Just a Road Trip

by Deb Goodman

One RV. Two weeks. Way more than three reasons they should not fall in love.

Violet:

Thanks to my meddling mom, I’m suddenly road tripping across the country in a luxury RV with the handsome, grumpy Hayden Simmons. I guess there could be worse fates. Except Hayden’s grumbling about all the stops we have to make as I drum up funds for my favorite bookstore. Plus, he seems bound and determined to keep a polite distance, even though our portable living quarters are pretty up close and personal.

Hayden:

I was supposed to do this trip by myself. I didn’t need a talkative, candy-consuming, too-attractive-for-her-own-good librarian Bookstagrammer coming along. This should have been about fulfilling a promise I made to my late mother and nothing more. Now, Violet is making it hard for me to focus on my grief and the unanswered questions about my family. And when her positive outlook on life and caring heart start shifting my feelings, I begin daring to believe there might be a future for us.

But when I discover a secret Violet’s been keeping, I’m not sure how to proceed. My family has secrets of our own. Will opening up to this beautiful bookworm be worth the risk? Or could it lead us down a road to disaster?

Genres: Contemporary

118 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 1, 2024

About the author

Deb Goodman’s obsession with the written word started at age three, when she realized the old-timey newsprint wallpaper in her family’s bathroom had actual words on it. She yearned to know what it said, but by the time she learned to read, the wallpaper had been replaced with something else—boring, non-worded wallpaper—and to this day she still doesn’t know.

Being raised in a small town in Idaho (like, less-than-500-people small), meant that Deb learned early on the importance of home-grown roots, communities that feel like family, and the benefits of a good, hearty potato. Now, she and her husband and kids live in Utah. They love sports, music, and doing slightly insulting, pretend voices for their little dog, Mavis.

Deb writes funny, no-spice romance where there’s always a small town and a big family. Writing lovey dovey books comes naturally to Deb since, to her, there’s nothing better than reading and writing about how two people fall in love.

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Reviews

[Maven_Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just a Road Trip by Deb Goodman is a contemporary, sweet forced‑proximity romance about Violet, a bookish, cheerful woman who finds herself embarking on a cross‑country journey in a luxury RV with the handsome, grumpy Hayden Simmons, thanks to her meddling mother and a fundraising mission to support her favorite bookstore. Their two‑week road trip is filled with close‑quarters living, scenic stops, and the inevitable clash between Violet’s upbeat energy and Hayden’s more guarded, quiet nature, all while each carries personal hopes and shadows from their pasts that begin to surface as they spend time together.

The story is part of Deb Goodman’s Tate Brothers series, and it leans into warm humor, heartfelt growth, and the charm of unexpected companionship on the open road.

From the moment I settled into this story I felt genuinely wrapped up in Violet and Hayden’s evolving dynamic because Goodman captures both the joy and awkwardness of two very different people learning to navigate shared space, emotional bumps, and the tiny ordinary moments that start to feel significant. Violet’s earnest ambition to help her bookstore tugged at my heart because it grounded her as someone with both hope and vulnerability, while Hayden’s reluctance to open up made his small gestures of kindness feel deeply meaningful.

The setting of the RV and the route they travel gave the narrative a cozy, almost cinematic rhythm that made me smile at the funny fights over snacks just as much as the softer conversations about fear, grief, and trust. The pace moves quickly and the relationship develops swiftly, yet, that briskness added to the warmth and lightness of the read without dampening the sincerity of their connection.

I would rate Just a Road Trip a 4 out of 5, because it made me feel uplifted and genuinely hopeful for Violet and Hayden, delivering a sweet, heartfelt journey that felt like a breath of fresh air on a sunny afternoon.

[Meg Bozarth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first book by Deb Goodman, and I loved it!

Just A Roadtrip is a book lovers dream book! It was so relatable to us book lovers who keep buying way to may books even though we have a bookshelf full of amazing books at home!

I loved this story so much. It is a quick and easy read, I read it in one sitting. Of course there was a bit of a romance going on but what I enjoyed most about this books was that real bookstores were featured throughout the story. Which I thought was amazingly done.

This was such a nice fun read!

I loved Hayden and Violet, as a whole and as I visual characters. They both are very relatable!

I’m excited to see Just a Roadtrip is an interconnected standalone in the Tate brothers series! Can’t wait to read it!

[Maria Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short but sweet romance. Their relationship does move quickly but they spend all sorts of time together over their two weeks in an RV so they aren't really strangers anymore but I would have been more comfortable if they'd had some more time before declaring their love. Like maybe get home and date for a bit first? Still, their relationship is sweet and each cares for the other's concerns.
Enjoyable read.

[Dawner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story. Diude was a bit angsty. And she seemed different in first chapter from rest of book.

[azilisrdt · Rating 2 out of 5]

★★/5
« Un livre est un souhait que fait votre coeur »
Les romances courtes c’est définitivement pas fait pour moi.