Kate Stewart

Music . . . the heart's greatest librarian. The average song is three and a half minutes long; those three and a half minutes could lead to a slow blink, a glimpse of the past, or catapult the soul into heart-shattering nostalgia. At the height of my career, I had the life I wanted, the life I'd always envisioned. I'd found my tempo, my rhythm. Then I received a phone call that left me off key. You see, my favorite songs had a way of playing simultaneously. I was in love with one man's beats and another's lyrics. But when it came to the soundtrack of a life, how could anyone choose a favorite song? So, to erase any doubt, I ditched my first-class ticket and decided to take a drive, fixed on the rearview. Two days. One playlist. And the long road home to the man who was waiting for me.

Drive

Sidney Schaffner

Wow. Kate does it again. I honestly didn’t know what the end was going to be

Macy

Loulou

I'm Mexican and I'm really offended by this author and all the racist shit she wrote in this book.
"La Migra" joke (ICE) is extremely insensible and straight-up disgusting.
Mexican are Latinos but not all Latinos are Mexican, the audacity of this author to write this kind of bullshit is shocking.

Shawna Delellis

I was hesitant going into this story after reading and absolutely loving the Ravenhood. How can anything compare? However I loved this book!!

I love the music aspect of this story! Kate Steward writes the most unique stories that leave you on the edge of your seat and craving more! 

When I say my anxiety was through the roof!!! The back and forth between Nate and Reid killed me! I needed to know who she was driving home to!!

I liked both guys but one in particular had my heart and I screamed when I found out who ended up with!

Andrea Rodriguez

The emotions that this book put me through. Pain, angst, and more pain!!!

BUT before I get into all of that, I cannot just overlook the lowkey problematic and stereotypical portrayal of a half-Mexican female character. (or, sorry, "half-Latina", as the main character so needlessly corrected people several times throughout, for whatever dumbass reason. Half-Mexican was accurate lmao)

Also, as a Mexican myself specifically living in Austin just like Stella, I think I'm allowed to air my grievances with the lowkey racists statements made throughout this book about Mexican people. Please, she literally had Stella call herself a "beaner" and had her shout "La Migra! La Migra!" (border patrol) to the cooks at the Mexican restaurant she worked at. Just completely distasteful and I guess she thought it was ok because Stella then says, "It's ok. I can do this because I'm half-Latina." uhhh yeah I guess she is, but as a white woman you are not..? lmao. She also played on the whole completely overdone "feisty latina woman" stereotype that I hate. There were a few others but I won't even get into it. I don't know. Maybe I'm being overly sensitive and too harsh, but it really just rubbed me the wrong way and almost made me DNF.

Anyway, I'll get off my soapbox and get to my thoughts on the book:

First, I absolutely loved that it was set in Austin. She did such a great job at capturing this city's essence and I loved seeing it so accurately depicted in a book. What a neat experience.

Second, this book was PAIN. I really spent the entire time unsure of who she ended up with and who I even wanted her to end up with. I will say that Nate was such an incredible man and Reid was just... something else entirely.

That's all I'll say, it's best to go in blind, though I kinda wished I'd known there was a love triangle prior to reading this. Doesn't surprise me though, Kate Stewart is the queen of love triangles and she didn't disappoint with this one.

I adore Stella’s character and I honestly think this is the first book that I’ve ever had a hard time trying to figure out who she belongs with in the end. 

Lanie H

Megan Lowe

Oh. Wow! This book was epic! The music was such a great touch, I loved every second of this book and never wanted it to end.

Jordan /

One of my favorite quotes from this book: 

“Love doesn’t die, even when you stop feeding it. There is no expiration date on the ache of missing someone you shared your heart, life, and body with.”

Chrissie Smith

Read if you like…
- music 
- love triangle 
- angsty romance

“Everyone, at some point in their life, breathes and grieves through song, but for me, it was daily therapy. When a certain song plucked those strings in my chest, I felt it all, and it was freedom. Those songs didn’t judge or tell me I was a fool for feeling the way I did. They told me they were with me. It was how I balanced my life and my passion.”

Stella, a passionate music reporter, was riding on a high after landing a big interview. Now, thanks to that passion for music and life, Stella has skipped her flight and she is driving home, reliving her past as she listens to a playlist that reminds her of her past. A playlist that reminds her of two men, two loves, as she drives home to the man who is waiting for her. 

