A hot new standalone in the #1 NYT Bestselling Big Rock series!Let’s be honest, ladies. A good man is a lot like your dream 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, and I couldn’t be happier living the one-night stand lifestyle. But then a wildly sexy brunette … 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 project of my career. Spending all that time with her ought to be easy, but 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?
If sleeping with the enemy is a bad idea, how much more dangerous would it be to fall in love with her?
JOY RIDE is a sexy, dirty standalone written from the guy’s POV!
more
amazing
Simply HOT! I’m a big fan of Lauren Blakely. The chemistry between Max and Henley is perfect. I fell in love with both of them.
Max and Henley have a history and now they are competitors. The sparks between these two are insane. I love the heat, the banter, and the way they eventually learn to love each other while still competing. This book is written in first person from Max’s POV.
I loved “Joy Ride” by Lauren Blakely. This author is one of my preferred ones when I want a well written story that is sure to entertain me. This series has been great – full of laughs and witty dialogue between some hunky heroes and sassy heroines. It’s like reading a Rom-com movie!
This is an author that needs to be in your collection. This is a fun series to start with (go back and grab the earlier books) – when you’re done – pick up all her available books – you won’t be disappointed.
Happy Reading…enjoy!
This book is funny, and sweet and all the things a good romance book should be. I really enjoyed it!
Joy Ride is a standalone novel by the ever-talented Lauren Blakely! I haven’t read a book of hers I haven’t fallen in love with. One of my favorite parts of her writing is the connections between her books. If you read Full Package then you might remember Chase’s gear-head brother Max. Well…this is his story. He is about to sleep with the enemy and she is one talented, feisty, and sexy one…
Five years. That’s how long it has been since he has laid eyes on Henley, the young and fiery woman that he fired. She was his apprentice at his Custom Car shop. And now they are enemies. She is the lead builder at his rival shop. He still finds her sexy as sin but he doesn’t mix business with pleasure. It’s a good thing he has no reason to go to John Smith Rides. He doesn’t need the distraction in his life. But when he gets a deal of a lifetime, he is forced to work with her. To build a badass car. He knows this is a bad idea especially when he feels the spark between them. That hate/lust spark that is heated with dirty innuendos, sassy comebacks, and glances that say fuck you/fuck me behind killer eyes. Can they keep their business professional or will the distractions cause them one of their biggest clients?
I do love a great enemies to lover romance. And add in a little bit of a second chance and it’s a party! Lauren has a way of making the perfect recipe with just the right amount of banter, humor, sexiness, and heart. It’s something I can always count on when I open one of her books. I do love each of her books for different reasons. There is always a meaning to them. With this one I loved that Henley was not a customer, assistant, or new hire. She is an equal. She is a woman in a man’s industry. She demands respect. She doesn’t want to be known as the girl at the shop but as a kickass builder. She doesn’t want to be treated any differently. I love that Max understands this but he also can admit that he can make mistakes as well. Together, they know they have their flaws and insecurities. But they also have that connection they can not ignore.
Overall…it’s a hot, hilarious book full of sexiness, gear head talk, fun banter, and sexually charged innuendos. I laughed, teared up, and it made me want to pounce on my mechanic husband.
P.S I want to go ride in a sports car along the coast.
Quotes:
Henley Rose and a hot car go together like peaches and cream, like fine Scotch and a long, dirty night.
“Still the king,” I point out.
“And now there’s a queen in town.
“I’ll have you know I’m the motherfucking definition of charming,” I say, but the problem is I don’t know if Henley thinks so.
h: Henley
H: Max (POV)
Max fired Henley five years prior for messing up a paint job on a custom car. They meet again at a car show and banter a bit in front of a man. They find out later that this man is a tv show producer and he wants them to build a custom car for a tv show, together!
Overall, this book was an easy, light read. I enjoyed the light banter and the somewhat silly car related innuendos. I never really felt any ill feelings from Henley to Max. I expected some sort of dislike or hard feelings but never saw it. She was still smitten with him even though he fired her years ago. I really appreciated the maturity in which the characters handled the conflict with at the end. It wasn’t drama filled or ridiculous.
I felt disconnected with Henley but I can appreciate a woman who can fight for her own in a male dominated field. The hot scene on top of the car was steamy and different from your everyday bedroom or kitchen romp. Max can pull my hair anytime
Favorite quote:
“Our car baby,” she coos. “We need to start making it.”
“We can’t waste a second.”
