Review: Ride With Me by Ruthie Knox

Ride With Me
Author: Ruthie Knox
Publisher: Loveswept
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format: ebook
Release date: 2/13/12
Author's website: Link

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?

On a trip across the country by motorcycle together, two strangers find themselves not only enjoying the freedom of the open road but each others company as well.  Their trip starts off a little bumpy and it takes some time for them to get used to each other which is to be expected.  Tom Geiger is a quiet, intense man who has become a loner of sorts due to some recent events that have taken place in his life.  As his story is revealed the reader can't help but feel for him as we get to see what exactly happened to bring him to this point in his life.  He's taken this trip before would rather travel alone and seems to be very knowledgeable with everything around him.  But to put his sisters fears at ease he takes on a riding companion.  That companion is Lexie Marshall who is carefree and happy to ride on the journey. She takes in everything while traveling from the beautiful scenery to sharing stories with other travelers.  Her joy becomes infectious to Tom and soon we get to see another side to this mysterious man.  I really enjoyed reading Lexie's character because she was just so much fun and seemed to truly enjoy herself.  As they travel together their attraction to one another grows and Ruthie Knox does a wonderful job setting the pace for this to happen.  They begin to notice small things about one another and soon they are taking back roads to not only discover hidden sights, but each other as well.  Tom finds himself opening up to Lexie about his past and she is nothing but supportive to him. They soon find themselves sharing a lot more than tidbits about their personal lives as their attraction continues to grow.  They soon give into that attraction and I must say their chemistry is on fire!  Lots of major tent action going on and I enjoyed every minute of it.  I didn't realize that this book was going to be so hot in terms of the romance between the two of them and the author does a great job at writing these scenes!  Who knew that sharing a tent could be so steamy!

The characters also take an emotional journey as well as their feelings for one another begin to deepen.  They know when they reach the other side of the country that their incredible journey will come to an end.  The scene in which Lexie tells Tom how she truly feels about him is absolutely heartbreaking.  They both tried their hardest to not fall for the other person during the trip, but as they discover more about one another they realize that there is no one else that they would want to take the journey with.  Not only the journey of being on the road, but the journey of being fully loved. 

I'm giving Ride With Me a rating of:

Ride With Me may be Ruthie Knox's debut release, but it certainly doesn't read like one.  I found Ride With Me to be extremely well written and thought the whole premise of the storyline was interesting.  It was fun and refreshing to travel with Tom and Lexie across the country.  It was almost as if I was there watching them fall in love along the way.  This book was absolutely adorable and if this is just the beginning of Ruthie Knox's writing, I'm so ready to read whatever she has in store for her readers because it's going to be an enjoyable journey!

Make sure you stop by the blog tomorrow because Ruthie Knox is guest posting and giving away a copy of Ride With Me!