The Expert's Guide to Driving a Man Wild

Bluebonnet #3

by Jessica Clare

Being out of control…

The product of a rigid upbringing, Brenna has grown into a sexy free spirit who does things her way. No possessions, no debt, no man, and no rules to tie her down. And if she has to work, what better way than as assistant in a wilderness expedition team? So many opportunities to go wild.

…can be risky when you’re falling in love.

One person who doesn’t “get” Brenna is her boss, Grant. He prefers order and emotions kept in check, which means Brenna loves to push his boundaries. He’d be impossible to work for if he wasn’t so infuriatingly hot. But when his overbearing, matchmaking mother arrives in town, Brenna volunteers to be Grant’s pretend girlfriend. After all, it’s the perfect opportunity to drive Grant crazy at every turn.

Brenna’s just a little surprised when Grant agrees to her wild, impulsive schemes. And she’s more than a little surprised when their games take them to the bedroom…

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Audiobook, Adult, Fiction, Enemies To Lovers

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 7, 2014

About the author

This is a pen name for Jill Myles.

Jill Myles has been an incurable romantic since childhood. She reads all the 'naughty parts' of books first, looks for a dirty joke in just about everything, and thinks to this day that the Little House on the Prairie books should have been steamier.

After devouring hundreds of paperback romances, mythology books, and archaeological tomes, she decided to write a few books of her own - stories with a wild adventure, sharp banter, and lots of super-sexy situations. She prefers her heroes alpha and half-dressed, her heroines witty, and she loves nothing more than watching them overcome adversity to fall into bed together.

Reviews

[Alp · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF'd

It was painful for me to DNF this book, but I had to. I'd read some negative reviews of this one before, so I thought I'd already known what to expect from the story. But I was wrong, it was even worse than my imagination. I wasn't happy with the direction of the story and the plot didn't work for me. The two main characters, especially the heroine, totally rubbed me the wrong way.

I love Jessica Clare, but I'm sorry. I had to end this frustration and put myself out of my misery. This book just wasn't for me.

[Lana ❇✾DG Romance❇✾ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Le sigh.

Let me start off by saying that I have really enjoyed the first two books in this series, they were both a solid 4 stars for me. I suppose that is part of the biggest reason why I'm so disappointed with this book. It can be read as a standalone, though I'd recommend reading the first 2 books before. Why? Because you might get the wrong impression of this series if you're anything like me and find this book just a bit...lacking.

I can't say that I didn't like it. I did. And yet at the same time, I kept getting easily distracted from reading it. I'd read a chapter, set it down, read 2 more, set it down. I don't remember the last time it took me a week to read a book. This one unfortunately falls into that middle of the road book limbo. I didn't love it, I didn't hate it, nor would I ever re-read it.

So what went wrong?
Brenna.
In the beginning she came off as quirky, sassy and cute. She had a great sense of humor and I liked her well enough from what I saw in the previous books. But somewhere around 15% it all took a turn for the worst. She no longer came off as quirky but brash and almost vulgar at times. I love a strong willed heroine, but there's a fine line between strong willed and unreasonable. Brenna just rubbed me the wrong way for the duration of the book.



Now while I admit I tend to have a short fuse for annoying heroines, I can at times overlook it if I at least have a great hero to focus on. Sadly I didn't find that in Grant. I wanted to like him. Truly, I did. But he never gave me that butterflies in stomach feeling I get from my Alphas. I don't want to say he was weak...but compared to Brenna he was the weaker one in the equation.

Grant lost his wife 5 years ago and hasn't been able to move on since her death. Now with his parents visiting he's not thrilled since he knows his mother will be trying to set him up on dates and nagging for him to move on with his life.

Brenna knows Grant's past. While he may be uptight and a little anal, she loves driving him crazy with her pranks. But when she sees his mom try to push an obviously unwelcome date his way, she can't help but intervene. And what better excuse out of a date than to say that Grant is already taken...by her.

Now here is where everything went wrong for me. Brenna and Grant fall into bed together pretty quick. But knowing everything that she knows about Grant; his wife, his not dating for the 5 years since her death, him not being the one night stand kind of guy, her decisions boggled me. When Grant tries to make something serious of their arrangement after they sleep together, she pretty much blows him off and makes him feel like an idiot saying all it is is sex.

Really? You knew what you were going into, knew he's grieving, knew how he is and yet that's how you handle it. Gah! I wanted to smack her!

It was a lot of back and forth from both of them that just made want to scream

And ultimately just made me lose interest in both of them entirely

There was a whole lot of sex, but what was missing was the relationship development. I never felt that connection between Grant and Brenna. Brenna's manner of speaking was also a huge turn off for me.

"You know what would be good right now?"
"What?"
"A nice, steamy orgasm. I sure could go for a deep dicking right about now."

Then there was the dirty talk...

His hand slid between them, caressing the mound of her sex. "Is this ready for some no-commitment cock?"
"Oooh, it was born ready," she purred. "Though I don't mind if you keep giving it some no-commitment rubbing."

Ugh. Really?


I think many will still enjoy, but I know I tend to be a bit picky and stingy with my 4 and 5 stars. Sadly this book just didn't work for me. I didn't like the heroine, I wasn't thrilled with the hero, and I really wasn't invested in the story.


The one silver lining was the introduction of Rome and Elise. OMG! I cannot freaking wait for their book. I can already tell it's going to be right up my alley; a tatted and pierced bad boy meets a shy good girl trying to come out of her shell. Yes, please.

