Oof. I'm sorry. I waited too long on this one and it's long past it's release date! I'll be looking for this title at my local library or bookstore, then come back and add a review! I was looking forward to reading it, sounded right up my alley!

As Lucy and Emma embark on an unexpected journey together, they discover that sometimes the best adventures are the ones we never planned for. Through shared experiences and newfound relationships, they both learn valuable lessons about love, independence, and self-discovery.

Overall, I recommend this book to anyone looking for a heartwarming story. Lucy and Emma's dynamic is entertaining and touching, making it a delightful read.

as someone who just spent 4 years living in a vw van, as far away from my hometown as possible, this plot was made for me. i love a road trip trope, but i didn’t really feel the characters had chemistry, especially not enough for a romance book. going into it with an expectation of that, i think i would have liked it more

Wonderful story, great character development, great writing! Highly recommend this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it

Good book with a few funny and heart warming moments thrown in. The relationship between Lucy and Emma was a complicated one , because Emma is married to Lucy's brother, whom seems to be a real piece of work. I liked everything about this story from the puedo car jacking,the road trip to find themselves to both women getting into a brawl at a hole in the wall bar in the middle of nowhere Texas. This book was about finding our true paths in life and maybe along the way finding that someone to live that life with. I would definitely recommend this book to my friends and family, and I look forward to what's next from this author.

Very entertaining read. Loved Lucy and was rooting for Emma to get her sh!t together so we could have a HEA. A light read with road trip vibes. Annie was an awesome best friend - trans rep!!The timing of the road trip stops seemed a bit off (some portions of the trip seemed longer/shorter than reality) but this can be glossed over for the sweet “getting to know you” stages.

Spoiler alert:

The initial decision to leave with Jordan didn’t really ring true for me, but the payoff walking away was good.

Overall, decent read. 4 stars.

Heartened story about two people finding themselves on a road trip across the country. Experiencing a new version of themselves led to a relationship they never saw coming. I enjoyed this very much.

Based on the blurb I was looking forward to Ride with Me by Jenna Jarvis. I enjoyed the first couple of chapters, but as the story progressed I had a hard time getting a sense of who Lucy and Emma were as people. They felt somewhat shallow and underdeveloped. The writing, though technically proficient, was at times confusing and the dialogue was occasionally difficult to follow as well.

I persevered however, because I liked the premise of the story and saw the potential for a really cute roadtrip romance. Unfortunately that never seemed to materialize. In my opinion, the author had them get together way too early, before any chemistry or feelings could really develop, and at that point I lost interest.

I see the potential for this author and would give her another try, but for me this book just wasn’t my cup of tea and was a DNF.

I received an advance copy of this book via Netgalley and all opinions are my own.

This book is not your typical f/f romance.
Lucy wants to go on a road trip before she settles down and knows her brother, Jordan, is selling the perfect thing - a VW van. She buys it and when she gets in the van, she realizes that her brother's wife, Emma, in in the van. She is very mad that her husband sold her van and she has no intention of Lucy having her. So, she hijacks the van. She wants to get out of marriage and getting away from Jordan is the perfect idea.
The two women go on the road trip Lucy had planned. The two tolerate each other until they find a common ground.
I would recommend.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

Don't think I've read anything by Jenna Jarvis but will definitely look for more titles from her. I enjoyed this book and the journey the two protagonists took. Thank you Netgalley for the early access

I have a love of books that feature travel so the thought of a road trip across America in an old VW Van sounded fun.
When Lucy returns to the States, she buys an old van from her brother Jordan. She wants to have one last adventure before finally deciding if settling down is right for her. She and her family aren’t close. So when she finds that her sister-in-law pretends to kidnap her in many ways she isn’t surprised. Emma has decided to leave Jordan, for good this time, if only she can summon the courage. The van, it turns out, actually belongs to Emma and holds a lifetime of memories. As the women begin to get to know each other, they learn just as much about themselves as they do about each other.
It took me awhile to keep the storyline clear but the writing is propulsive. I keep turning the page wanting to know what would happen next. Overall I enjoyed this novel very much and look forward to more by this author.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the eARC.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

I just couldn’t get into this. I liked the ending the best, the epilogue and HEA were well done and enjoyable. But getting there was just kind of boring and I did not really care about the characters. It was fine but not my favorite.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ride With Me”: by Jenna Jarvis - ⭐⭐⭐

Summary: When Lucy buys an old VW bus off her brother, she has plans to travel across America before settling down once again. However, her sister in law, Emma, has other ideas, and hijacks the bus along with Lucy. As the pair travel, they both begin to develop new feelings for one another, and Lucy realises just how far her brother will go to make sure he had the perfect wife.

Thoughts:

Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Stroke Books for this ARC. This book is now available to purchase.

This felt very original for me, and I was invested in Emma and Lucy as they began to develop feelings towards each other. The writing has a distinct voice to it. Some aspects of the story may be upsetting to some so be careful if you do decide to pick it up.

Lucy and Emma are very different characters who bounce off each other well. It was interesting to see how Lucy's family thought of Emma, and how they would believe her husband about certain things. I really like the cover as well.

Wish the author luck with this!

This was a very fun read. Riding along with Lucy and Emma and seeing their connection bloom and strengthen was such a great reading experience. This story had everything you could want from a romance novel, and had the added benefit of the shitty man getting what he deserves by the end. I also laughed out loud multiple times, so really just a great reading experience over all.

