Publishers Weekly
02/20/2023
Hart (Talk Flirty to Me) gives the movie Planes, Trains & Automobiles a raucous rom-com update. Free-spirited choreographer Cassidy Bliss, who’s flying from North Carolina to California for her entitled sister’s wedding, first meets workaholic actuary Luke Carlisle when he steals her parking space at the airport. Luke’s also headed to California to check in on his ailing mother. When their flight makes an emergency landing in Joplin, Mo., and there’s only one rental car left, the pair wind up sharing it on a kooky road trip full of misadventure and unexpected bonding opportunities. The cramped space of the car magnifies their differences, with Cassidy being more able to adapt to their ever-changing circumstances while Luke stresses out, but it also reveals hidden depths and undeniable attraction. When a car fire leaves them stranded yet again, they’ll have to rely on each other more than ever. Hart’s affable characters and their familial problems bring this story vividly to life. Add in a healthy dose of humor and readers won’t want to put this one down. Agent: Barbara Rosenberg, Rosenberg Group. (June)
Library Journal
03/01/2023
Cassidy Bliss should already be in Los Angeles for her sister's wedding, but everything that can go wrong, has. Due to a plane malfunction, she's stuck driving cross-country with Luke Carlisle, an incredibly attractive but very uptight, annoying man who was on her plane. Luke is making the journey to check on his sister, nieces, and diabetic alcohol-addicted mother. His family has always been his focus, taking priority over everything else in life, including relationships. But Cassidy seems to be getting under his skin. She's a bright, bubbly person with a big heart and a way with people but doubts her worth due to years of emotional abuse by her mother, while Luke has an inflated sense of responsibility, stemming from his father's abandonment of the family. These well-developed characters have sizzling chemistry that builds slowly over the course of their road trip. Told from both points of view, the well-crafted writing pulls readers into the hearts of the protagonists and doesn't let go until the satisfying end. VERDICT This sexy, forced-proximity romantic comedy from Hart (Talk Flirty to Me) truly does have all the feels.—Heather Miller Cover
Kirkus Reviews
2023-01-06
A series of mishaps unite two unlikely travel companions in this contemporary romance.
Cassidy Bliss is desperate to catch a flight from North Carolina to Los Angeles so she can help her sister, Isabelle, have the wedding of her dreams. The flight schedule is tight, and if Cassidy misses the plane, she risks the disapproval of their mother, Francesca. Just as she reaches the airport, her plan is nearly thwarted by a man who manages to steal her parking place and leave her stranded in the parking garage. That man, Luke Carlisle, works hard to support his unstable mother; his sister, Sophie; and his nieces in Southern California. When Sophie stops answering his questions about their mother, he decides it’s time to visit his family. The last thing he needs is an energetic, redheaded woman accusing him of stealing her parking space. When their plane makes an emergency landing in Joplin, Missouri, and Luke gets the last rental car, he impulsively asks Cassidy to share the drive. As they experience a car fire, train delays, and a drive through the desert, a connection develops between the pair that slowly turns romantic. As they approach their destination and more difficulties pile up, Cassidy and Luke wonder if it may be time to pursue their own happiness. Hart’s latest romance is a spirited, romantic update on the classic John Hughes–penned comedy film Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987), featuring endearing protagonists, humorous detours, and plenty of heat. Luke and Cassidy are amiable characters whose rapport and romantic chemistry are consistently believable. In chapters that alternate between Cassidy’s and Luke’s perspectives, Hart deftly lays the foundation for their attraction and limns the family complications that keep them from acting on their feelings. Luke is revealed to be an avid cosplayer, and Hart frequently references his genre-fiction fandom (“Her insistence on getting closer to a burning, explosion-risk of a car is about to become my villain origin story”). Isabelle, Cassidy’s sister who has serious reservations about her pending nuptials, is also a well-drawn character.
A fun and heartfelt riff on an endearing ’80s comedy plot.
