Book Review – Long Drive by Jessica Florence

Long Drive by Jessica Florence

Contemporary Romance, Standalone (but there will be a spin-off)

I love a unique read. I’m always looking for books that don’t follow the trends, so when I saw Jessica Florence was writing Long Drive, a book about a long distance truck driver, I wanted it right away! In a world of billionaires, sports stars, rock stars, Doms, fighters, cops, stepbrothers and princes, it’s nice to see a regular guy hero with a regular guy job.

Livia just had a bad breakup and was going through some stuff. She took off for a month on the road to get her mind together and try something new. She has never left Florida, so it’s time to experience life….that is, until her car breaks down. Desperate to start this new chapter in her life and not willing to wait days for a repair, she offers a truck driver $15,000 to let her go on the road with him for 30 days.

I had one goal, to figure my shit out. I needed space and time to figure out what I wanted out of life, a little soul searching along the way.

Killian is a pretty quiet man who likes his solitary time on the road. He is a simple man and doesn’t need the money, in fact, he thinks Livia may be completely nuts.

Just another reason I should have said no to her proposal, except there was something in her eyes that told me not to, that she needed this like she needed air, and fuck if I was going to let this woman suffocate.

They are complete opposites. Livia is an upbeat, lively chatterbox and Killian is a reticent loner.

Killian was not a man of many words. He was mostly a caveman with a commercial vehicle license.

But he couldn’t say he didn’t really know what he was in for.

“Right, silent type. No worries. I can be quiet for a little while.” She looked determined.
My clock on the dash said 8:10 a.m. I bet myself a pack of Twizzlers the next time we stopped that she wouldn’t be able to make it thirty minutes without talking.

Even though he found her attractive, he wasn’t a horndog, and had no intention of doing anything with her. He could go thirty days without sex, no problem. Well, maybe a little problem…

I’d made it over twenty-four hours without thinking about her in any sexual way, and now that I had, it would fuck with me until she left. But hell if I was going to start any sort of sexual relationship with her, and have to drive with her in the same truck.

Despite his attempts at being miserable for the whole ride, Killian just couldn’t help but get sucked into her sunshiny demeanor.

For once in a very long time, I let myself enjoy the moment, breaking past my own rain cloud to bask in her sunshine, just for a moment. She smiled, laughed, and gave the song her all. Livia was an incredible woman, and I knew she didn’t understand just how amazing her spirit was, that she could bring a man like me out of the darkness, even for four minutes of a song.

Speaking of songs, I love the games they played to get to know each other — 20 questions and “what’s your theme song” at the moment. And speaking of getting to know each other, there was no insta-love, it was more of a slow burn. But when it finally caught fire….HOT!

“Say my name one more time, and I’ll crush your perfect fucking body against the wall behind us, and dry fuck you until everyone on the strip knows my name.”

“God won’t want any part of the things I would do to you Livia.”

What I found interesting was that we were in their heads a lot in the dual POV story. There wasn’t a ton of dialogue or outside characters, but I never felt like anything more was needed. I like the fact that they both got to work on themselves and grow together without it ever getting boring.

The problem was…30 days was coming to an end really soon, what would they do then?

Likes:

A unique story.
I never read a trucker book.
I really loved Livia.
Killian is a quiet sex god.
Good character growth.
The love developed over time.
Not a ton of outside influence or angst.
Loved the theme songs.
She’s a reader, and friends with 2 real-life authors 😉
HOT!!!!
Loved his actor friend and I’m excited there will be a spin-off about him where we will hopefully get to visit with this couple again.

Dislikes:

It wasn’t epic. Do books have to be epic? Absolutely not, or the epic ones wouldn’t stand out.

The Down & Dirty:

The Long Drive by Jessica Florence was a unique read because I have never read a book that took place in a truck with a trucker! It’s was nice to read a slow-burn book where no outside influences wreak havoc with the relationship. I enjoyed watching both characters grow and how their relationship naturally blossomed. I enjoyed both characters a lot, the sex was hot, and it was a quick and easy read. Was it an epic read? No. But I enjoyed it thoroughly and it hit the spot for a unique, quick, fun and sexy read with very little angst.