Nice Girls Don’t Ride

by Roni Loren

April 21, 2015 · InterMix

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B+

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This RITA® Reader Challenge 2016 review was written by HeathMocha. This story was nominated for the RITA® in the Romance Novella category.

Here is HeathMocha's review:

Before reading “Nice Girls Don’t Ride,” I’d tried two Roni Loren books. The first was a DNF; I read more than 50 pages before giving up, and now, maybe three months later, I can’t remember any of it. The second was Off the Clock. The premise intrigued me, so I gave Loren another try, and I ended up loving it. The description of “Nice Girls Don’t Ride” sounded promising, and I figured there was a decent chance that I’d enjoy it, so I decided to review it.

This novella would be categorized as New Adult, given the age range and life situations of the main characters. It’s written in first person, present tense, which I felt was handled well, though it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. At least two-thirds of the narrative are from the heroine’s point of view. I would have liked to have had a little more from the hero’s perspective, but I didn’t feel like I needed it; once the action got rolling, he seemed pretty forthright, so just reading his half of the dialogue gave me enough of his voice.

The story opens with Natalie dressed up for dinner at an expensive restaurant. She and her boyfriend, Caleb, are planning to celebrate her twenty-first birthday in style. Unfortunately, Natalie’s been standing on the side of the road near her broken-down car for an hour, waiting for the tow truck that the roadside assistance service promised to send. She’s called and texted Caleb multiple times, and gotten no response. The story is set in Austin, Texas, and it’s a hot afternoon. Clearly, Natalie’s in a little trouble, and I was both sympathetic, and curious to see how things would play out.

Before the expected tow truck arrives, a truck from another company pulls up. Since Natalie’s wearing a low-cut dress and heels, she endures some catcalls during her long wait, and she’s reluctant to trust this man. She tells him another shop is already on the way. When he hears she’s expecting a truck from Autoland, he replies:

“You might as well set up a tent then. They take forever to get to calls, and they’ll charge you twice as much as we would. Plus, they close at six. They’re just going to tow you in and then lock up for the night.”

“Says the guy who wants to make a buck on a girl stranded on the side of the road.”

The corner of his mouth lifts. “Hey, princess, I’m just trying to be a nice guy and get you to your” — he looks me up and down again — “sorority party on time. I get paid the same either way.”

Princess? Sorority party? My eyes narrow and I give him my own head-to-toe look, taking in the messy dark hair, the tattoos, the heavy boots, the finely shaped … I snatch the thought back before I can go there. “Look, Son of Anarchy, I appreciate the nice guy offer, but how do I even know you’re legit?”

This exchange lays the foundation for what I felt was the main theme of the novella. The hero, Monroe, tells Natalie he’s just trying to be a nice guy, but his tattoos, motorcycle boots, and overall rough demeanor make Natalie think he’s anything but nice. At the same time, Monroe guesses that Natalie is a sorority girl, and calls her “princess,” which the reader soon learns is far from the truth. They both make assumptions based on appearances, then gradually learn that their assumptions were wrong. The “moral of the story” isn’t earth-shattering — it’s basically “don’t judge a book by its cover” — but I felt it was really well-done.

Monroe initially offers to drive her home from the repair shop, but once he learns it’s her birthday, and that her boyfriend actually stood her up, he makes it his mission to cheer her up and give her a little adventure. Most of the story takes place over the course of twelve to sixteen hours, obviously not enough time to fall in love. Although they are both judging each other at the beginning, and doing some verbal fencing, there’s an underlying attraction between them. It’s not insta-love, but possibly insta-lust. Natalie usually keeps her temper in check, working hard to maintain a “nice girl” image, but she’s in such a mess when she meets Monroe, stressed about her car and Caleb not being there for her, she doesn’t have the energy to be pleasant. Monroe rolls with it, and he’s soon enjoying the feisty banter between them. He’s comfortable in his own skin, and doesn’t take her outbursts personally.

I think the author did a good job with the characters of Natalie and Monroe, especially given the limited space of the novella and the compressed time frame. Each of them had some history and a little interaction with relatives, and those aspects were woven naturally into the main story. They both felt fleshed out to me, more than just cardboard stock characters. Some readers won’t be able to suspend their disbelief at how quickly the relationship develops, but I accepted it. Once in a while, you meet someone who just seems to be on your wavelength, and in almost no time at all, there’s a bond between you. Monroe’s decision to give Natalie a happier birthday, and her gradual realization that he truly is a nice guy, allows them to open up to one another, to see how they might fit together.

My one criticism of the book is that the character of Caleb ends up looking like an irredeemable jerk. Given what we see of him, it’s difficult to believe Natalie would have dated him for close to a year without something causing a blowup much sooner than this. Natalie thinks of him as “cute, smart, on-his-way-to-big-things Caleb,” as well as “Mr. Penny Pincher,” and someone who’s “imminently practical.” He inspires no passion in Natalie, and she must have stayed with him because it felt “safe,” not because he was right for her. Caleb is more a caricature than a character, but that’s partly due to the constraints of the novella format: there’s not much space to make him three-dimensional.

Readers who enjoy New Adult romances and aren’t bothered by first-person narrators should certainly give this novella a try. Because the story gave me two believable protagonists in such a short book, along with some enjoyable banter, I’m giving “Nice Girls Don’t Ride” a B+.