What a Sweet and easy read. A Great summer read that leaves you smiling.
Charlie has big plans for the future and is working hard driving for the Rideshare app to make their trip of a lifetime happen, it's going so well until she literally crashes in to the life of the all round popular bloke at school Andre taking his car out of action and forcing Charlie's hand to make a deal to save her
The storyline is quite predictable but that's ok the characters really develop and it's all about the "journey" pun intended.
I really enjoyed how the story was pulled together by the Rideshare reviews and the references to art, architecture and music throughout were a great touch. The family dynamics and the conversations with Charlie's parents were something I really enjoyed.
Although YA I think it has elements that would appeal to a mixed audience and also has some grumpy/sunshine ,enemies to lovers and miscommunication/preconceived ideas about people.

Ride With Me
by Lucy Keating
4 stars

Charlie wants to leave Chester Falls as soon as she's old enough, being raised in a small town has her wanting to break free. As she is saving for her road trip, she drives for a company called backseat which is kind of like a taxi service. Till one day she hits Andre's parked car, Andre is a popular guy from school one Charlie doesn't hang out with usually. Charlie needs to make sure Andre doesn't report her to the backseat or she can kiss her dreams of leaving Chester Falls gone. They strike up a deal that Charlie will drive Andre around anywhere and pay for half of his repairs. Charlie isn't prepared for Andre; Charlie isn't a talker at all she just wants to get her passengers from point a to point b well when Andre starts being with her everywhere it becomes very clear he likes to listen to everyone and help out any way he can. As they spend more time together they realize it's a nice match.

This was a quick cute YA read, about teenage love and trying to figure out life. No one has their life planned out, but I like Charlie's ambition and that she does learn in the end she has a lot of growing to do first. I enjoyed how Charlie showed Andre everything there is outside of their small town, and how Andre does the same by showing Charlie what there is in the small town to love. I also enjoyed the friendship Charlie has with here two girlfriends it is something I hope everyone has throughout their lives. This is my first time reading anything by Lucy and it was very enjoyable, I will be checking out her other stuff.

Thank you, Net Galley and Clarion Books for the eARC for an honest review.

This book was just a cute rom-com. Endearing and completely forgettable. I had a great time reading this book, but I know it is not one that will resonate with me for much longer. .

Chester Falls is just too small. For someone who has such big dreams Charlie longs to escape. Escape a home life that feels like it is just holding on by a thread, friends that only want to party and are stuck in the same relationships that are not healthy for them, and more importantly get away from small time living and people’s ideas about her. Charlie will do anything to escape her life including working for their town’s version of Uber. Yet when a ride goes wrong Charlie enters a deal to start driving Andre around wherever he needs to go. Little could either of them expect how starting to ride together could change their lives.
This is a fun book. I love that you have two characters who have the exact opposite personal problems. Charlie longs to go elsewhere and Andre who doesn’t want to look beyond his own hometown. They do such a good job of complimenting each other. I do feel like the ending was a bit rushed, but the growth that both characters go through is so important I understand why the author chose this route. This will be a great book for teens who are getting ready to go on to the next stage of their lives. I can’t wait to recommend it this summer.
Thank you to Clarion Books and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy.

Ride with Me would be considered a Meet Cute book, but it just didn't seem very well developed. There are nods to aspects of the story where the author could have really delved into the storyline, but the book just kind of gently floats along without building any momentum. The characters seemed a bit two-dimensional and lacked much/any personal development. I honestly considered putting the book down on many occasions but kept hoping that it would get better.

I wasn't too enamoured with this book but it was cute and carefree so it was a quick rread. I thought the main characters were a bit difficult to like but still their struggles were intriguing and I did like the resolution a lot.

This book was a cute quick read I think young entrepreneurs will like this book and will probably be able to connect with the character Charlie. I think you’re a teenage girls were like this book because the character Charlie is just trying to find her knees and where she fits in my life. Ride with me is a Romance but it’s also more about falling in love is awesome you’re falling in love with yourself your family and where are you come from. I definitely recommend this book!

