Blog Tour + Excerpt + Review: "Drive Me Wild" by Melanie Harlow

I am thrilled to participate in the blog tour celebrating the release of Melanie Harlow's latest novel, "Drive Me Wild," book #1 of the Bellamy Creek series. I adored this sweet, funny, emotional story that featured wonderful characters and an engaging plot. I made the mistake of starting it shortly before bedtime and, while I wasn't able to finish the whole thing that same night, I did stay up way too late so I could keep reading (and, as a result, was very tired when I had to get up early for a 9 am conference call the next morning!).

 

A full review is included at the end of this post, but in short, I highly recommend "Drive Me Wild" for all fans of contemporary romance and romantic comedy. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book of the series!

 

About "Drive Me Wild"

“Gruff but funny mechanic burned by love? Check.
Guy who takes in orphaned kittens? Check.
Hot as can be when he reluctantly falls head-over-heels? Check.
My new book boyfriend? All the checks.
Drive Me Wild is your summer must-read!"
— Julia Kent, New York Times bestselling author

Drive Me Wild, an all-new flirty and heartwarming, opposites-attract romance by USA Today bestselling author Melanie Harlow is available now!

When Blair Beaufort literally crashes into Bellamy Creek wearing a ball gown and a tiara, I should have towed her car, said goodnight, and sent her packing.

I’m a mechanic, not a hotel manager. I've got enough on my plate trying to keep my shop from going under, my overbearing mother off my back, and my baseball team in contention for the league championship. I don’t have time for a former debutante with zero street smarts and a cash flow problem, even if she is crazy beautiful.

Problem is, she’s stranded in my small town, and I’m hiding a protective streak underneath my grumpy exterior that runs deep. So I offer her a place to stay and keep my hands to myself.

For exactly one night.

If only she weren't so gorgeous. So funny. So eager to please. She’s a disaster behind the wheel, but she drives me wild without even trying--at work, at home, in the back of my truck . . . I can’t get enough of the way she makes me feel.

But I know better than to think it can last. She wants a fairy tale, and I’m no prince.

So when it comes time for her to leave, there’s nothing I can do but let her go.

No matter how much it hurts to say goodbye. 

 

Read an Excerpt from "Drive Me Wild"

Switching off the lights, I followed her out onto the sidewalk, locking the door behind us. “I need a quick shower and change of clothes. Want to come up with me?”

“Sure.”

I was following her up the stairs to my apartment, looking at her ass and wondering if she had sexual rules and how long it would take me to break them, when I realized she was still talking.

Shit, had she just asked me a question?

At the top of the stairs, she turned around and faced me. “So? Are you going to?”

I stood close. Ridiculously close. So close I could smell her—vanilla and lemon—and she could probably smell me—sweat and motor oil.

“Am I going to what?”I asked, looking at her lips.

She licked them. “Listen to me.”

“Oh. Yeah. I am.” But at that moment, I was pretty sure I was going to do something else to her too.

Suddenly she stepped back. “Good,”she said, her cheeks flushed pink. “On second thought, I think I’ll wait outside. I’m a little warm, and there’s a nice breeze.”

“Okay. I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

Nodding, she turned and descended the stairs so slowly, I wondered if she was dizzy. I watched her hand sliding along the wooden rail, thinking dirty thoughts.

On the landing, she pushed the door open and disappeared from view, but I still couldn’t breathe right.

What would she have done if I’d put my mouth on hers like I’d wanted to just now? Would she have kissed me back? Would she have welcomed my hands on her skin? Or would she have kneed me in the balls and told me to keep my filthy fingers to myself?

She wasn’t like any other girl I’d ever met, which was both the problem and the allure. I didn’t know how to read her.

But damn, I wanted her something fierce.

I took an ice cold shower, hoping it would help.

It didn’t. 

 

 

My Review

I adored Melanie Harlow's "Drive Me Wild," a sweet, funny, emotional story that featured wonderful characters and an engaging plot. The chemistry between main characters Blair and Griffin was intense from their very first meeting, and I especially enjoyed the "bedtime stories" they told each other. They both had excellent imaginations and were quite good at turning up the heat with their words! Outside the bedroom, they were ridiculously cute together, and I loved their witty, flirtatious banter. Griffin and Blair were obviously smitten with each other very quickly, but it never felt like insta-love to me. Instead, they just seemed to complement each other perfectly and reminded me of one of those couples that had been together for many years.

 

Given her privileged background, Blair could have been a total spoiled brat, but instead she was very sweet. I admired her resilience, tenacity, and determination to make the best of her situation, stand on her own two feet, and finally pursue her dream of opening her own bakery. She was very funny (often unintentionally so), as well as friendly and talkative, and I loved how much she wanted to help Griffin turn things around with his auto repair business. Blair's ideas on branding and marketing were quite clever, and she proved to be a major asset to Griffin and the entire town of Bellamy Creek. Griffin was nearly too stubborn to see that for himself, and there were a couple of times I wanted to reach into the book and shake some sense into him. Fortunately, he came to his senses with the help of his family and friends, and everything worked out for him and Blair in the end.

 

The book also featured a number of fun, quirky secondary characters, and I am excited about the possibilities for future stories set in Bellamy Creek. I especially enjoyed Griffin's matchmaking mother and smart-mouthed sister, as well as his friends Cole, Beckett, and Moretti. 

 

Overall, "Drive Me Wild" was a tremendously fun read, and I highly recommend it for all fans of contemporary romance and romantic comedy. I am very much looking forward to the next book in the series.

 

*Review copy provided by the author via Social Butterfly PR. All opinions expressed are my own.