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Thrill of the Chase Hardcover – January 1, 2007

by Christina Crooks (Author)

3.7 12 ratings

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Second place is the first loser according to Sarah Matell, a heroine who wants nothing more than to wrench on cars and race with the guys. As a talented technician in her fathers automotive speed shop, shes a whiz at tuning race engines. Winning races also comes easily to her. What isnt easy is winning Craig Keller, local drag race hero. He only has eyes for gorgeous women who are hot in the sack, not grubby tomboys who are fast on the track. Sarahs world gets an overhaul when her father hires Gordon Devine. The buttoned-up businessman yanks control of the shop from Sarah, a girl he considers spoiled and irresponsible. The poised professionals stubbornness matches Sarahs own, but surprisingly, so does his skill under the hood of a racecar. Soon shes torn not only between two men she wants, but between the drag race winner she is and the more commonplace woman she feels pressured to become.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Sarah Matell isn't a run-of-the-mill romance heroine. She works as a technician in her father's California automotive speed shop, dresses and acts like a guy, and lives for drag racing. Anything female, from makeup to chick flicks, is an anathema to her. Sarah's one concession is her years-long crush on a fellow race-car driver, Craig Keller. Although they are only good friends, she fantasizes that one day she'll outrace him and he'll magically look at her as the love of his life. Meanwhile, Sarah is the apple of her father's eye, but things change when he hires Gordon Devine. Gordon has big plans, and he and Sarah do not get along. Despite the friction, Gordon asks Sarah to drive a prototype he's developed. She'll do anything to win, and soon everything begins to spiral out of control. Impulsive and spoiled, Sarah is both enjoyable and annoying, and readers will sympathize with Gordon in this atypical, up-to-the-minute contemporary romance.
-- Maria Hatton -- Booklist Review, October 1, 2007

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Five Star (January 1, 2007)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 289 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1594146705
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1594146701
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.75 x 9 inches

Customer Reviews:
3.7 12 ratings

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Christina Crooks

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Christina Crooks is a romance author with books for sale in print, electronic and audio editions. Her novels have been published by Kensington, Samhain, Five Star/Cengage, and Books in Motion Audiobooks.

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Bill Ellingsen

Life in the Hi-performance Auto Industry

Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2016

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Sarah Mattel, head technician for her father’s company, Big Red’s Auto Performance Shop, is taken aback when Red hires a guy named Gordon to manage the business. Many shops such as Red’s have come and gone since he opened his doors, and he wants his business taken to the next level to insure building on his success. But Sarah views Gordon as a threat to her authority and her influence on her father. Sarah knows her stuff in the workshop, at the dragstrip, and behind the wheel on the street. She can go through the gears with the best of them, heel and toeing on downshifts like a pro on a road course. What a woman! Cars are her life, and she was supposed to take over when her father retires. Now she’s taking orders from a guy who looks like he should be at a law firm or a bank. Making matters worse, it turns out that he knows his stuff about cars, even developed an improved roller lifter and sold the rights to it for big bucks. Sarah’s world is in serious jeopardy. Her only sources of blowing off steam are driving at weekend drag races, talking to her dog, and visiting with her friend Craig. But seeing Craig doesn’t always make her feel better. Not when he takes off with one of his many bimbos, that Sarah refers to as “tracksluts.” See, Sarah has been pining after Craig for years, and he treats her like his little sister. Things change, however, when she’s strangely attracted to the man she wants out of her life: Gordon. This engaging story is one that I had a hard time putting down. I’m docking it half a star for technical issues, though. The transmission in Sarah’s Mustang, her one and only car, suddenly morphs into an automatic at the drag strip. The way she worked the brake pedal while launching, and later using a trans-lock made it clear. Heel and toe downshifts with an automatic? I don't think so. I also have issues with her description of the line-lock brake system. But the issues are small. It’s a lovely tale. As for taking off half a star, I always round up. That's why I’ve given it five stars instead of four.

Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2012

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As a mechanic's wife, let me start off by saying that I totally appreciated the car jargon. That being said, I believe the author spent more time on the wrench aspect than the characters.

There wasn't any depth to them at all. Was it a cute story? Absolutely! But something that was just good, could've been great. I felt the story was a bit rushed and the leading character was a little to be desired. There were some funny parts that were told well enough to make me laugh out loud. However, the sensual scene felt as though the writer was almost embarassed to describe what they were doing! I was tempted to give it 2 stars but the "mechanic's wife" in me did like the shop talk..

Wish I didn't feel the story ran outta gas...

Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2014

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This novel had little depth. It somewhat held my interest with a single Plot and theme. The ending was rather flat.

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Crystal Fulcher

Racing, romance and great characters

Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2010

First up I will confess I am a NASCAR junkie. This book takes place in the drag racing world. Do you need to have a knowledge of any type of racing to understand or like this book. No, absolutely not. Will you like it if you do have an interest in the racing world, yes, sure. I know little about Drag Racing, it is completely different from NASCAR, but I was never lost in this book. The main thing to realize is no matter what the type of racing it is - it's still a man's sport (and yes I do know Danica Patrick races Indy, but she is an exception) and that is the key to this book.

Sarah is a tomboy - she's grown up in her dad's racing shop and she drag races everytime she gets a chance. She's also been in love with her best friend and fellow racer Craig for forever, she's just waiting for him to notice her as well. Then comes the proverbial monkey wrench (I know poor pun), and he comes in the form of handsome Gordon who is helping out at her dad's shop. When Sarah turns to Gordon for advice on how to be more desirable to a man, she suddenly isn't sure where she stands anymore on who she is attracted to.

Then the story progresses and I don't want to give anything away. I will say the story is well-paced. The sexual tension is perfect, you never quite figure out which man she really wants as she can't figure it out. There is some great racing action and great character-development on the part of the three main characters. It was really a joy to watch develop. This is a great romance and I look forward to reading more of Christina's books in the future.

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