Ride with me is a great coming of age story. The dynamic and growth between the main characters is well written and believable.

I was really surprised by how much enjoyed this. The main characters interests align well with my own. I also really enjoy the forced proximity, especially in a car. I read this story so quick. It explores topics that I think will relate a lot to teens. Charlie's situation with her parents was good to see. I also enjoyed the discussion of what makes a place your "home".

Thank you for giving me an early e-arc to read!

This was my first book of Lucy Keating's to read, and I was not disappointed. It was a quick read that got my interest early on. I was immediately interested in the characters and setting. Charlie was very dedicated to her goals and dreams and Andre was the perfect foil to her. She needed to lighten up and I loved watching her change as she got to know Andre more and more. He was easier for me to root for at first since he was much more open to other people. Charlie was so closed off and really just a passenger in her own life. She allowed herself to miss out on so many things because of an assumption she had. That could be frustrating to some readers, but I understood her single-minded determination and stubbornness.

This was a great read especially for summer!

Ride With Me is a coming of age, YA contemporary that follows Charlie Owens as she tries to pave the way towards her future, hell bent on leaving her small town. That is until Andre Minasian throws a wrench in her plans by showing her what she's been missing all long...

the best way to describe this one is that it's one of those stories that starts off a bit messy and chaotic but in the end everything falls into place

Charlie is clearly future focused and extremely dedicated to get what she wants. I guess her determination was admirable for a 17 year old but at times i felt that she was quite rude and judgy, and was only thinking about herself. While Andre was a sweetheart that opened her mind to a whole "new old world"

i read this relatively quick, and while the story held my interest, there were still a few questions left unanswered at the end

*𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳, 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘤 𝘪𝘯-𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸*

A cute rom-com about two teens with opposite perspectives. This was a quick and breezy read that was enjoyable.

****4 Stars!

“Experiences aren’t meant to be forever, but that doesn’t make them less special.”


First I would like to thank Clarion Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read an arc of this book. I am honored to have been given the chance to read it and give it an honest review.

This is a story about a young girl named Charlie who is a driver for her local rideshare app. She loves what the open road gives her and that is freedom, extra cash for an epic road trip, and a path to getting out of her sleepy town of Chester Falls, Massachusetts. Charlie has met her fair share of mysterious passengers and witnessed explosive break-ups in the backseat of her car, but Charlie lives a no-strings-attached lifestyle and never gets involved.

When a usual party pick-up ends with Charlie rear ending her car into Andre, her school’s notorious party boy, she’s forced to make a deal to drive him anywhere he needs to go, at any time, until his car is repaired. Suddenly Charlie and Andre are stuck together, and they couldn’t be more different from each other. When Andre’s charm wins over Charlie’s passengers, she finds herself at risk of breaking her most sacred rule: don’t fall in love.

This was a very innocent coming of age story about two people who are so very different from each other. The writing was very well done and easy to read and I felt the pacing of the story was done really well. I really enjoyed the concept of Charlie’s rideshare app, it made for an interesting situation and gave her a chance to interact with interesting characters who received a ride from her. The whole moral of the story was something I enjoyed, being able to see the beauty that is right in front of you is something very important that not many people do. I really like how the story stressed that.

While the story was very sweet, I didn’t feel as connected to the characters as I would have liked. I wished Charlie and Andre had a few scenes and sweet moments to themselves to further their chemistry. They were still a very adorable couple, but I just wish they had more time to further set it in stone for the readers. I liked how passionate Charlie was about her hobbies and dreams for the future, that was a very admirable trait. I didn’t particularly see Andre as a party boy, but he was very kind hearted and I liked how personable he was with everyone in the town and that he wanted to help them in whatever way that he could.

Overall this was a very interesting book and I would be very curious to read more from this author. If you like sweet meet-cute situations and coming of age stories, then this is a book that I’d highly recommend!

