DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION (Road to Love #1) by Lori Foster-Review & Excerpt Tour
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date November 19, 2018
When desire gets this hot, you’d better buckle up…
Mary Daniels doesn’t let anything get in the way of her job acquiring rare artifacts for her wealthy boss. But this particular obstacle—huge, hard-muscled, unashamedly masculine—is impossible to ignore. Stuck in a cramped car with Brodie Crews for hours en route to their new assignment, Mary feels her carefully crafted persona—and her trademark self-control—is slipping, and she won’t allow it.
Brodie can’t imagine what secret in Mary’s past has left her so buttoned-up, though he’d dearly love to find out. Maybe then she’d trust him enough to explore their explosive chemistry. But he needs this job, so he’ll play by her rules and bide his time…until an enemy determined to outwit them strikes and he needs to get close—in every way—to protect her. Otherwise they could lose much more than a precious collectible. They could lose it all.
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REVIEW: DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION is the first instalment in Lori Foster’s contemporary, adult ROAD TO LOVE erotic, romance series. This is mechanic Brodie Crews, and acquisitions manager Mary Daniels’ story line.
Told from several third person perspectives including Brodie and Mary DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION follows the building romance and relationship between mechanic Brodie Crews, and acquisitions manager Mary Daniels. Mary Daniels works for eccentric billionaire Therman Ritter, a man who collects oddities and strange items that require his own private ‘courier service’ to ensure prompt and immediate delivery. Mary Daniels has been tasked with ensuring their delivery including a ride along with Therman’s new courier Brodie Crews. What ensues is Brodie and Mary’s developing relationship on the road, and the potential fall-out as the couple are targeted in a game of one-upmanship, when Therman’s collection is wanted by a competing collector.
Mary Daniels is a conventional woman; an uptight female whose clothing is more for armor than attracting attention. When our heroine is assigned to hire Brodie Crews, the attraction is immediate but Mary doesn’t mix business with pleasure, and everything about Brodie screams all kinds of trouble. Brodie Crews sees beneath Mary’s attempts to hide but protecting Mary will become his number one priority when the couple becomes fodder for some illegal collectors.
The relationship between Mary and Brodie begins as a business arrangement in which Mary struggles to accept Brodie’s gruff exterior and he-man attitude. Quick to judge, Mary battles her attraction to the man with whom she would fall in love. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and passionate, without the use of over the top, sexually graphic, language and text.
We are introduced to Brodie’s brother Jack Crews; their mother Rosalyn Crews; Jack and Brodie’s secretary Charlotte, as well as Brodie’s dog Howler, and Gina, a woman who is hoping for a chance with our story line hero; billionaire Therman Ritter, his PA Jolene, housekeeper Vera and chef Burl. The requisite evil has many faces.
DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION has a little bit of everything: mystery and intrigue; family and friendships; fun, romance, fighting and falling in love. The premise is engaging and inviting; the characters are spirited, animated and sassy; the romance is spicy and arousing. DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION is a playful, captivating and energetic story line.
Copy supplied for Netgalley
Reviewed by Sandy
Her past was strictly off limits.
The music, a mellow, country tune, drifted in the air. She was more of a rock-and-roll woman, but she appreciated the sight of Brodie moving ever-so-slightly with the music, his fingers tapping against the steering wheel.
If a boulder could be relaxed, she’d say he was just that. Yet, while his expression seemed peaceful, his shoulders stretched his dark T-shirt and his biceps bunched and flexed with each small adjustment.
How exactly did a man go about getting a body like that?
“Do you work out?”
Mouth kicking up in amusement, he glanced at her. That dark-eyed gaze flashed over her before he returned his attention to the road. “You realize that’s a pickup line, right?”
Oh Lord, his eyes were…well, amazing. And hot. If it wasn’t for the unfamiliar lick of heat that intense look caused, she might’ve been embarrassed. Instead, her reaction threw her off.
Oh, she had her fair share of male attention, but usually it left her indifferent.
Not so with Brodie Crews.
Her MO was to steer clear of interested, or interesting, men, but really, what harm would it cause to look? She’d see him during this ride, then not again for a while. For that reason, she’d looked her fill—without being obvious.
His profile fascinated her, the way those thick, dark lashes shadowed his eyes, the high bridge of his strong nose and the curve to his mouth. His dark, thick hair held a slight wave, and no matter how many times he tunneled his fingers through it, it fell forward over his brow. The growth of whiskers on his jaw made her curious to know how it would feel to her fingertips.
And her lips.
“I’m just wondering,” she said, trying to play it off as idle chitchat. “You’re muscular for a man who makes his living driving a car.”
“I also work on cars.” He slid her an intimate smile. “As you know.”
The reminder of her first sight of him sent another flush over her skin. Coolly, she replied, “Is that what you were doing? I got an entirely different impression.”
“Because of the way Gina groped me?”
He said it without an iota of shame, making her jaw loosen and her mouth fall open.
Obviously, she was out of her league.
Brodie chuckled. “If I hadn’t been struggling to stay upright, I’d have shaken her off sooner, but Gina can always sense weakness. She thought she’d sneak in there while my defenses were down.”
“Your defenses?”
“I’m not at my best after a night of drinking.”
“Then why did you do it?” Personally, she’d never seen the draw. She sometimes had wine on very special occasions, which were few and far between. Drink, drugs…they caused a loss of control, leaving you not only vulnerable, but oblivious to all that really mattered.
“I’ve turned her down more times than I can count.” Brodie’s mouth went sideways, then he scratched the top of his head. “She’s persistent, I’ll give her that.”
“Is she in love with you?”
“Ha! No, not even a little.” Laughing, he shook his head. “Gina likes me okay, but that’s it. Mostly she wants bragging rights to say she’s banged Jack and me, both.”
It took all Mary had not to drop her jaw again.
LORI FOSTER is a New York Times, USA TODAY and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of more than 55 titles, beloved for her contemporary romance novels revolving around alpha males and the women they fall for. Lori has been a recipient of the prestigious RT Book Reviews Career Achievement Award for Series Romantic Fantasy, and for Contemporary Romance. For more about Lori, visit her website at LoriFoster.com, or check out these online locations where she interacts with readers: Facebook.com/LoriFoster, Twitter.com/LoriLFoster, Goodreads and Pinterest.com/lorilfoster.
You can also sign up for her monthly newsletter at LoriFoster.com/Newsletter.
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