Publisher: Berkley
Publish Date: Out Now
How I got this book: from publisher
Race car driver Gray Preston enjoys fast cars and an uncomplicated life, until political aide Evelyn Hill enters the picture and complicates the hell out of it with a request that he help out his estranged father’s political campaign. Racing and politics don’t mix, but Gray and Evelyn’s sexual attraction sizzles like asphalt in August.
*Blurb from Goodreads*
I have been a longtime fan of Burton, and when she started this series, my inner sports fanatic jumped up and down in glee. I was a little hesitant about reading a stock car racing book, only because I don’t understand the sport, nor do I have any desire to. But my love of all things Play-by-Play won and I gobbled this the second it hit my doorstep.
Gray is the son of a senator, and found out the hard way that the life he wanted didn’t fit into the mold his parents had in mind for him. But his love of racing won out and he became extremely successful following his dream. Now that his father has been named as the vice-presidential candidate, the sexy Evelyn shows up at his doorstep, expecting him to be ready and willing to endorse his father to rally the southern vote.
Evelyn has always had to prove herself in the male-driven political arena. The one thing she will not accept is failure, especially from Gray. She is intrigued by the son of her boss, and although she is attracted to him, is reluctant to get involved with him. Evelyn’s one goal is to get Gray to back her father’s campaign, but along the way she realizes there is more to Gray than she knew, and she falls easily for him.
I have to say, this is not my favorite book in the series, by far. I had a difficult time getting into the racing aspect of the book, and never really understood the appeal of it. Aside from that, I had some problems with the way that Gray and his family reacted toward one another, especially after some pretty scary ordeals.
I did like both Gray and Evelyn as our hero and heroine, and their romance was very well done. I liked that Gray was so laid back and easy going, and the small group of friends he has intrigued me from when we first met them in the last book. I was anxious to see how he would react to falling in love, and Gray didn’t disappoint. I love when heroes fall hard, and Gray was no exception.
I loved Evelyn, I thought she was an extremely strong character and fabulous heroine. She was successful in her career with aspirations to go even further. She felt so strongly for both Gray and his father, and she wanted so much to be able to reunite them, despite being told not to meddle. She took her job seriously, and I loved that Burton made her out to be a strong and successful heroine in her own right. I hope that we get to see more of Evelyn in future books, as I think she might be the best heroine to date. Maybe…
Like I said earlier, I had big problems with the way Gray and his family treated one another. I get that there were some hurt feelings over the horrible things they said to one another, but I didn’t really understand how Gray could be left in the dark surrounding some big issues with his father, especially given the fact that his father was a senator. That his mother and sister kept secrets as well didn’t make sense to me either, they wanted to reunite the two as well, so the secrets were kind of a big deal between them. I just didn’t like the way this was handled.
All in all I enjoyed this book. I really liked Gray as a hero, and Evelyn was a fantastic heroine. As always, Burton can be counted on to write sexy and fun relationships, and she never disappoints on that front. I am especially excited to be going back to a sport I’m really excited about for the next book: hockey.
I give One Sweet Ride a B-