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lindaunconventionalbookworms's review against another edition
4.0
*I got a free ARC of this book from the author in exchange of an honest review*
This and other reviews can also be found on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews - I just have to say I really liked this story! It had everything I love in a contemporary romance - hot hero, cute heroine, adorable humor and just enough of tension to make things very interesting!
Back on Track is a short novella about Allie and Matt. They have both been avoiding dating for a while, each for their own reasons. When their friends persuade them to go on a wine-tasting train ride, they follow along. Neither is very happy about it at first, but when Allie notices Matt, she thinks he’s pretty hot. Her friend tells her to go for it – and she has the corkiest pick-up line I’ve ever seen. But it worked!
This and other reviews can also be found on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews - I just have to say I really liked this story! It had everything I love in a contemporary romance - hot hero, cute heroine, adorable humor and just enough of tension to make things very interesting!
Back on Track is a short novella about Allie and Matt. They have both been avoiding dating for a while, each for their own reasons. When their friends persuade them to go on a wine-tasting train ride, they follow along. Neither is very happy about it at first, but when Allie notices Matt, she thinks he’s pretty hot. Her friend tells her to go for it – and she has the corkiest pick-up line I’ve ever seen. But it worked!
maeclair's review against another edition
5.0
This is a charmingly breezy romance that can be wrapped up in one word - - fun! Allie Whittaker and her friend are passengers on a train traveling through Napa Valley wine country when Allie encounters celebrity baseball player, Matt Kearns. In a plot twist that plays enjoyably throughout the story, Allie tells him she once dated Matt Kearns, not realizing (at first) who he is. Almost immediately, she puts two and two together.
Matt, meanwhile, pretends to be someone who is often mistaken for Matt Kearns. He knows Allie is lying, and Allie, in turn, knows he knows she is lying. Got that?
If you’re trying to put the logic together, don’t bother. The entertainingly convoluted plot is what makes this story such a delight. In some respects it’s a bit like “who’s on first.” Sit back and enjoy as the author takes you a ride of romance and fun!
Matt, meanwhile, pretends to be someone who is often mistaken for Matt Kearns. He knows Allie is lying, and Allie, in turn, knows he knows she is lying. Got that?
If you’re trying to put the logic together, don’t bother. The entertainingly convoluted plot is what makes this story such a delight. In some respects it’s a bit like “who’s on first.” Sit back and enjoy as the author takes you a ride of romance and fun!
jaimearkin's review
4.0
Allie hasn't been on a date forever because she's been trying to get her fledgling marketing company off the ground. She's been trying to get Matt Kearns to pose in a calendar for a client and she is determined to make it happen.
Matt has been in a slump... It's hard to date anyone who doesn't know who he is and have them not try to use it to their advantage.
What happens when Allie and Matt meet by chance on a Napa Valley Wine Train tour and their interaction beings with just a little lie?
I really enjoyed both of these characters - they were funny and sweet and even a little sexy. The chemistry was wonderfully written and ... who doesn't love pitchers? :)
Definitely give this and all the others in the Strangers on a Train novella's a read!
This review can be found on my blog, Fic Fare:
Matt has been in a slump... It's hard to date anyone who doesn't know who he is and have them not try to use it to their advantage.
What happens when Allie and Matt meet by chance on a Napa Valley Wine Train tour and their interaction beings with just a little lie?
I really enjoyed both of these characters - they were funny and sweet and even a little sexy. The chemistry was wonderfully written and ... who doesn't love pitchers? :)
Definitely give this and all the others in the Strangers on a Train novella's a read!
This review can be found on my blog, Fic Fare:
thepassionatereader's review
3.0
this review was originally published at DearAuthor.com
I read all five of the works in this collection. Back on Track fell firmly in the middle.
Allie Whittaker has been dragged onto the Napa Valley Wine Train (This really exists and, man, do I wish I could go on it.) by her best friend. Allie has, for too long, been all business and no party. She's just started her own marketing firm and has been busting her shapely butt to get it off the ground. This particular wine ride has lots of single men on it and, that great social lubricant, unlimited wine. Sandra is determined Allie flirt with someone and break the dating dry spell that's been Allie's life for the past year. When Allie worries she won't be able to come up with any good conversation starters, Sandra tells her to walk up to a cute guy and "Say you’ll tell them three things about you, and one of them is a lie. They have to figure out which one is which.” After a bit of liquid courage, Allie decides to approach a guy wearing a baseball cap pulled low on his head.
The Baseball Cap is none other than three-time Cy Young winner Matt Kearns. Matt's been having problems with his shoulder, he's been sent down to Triple A for rehab, and he's worried about his future. His best friend Troy--they've been buds since since Troy threw a sucker punch at a PB&J-eating Matt in first grade--has dragged Matt onto the Wine Train to force Matt to lighten up and have some fun. Matt isn't having any fun, however, until Allie comes over to him, sits down in the seat across from him and says, "I'm going to tell you three lies about myself."
The best part about this book is the banter between Allie and Matt. The two decide to play Sandra's lie game correctly and after Allie tells her three things, Matt takes his turn. He opens with "I'm Matt Kearns." Allie knows that's not a lie--she's figured out who he is--and raises the stakes by replying, “I dated him for a while.”
Matt almost spits out his wine at that whopper but decides to entertain himself by seeing how far this woman--whom he knows he's never laid eyes on before today--will take her crazy claim. He can't quite figure out if she really does know him or not, but he's having fun and so he settles in for what he hopes will be an amusing three hour tour (yes, I know).
The exchanges between Matt and Allie are lot of fun. Matt and Allie are clever and it's a blast to watch each attempt to outsmart the other. If their relationship had just been about their flirty encounter, I'd have really liked the novella. Unfortunately, however, Ms. Cummings forced her storyline to hew to that of a standard romance. In Back on Track's 67 pages, there is the oeuvre's full arc: meet, fall in like/lust/love, quarrel, part, and reunite. The first four parts of that story take place on the short train ride. I didn't buy the depth of feeling developed by Matt and Allie. They fell for each other too fast, fell apart too easily, and, once together again (for the first time since the train ride), declared their love for one another too glibly.
Back on Track gets a C.
lindaunconventionalbookworms's review
4.0
*I got a free ARC of this book from the author in exchange of an honest review*
This and other reviews can also be found on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews - I just have to say I really liked this story! It had everything I love in a contemporary romance - hot hero, cute heroine, adorable humor and just enough of tension to make things very interesting!
Back on Track is a short novella about Allie and Matt. They have both been avoiding dating for a while, each for their own reasons. When their friends persuade them to go on a wine-tasting train ride, they follow along. Neither is very happy about it at first, but when Allie notices Matt, she thinks he’s pretty hot. Her friend tells her to go for it – and she has the corkiest pick-up line I’ve ever seen. But it worked!
This and other reviews can also be found on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews - I just have to say I really liked this story! It had everything I love in a contemporary romance - hot hero, cute heroine, adorable humor and just enough of tension to make things very interesting!
Back on Track is a short novella about Allie and Matt. They have both been avoiding dating for a while, each for their own reasons. When their friends persuade them to go on a wine-tasting train ride, they follow along. Neither is very happy about it at first, but when Allie notices Matt, she thinks he’s pretty hot. Her friend tells her to go for it – and she has the corkiest pick-up line I’ve ever seen. But it worked!
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