Ride with Me: A Loveswept Contemporary Romance [Kindle Edition]

Ruthie Knox (Author)

Book Description

In this fun, scorching-hot eBook original romance by RITA finalist Ruthie Knox, a cross-country bike adventure takes a detour into unexplored passion. As readers will discover, Ride with Me is not about the bike!
 
When Lexie Marshall places an ad for a cycling companion, she hopes to find someone friendly and fun to cross the TransAmerica Trail with. Instead, she gets Tom Geiger—a lean, sexy loner whose bad attitude threatens to spoil the adventure she’s spent years planning.
 
Roped into the cycling equivalent of a blind date by his sister, Tom doesn’t want to ride with a chatty, go-by-the-map kind of woman, and he certainly doesn’t want to want her. Too bad the sight of Lexie with a bike between her thighs really turns his crank.
 
Even Tom’s stubborn determination to keep Lexie at a distance can’t stop a kiss from leading to endless nights of hotter-than-hot sex. But when the wild ride ends, where will they go next?
 
Includes a special message from the editor, as well as excerpts from these Loveswept titles: In the Arms of the Law, Ivy Secrets, and Because of You.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Laugh-out-loud funny. A charming mixture of sarcastic banter, romance and intense bicycle riding makes this a great read." --RT Book Reviews, 4-star review

"A genuinely enjoyable story. . . . The dialogue and internal monologues are fun, peppered with dry wit." --Dear Author

"I really enjoyed this book. It made me smile, I loved reading it, I was happy while I was reading and after I'd finished, and I hope, if you like contemporary romance or road trip romances or both, you'll pick this up." --Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

"A fun, amusing story. . . . Who knew sex in a tent could be so hot?" --Smexybooks

"This book was fun and sexy. . . . You don't need to know a thing about cycling to enjoy this contemporary romance!" --FictionVixen

"Ride with Me is smart, sexy, and funny, and once I picked it up I couldn't put it down. Can't wait for more from Ruthie Knox." --Sarah Mayberry, Harlequin SuperRomance

"Smart, sexy, and downright fun -- I loved every moment of the ride!" ---Julie James, national best-selling author

"Ride with Me is a breath of fresh air for contemporary romance readers! I flew through it faster than a bike hurtling downhill!" --Best-selling author Louisa Edwards

"A fantastic, sexy, and fun book! Ruthie Knox's Ride with Me was a delight to read." --Jill Shalvis, New York Times best-selling author

"Sexy, hilarious, poignant, and just plain fun, Ride with Me is a fantastic debut!" --Best-selling author Leslie Kelly

Product Details

• File Size: 1926 KB
• Print Length: 220 pages
• Publisher: Loveswept (February 13, 2012)
• Sold by: Random House Digital, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0061C1OQ0
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #34,466 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Ride With Me February 15, 2012

By A. Schreiner TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Kindle Edition

Tom Geiger is ready to cycle across the United States on the TransAmerica Trail. Planning to start in Oregon and ending up in Virginia, he is looking forward to a couple of months of peaceful cycling and sightseeing as he heads east. But his sister, Taryn, has other plans for him. Worried that he is too much of a loner, she secretly places an ad for a riding companion for him and finds someone named Alex. She arranges for Alex to meet Tom at the starting point of the trip, much to Tom's dismay. But since Taryn is really his only friend, he doesn't want to disappoint her.

"Please, Tom. You can't ride your bicycle across the country alone. It's insane. You'll end up being slaughtered by a serial killer."

"Taryn, I'm thirty-five, single, tattooed, and anti-social. I'm the serial killer."
But when Alex shows up, Tom gets a surprise. Alex is a woman.

Alex is also a control freak. A high school English teacher, she has been planning this trip her entire life. She has every hour of the trip mapped out. She has a special computer on her bike and other high-tech gear. One look at Tom and she knows there is going to be a problem. Tom has an old bike and isn't even wearing proper riding gear. She tried really hard to find another woman to ride with, but no one showed interest. So now she is stuck with Tom, who is extremely anti-social and surly. She also doesn't want Tom to get any ideas at night when their tents are pitched right next to each other, so she blurts out she is married, although she is very, very single. Off they go on their cross-country journey.

