Review: I enjoyed every second of this Novella
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 29, 2013
Read a great bonus scene (mini story!) at Ana's Attic Book BlogDrive Me Crazy is the third novella in the Girl Next Door Series by C.C. Wood . Each novella stands alone, but since they are each about 3 different friends, the characters cross over. All three books are fun, snarky, sexy reads filled with great banter. At about 100-125 pages each, they are perfect between those big angsty books. This series reminds me of mini Kristen Ashley books -- alpha men, confident, snarky women, and a little danger thrown in. Many novellas make me feel a little ripped off, but C.C. really knows how to tell a good full story in a small amount of pages.It has been well over a year since I read the first two in the series, and I honestly don't remember Nat and Cat's friend Amy, but that's OK, I really didn't need to remember anything from the previous books to enjoy Drive Me Crazy. I woke up Monday morning, and intended to just read the prologue while I brushed my teeth. 2 hours later, I finished the book (and still didn't brush, or even pee.) I was hooked immediately, and read it straight through. Before I even had coffee!"The nightmare next door was beginning to seem like the nicest guy I knew."Amy lives in a duplex. She has a new neighbor, Troy, who she hasn't seen yet, but she has certainly heard him and his crappy music, and his many sexual escapades. He is keeping her up at night and 'driving her crazy'. So Amy decides to retaliate. She knows he is a late sleeper, so she puts on opera, LOUD, early in the morning, and leaves for the day. But when she came home, her neighbor dropped by to tell her off."Wow. Okay, so now I kind of understood why all those girls kept going home with Troy."Dressed like a thug, complete with bling, Amy assumed she was living next to the ultimate in bad boys...even more her type. She also smelled pot a few times around her home and assumed it was him."My new neighbor was exactly the kind of man I preferred. He was also exactly the kind of guy who would stomp all over my heart."Amy, after being burned by enough bad boys, has been dating Grayson, a safe, average guy who is always a gentleman."Grayson was considerate and sweet. He also didn't make me feel like I needed to peel off my skin to stop the itchy feeling I got when I was around Troy."In fact, Amy is realizing Grayson is kind of a dud, but she keeps trying to make it work. Until her house gets egged, and Troy finds her washing her car at 10:00 at night. He tries to help, but Amy is stubborn, so...."The next thing I knew, his hands went around my waist and he lifted me up, planting my ass down on the car....""The kiss was hard, full of fury, and the hottest minute of my life."As the pranks on Amy escalate to the danger zone, she is forced to stay with Troy for protection. That's when things really heat up.Likes:•Fun, snarky banter. I love flirtatious banter!•A very full story in a short amount of pages.•I loved her relationship with Cat and Nat (fellow Targaholics!)•Troy won me over despite his bling (ugh, bling is not my type).•Sex scenes that were perfect. Not over the top, no words that make me want to hurl, and totally hot.•Catching up with Cat and Nat from the two previous books, Friends with Benefits and Frenemies.•Has that Kristen Ashley feel that I love, compressed into a short novella.•Troy is yummy and alpha.•Perfect for in-between big reads.•Maximum satisfaction from a minimum of pages.•Great epilogueDislikes:•Who was smoking the pot? Obviously NOT Troy.•CC is good at writing sex, but there wasn't enough in this book.Rating (Novella rating--you can't compare novellas to full length books): 4.75 stars (something held me back from the full 5, perhaps it was the lack of enough sex) 3.75 Heat (good sex, but not enough).I enjoyed every second of this little novella. It had everything I love in even a full length book: witty banter, and alpha guy, a strong, snarky girl with fun girlfriends, a little danger and suspense, and sex scenes that work for me. I will be rounding up to 5 stars on all other sites, and know that this is closer to a 5 than a 4.5! I highly recommend reading this whole series, especially if you like Kristen Ashley, RL Mathewson or Alice Clayton. The Girl Next Door Series by C.C. Wood tops my Favorite Quickies (novellas) list, my Top funny, happy romances list, and was on my favorite books of 2012 list