Review: One Sweet Ride by Jaci Burton
Title: One Sweet Ride (Play by Play #6)
Author: Jaci Burton
Publication Date: June 4, 2013
Publisher: Penguin
Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance
Find It: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, Book Depository
Source: Library
Gray Preston was born into money, but he’s built his racing empire on hard work and muscle. And now that Gray has millions of fans, his senator father sends one of his aides, Evelyn Hill, to elicit Gray’s help in garnering votes for the upcoming national election. Gray wants nothing to do with his estranged father’s campaign, but Evelyn can be pretty persuasive. She’s willing to learn about racing, and maybe even get a little dirty.
Evelyn’s number-one goal is politics, which makes working with Gray difficult, because his only passion is fast cars. As she and Gray spend time together, he teaches her about the sport he loves, and she learns a lot about the man behind the wheel. The more she learns, the more she wants him. But any desire that threatens to derail the carefully laid plans for her future is a dangerous one.
With the passion Gray and Evelyn share running hotter than either imagined, one of them is going to have to compromise, or else run the risk of losing more than their hearts.
Let me just start off my saying that this series really has the best covers. Every single one of them is drool-worthy and, even though they usually feature a half naked man on the front, I would not be embarrassed to read them in public. Because really, look at those abs.
Now that I am done drooling over the cover, let’s get to the review. One Sweet Ride is the sixth book in Jaci Burton’s Play by Play series. I am a fan of the series but admit to being two book behind. This sixth installment has veered away from the Riley family (who were featured in the first 5 books). While I still miss the Riley (and will go back and read the previous books), I went into this with an open mind.
Sadly, I was disappointed with this book. It wasn’t bad, but there was nothing in it that really made it stand out either. I think part of my problem was that it took me a long time to warm up to Evelyn. She doesn’t have much personality and I was annoyed that she thought she could just waltz into Gray’s life and presume to tell him that he really need to re-think his relationship with his father, all for her own agenda. I liked up to her more as the story went on but it was a lukewarm feeling at best.
I liked Gray better, though he, too, was pretty bland. I liked that he was passionate about racing and charitable causes but he didn’t illicit any strong feelings in me. I thought that the chemistry between the two was just OK. With a love/hate story I usually expect a lot of tension and sexual energy. I didn’t feel that between these two until much later in the book. The sex scenes, while hot, started to get boring after a while. And trust me, I am all for a good love scene and am not one of those people who usually says less sex in books, please. The scenes all just seemed really similar and weren’t as exciting or inventive as what I’ve come to expect from Burton.
Another small thing that annoyed me was that we are introduced to characters that are obviously going to be featured in their own books down the line. I didn’t mind the intro so much, but it felt forced and took me out of Gray and Evelyn’s story. I wish that these characters had been introduced in a more subtle way.
Jaci Burton is usually hit or miss for me. When it’s a hit (Changing The Game), it’s a big one, but this one was a miss for me. The stakes didn’t feel high enough and I just wasn’t as emotionally invested in the relationship as I should have been. No doubt others will enjoy but I am glad that I borrowed a copy. I still plan reading the Riley clan books I missed though and would definitely still give the next books in the series a try.
