Wilkenson, the smooth-voiced narrator that Gigi is convinced is her soulmate.
Then, she’s presented with the chance of a lifetime: a ten-day bus tour through the hills of the English countryside, taking in the sights and sounds of a world an ocean away from her bookstore–all in the presence of Zane, the man of her dreams, in person, as he leads the tour.
But things don’t go as planned. When Gigi arrives at the bus terminal in London, Zane is nowhere to be found. Until he shows up, she’s stuck with an eclectic group of fellow travellers she’d rather not be with on a long road trip: the recently widowed and chatty Charlotte; odd Francis, a walking Trivial Pursuit; Jenny, a true-crime-makeup YouTuber documenting every detail for her subscribers; and Sindhi and Roshi, a long-married couple that just can’t stop bickering. And then there’s the brooding bus driver, Taj, who Gigi finds infuriating but also incredibly alluring . . .
With heart and charm, warmth and humour, Chantel Guertin explores the meaning of love and family–and how, sometimes, the journey to yourself is where you’ll find everything you’ve been searching for.
⤖ My Review ⬻
Two for the Road is a delightful romance novel by Chantel Guertin that takes readers on a scenic bus tour across England. The setting of the story is one of the most intriguing aspects of the book, and it is easy to get lost in the descriptions of the historic landmarks and charming towns that the characters visit.
The heroine of Two for the Road is likable, but her infatuation with one of the characters threw me off a little bit—it seemed a bit unrealistic for me. Despite this, readers will find themselves invested in her journey as she navigates both the tour and her feelings.
As the story in Two for the Road progresses, the attention paid to the settings remains a highlight, and I appreciated the descriptions of the English countryside and the quaint villages that the characters pass through. The romance between the main character and the love interest is also cute and provides a satisfying emotional core to the story.
I will say, however, that I did wish for more scenes between the main character and the love interest. Also, I often found the side characters and the love interest to be more interesting than the main character herself. Overall, Two for the Road is a charming and easy-to-read romance novel that will transport readers on a journey through England. Fans of rom-coms and/or travelogues will find plenty to enjoy in this book.
⤖ About the Author ⬻
Chantel Guertin is the bestselling author of eight novels—four for adults and four for teens. She lives in Toronto with her family.
I have been reading a lot of light romances lately, so this one definitely sounds right up my alley! Lovely review <3