Genre 📚: YA Contemporary, Coming-of-age, Romance
Tropes 💁♀️: Rivals to lovers, Road trip, Meddling siblings
Rep ✔️: Partially deaf main character, partially blind side character
CW ⚠️: Divorce
Rating ⭐️: 3.5/5
Going into an Anna Sortino book, I know I’m going to get great disability rep and a lovely slice-of-life romance. Stops Along the Way has all of that, with a couple of board game nerds and a road trip to boot. FMC Iris flies out to her sister’s college to drive her home for the summer, and she just so happens to run into her gaming rival Declan, who’s driving his brother back. They decide to caravan all the way to Nebraska together, switching drivers every so often and getting to know each other better.
It was fun being in the two cars with several different dynamics — with Iris and Declan, with Iris and her sister Amelia, with Amelia and Declan’s brother Grady. Some rides were relaxing, some chaotic. The main couple switched from rivals to flirting rather quickly, and then from casual to serious rather quickly, giving me whiplash. But they were super cute, especially when talking about gaming. Other than the romance, I enjoyed the tension between the sisters. It stretched out for the whole trip, and it had me on edge in the best way.
Iris had relatable fears, being an eighteen-year-old about to start college, but she also had the unique fear of inheriting the same eye disease as Amelia. So much had already changed, and so much was going to change, so the thought of another disability was a lot. But Iris also had a good foundation of confidence, which grew as time went on. And plenty of loved ones to support her along the way.
**Much thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Stops Along the Way will be released on May 19, 2026.
Sara Bechtol 