***ARC received in exchange for an honest review**

For more reviews visit

[Lover of Romance · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this story, and after seeing these two interact with each other, I was super excited. However, I almost didn't finish it, it drove me nuts (just a little bit). The first part of the story, I really liked. I loved Brenna, with her crazy hair, tattoos and bubbly personality and her insistence for all sex relationship...no strings!! Then we have our yummy hero, who is uptight, controlling and possessive. (I really loved him). Then Brenna got too strange, she tended to be so blase about any real feelings in their relationship and got mad whenever Grant wanted more in their relationship. In some ways I hated the way she treats Grant. Then Grant kinda got weak in his character, when he just let her do whatever. It didn't fit with who he was in the beginning. I really wanted to enjoy it more, but the heroine really had me struggling with it, she was annoying and over the top on certain issues that didn't make sense. Also, I didn't feel the connection between these two other than lust. There was no emotional intimacy at all. It was more erotica than a romance. Which was sad because this book had so much potential. But at least the first half of the story was good and I really loved seeing the first meeting between Elise and Rome.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Expert's Guide to Driving a Man Wild is the third installment in Jessica Clare's Bluebonnet series. This series is marketed as a contemporary romance but it also appears to have an erotica element which really shouldn't be a surprise given the title. Each book in this series can be read as a standalone, as a different couple is featured in every story. Characters from previous and future installments make appearances but don't make the reader feel left out from not reading their particular journey.

Usually, I know I'm going to love a romance when the story features characters who are pretending to be a couple in front of visiting family members...it's a storyline that never gets old in my opinion. But the fact that these characters consummate their fake relationship over and over (and over and over again) behind closed doors when they don't have to and when there is minimal relationship development just makes it feel like porn- just enough story to justify yet another sex sequence. Even if the erotica element was left out, the particular story in this installment just didn't work for me. I didn't really care for the particular couple that was featured: Brenna and Grant. They weren't written in a way that made me want them to end up together permanently. I could appreciate their personal struggles which include the death of a spouse and the emotional aftermath of growing up in a hoarding situation. I applaud Ms. Clare for including the issue of hoarding which is something you don't see in fiction much at all. But overall, it wasn't a story I wanted more of. If you're interested in beginning this series, I would not start with this one unless you don't think you would be bothered by the above. Of course if you're an established fan of the series, then try it and see what you think. The overall rating at the time of this review is 3.81 stars so other readers seemed to like it. On a positive note, this book introduces the two characters that will be featured next (Elise and Rome) and I have to say I'm kinda-sorta invested in them already!

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review originally posted here: http://thebookpushers.com/2014/01/03/...

I’ve found the Bluebonnet novels extremely enjoyable, but the one novella I read really didn’t work for me. I was a little hesitant going into this book, since the novella left such a bad taste in my mouth, however I’m so glad I decided to stick it out with Clare. I really enjoyed this book.

Brenna has been working as the office manager to the survival school ever since they opened. She gets along great with everyone except for Grant. Grant loves to antagonize her, tell her what to do, and generally drive her crazy. But Brenna gives as good and she gets, and driving Grant equally crazy is her forte. So agreeing to be his fake girlfriend is a little hasty, even for her. But Brenna finds she has a bit of a soft spot for Grant, especially when he’s under scrutiny from anyone other than her.

Grant is shocked when the wild and crazy Brenna announces to his family that they are dating. Sure, it’ll get his mother off his back, but Brenna drives him up the wall, despite her sexy body and big heart. But as their fake relationship progresses, Grant realizes that despite Brenna’s chaotic ways, he wants to make things between them real. But Brenna’s past finds ways to creep into the present and throw a wrench in their every plan.

I have to say, there is something about frenemy books that absolutely make me giddy. I love the push and pull, the high levels of sexual tension, and the fine line between having fun with each other, and at one another’s expense. I think that Clare does a wonderful job of walking that fine line, and making sure that Grant, Brenna, and the reader all know that their jokes and pranks and words are all in good fun.

Another thing I absolutely adore about this series is that Clare doesn’t hold back with the smut. Although this book isn’t nearly as erotic as the last in the series, Grant and Brenna don’t waste any time getting physical. Although their relationship is fake to start off with, the sex is very, VERY real. I know I’ve said it before, but I’m going to say it again: I love the way that Clare is able to keep the romance moving forward in a positive direction, all while making sure that the sex scenes are off the charts.

The one area that disappointed me a little was the big argument that broke Grant and Brenna’s relationship toward the end. Maybe I just didn’t relate to the things that Brenna had to go through as a child, and therefore found it a little silly as such a large conflict motivator. I’m sure that other readers will really enjoy the twist that is added in, but for some reason I just didn’t think it would have had such a huge emotional impact on Brenna this far into the future. But maybe that’s just me…

The introduction of the next hero and heroine was awesome though. I was wondering who we would get to see next in Bluebonnet, and I have to say that I am super excited to figure out why Rome is so secretive, and what kind of sexy exploits the virgin Elise can get into. I like staying with the survival group, especially since I’ve enjoyed their stories more than the other Bluebonnet characters, but I hope we aren’t running out of characters. One of the things I think Clare does well is bringing in fresh and exciting secondary characters, so I hope that we get to see more people in and around the camp.

All in all I thought this book was super fun and sexy. Although Brenna and Grant didn’t have a “kink” like the last book, they were still finding lots of reasons for naked time, and who doesn’t love that? I thought their romance was so fun, especially as they played tricks on each other and worked through their frenemy status.
I give The Expert’s Guide to Driving a Man Wild a B-

[Dawn Dietrich · Rating 1 out of 5]

Let's be honest. Brenna needs counseling. Badly.

I picked up this book at the library after skimming the first few pages and thought Brenna was my favorite kind of heroine - quirky, funny, a bit of a smart ass. She managed to hold up that image until after announcing to Grant's parents that they were an item. And then they fell into bed together.

Really? That quick?

Brenna went from entertaining and quirky to crass.

And then to try and explain away Brenna's behavior (non-committal sex, refusing to accept a bracelet, refusing to have any possessions at ALL besides a rust bucket of a car) by saying it was because she grew up in the home of a hoarder?

