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Showing posts with label Ruthie Knox. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ruthie Knox. Show all posts
Monday, July 22, 2013
Review: Making It Last by Ruthie Knox
Making It Last
Author: Ruthie Knox
Release Date: July 15, 2013
Publisher: Loveswept
Camelot Series, Book #4
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Novella
Format(s): e-book
Book Source: Publisher
About the book:
|
A hotel bar. A sexy stranger. A night of passion. There’s a part of Amber Mazzara that wants those things, wants to have a moment—just one—when life isn’t a complicated tangle of house and husband and kids and careers. Then, after a long, exhausting “vacation” with her family, her husband surprises her with a gift: a few days on the beach . . . alone.
Only she won’t be alone for long, because a handsome man just bought her a drink. He’s cool, he’s confident, and he wants to take Amber to bed and keep her there for days. Lucky for them both, he’s her husband. He’s got only a few days in Jamaica to make her wildest desires come true, but if he can pull it off, there’s reason to believe that this fantasy can last a lifetime.
What Nima’s talking about:
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Ruthie Knox has bookended her Camelot Series with Tony and Amber Mazzara’s story. Together the novellas represent the blissful beginning of their romance and then the reality of after “happily ever after.” Making It Last picks up Amber and Tony’s story fourteen years after the first book ends. We’ve seen them make guest appearances through sibling Caleb and Katie’s romances, but not enough to know more than the fact that they’re still married with children. We are allowed to assume that their love has given them the answers to wedded bliss, perfect hair, stress-free Christmases, a new car every five years, as well as expert parenting skills that make their lives the stuff of fantasy. So what’s there to write about? Knox bravely takes on the romance, or lack of it, inside of real married life.
I have to admit to a serious “This is Your Life” vibe that is no doubt coloring my glowing opinion of this story. I am an exercise instructor, stay-at-home mother of three high maintenance kids (including one with generalized anxiety disorder) who lives in a small suburb of Ohio, all things I share in common with lead character Amber. I even read the book at the beach with my family, not at a wedding, but a fiftieth wedding anniversary reunion. There are enough common markers, however, to give most married women with children that same feeling. We all struggle with fatigue, body image, being “the bad guy”, the economy, in-laws, eating all our fruits and vegetables, inconvenience, and guilt. We are also all human with finite resources and energy. Something’s gotta give.
Making It Last begins with Amber at one of those critical moments when if something doesn’t give, she will crack under the weight of her responsibilities… even when those responsibilities are desired blessings. I appreciate that Knox has woven her trademark humor into some serious themes and situations. It has always been my position that humor keeps us from becoming brittle, flexible enough to carry the stress of life without breaking into a thousand pieces. Knox treats the serious stuff with its proper due, it is poignant and thought-provoking, but it’s not over-worked into being a burden to read. Overall I found it to be a quick read, but one I wanted to return to again and again for validation and inspiration.
Especially significant to me as a reader was a personal note Knox tacked on to the end of the book. She talks candidly about some of the book’s themes and her belief in the romance of marriage. I’m giving this little novella my highest rating, which I rarely do, because it is difficult to write about this aspect of married life with authenticity, humor, and hope. We all love the newness of first love or the right love and the idea of finding our soulmate, but rediscovering the one you already have without being cheesy or cliché’ is a far greater challenge. Kudos Ms. Knox.
Nima’s Rating:
|
Personal favorite - a must read (A+)
Purchase Info:
Reviews in the Series:
Labels:
5 stars,
Camelot Series,
contemporary romance,
Loveswept,
Nima Review,
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Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Review: Flirting with Disaster by Ruthie Knox
Flirting with Disaster
Author: Ruthie Knox
Release Date: June 11, 2013
Publisher: Loveswept
Camelot Series #3
ISBN: #978-0345546661
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format(s): Paperback (448 pgs), e-book
Book Source: Publisher
About the book:
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Fresh out of a fiasco of a marriage, Katie Clark has retreated to her hometown to start over. The new Katie is sophisticated, cavalier, and hell-bent on kicking butt at her job in her brother’s security firm. But on her first assignment—digging up the truth about the stalker threatening a world-famous singer-songwriter—Katie must endure the silent treatment from a stern but sexy partner who doesn’t want her help . . . or her company.
