Title: Carpool
Series: Milford College #1
Author: Noelle Adams
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: July 17, 2019
Blurb
The last thing I want is to share a forty-five
minute commute with the most obnoxious (and attractive) man I know. But I can’t
afford a new transmission right now, so I’m stuck with Marcus for at least a
month.
minute commute with the most obnoxious (and attractive) man I know. But I can’t
afford a new transmission right now, so I’m stuck with Marcus for at least a
month.
He promises to be good, but Marcus Greene is
never good. And I’m not sure how long I can resist him.
never good. And I’m not sure how long I can resist him.
Carpool is the first book in the Milford College
series, novellas about the faculty and staff of a small liberal arts college.
series, novellas about the faculty and staff of a small liberal arts college.
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Sunny Shelly’s Review: 3 Stars
I have mixed feelings about Carpool. It’s supposed to be a bad boy/good girl novella, but I didn’t think that Marcus was all that bad of a guy. And for a “good girl,” Jennifer sure was a Judgey McJudgerson.
Poor Marcus has a rep around town as a bad boy rebel, probably because he’s a brooding dark kind of guy. I found him to be rather sweet and quite a gentleman. Jennifer, on the other hand, was brash, quick to judge and take the townsfolks’ opinions as gospel when it came to him. As they carpool to work together while her car is in the shop, a nice friendship forms between the two of them that eventually leads to them both falling in love.
Second Best by Noelle Adams is a book I’ve re-read over and over again. I honestly questioned whether Carpool was written by the same author. The prose is clunky and full of extraneous actions that sometimes seemed like they were written in just to meet a word count.
Overall, the guts to this story were good, and there was a nice arc to the enemies-to-lovers aspect of Marcus and Jennifer’s relationship. I would have liked to have seen some chapters from his POV to get inside his head.
I received an advanced copy and voluntarily left a review.
Excerpt
I nod and
open the passenger door, reaching down to grab the strap of my purse.
open the passenger door, reaching down to grab the strap of my purse.
I blink
when he gets out too.
when he gets out too.
“What are
you doing?” I ask, my voice sharp because I’m confused.
you doing?” I ask, my voice sharp because I’m confused.
“I’m
walking you to the door. Do you have a problem with that?”
walking you to the door. Do you have a problem with that?”
“But why?”
“Why not?”
I don’t
have an answer to the question. And since he didn’t give me an answer, I feel
like I don’t have to give one to him either.
have an answer to the question. And since he didn’t give me an answer, I feel
like I don’t have to give one to him either.
But I’m
shuddering with something like excitement as we reach the front stoop of my
grandmother’s house. I stop and stare up at him.
shuddering with something like excitement as we reach the front stoop of my
grandmother’s house. I stop and stare up at him.
He’s gazing
down at me with that same deep, warm expression I saw in him earlier.
down at me with that same deep, warm expression I saw in him earlier.
Right
before he kissed me.
before he kissed me.
“Why are
you doing this, Marcus?” My voice breaks slightly because I’m pulsing with
everything I’m feeling.
you doing this, Marcus?” My voice breaks slightly because I’m pulsing with
everything I’m feeling.
“I’m just
standing at your door.”
standing at your door.”
“You know
what I’m talking about.”
what I’m talking about.”
He nods,
his mouth relaxing slightly. “I’m doing it because I want to kiss you again,
and I think you want that too.”
his mouth relaxing slightly. “I’m doing it because I want to kiss you again,
and I think you want that too.”
I lick my
lips. He sees it. His expression heats up.
lips. He sees it. His expression heats up.
It thrills
me so much I quickly get my tongue back into my mouth and swallow hard. “I
don’t know, Marcus. I don’t usually do things… just for fun.”
me so much I quickly get my tongue back into my mouth and swallow hard. “I
don’t know, Marcus. I don’t usually do things… just for fun.”
“I know you
don’t. But I keep telling you that you’re allowed. Kissing me would be fun for
you. And for me. It doesn’t have to mean anything more. It doesn’t have to
change anything important about your world. So why shouldn’t we do it again?”
don’t. But I keep telling you that you’re allowed. Kissing me would be fun for
you. And for me. It doesn’t have to mean anything more. It doesn’t have to
change anything important about your world. So why shouldn’t we do it again?”
