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leahkarge's review
4.0
Overall this book was a great read and I recommend it. Just take heed of all the trigger warnings, because some of them are fairly explicit, especially as regards the abusive relationship and gaslighting.
Read the full review and list of warnings on my blog!
Read the full review and list of warnings on my blog!
suze_1624's review against another edition
3.0
3.5*
Well the cutsie cover hid a wealth of life experiences built into 18yr olds Ethan and Nick.
Both have hard roads travelled behind them and the story is really about how they begin to move forward.
They are very young and their road trip did take in the sights that titillate the young!
Their relationship gradually develops despite secrets still kept and I think the short time apart was needed.
Ethan needed to talk about Scott and Nick needed to report Kyle and Camp whatever for abuse.
The story read quite quickly, some hard parts, some humourous parts. They did consider a man twice their age as old (he wouldn’t even by 40!). It did show how parents don’t know what goes on when their child moves towards independence but also the child does not use the resource of parents (and in Ethan’s case, Scott’s parents)
Well the cutsie cover hid a wealth of life experiences built into 18yr olds Ethan and Nick.
Both have hard roads travelled behind them and the story is really about how they begin to move forward.
They are very young and their road trip did take in the sights that titillate the young!
Their relationship gradually develops despite secrets still kept and I think the short time apart was needed.
Ethan needed to talk about Scott and Nick needed to report Kyle and Camp whatever for abuse.
The story read quite quickly, some hard parts, some humourous parts. They did consider a man twice their age as old (he wouldn’t even by 40!). It did show how parents don’t know what goes on when their child moves towards independence but also the child does not use the resource of parents (and in Ethan’s case, Scott’s parents)
the_novel_approach's review
5.0
I’m just gonna lay my cards right out on the table…I completely adored this book. I’ve not read these authors before, but it seems that Detour was a labor of love for the writing duo of Reesa Herberth and Michelle Moore that’s been a long time in the making. If you missed their tour stop on The Novel Approach, you can read it HERE. I got a good chuckle at all the different incarnations Ethan and Nick have gone through over the years! I’m so glad the story ended up as it did, though, because I loved it. The Ethan and Nick we meet in Detour are so fantastic, I have to believe that these are the characters they were always meant to be and the way they were meant to meet and fall for each other.
Sometimes, oftentimes I guess, I have a clear favorite character in a book. That wasn’t the case here. If I had to choose, I think Ethan would jusssst barely edge out Nick, but I adored them pretty much equally. Ethan is the middle child of seven kids. With three older and three younger siblings, he’s probably never had a moment to himself in his entire life. So, I didn’t blame his family one bit for being worried about him as he set off alone on the road trip he was supposed to take with his boyfriend, Scott, who died a little over a year ago. He wasn’t alone for long, however. On his first day on the road, he ends up with an unexpected companion when he nearly runs over Nick, who is hitchhiking on a stormy backroad.
Nick is clearly going through something heavy, but Ethan doesn’t want to push him too hard to find out what it is right away. Ethan is no stranger to dealing with shit that you don’t want to talk about, and he recognizes that Nick is more than a little skittish at first, so he gives him some time to open up, and even offers him the ‘out’ of lying to him if a question or conversation hits a little too close to home. Ethan eventually finds out that Nick is running away from an abusive boot camp that his parents sent him to—though, technically he was allowed to leave, since he left on his eighteenth birthday, the day Ethan picked him up. Ethan also learns that Nick is dealing with his own grief, having lost his younger brother to cancer less than two years prior, and that he’s being stalked and possibly followed by his crazy ex-boyfriend, who was SO creepy and horrible.
One of the really surprising and refreshing things about this story was that even though it was dealing with these very heavy subjects—grief and loss, abuse, and PTSD among them—the authors kept the overall tone of the book very light. And, they did it through humor and the warmth and charm of these two characters. Ethan and Nick were fantastic together. I loved how they both handled their situations with grace and humor and honesty, even when they were vulnerable. Herberth and Moore nail the dialogue and situations the guys get into on the trip. The banter is witty, and fun, and feels true to the characters. It was so easy to get caught up in them, and to find myself full-on rooting for them over the course of the book. There are definitely some moments that are hard, some conversations that were gut-punchers, but the lightness always overcame the dark.
There are tons of things to love about this book, guys. And, I also JUST noticed that it’s titled as the first in a series, Transportation, on Goodreads, which makes me so happy! I can’t wait to see what else Herberth and Moore have in the works; I would love to read more from these authors. Maybe a book for Stefan?? A girl can hope! Check this one out for sure. Detour is a hopeful, feel-good, emotional but ultimately very happy and sweet book. It’s one I could absolutely see revisiting when I need something funny and happy-making to read. 😊
Reviewed by Jules for The Novel Approach
Sometimes, oftentimes I guess, I have a clear favorite character in a book. That wasn’t the case here. If I had to choose, I think Ethan would jusssst barely edge out Nick, but I adored them pretty much equally. Ethan is the middle child of seven kids. With three older and three younger siblings, he’s probably never had a moment to himself in his entire life. So, I didn’t blame his family one bit for being worried about him as he set off alone on the road trip he was supposed to take with his boyfriend, Scott, who died a little over a year ago. He wasn’t alone for long, however. On his first day on the road, he ends up with an unexpected companion when he nearly runs over Nick, who is hitchhiking on a stormy backroad.