Sean Owens knows that if he opens his mouth around Katie, she’ll instantly remember him as the geeky kid who sat behind her in high school. Silence is golden, but he can’t keep quiet forever, not with Katie stampeding through their investigation. It’s time for Sean to step up and take control of the case, and his decade-old crush. If he can break through Katie’s newfound independence, they just might find they make a perfect team—on the road, on the job, and in bed.
What Nima’s talking about:
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I have to say, I may not even be rational at reviewing Ruthie Knox any more, but I love being her cheerleader. She never fails to deliver. Flirting with Disaster is the third book in her Camelot series, and she’s proven, once again, her ability to put the reader at ease with humor and then dive in with a serious knife, cutting you to pieces with very real emotion. I want to be Ruthie Knox when I grow up.
The plot in this book, the series really, has been slightly more predictable than in previous offerings by Knox. There is a threat to one of the prominent characters, but it never felt like a real threat to me, I never felt the pressure of it; I was never really worried about something bad happening. That fact, however, becomes incidental to the genuinely intense emotion between the main characters whom I was worried about. Would they screw it up? Could they get out of their own heads enough to communicate? Communication itself was a legitimate challenge in a way that I’ve never seen presented in any other book.
The point of view flips back and forth between Katie Clark, Caleb’s younger sister from Along Came Trouble, and our unlikely hero, Sean Owens. Even in rapid fire situations, I didn’t get confused about who was thinking, acting, or speaking. I think I mention it only because it has been an issue in other books I’ve read lately and appreciated so much the clarity Knox gave me here.
Both of these characters are flawed, but exhibit such courage in taking on their problems (one sooner than the other) and working to make much needed changes in their lives. Sometimes those changes drive them apart and sometimes, wonderfully, they bring them closer together. Also, when you have two strong characters, sparks are bound to fly—even in the snow on the side of the road!
In an uncharacteristic move, Knox gives us an epilogue. I think I read somewhere that she hates them. I can’t find that reference now, so I could be totally off my rocker. That wouldn’t be a first with middle-age brain taking over my life. In this case, the epilogue makes sense. Once Katie and Owen know what happens next, we don’t need to see them make it happen; we just need to know how they felt about it. I for one, like being able to have just a little more happily ever after.
Nima’s Rating:
|
Purchase Info:
Reviews in the Series:
Labels:
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Monday, March 11, 2013
Review: Along Came Trouble by Ruthie Knox
Along Came Trouble
Author: Ruthie Knox
Release Date: March 11, 2013
Publisher: Random House/ Loveswept
Camelot Series #2
ISBN: #978-0345541611
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format(s): e-book (350 pgs)
Book Source: Publisher
About the book:
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An accomplished lawyer and driven single mother, Ellen Callahan isn’t looking for any help. She’s doing just fine on her own. So Ellen’s more than a little peeved when her brother, an international pop star, hires a security guard to protect her from a prying press that will stop at nothing to dig up dirt on him. But when the tanned and toned Caleb Clark shows up at her door, Ellen might just have to plead the fifth.
Back home after a deployment in Iraq and looking for work as a civilian, Caleb signs on as Ellen’s bodyguard. After combat in the hot desert sun, this job should be a breeze. But guarding the willful beauty is harder than he imagined—and Caleb can’t resist the temptation to mix business with pleasure. With their desires growing more undeniable by the day, Ellen and Caleb give in to an evening of steamy passion. But will they ever be able to share more than just a one-night stand?
What Nima’s talking about:
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After finishing Along Came Trouble, I think we may have to officially classify me as a Ruthie Knox groupie. Her contemporary romance novels are clever, funny, sophisticated, and well, let’s just put it out there—hot. Along Came Trouble is the romance of Clark sibling number two, Caleb. It is set some years after Amber and Tony find their happily ever after in How to Misbehave. In fact, they have three kids when they show up near the end of Caleb’s story. This particular tale is the one that Knox says was the impetus for the whole Camelot Series and started with a lazy daydream about Justin Timberlake. That’s as promising an inspiration as I’ve ever heard.