Look, any idiot with access to Google can find out that people struggling with hoarding need therapy, as do the family members who live in the situation with them. The author created a very emotionally damaged main character and "resolved" the issue by allowing her to purge her boyfriend's home of knickknacks. Yep, that'll fix it. It's borderline criminally irresponsible to write about mental health issues without having all the information.

Sure, there was lots of erotic scenes, but the author didn't really develop the relationship between Brenna and Grant. They went from being at odds to "dating" to fellatio under a desk... and let's not forget the phrase "deep dicking." God, let me never see that phrase again. I was also trying to keep count of how often the phrase, "non-committal sex" came up, but lost count around chapter 5 or so.

I don't like to give low ratings, but this book... if I could give you any advice, don't bother with this one. Try any other of the Bluebonnet books, or read something by Susan Elizabeth Phillips.

[Nayyar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't able to put it down after starting it but towards the end felt very weird
I mean what just happened
Would've rated it higher but decided against it because :

1)The ending was way too sudden for me. In my opinion it would've been better if they'd split for a while and then reconciled with their reconciliation being mutual. I mean we go from one sex scene to another with promise of them being more and suddenly the novel ends. Or at least it felt that way.

2)Many sex scenes but not enough scenes. I felt that the hero just liked having sex with her (or using her body) and never stopped to notice her. Or be a part of her life outside of the bedroom. I mean sex is an important part of a romantic relationship but there are a lot of other aspects that matter. But that's not much of a reason given the genre I suppose.

3)Their love wasn't very "convincing". It seemed more like an addiction to me. I mean, if a chain smoker quits for a week and then starts smoking again, is it out of love ? They started as "faux lovers" but what did they end up as ??? Maybe the author will resolve it in a later novel.

Anyhow, I still would recommend it to readers of this genre

[Desiree (Anxious Opossum) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nope. Nope, nope nope.

I was sorely disappointed by this book, and that pisses me off, because -- not only did it start out awesome, but I thoroughly enjoyed the book before it and was hoping for more of the same.

At first, Brenna seemed amazing. Vivacious, energetic, fun, and not afraid to be her own person, on her own terms. She was a little irresponsible and a little mischievous at other people's expense, but in a harmless way that was endearing. She showed promise when she decided that, in order to keep Grant's family off his back about not healing fast enough for them, from his wife's death 5 years prior, she was going to get them off his back by pretending to be his newest love interest.

If this is where the plot had stayed, with a little more good will on Brenna's part, I'd have been happy. Instead, as we moved on in the book, it became clear she was nothing but a selfish bitch.

Over and over we hear about how all she wants is no-strings-attached sex, and Grant's caught feelings, and how annoying that is. We hear about how he's not doing what she wants, how he's not behaving how she wants, and about how he's just not getting the picture and it was pissing her off. What the fuck?

Yes, Grant's pushing at her when she clearly stated NO STRINGS ATTACHED was annoying to me, as a reader, too; but Brenna never once stopped and said to herself, "maybe he's not capable of doing this and we should quit it, because we clearly don't want the same thing, and this is moving into territory where he's going to get hurt".

Instead, she kept trying to manipulate him into sex for sex's sake, and getting snippy about how he needed to just get with the program. At one point she had the nuts to consider how she could get him to put out without having to give him a "fake an apology" to do it, and I think that was the point of no return for me as far as being able to like her.

In fact, I almost stopped reading the book totally when Brenna went to Miranda for advice and they concluded that Brenna should just lay out that Grant had hurt her, and then he'd fall all over her with apology. After everything she'd put HIM through, for her own sexual gratification? She's the one playing mind games, for fuck's sake.

It was just ridiculous. The successive wrap up, obvious conclusion of the fact that eventually Brenna would realize she'd caught feels, too, and the knowledge that she'd been hurt in her past and was trying to protect herself from shit just wasn't enough to get the bitter taste out of my mouth.

Those two were toxic together and despite the "happy" ending, I'd have been happier if they parted shortly after it was clear Grant couldn't handle sex without a relationship and left it alone until she matured and grew up as a human being - a lot.

[Angela Carr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brenna and Grant have been at each other’s throats since this survival expedition company had started. They were like cats and dogs and can never get along but damn their attraction was of the maps. Opposites attract after all. Grant is a control freak and Brenna had no kind of direction in her life, but they couldn’t have been more perfect. They just needed the extra push to get together.

In this installment, Grant’s parents visit and being that Grant is still single they attempt to set him up. Of course, Brenna tries to get him out of it by pretending to be his girlfriend. Oh and they play every part of their make-believe relationship to the fullest. I somehow expected what was to come and obviously this will be the beginning of their beautiful relationship. As they played along, bits of pieces of their personalities are revealed and steadily, they fall for each other.

I thoroughly enjoyed Brenna and Grant’s story. They are quite easy to like. Both have good personalities, good humor and damn, Grant is hot! Okay, Brenna too. I have to give her credit because she was bold in her “exploration” of Grant’s body. I thought their story was romantic and very adult. Though some scenes were predictable, what I love most is that Ms. Clare adds her own flare of romance, laugh-out-loud moments and very sexy scenes to the story. She seemed to have mastered what I love most about small town novels.

There is a big set up for the next book’s characters which is Grant’s sister Elise and Rome the new hired instructor. Elise who plays a wallflower is very interested in Rome who looks like a total bad boy. Now I’m hoping and predicting that The Virgin’s Guide to Misbehaving will be the hottest one of the series. I may be too eager , but Rome is tatted, very handsome , and his persona screams a whole lot of hotness. I mean, need I say more?

*ARC provided by Publisher

[Mandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brenna is the secretary/assistant at the Wilderness and Survival Expedition center. Her job is quite laid back. She works for Grant, Dane and Cole, all survival specialists, all super built, hot etc. They all live in cabins on the property, so she comes to work in ratty t-shirts and boxers if she pleases. She has tattoos and bright purple bangs. All of this annoys the very serious and tense Grant. Grant lost his wife five years ago and has never re-entered the dating scene. This worries his mother who is always trying to get him set-up – so when she comes to town for a visit, Brenna pretends to be his girlfriend to give Grant a break from matchmaking. Brenna is very forward – so their fake kiss in front of his parents leads to them having sex, more sex…lots of sex. Brenna just wants it to be fun, no-strings attached sex, but Grant has a very difficult time with this.

