Drive Me Home by Carly Robyn | Audiobook Review • Ana's Attic Book Blog

Drive Me Home (The Drive Me Series Book 3) by Carly Robyn

Narrated by Teddy Hamilton and Emma Wilder

“I like you, Charlotte Grace Walker. I like you so damn much that somewhere along the way, I fell in love with you. And even if you don’t want to be mine, I’ll always be yours.”

I’ve been following this F1 romance series from the start, and it’s been amazing to see Carly Robyn’s writing evolve with each book. Drive Me Home is hands down my favorite in the series. I actually listened to the entire audiobook while driving to and from Orlando for a book signing with Carly, and the runtime matched the trip perfectly. It was during an F1 race weekend, so I left early to make it home in time for the race (priorities!), but since I was driving the whole way, my notes were minimal, so excuse any lack of detail.

The Plot

F1 is a small, tight-knit sport. With only 20 drivers on the grid, most have known each other for years, having raced together in karting since they were kids. In this story, Lucas and Theo are best friends and teammates at Alphavite Racing. Charlotte, Theo’s sister, has known Lucas forever. They’ve both been secretly crushing on each other for years… but neither had a clue.

Charlotte, nicknamed Roo (short for kangaroo—she’s Australian), is bubbly, adventurous, and fresh out of college, trying to figure out her next step. As a result, she ends up joining her brother on the F1 circuit, tagging along to races and exploring the world. Charlotte has Type 1 Diabetes, and it was a consistent thread throughout the book, something that shaped her daily life without overtaking the story.

Lucas, meanwhile, is from Boston. As soon as his mom called to nag him about visiting, I knew he was Jewish– and I loved that. The rep was spot-on, and his family dynamic was one of my favorite parts of the book, including his complicated relationship with his brother.

“Lucas makes me feel like the luckiest girl alive in ways I never expected. It’s in the little things—how his smile lights up when I walk into a room, the way his hand finds mine without thinking, like we were always meant to be. Lucky for us, we finally are”.

Lucas and Charlotte start as friends. He really sees her. She’s never too much for him—something she’s felt with others. He listens. He pays attention to her needs without smothering her. Golden retriever energy… until they hit the bedroom, and then he’s all dominant dirty talk. Yes, please.

“Usually, it’s the man you end up marrying is going to need a lot of patience or the man you end up marrying is in for it. But not for Lucas. I never have to worry that I’m too opinionated, too direct, too loud, too much. For him, I’m just enough.”

Although Drive Me Home was a little light on racing and I caught a few racing mistakes, Carly clearly knows her F1. But what I did love was how the story incorporated travel, which is such a huge part of the F1 lifestyle. A lot of F1 romances skip that aspect, and I was glad to see it here.

Likes:

Charlotte’s punny shirts.
The Type 1 Diabetes storyline and how attuned to it Lucas was.
How he supported her fashion design goals.
I love the idea of cool racing fashion!
Lucas is Jewish and I knew it the second his mother called lol (I loved his family!)
How random and relatable Charlotte was.
The golden retriever turned wolf in bed.
I’ve seen how much the author’s writing has improved over the series.
Visiting with previous characters in the series, but you don’t have to have read them or remember them to enjoy this story.
One of the things I love about F1 romances is the world travel, and I loved that Charlotte went out and traveled and explored and got Lucas to join her sometimes.
Really good banter.

Dislikes:

There wasn’t that much plot—not much happened in this fairly simple, light story.
It was pretty light on F1 detail, and I noticed a couple of mistakes (P3 is not front row, and some tire inconsistencies).
Did I miss the end? Did he win? Did his team?

Note: As much as he loves watches (and I loved that part), almost every driver is sponsored by a watch company and has to wear their brand when in public.

The Narration:

Teddy Hamilton and Emma Wilder!!! Yes please! She did a decent job trying to keep the light Australian accent, and I love Teddy. I love the way Emma does the male voice as well. he accent helped bring that international F1 vibe, and the narration definitely elevated the whole experience.

The Down & Dirty:

Drive Me Home by Carly Robyn was my favorite in the series. Carly’s growth as an author really shows in this one. The characters were lovable, the Jewish and Type 1 Diabetes rep felt natural, and while I would have liked more actual racing, this story works beautifully even if you’ve never watched a race. A sweet, steamy F1 romance that left me smiling.