The book opens with single mom Ellen Callahan, resident of Camelot, Ohio, entirely annoyed by some stranger in her flower beds. Ellen’s brother Jamie just happens to be a mega-famous international pop star—and he’s in love with Ellen’s pregnant next door neighbor Carly. Caleb, hunky ex-military police with his own security company, has been hired to ensure Ellen’s safety and privacy when the paparazzi descends on the little hamlet of Camelot in search of a story about her, her son, or her famous by association neighbor.
I liked Caleb. His stern military edges are softened by the way he cares for his aging parents and his family. He helps maintain his parents’ rental property, opened his own home to his sister Katie following a devastating break-up, and oh, did I mention he’s great with kids? What’s not to like? Ellen is harder to like. She’s had plenty of legitimate heartache and fought hard to achieve her independence, but she’s emotionally damaged. She’s bravely picked herself up and carved out a new life for herself and her two year old son following her divorce from his cheating, alcoholic father. She likes, no needs, her world well-ordered and uses hard boundaries to keep it that way. Caleb not only messes with her property, he’s messes with her boundaries.
There is a secondary romance here between Ellen’s brother Jamie and her neighbor Carly. This is the source of much of the book’s humor. Ellen could have used a little more of it. She often takes out her frustrations and insecurities on Caleb when they might have been better directed at her brother who hired him in the first place. This is probably the only thing that kept me from giving this book all five stars. True to form however, Knox does deliver an outstanding ending. This is something that I think sets her apart from other contemporary romance authors. She always makes it worth the effort.
Katie’s story, Flirting with Disaster, is due out in June of this year.
Nima’s Rating:
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Enjoyed - strongly recommend (A-)
Purchase Info:
Reviews in the Series:
Author Guest Post: Ruthie Knox
Hello Readers! Today I welcome back romance author Ruthie Knox. Ruthie graduated from Grinnell College as an English and history double major and went on to earn a Ph.D. in modern British history that she’s put to remarkably little use. She debuted as a romance novelist with Ride with Me—probably the only existing cross-country bicycling love story yet to be penned—and followed it up with About Last Night, which features a sizzling British banker hero with the unlikely name of Neville. Other publications include Room at the Inn (a Christmas novella) and How To Misbehave, book 1 in the Camelot series. She moonlights as a mother, Tweets incessantly, and bakes a mean focaccia.
Ruthie is here today to talk about her newest title, Along Came Trouble which releases today! This is the second story in her wonderful Camelot series.
Please help me welcome Ruthie to That’s What I’m Talking About. Take it away Ruthie...
Hello, readerly types!
I’ve come to talk about Along Came Trouble, which releases today from Random House / Loveswept. It’s the second book in my Camelot series. Your own lovely Nima called the first one (How to Misbehave) “a yummy first course” and gave it an A-; here’s hoping you all enjoy this one just as much.
Along Came Trouble is a bodyguard book, but in kind of a sneaky way. To my way of thinking, it’s much less a story about safety and protection as it is about what happens when a woman meets the right man at the wrong time and has to decide how much of herself to give him when she doesn’t feel like she’s got any self to spare. And most of all it’s about how hard it is to find a balance between dependence, independence, and interdependence—and how love can lift our burdens and help us become better versions of ourselves, if we are brave enough to let it.
In this snippet, the story’s hero, Caleb, is helping his sister, Katie, clean up after a family dinner at their place. (Yes, they live together. Katie’s in a tailspin, and Caleb’s letting her live in his place. He’s that kind of guy.) Here, you get an idea of what a caretaker Caleb is—or, put another way, what a worrier.
Katie pulled the trash can out from under the sink and started shoving used disposable cups and cutlery in it, her mouth set in a grimace he’d seen too often lately. Between working as his office manager, studying for the online college class she was taking, and nursing whatever private pain she’d brought back from Alaska, she had too much on her plate.
All of them did. At least Amber and Tony had sorted themselves out. Their marriage had been a mess when Caleb came home on emergency leave to see Dad at the hospital. Now they were talking about renewing their vows, which was good news for everybody. But Mom and Dad’s apartment complex was aging, getting more expensive to run every year, and the price of their health insurance seemed to double every time he blinked.
Someone had to take care of them. That someone was him.
Heading back into the living room, he wiped up the mess on the floor. He’d been hoping it was water, but it didn’t smell like water. Next week, the dog stayed home.