Brenna really made me giggle the first half of this book. She is so blunt and silly. She is a horrible, unprofessional employee and paired with Grant who is so uptight – it made for some humorous situations. Grant has so much pent-up sexual tension that when Brenna pounces on him, he is shocked. Yet so, so dirty in bed. The sex scenes are done well in this book (and very plentiful).

I got a little tired of Brenna in the second half of the book. She pushes so hard against any type of long-term intimacy that it drove me a little batty. She lives with almost no possessions and anytime Grant tried to give her something or tried to have a commitment talk, she shut down. It also surprised me that Brenna would not know any details of how Grant’s wife died. That seemed really odd to me. I also thought Brenna went way overboard when they hired a new employee, Rome. Basically sexually harassing him on his first day. I’m sure it was set-up to be funny but it seemed to be too much. (on a side note, Rome’s book is next and I really want to know his secrets).

Overall I liked, but I will warn you that Brenna can be overbearing in this one. It’s a sexy book though and I think you all will enjoy Grant.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally posted at The Book Nympho   THE EXPERT'S GUIDE TO DRIVING A MAN WILD is my favorite book to date in the Bluebonnet series by Jessica Clare. I started the audio late on a Friday afternoon at work and I continued to listen to it late into the night at home which I don't normally do. I usually save my audiobooks for the car, work and walking unless I have less than an hour or so left or if it's a really good story.

So why is Brenna and Grant's story my favorite? Opposites attract! I loved seeing the carefree and messy Brenna get the up-tight, always organized Grant dirty. And boy did she get him dirty. Who knew that Grant was going to be a sexy dirty talker in the bedroom, on the sofa and in the office. WOW

If you love kooky heroines with tattoos and purple hair that love to live life to the fullest then you need to pick up a copy of THE EXPERT'S GUIDE TO DRIVING A MAN WILD by Jessica Clare. You could easily read it without reading the previous books if you don't mind background history on the other couples.

Jillian Macie's has grown on me as the narrator for the series and I'm totally sold on her delivery for the series. As soon as I finish this review and I'm starting the next book, THE VIRGIN'S GUIDE TO MISBEHAVING.

Sexual Content: Often and Explicit sex

[Ilana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title: The Expert's Guide to Driving a Man Wild
Author: Jessica Clare
Publisher/Year: Penguin Publishing 1/7/14
Length: 238 Pages
Series: BlueBonnet #3

Overview

Being out of control…

The product of a rigid upbringing, Brenna has grown into a sexy free spirit who does things her way. No possessions, no debt, no man, and no rules to tie her down. And if she has to work, what better way than as assistant in a wilderness expedition team? So many opportunities to go wild.

…can be risky when you’re falling in love.

One person who doesn’t “get” Brenna is her boss, Grant. He prefers order and emotions kept in check, which means Brenna loves to push his boundaries. He’d be impossible to work for if he wasn’t so infuriatingly hot. But when his overbearing, matchmaking mother arrives in town, Brenna volunteers to be Grant’s pretend girlfriend. After all, it’s the perfect opportunity to drive Grant crazy at every turn.

Brenna��s just a little surprised when Grant agrees to her wild, impulsive schemes. And she’s more than a little surprised when their games take them to the bedroom…

My Thoughts

There's been a lot building up to hearing Brenna's story and Grant's story so it's nice that we got to finally have it all come to a head in this third full installment. We've seen their pranks and teasing and it's definitely a bit of foreplay (as his sister notes) but it takes Grant's parents coming into town and meddling once again about how he needs to get over his wife who passed away five years prior that makes things actually change between then.

We know that Brenna is a free spirit and down for almost anything, so it's her impulsiveness that changes the dynamic while letting them open up to all things that you can participate in when you're 'together' but not together.

It's so cliche to me when you start to read about characters who go into things with 'no strings attached' and no emotions in play since we've seen it time and time again that it just doesn't work. We saw it as recently as the first book with Miranda and Dane so it's really no surprise when it blows up in their face. In any event, the journey that we go on with them in the meantime is really fun to read.

We see that there are secrets in Brenna's past that she's not ready to share with anyone and yet is forced to open up about once things get complicated and deep. Grant also has his own control issues that we learn about after a bit of time which makes it all make sense.

The nice thing though is that we're quite easily distracted from all that when we get all of the amazingly sexy scenes that Ms Clare is known for. I don't know how she does it, but each couple has an interesting and unique dynamic that we get something totally different in each installment. Here we have the sexiest dirty talk yet from Brenna, a girl who knows what she wants and asks for it. And we have Grant who's held himself back from everything for five years, and once he's able to get back into the swing of things, he's so sexy and steamy that it makes the story come alive.

The question of course becomes, we know that they started their relationship out of a lie, and i spent much of the book wondering if anyone would realize that it was a lie before the couple made an honest situation out of it. You;ll have to read to find out, but know that there are questions of motives throughout and a lot of splitting up and running away. I can't wait to see what's next. We saw that Elise (Grant's sister) has her own dark past, yet she's got this amazing attraction to Rome (the new employee for their company) and his past is something of a mystery as well. There's going to be something great coming from their story and i can't wait to see what that is.

