This is one of those books where the summary sounds so much better than the book actually is. The book has a title like Speed Demons and the two main characters are a race car driver and a photojournalist with experience chronicling the Afghan War? I'm expecting some serious energy in the pages. Unfortunately, there isn't much. In spite of the title and Evie's occupation, there isn't much NASCAR in the book. It's not like I'm a huge NASCAR fan; I haven't watched a race since I was in high school (back in the 1990s). But I would like more than one chapter at the end of the book.

Instead, the author chooses to focus a lot on feelings, which can be okay, I suppose, except it just doesn't translate well in this case. It doesn't help matters that the two main characters are so inconsistent in their feelings for one another. Evie, in action if not in words, dislikes Blythe immediately upon officially meeting her for the first time, mainly because of assumptions that aren't true. However, it sure doesn't take Evie long to form a *connection* with Blythe after that, even after saying how crazy (and, implicitly, stupid) Blythe was to climb up a tree to photograph a hurricane in progress. Within a few hours, Evie is smitten with Blythe.

The whole relationship between Blythe and Evie felt forced to me, and the two characters had practically no chemistry with one another. Evie is kind of an okay character, but Blythe, to me, was just completely unlikable, and I spent most of the book wishing that she would morph into someone I could at least tolerate. It didn't happen.

The secondary characters in the book, from Evie's dad and grandfather to those on Blythe's side, were horribly cardboard and two-dimensional.

Not recommended. ( )

3.5 stars ( )