At the beginning of the book I thought, wow this is almost exactly like book one. But I kept going and yes it’s similar, Jack and Brodie are brothers and they run a transport company. Mary and Ronnie both “collect” items for their bosses, but that’s where the similarities ends. Ronnie has been through a lot in a few years and it’s made her determined not to depend on anyone else. Jack manages to get through that tough exterior to find the woman within and bring her out into the open.

Loved the story, couldn’t put it down and I was happy to see there is going to be a third book in the series, Charlotte is next and ends up with someone unexpected.

This review is based on an ARC from NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher. All opinions are my own. ( )

Lori Foster does an amazing job of keeping the reader on the edge of your seat. Not only is the sexual tension crackling but the threat of danger is serious. When Jack and Ronnie first meet they are as attracted to each other as metal to a magnet. The only problem is they would be working together and Ronnie only wanted a once and done relationship.
The relationship between the two is touchy and Jack patiently works to make Ronnie comfortable with being loved. He draws her in without overwhelming her. In the meantime, something is going on and it seems like there is a very real threat to Ronnie.
I think this book was even better than the first in this series. Lori Foster writes strong alpha males who can be soft when needed. Her women are independent and feisty and when the two get together the sparks fly,
I received an advance copy of this book on Net Galley. ( )

Slow Ride is everything its predecessor, Driven to Distraction, isn’t. Ronnie Ashford and Jack Crew have a hilarious meet-cute and I’m all over this pairing like a wine connoisseur over a 1999 Château LaTour Pauillac (I totally googled that, a bottle recently auctioned for £330/$427 so ‘sgood). Ronnie doesn’t do commitments, no dating, no relationships, no friendships, no attachments whatsoever, just her job, even her apartment is ready to leave at a moment’s notice. She has some trauma in her past that makes her abrasive and standoffish. Then we have Jack who’s already renovating a house and does favours for his old school teacher and has so many community ties, he’s a walking Gordian Knot. But boy-meets-girl and slowly but surely, things fall into place. With suspense and a teensy mystery tossed in for flavour. And it does have flavour. The bad guy du jour, North Runde, skeeves me out. My first thought was literally, and I’m quoting from my notes here, “fudging serial killer obsessed with Ronnie”. The vibes coming off this guy made me glad Ronnie and I are of the same mind, never go anywhere without a knife. I’m a fan of Ronnie’s bosses, gothic twins Drake and Drew, and Ronnie is definitely my favourite character in this one. She’s stereotype edgy but I adore her because Lori doesn’t usually write characters like Ronnie and it shows that she’s expanding her character types. Yay!
I had a couple things I wasn't fond of in Slow Ride. I'm just going to get this out of the way. I keep calling the book Slow to Ride and that is a totally different connotation, don't you think? Jack's internal dialogue could be a bit, well, objectifying towards Ronnie. The cringey part that got me was post-"trust has been established" sex, he's lying there with her and thinking "He felt like he'd just solved a difficult puzzle, conquered a nation, scored first prize." Cringe! It was irksome to read. And yes, I did spend a good ten minutes venting about this scene while I was reading.

I want to put some content warnings in here for y’all. (on site this is hidden by a lovely button) We have unsolicited sexual harassment towards our hero (because sexual harassment isn’t okay no matter the gender), and “mild” animal abuse (all animal abuse is severe in my book but this is quickly abated by our hero and heroine and the animal is 100% unharmed and safe). There is also kidnapping and slightly descriptive talk of murder in here. Oh, and a stabbing scene. And gun violence.
Overall, I'm giving Slow Ride 4 stars and 4 flames because this is the Lori Foster I know and love. I highly encourage y'all to go find yourselves a copy if you're into respectful alpha men, mustang cars, weird collectors, and goofy dogs.

This has been a review from Once Upon a Time, I Read a Book (dot-com), for more of my reviews and funky content, come visit my site! ( )

Ronnie Ashford is hiding a lot of pain and has trouble sleeping. She walks into a bar one night with the intent of seducing someone. History has proved to her that this helps her to escape her demons. She finds the perfect candidate and things seem like a go until she hears someone call out his name. It is Jack Crews and Ronnie is in town to utilize the services of his transport company. She only wanted one night, and if she would be working with him, then that certainly could not happen.

Jack was enthralled, but now it seems as if it will be strictly business between him and the sexy bombshell. She makes it clear that nothing at all will happen between them. Ronnie really needs the business that is owned by Jack and his brother. Her “collections “are often quite odd and sometimes the circumstances can be very dangerous.

Meanwhile, Ronnie has had a very tough past and this is where the true conflict and even a strong element of danger enters the story. So, not only is there a sizzling romance to be enjoyed, there is a mystery that is part of the scenario. Also, we get to see Howler again, Jack’s brother Brodie’s dog. I loved Howler in the first book, Driven to Distraction. He was important then and is just as much now. Indeed, the scenes with Howler made me smile.

I loved this book and am enjoying this Road to Love series by Lori Foster. As a matter of fact, I love all of her wok and have read dozens of them over the years. Although part of a series, Slow Ride does well as a standalone.

Many thanks for this ARC to review. This is my honest opinion. ( )

Ronnie is prickly and abrupt but as her story unfolds the more endearing she becomes. Ronnie meets Jack when her employers send her to hire Jack to travel with her on her assignments. She tries to run him off but fails miserably. The heat between these two is off the charts and I fell in love with Jack from the beginning. This story has an animal rescue, cute, funny animals, rotten family on Ronnie's side, strange employers and a serial killer.

While I enjoyed this story at times all the different elements seemed too much.

This is a ARC copy I received through NetGalley. At the time of my reading there were a few electronic editing issues, I'm assuming will be fixed by publication.
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