He returned to the kitchen and tossed the sodden paper towels over his sister’s shoulder and into the trash. Direct hit. Katie looked at the bag. Looked at him. “Don’t throw pee towels at me, Buster. I am not the enemy.”
True, that. She was the best friend he had in this town. Most of his old buddies had moved on years ago, drawn away to Columbus or farther afield. Katie had gone all the way to Anchorage with her high school boyfriend and started up an outfitting business, but a few months before their dad’s stroke she’d come back alone, flat broke, refusing to talk about Alaska. Caleb had given her the house to live in rent-free, never expecting they’d end up sharing it.
When he had first moved home, he’d been shocked by the change in her. She spent nights tending bar and sat around listless in yoga pants all day, snacking and watching reality TV. It was as if someone had stolen his sister—usually all restless motion and cheerful wit—and replaced her with a zombie. He’d offered her the job in the office to get her out of the house, and it seemed to have helped. She was much more herself lately.
But he still worried.
He nudged Katie away from the sink with his hip so he could wash his hands. “I don’t have any enemies.”
To his surprise, Katie put her arms around him. “That’s right,” she said. “Everybody loves Caleb.” He turned, holding his wet hands away from her back and looking down at the top of her head resting on his chest.
Affection from Katie was a rare thing. She had a big heart and a barbed sense of humor that she used to keep anyone who didn’t know her well from guessing it. “You’re getting soft,” he told her.
She poked him in the stomach. “Compared to you, everybody is soft.” When she met his eyes, he saw her concern. “You worry too much,” she said. “It’s going to be fine.”
“What is?”
“Everything.”
More about Along Came Trouble by Ruthie Knox
Camelot series, book 2
Releases March 11, 2013
An accomplished lawyer and driven single mother, Ellen Callahan isn’t looking for any help. She’s doing just fine on her own. So Ellen’s more than a little peeved when her brother, an international pop star, hires a security guard to protect her from a prying press that will stop at nothing to dig up dirt on him. But when the tanned and toned Caleb Clark shows up at her door, Ellen might just have to plead the fifth.
Back home after a deployment in Iraq and looking for work as a civilian, Caleb signs on as Ellen’s bodyguard. After combat in the hot desert sun, this job should be a breeze. But guarding the willful beauty is harder than he imagined—and Caleb can’t resist the temptation to mix business with pleasure. With their desires growing more undeniable by the day, Ellen and Caleb give in to an evening of steamy passion. But will they ever be able to share more than just a one-night stand?
Buy the book from Amazon (US) | Barnes & Noble | iTunes Bookstore | Amazon (UK) | Amazon (Canada) | Other buy links via Random House
Thank you so much for stopping by today, Ruthie! Congrats on the new release.
Readers: stop back later today when Nima has her review of Along Came Trouble.
Labels:
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Thursday, January 24, 2013
Review: How To Misbehave by Ruthie Knox
How to Misbehave
Author: Ruthie Knox
Release Date: Jan. 28, 2013
Publisher: Loveswept
Camelot Series Introductory Novella
ISBN: #978-0345545305
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Novella
Format(s): e-book (99 pgs)
Book Source: Publisher
About the book:
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As program director for the Camelot Community Center, Amber Clark knows how to keep her cool. That is, until a sudden tornado warning forces her to take shelter in a darkened basement with a hunk of man whose sex appeal green lights her every fantasy. With a voice that would melt chocolate, he asks her if she is okay. Now she’s hot all over and wondering: How does a girl make a move?
Building contractor Tony Mazzara was just looking to escape nature’s fury. Instead, he finds himself all tangled up with lovely Amber. Sweet and sexy, she’s ready to unleash her wild side. Their mutual desire reaches a fever pitch and creates a storm of its own—unexpected, powerful, and unforgettable. But is it bigger than Tony can handle? Can he let go of painful memories and let the force of this remarkable woman show him a future he never dreamed existed?
