Lust. Mechanics. Mini Cooper.

by Elle Brookes

Adventure-romance author, Lesley Meryn, has lived her own share of adventures. But the one thing she has never experienced is the "coupe de foudre", the Lightning-Bolt of Love. Connected by years of friendship to the sexy action-movie star, Jason Hambrey, Jax, the two really are "just friends" but the paparazzi are merciless, making their lives and their friendship almost impossible to sustain.
When Lesley's Aunt dies, leaving her a piece of property in North Yorkshire, Lesley is mystified. Her aunt kept it a secret. Lesley travels to London and learns her that her aunt leased the property twenty-five years before to an 'Historical Research Society'. The lease on the property is up for renewal. Before she makes her decision; Lesley travels to the farm to investigate
Nothing could prepare her for what she finds at the farm. Miles Sherwood is dark, devious, and desperate. He's the very last person one would consider the head of a stuffy British 'Historical Society'


Lesley finds him insufferable, yet irresistibly attractive. The two unknowingly share a deep connection. Whether they like it or not...it's Lightning-Time!

Genres: Romance, Contemporary

ebook

First published June 15, 2014

About the author

Elle Brookes grew up in Los Angeles, California, but lived in Jamaica for three years when she was a Peace Corps Volunteer. She moved to San Francisco and studied at the California Culinary Academy, and went on to become a private chef to a well-known L.A. based television production company.

From an early age Elle was a voracious reader of adventure stories and from elementary school through high school, she started writing her own stories of places foreign and exotic. She studied Art History and continued writing in college, focusing on short stories.

A dedicated and passionate traveler, Elle has explored river caves in Jamaica and Costa Rica, hiked glaciers in New Zealand and Iceland, and done dogsledding in Greenland and Iceland. She's danced a fa'a Samoan haka and slept in a fale on the island of Savai'i in Samoa, hiked in the northern mountains of Thailand along the border with Myanmar in the Golden Triangle, and in Haiti, she witnessed a white goat ceremonially sacrificed to Erzuli Freda by a powerful Houngan. For a time she did Performance Driving in Southern California, and has years of study and experience dedicated to fencing, theatrical combat, archery, and horsemanship.

Elle currently lives in the central highlands of Costa Rica with her dog Pixie, and her hedgehog, Quiller.

Reviews

[Romancing the Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Marissa
Book provided by the author for review
Review originally posted at Romancing the Book

I was first drawn to this book by the name. Reading the first chapter, I was drawn immediately to the characters.

Lesley is a likeable female despite her gorgeous appearance. While I do like characters to have flaws, I can get by with snarkiness – which Leslie had in spades. She always had a witty comeback (I envy that) and could make fun of pretty much anything. I also admired the fact that she could out-epee anyone around her.

Miles I haven’t quite figured out, although I can’t tell you why without giving away plot line. I do like him although, again, he doesn’t seem to have any flaws (other than his prior taste in women).

The ending is what you might call a cliffhanger. I read the last page and thought, “Oh, no…” I already know I have to read Sex. Coffee. Time Travel. I’m hoping the sequels will help to clear up some of the questions I have and I’m hoping we’ll learn more about the secondary characters.

[Librarian Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, this is a tough book for me to review. I had a bit of a "love hate" relationship with it.

So much good: fun, interesting and individual characters who I really came to enjoy (from Lesley to the pet pig). Truly, the characters are what made this book readable and kept me turning pages. I liked the author's voice as well. It's light and fun and descriptive. The book isn't a comedy, per se, but has plenty to grin about and the writing style is perfect for that.

But there was also some bad: after an intro where we meet a truly annoying and out of control younger Lesley (I have little tolerance for poorly behaved children, so I nearly stopped reading right then when I realized she would eventually become our heroine ... thankfully the brattiness ends, but she remains quite headstrong, which does serve her well), things slowed w-a-a-a-a-y down. For several chapters, the book read more like a day in the life of Lesley instead of moving forward. I realize we needed to meet Jax and to understand the building blocks that make the later story understandable, but I wish the author had found a way to do so that was more exciting.

More things I liked were the unique storyline and the quirky ideas and people. Everything was shifted just this side of normal, and it was great.

The other thing I greatly disliked: the cliffhanger ending. Thankfully, I was prepared (as much as I could be) for it since it was part of the blurb, but it still didn't make me happy. Still, it will likely achieve what the author's goal must be: the purchase of the next book in the series.

All-in-all, though, Lust. Mechanics. Mini Cooper. was a book worth reading, especially if you love a book that doesn't take itself seriously. 3.5 stars rounded up to a 4.

