Sexy Saturdays: Ride With Me/About Last Night by Ruthie Knox

 

Sexy Saturdays with Andrea and Autumn is a weekly feature created to spread the word about spicy reads.

Autumn Review

The Bookish Babe

 

 

Series: Standalone

Genre: Contemp Romance

Publisher: Loveswept

Publication Date: 2/13/13

Format: ebook

Pages: 216

Source: Purchase

Rating: 4 stars

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In this fun, scorching-hot eBook original romance by Ruthie Knox, a cross-country bike adventure takes a detour into unexplored passion. As readers will discover, Ride with Me is not about the bike!   

 

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? 

 

 

My Review

 

I've recently taken a big liking to books from Ruthie Knox, so when I saw Let It Ride, I had to give it a try. I'm not particularly into cycling. My own bike has who-knows-how-many gears/speeds and hasn't moved in over two years. But I'm always looking out for something new, and book about two strangers on a cross-country cycling trip sounded all kinds of cool and interesting.

I was fully prepared to like Tom despite the cycling gear. To be honest, I've never noticed a cyclist and thought "Hey! He's hot." Compression shorts do nothing for me. But to Alex's dismay, and my utter delight, it seems that Tom sets out wearing a faded Nirvana t-shirt and cargo shorts. That sound you just heard was my lady-bells ringing. Guys, I love a guy in a good tee and cargoes. But then...Tom started speaking, and dude, that man was a little hostile. Nice. As anyone who knows my husband can vouch for, I love a cranky man. Tom Geiger, he was a solitary man with a difficult past. Over the past five years, he's completely transformed his life, going from a high-powered job to working in a bike shop, from a socially active life to solitude. I mean, the guy has pretty much modeled his new life after Thoreau's "Walden", with epic cycling trips his only true indulgence.

So Tom is tricked into riding cross-country with Alex "Lexie" Marshall, and he isn't a bit happy about that. Lexie isn't exactly thrilled to be riding with Grumpy Tom, but, she's out of options. Le xie and Tom are opposites: she's chatty, curious, excited, and she is way too organized for Tom's liking. She's outfitted with a ridiculously complicated bike complete with a computer, maps, a trailer...she's so ready for this trip. But what Tom realizes and Lexi does not, is that she needs to get rid of the gear and just enjoy the beautiful ride.

Oh! Another issue that drives Tom crazy? He's wildly attracted to Lexie. He has no need for that sort of nonsense in his life, though, and vows to keep his hands off. The only problem is, her ass looks so nice when she's riding in front of him, she looks hot with a bike between her thighs, he can't help but admire the freckles on her shoulder, etc. Yep, he's got it bad.And so does Lexie. Did I mention Tom is hot? He is, with dark good looks, broad shoulders, muscular thighs, and enticing scent. You see where this is going, don't you? Tom and Lexi want each other, so badly. But neither wants to want the other. They have specific plans that don't include falling in love on the TransAmerica Trail. Which means, they absolutely fall in love on the TransAmerica Trail, one hill, one town, one longing glance at a time.

Let It Ride was sexy, it was interesting, it was meaningful and it made me smile. Another winner from Ruthie Knox.

Favorite Quotes

 

 

  "I don't need a babysitter."

  "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."
"Taryn, I'm thiry-five, single, tattooed, and antisocial. I'm the serial killer.”

 

 

  He was everything she wanted.

  For a long moment he just held her there, his tattooed biceps rigid with the strain of bearing his own weight, his breath on her neck, his heat pulsing deep inside her, his heart beating so hard she could feel it pounding against her own.

  She tipped her hips up, inviting him deeper, and he groaned helplessly. "God, Lex. Tell me this is really okay."

  "It's better than okay."

  "You're mine." He said it like an oath, both a curse and a promise.

  She liked the sound of that.

 

  Lying here naked beside Tom, watching the weather arrive, it was hard to remember Portland or to formulate an acceptable explanation for why she wasn't married and living an entirely different life. She wasn't doing that because she'd wanted to be here, doing this. She'd wanted Tom before she'd even met him.

 

Series: Standalone

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Series: Standalone

Genre: Contemporary Romance 

Publisher: Random House

Publication Date: 6/11/12

Format: ebook

Pages: 207

Source: Purchase

Rating: 4.5 stars

 

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Sure, opposites attract, but in this sexy, smart, eBook original romance from RITA finalist and bestselling author Ruthie Knox, they positively combust! When a buttoned-up banker falls for a bad girl, “about last night” is just the beginning.
 
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?

