Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Even After Sunset

Rate this book
I planned for every situation on my solo road-trip adventure... except for the gorgeous, broody stowaway I find passed out in my food truck my very first night.
"One of the best YA novels I've read in a while. I couldn't put the book down until I finished it!" (Amazon reader)

I haven’t seen my childhood best friend since that horrible afternoon seven years ago when we both lost our parents. When I was adopted by an awesome couple, and Silas got stuck with an abusive uncle. And then spent the last two years in juvie.

And while I love my life now: my adoptive family, the private school, my amazing friends … it’s all just borrowed. I haven’t done a thing to deserve any of it.

This food truck business - selling cookies at festivals across New England over the summer, is one of the few ways I could think of to prove to myself that I can stand on my own two feet. And that I’m more than just a charity-case who hit the mother-load.

Then I find a strange guy passed out on my mint green comforter when I pull over my first night. A gorgeous, hungover stranger. Who, it turns out, is not a stranger at all. He’s Silas. My Silas. All grown up. And not nearly as happy to be reunited as I am.

But after a call to his case worker, I manage to recruit him as my reluctant co-pilot. And now my cookie-selling road trip becomes the opportunity I’ve spent seven years waiting for: the chance to make things right for what happened that fateful afternoon that separated us.

But that will only happen if this moody, wise-cracking, grown-up version of Silas lets down some of his walls and lets me in. Because I’m starting to suspect more happened that long-ago afternoon, and while I’ve managed to move on from it all, Silas is still clearly trapped by it.

EVEN AFTER SUNSET is an enemies-to-lovers Young Adult road trip romance - a perfectly balanced mix of witty banter and soulful storytelling, with plenty of laughs and a sweet and satisfying happily-ever-after.

*Please note this book was previously published under the title “When Jackie Hit The Road”

313 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 27, 2023

118 people are currently reading
176 people want to read

About the author

Sophie McAloon

5 books41 followers
Award winning author Sophie McAloon writes YA fiction with relatable heroines and rebellious heroes. Enemies-to-lovers fans will devour the slow burn romance, witty banter, and happily-ever-after that she delivers in all her stories. Sophie, who is a proud Canadian, loves spontaneous road trips, marshmallow bananas, rainy Sunday afternoons, and browsing bookstores for hours.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
40 (34%)
4 stars
45 (39%)
3 stars
23 (20%)
2 stars
7 (6%)
1 star
0 (0%)
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
Profile Image for ✨ Brianna Raquel ✨.
1,052 reviews13 followers
October 26, 2021
I really enjoyed this book! Jackie and Silas' characters are very genuine and real, and I love that in a book. I'm glad Richard never gave up on trying to help Silas because sometimes it just takes that one person who never quit on you. I just wish there was more conversation about that night. It felt a little lacking in that area, but other than that, it's a great book.

Thank you to BookSirens and Sophie McAloon for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Adele.
84 reviews2 followers
November 17, 2024
Like all the other Sandy Haven books, I loved this one. I was so engrossed in it it almost felt too short. I was rooting for Jackie and Silas the whole time, and those are my favourite type of books because the author is able to make you feel invested in the characters.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Profile Image for Sharon.
1,169 reviews3 followers
February 17, 2025
Wow… Silas and Jackie’s story will hit you hard! There is a lot to unfold and the author does an amazing job. Childhood friends who lost it all one tragic night. Their lives took different paths after that until one night Jackie finds Silas passed out in her RV. Now they are sharing a summer together where truths are revealed. Truths that are difficult to admit- difficult to hear. I wanted to reach out and hug Silas so many times. My heart ached for him. I am so glad he and Jackie found their way together. The way the author pulls you in allows you to feel all their pain. It hurts so be ready!