Ride with Me is the debut book by Ruthie Knox, and I really liked it. She does a great job pairing up two very stubborn protagonists and making it a fun, amusing story. Tom is so anti-social and cranky. His ex-wife cheated on him with his brother, and he has a lot of family drama in the past. He works now as a bike mechanic and goes on crazy bike rides all over the world. His downfall is that he feels guilty about a lot of things. He would feel very guilty if he left Alex behind so he grudgingly agrees to be her companion. They butt heads many, many times at the beginning as they are so different. Alex is prim and proper and refuses to be spontaneous. But Tom finds her very attractive and slowly gets her to lower her defenses.

When Tom can get her to look up from the 27 gears on her bike, he pushes her to take a side road and see the sights. They start to fall into a friendship of sorts, although with an intense edge because they each find the other extremely attractive. My one gripe with this book is that Alex hangs onto the pretend-husband story for a little too long. There comes a point where they both want to dive into the sleeping bag together, but Tom still thinks Alex is married. It takes a phone call to his sister to realize maybe she is lying and that seemed a little farfetched. I wish Alex would have just told him sooner. I did like her apology, though, when the truth finally comes out.

Once they get past all of that, there is some hot lovin'! Who knew sexy times in a tent could be so hot? When Tom starts to lighten up and Alex sees that side of him, their romance really takes off.

Ride with Me is a sexy, contemporary. I don't think I've ever read a book about two people who cycle across the country. I'm a sucker for road-trip books, and this one definitely fit the bill.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A good read but left me wanting May 24, 2012

By Liz

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I don't regret reading this but it lacked some. I hated the way it ended, but the book had many sexy moments.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A Fun, Sexy Ride! February 22, 2012

By The_Book_Queen

Format:Kindle Edition

3.5 Stars. The review that follows is a partial review. To read the full text, please visit:
[...]

~*~*~
Alexandra Marshall--or Lexi as she prefers--thought she was getting a safe, older man for a bike partner. But when she finally meets Tom Geiger, she's faced with just the sort of man she was hoping to avoid--young, broody, handsome...in other words, tempting in so many ways!. How can she ride with this man across the U.S., camp with him every night, and not sleep with him eventually? Or, more importantly lose her heart to him?

Tom's pushy sister was the one who set him up with a bike partner, springing it on him last minute. But Tom--and his sister for that matter--was expecting a man (Alex) not a control-freak, but very pretty, woman! He plans on finding her a new partner as soon as he can; after all, he didn't want a partner--period--little loan a woman. But he quickly finds himself intrigued by Lexi. She may be a bit controlling, believing that the only way to enjoy life is to plan out every minute in advance, but on those rare moments when her sassy side shows itself, Tom can't help but be attracted to her. He also knows that if they stay together for much longer, he won't be able to resist her any longer...

Ride with Me was a quick, charming read. I enjoyed the storyline; it was new (for me at least) and the romance was pretty good as well. I'll admit that I would have enjoyed a bit more spice in the romance, but I can't complain too much. What was there was pretty hot, if a bit brief!

Perhaps the one thing I loved most about Ride with Me was the banter between Lexi and Tom--both in bed and out! Their conversations were often witty and very lively. I particularly enjoyed their exchange in the Mexican restaurant at the beginning of the book. Lexi challenged Tom to a hot sauce eating contest--which Tom had the upper hand for, but doesn't say anything and amuses himself by watching her bravely suffer through the hottest sauce there is!

But perhaps my favorite banter happens much later in the story.

....
~*~*~
This review is property of TBQ's Book Palace (The_Book_Queen)

More About the Author

Ruthie Knox graduated from Grinnell College as an English and history double major and went on to earn a Ph.D. in modern British history that she's put to remarkably little use. She debuted as a romance novelist with Ride with Me--probably the only existing cross-country bicycling love story yet to be penned--and followed it up with About Last Night, which features a sizzling British banker hero with the unlikely name of Neville. She moonlights as a mother, Tweets incessantly, and bakes a mean focaccia.