[D.E. · Rating 3 out of 5]

From the description and witty title, I was expecting a funny chick lit novel. I was wrong. Although there are some moments of comedy, labeling the novel as a comedy is a bit misleading as it’s really more of an action/adventure. The story has such potential: put an author and a sexy movie star together and then add in some mystery and adventure. In my opinion, the book didn’t live up to the potential. There was too much back story. At least 100 pages went by before the real story started to unfold. Once Lesley landed on the farm, things started to speed up. But even then, I had a hard time keeping my attention on this book. Brookes has obvious skill in writing but her storytelling skills could use a bit of polishing to keep the reader more interested in the story. I am almost certain that the second book in the series will be better than the first as Brookes seems to have finally hit her stride two-thirds of the way into this novel. I am definitely willing to give the next installment a try.
I’m also not a huge fan of series as authors tend to love to give us poor readers a cliffhanger and there is indeed a whooper of a cliffhanger at the end of Lust. Mechanics. Mini Cooper. I would have loved for Brookes to skip the details of the back story and finished this story in one go.

[Just another reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was provided with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The tale takes us through the days of Lesley, as she evolves from being a pesky and stubborn kid into a headstrong and equally stubborn lady. Having been thrown into a situation where she needs to look out for herself, her headstrong attitude comes in handy for her. On one side craving for a sparkly "bolt of lightning" love, she is driven mad by the paparazzi speculation connecting her with her friend of many years, Jax. A break away from the madness comes as a whiff of fresh air, when she learns of a secret property her aunt had kept from her and the rest of the world. What she finds there is more than what she bargained for, in the form of the mysteriously brooding and intriguing Miles. While they are drawn towards each other, can Miles and Lesley give each other the kind of love they have been waiting for, is what the book takes us through.

The narrative was good, and the characters, quirky and hard to forget (even the pig!). The light, smooth and casual tone keeps the reader engaged. Although the blurb warns as much, the cliffhanger ending left me a bit shaken up. I would have preferred the pace to have been a tad more brisk.

Overall, this was an easy read and I recommend this for romance lovers.

My rating: 3.5 stars

[Julie Nolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really wasn’t sure what to expect from the book, based on the cover, and the title didn’t make much sense. I was sold on the books description and decided to give it a shot. At first I wasn’t sure what to make of it. The beginning was a bit slow in my opinion, and the story didn’t really get interesting until about halfway through the book, but I kept reading because of the quality of characters and their individual stories, all coming together in a hilarious way.

Lesley Meryn is a “wild child” who grows up to be a cheeky romance author. Entangled with a famous star, Jax, she needs to escape the paparazzi rumors about her and her “just friends” pal. When her Aunt leaves her an inheritance in England, she jumps at the chance to travel and discover why her aunt has been so secretive, where she meets Mr. Tall, Dark and Broody, Miles Sherwood. He is the head of the Historical Research Society and he is desperate for her help.

I don’t know if this book series will ever be a best-seller, since most people buy books based on how catching the cover art is, but it’s definitely worth a read if you like witty, sarcastic humor. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next book of the series.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute little tale that takes you on an adventurous ride. You better pay attention because you never know where you will end up next. I'm not a fan of books that take you back and forth in time, but the background information is a little important to understand why the characters are the way they are. Without knowing Lesley's background, you probably wouldn't understand why she is a bit of an odd recluse as an adult. It is full of witty banter and fun. Not really a book you can devour in one sitting, but still an okay read.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Karen K. Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main character, Lesley, inherits a farm in Yorkshire that her aunt never told Lesley that she owned. I almost lost interest in the book when the secret at the farm was revealed. I started thinking that it was a bit preposterous and almost stopped reading the book..However, I'm glad I kept reading it. I found my attention engaged again by the story. I wanted to find out more about the characters and where the story took them. I was a bit disappointed that the story ended on a cliffhanger, but now I just really want to get my hands on the next book to find out what happened.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Donna Purcell Zappone · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off I must say that I received this book in return for an honest review. With that being said, I truly enjoyed the book.
The beginning of the book was a little difficult to get into and follow, but soon it evolved into an interesting book.
The name of the book was very deceiving. Just from the name I didn't think very much of the book but was I wrong!!
It left off on such a cliff hanger I had to purchase the next book to find out the outcome.
Once again I was pleasantly surprised.

[InD'tale Magazine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A whirlwind of action and adventure, “Lust. Mechanics. Mini Cooper.” is a non-stop rush of flashbacks, action, steam, more action, and a lot of science.

Read full review in the 2015 February issue of InD’tale Magazine.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

received free copy for an honest review.

I like the whole story line. Just wish that the story would have moved a little faster. The first half of the book was a little boring for me. But really picked up once Miles was introduced.

[Sarah]

Read my review in the February release of InD'Tale's magazine. http://indtale.com/