Review: Along for the Ride by Mimi Grace

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

Along for the Ride by Mimi Grace
Published by Amazon Digital Services LLC on July 16, 2019
Genres: Romance
Pages: 241
Format: ARC
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three-stars

THIS ROAD TO LOVE MAY HAVE A FEW SPEED BUMPS…

Former hot mess Jolene Baxter is committed to doing better. It’s why she offered to help her sister and brother-in-law move across the country. However, her goodwill is tested when last minute changes—mainly her father ditching her for an all-expenses paid vacation—forces her to make the journey with a man who is the human version of a pebble in her shoe.

Jason Akana operates on lists and bitter coffee, but none of those things will help him on a sixteen-hour trip with the most infuriating woman. Maybe they can get along and forget their heated confrontation five years ago at his best friend’s wedding…when pigs fly.

But the addition of vehicle problems, an unplanned pit stop in a small town, and chemistry that inconveniently tags along, shifts their perspectives. And once the dust settles after their trip, a tentative friendship emerges. Will these two stubborn people successfully navigate the unexpected feelings that follow close behind? Or will they hit a roadblock before reaching happily ever after?

Content Notes: Deceased parent (dies long before start of the book) | Verbally pushy person interested in the heroine (NOT the hero)

Jolene’s sister is moving sixteen hours away and she has volunteered to help, which in her case means driving a moving van across the country. Long drive but doable. A wrench is thrown in her plans though when she has to travel with Jason, her brother-in-law’s best friend. These two do not get along and barely say much to each other since their tiff a few years back.

First of all, I must say that Jolene is better than me. I’m not volunteering to drive nothing for nobody for sixteen hours. Hell, if I’m moving that far away, I would have to pay a moving company to tote both my furniture and the car while I fly. Me, driving for that long? It wouldn’t be pretty LOL.

That being said, let’s get to the story. 🙂

Along for the Ride was cute and fun. I liked the dynamics of these two characters being thrown together and having to deal with the worst-case scenarios on this road trip. There was the awkwardness that turned into sexual tension and then we watched them try to find a way to ignore their feelings. Of course, these things eventually bubble to the surface and Jolene and Jason realize that they can indeed get along and be friends, of some sort.

While I liked their banter a lot, I wasn’t quite invested in their relationship. I like to go on a journey with the characters as they find their way to their happily ever after (or whatever their endgame is). And while Jolene and Jason went on a journey, literally, emotionally I felt like they never really took off. I missed the emotional tug that normally makes me continually root for a couple.

Overall, I think Along for the Ride is a solid debut novel and I’ll be keeping an eye out for future Mimi Grace novels.

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Natalya

Natalya is an Account Manager by day and an editor and author's assistant to passionate creatives by night. When she is not adding to her enormous book collection or stationery supply, she is catching up on her favorite television shows.

Natalya is the author of All The Things I Never Said, a soul-stirring collection of short stories, prose and love letters for the soulful wanderers, the brokenhearted and the hopeless romantics.

You can follow her rantings and occasional sparks of brilliance on Twitter @NatalyaMuncuff.