Getaway Girl by Tessa Bailey
Publication Date: March 26, 2018
Rating: 4 stars
Source: eARC provided by publicity company
Official Summary:
This unlikely getaway driver never expected to help the mayor escape…
After a six-year absence, Addison Potts is back in Charleston to stir things up. And what better place to make her villainous return than her estranged cousin’s wedding? Only, the nuptials hit a snag when the bride doesn’t show, leaving Addison to play getaway driver for the jilted groom. A groom whose heartbreaking smile and deep, southern drawl she should not be noticing…
Elijah Montgomery Du Pont is the future mayor of Charleston. From his military career to city hall, every detail of his life has been meticulously planned. Until now. His only respite from life’s sudden upheaval is Addison, his new, improbable best friend. She makes him happy. Grounds him. And public disapproval be damned, he’s not willing to give her up. But with an election on the line and public pressure rising, Addison—and the cruel hand of fate—might not give him a choice.
What I Liked:
Tessa Bailey's books and I go a long way back, starting with Officer Off Limits, which is still one of my favorites of hers and one of my favorite Entangled Brazen novels to date. Bailey's books always deliver the sexy, the sweet, the dirty, and the HEA. Getaway Girl is Bailey's second self-published novel and it is yet another hit for me!
Addison Potts is back in Charleston, after her grandmother died and left her a business to run. The book starts with Addison sneaking into her cousin's wedding - her prim, rich, golden-girl cousin is marrying the golden boy, mayor's son, future mayor himself. When Addison lays eyes on the groom, she knows there is something about this man. There is an instant heat, but that's her cousin's husband-to-be, right? Wrong. Naomi stands up Elijah, leaving Elijah alone in a church full of southerners who want to see a wedding. What's a guy to do? Leave. And what's a girl to do? Offer him a ride to get away, of course. Elijah and Addison strike up an unconventional friendship, with her offering him her home as a sanctuary, as friends. With Addison, Elijah feels comfort, home, and peace. With Elijah, Addison feels less adrift in Charleston. But friendship isn't what either of them want. With the election looming, Elijah can't afford another scandal, especially not the kind involving Addison Potts, who has a history of her own in Charleston.
Addison is such a tough lady, and it was impossibly easy to like her. She is prickly at times, and she delivers honesty and bluntness with no games or sugar-coating. She has thick skin, especially with her family history in Charleston - she has to have thick skin. Addison also has a good heart; she opened her home to a stranger, seeing that he needed comfort and simplicity.
Elijah is such a southern gentleman, with the charm and the manners. He treats Addison like a proper lady, he doesn't curse (not aloud, anyway), he uses manners like "yes ma'am", and he thinks of everyone else first. He's the mayor's son and he is set to win the upcoming election and take his father's place. Elijah has always had a lot of expectations placed on him, and he handles them well, but sometimes expectations are overwhelming. Meeting Addison was the best thing for Elijah, because she showed him a much simpler and quiet life.
I love how the pair became friends, good friends, and learned to trust and be comfortable with each other. It's so rare that you see two characters grow as friends first, before becoming more. Usually they're already friends, or they meet and start dating soon after. This was cute because they drew the line on their first meeting - they were going to be friends and no more. With Elijah just having been jilted at his wedding, and with his spotless reputation, they couldn't afford to be seen as anything more than friends. I liked this development of the relationship - it's friends to lovers, but from the very beginning of the friendship.
When things finally cross over to the "more-than-friends" side... whew! It got hot really quickly. Don't get me wrong - Elijah and Addison were both attracted to each other from the start. But they didn't act on their attraction. But when they do, there are fireworks and thunder. They have great chemistry and all that bottled-up tension explodes on the page. Bailey always writes really hot romances and steamy sexy times. She has become more inventive and creative with each book. The heroine is a dirty talker, and the hero is a selfless guy who likes to please his lady. It's a good match!
There is much more to this story than the romance - in fact, the romance is on par with the "other" plot. Elijah's election is probably the biggest part of the story, as it dictates a lot of Elijah and Addison's relationship. With her history (which I won't talk about), and the fact that Elijah just got stood up at the altar, they have to be careful. Addison's family history comes up and that's another big part of the story. But everything comes together in the end, romance included.
The ending is a wonderful HEA! Addison gets resolution in terms of some personal things, Elijah finds balance in his life, and the pair figure out how to make things work for them. I love a good ending that involves both characters waking up.
This is a fantastic self-published contemporary romance novel that is satisfying and engrossing from start to finish. With a unique plot and lush backdrop, Getaway Girl is a novel that I'll be rereading in the future. I'm always down for more Bailey romances!
What I Did Not Like:
Nothing specific comes to mind!
Would I Recommend It:
If you like steamy adult contemporary romance novels, this is definitely one for you. I'd recommend any of Bailey's books, but I will say that her books have gotten steamier and steamier, with each one she writes. Some may not work for everyone; this one involved a dirty-talking heroine, and a selfless hero who had minor alpha tendencies. It's a friends-to-lovers, slow-burn, high-tension, chemistry-filled romance that really delivers when the sexy times kick in. I recommend it!
Rating:
4 stars. I didn't really care for Naomi, BUT I think it would be so cool to read her story. Where did she go for two months? What was she doing? Better yet - let's see the aftermath of the two months, with her back in town and Elijah/Addison already together and squared away. It would be cool to see her find love, especially since there were no hard feelings between her and Elijah. Anyway, I also wouldn't mind this book being a complete standalone, so there's that!
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