20 reviews
April 2, 2025
Story pulls you in

I read this book in 2 nights. It made me want to keep reading until I got through all the twists and turns and to see how the story ends.
Loved the book. Not Happy with the ending. It needs an extended eulogy or something to give us a glimpse of how and where Jackie and Salis end up.
Profile Image for Shannon Bolton.
541 reviews4 followers
May 21, 2025
3.5 stars. The author told a good story. I loved the FMCs personality and how she just kept giving Silas better than he deserved. Silas wasn't my favorite but again, the author wrote him well enough to make me care so kudos to her. I wish this had less language but I appreciated that there was no spice.
496 reviews
August 26, 2025
I thought I read enough for you, but I guess I didn’t. This was just not my kind of book not because it wasn’t written well, but because it was about alcoholism etc

If there was a content warning, I probably would not have read it. I’m also sad because the end was so short.
Profile Image for Christina Beaulieu.
25 reviews
April 7, 2024
Great book with a lot more depth than you would suspect. Wish there were more of these characters!
Profile Image for Karen Ruedisueli.
270 reviews1 follower
April 14, 2025
difficult subjects....alcohol and murder ..otherwise a couple of teens road tripping with some quirky attractions and experiences.
17 reviews1 follower
December 31, 2025
good clean YA romance

Sophie McAloon does a great job writing about alcohol addiction and trauma induced negative behaviors. Characters are believable and mostly likable.
Profile Image for Palak.
122 reviews19 followers
July 22, 2021
Thank you to BookSirens and the author, Sophie McAloon, for sending me an e-copy of When Jackie Hit the Road . My review is unbiased, honest, based on my thoughts and ideas only.

Rating ~ 4 / 5 stars

Content Warnings: Death of parents (mentioned multiple times), mental health illness (mentioned), alcoholism, rehab - these are the ones that I caught

This is my first novel by Sophie McAloon and it was such great summer read containing self-discovery, reconnecting with a former friend, and road-tripping around New England while also stopping at the weirdest attractions (Toliet Museum, anyone?).

Jackie, our female protagonist, has planned to travel all around New England to sell cookies and to also get out of the shadow of her adoptive parents to show herself that she can be self-independent. She is a hardcore planner, well, until she finds her childhood friend sleeping in her bed in the camper. Silas isn't the same boy that Jackie knew when she was younger. He's hardened into a man who relies on alcohol to rid himself of his troubles and has already spent time in juvie. Through road-tripping together, both characters help each other find their inner personality.

To be honest, I had thought that this would be a sweet summer romance read about a girl heading off on a road trip by herself. Little did I know that I was going to end up getting bulldozed about how deep this novel actually is. For a novel that seemed pretty simple and straightforward, it contains so many strong themes such as overcoming past trauma and trying to figure out who they want to be.

I loved Jackie's cheery attitude from the start because she helped set a positive tone in the story and was the perfect contrast to Silas's broody personality. Both of these characters just contrasted each other perfectly because they both went through the same exact incident but had 2 separate outcomes that eventually helped each protagonist help the other grow and become more comfortable in their own skin.

The real reason why I had so much fun reading this was because of the weird but cool places that Jackie visited throughout the road trip. The toilet museum, the umbrella cover museum, eating a sandwich in a city named Sandwich, and many more. Even though it seemed weird, it just made so much sense because why would someone want to visit the same places as the general public if you knew about a cooler and much more unique attraction? I have a feeling that I'm now going to follow in Jackie's footsteps and find some crazy cool places near where I live now!

Another well-done indie novel that I desperately need a physical copy of! The cheery music that Jackie loved but Silas hated with his entire soul, the heart-touching journey both characters had, along with the visit to a toilet museum (which I will never forget - lol). This book was just the perfect summer read I needed to get me excited for my future road trips!



Profile Image for Yames Bond.
904 reviews14 followers
July 16, 2021
4🍭🍭🍭🍭
Spanish & English Opinion

🇲🇽 ¡Qué libro tan sorpresivo! Primero, es mi primer texto de la autora y me gustó mucho su estilo de escritura.
Jackie y Silas son personajes complejos pero interesantes. Ella tiene una visión divina y contagiosa de la vida. Me encanta Trudy y la forma en que percibe las cosas es inspiradora.

Silas actúa como todo un patán. Pero una persona con una adicción se conduce así. Peor sino está consiente del problema y que se reencuentra con su amiga de la infancia, quien es el tipo de persona que no renuncia a tratar de actuar bien en cada situación.