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review posted: Happily Ever After - Reads
Blog rating: D+

Brenna is the worst employee ever. She’s Grant’s assistant at Wilderness Survival Expeditions. Grant deals with the office issues while his two partners take groups out on the expeditions. Grant likes order, neatness, calm and Brenna is the exact opposite. But she’s like a little sister to Grant’s partners otherwise I find it hard to believe she wouldn’t have been fired after her first day. She comes to work in boxer shorts, no shoes, she’s always borrowing everything. She had an interesting upbringing and it’s caused her to live as simply as she can. She owns very little, she gives away all her money, she can’t stand having “things” and it’s based on growing up in a family of hoarders. She cut all ties from her family, determined to break the cycle and as a result, she’s terrified of being tied down, of being given gifts and having anything extra in her life. You’d never know it by her personality however, she’s the life of any party, she’s naughty and when the chance arises she and Grant start having sex, just for fun. It makes sense as far as Brenna’s personality is concerned but the book kind of lost me from the start because of this.

I honestly felt like Grant couldn’t stand Brenna, especially early on. So when sex seemed to come out of the blue between these two, I thought…o-kay. I wasn’t sure what to think. I didn’t know Grant well enough at this point for this to make any sense. I kind of got it from Brenna’s perspective. She comes off as a fun loving girl, one who loves to talk dirty and loves sex. But her relationship with Grant up to this point was very strained, he didn’t seem to get her and she loved to just get under his skin (think foil wrapping his entire desk, and you’d have the types of pranks she’d pull on him). So, they have sex. For Grant it needs to lead right into her moving in with him. And like Brenna did, I freaked out. But I kept going, convinced that their relationship would build and things would make sense, things like how this very odd couple would ever seem like a good match. Unfortunately that never really happened for me.

There are plenty of sex scenes in this story, too many in fact. I needed to see more romance, more relationship building, something more than sex to convince me that this couple works. I also found Brenna to be too immature at times. I get that her personality is so fun loving, so happy go lucky but little things she did seemed childish and juvenile. Don’t get me wrong, some of her antics were funny at first, but they got old as the story went along. It just added to the trouble I had really enjoying this couple.

Now Elise, Grant’s sister – I’m taken with her. She plays a small supporting role, building up for her own book up next. She’s the exact opposite of Brenna, she’s quiet, shy and awkward. She gets so nervous around men that I’m not sure she’s ever even dated. There’s something about her that I found so endearing and intriguing, even in the short amount of page time she gets and I can’t wait to learn more about her.

This latest Bluebonnet series book wasn’t a total hit with me. I had a hard time connecting to Brenna, she had me chuckling in one scene and feeling a bit annoyed with her behavior in another. The romance was lacking, I just needed more than sex between these two and that’s really all the connection they had on page.

[Heather andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brenna I loved her, "that's why you can't invite this girl. She's just going to see me and my boo being affectionate all night." And just to make sure her words have punch, Brenna gave Grant a slap on the a**." Oh good grief I really did love her, "I know! My ti*s look amazing in this." She cupped her breasts and jiggled them at him, grinning. His astonished gaze went to that cleavage and he couldn't help but stare for a moment. When had Brenna, the pain in his a**, gotten so built?" Grant that boy can only focus on one thing at a time and mostly it's Brenna, "she had a piercing somewhere? His thoughts went wild, picturing that. Holy eff, his di** was so hard that he'd nearly come in his pants just then. Grant groaned, burying his face in the curve of her neck, trying to find the willpower to make this last longer than thirty seconds. God, she was sexy. "Piercing?" he managed to choke out." Grant can be passionate, "oh no you don't, you little tease." Brenna felt a wicked thrill when he pulled her back up against him, and his hands cupped her a**. "You've been rubbing up against me all day, and that move in the car was just dirty." I loved this book and I'm really looking forward to the next one.

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why did I even read this? I haven't really liked any of the previous books of this series, although I remain a fan of Jessica Clare for her Hit Man and Billionaire Boys' Club books. In each book, the secondary characters are my favorite part. In book 1, I didn't love the main couple but I couldn't wait to read about the secondary characters. I was then disappointed in book 2, but I couldn't wait to read about Brenna and Grant, the couple in this one. Excellent pre-book build up with a disappointing main book. And guess what? I loved Elise, extremely shy sister to Grant, and Rome, new hire at the wilderness business run by all the previous heroes. So, I'm going to read the next one, but I hope it breaks the trend.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this series!

[Liz · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was just pointless. It didn't even care about its own premise, so why would readers care?

Preemptive TLDR - Didn't get the fake dating trope I came for, hated the instalove etc., and it was the literary equivalent of a bad paint by numbers.

Grant and Brenna have a hostile relationship at work. She screws with him to amuse herself and he can't stand her. Grant has been mourning his dead wife for 5 years and has not so much as kissed another woman since she died. One day, Grant's parents show up and he tells Brenna they're always trying to set him up with some woman. Lo and behold, they have already invited some woman to their family dinner that night, so Brenna gives him a very sexualized kiss right in front of them and then announces they're dating (and sucks/bites his lip in front of them again for good measure). Grant tells Brenna he hadn't kissed a woman since his wife 5 years ago.

Enter the very quickly discarded fake dating trope. Basically, we get a flimsy excuse for why she has to sleep at his place, at which point Brenna decides that this guy who hasn't even thought of dating since his wife died would like to have very casual sex with her - immediately. He's also supposed to understand that this is purely casual without her telling him and she's baffled when he thinks it could have been more.

Every time a character decides they want something with the other or realizes feelings, it has the distinct flavor of "by this point in the plot, they should be in love, so they are. Because I said so."

The fake dating trope was the specific draw for this book, so readers expect things like the couple being forced into situations where intimacy is implicit and they must struggle against either their desire to keep things platonic or to keep the other person from realizing they don't want it to be fake. There should be tension. There should be a longing for things to be real. Instead, they just start having sex and supposed feelings right away and the idea of dating for "appearances" is vague background noise.

The obstacles for the couple feel like this book was written following a template and the author just popped in "fear of loving and losing again" and "fear of commitment to things and people" with absolutely no connection to any real emotions. It feels like they more or less just decide to get over themselves because the sex is so hot, er, um, because they are so in leeeeeerve...

