If ever you wanted a rom com to feel more like your own reality than you have to pick up “Shut up and Drive” by Noelle Davenport.
I am normally not for miscommunication tropes, but Davenport set this story up to be just the right amount believable, relatable and hilarious, and yet still romantic.
After another humiliating breakup, fiery pastry chef Serafina Spencer is more than ready for a vacation. But the moment she pulls into her parents’ driveway for their annual summer trip, trouble greets her in the form of Thane Donnelly. The boy next door who secretly fell in love with his best friend’s sister and concealed his feelings by teasing her mercilessly throughout the years.
No problem, the lake house is large. She’ll ignore him with headphones and novels in order to protect her peace. She needs solitude, not her past rearing its sexy ugly head.
When life gets complicated, Thane leaves home in the middle of the night without saying goodbye. After five years of living in the wind, he returns home and is instantly thrown into mothers’ matchmaking mayhem. They cancel Sera and Thane’s flights and strand them together, leaving them with the smallest rental car possible.
Now forced to drive together over seven hundred miles from New York to South Carolina, they have no other option than to clear the air between them before they reach the lake house where both of their families are waiting.
This is where the communication or the lack thereof comes into play. Sera wants to keep things surface-level. Thane wants to rip off the bandage and reveal the truth he’s kept hidden. The universe-and gas station burritos-have other plans. Yes, you can probably guess where that one leads to and it is diabolical.
These two don’t know what will happen along the way, but one thing’s for certain:
All is fair in love and road trips.
The unbelievable banter and chemistry make this rom-com steamy in ways you wouldn’t imagine. It often reminded me of my boyfriend and I when we were just friends trying to hide the fact we had a crush on each other.
The teasing, poking fun at each other, but then when someone was hurt or someone was hurting them the protectiveness and the need to be more than just that friend came into play.
Davenport’s writing flows in a way that makes you want to consume the book in one sitting. Like a hallmark movie playing in your head.
The ending had me in tears and not wanting it to stop. Luckily, Davenport predicted those cries for more and added a ten year later chapter that will melt your heart.Ā
While this story has come to an end it doesnāt mean that the fun has stopped. āShut up & Driveā is part of The Wayfinders Series. A multi-author, closed-door or fade-to-black road trip romance series. The characters are not connected except by a road-trip theme, and they can be read in any order.Ā
Overall, this book was everything I could hope for in terms of a summer read. I am rating this book 4 out of 5 stars and two chili peppers for her closed-door romance.
Thank you, Noelle Davenport, for sending me the ARC and allowing me this opportunity to review your book.
ā ā ā ā
š¶ļø š¶ļø/ š¶ļøš¶ļøš¶ļøš¶ļøš¶ļø
Review Realm 
Leave a comment