Biz and Wyatt are taking a road trip from New York to California. It’s their last chance to be a fun-loving couple before they get out to Los Angeles to meet the women who has been carrying their baby. They’re planning on hitting all their favorite gaycation spots before they become dads, starting with Provincetown.

Biz was the star of a Disney show as a teenager, and now he writes for an food magazine. His articles about Italian food are favorites, and while the writing comes easy to him, he does wonder if he wants something more. Maybe he should go back to acting? But more importantly, he has a secret he’s been keeping from Wyatt. He is absolutely terrified of being a father.

Wyatt is a director of commercials and the responsible one to Biz’s party attitude. He’s been taking on extra work so that they can take a little time off for this trip and to get the baby back home to Brooklyn. He’s the one who planned the trip across the country for himself and Biz, Matilda, and Virginia Woolf. Virginia Woolf is what they named their orange 1992 Volkswagon Cabriolet, and Matilda is their dog. But they are all in it together, in this new life that will change everything for them.

But their trip goes off the planned route when Wyatt gets a call from his mother. His brother has been in an accident, and she wants Wyatt to come to the hospital to see him. They immediately head towards Boston. And while things are okay with his brother, Wyatt feels like there are things that he needs to make right with his mother. And that trip has Biz wanting to stop in on his big Italian family, located outside of Chicago.

They still make it to their friend’s wedding in Colorado on time, but they take another detour after that to Las Vegas. And then time runs out and it’s time to meet their baby.

Through their epic road trip, there are fights and resolutions, secrets and connections, fears and pain, tears and laughter, lots of music, a lost dog, a found dog, homemade tiramisu and Burger King Chicken Fries, car trouble, legal week, and a truly unforgettable bed and breakfast in Ohio. And then, at the end, is a baby.

The Bump is a sweet, lovely, heart-wrenching journey to parenthood. These characters will steal your heart from the start and take you across all the emotions as the travel across the country. There is so much going on during this trip, both physically and emotionally, that you will need a vacation to recover (not really, but you will at least want some drinks and pool fries to celebrate it all). Screenwriter Sidney Karger brings this story to life with spunk and verve, making it so readable it’s impossible to put down.

I adored The Bump. It was exactly the summer trip I was looking for, and I loved every stop. This story just made me so happy, and I kept hoping that Wyatt and Biz would get out of their own ways to chase after that happy ending I wanted them to find. Life is filled with so much worry and pain, but these guys also found joy, hope, and healing on their journey, and it was an amazing ride. This might be the perfect summer book.

Egalleys for The Bump were provided by Berkley through NetGalley, with many thanks.