5
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Sidecar Crush by Claire Kingsley and Lucy Score
Bootleg Springs Book 2
Contemporary Romance
That's What She Said, LLC
May 11, 2018
Model turned disgraced reality TV starlet, Leah Mae Larkin, crash lands in her hometown of Bootleg Springs to lay low while a scandal threatens her career. She can’t shake the feeling that her agent—and supposed fiancé—manipulated her into the role of made-for-TV homewrecker. Connecting with her roots is just what she needs, and Bootleg Springs is home to her father, moonshine, and her childhood best friend, Jameson Bodine.
Only there’s nothing childlike about Jameson—a man who turns scrap metal into art and isn’t afraid to throw down on a rowdy Friday night with his brothers and hellcat sister. He might not say much, but still waters run deep. Seeing the ring on his crush’s finger? He doesn’t like it, but he can’t wish it away. No more than he can wish away the trouble his family is in, with evidence pointing to his late father in the cold case disappearance of Callie Kendall.
Jameson and Leah Mae are just two friends reliving their summers together, blowing off steam, and having fun for the first time in a long time. But Leah Mae is realizing what’s really important in her life, and it isn’t what she thought.
And sometimes steam turns into sparks—hot as molten steel—and friends aren’t just friends.
“I love you, too. To the stars and back.”
I read a LOT of books every year. And the majority of those books fall somewhere in the romance genre. So it’s fair to say that I am exposed to a good number of hot, handsome heroes and swoony plot moments. And there are more than a few stunning first kiss scenes in those books, as well. So believe me when I say that the first kiss scene in this book BLEW. ME. AWAY.
If you read my review for the first book in the series, Whiskey Chaser, you’ll know how absolutely enamored I became with the town of Bootleg Springs and all its residents. The town chicken, the bonfire/beach day parties and the hilarious Bootleg Justice? All will make appearances in this second installment. As will all of the members of the Bodine Family, and their loyal sidekicks. 
Jameson Bodine is a loner. Some might go so far as to call him a hermit. Labeled as oversensitive and too artsy by a hypercritical father as he grew up, he’s learned to just remove himself from social situations. He’s done the long distance friend with benefits thing, so he’s no stranger to physical relationships. But he prefers to spend his time in his workshop, crafting recycled metals into things of beauty. And he’s fine living life in the background, doing his own thing, until Leah Mae comes back to town.
Leah Mae Larkin is a model. An actress. Well, an aspiring one, at least. For now she’s paying her dues on a trashy reality show, since her agent- slash-fiance tells her this is the way it has to be. But when a media firestorm blows up, Leah just wants to escape back to the one place she’s ever felt safe. The town where her dad still lives. And the place where the best friend she ever had still lives. Even though she’s engaged and looking toward the Hollywood lights, there’s no denying the chemistry that still exists between her and Jameson Bodine.
Jameson is sweet and gentlemanly until he sets his mind to go after what he wants. And what he wants is Leah Mae. Leah thought she knew what she wanted for the future, but a little time in the backwoods, and a certain Bodine, might be changing her mind.
These two are a delicious slow burn. The chemistry between them is palpable, but Ms. Kingsley drags it out, making you unable to stop reading. And when you get to that moment I mentioned earlier. DAY-UM. Behind it all runs the plot that began in Book 1 of the series. A decade-old mystery. A family secret. Sibling relationships and town history. It all adds up to make for one incredible read. 
