Quick Facts
My Rating: 4 stars
Series: Continuation of Once Upon a Road Trip
Date Read: September 8, 2014
Source: Review copy from author
Publication Date: November 1, 2014
Publisher: Artifice Press
Genres: Memoir, romance
Summary (taken from
Goodreads): Set after the events of Blount's debut memoir, Once Upon A Road Trip, this short story anthology focuses on the unusual courtship of Angeli and Vincent.
When Angeli left Minnesota on a post-high school road trip, all she wanted was to see the East Coast and finally meet some of her online friends. She didn't expect to end up in a long-distance relationship with a computer-savvy Southern boy. Yet Vincent seems determined to defy the odds. To prove his intentions, he sets off on his own quest to visit Angeli and win her family's approval. But along the way he’ll have to contend with her offbeat friends, trigger-happy father, and a few questionable run-ins with Northern hospitality.
South meets North this time around, and "normal" isn't anywhere on the map.
With a thousand miles and radically different upbringings between them, can Angeli and Vincent forge a forever-worthy bond? Or are the roadblocks they face too much for either of them to overcome?
When Angeli left Minnesota on a post-high school road trip, all she wanted was to see the East Coast and finally meet some of her online friends. She didn't expect to end up in a long-distance relationship with a computer-savvy Southern boy. Yet Vincent seems determined to defy the odds. To prove his intentions, he sets off on his own quest to visit Angeli and win her family's approval. But along the way he’ll have to contend with her offbeat friends, trigger-happy father, and a few questionable run-ins with Northern hospitality.
South meets North this time around, and "normal" isn't anywhere on the map.
With a thousand miles and radically different upbringings between them, can Angeli and Vincent forge a forever-worthy bond? Or are the roadblocks they face too much for either of them to overcome?
Review
My first impression of this book was that the writing seemed to flow better than I remembered in the first book. I also really enjoyed reading the rest of Angeli's story. It proved to be an easy read and actually managed to bring me out of a reading slump, which was greatly appreciated.
However, I did feel like something was missing. I think this was mostly due to so many parts being skipped over. That said, it is understandable - there likely wasn't much story to tell about the times Angeli and Vincent were apart. It also helped in keeping the story pretty fast-paced.
The dialogue was another flaw. I can't remember if this was a problem in the first book (I read it quite awhile ago), but at times it pulled me away from the story. Clearly it would be impossible to remember every conversation in the book word for word, but some of them seemed edited to the point where I couldn't see anyone speaking that way.
Overall, I did enjoy this a lot. It's a short, easy read and I definitely thought it was worth it. It also has many of the qualities of the first book, being a nonfiction work written so much like a contemporary that it felt like fiction at times. I really enjoyed that aspect, not being a big nonfiction reader myself.
However, I did feel like something was missing. I think this was mostly due to so many parts being skipped over. That said, it is understandable - there likely wasn't much story to tell about the times Angeli and Vincent were apart. It also helped in keeping the story pretty fast-paced.
The dialogue was another flaw. I can't remember if this was a problem in the first book (I read it quite awhile ago), but at times it pulled me away from the story. Clearly it would be impossible to remember every conversation in the book word for word, but some of them seemed edited to the point where I couldn't see anyone speaking that way.
Overall, I did enjoy this a lot. It's a short, easy read and I definitely thought it was worth it. It also has many of the qualities of the first book, being a nonfiction work written so much like a contemporary that it felt like fiction at times. I really enjoyed that aspect, not being a big nonfiction reader myself.
This sounds like a fun series overall even if you had a few problems with it. It sounds like the effortless writing flow would make for a fun, quick read though. I'll have to go check out the first book! :) Great review, Katie!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm glad you're checking it out and really hope you enjoy it :)
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