 

My Review

 

I went into About Last Night with expectations of a fun one-night stand turned true love story. Since it's a Ruthie Knox book, I also knew that buried beneath the sexy cover and fun premise, I would get a truly meaningful story that would grip me. I was right about that. Not only did About Last Night grip me, it  kicked me straight in the heart. I will  keep my personal reflection on the story to a minimum, but let me just say that, like Ashley from Roman Holiday, About Last Night's heroine spoke to me on a deeply personal level.

The story begins with Cath, an American living in London. Though she has a job she loves, Cath remains detached. You soon learn it's for her own good. Cath hasn't always been responsible, hard-working. She used to be "Old Cath", and that version of her was deeply troubled. When Cath connects with a man she knows from the train, a sexy man she nicknames "City" (his real name is Nev), Cath knows she's going down the wrong path again, headed for a mistake. But Nev, he refuses to let Cath walk away. He wants to know her, love her. Nev is in for quite the battle.

 

Much of About Last Night deals with Nev's persistence and Cath's reluctance for a relationship. As stubborn as she is, he matches her step-for-step. It's a one-step-forward, two-steps-back sort of dance between these two. I confess, it normally drives me a bit bananas when a character decides to leave the person they love or shut them out "for their own good". Cath is afraid her penchant for destroying her life will crash down on Nev, and that he'll break her heart. She's partially right, in that her former life could be overwhelming, but we know that Nev is a big boy, and if you love someone, give them the knowledge and a choice, and allow that person to decide whether you're worth the risk. This is her choice, whether to take the risk and let Nev break her heart, as she believes he will

But honestly, I can also see why Cath is so private and protective of herself. I know that Nev loves her and would never hurt her, but she doesn't. Sometimes our own awful, stupid mistakes build and build and build until that's all we can see, it becomes ingrained into our identity. Until you let someone in, tell that person your big bad secrets. If that person truly loves you, they'll accept it as part of your history, what led you to where you are and exactly who you need to be. And then, that person can show you who they see you as, not flawless, but strong, a survivor.

 

  "Your past--It's not a series of mistakes, love. It's just you. All the things that happened to you that made you who you are. You asked me if I hated you for what you've done and what you've been through, but I never could. I admire you. I love you. And I wouldn't change any of it, even the worst parts, because I wouldn't change a thing about you."


And Nev, what a dream book guy! So kind, so sexy, so funny and smirky. I love how much he loved Cath, just as she was. And let me say, that man can make a grand gesture. Truly stunning.

 

I know this review has been all over the place and a real angst-fest. But I must point out that About Last Night was really funny and sexy too. I love the humor and realism when it comes to sex Knox always incorporates into her stories. I don't need to be sold the fantasy when I have this level of honesty and beauty.

 

About Last Night. A bad girl and a buttoned-up banker. Blue blood and bad blood. This book was practically written for the bad girl who still lives somewhere inside of me. That girl with good intentions and bad decisions who never thought she would not only win the heart of the good guy, but that through his eyes, she could see that maybe she hadn't made a disaster of things after all. It's not about being changed about a person, but about seeing yourself through new eyes, a new, love-filled perspective. It's very healing and very endearing. I just, I loved this story so much and highly recommend it.

 

Favorite Quotes

 

  "I would appreciate it," he said after a moment, "if you would stop calling me 'nice.'"

  He took a step closer, and her heart rate spiked.

  "You are nice." Her voice came out all weak and wavery. This was how Little Red Riding Hood had felt when she'd discovered the Big Bad Wolf wearing Grandma's bonnet.

  "No," he replied. "I'm not."

 

  He was claiming her, marking her with his touch, but she didn’t feel possessed so much as she felt protected. Cherished. Wanted. The unaccustomed intimacy of it rendered her fragile, vulnerable as a robin’s egg. Somehow with him it was all right. He wouldn’t take advantage. City was one of the good guys.

 

 

  He saw her. He saw her, and then he smiled the way he'd always smiled at her, as if they were the only two people in the room, and he loved her, and he'd very much life to find out what she had on under her dress. That shark smile. That Big Bad Wolf grin. It got to her like nothing else ever had or ever would.

 

 

About Ruthie Knox

                                                                                                                                                         USA Today bestselling author Ruthie Knox writes contemporary romance that’s sexy, witty, and angsty—sometimes all three at once. Her debut novel, Ride with Me, is probably the only existing cross-country bicycling love story. She followed it up with About Last Night, a London-set romance whose hero has the unlikely name of Neville, and then Room at the Inn, a Christmas novella—both of which were finalists for the Romance Writers of America’s RITA Award. Her four-book series about the Clark family of Camelot, Ohio, has won accolades for its fresh, funny portrayal of small-town Midwestern life. Ruthie also writes New Adult romance as RobinYork. She moonlights as a mother, Tweets incessantly, and bakes a mean focaccia. She’d love to hear from you, so feel free to drop her a line.

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