As a side note, the random POV swap to Grant's shy sister so that we know she has low self esteem and is lusting after the new hire couldn't be more obviously trying to sell the next book if the author just put a full page with 30 point font saying only "The next book is about this sad sack woman hoping a hunky guy could possibly want her back. She's probably secretly hot under all this low self esteem though, so he definitely will." It was super weird to insert that very close to the beginning of this book, before we've even bought into this story. It felt like the author didn't care about this book at all except, now that you're reading, it's a vehicle to get you to read the next one.

[April Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked Brenna in the beginning but she wore on my nerves as the book went on because of all the selfish and stupid decisions she kept making.

The author tried very hard to make her a whimsical, free-spirited type of character but she came off like a selfish jerk most of the time.

She embarrasses characters for her own amusement and the reader is supposed to think its cute but it just makes her look like an a$$, especially when we're introduced to painfully shy Elise (hero's sister). Brenna takes pleasure in teasing her in front of a guy that Elise clearly has a crush on (Elise is shy to the point where she can barely eek out a whisper when talking and Brenna does everything she can to bring attention to her in front of Rome, not to mention flirting with Rome just to watch Elise's reaction). It came off as mean-spirited instead of cute.

She was also pretty awful to the hero. She knew that he was mourning his dead wife for 5 years and that he hadn't been intimate with anyone since his wife's death. She knew he took relationships seriously and couldn't comprehend a "no-strings attached" fling. Despite that, she gets involved with him and then has tantrums when he tries to get more from her than just sex. She has a lot of hang-ups of her own which are perfectly valid in her opinion but his issues are nothing to her. She doesn't even try to understand his point-of-view or take into consideration his feelings on the matter. It's all about her issues and nothing else.

There were a cute moments between Brenna and Grant throughout the book that kept me reading but I ultimately could not root for them as a couple because when it came down to it, the heroine was an awful person.

[TheEverRomantic · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at around 15% The book started out good. But then all of a sudden they have sex the first night even though he was still in mourning for he dead wife who died 5 years ago. He isn't a one night stand guy. For him to have sex is to be in a relationship. And she just used him.

There are so many things going wrong in this book. The previous books in the series were good. The relationship building was good but this one was a complete mis.

And by the preview of the next book, I think I'll also skip that one. The looks of Rome put me completely off. Really? A survivalist expert trainer? Sorry, not with that looks. Don't mind the bad boy attitude. But if I would go to one of those training camps and my teacher looks like that I would seriously doubt the validity of this company with teaching me seriously to survive in the wilderness. It's just too unrealistic. This isn't a fantasy series. It would have been nice to read Elise's story but not with Rome. But unfortunately also a no go. Too many books in the world to read to waste time on a character I know I already dislike in that role. (No problem with that look in any other normal life work)

[May Kathryn]

I feel bad DNF-ing this, but I just cannot see myself going back to reading this soon. Grant is a likeable character. I like...and hated him a little bit (but mostly like him anyway), in Elise and Rome's story. But Brenna? Man, she is a whole different creature. She has that energy that I cannot simply tolerate and for the life of me I am wondering why she was paired up with someone like him. So there.

I am still hoping to finish this later, though. Grant still got me intrigued, see?

[Nada Al-Karmi · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was OK!!! I like that the author gave the characters some depth. However, I couldn't stand Brenna. She was too much in every single way. She used Grant for Sex, then got hurt when he gave her what she wanted which was no emotions. She jumped to conclusions and waited to be apologize to, even though she's the one who read the situation wrong. I found Grant great and honestly, he would have been better off without her.

[Esmee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ja wel echt leuk hoor! Bijna gewoon reversed. Moet toegeven dat ik het niet leuk zou vinden als het andersom was. Ze was lekker wild en onbevreesd, i loved that! Wel erg wat ze vroeger heeft meegemaakt. Haar issue is zeker wel te begrijpen. Hij wilde haar echt snel. Het was verfrissend;) hij was verder wel echt lief en zorgzaam. Jammer dat zn dode ex vrouw hem zoveel pijn heeft gedaan. Heb echt gelachen in dit boek. Een epiloog was wel mooi geweest.

[KDub · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a bit hard to rate. I'm not sure I understood either character very well. I thought their reaction to things was a bit over the top and their back stories..I don't know. Something didn't work for me. However, this was a typical Jessica Clare read which is why my rating is a bit higher.

[Cherie Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book all the highs and lows for these two just loved this story and how the connect to the rest of the series. ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆♡♡♡♡♡♡☆☆☆

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good what I call "rev-me" read type of book. The plot was
predictable, but still good. Has been helpful for re-awakening me....
Thank you.

[Vi · Rating 5 out of 5]

These covers are mediocre but the books are great

[Tania · Rating 4 out of 5]

For more on this review, please see...

http://www.scandaliciousbookreviews.c...

Since my OCD nature knows no bounds, I couldn’t simply read the latest book in the Bluebonnet series, The Expert’s Guide to Driving a Man Wild, and not read the other two books and two novellas in the series first. All are completely stand-a-lone stories on their own but I like to know the whole dynamic and how everything fits together and in this series, the characters are a tight group of friends so for the last four days I have been completely absorbed in the goings on in Bluebonnet, Texas. One thing I will say that is clearly evident in all these books, Jessica Clare can write the hell out of a sex scene. And let me tell you, there is plenty of scandaliciously hot sex going on. A lot.

The Bluebonnet series has followed the three men that own and operate Wilderness Survival Expeditions in the small town of Bluebonnet, Texas. The first two books saw Dane Croft, an ex-NHL hockey player, and Colt Waggoner, an ex-Marine, have their balls handed to them by best friends Miranda Hill and Beth Ann Williamson. Next up, Grant Markham, the anal retentive paper pusher that runs the business side of the expedition company and his assistant Brenna James who drives him insane with her lackadaisical approach to life.

