Review: Right of Way

Title: Right of Way

Author: Lauren Barnholdt

Date of Publication: July 9, 2013

Formats Available: Hardcover, Paperback, E-book

Buy This Book: Amazon

Synopsis: Can a road trip repair a romance gone wrong? Find out in this standalone companion to Lauren Barnholdt’s Two-way Street.

Here are Peyton and Jace, meeting on vacation. Click! It’s awesome, it’s easy, it’s romantic. This is the real deal.

Unless it isn’t. Because when you’re in love, you don’t just stop calling one day. And you don’t keep secrets. Or lie. And when your life starts falling apart, you’re supposed to have the other person to lean on.

Here are Peyton and Jace again, broken up but thrown together on a road trip. One of them is lying about the destination. One of them is pretending not to be leaving something behind. And neither of them is prepared for what’s coming on the road ahead…

My Review:

Lauren Barnholdt is a great author, she knows how to pull a reader in and make them interested and keep them interested until the very last page. Unfortunately even though I always enjoy her novels I always finish them thinking that they just needed a little "oomph" to make them truly something memorable. Right of Way was no exception, even though it was interesting and immensely fun to read, it just didn't have that spark that would have made it a fantastic read.

If there is one thing Right of Way is it's entertaining. I blew through this book in a matter of hours and enjoyed every single second of it. Barnholdt knows how to pull her readers in and make them interested in the story, leaving out key details until the novel progresses and making it impossible to put down. On the flip side when I sat down to write this review I realized how dumb the plot really was. Even though it's entertaining most of the reasoning behind the characters actions is based on a weak foundation and the more I thought about it the more I started to find the characters weak and shallow.

While I was reading the novel I liked Peyton and Jace however, the more I I thought about everything the less respect I had for them. Both Peyton and Jace were extremely selfish and as more was revealed about their relationship the more I didn't understand why they had so much drama between them. They both made shallow decisions and even though they "broke each other's hearts" I could never really figure out what it was that caused their hearts to break. Despite all that they were really fun to read about and Barnholdt really knows how to craft a good story, I just wish I had been able to look back on the novel and remember liking the characters as much as I did while I was reading it.

One thing I always, always, always love is changing perspectives. I loved seeing both Peyton and Jace's points of view but one thing I didn't like was the flashback chapters in alternating points of view. Because of that I had four different story lines to remember and focus on and in the end that made the novel a little confusing to read. I would have preferred the novel from Peyton's and Jace's alternating perspectives during the present time but I felt that the flashbacks were just a little overwhelming and didn't add enough to the story to make them necessary.

At the end of the day I would recommend this novel to readers who want something light and fun without much real content. Despite the shallow characters and weak motives it was still a super entertaining read and I really did enjoy it. I'm just waiting for the one book by Barnholdt that will have that little spark that will make it into something even better.

4/5