ARC Review: One Sexy Ride

One Sexy Ride (Thompson & Sons #2)

by Vivian Arend 

Blurb:

His goal is to stand firm

As the middle child in a big family, Len Thompson has found it easy to slip under the radar. His relationships outside the family-run garage tend to run a mile wide but only an inch deep as he keeps his heart, body and soul protected. But when the one woman he’s always wanted makes it known she’ll soon be leaving town, he can’t resist letting her into his carefully constructed fortress.

Her gift is rocking his world

Chasing her best friend’s big brother has both entertained and frustrated Janey for years. She’s not sure what triggered his change of heart, but hell, yeah, she’ll accept it. All of it. Every kiss, every touch, every bit of body-shaking pleasure. Working to meet her renovation deadline is suddenly not nearly as interesting as the mind-blowing escapades she’s enjoying with the big sexy mechanic.

When old fears threaten, Len must finally choose—face his past or let their future crumble.

Themes: erotica

Rating: 4.5 stars

Heat Rating: 

Review:

Another interesting story about a sexy strong and sweet man and the woman who has always held his heart.  Arend of course does this like no other, taking us through some heated loving to the sweet and often sad relationship building that leads to true love and HEA.  I’ve loved this series from the first I heard about it and I am thrilled to have the chance to spread the news about this greatness. If you love sexy men, often greasy from a hard day of working under an engine you can bet this story is for you. 

Len is finally giving in to his feelings for Janey, the woman who has held his heart since they were both teens.  He knows their time together will be limited and this is the only reason he will allow himself to become her lover, knowing she won’t be hurt when their relationship ends, because they’ll go into knowing it won’t last.  But Janey has never done what was expected of her and she quickly finds herself falling in love with Len, more than just the love of a girl, the deep abiding love of the woman she has become. Working side by side and exploring their long time passion, both Janey and Len never see the hard truths that they might soon be facing.

I loved Len for so many reasons.  Firstly it’s obvious that he gave his heart to Janey long ago, and has remained faithful to that love, even knowing he would never see a future with her.  While he is sexy as hell, he is the sweetest of the all boys, with the kindest heart and obviously he feels pain and sadness more than the others.  He has carried the grief of his mother’s loss with him along with a huge amount of guilt that no child should have to carry and it has kept him from going after his heart’s desire.  Janey is an adventurous, sexy, and hard as nails woman, who refuses to let the man she loves slip through her fingers.  But when faced with his inability to commit to a future for them, she decides she is strong enough to live without him, no matter how much it breaks her heart. I liked that she was so determined to show Len just how much he is worth to her, but I wish she had kicked his ass instead of letting him try to break them apart. 

In the end, Len pulls his heart out of the darkness he has wrapped it in and sees that sometimes any pain is worth the happiness of living a life with the one who loves you unconditionally.  I loved seeing him blossom with Janey, embracing his sensual nature and also the sweetness that he shows exclusively to Janey. He is one of those characters that you can’t help but love and feel sorry for, even when he is being an idiot.  Janey is my kind of girl for sure.  Sexy, strong, and passionate in both her work and her personal life, she pushes forward in life, not allowing anything to knock her off her goals. I was thrilled to see them find their love and be able to move beyond their fears and hang-ups to find a chance at a future.  I am loving every book in this series and cannot wait to see the women the next two brothers fall for.  As always with this author there was an intense level of passion and there were some serious sexy moments that couldn’t have been more endearing at the same time.  If you haven’t read the others in their series, you’re missing out, but you will still love Len and Janey’s story.  Another great love story between two people with such different outlooks on life.

*eARC provided by publisher (via netgalley) for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review.  No compensation was provided.