The Ex-cavenger Hunt by Kendall Hale is a contemporary rom-com debut featuring a road trip (3/5 stars)

The Ex-cavenger Hunt by Kendall Hale is a contemporary rom-com debut featuring a road trip.

Lily decides to take a cross-country road trip to visit all of her prior exes to see if any of them are the one that got away…. or at least the one to take to her sister’s wedding as her date. If she doesn’t find a date, she’s stuck with the groom’s secretive brother, Ethan, whom she hasn’t heard good stories about.

I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated by Jason Clarke and Stephanie Nemeth-Parker. I love dual-POV books with multiple narrators! I ended up reading this book in one sitting while I was playing Stardew Valley and trying to relax.

I appreciated that one of my least favorite tropes, the third-act breakup, wasn’t part of this story! Honestly we really need fewer third-act breakups, there can be other conflict that isn’t the core relationship in romance novels!

There were some parts I really enjoyed, and some parts that left me a bit wanting. It gets pretty steamy in the second half of the book, but sometimes those scenes got a bit repetitive (especially with a few key phrases). The scene where they initially agree to partner up for the road trip felt a little off to me and wasn’t very convincing that it could happen in real life.

There are several other places in this book that I had to also suspend my disbelief as well, including how quickly the two of them got together, and especially how rushed the ending felt to me. Pacing issues are common with debut authors, though!

If you’re looking for a cozy summer romance without much conflict that travels down the road mostly on vibes, you should totally check this out!

Tropes in this book include: road trip, forced proximity, only one bed, “good girl”

CW: toxic family members

I received a copy of this book to review. Thank you to Hambright PR for the complimentary audio review copy. All opinions contained herein are my own.

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