What Nima’s talking about:
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I love dependable authors. I know that when I open the pages of a new book, it’s not going to be a waste of my time or money. Ruthie Knox has proven to me that she is a dependable author. She’s apparently proven it to Random House as well because she’s been green-lighted to embark on an entire series, the Camelot Series, based in the imaginary little hamlet of Camelot, Ohio, about an hour outside of Columbus. It’s one of those insignificant places that you fly over while going from one coast to the other without knowing what you’ve missed—unless you are among the lucky few who’ve lived there. I’m originally from the west coast and now make my home in one of those historic little gems of Ohio, but really, this story would have been at home in just about any small, Midwest town.
How to Misbehave is a novella, our appetizer to the main course of the series to come. The series follows the Clark siblings—Amber, Caleb, and Katie. Blessedly, we do not have to wait a year between books. Caleb’s story, Along Came Trouble, is due out in March, and Katie’s story, Flirting with Disaster, follows in June. According to the author’s end notes however, How to Misbehave was not written first. Knox wrote it last. Amber is an established side character in Caleb and Katie’s stories and after writing both of them, Knox wanted to go back in time and write about how Amber and Tony met. It’s appropriately placed at the beginning of the series as a yummy first course.
In the confined space of under 100 pages, Knox could do little more than introduce us to Amber and Tony and get them together. Their relationship develops very quickly. It is a burst of intensity injected with Knox’s trademark wit and humor. You have to love characters who have conversations that include questions like, “Was that some kind of romantic declaration, disguised as a filthy pirate sex offer?” I liked Amber and Tony. I’m glad that we will see more of them in the books to still to come, but the thing of significance is that we’re getting introduced to the town of Camelot and Amber’s family. There’s nothing like a family to create drama. Add outside drama, a little hanky-panky, and some humor and you’ve got a good book. Add one of Knox’s dependably great endings and you’ve got a really good book. I, for one, can’t wait.
Read Chapter One Here: http://www.ruthieknox.com/books/how-to-misbehave/
Nima’s Rating:
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Enjoyed - strongly recommend (A-)
Purchase Info:
Friday, June 1, 2012
Review: About Last Night by Ruthie Knox
About Last Night
Author: Ruthie Knox
Release Date: June 11, 2012
Publisher: Random House - Loveswept
ISBN: #978-034553516
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format(s): e-book
Book Source: Publisher
About the book:
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Cath Talarico knows a mistake when she makes it and God knows she’s made her share. So many, in fact, that this Chicago girl knows London is her last, best shot at starting over. But bad habits are hard to break, and soon Cath finds herself back where she has vowed never to go... in the bed of a man who is all kinds of wrong: too rich, too classy, too uptight for a free-spirited troublemaker like her.
Nev Chamberlain feels trapped and miserable in his family’s banking empire. But beneath his pinstripes is an artist and bohemian struggling to break free and lose control. Mary Catherine — even her name turns him on — with her tattoos, her secrets, and her gamine, sex-starved body, unleashes all kinds of fantasies.
When blue blood mixes with bad blood, can a couple that is definitely wrong for each other ever be perfectly right? And with a little luck and a lot of love, can they make last night last a lifetime?
What Nima’s talking about:
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Like Ruthie Knox’s last novel, Ride with Me, I sat down to just “start” reading her latest, About Last Night. It was one the busiest days I’ve had in months and the first chapter was going to be my reward for meeting a major deadline. I was a full quarter into the book before real life came pounding down the door, and I had to pull myself out of the relationship quickly evolving between main characters Nev and Cath. I came back to it later that night after fixing dinner and told myself I was going to “just get comfortable at the computer” before starting the next project on my list. Naturally, I read the rest of the whole darn thing in that one sitting. I had no business blowing off so much work, but I was consumed. Three lousy hours of sleep was worth it to go to bed knowing how it all resolved.
The overall story arc is not overly complicated with subplots, and in this case, that’s a good thing. The narrowness and simplicity of the story serve to make it an intense experience. You have everything invested in the characters and what happens to this unlikely couple. Cath is a chronic mistake-maker. She has walls, thick walls, around her secrets and her heart. When Nev, prince charming—both British and insightful—comes into her life, he brings the one thing able to break down those walls, patience. (Which is to say nothing of the hot, hot chemistry between them. In my mind’s eye, he looked a whole lot like Jeremy Renner. I wonder who you would cast?) We all have skeletons in our mental closets, and we’re pretty sure if anyone knew them, they wouldn’t look at us the same way ever again. Cath is completely convinced of this. When she considers telling Nev about her secrets she can’t. She says, “It wasn’t about morality. It was about judgment. Specifically, it was about her lack of any. But how did you tell that to someone who seemed to have complete confidence in his own?” She lives very much inside her head and when I put a voice to it, it’s my own—only much, much funnier.