Nick is clearly going through something heavy, but Ethan doesn’t want to push him too hard to find out what it is right away. Ethan is no stranger to dealing with shit that you don’t want to talk about, and he recognizes that Nick is more than a little skittish at first, so he gives him some time to open up, and even offers him the ‘out’ of lying to him if a question or conversation hits a little too close to home. Ethan eventually finds out that Nick is running away from an abusive boot camp that his parents sent him to—though, technically he was allowed to leave, since he left on his eighteenth birthday, the day Ethan picked him up. Ethan also learns that Nick is dealing with his own grief, having lost his younger brother to cancer less than two years prior, and that he’s being stalked and possibly followed by his crazy ex-boyfriend, who was SO creepy and horrible.
One of the really surprising and refreshing things about this story was that even though it was dealing with these very heavy subjects—grief and loss, abuse, and PTSD among them—the authors kept the overall tone of the book very light. And, they did it through humor and the warmth and charm of these two characters. Ethan and Nick were fantastic together. I loved how they both handled their situations with grace and humor and honesty, even when they were vulnerable. Herberth and Moore nail the dialogue and situations the guys get into on the trip. The banter is witty, and fun, and feels true to the characters. It was so easy to get caught up in them, and to find myself full-on rooting for them over the course of the book. There are definitely some moments that are hard, some conversations that were gut-punchers, but the lightness always overcame the dark.
There are tons of things to love about this book, guys. And, I also JUST noticed that it’s titled as the first in a series, Transportation, on Goodreads, which makes me so happy! I can’t wait to see what else Herberth and Moore have in the works; I would love to read more from these authors. Maybe a book for Stefan?? A girl can hope! Check this one out for sure. Detour is a hopeful, feel-good, emotional but ultimately very happy and sweet book. It’s one I could absolutely see revisiting when I need something funny and happy-making to read. 😊
Reviewed by Jules for The Novel Approach
endemictoearth's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
3.75
So, this book was very good, but it deals with some seriously serious stuff. I wasn't really prepared for how many things this was going to throw at the reader CW for intimate partner violence, stalking, conversion camps, school shooting, and lots of grieving. With all of these issues, the authors tread fairly deftly.
I had to suspend disbelief for the meeting a bit, but I do love a road trip romance. It's just easier to buy the accelerated timeline when the characters are together 24/7. And you get a good sense of these two being kids, 18 and 19 years old, who've each had some very rough stuff happen to them, but are still figuring themselves out.
I didn't realize this was the first in a series, I would definitely read more about these two characters.
I had to suspend disbelief for the meeting a bit, but I do love a road trip romance. It's just easier to buy the accelerated timeline when the characters are together 24/7. And you get a good sense of these two being kids, 18 and 19 years old, who've each had some very rough stuff happen to them, but are still figuring themselves out.
I didn't realize this was the first in a series, I would definitely read more about these two characters.
ally_lester's review against another edition
5.0
I go through phases where I don't read contemporary romance at all; and when I do. they have to have *something* there to hold my interest. This did, all the way through. Two people with pretty severe issues, working them out with each other whilst driving across the US. Sweet, thoughtful, tender. It was lovely.
terriaminute's review
5.0
Different wounds, different healing speeds, different solutions, great story.
I have a quibble or two about this novel, but enjoyed it so much that even the one serious quibble seems unimportant in the afterglow from that Epilogue.
Ethan the blond soft jock still mourning his boyfriend, meets deeply wounded Nick in a startling way, and that theme continues through the book - they can't help but affect each other, more and more deeply. I absolutely love the way they skirt subjects too deep for the bit of time they've known each other. The grieving hurts, the nasty abusive ex hurts, and the help the boys can offer each other is all the sweeter in the face of those hurts. It ends exactly perfectly for a YA. Perfectly.
The one serious quibble? Nick early on is as able as Ethan is with the snappy comebacks, after that long in the terrible institution the horrible ex/stupid parents landed him in? That felt too...easy, just for some fun joking lines. It's the only part of the story that hit me wrong, though.
I have a quibble or two about this novel, but enjoyed it so much that even the one serious quibble seems unimportant in the afterglow from that Epilogue.
Ethan the blond soft jock still mourning his boyfriend, meets deeply wounded Nick in a startling way, and that theme continues through the book - they can't help but affect each other, more and more deeply. I absolutely love the way they skirt subjects too deep for the bit of time they've known each other. The grieving hurts, the nasty abusive ex hurts, and the help the boys can offer each other is all the sweeter in the face of those hurts. It ends exactly perfectly for a YA. Perfectly.
The one serious quibble? Nick early on is as able as Ethan is with the snappy comebacks, after that long in the terrible institution the horrible ex/stupid parents landed him in? That felt too...easy, just for some fun joking lines. It's the only part of the story that hit me wrong, though.
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