Nice Girls Don’t Ride by Roni Loren
Contemporary Romance
Released April 21. 2015
Penguin Intermix

Reviewed by Sheena

Favorite Quote:  “I’m sweating.  He’s grunting. I might be drooling. It’s the sexiest I’ve ever felt in my life.

Natalie Bourne thinks she has the perfect night planned for her twenty-first birthday. But when her car breaks down and her boyfriend bails on her, she’s left stranded in an auto shop dealing with a way too cocky, way too hot mechanic, who seems to be intent on pushing every button she has.

Monroe Hawkins knows he shouldn’t be messing with a girl from the uppity private college. Especially when he can tell she sees him as the help. But he’s having trouble resisting the redhead with the smart mouth and the killer legs. So when Natalie’s night goes from bad to worse, there’s no way he’s letting her spend her birthday alone. He makes her a deal—he’ll take her home but not until the sun comes up.

Ten hours, one motorcycle, and the city of Austin at their fingertips…things are about to take a major detour. And soon, there may be no U-turn in sight.

Okay, there is no elegant way to say this so I’ll just keep it simple.  OhhMiiiFawkingGawd, This was so good!  Roni Loren is amazing.  Loren catapulted herself to the upper echelons of my favorite authors list in the past year and with her most recent release, Nice Girls Don’t Ride, she has not intentions of slowing down this awesome literary wave she is just owning. In this new contemporary novella, Natalie is a young co-ed who is having the shittiest birthday ever.  Her car broke down in brutal Texas heat, the tow truck company is no where in sight and her flake boyfriend is at his flakiest.  Monroe is a hot mechanic with a heart of pure gold who is seized by Natalie’s sass and strength.  Neither can resist the other and what starts out as a happenstance meeting, shows signs of growing into something special.

Loren managed to create rich back story for Natalie and Monroe, not at all hampered by the short length of the story.  I loved how we learned so much about their pasts in carefully placed dialogue.  And guess what romance-land, the biker/mechanic hero does not have to have a douche bone in his body to still be absolutely appealing.  Monroe is a bad ass gentleman.  Sweet but nobodies pansy.  Alpha, but is so respectful of Natalie’s needs that he does not steam roll her and justify it with, “Babe.”  His sex appeal is undeniable and I loved every damn thing about him.

“Mmm,” he says, obviously getting lost in his own sensations.  “Maybe you’ve just never had a guy who was dedicated enough to make that happen.  Just let go and trust me to take care of you.”

Monroe teases my earlobe with his teeth, sending goose bumps across my body, and then he whispers, “Turn over for me”

“What?”

“He leans back, slipping out of me, and gives me a devilish grin.  “Hands and knees, princess.”

Good God, if I felt vulnerable and self-conscious earlier, that had nothing on this.  Meet my naked ass, Monroe Hawkins. I drop down on to my forearms and bury my face in the pillow.

Which brings me to their banter.  I grinned throughout this entire book.  Even the more serious and reflective moments I found myself wearing a warm smile.  The way they play off one another from the very start was endearing and entertaining.  The chemistry was amazing.  The buy-in for their break-neck paced bonding was immediate.  Nothing felt forced.  These two characters were quite perfectly matched.  Even when she’s giving him shit, he just takes it in stride and jerks her chain in response.

My eyes narrow and I give him my own head-to-toe look, taking in the messy dark hair, the tattoos, the heavy boots, the finely shaped…I snatch the though back before I can go there.

“Look Sons of Anarchy, I appreciate the nice guy offer, but how do I even know you’re legit?”

“Want to check the back seat for weapons or body parts?”

I appreciated how cool Monroe was being in Natalie’s corner.  He was ready to throw down for her in the face of her jerk boyfriend but allowed her to take the lead. Obviously no hardship to bear, Monroe had no trouble playacting as her man candy and they enjoyed laughing at themselves and one another. So sexy and smart, Nice Girls Don’t Ride packs a punch and hits bulls-eyes on several levels.  Natalie struggles with rising above her upbringing while not being ashamed of her humble and dysfunctional beginnings.  Monroe is a dreamer and his sad loss as a child fuels his desire to be free and open to all that life has to offer.   My only complaint- it was just too short.  I was supremely bummed to leave Natalie and Monroe so soon.  Is it possible to be proud of fictional characters?  Of course it is! Natalie did me proud.  She was brave and did not let heartbreak, break her.  She was reasonable cautions but went with her guy.  Nothing remotely corny about how damn sweet they were together.  I can not recommend Nice Girls Don’t Ride fast enough!  If nothing else this little novella emphasizes the beauty in being yourself and restores hope that there are nice guys out there and we’d all be fools to let them finish last.

Grade: A

Goodreads l Author Site

Kindle l Nook