Grant is still struggling with the unexpected loss of his wife five years ago. Everything in Grant’s life is structure and order, neat and tidy, calm and quiet. Brenna is a free-spirit with ties to nothing, a force of nature that is loud, sarcastic, and forgetful and doesn’t think twice about wandering into the office in a pair of boxer shorts and t-shirt or drinking straight from the community shared milk jug. If Grant had his way, he would have sent Brenna packing a long time ago but Dane and Colt have taken her in like their little sister so there is no shaking his nemesis. The more Grant tries to boss Brenna around and micromanage her, the more she antagonizes him. Remember the little boy that pulled your hair in school and tried to make you eat worms because he liked you? Well, Brenna is the hair puller in this story.

Grant’s mother has decided that he has wallowed in misery long enough and as all nosy but well intentioned mothers do, she decides to take matters into her own hands by throwing available women at her son. Brenna takes exception to this since she is usually the only one that brings misery to Grant’s life and in a moment of weakness she declares herself Grant’s girlfriend. All it takes is one date as pseudo boyfriend and girlfriend to land these two in bed where adventurous Brenna unleashes the carnal side of the straight laced, uptight widower.

“The part of him that he’d thought was dead and gone after Heather had died? Wasn’t dead at all. It was alive and kicking and full of piss and vinegar, especially when Brenna was around.”

I like that the stories revolve around the business and it’s not the same small town repetitive scenes over and over. Each of these characters are completely different and their personal demons unique and I like that each story unraveled in its own different way. In the first book, The Girl’s Guide to (Man) Hunting, we know from the start what Miranda’s agenda is and we know the events that have led up to where both Dane and Miranda are in their lives. The second book, The Care and Feeding of an Alpha Male, had a few unexpected revelations and plot twists that played out over the course of the book. In this book, Grant has some deep rooted guilt over the death of his wife that brings out his overprotectiveness and Brenna has her own traumatic past that fuels her free-spiritedness and lack of material possessions but Jessica Clare makes you wait for the reveal. I really enjoyed the Bluebonnet series and am looking forward to the next release in June, The Virgin’s Guide to Misbehaving. Ms. Clare has set the next book up nicely with the introduction of Grant’s extremely shy younger sister Elise and the newest employee of Wilderness Survival Expeditions, Rome, who is beautifully sculpted and covered in tattoos. Sign me up for Survival 101.

[Michel Reinhard (Saucy Southern Readers) · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC copy provided by the Publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review

The Expert’s Guide To Driving A Man Wild by Jessica Clare is the third book in the Bluebonnet series. With the catchy titles in this series it is hard for a reader to resist. The first two books have been creative, fun, laugh out loud dialogue, sexy, full of sizzling love scenes, and through the roof chemistry between the characters. The Expert’s Guide To Driving A Man Wild is no exception and lives up to the excellence of the two previous books in this series. I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

The series is based around a Wilderness Survival Expedition company that three friends opened after leaving the service. The company is in the small town of Bluebonnet. The story line for each of these books revolves around this company and the small town they live in. It is the perfect setting for a series. Not only are the main characters intriguing but the secondary characters, small town citizens, contribute a unique flare to the overall series.

The Expert’s Guide To Driving A Man Wild is Grant and Brenna’s story. Grant is the go to guy that runs the office operations of the Wilderness Survival Company. He is conservative, straight-laced, very self-controlled and a bit stuffy at times. He has a very serious nature and this nature makes him very successful at what he does.

Brenna on the other hand is a wild child. She has purple bangs, tattoo’s and a free spirit that knows no boundaries. She is not conservative and does not hold back on anything in life. She is the complete opposite of Grant. She is Grant’s assistant and the two clash constantly. They have butted heads since the beginning and her testiness keeps Grant’s blood boiling and temper flaring. It doesn’t help that she keeps playing pranks to get a rise out of him, it doesn’t matter that she creates chaos in the office and in his life. It is all worth it to her to see his frustration and reactions to her antics. The other guys encourage her antics. More fuel to the fire.

This book starts out with one of Brenna’s pranks sending Grant through the roof. She sabotaged his Audi in order to give Pop’s something to do. This prank somewhat back fires on her because now she will be the one who has to drive Grant to the airport to pick up his family. Grant’s family is determined to get Grant back into the dating world after being a widower for five years. They are pushy and making it impossible for Grant. Before Brenna can really think about her actions, she jumps in and saves Grant from his family’s matchmaking schemes. She announces that she and Grant are seriously dating. This is one prank she will not be able to get out of easily. His family expects her to be living at his cabin. She is stuck living with her nemesis, the one man who drives her insane. So much for saving his butt!

Grant is shocked that Brenna jumped to his rescue from his meddling family. He would have thought she serve him up on a golden platter. Now he is stuck with her 24/7. Let the battles begin!

I absolutely loved the dynamics of this couple. There were a lot of laugh out loud scenes, sizzling sexual tension, and smoldering love scenes. Both are not as they appear. Both have issues they need to work through. Both have to learn to understand and accept what the makes the other tick.

It was a powerful story with strong characterization that keeps the reader enraptured. Jessica Clare can write a sizzling contemporary erotic romance that will pull at the reader’s heart. Add humor, angst, and drama, and The Expert’s Guide To Driving A Man Wild is the perfect book to snuggle up and read.

The Expert’s Guide To Driving A Man Wild can be read as a stand alone romance. I highly suggest reading the previous books in the series to have a richer reading experience. If you don’t, I can guarantee you will after you finish this book.

I am excited to see that this series will continue on with Grant’s sister. Her story already has me intrigued.

[FV Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review originally posted at http://fictionvixen.com/review-expert...

