I received a free copy of this book through Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion or my review of the book in any way. Many thanks to the publisher for providing me with this eARC!
by Meghan Quinn
Genres: New Adult, Romance
Publication date: January 12, 2016
Published by: Hot-Lanta Publishing, LLC
Ebook, 273 pages
My rating: DNF at 74%
Never in a million years would I have pictured myself as an axe-wielding, dragon lady, chopping up multi-colored flannel shirts into my very own plaid mulch. But here I am, chopping away my frustrations.
It all started when my brother, Paul, convinced me to go on one last family road trip across the Mother Road with him and my dad.. Just like old times, right? Wrong. What Paul fails to mention is his best man, Porter, will be joining us, who just so happens to be my childhood crush and the man who broke my heart four years ago.
What is supposed to be a fun, family bonding experience across Route 66 turns into a war of pranks, awkward moments and bathrooms full of dirty flannel shirts and day old beard clippings. Paul’s know-it-all attitude and Porter’s devilish charm brings me to the brink of my sanity on my seven day trek across the United States with three bearded men in a small 1980’s RV.
I am admitting defeat at the 74% mark. I put this book down a while ago and thought that maybe I would pick it back up and actually enjoy reading it, but I have no desire to continue on with the story.
I requested this book on Netgalley because it sounded like it was made for me. Roadtrip? Hate-to-love kind of romance? It all sounded so good. Unfortunately, it didn't work out.
First of all, I know this book is supposed to be really funny, but it wasn't my kind of humor. The pranks and the very embarrassing situations that our main character finds herself in didn't make me laugh but rather made me feel very uncomfortable.
I also didn't like the family dynamics. Marley's relationship to her brother felt so awkward and weird, I didn't enjoy reading about it at all. Her dad seemed like a nice guy and I liked his character, but how they all interacted with each other again didn't really feel right to me.
And then there's the romance. Just, no. It was so full of stereotypes and I swear I've read it all before. First of all, Porter is not the kind of guy that sounds attractive to me at all. But obviously Marley doesn't feel the same way, which is totally fine. But then their 'trying not to be attracted to the other person' thoughts and actions were just plain boring. Again, this might just be me getting over the New Adult genre, but it really didn't work for me. I don't want to read about how a girl 'hates' a guy but at the same time can't keep her hands off him ever again. Marley was exactly that. She resents Porter for what he did to her four years ago but is at the same time super attracted to him. And then of course there's the great explanation for Porter's actions which doesn't make any sense at all, but is good enough for Marley and they can finally be together. No, thank you.
So, yes. The story of The Mother Road was nothing special, and I had hoped it would be. The very stereotypical romance didn't work for me and I also didn't particularly enjoy the way it was written. All in all, it wasn't worth pushing through the last third of the book for me.
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