Flat Out Sexy

I am not really a contemporary romance kind of girl, but a friend recommended these books to me and promised I would love them. I was in the mood for something light, so I downloaded this book and dove in. I really enjoyed that there was some conflict in this book, but it was not nearly as much angst as the books I am used to, in a good way. There were issues between the two main characters and things they needed to work through, but it was never overly dramatic. Erin definitely knows how to write a steamy scene and there were plenty of them laced throughout this book. There were also numerous laugh out loud moments and the humor was a welcomed surprise. I just loved this book and have already downloaded the next book to see what show more happens between Imogen and Ty. show less

Not going to bother writing a big long review for this, but I am so glad I broke my rules to buy and read this one. There was so much to love about it.

The relative absence of external conflict left a refreshing focus on the main characters. The conflict grew naturally out of their own understandable hang-ups. Widowed Tamara Briggs is wary of dating at all after her stock car racing husband died in a crash at Talladega, never mind dating another racer. She's also 32, with two kids and the resultant stretch marks, and as much as she's wildly attracted to Elec Monroe, she can't help but wonder what a 25 year old guy sees in her cottage cheese ass.

For his part, Elec has been avoiding commitment in his previous relationships, but McCarthy show more turns this trope on its head. You see, as much as he's a monogamist at heart and loves kids, he's sterile, so he's avoided the marrying type, because he doesn't want his heart broken when she leaves for a man who can give her children. Naturally, Tamara's children are an attraction for him, a ready-made family where he assumed he'd never have one at all. The commitment-focused hero breaking down the widow's reservations was a breath of fresh air.

I just had a few issues with the book, both thematically and stylistically. It's written in a rather folksy tone, and that makes sense for a book about stock car racing set in Charlotte, but there were times where it went from folksy to just inelegant. Swallowing a "bucket of spit" is a rather strange phrase to show up multiple times. I also didn't like how she couldn't leave the dead husband alone. Can't she have an HEA with Elec without having to enumerate her first husband's flaws?

In any case, I loved the book so much, I've broken more rules to buy [b:Hard and Fast|5303134|Hard and Fast (Fast Track, #2)|Erin McCarthy|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1256088882s/5303134.jpg|5370574] to read next. I'm weak. show less

Well, I really enjoyed this one. Didn't even want to hit anyone on the head with the book. At any point. And even though I chose this for reasons, I will definitely read the next book in the series too and most likely will enjoy that as well.

4.5 stars

This reminded me a lot of Jaci Burton's [b:The Perfect Play|8341567|The Perfect Play (Play by Play, #1)|Jaci Burton|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1301853642s/8341567.jpg|13039143] only with a much cooler heroine. Tamara Briggs is raising her two children on her own after her husband died in a NASCAR accident. Getting back into the dating game isn't easy for her. She's sworn herself off from race car drivers to avoid the emotional pitfalls that come with such a dangerous profession, but she's stuck in a boring relationship with a stuffy professor. She bumps into the handsome Elec Monroe just as she's made up her mind to break off her current relationship. In the nick of time, I'll say! The sparks fly, and she soon finds show more herself doing something she's never done before – a one night stand ...... with a younger man. After a passion-filled night with her young lover, the morning after bring some big surprises Good thing Elec is persistent and goes after what he wants.

I adored this story. Okay fine, I adored Elec, but who wouldn't? He was so genuine and sweet, he gave me cavities. He always put her feelings and wants before his own, which allowed her to come to him in her own time. Tamara behaved pretty much the way I expected someone in her position would behave, just with less angst and doom and gloom than I'm normally used to, which was refreshing for a change. This was a sweet, romantic read with characters one could identify and fall in love with. show less

Flat Out Sexy was just Flat Out Adorable. The story starts with the heroine Tamara Briggs at a cocktail party trying to talk herself into then out of feelings for the guy she’s been seeing and brought to the cocktail party when she bumps – literally – into the hero Elec Monroe. Through a series of events, they end up in a cab together headed to a friends trailer, where she is planning on spending the night. Elec ends up spending the night too, but they do not so much sleeping.
But things take a down turn in the morning when Tamara finds out first Elec’s age, which is a few years younger than her own and second the fact that he’s a race car driver. You see Tamara is a widow with two children whose husband was killed in a race. show more She doesn’t want to be involved with another driver again.
Elec is so endearing in this book. He’s so totally gone for Tamara right from the beginning. I’ve mentioned before that I love books when the hero is gone for the heroine. Add to the fact that this is a younger guy/older woman book and I loved it even more. It’s adorable getting inside his head and seeing how smitten he is with her. Tamara has a number of issues against getting involved with Elec – issues I could really understand. She’s insecure about her body and Elec is wonderful about allaying those insecurities and though she has a few qualms about the age difference, she isn’t stuck on it. All in all, she’s a great heroine. And the secondary characters are also very well drawn, from Suzanne, her best friend to Evan and Eve, Elec’s siblings. There was one scene in particular, the dinner party scene for anyone who’s read the book, that had me laughing out loud in a number of places.
Although this is a race car themed book and I don’t know didly about the race car scene, it didn’t overwhelm the book and wasn’t a problem at all in the reading. In fact it looks like her next book is the same setting and after reading the excerpt, I’m really looking forward to it’s release so I can get back into this world. show less

A very sexy and very touching story..."Flat-Out Sexy" by Erin McCarthy is a truly entertaining read with humor, emotion, and desire wrapped up in a very touching love story.

Tamara is a teacher, a mother, and a widow. She's also feeling very unsexy and it's no surprise since she can calculate to the day, the last time she had sex. And she really can't count the boring professor since she had to force herself to do it once and would rather eat nails than do it again! Then she spills her entire glass of wine on a very sexy stranger at a party and things go kinda crazy from there! After a night of very fulfilling, very crazy sex...Tamara discover that not only is her stranger younger than she is, he's also a race car driver, just like her show more first husband who 'left' her by smashing his car in the corner on the racetrack. She just can't face that again...right?

Elec may be a bit younger in years, but he's also a man who knows what he wants and once he sets his sights on Tamara, she really doesn't stand a chance. If he can just get past her fears, her in-laws, and her prejudices, he'll be home free. No problem...really...probably...maybe?

Two people who couldn't be more perfect for each other, but have to learn that love is no more perfect than people, and sometimes taking the chance outweighs safety. I loved the story, I loved the hero and heroine, I loved the pace of their relationship and how they handled the roadblocks and challenges unique to their situation. The cover is smoking and the heat inside is a good match too. show less

This book has one of the sexiest covers I've ever seen. I could sit and stare at it for hours.

*swoons*

The story itself was sweet and I enjoyed it, particularly because the conflict wasn't manufactured by miscommunication between the characters, but from external sources (the fact that he's a driver and her husband died in a crash, that her in-laws have an old beef with his parents, etc).

Elec was all kinds of sweet and yummy. He didn't seem to have any flaws at all, which is a little disappointing in the grand scheme of things, but I loved the way that he brought Tamara out of her shell by working to make her realize he thought she was sexy, stretch marks and all.

A solid, good read.