Finn drives a limo. And one night she punches and drops on the side of the road a horrible jerk.

Iris is in Georgia (after a hellish plane ride) to do a final audition for a Sci Fi series. She winds up at Finn's family's motel/hotel, when after the audition the director makes a pass at her (and she rejects him) and suddenly she can't take the part.

But before they meet in the cabins, they do sorta have a meeting before that, and I thought that was one of the best scenes in the book. It was hilarious.

They both find themselves going to LA and so they go on a road trip there together, and it goes well. It's when they get to LA when it starts going badly for the couple.

I liked most of the book, the characters were fun (would have loved to see more Maggie), but as the end got nearer the conflict seemed a little forced and some of what the characters did seemed out of character.

Overall it was a fun read, and the very very end part of the end was cool.

I received this book via Netgalley thanks to Bold Strokes Books.

This is part of a multi-book review.

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.

3.75 stars

A road trip story. Iris goes to Atlanta to audition for a Sci-Fi tv show. Things don't go well and she's sure she won't be getting the role or even if she will take it if she does get it. She stays at a motel where she meets Finn a limo driver who aspires to be a stunt driver.

They decide to drive to Los Angeles to take Iris back home and for Finn to go to stunt driving school. They get close on the road trip and by the time they reach Los Angeles they are fully into each other, but it only takes a day and a misunderstanding for everything to fall apart.

It's a nice read and a classic plot of how bad communication leads to everything getting messed up.

Missouri Vain doesn't disappoint when delivering romance.

An accidental meeting between an actress and a car jock leads to infatuation, seduction and love in a fast paced story.

The characters are believable and vulnerable. There are problems along the way as the women negotiate following their individual dreams and coming to terms with the reality of day to day life during their cross country drive

In Chasing Sunset, Iris is a struggling actress hoping to get her big break with a role on a new TV show, while Finn is a limo driver who dreams of stunt driving for movies. After meeting in Georgia they decide to go on a cross country road trip to LA. I really liked this one! I found both Finn and Iris to be well fleshed out characters. Both women are trying to figure out their next steps, and that makes them both insecure about where their relationship is going. They have some major communication issues, but I found that, too, realistic. This was a low key read but very enjoyable. Recommended!

3.75 stars - Chasing Sunset by Missouri Vaun is a good beach read. The story is enjoyable and the writing is smooth enough that you keep turning the pages without thinking about it.

Iris Fleming goes to Atlanta to audition for the main role in a sci-fi TV series. At 30, if she doesn’t get a break in her career soon, she might have to reconsider her options. She believes this is her last big opportunity to prove what she’s worth as an actress, but a bad encounter with the series’ director makes Iris doubt that she could take on the role if she gets it. Taylor Finn always had a passion for cars and wanted to be a stunt movie driver. To save up for driving school down in Los Angeles, she drove rich clients in the Atlanta area. Having just been fired from her limo driving job, Finn realizes this might be the push she needed to finally chase her dream. When Iris needs a way back to LA, Finn offers they drive up together.

Going into this, I was a bit apprehensive because I had seen a few reviews mentioning a definite lack of communication between the two main characters. Even though I can understand their point of view, I wasn’t as bothered by the miscommunication. Considering Finn and Iris have only known each other for about a week, I thought it was pretty normal for them not to voice all of their uncertainties and fears, and to question where they’re standing as a potential couple.

However, I wish the author had used the road trip part of the novel as an opportunity to strengthen their relationship. They definitely could’ve talked a lot more when they were on the road, and it would have been nice to see them go on little adventures as they drove across the country. That said, there is good chemistry between Iris and Finn, and there are quite a few sexy scenes throughout the book.

I got to mention, there’s a scene when they’re staying at a Super 8 hotel, and Iris suggests they have a bubble bath. I don’t know if it was supposed to be sexy, but my brain was screaming “OH GOD, NOOOO!” There’s nothing sexy about a hotel bathtub, IMO. Yikes!

Overall, I enjoyed this book quite a bit. There’s something I love about celebrity/small-town girl romances, and it ticks a lot of my boxes. I will definitely check out other books by Vaun.

Thank you to Bold Strokes Books for providing me with a free copy of this title via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this one. I liked the drama between the two main characters throughout the story. I'm not usually fond of misunderstandings being the major rift between characters, but I feel like this one was handled well given the nature of how the two of them got together. The fact that the main setting of the story was the road trip made it feel fresh and interesting most of the way through. The side characters were very flat. I didn't particularly care about any of them despite their actions being a bit more important near the end. This didn't break things for me as the secondary characters didn't take up that much time in the book, to begin with.

The only issue I had was that the resolutions felt a wee bit rushed at the end. Especially for Finn.

A road trip romance that is pretty much middle of the road. It’s a competent story and quite sweet in places, but it’s kind of a mundane read. I don’t know the USA, so I may be missing out on the evocativeness of all the place names and fun associations from imagining myself in the car on the road with one of the two leads. Team Iris for me. But even given my lack of USA knowledge, there didn’t seem to be much of a spark in the romance. I do kind of like the reality check of the Hollywood career, but that also grounded the story. It’s an ok read, but there’s nothin special or grab worthy in the book.

ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m struggling a bit with how to review this. I definitely didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it. It just falls in between I guess.

Here we have MC Finn, who drives a limo but dreams of being a stunt driver and MC Iris who is a actress. She’s in Georgia to audition for a part and when that goes awry she ends up staying at Finn’s parents cabins. The two meet and spend two days together during which Finn rescues Iris from a bear and they go out for Iris’s birthday (those are pretty much the highlights). This takes up the first third of the book.

Through a pretty lame contrivance they then end up on a road trip together. The road trip itself is just full of mind numbing passages about where they go and what they eat broken up by sex scenes, but no real dialogue between the characters (way more tell than show). That’s the next third.

The final section of the book is made up of the obligatory breakup, this time caused by a really dumb miscommunication, which then leads to some endless waffling by both characters before they decide to pull on their big girl pants and eventually manage their HEA.

Honestly, it just felt like nothing was happening for large parts of this book. I was bored more often than not. Maybe I just needed to be in a better mind frame to read this or something but it didn’t grab me. It’s not awful, but it’s not great either. 2.5 stars rounded up.

This was only a good read for me. The story line was good but somewhere in the middle of the book I kind of lost interest for a few chapters then got back into it again. The romance between the two main characters of Iris and Finn took place over a period of two weeks or so. Both were likeable characters but both grated on my nerves at different times as well. Though, in saying that, I thought they made a good couple by the end of the book. The pace was good for the story line but for me it was too fast. I prefer more slow burn, but that is just personal preference.

Overall, the book is worth reading.

3.75 STARS ROUNDED UP TO 4 STARS

I received an ARC copy of the book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

This is a road trip kind of book, with two main characters a bit stereotyped as is always the case with this author, at least in the books I've read of her. One MC being a soft butch, Finn, and the other MC being a total femme, Iris.

The road trip wasn't planned at all at the beginning of the story, Iris is an actress auditing for a role in a series, for which she must travel from LA to Atlanta, where the series must be taking place. She hasn't had much lucky in her career so far and this audition could be her turning point. Finn lives in Atlanta but her dream is to become a stunt driver for which she should travel to Hollywood and make some course but she keeps delaying this for some reason.

Iris and Finn meet by chance, although their first encounter is a bit rough but then they meet and then discover that both can share Iris return trip to LA with Finn's car. The trip itself is a bit boring, to tell the truth, too many descriptions that seems only for the reader, not for the two travelers enjoyment. And this fact makes history uneven, sometimes leaving the growing relationship between them too much in the background. Then there is the always present and inevitable drama that must be in most romances. A little forced, this one.

It has been difficult for me to finish reading it, really, I do not know if it was something personal or for the story itself. I have read some other better things from this author. Although this is not bad, it has not been a book that I really liked.

I'm so sad that this one didn't turn out well for me!!!!! Unfortunately, I couldn't get into the writing style. The sentence structure and word choice weren't engaging at all. Such a huge disappointment for me, as I was looking forward to this based on the premise and hype from friends. I just wasn't immersed at all, no matter how hard I tried.

3.5 Stars. This one is a little hard for me to rate. Parts of it I really enjoyed, others drove me nuts. Vaun’s books normally have a comfortable and familiar feel to them. I’m not sure if that is because I have read most of her books but she is one of those authors I feel like I would know her writing even without having a cover on her book. However, that was not always the case here and it startled me a bit. While yes there were parts that felt like classic Vaun, there were too many parts that didn’t feel like signature Vaun to me. And I hate to say it but those were the parts that I didn’t enjoy as much.

I’m a big fan of Hollywood and celebrity romances. This is why I grabbed this book and it was one of the aspects that I enjoyed the most. Vaun did a good job of building chemistry between two mains that were two very different people. The actual romance was enjoyable and I liked the obvious sparks between the two. The sex scenes were nice and steamy so no complaints there either.

The main issue I had with the book was lack of communication. It really is a pet peeve of mine and these two characters took it too an extreme. One of the mains made a comment that the other main didn’t do small talk and only talked about big important things. I wanted to laugh because not only did the characters not make small talk, they didn’t talk at all! There is barely any dialogue in this book between the two mains which is crazy considering part of this book is about a road trip. A road trip nobody talked on. There was no doubt these two women set off sparks around each other. This was a relationship based on mutual attraction and hot sex, which is fine for reading about a good hook-up, it’s just harder to believe in a potential long-term HEA when two characters don’t speak to each other. And of course when the time for the angst came, shocker, it was all due to the characters not communicating. It drives me nuts when people can’t take the time to say two sentences, it was just a big shaking my head moment.

As you can tell from my mixed reactions this is not an easy one for me. I don’t know if I can flat out recommend this, but I did enjoy parts enough that I would not warn people to stay away. The characters had good chemistry and the book was very readable. I just wish there wasn’t multiple parts that drove me nuts. I think if you are new to Vaun I would recommend Love at Cooper's Creek over this book, but you might enjoy this one too.