La relación es linda y tiene momentos súper lindos pero también tortuosa y desgastante. Todo lo que ambos experimentan es una forma en la que se sufre estando cerca de una adicción. Me encantaría ver mucho más arrastre de Silas hacia Jax, espero que en el libro dos.

🇺🇸 What an unexpected book! This is the first time I read anything from this author and I enjoyed her writing style and the world she built. The main characters, Jackie and Silas are complex but interesting. Both of them have dealt with difficult situations but both of them cope in very different ways, and sharing a journey of a lifetime helps them rekindle their friendship.

Jackie is amazing. She’s tough, resilient, cheery. The way she manages her problems is inspiring and I wish I were like that at her age. Silas is always acting like a jerk… but that happens when someone has an addiction, even if they’re not aware of having it. Jackie doesn’t know how to quit on people and Silas likes living in his torment… that makes their relationship difficult.

They have amazing moments and very romantic ones also, but it’s definitely tiring and hurtful for them in some moments, especially for Jax. I wish Silas could grovel more, maybe in the next book.
Profile Image for Crudelise.
483 reviews4 followers
October 21, 2021
When Jackie hit the Road is a great book.

Jackie is a resilient young women who is set out to go on a roadtrip where she has a foodtruck that sells selfmade cookies. She has her whole life planned and mapped out (that is where she reminded me a lot of myself). What she didn't and couldn't plan is, that her former best friend would crash her road trip...

As they pass by lots of delightfully weird locations, Jackie tries tonget past the walls Silas put up since there last meeting, tries to not get hurt when he continues to be extremely mean & finds parts of herself, she never knew about.

There were few side characters, that played a bigger role but Jackies adoptive parents and lots of people they met on the road. Most of them where delightfully funny :)

The book gets deep on loooot's of dark topics. (depression, three murders of parents, addiction, abbuse)

What I thout was kinda missing was an epilogue, and I think the love story could have been more drawn out, more explicit, more spoken, at least an "I love you"?

Main Characters: Jackie: clear backgroundstory, Silas: partly unclear backgroundstory until the end, mostly locigal actions
Side Charactes: funny, not very deep
Writing Style: Fine
Content: Clean, just kissing
Violence: Medium, some graphic descriptions
Would recommend: Yes


***Thanks to Booksirens for a copy that I recieved for a honest review.
Profile Image for Booksxphotographs.
65 reviews1 follower
October 26, 2021
"I like that instead of it being about me working towards my carefully laid-out plan, it became about getting comfortable with sometimes deviating from the plan, and adapting and failing and being able to laugh at my failures and celebrate successes I didn’t even know were in my future."

Title: When Jackie Hit the Road
Author: Sophie Mcloon
Genre: Young Adult, Romance Fantasy,

It is a story of self discovery and being true to yourself.
Reading it makes me want to go to an roadtrip to discover many weird things in life and to fall in love. Jackie Delaney was off the road to live her life after being with her ever supportive adopted parents. She have Trudy a camper van, Jackie planned to a festisival to sell cookies that is her ultimate goal. When she came at her first stop, there is someone in a camper van a drunk man which is Silas Carmichel her best friend and it was seven years ago last time she saw him after the accident that killed their parents. That put them in a awkward situation
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Fatima.
20 reviews4 followers
July 14, 2021
This is the second novel of Sophie McAloon and the first book in the sandy haven series. The story is about Jackie and Silas two childhood best friends who were separated by the tragic event that happened when they both found their parents dead. Jackie was adopted by Richard and Meryl whom Jackie's mother worked for & Silas was adopted by his uncle who imposed the rule that Silas and Jackie should not meet each other. however, after seven years they meet each other by fate and are set on the journey of ten weeks together, but a lot had changed during this period. Silas has changed. He's not the same as he used to be, & he does not want to be friends with Jackie. So this is best friends to enemies and then to lovers trope. Also, I would like to mention that the author's writing style impressed me, she didn't add unnecessary extra details and also I usually don't like two-way narration in books but I loved it in this one.
Profile Image for Mara Martinez.
91 reviews3 followers
September 13, 2021
When Jackie Hit The Road was a great book!! When I first read the first 5 pages I knew I was going to like the story. It is written in such a casual fun way, as if I were reading a journal Jackie and Silas shared about that summer!

