2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

I definitely enjoyed the book, especially as a summer read that I didn't need to think too hard about. However, I really wanted it to be more profound than it was. My enjoyment doesn't negate that it didn't feel very unique, though that is something I can excuse when a book is written well.

The romance was the most disappointing aspect for me. It felt imbalanced in favour of the protagonist, while her love interest is a bit of an afterthought.

Despite this, the ending wrapped everything up well, and I'm glad I read this!

I really enjoyed this book! I love books set on a road trip - probably because I myself love road trips! Beau and Ophelia (or Phe) are childhood friends that grew apart over the years. But when Phe’s father dies and she finds out a life changing secret he was hiding from her, a road trip with Beau might be what helps her heal and come to grips with the past… and maybe help mend the friendship that they have been missing.

As Beau and Phe grapple with the concept of “truth” in different ways - Beau as research for his next book, and Phe as she tries to come to terms with her past - there may also be some sparks that fly.

I loved the relationship between Beau and Phe - how they recount childhood moments, and their banter, which was at times so easy and effortless and at other times kind of painfully awkward.

But when they reach the end of this road trip - will they find the truths they are looking for and what will become of their relationship? There’s only one way to find out - go grab and copy and dive right in!

I loved this debut by Mara Williams. This book truly took me on a journey and I loved every moment of it. I loved that this book wasn’t just a love story but a bit of a mystery. Where was Ophelia’s mom? Beau’s research colliding with her search for the truth about her mom was perfection. This book will grab you from page one and not let go. Highly recommend to lovers of contemporary fiction!

I found this story both touching and full of surprises. Following Ophelia and her former best friend Beau on their road trip felt like peeling back layers of old wounds and hidden family secrets. Watching them confront the past while slowly finding their way back to each other made the journey feel raw, emotional, and unexpectedly hopeful.

The Truth is in the Detours has a lot going on. Ophelia and Beau grew up as neighbors and best friends until something pulled them apart. He returns when her father dies and they go on a road trip to support Gray's research for a book on secrets. They have their own secrets to grapple with. A sexy romance with a little more meat to the story but has all the formula requirements. A misunderstanding, an evil soon to be ex, a selfish sidekick and a heroine who comes to her senses too late. I wish there would have been more about the locations they travelled to, which is what I was expecting. Still a good diversion with enjoyable characters to follow on their various quests.

Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley

As a huge fan of childhood friends to lovers and enemies to lovers I absolutely loved seeing them combined here. It was such a fun dynamic to see play out!

Ophelia and Beau have such a funny, sweet, spicy relationship. They can cut down and be real with each other. And although they had their immature moments they always found their way back to honesty and each other. Plus their banter and borderline sparing at times was amazing, I loved it!

Read if you love:
❤️ Childhood friends to lovers
🚘 Road trips
🤫 Family secrets

I heard the words “forced proximity” and I was in. This debut took the characters on a great journey from miscommunication to friends to more, and I loved the exploration of different types of relationships! There is humor, heartfelt moments, and all the emotions. The ending was so worth the journey!

Thank you to the author for the gifted copy. All thoughts are my own.

“All this time, we’ve shared different histories, different truths”.

What a great read! I loved the slow burn connection throughout this book! I was rooting for Ophelia & Beau the whole time. I loved all the stories and glimpses of their childhood relationship - it really strengthened the bond between them.
The concept of Beau’s book about how choices change history was fascinating. Every person he interviewed for his book was so interesting and it makes you think about choices we make and how it has changed the trajectory of our lives (and probably others too). Will highly recommend!!

The Truth is in the Detours by Mara Willliams
This was a very good story, so full of feelings. Ophelia and Beau were practically brought up together as next door neighbors – almost inseparable – Ophelia’s mother, unbeknownst to Ophelia, finds out after her father passes away and cleaning up the house that her mother had given up her rights to her when she was very young – yet her father never told her. Beau is searching for his own answers about his life and when he decides to do some on the road research ,Ophelia goes with him to help him with his search and to hopefully find answers about her mother, but first they have to find her. It’s a very good story – of how they used to be – finding out more about each other and their families. I wasn’t sure where this story was going but it was certainly in the right direction and full of detours as well. . I am sure you will love it as I did and will look for more from this author. Thank you to #NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book. Enjoy!

