Missouri Vaun

Hijinks and mishaps ensue as Iris and Finn set off on a road trip adventure, chasing the sunset and falling in love along the way.

Chasing Sunset

Izza

Taylor Finn aspires to be a stunt driver, but driving a limo is what pays the bills. When she finds herself chauffeuring a drunk guy harassing his date, she leaves him stranded and is sure she’s going to get fired. Maybe it's finally time to pursue her dream. Iris Fleming’s flight to Atlanta was a scene from a disaster movie, the scariest landing ever. She’d desperately wanted a part on a new sci-fi series, until the director made a pass at her. Now Iris doesn’t want the role and has no intention of getting back on a plane. Making their escape from Atlanta, Iris and Finn end up at Hideaway Haven, in neighboring cabins. Iris isn’t sure what’s scarier, sexy Taylor Finn or woodland nighttime noises. But maybe they can help each other out. There are schools for stunt drivers in LA, and Iris needs a ride. Wrong turns and roadside hijinks ensue as Iris and Finn set off on a road trip, chasing the sunset and falling for each other along the way.

Jude Silberfeld

I’m very happy to say that I liked this book quite a bit. Missouri Vaun is Paige Braddock’s pen name and I’ve had the privilege to interview Ms Braddock a few years ago. She’s one of the kindest people I’ve interviewed in my 20 years or so as a journalist. I’ve always loved her Jane’s World comics and I was excited to see her try her hand at novels. But the first ones I read didn’t work for me, so I abstained from reading more for a while.

Yet when I saw this one, I thought it might be time to try again, and I’m glad I did.

The story is 4, the characters are at least 4, the writing is more of a 3 or a 3.5. It’s a bit abrupt at times, making the reader want a couple more words.

Iris is a struggling actress living in Santa Monica, California but trying out for a part in Atlanta, Georgia and everything that day is going wrong. Finn is a limo driver hoping to one day become a stunt driver. When they first meet, Iris throws a glass of water all over Finn. As luck would have it, they meet again when a black bear scares Iris and Finn invites her to spend the night at her cabin. They spend the next day – which happens to be Iris’ birthday – together, have a lovely time then decide to drive to California together.

Both women are at a time in their lives when they feel like they need a break to finally make it. They’re both vulnerable and sensitive, which makes both for sweet romance and miscommunication. At some times I felt like shaking one, then the other, to make them open up to each other. But I loved the chemistry between them.

All in all, it was an enjoyable read, and the whole road trip idea was excellent.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Megan Cooper

I've enjoyed  Vaun's contemporary romances and this was a nice addition to that category.  Chasing Sunset is a nice lazy day read - its a romance with some humour and a good amount of chemistry between the leads.  Finn is biding her time as a limo driver in Atlanta, building up her nerve and a nest egg, to strike out to Hollywood to become a stunt driver and Iris is an actress who needs to get back to LA after a rather disastrous audition for a new TV series.  The two meet over a misinterpretation of Finn's actions (always a good way to start any kind of relationship by throwing a glass of water in someone's face ... but you gotta give Iris props for standing up for herself and the young woman at the diner).

The romance between the two is sweet and has a nice little build of both their characters ad their attraction as they tour around Finn's hometown.  Once they are out on the road its a bit of 0 to 60 in seconds and no  real "will they or won't they". :)    Finn is confident, charming and attentive and there's little doubt as to why Iris would be attracted to her.  Iris is smart and her confidence has taken a bit of a hit after the audition, but she's pretty level headed and realistic regarding her career and the life in LA.

Although the blurb and cover made me think that this was going to be mostly a road trip kind of book - the actual road trip was only a small part of the whole story and due to the fact that they were driving an old convertible through the southern states during summer, there wasn't much opportunity for the heart-to heart discussions you normally expect in a road trip.

I think Finn was the more detailed/fleshed out character - Iris seemed to have her shit together from the beginning, and her confidence improves as the novel progresses.  Finn seemed to be searching for what she wanted to do with her life and when she found what she thought she wanted, it isn't all she expected.  Finn seemed younger/less mature and some of her actions (especially the argument when in LA) just made me shake my head.  Luckily she pulls her head out of her ass and there's a HEA (hey ... it's lesfic romance, there's always a HEA).

I'm not sure if I want to mark this as recommended - I like Vaun's stuff, but the massive miscommunication drove me a bit bonkers - both characters were kind of idiots during the big argument.

Chasing Sunset

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