Driven to Distraction by Anah Crow and Dianne Fox

Title: Driven to Distraction
Authors: Anah Crow and Dianne Fox
Publisher: Amber Allure
Genre: M/M Contemporary Romance/Interracial
Length: Novella (97 pages)
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

A guest review by Lily

Review summary:

An enjoyable opposites attract story about a mechanic and a car-challenged professor.

BLURB

Jess Leonard has his hands full as a single dad and the owner of a small but busy garage. He doesn’t have room in his schedule for a deep breath, much less a date. When Benaiah Day bangs up the underside of his ’66 Jaguar, Jess heads out to do the fix-up work—and finds himself invited in for dinner and more.

Ben fits perfectly into the tiny bit of time Jess calls his own. Both of them are marveling at their good luck when Jess’s dad inadvertently drives a wedge between them. Dating a black man when your dad isn’t shy about his Southern pride—preferably with the biggest Confederate flag he can find—is a heck of a recipe for relationship issues, and that’s before Jess trips over the baggage—an obnoxious ex—that Ben can’t seem to lose.

In spite of the mess, Jess and Ben drive each other crazy in the very best way, and they’re both dreaming of the same destination—love that lasts. Can they find a way around the obstacles that could keep them from getting there together?

REVIEW

Jess is a mechanic and a single father of two living in a small Southern town. Ben is a university professor who’s inherited his grandfather’s classic cars but doesn’t know much about them. They meet when Ben damages one of the cars and they’re instantly attracted. Before long they’ve become friends with benefits and their no-strings affair works well until a misunderstanding and then an old lover get in the way. Will they be able to work through their differences and find a happy road to love?

I liked this latest release from the writing duo of Anah Crow and Dianne Fox. It’s a nicely written book and the protagonists are likable and interesting. The story centers around the theme of differences. Ben is black and Jess is white and their careers and personal backgounds are also very different. Despite their differences they are attracted to and good for each other. Their sex scenes are well written and hot but they also do well outside of the bedroom.

There is a bit of conflict in the storyline but no heavy angst. It’s just a couple of minor misunderstandings that are quickly and easily dealt with. Although those misunderstandings could have been used to provide more depth to the story it probably couldn’t be done in this story length. Overall this is an easy feel good story with a definite HFN ending that shows the promise of more.