Ruthie Knox has a writing style that makes you feel like you’ve just had a slumber party with your best girlfriend. You stay up all night laughing hysterically, you compare notes on hot guys, and then sometime, in the wee hours of the morning when you’re tired and your guard is down, serious happens. It’s deep and meaningful and you know you will keep each other’s secrets when the sun comes up. Knox’s marketing plays up the fluffy, sexy, and fun aspects of her stories, but both books I’ve read are surprisingly poignant. There is a depth there that is unexpected and significant.
Reading this book is effortless. Let me recommend that you do it by the side of the pool or when your car is in the shop and you can’t go run any of those pressing errands. Once you start it, you WILL finish it before anything else happens in your life. It’s that good.
Can’t wait? You can read the first chapter from Ruthie Knox’s website here: http://www.ruthieknox.com/books/
Nima’s Rating:
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Loved it - enthusiastically recommend (A)
Purchase Info:
Labels:
4.5 stars,
contemporary romance,
Loveswept,
Nima Review,
Random House,
Ruthie Knox
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Sunday, May 20, 2012
Romance at Random Diamond Jubilee Celebration and GIVEAWAY!
Romance at Random is sponsoring a special GIVEAWAY and blog hop... Why a Diamond Jubilee Hop? For their newest hero Nev, in ABOUT LAST NIGHT, by Ruthie Knox
First, a bit of trivia:
The Diamond Jubilee takes place in 2012, marking 60 years of The Queen’s reign. The Queen came to the throne on 6th February 1952 (her Coronation took place on 2nd June 1953).
Buckingham Palace is responsible for coordinating the events of the Diamond Jubilee central weekend (2nd–5th June 2012), as well as for organizing The Queen’s program in her Diamond Jubilee year.
Now, more about Nev:
He feels trapped and miserable in his family’s banking empire located in downtown London, England. But beneath his pinstripes is an artist struggling to break free. Albeit, his bohemian-self is trying to emerge, Nev is respectful of his roots and tradition & we want to help him celebrate his queen.
Join Romance at Random and several blogs, including mine, for the hop — starting 5/21 and ending 5/31. Romance at Random will be randomly giving away some of their jewels of romance, to celebrate the UK’s Diamond Jubilee including:
- 1 winner, 1 copy – Born To Darkness by Suzanne Brockmann
- 1 winner, 1 copy – The Proposal by Mary Balogh
- 1 winner, 1 copy – Darker After Midnight by Lara Adrian
- 3 winners, 1 copy of Witchful Thinking by HP Mallory
- 10 winners, 1 copy of a PREVIEW from Net Galley of About Last Night by Ruthie Knox
- 10 winners, 1 copy of PREVIEW from Net Galley of Deep Autumn Heat by Elisabeth Barrett
TO ENTER... use the Rafflecopter entry form, below! And scroll down to see who else is participating - readers can enter from each participating blog, so hop away!!
Be sure to come back on June 1st for Nima’s review of About Last Night (she LOVED it!)
Good luck and Happy Reading!
Enter at each blog and increase your chances to win...
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Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Contest Winner - Ride With Me
I would like to thank everyone for stopping by That’s What I’m Talking About for the guest post by romance author Ruthie Knox and the review of her upcoming release, Ride With Me. I also want to thank Ruthie and Sue from Random House for stopping by and for graciously donating an e-copy of Ride With Me for the giveaway.
Every person that commented on the post or review was entered into the contest - one entry per person. The winner was selected using random.org.
The Winner:
Denise
CONGRATULATIONS!!
I have forwarded your email to the publisher, who will send you the book directly.
Thank you all so much for coming by and Happy Reading!