There is something about Missouri Vaun’s writing that I just love.

It may be because we both have Southern roots and that shows up sometimes in her writing through her word choices as well as the settings of her books. It also could be because she is such a great author. Probably both reasons.

Whatever the reason, Chasing Sunset, her latest novel, gave me that feel-good feeling as soon as I began to read. The story is set in Georgia at the beginning of the story, partly in Atlanta and also in a small community just north of Atlanta in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. This is the tale of Iris Fleming and Taylor Finn. Iris is an actor from L.A. She is heading to Atlanta to read for a possible role in a new television series. Her day begins badly with her plane almost crashing on landing and escalates when the series director makes a pass at her. Finn lives in Watts Mountain, a small community north of Atlanta and drives a limo for a living, at least until she leaves one of her riders stranded on the side of the road for making a drunken pass at his date in the back of the limo. Her dream job though is to become a stunt car driver in the movie industry. Iris and Finn’s first meeting is less than ideal since it comes at the end of a bad day for both, but fate seems to keep throwing them together. There is undeniable attraction between the two, but their lives are so different, and they live so far apart.

This is a lovely summer romance. It has all the elements that you want in this type of novel; beautiful characters, great chemistry, lovely settings, and best of all, a nostalgic road trip across the country. I really enjoyed the road trip. That part was especially well-written. The story itself is sweet with a little angst and a lot of steamy romance. If you enjoy a good summer romance, try this book.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

This was a fun read fit for a summer afternoon. It had humor, romance, plenty a very nice sex and of course the break up and reuniting. All very cute and sweet.

Taylor Finn ("Finn") and Iris Fleming could not be two more different people. Finn is a country girl from the outskirts of Atlanta, and Iris is an actor, in Atlanta to read for a part in a TV show. It has been Finn's lifelong dream to be a stunt driver in Hollywood and Iris would like nothing more than to become a little more famous than she is.

Through a series of misunderstandings, Finn and Iris cross paths, and later that evening, they meet again. Iris's very bad day turns into an opportunity for Finn to make it a better day for Iris.

Because of a mix-up Iris is unable to fly home to L.A., so she and Finn decide to drive back to Los Angeles together. This way, Iris will be back in L.A. and Finn can attend the stunt driver school she signed up for. The things that happen to them are what make up the best part of the book. They have adventures and grow closer.

Sometimes, your dreams don't turn out the way you thought they would.

Until they do.

Gorgeous cover! This is a great summer road trip story with a celebrity/commoner theme. Missouri Vaun is a master of the butch/femme trope and this one is no different. The chemistry between Finn and Iris is super hot, even if it's a little fast. Lots of aggravating miscommunication in the typical spot but it makes the reunion even sweeter. One thing I really liked is that Finn follows her dream and realizes maybe it's not all the dream was cracked up to be. Seems a lot like real life. A nice summer read.

3 days. This book was alright. This book is about Iris Fleming, an actress from LA who is auditioning for a part in Atlanta, Georgia. Her flight to Atlanta is terrifying, and she does not want get on another plan. Her audition does not go as planned when the director hits on her and tries to seduce her. After that, Iris just wants to go somewhere quiet and finds Hideaway Heaven. Taylor Finn's family owns the cabins, and Finn even lives in one of them. Finn dreams of being stunt driver and has to go to LA to do it. For now she is just a driver and settles. One chance moment with a bear and she spends time with Iris. They both feel connected and start to spend more time together. They eventually decide to drive to LA together, cross country, Iris to get home and Finn to start stunt driving classes.

The chemistry between the two main characters in this book was good, but I felt it evolved too fast. Iris and Finn did not spend that much time together and it evolved quickly. Finn's character seems a little two dimensional to me. The had good interactions but a lot of the book seemed to be in their head. The drama in the book seemed very dumb and just an excuse and not well thought out. Finn just bolts at hte first sight of trouble, and it seemed like a not great response based on how Finn evolved throughout the book. I did not like how it played out, without giving too much way. I would not recommend this book.

Missouri Vaun's latest novel "Chasing Sunset" is a fun and enjoyable ride off into the sunset. Colorful characters, laughs and a sweet romance blend together to make a tasty read. Two main characters: Taylor Finn, a limo driver who has dreams of becoming a stunt car driver and aspiring actress Iris Fleming who is in Georgia to read for a part. After the audition with a hands-on creep in what could have been a sexual assault, she decides to stay in a cabin that the studio did not pay for, just in case he comes looking for her. In the cabin next door is Taylor, who comes to her rescue when a black bear comes calling. Long road trip to California, the two fall in love along the way. The only critique I have is immediately after the would-be attack, why the hell didn't she warn the next actress who was walking into the room with the creep?

Thanks to Bold Strokes Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Chasing Sunset is a nice romantic read. Though I had higher expectations, I love road trips and enjoy the butch/fem stories I know this author likes to write about. The main characters were enjoyable and the sexual connection between them was hot. I didn't feel a strong chemistry between the characters but the they were certainly computable in bed. The story was quick but the detail of each scene was well written. It was a nice read for a rainy weekend. I would recommend it.