What I need now is an Annie novel, because I loved her so much and need more of her ASAP.

this book was...not good

i usually do okay with romances; they're not my favorite genre and the third-act conflict structure does grow tedious at times, but i like them for the most part. however, this book was boring and i had to push myself to continue reading just so i could get feedback in

it felt like such a slog to get through; the writing is boring and the romance had no chemistry. you could not convince me emma and lucy were actually attracted to each other??? like their dialogue was dry as hell

the premise interested me but ultimately the boring and stilted writing, the bland characters, and the chemistryless romance made this book a negative experience for me

thanks to netgalley and bold strokes for giving me this arc

What a delightful journey this book was!

In Jenna Jarvis' captivating novel, a seemingly ordinary road trip transforms into a gripping rollercoaster of emotions, blending humor, spice, romance, and adventure. I saw someone else refer to this book as "Thelma and Louise" Sapphic edition, and I couldn't agree more!

Lucy, seeking a fresh start after years abroad, finds herself entangled in an unexpected escapade when her sister-in-law, Emma, decides to reclaim her life and hijack her own beloved VW van. A deal is struck, and the two women, who hardly know each other, set out on an unexpected cross-country journey.

As the road trip unfolds, the characters connect on a deeper level. The story skillfully balances heavy and light-hearted elements, creating a beautiful narrative that explores friendship, love, self-discovery, and new beginnings.

Overall, Jarvis delivers an entertaining romance with a mix of drama and lighthearted moments.

Thank you Bold Stroke Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange of an honest review.

I rarely DNF a book. I am a librarian who believes that every book has some sort of merit within its pages. And from the reviews I found after DNFing the book, it does look like a lot of people have gotten good and fun things from it. I'm glad. I was not one of those readers.

I'll start with why I stopped reading about 24% in. On the road trip after Emma 'kidnaps' Lucy and during the bus/van driving stuff, they talk about a bunch of things while driving. The last straw for me was the bashing of non-profits and how the bashing was written in there. That they're all corrupt and such. Really? Seriously? That is the sort of thing that make people not contribute to their local charities, which are mostly run by overworked, underpaid people who care too much.

There were other things before that straw that broke the camel's back too. Didn't love the mostly glossing over of the physical abuse that had happened in the past. There were also a lot of parts where the dialog especially was very stilted or slightly just off. Which makes more sense when I found out that the author doesn't reside in the United States. This also probably hooked into the fact that everyone was either 'Republican', which the author seemed to be using as a stand in term for 'bigot/racist/etc.' or they were a 'proper' Queer ultra liberal. That's another 'yeah no' (which in New England means 'No' just to be clear). Just like when it comes to any human population, those of us who live in the US are complicated people on a varied spectrum of our feelings and opinions on, well, everything.

Anyway. Maybe one day I'll come back to the book, but, for now, onto others.

Lucy Johnstone didn’t ever recall feeling as if she belonged. She had nothing in common with any of her family, seeing as they were all about how rich they looked, Lucy was much more down to earth. When she got her law license she took off around the world working with people in need of a lawyer. Now she’s come home looking for a van she wanted to buy so she could travel around her own country for a change. But alas the ‘van’ she wanted to purchase was really owned by her brother's wife, Emma.
Emma Johnstone was Jordan’s wife and she was not happy. She’d had miscarriages trying to conceive a baby, hoping It would make her feel so not alone. She had nothing in common with any of the Johnstone family, at least the ones she's got to know. After being pushed around one more time Emma made plans to escape. She was going to leave Jordans’ house and use her trusty old van to get away. Little did she know Jordan had already sold her van to his sister Lucy. She had to get away, Lucy just wanted to get on the road, not knowing she had a passenger. Now the fun begins.
Ms Jarvis gives us a very interesting and enjoyable read. Fast paced with great characters.
ARC via NetGalley/Bold Stroke Books

3.5⭐️
Unusual circumstances bring Lucy and Emma together for a road trip across America. Lucy, after many years of spending abroad, wants to find a place to settle down in her home country, but as far away as possible from her rich family. When Emma's husband Jordan, Lucy's brother, wants to sell her beloved van, Emma is completely fed up, seizes her chance to escape, and doesn't shy away from hijacking her van and her sister-in-law inside.

Lucy and Emma, who had hardly known each other before, start this journey under strange circumstances, but they quickly realize that the company of the other woman does them well. Although they grew up very differently - Lucy comes from a wealthy family and Emma practically grew up with her sister and father in their van - they realize that they have more in common than they thought. It was nice to see, how they slowly opened up to each other and a friendship began to blossom. And despite a few hiccups, they started to enjoy their road trip together including surviving a bar fight, having fun in Vegas, rescued after a breakdown in nowhereland.

Emma was slowly getting back to her old self and felt her courage and joy returning. After Lucy receives a job offer, she seriously considers settling down somewhere. When the friendly feelings turn into romantic ones, insecurities and a lack of courage almost prevent the happy ending. But with the help of Mick, Emma’s Sister, and Lucy’s best friend Annie, they dare to jump over their own shadows and stand by their feelings.

Overall an entertaining romance with not much drama Enjoy their ride.
ARC was provided by NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books in exchange for an honest review.

I thought it was charming and well written. In my opinion both the main characters are trying to find themselves ant that relatable. I must admit the sister-in-law aspect of it did creep me out.

Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books.