Thank you Clarion Books for the eARC of Ride With Me by Lucy Keating in exchange for my honest review.

This book was exactly what you'd want from a YA rom com. It has well rounded characters, with detailed backstories. I felt connected to each character and celebrated their wins and was tied emotionally to their losses.

I really loved the premise -- that Charlie Owens crashes her way into the cute boy's car & life. This book delivers on exactly that. It has a standard cast of characters, but I like that we saw interactions with not only her friends, but the dialogue with her parents was also fantastic.

Overall, a very cute book. 4/5 stars.

An innocent coming of age YA romance. Slightly different take on the way these two are 'forced' together but it works. I found the gap in the story for me was that Andre was supposedly the typical jock party goer and yet actually he wasnt...probably more likely Charlie was the dullest teenager ever!
It was a quick read and it was written well, the characters just didnt win me over.

Ride With Me is the coming of age story of Charlie - a teenage girl trying to find her niche in the world. She drives for a ride share service (think lyft or uber) to make money so she can go on a cross country summer trip. And ultimately so she can escape the trappings of her small town life. Charlie is obsessed with leaving her small town behind and making something of her life. She's convinced that all those she's leaving behind (her parents, friends, neighbors) are "stuck" and are only staying because they have no other options.
Ride With Me is a romance, but it's so much more than just falling in love with a boy, it's about falling in love with yourself, your family, and your roots.

I thought that this was the cute, fluffy YA romance that I expected it to be. I thought the premise was really interesting and seeing the different people Charlie met on her drives was the most fun. One thing I did wish there was more of was smaller moments between Charlie and Andre that really cemented their chemistry and overall relationship. For some reason I had a bit of trouble completely seeing them together but they were still cute. This was a fun and quick read so if you're looking for that then look no further!

THE GOOD

🚋 Small town Massachusetts setting
🚋 The people Charlie drove around and their interactions
🚋 Charlie's friend group & family
🚋 Andre and Charlie were fun characters
🚋 Short & sweet!!

THE BAD

🚋 Charlie & Andre didn't have much chemistry as love interests
🚋 The writing felt younger

Overall, I thought it was fun! It didn't have much substance to it, but it's a quick summer read!

2.5 stars

Honestly so glad this is over. This read like a first draft to me. We’re supposed to root for our protagonist, Charlie, but she’s nothing but mean and pretentious this entire novel. Also, her friends only seem to appear in the narrative when it’s convenient.

The writing itself was also not great. Some descriptions didn’t quite make sense and at one point the author mentions a sister that doesn’t actually exist. I just hope this book goes through another round of editing before publication.

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc!!

In the mountain town of Chester Falls, Massachusetts, Charlie Owens dedicates her time to school and driving for the town's taxi app, Backseat. She's determined to leave her small town and see more, believing her dream of becoming an architect to be the way to do it.

Until one post-party pick-up resulted in a minor crash in a car park, she always had everything under control. But Andre, high school senior, party goer and the owner of the car she damaged, is bothering her. With his car needing repairs, the pair are stuck together as Charlie is forced to offer to drive him around. Between working for an internship, trying to understand her parents' strained relationship and being a taxi for Andre, Charlie has a lot to work out.

Everyone has a story. Charlie needs to find hers.

This is a YA contemporary story that's great for not oversimplifying or romanticising anything. It recognises difficulties and, whilst some issues are solved with convenient, large-scale actions, it doesn't use the obvious or neatest solution just for the sake of it. As such, the plot is realistic and considered, with everything it does suiting the age range and tone. There are no sudden declarations or life-long commitments made- it's just teenagers having fun and figuring out what they want to do with their lives.

I found that it lost its direction slightly in the last 20% as it works to bring the plot to a satisfying conclusion; it manages this but in a roundabout way. It's a charming novel with a nice message and an entertaining plot.

‘Certain parts of our life aren’t meant to be forever. But that doesn’t mean they don’t shape who we are.’ 25%