“Because…
because I think it would… If we do it again, we’re going to do more than kiss.”
because I think it would… If we do it again, we’re going to do more than kiss.”
He chuckles
softly and reaches up to brush some hair back from my face. “Yes. We probably
will.”
softly and reaches up to brush some hair back from my face. “Yes. We probably
will.”
“And you
think that can be just for fun? No… no… pressure or complications?” I can’t
believe I’m even considering no-strings-attached sex, but that’s exactly what
I’m doing.
think that can be just for fun? No… no… pressure or complications?” I can’t
believe I’m even considering no-strings-attached sex, but that’s exactly what
I’m doing.
That’s what
Marcus is offering.
Marcus is offering.
And I want
it so much.
it so much.
“Yes. I
think so. If that’s what you want.”
think so. If that’s what you want.”
“That’s all
it could be between us. For obvious reasons.”
it could be between us. For obvious reasons.”
He gives a
slight nod. “Yes.”
slight nod. “Yes.”
This
confirms a tiny, lingering question I’d never even acknowledged. And it makes
things so much safer.
confirms a tiny, lingering question I’d never even acknowledged. And it makes
things so much safer.
Safe enough
for me to let myself be tempted for real.
for me to let myself be tempted for real.
After all,
sex with Marcus is going to be good. I know it for sure. And if I can enjoy
it—have some fun—in a way that both of us agree will lead to nothing disruptive
to my life, why the hell shouldn’t I?
sex with Marcus is going to be good. I know it for sure. And if I can enjoy
it—have some fun—in a way that both of us agree will lead to nothing disruptive
to my life, why the hell shouldn’t I?
Why can’t I
be like everyone else and just let go now and then?
be like everyone else and just let go now and then?
It doesn’t
have to threaten the security of my world.
have to threaten the security of my world.
I really
think I could let go with Marcus and still be safe.
think I could let go with Marcus and still be safe.
He confirms
this by saying in a more serious tone, “I’m here for anything you want,
Jennifer. Anything. Just name it. But if it’s not what you want, all you
have to do is tell me, and I’ll never make a move on you again.”
this by saying in a more serious tone, “I’m here for anything you want,
Jennifer. Anything. Just name it. But if it’s not what you want, all you
have to do is tell me, and I’ll never make a move on you again.”
I gulp. “I…
do want it.”
do want it.”
“Yeah?” He
tilts his head down.
tilts his head down.
“Yeah.”
“So you
want to try to have a little fun and see what happens?”
want to try to have a little fun and see what happens?”
Somehow
I’ve made up my mind. I’ve decided. Everything inside me wants to do this, so
I’m going to do it after all. “Yeah. That’s what I want.”
I’ve made up my mind. I’ve decided. Everything inside me wants to do this, so
I’m going to do it after all. “Yeah. That’s what I want.”
His eyes smolder
in a way that makes my heart clench.
in a way that makes my heart clench.
And other
parts of me clench as well.
parts of me clench as well.
“So I can
kiss you again?”
kiss you again?”
I nod.
“Please do.”
“Please do.”
Author Bio
Noelle
handwrote her first romance novel in a spiral-bound notebook when she was
twelve, and she hasn’t stopped writing since. She has lived in eight different
states and currently resides in Virginia, where she reads any book she can get
her hands on and offers tribute to a very spoiled cocker spaniel.
handwrote her first romance novel in a spiral-bound notebook when she was
twelve, and she hasn’t stopped writing since. She has lived in eight different
states and currently resides in Virginia, where she reads any book she can get
her hands on and offers tribute to a very spoiled cocker spaniel.
She loves
travel, art, history, and ice cream. After spending far too many years of her
life in graduate school, she has decided to reorient her priorities and focus
on writing contemporary romances.
travel, art, history, and ice cream. After spending far too many years of her
life in graduate school, she has decided to reorient her priorities and focus
on writing contemporary romances.
Author Links
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