As a reader who does NOT do love triangles…I would highly recommend this book to anyone who will listen. Kate Stewart delivers a love story with music sewn beautifully throughout, that it has no choice but to come alive to the reader. I really loved our MC Stella, she was strong, passionate, feisty, and could occasionally be a little dramatic…but aren’t we all? Stella’s outlook on life was beautiful and the way she loved and encouraged those she believed in was inspiring. Getting to be a part of Stella’s journey as she navigated the beginnings of her career as a journalist and falling in love for the first time was a true gift. 
As I mentioned before, music is at the core of this story and I think it was just icing on the cake. Music is truly powerful, it can recall some of your deepest memories and bring a rush of emotions to the forefront in just under 3 minutes. I think Kate Stewart captured that power perfectly within this story. 


Nedu

Drive opens up with Stella getting a call from her best friend during a highlight event in her career that throws her for a loop. She then misses her flight and then proceeds to take a long drive home while reminiscing over a love triangle that she was entangled in.

It was quite difficult for me to get started with this book, however once you get past the first couple of pages, it picks up. One thing this book has going for it is that it pulls you in and keeps you invested to see where the story is going. The execution and conclusion however falls flat for me. We are left with so much unexplained and unresolved. The entire premise falls flat mostly because the ending negates the beginning point of the story.

S. M. 

This book was so hard for me to get into at first but I was hooked by the middle! This was so so so good!

Find this review and more at 
  kimberlyfaye reads.


This book. Holy hell, y’all. I was utterly addicted to it. I could barely put it down to do things like sleep. It was emotional and raw and completely perfect. Kate broke me and put me back together and then made me question everything. It was gorgeous, heart-wrenching and amazing. One of my favorites of the year, no doubt. Love.

Those are the words I originally wrote on Goodreads after finishing Drive. I don't think I can say it any better than I did in that moment, when the book was so fresh in my mind. I've been struggling for a couple days to try to figure out how to best review this book while not giving anything away and I'm still not sure I have it right, to be honest. I'm going to be intentionally vague, because you should go in as blind as you possibly can. Read it soon, before you have a chance of having the story spoiled for you. 

I finished Drive on Sunday and I *still* have a book hangover from it. It's one of the angstiest books I've read in a long time and I loved everything about it. I fought the urge to flip to the end to find out how the story ended and who Stella wound up with. I'm glad I did, too, because that allowed me to get entirely wrapped up in the characters and the story and the "how is this going to end" uncertainty. I didn't even know how I wanted it to end, if I'm being totally honest. I wouldn't want to be in Stella's position, having to choose between Nate and Reid. They were both spectacular in their own way. I'm not typically one for "love triangle" stories, but this one just worked. It more than worked, if I'm honest. It wrecked me. 

I could probably talk forever about all the things this book made me feel, but I'm not going to. I think I highlighted roughly half the book because the words spoke to me on a cellular level. Just look at the number of favorite quotes I selected for this book. I could've included twice as many and still not highlight all the passages that spoke to my heart. This is the first of Kate's books I've read and I can say I'm addicted to her writing now. I need to binge her backlist. I suspect Drive will wind up on my "must reread" shelf, too, for when I'm in the mood to feel EVERYTHING a character is going through. 

If you're like me and music has defined your life and so many of the moments in it, you have to read Drive. Immerse yourself in the AMAZING playlist Kate shared with readers. Get lost in Stella's story and find yourself as she's doing the same. 

I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

FAVORITE QUOTES

If anyone tells you a song is important to them, you should turn it up loud, close your eyes, and really listen. Because at the end, you will know that person so much better.

Because music is the heart’s greatest librarian. A few notes had the ability to transport me back in time, and to the most painful of places. Take any song from the Rolodex of your life, and you can pin it to a memory.

Love doesn't die, even when you stop feeding it. There is no expiration date on the ache of missing someone you shared your heart, life, and body with. 

It took three seconds to close the distance between us, two seconds to lock together like we'd been doing it our entire lives, and that last second... that last second when his lips devoured mine was the second I lost a piece of myself I could never get back. 

"One minute past desperation," I whispered. "You have to wait one minute past desperation, Reid. That's when it happens. You'll get a break. You will. It's coming." 

Heartache has the most annoying sound. It's an echo. An echo of heartbeats stuck on a loop. 

"You wonder what it would be like if we were together, if we had gone further. You still want the fairytale, but it's mine to give you, and I can't give it to you if you're with the wrong fucking prince." 

"Tell me that life magically starts to happen."

He was my song, my soul, my everything, and his love had propelled me forward into the woman I wanted to be. And that woman would burn out with the man who was made to keep her warm. 

I used to think I was cursed for having fallen in love with two men. But, in hindsight, I realized what a gift it was. They were my lovers, my teachers, my best friends, and I would love them both until I took my last breath.

Drive

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