Test Drive by Marie Harte Series: Body Shop Bad Boys #1
Series Rating:
Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca on June 7th 2016
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 384
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Goodreads
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Apple Books
GET TO KNOW THE BODY SHOP BAD BOYS Johnny, Foley, Sam, and Lou are the rough and tumble mechanics of Webster's Garage. These reformed bad boys are used to living fast, but it's the women in their lives who take them from zero to sixty in a heartbeat.
JOHNNYJohnny Devlin's a charmer with a checkered past. He has had his eye on scorching-hot bartender Lara Valley for ages, but she's rejected him more than once. That doesn't mean he won't come to her aid when some dirtbag mauls her. When she asks him on a date as a no-strings-attached thank you, he can't say no. And then he's saying nothing but hell, yes.
So – I have some really mixed feelings about this book. I didn’t hate it. I didn’t hate Johnny or Lara. I liked Lara, in fact, quite a bit. But I really didn’t see them together. They didn’t make sense. Lara was the one who was reluctant to get involved with Johnny, and I didn’t see him do anything that was so great it would convince her to change her mind. When listing the things they have common, Lara thinks “…they both lived alone, worked long hours, and enjoyed hanging with friends.” Which isn’t much.
In her review, my friend Trisha Brown said that both Lara and Johnny, and by extension, Lara’s friends and family, acted as though Johnny deserved cookies for clearing the lowest bar possible (not being a misogynistic asshole), and I think that’s right. That’s what was bugging me about this. The first time Lara throws herself on him, it’s because she’s so blown away by his assertions that strippers are actually human beings who are trying to make a living. How very revolutionary. What a guy.
I also really didn’t like the way Johnny talked. Which is a weird thing to say about a character. But lines like “Johnny had plenty of women who wanted a ride on the Devlin motorway.” and references to Lara’s “warm inner core” were off-putting.
I haven’t really decided if I’m going to read the rest of the series. I hear a lot of good things about it, but most of the other characters were a lot like Johnny, so I don’t know if I really want to. The book wasn’t bad, the writing was good, and I’d read more by Marie Harte, but Johnny just didn’t do anything for me.
About Marie Harte
Award-winning author Marie Harte has been writing professionally since 2005. She’s both a NY Times and USA Today bestselling author and has written over 100 books and counting. Marie writes books with heat, humor, and Harte.
She writes independently and for several publishers, to include Sourcebooks and Entangled. Though currently writing contemporary romance, she also writes paranormal and romantic suspense. Basically, everything romance with a touch of spice.
Before turning to writing full-time, she earned a B.A. in English from Pennsylvania State University and spent several years in the United States Marine Corps as a communications officer.
Marie currently lives in Central Oregon with her family. There’s nothing she likes more than finding a good book to read and a great cup of coffee to drink.