And so my fangirl crush on Jessica Clare/Jessica Sims/Jill Myles continues…

Grant and Brenna have an unusual relationship. He is all stuffy, controlled and straight-laced, while Brenna is a wild child with purple bangs and tattoos with no boundaries. He’s one of the owners of Wilderness Survival Expeditions and she’s his assistant. Throughout this series we’ve watched them clash, her playing pranks to get under his skin and him glaring at her and basically being frustrated by the chaos she causes in his life. While reading the previous two installments in this series this is the couple who I couldn’t wait to get to. I mean all that testiness between them just seemed like foreplay to me.

When the story opens Grant and Brenna are at their usual push and pull, back and forth craziness. Arguing about everyday things, especially the fact that Brenna just sabotaged Grant’s Audi in order to give Pop something to do, which means that she’ll have to be the one to drive him to get his family from the airport. When they get there Grant’s parents immediately set out to hook their son up with a date, trying to get him back in the dating saddle after being a widower for the last five years. That’s when Brenna steps in and tells a little white lie in order to save him.

It was just surprising that this had come from Brenna, of all people. Annoying, careless, rebel without a cause Brenna. The perpetual thorn in his side. The worst employee ever. The most infuriating and useless woman he’d ever known.

The only one who had come to his defense this morning.

So now his family thinks they’re dating. Which means they expect her to be staying at his cabin. Which means they are stuck together, driving each other nuts. That’s when the sexy times start and they can’t get enough of each other.

“Be gentle,” she said, fluttering her eyelashes. “It’s my first time… with you.”

“Are you serious?”

“Rarely ever. Serious is no fun.”

I loved this couple. While there are a lot of laughs and some ridiculously hot sexy times between them, both Brenna and Grant have serious issues to work through to make it work with each other. Brenna appears to be the carefree, fun loving girl who’s afraid of every kind of commitment, which frustrated me a tad bit until I realized why she is the way she is and then everything made sense. Grant is controlling and afraid of adventure, which puzzled me at first since he’s part owner of a survivalist camp, but then his back story came out and I completely understood his fear. This couple was just as fun and sexy as I thought they would be, but at the same time I enjoyed watching the deep feelings and closeness slowly build between them.

It was refreshing to see a heroine as bold and carefree as Brenna. Her energy appealed to me on every level. Jessica Clare writes a mean erotic contemporary romance, so of course this love story is filled with smoking hot love scenes. Brenna and Grant quickly find that everything they thought drove them crazy about each other now drive them wild for very different reasons. Grant quickly falls for this woman who brings him back to life after years of living in guilt and pain, it’s Brenna that constantly puts on the brakes and tries to keep everything causal and carefree. I loved the role reversal. In the end Grant really has to work hard to get a commitment from his girl. Willing to do whatever it takes to keep her in his life.

I’m so happy that this series will be continuing on and elated that Grant’s sister Elise is up next. She’s painfully shy, but has her sights set on the tatted up, hard bodied new employee and I can’t wait to see her get her man. Final Grade- B

Favorite Quote:

And she tightened her fist and squeezed hard. “Now say my name,” she teased. “And tell me that you belong to me.”

“Brenna,” he bit out, his voice tight with desire. His gaze hadn’t left her face for an instant, utterly focused on her. “I am totally and completely yours.”

[Deb Lester · Rating 5 out of 5]

What happens when you put together a free spirited woman and a control oriented businessman? Sparks! Jessica Clare brings readers the third book in her Bluebonnet series, featuring a group of friends who started their own wilderness survival school. The Experts Guide to Driving a Man Wild is a adventurous romp that will have readers turning up the air-conditioning. Clare has a knack for writing sizzling love scenes and she doesn't disappoint in this book. Clare takes the opposites attract rule to new heights and brings her readers along for the ride!

What I liked:

Many authors have used the time worn theme of opposites attracting to bring about the necessary conflict in their books. Jessica Clare puts a new spin an old stand-by theme in The Experts Guide to Driving a Man Wild. She takes two people who are not only opposites, but antagonistic towards each other and gives them no choice but to interact. I liked the way Clare choose to make these two characters so different from each other. Both have some secrets and issues from their past that makes them who they are. Brenna's traumatic childhood and Grant's hidden guilt over the death of this wife, make them damaged but not un-repairable.

I loved Grant. He was a buttoned up kind of guy. He was all business and supposedly that's how he liked it. But I knew there was a bit of wildness in their somewhere. You don't go an start a wilderness survival school without some innate passion for adventure. He just needed the right woman to bring out his passionate side. I was a bit of tormented hero because of his wife's death, but once he started to see the light where Brenna was concerned it was on.

Brenna got on my nerves a little bit at times but she had a zest for life that was unquenchable, even by the uptight boss. She had her reasons for not allowing any kind of rules in her own life. She learned to survive in a whole different environment than the wilderness, but one no less dangerous. I loved the way she was always baiting Grant. Playing pranks on him, just getting on his last nerve. That aspect of their relationship was hilarious and very fitting. I think we have all probably had a friend who was like Brenna. Not afraid to push convention, but more vulnerable than we ever expected.

When Grant's parents and sister come to town, it doesn't take long for Brenna to realize that they are after him to start dating again and she blurts out to Grant's horror that she is his girlfriend. I loved his reaction. He might have been flabbergasted, but he takes it in stride and lets Brenna run with it and what happens next is history. The sparks start flying. The sex scenes between these two are both sultry and spicy. Not appropriate for young readers, but certainly tantalizing to those of us who are old enough to know better. Clare can write a love scene, there's no doubt. If readers are looking for a very hot read, this book and the others in the Bluebonnet series are just what the doctor ordered.

What I didn't like:

As I said, Brenna kind of got on my nerves at times. There is something to be said for some decorum and this chick didn't have it. LOL. But that was certainly not a deal breaker in whether or not I liked the book.

Bottom Line:

If you are looking for a hot and spicy read, with a great riff on an old theme, The Experts Guide to Driving a Man Wild is probably right up your alley. I thought Clare did a great job of putting two characters together that were completely opposite. I liked the way Clare brought them together and brought out every thing that made them perfect for each other. A great addition to the series.