She smirks. “I’m ovulating tomorrow, so that might be a good time to get started on our little Lambo. Do you think the connecting rod will be well-lubricated enough?”
I laugh. How the hell did we get from sabotage to dirty jokes? “The rod is always ready,” I say in a deep, rumble voice. -pg 88
I have on audio binge with this series and listening to one then the next and finally I get to Max and Henley’s story and Max is uber sexy and sweet and oh so good with his hands. As the owner of the premier garage in Manhattan business is lucrative and he at times cut throat. At a car show he has a blast from the past in the form of a former student, Henley. She is back in town and working for his biggest competitor. Once his student, she can fine tune an engine and when they find themselves competing for the same jobs they end up working together to build the sports car for a production with promo shots of them and they look very good together. Finally all that chemistry has to overflow somewhere and watch out because to-do lists and bubble baths will not be able to save them. So, so good! Definitely a recommendation from me. Now on to the next one!
Agh, my Lauren Blakely streak continues! I thought for sure that I wouldn’t be able to get into two characters who are total gearheads, but I am figuring out that this author can make nearly any premise work for me. Besides, steamy enemies-to-lovers is like catnip to me. I can’t get enough of it! “I don’t want to kiss you.” LOL – Oh, sure you don’t.
Max and Henley were a great couple to read about. They were coworker/friends/enemies/rivals and then something more???
I really liked Max in this book. He was a standup guy who tried to do the right thing not only for himself but also for the people that worked for him. Falling for your employee is number 1 in the do not cross list of the coworker handbook.
How could you not fall in love with the characters Ms. Blakely creates. Her stories draw you in and leave you with the most amazing feelings. Max and Henley are both extremely strong minded people and have big hearts; watching them on their journey was fantastic to witness.
What happens when your sexy apprentice becomes the new rival custom car shop in town and you have to now work together? A steamy, fast-paced and angsty read told from Max’s POV.
I may like Max even more than I liked Chase! He is a love and leave ’em guy but there is one woman who is his kryptonite. Henley used to work for him. Five years later and they connect again. And end up working together. Steamy, sweet, funny, a little drama, and HOT HOT HOT!! Loved it!
It was a sweet, sexy and fun story. I enjoyed this book so much. It was so cool to be back in the Big Rock world and to see the old characters interacting with the new ones. This certainly was a fun ride.
Two people fighting feelings until can’t.
Well edited.
Max is a wildly successful custom car builder. Five years ago, he fired one of the most talented builders he’d ever had. Things were said. Anger was hot. And time hasn’t really cooled things off. When Henley walks back into Max’s life, it’s as if that fury and passion is still at a boiling point. But, they are both older, and try to be more professional. Except, all that fury and passion was really about neither one facing how they really felt. Forced to work together on a major project, Max and Henley try to keep a tight rein on their feelings. They try. Henley even has lists. Will they survive working together? Will they ever address their real feelings?
Another great addition to the Hard Rock collection. Enjoy.
Love this series!!! Lauren Blakely is my favorite!
This enemies to lovers romance is the exact reason why I love reading this kind of story! Max and Henley are both strong, intelligent, and ambitious. They are both extremely talented at building custom cars but for different companies. When they are surprisingly offered the chance of a lifetime to build a car together, they can’t turn it down. Max and Henley have a contentious history. They were both unprepared for their mutual attraction when they worked together years ago. Now they are older, wiser, more confident and their attraction and chemistry is hotter than ever. But can you sleep with the enemy and not risk your business or your heart? I loved everything about this story. It’s not full of angsty drama, but more about finding that common ground and claiming love. It’s loaded with sexual tension, smoking hot passion, and witty banter. Ms Blakely creates wonderfully refreshing, multifaceted stories about real people who are interesting, socially conscious and face life head-on. There were so many laugh out loud moments but many sweet and heartwarming moments as well, not to mention their fiery passion! This is told from Max’s pov but I love getting a glimpse of Henley’s thoughts through her to-do list at the end of each chapter, they were brillant! Their family and friends all make appearances adding to the fun and setting the stage for upcoming stories that I can’t wait to read! This book is the perfect combination of everything I crave in a story. It’s sweet, romantic, steamy, sexy, heartwarming, and witty all rolled into one wild Joy Ride! You must read it, you will love it, I promise!
Great book, love the writing style of this author.
I read almost everything she writes. Love her sense of humor in sexy romances.
Really good, I’d been wanting to read this one for a while as I’ve already read Chase’s story & wanted to read Max’s story. It did not disappoint, it sizzled & was funny at the same time