Friday, February 3, 2012
Review, Giveaway & Personal Notes: Ride With Me
Ride With Me
Author: Ruthie Knox
Release Date: Feb. 13, 2012
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 978-034553450
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format(s): e-book
Book Source: Publisher
About the book:
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When Lexie Marshall places an ad for a cycling companion, she hopes to find someone friendly and fun to cross the TransAmerica Trail with. Instead, she gets Tom Geiger-a lean, sexy loner whose bad attitude threatens to spoil the adventure she's spent years planning.
Roped into the cycling equivalent of a blind date by his sister, Tom doesn't want to ride with a chatty, go-by-the-map kind of woman, and he certainly doesn't want to want her. Too bad the sight of Lexie with a bike between her thighs really turns his crank.
Even Tom's stubborn determination to keep Lexie at a distance can't stop a kiss from leading to endless nights of hotter-than-hot sex. But when the wild ride ends, where will they go next?
What Nima’s talking about:
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Ride With Me is a contemporary romance tailor-made for anyone who loves to travel, or loves to dream of travel. This is especially true if you are captivated by those quirky, one-of-a-kind places that are scattered across the country. Everyone should probably see the Redwood National Forest and the faces of Mt. Rushmore in person, but have you ever seen the Shoe of Shoes in Clayton, Missouri? Ride With Me revels in some of these unique destinations that you’re unlikely to see except from the kind of travel that happens at the pace of bicycle touring as well as must-see’s like Yellowstone National Park.
The story opens with Knox’s over-thinking, over-planning Type-A heroine Lexie “Alex” Marshall and her search for a riding partner to take on the TransAmerica trail from Astoria, Oregon to Yorktown, Virginia, a total of 4,262 miles.
Knox’s anti-hero Tom Geiger does want to make this ride. He does not want to do it with a partner and definitely does not want that partner to be a girl. As a bike mechanic, he balks at being saddled with any partner; envisioning himself riding painfully slow, repairing flats, and never veering off the charted course for sight-seeing or adventure. His sister Taryn, answers Alex’s ad and sets-up the pairing without knowing that “Alex” is a girl. When Taryn finally confesses to what she’s done, Tom makes his own best introduction to the reader:
“Please Tom. You can’t ride your bicycle across the country alone. It’s insane. You’ll end up being slaughtered by a serial killer.”
“I’m thirty-five, single, tattooed, and antisocial. I am the serial killer.”
Despite his protests, he does agree to meet with Alex and ride with her until another partner can be found. They meet at the coastal city of Astoria, Oregon and set out on an adventure neither of them will forget.
From an analytical perspective, Ride With Me is an interesting study in first impressions and all of the conclusions that we jump to in the initial fleeting moments of introduction with little or no real information. Can we trust our gut? Ride With Me, is aptly named. The reader is literally along for the ride with Alex and Tom across hundreds and thousands of miles while they decide if their first impressions were sound. We get their ups, their downs, and watch as their relationship grows and changes from awkward introduction to can’t-live-without-you hot.
When you just can’t escape each other, nothing can stay static. You can’t hide your real self for weeks at a time, twenty-four hours a day. The real you is going to show up whether you like it or not. Alex almost makes a game out of naming all of Tom’s different moods and personalities. Tom is more insightful than he’s willing to let on, but he’s watching Alex intently too.
There is an inherent intimacy in camping, sharing meals, and enduring any prolonged experience together. On a bike, the only place to really escape the other person is into your own thoughts. We spend almost as much time in Tom and Alex’s heads as we do listening to their outward dialog. “There was little point in trying to bullshit yourself when it was just you and your thoughts, day after day, mile after mile.” As Tom delineates however, he can’t escape Alex and gives in to his attraction fairly quickly. The reader doesn’t have to wait too long for the heat.
The instant chemistry between Tom and Alex when they first meet is apparent even though they don’t want to like each other. Alex even makes up a fictional husband in a weak attempt to just keep a measured distance between them. When the daily intimacy of being riding partners forces them to acknowledge each other, the chemistry wins. In Knox’s bio-brief, she makes the statement that she abhors an epilogue and insists a decent romance requires at least three good sex scenes. I would say she more than delivered on her philosophy. There is a certain predictability in the storyline, but it leads to a definite, finite happy ending which was more poignant than I expected. I can also report there’s more than Knox’s requisite number of varied and creative sex scenes. *fans herself*
Nima’s Rating:
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Really liked it a lot - recommend (B++)
And for more about AND chance to WIN Ride With Me, please see author Ruthie Knox’s guest post HERE.