Loved this friends-to-enemies-to-lovers roadtrip romance set in California! Ophelia and Beau have been neighbors and bestfriends since they were four-years-old. In high school Ophelia and Beau couldn’t have been more different, they grew apart, and they haven’t spoken since Beau left San Diego to attend Harvard. Fast-forward to the present day, Ophelia’s Dad died suddenly and Beau, now a hotshot professor and bestselling author, shows up to help her pack up the house, after Ophelia makes an earth-shattering discovery about her parents. According to a court document Ophelia finds amongst her Dad’s things, her mother didn’t die in the car accident that left Ophelia with a scar and her Dad a single parent. Floundering and grieving, Ophelia impulsively convinces Beau to take her along as he researches his next book on why people lie. Along the way, Ophelia learns that Beau‘s divorcing his Instagram-perfect ER doctor wife and that he has an address for a woman who might be her mom. With each interview and stop they make, the pair grow closer and discover a sizzling attraction along with the old friendship that bound them together as children.

I love how Ophelia isn‘t perfect. She’s messy, insecure, and indecisive, but she also runs her own business and sums up Mary Oliver’s poetry perfectly. Watching her figure out what she wanted through baby steps was one of the best parts of this book. I love how Beau has been crushing on Ophelia for forever; he’s always there for her but he also makes mistakes; it made this book more realistic and relatable. I don’t want to spoil the plot, but I really liked the mental health and therapy rep in this book, even if it broke my heart at times. The mystery of Ophelia’s mother kept me intrigued. This isn’t an explicit romance, but it’s not completely closed-door either. I felt like some of the later scenes were rushed and skimmed over, but I did enjoy it!

I think the best part of this book was that I felt like I was there with the characters on their stops. Mara Williams shows us the ugly and the beautiful parts of California and humanity through Ophelia and Beau’s research trip. I’m looking forward to seeing more from this author! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Thank you, Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing, for the advanced reader copy! Ophelia's father passes, and she finds out that her mother is alive after all. I loved this book, and seeing the detours and dead ends of life reflected in this book was comforting. I am glad this book is on Kindle Unlimited as well, so I can recommend it to my friends!

A heartfelt and unpredictable journey of self-discovery, this novel takes readers on a road trip filled with secrets, old grudges, and emotional revelations. As Ophelia and her estranged best friend Beau uncover family mysteries and confront past wounds, their journey not only unravels long-buried truths but also rekindles a connection neither of them saw coming.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC of The Truth is in the Detours.

A lovely book about two childhood friends that had a falling out and reconnect years later after the death of one of their parents.

Williams weaves together Beau and Phe's recollection of their teenage lives as they begin to reflect on their own memories of the events that led to their falling out. It's clear that both MCs have complicated feelings about each other and those feelings start unraveling during a road trip they take together.

This book was compelling and thoughtful.

This book is a delightful exploration of emotional healing wrapped in a friends-to-enemies-to-lovers romance. Williams blends humor and heartfelt moments as Phe and Beau navigate their complicated relationship. The chemistry between them is palpable, making their journey not just about miles traveled but also about emotional distance. The California settings are beautifully described, adding a picturesque backdrop to their transformative experience.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Truth Is In Detours. Phe and Beau are relatable characters, each carrying their own baggage while trying to understand one another. Watching their relationship evolve was a treat. This debut is both reflective and entertaining, making it a perfect summer read. The conclusion left me feeling warm and satisfied, encapsulating the essence of second chances and personal growth.

Reading The Truth Is in the Detours felt like sitting in the passenger seat of someone else’s heartbreak, and slowly realizing it’s also your own. Mara Williams has written a debut that sneaks up on you. What starts as a classic “frenemies on a road trip” premise unfolds into something deeper: an exploration of grief, identity, and the messy way we untangle who we are from who we thought we had to be.

Ophelia’s story hit me harder than I expected. Losing her father and learning her mother is alive (and left her) cracks open so much, emotionally and narratively. She’s messy, reactive, and often unlikeable in all the ways that make her real. I loved how Williams didn’t try to clean up her emotions for the sake of likability.

And then there’s Beau. Their dynamic is layered, there’s history, pain, sarcasm, intimacy, resentment, and it all comes through in the banter. Some of their conversations felt so raw, I had to pause and just breathe. It’s not a romance that leans on grand gestures, it’s two people slowly deciding to see each other again, with all the hard parts included. That hit home for me.

