May 1, 2017

BLOG TOUR REVIEW, EXCERPT & GIVEAWAY: Joy Ride


Lauren Blakely can do no wrong. Her latest rom com is out now - check out my review of JOY RIDE, read the excerpt and enter the amazing giveaway!

Joy Ride, by Lauren Blakely
Publish Date:
May 1, 2017
Publisher: self-published
Format: e-ARC, provided by the author and Inkslinger PR
Genre: adult contemporary romance
To Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Rating: 5 STARS


(Synopsis) Let’s be honest, ladies. A good man is a lot like the perfect car. You want a hot body, an engine that purrs, and superior performance under the hood... for the best joy ride of your life.


I’m at your service. Ready to go all night long.


But then a wildly sexy brunette appears in my life and throws a wrench in all my plans. She’s fiery, she’s talented, she’s gorgeous, and I’d really like to know what makes her engine hum.


Henley also happens to be my biggest rival, and now we’re forced to work together every day on the most important custom car build of my career. The trouble is I can’t quite figure out if she wants to kick me in the lug nuts or beg me to give her a good, hard fuel injection. Until one night that question is answered on the hood of a sports car when she calls out my name three times. And we can’t seem to put on the brakes.


If sleeping with the enemy is a bad idea, how much more dangerous would it be to fall in love with her?

Joy Ride was such a fun book. That should come as no big surprise. Lately, Lauren Blakely has been rocking the rom coms with her funny, sexy books that have confident heroines, interesting heroes and engaging plots. Her books have taken us into the world of many different professions - bar owner, comic strip writer, magician, doctor, animal shelter owner. And now - grease monkey.

Cars and chicks - that's all I need for sustenance.

Max Summers (brother to the aforementioned doctor, who was the hero in FULL PACKAGE) is one of the best custom car builders in the city, so when he is asked to build a custom ride for a TV show, he jumps at the chance. The only catch is, he has a co-builder who happens to be the one that got away. Rather, the one he sent away - when he fired her from his shop five years earlier. Now Henley is back and ready to prove him wrong.

Not only did I love the second chance storyline in Joy Ride, I loved the competition between Max and Henley. She obviously is still so angry at Max for firing her, but also obvious is her attraction to him and her reluctant respect for his talent. Max wanted to do this job solo, partly because he knows it will put his shop on the map, but mostly because his mutual attraction to Henley could be a distraction he doesn't need. So, the tension between them is super thick for quite awhile.

I also loved that Henley is a whiz in a male-dominated profession. She's confident and smart and creative. She also knows the deck is stacked against her and is trying to do all she can to earn her place in the city's custom car profession honestly. She was a very likable heroine, and I wanted her to get her HEA so badly.

Henley's and Max's chemistry takes over as they work on this car. They're so hot together, and they have a lot in common. They were probably one of the most perfect couples ever. Except that she works for his competition, which you just knew would eventually cause problems. How could it not?

I laughed a lot while reading Joy Ride. Henley and Max are playful with one another and the book just has this overall light tone. It's a perfect book for a beach read or a nice day in the park. I can't wait to see what's next up Lauren Blakely's sleeve.

I point to the guy behind the glass. “You want Peter’s number?”

“I don’t know. Do you think he likes piňa coladas and making love in the rain?”


For a flash second, a burst of wildfire curls through my veins. It feels like white-hot jealousy. Which is ridiculous since she’s not making love to Peter.


Or me, for that matter, obviously.


I fight off the envy with a full dose of sarcasm. “Have you ever noticed you never have a good pair of headphones when you need them?”


She huffs. “Message received. I’ll just shut up and read a book.” She reaches for her phone on the seat, but accidentally knocks it to the floor of the car. I lean down to pick it up, and when I hand it to her I see her playlist.

Nena’s “99 Luftballoons.”

The Go-Go’s “Vacation.”


Madonna’s “Like a Virgin.”


I smirk. That’s too fucking adorable. “You like bubblegum pop?”


Her cheeks go red. “There’s nothing wrong with bubblegum pop,” she says as she tries to grab her phone from my hand.

I. Can’t. Resist.

I don’t know what comes over me, but I’m pretty damn sure it’s the way this girl needles me. It’s her French maid routine. It’s her pushing all my buttons. It’s the way she detests me.

I hold her phone behind my head.

“Max,” she says, in a perfect plea. God, it’s hot. I can hear her saying it in bed.

I feign surprise. “Oh, did you want your phone back, tiger?”

Her eyes widen when I use that word. Frankly, I’m surprised I said it. But she is a tiger, especially right now as she leans across the seat, reaching for it.

Damn, I’m an asshole. And yet, I can’t seem to stop playing keep-away with her phone, jamming it far behind me so that it hits the side of the car. She lunges for it, thrusting her arm out, but only hitting my forearm.

She swats me. “Give it to me.”

My brain short-circuits. She would sound hot saying that bent over the bed.

Then in a flurry, she unbuckles her seat belt and lunges at me.

Foul play indeed.

She’s on me. She’s fucking on me. She climbs, stretching high, her tits near my motherfucking face, so help me God. They are saggy, drooping, ugly breasts.


Except they’re not.

They’re perfect. Lush, ripe.

Like her sweet perfume scent. Like her cinnamon breath that flutters across my cheek as she rises higher. As she reaches, her T-shirt rides up, revealing a sliver of her stomach.

I’ve never seen anything so sexy in my life.

I don’t move. I don’t breathe.

I simply try not to grow more aroused. But then she wraps one hand around my wrist and pries the phone with the other as her breasts smash against my eyes.

Man down. 

A #1 New York Times Bestselling author, Lauren Blakely is known for her contemporary romance style that's hot, sweet and sexy. She lives in California with her family and has plotted entire novels while walking her dogs. With fourteen New York Times bestsellers, her titles have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestseller Lists more than seventy-five times, and she's sold more than 1.5 million books. In May she'll release JOY RIDE, a standalone romantic comedy. To receive an email when Lauren releases a new book, sign up for her newsletter! laurenblakely.com/newsletter

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Celebrate the release of JOY RIDE with this amazing giveaway!

The JOY RIDE giveaway is filled with:
✮ Kate Spade Patton Leather Tote and Kate Spade Desktop Planner ($325 value)
✮ $50 Gift Card to Bath and Body Works
✮ $50 Gift Card to Amazon

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