The story made me go through many emotions while reading it! From being mad and angry at the characters to not being able to contain my smile every time they were genuinely happy.

I would have loved if there was a transition between Silas at rehab being mad at her for trying to help him and him accepting his past and working through his trauma. It felt as if he suddenly changed in one night.

But otherwise, I loved the book. It was a simple romance, nothing else than just tinny kisses and spending quality time together, but it still was perfect. I give it a solid 4.5 stars!
-
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Profile Image for Bookishdays.
183 reviews3 followers
July 21, 2021
This is the story of Jackie and Silas, who used to be friends  when they  were children, but after a tragic event they grew up apart, and only reunited ten years later, purely by chance. Suddenly, they are forced to spend the summer together and are need to get to know each other again.

I though this book meant to be a fun and cute summer romance, but I found out that was much more than that. It was deep and moving, and I was hooked since the beginning.

Sure, I loved the road trip on the camper, the perfect summer days exploring quirky tourist attractions, the beautiful waterfalls and Jackie's great music playlists, but most of all, I loved how both of them discovered their passions and how Jackie helped Silas with his traumatic past and alcohol abuse.

Jackie and Silas are a lovely couple and I hope to see them again in the next book of the Sandy Haven series.
Profile Image for Tricia Sibbitt.
27 reviews
August 5, 2021
This is my first time reading anything from this author. It was so much more than I expected. I went in thinking it was a light summer read, about a girl taking a re-vamped food truck on the road to sale some cookies. I expected a reconnection for her and her formal best friend who were torn apart. What you get instead is a journey of finding themselves, facing current and past demons, and untimely overcoming those demons. The writing was amazing, and Jackie and Silas story was heartbreakingly good. I didn’t want to put it down, I was so lost in this world. My only complaint is wanting more. I will recommend this book to everyone that will listen and I will read more by this author.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Profile Image for Giada.
116 reviews10 followers
June 19, 2022
I recived an advantace review copy for free from BookSirens, in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to BookSirens and the author, Sophie McAloon.
5 stars I really loved this read
Jackie, has planned to travel all summer on a solo trip and sell cookies, but on the first night she found her childhood friend Silas sleeping in her camper, In the years they spent apart Silas has hardened and uses alcohol to feel better. During their camper voyage the two help each other and truly understand what they want.
I thought that this novel was a simple love story between teens but it also speaks of very deep themes, such as mental illness, death of parents and alcoholism and I find that the author has managed to insert them in the novel very well
103 reviews1 follower
January 22, 2022
When Jackie Hit the Road by Sophie McAloon Is a young adult romance. It is a unique story about a young woman starting her own cookie food truck.
I did find it a bit far-fetched that her parents would allow her to travel by herself at the age of seventeen, though. There were a few spelling and grammatical errors that need to be corrected.
Overall, it was a good story. I got a bit a laugh at some of the baking mistakes that were made. Who hasn't ruined a batch of cookies at some point?
Thank you to the publishers Ms. McAloon, and BookSirens for the advance copy. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
8,773 reviews63 followers
March 23, 2022
Jackie didn't want to rely on her Foster parents forever and so at the age of 17 packed a van full of cookies to start her big adventure on the open road! But by night one she learns she has a stow away, in the form of Silas, and what a blast from the past he is. Their pasts entwined in tragedy their lives went in separate ways, Silas got a rough deal with juvie whilst Jackie found a place with another family. Now Jackie wants to do right by Silas and gets him assigned to help her.
This is a coming of age, reunited friends after tragedy, full of laughter, emotions, tough times and more.
Profile Image for evieo17 .
5,070 reviews51 followers
June 15, 2021
This is my first book form this author and I loved it. My heart broke for Jackie and Silas having to go through all that at such a young age, I’m surprised they didn’t have more issues. I’m glad that they had people willing to go to bat for them. Can’t wait to read more in this series from this author.
Profile Image for Arceli.
1,571 reviews11 followers
May 13, 2022
I really liked this book. The romance was awesome. The characters had a lot of chemistry together. I enjoyed the writing and the whole road trip premise.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.