On a More Personal Note:
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It’s no surprise why of all the women on the That’s What I’m Talking About review team, this book came to me. I love my carbon Trek Medone 4.5 road bike with a Terry Butterfly saddle almost as much as I love my kids—and it doesn’t talk back. This is actually what I like about cycling. It’s the only part of my day when I’m truly alone with my own thoughts. Anyone who wants to ask something of me has to catch me first!
The TransAmerica trail which brings Knox’s characters together was established to celebrate the bicentennial of the United States back in 1976. The event was titled The Bikecentennial. All fifty states were represented by 4,100 participants in the first ride. I was ten years old in 1976 and remember well the many celebrations. I loved to ride my bike then too. I can’t imagine making that trip on the heavy steel frames that were common then. Many of the bike manufacturers from that decade are no longer even in business. It’s not surprising that only 2000 riders, less than half, actually went the entire distance.
Tradition has it that riders first dip their wheels in the Pacific Ocean on the west coast and then in the surf of the Atlantic on the east coast at the completion of the ride. Of course with today’s lighter bikes, you can dip your feet and actually hold your bike out of the water. Without wheels, my frame is only 1100 grams, or two pounds.
The route was chosen to include multiple historic sites, but avoid the Great Basin desert, major highways, high-traffic zones, and large cities. While I read, I imagined the possibility of making this trek. When I wasn’t reading, I day-dreamed about it—especially if I could do it with a super hot guy like Tom Geiger. By the time the unlikely couple reached the Blue Ridge Parkway in Ashville, North Carolina, where I’ve actually spent some time on the back of my husband’s Harley, I began to believe I might be able to really do it. The fact that I’ve never ridden more than 30 miles in a single day before is entirely irrelevant, right?
View from the Blue Ridge Parkway
When I read the set-up and Tom’s sister’s reasons for not telling Tom about it until it was too late to back-out, I was reminded of the time my husband conveniently neglected to tell me we were going to ride the Tail of the Dragon, 318 turns inside of eleven miles. Like Tom’s sister, my hubby knew if I knew ahead of time, I would find an excuse to avoid the experience. At least Tom had a day’s notice. I had about five minutes. I have a pink dragon sticker on my helmet that you can only buy in Deal’s Gap which proves I lived to tell the tale.
After reading Ride With Me, I think I have to add riding the TransAmerica Trail to my Bucket List. The question now is who is going to ride it with me?
Spoiler for RIDE WITH ME: Like Tom, my husband too proposed very unceremoniously over Mexican food. It still wasn’t glamorous, but I made him do it a second time on his knee, with a ring.
Bikecentennial '76 Inc. evolved into the Adventure Cycling Association in the late 1970s. The success of the 1976 event led the Adventure Cycling Association to map several additional bicycle routes across the United States and Canada, in addition to the TransAmerica Trail. Among them are:
- Atlantic Coast Bicycle Route, 2,673 miles (4,302 km): Bar Harbor, ME ←→ Key West, FL
- Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, 2,711 miles (4,363 km): Banff, AB ←→ Antelope Wells, NM
- Great Rivers Bicycle Route, 1,327 miles (2,136 km): Muscatine, IA ←→ St. Francisville, LA
- Lewis & Clark Trail Bicycle Route, 3,253 miles (5,235 km): Seaside, OR ←→ Hartford, IL
- Northern Tier Bicycle Route, 4,300 miles (6,900 km): Anacortes, WA ←→ Bar Harbor, ME
- Pacific Coast Bicycle Route, 1,856 miles (2,987 km): Vancouver, BC ←→ Imperial Beach, CA
- Southern Tier Bicycle Route, 3,100 miles (5,000 km): San Diego, CA ←→ St. Augustine, FL
- Underground Railroad Bicycle Route, 2,058 miles (3,312 km): Owen Sound, ON ←→ Mobile, AL
- Western Express Bicycle Route, 1,585 miles (2,551 km): San Francisco, CA ←→ Pueblo, CO
Labels:
3.5 stars,
adventure,
contemporary romance,
contest,
cycling,
giveaway,
Nima Review,
Random House,
Ruthie Knox
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