The road trip setting was beautifully done. Williams captured that West Coast melancholy, the long highways, the roadside diners, the awkward silences in a too-small car. And the emotional detours (which mirror the literal ones) never felt forced. Some scenes felt like short stories on their own: quiet, powerful, and complete.

Overall, The Truth Is in the Detours isn’t just about a broken relationship or a buried family secret, it’s about what happens when we finally stop running from our own stories. And for a debut, that’s pretty remarkable.

Ophelia's father just died, and she found that he was hiding a secret that could change everything for her. She grew up being told that her mother died in an accident about thirty years ago, but the legal documents that she found say her mother relinquished her parental rights.
Ophelia reconnects with her childhood best friend, Beau, while cleaning out her father’s home. Beau is an author, and his current project surrounds family deceptions. They work together to help each other find answers.
This book was layered. It had the romance that I love! However, the romance was not the primary storyline. It also includes self-discovery and family secrets. I didn’t want to put this book down. I was on a journey with Ophelia to find answers and see how her relationship would evolve in her life.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC.

Thank you Lake Union Publishing for the eARC, and to the author for sharing a galley with the Talking to my Books Traveling ARC crew!

I’m blown away that this was a debut because wow was this such a completely emotion-packed reading experience. The grief that is both front and center and also sneaks up on you when you least expect it - you see that with Ophelia’s journey following her dad’s unexpected passing. The lifelong yearning for wanting your best friend, and the heartbreak that comes when the friendship falls apart - Beau perfectly demonstrates those feelings. Wading through complicated feelings in the messy aftermath of life falling apart? They found comfort with each other being on different but parallel paths, clearing out the emotional rubble. I already want to reread this because there was just so much packed into this one story.

If you are a fan of You, With a View by Jessica Joyce and People We Meet On Vacation - that is, seeing a friendship go through the rollercoaster that comes with adulthood and navigating that reunion in a tender way, you will really love The Truth is in the Detours.

Mara Williams’ The Truth Is in the Detours is a road-trip romance with plenty of emotional luggage stashed in the trunk. Ophelia, reeling from her father’s death, finds out her “late” mother isn’t late at all—and the only person to help her navigate the fallout is Beau. What follows is equal parts banter, baggage, and a slow-burn spark that makes every mile feel earned. It’s witty, heartfelt, and just messy enough to remind us that sometimes the most scenic route is the one you never planned.

Thank you so much to @otrpr @marawilliamswrites @lakeunionauthors and @netgalley for my #gifted physical and e-ARC copies of THE TRUTH IS IN THE DETOURS 💗

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.💫 (4.5)

“Our truths are pieces of ourselves.”

“I’ve never really been sure of anything in my life. I’m not sure of my past or my future. I don’t always know what will make me happy, or where to live, or what my calling is. But I’m sure about you.”

I love when I can celebrate and support a new author, and wowie zowie, did Mara Williams @marawilliamswrites make that easy!

The unique combination of grief, mystery, women’s fiction, and romance pulled me in, and I loved how Mara incorporated all of those elements.

While a lot of this story deals with Ophelia’s grief over her father, as well as learning a shocking truth about her mom, I loved how it also explored Beau’s trauma with his ex-wife, as well as the breakdown of Phe’s and Beau’s friendship post-high school, plus their friends to frenemies to lovers evolution.

With so many different storylines, it would be easy to get overwhelmed, but Mara does a masterful job of weaving all of them together into a rich tapestry of self-discovery, forgiveness, love, and truth. The mystery of Phe’s mother, plus Beau’s book research, added suspense and increased depth to the story, and I enjoyed the banter and back and forth between Phe and Beau (which reminded me of 13 Going On 30!). I loved Beau’s parents too.

The way Mara blends romance and banter with deeper topics gave me Abby Jimenez, Emily Henry, and Katherine Center vibes, and that makes me so excited for her future books! As a debut author, I’m so impressed by her talent, and I can't wait for her next book!

🌿Another road trip story
🌿 Friends to lovers
🌿 Strong FMC
🌿 Light summer read

This one was very enjoyable. It’s a story of childhood friends who had a falling out years ago but come back together when tragedy strikes. They embark on a road trip that ultimately takes them on a few detours, and helps them reconnect. They each have their own misconceptions about each other and the question is whether they’ll find the truth along the road.

This was a sweet book that was perfect summer reading. I’d recommend it for anyone looking for something to pull them right in while sitting on the beach.