Tag: Lauren Layne

Eye Candy Friday: Clarke West from Marriage on Madison Avenue by Lauren Layne

Posted February 14, 2020 by Rowena in Features | 2 Comments

Eye Candy Friday is all about the heroes and heroines that I’m loving and wanting to spotlight right now. Sometimes I’ll do full-on gush fest posts on why I love these guys, sometimes I’ll post pictures of what I think they look like and that’s it but if they’re featured here, the one thing that will be constant is I loved the hell out of them and want everyone to know. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

First and foremost, Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! I hope you are all celebrating it however the hell you want to celebrate it.

Eye Candy Friday: Clarke West from Marriage on Madison Avenue by Lauren LayneMarriage on Madison Avenue
by Lauren Layne
Series: The Central Park Pact #3
Published by Gallery Books on January 28, 2020
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Point of View:Third Person
Pages: 288
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Add It: Goodreads
three-half-stars

From New York Times bestselling author Lauren Layne, comes the final installment of the Central Park Pact series, a heartfelt and laugh-out-loud romantic comedy that’s perfect for fans of Sally Thorne and Christina Lauren.

Can guys and girls ever be just friends? According to Audrey Tate and Clarke West, absolutely. After all, they’ve been best friends since childhood without a single romantic entanglement. Clarke is the charming playboy Audrey can always count on, and he knows that the ever-loyal Audrey will never not play along with his strategy for dodging his matchmaking mother—announcing he’s already engaged…to Audrey.

But what starts out as a playful game between two best friends turns into something infinitely more complicated, as just-for-show kisses begin to stir up forbidden feelings. As the faux wedding date looms closer, Audrey and Clarke realize that they can never go back to the way things were, but deep down, do they really want to?

Today’s eye candy is Clarke West from Marriage on Madison Avenue by Lauren Layne. You can read all about what I thought about Clarke’s book here.

Hero Casting

The Central Park Pact

Have you read Marriage on Madison Avenue? Did you love Clark West as much as I did? Who is your favorite character this week?

three-half-stars

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Eye Candy Friday: Scott Turner from Love on Lexington Avenue by Lauren Layne

Posted November 1, 2019 by Rowena in Features | 6 Comments

Eye Candy Friday is all about the heroes and heroines that I’m loving and wanting to spotlight right now. Sometimes I’ll do full-on gush fest posts on why I love these guys, sometimes I’ll post pictures of what I think they look like and that’s it but if they’re featured here, the one thing that will be constant is I loved the hell out of them and want everyone to know. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Today’s eye candy is Scott Turner from Love on Lexington Avenue by Lauren Layne, the second book in Layne’s The Central Park Pact series. Scott is a friend of Oliver’s (the hero from book 1) and is doing him a favor by remodeling Claire’s house for her. Scott is an architect and contractor for huge skyscrapers but he took on this project for Claire because he needed to take a break from the bigger projects. Remodeling an old brownstone fit his idea of taking a step back. Scott is a take-charge and no bullshit kind of guy and seeing him go head to head with Claire at every turn was such a delight. I completely adored him, which is why he’s this week’s Eye Candy Friday. To know him is to love him so if you haven’t read his book and haven’t met him yet, you’ll want to change that. Everyone should know and love Scott.

Hero Casting

This is who I pictured as Scott while I was reading Love on Lexington Avenue. He’s even got the tiniest smirk that Scott has when he’s thinking of annoying Claire over something or other.

Book Details

Love on Lexington Avenue by Lauren Layne
The Central Park Pact #2
Released on September 17, 2019
AMAZON || BARNES & NOBLE || GOOGLE BOOKS || THE RIPPED BODICE

The Central Park Pact

Have you read Love on Lexington Avenue by Lauren Layne? Did you love Scott as much as I did? Who is your favorite character this week?

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Eye Candy Friday: Kennedy Dawson from Huge Deal by Lauren Layne

Posted February 15, 2019 by Rowena in Features | 8 Comments

Eye Candy Friday is all about the heroes that I’m loving and wanting to spotlight right now. Sometimes I’ll do full-on gush fest posts on why I love these guys, sometimes I’ll post pictures of what I think these guys look like and that’s it but if they’re featured here, the one thing that will be constant is I loved the hell out of these guys and want everyone to know. Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Eye Candy Friday: Kennedy Dawson from Huge Deal by Lauren LayneHuge Deal
by Lauren Layne
Series: 21 Wall Street #3
Published by Amazon, Montlake Romance on February 12, 2019
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Point of View:Alternating Third Person
Pages: 259
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Add It: Goodreads
five-stars
Reading Challenges:2019 GoodReads Challenge

Even for a top-gun banker, temptation this hot is quite a gamble, in a sexy Wall Street romp from New York Times bestselling author Lauren Layne.

An alpha among the wolves of Wall Street, Kennedy Dawson rose to the top of the pack by striking the right contracts at the right times. But there’s one deal that’s been giving him a run for his money—a pact to never again let his assistant, Kate, get under his skin. She may be smart, gorgeous, and sharp as a whip, but she’s definitely off-limits.

Kate Henley isn’t a banker, but she knows a thing or two about risk management—specifically, about managing her attraction to her smolderingly sexy boss. She already fell once, and Kennedy showed no sign of paying a return on her investment. So when Kennedy’s brother starts pursuing her, Kate figures she has the best of both worlds. Jack is charming, rich, very attentive, and the spitting image of his older brother.

It’s also making Kennedy think twice. But to win Kate’s heart, he’ll have to broker the deal of a lifetime…and prove he’s worth the risk.

Today’s boyfriend is Kennedy Dawson from Huge Deal by Lauren Layne. Kennedy is the hero of the third book in Layne’s 21 Wall Street series and the book came out this week and I ate that shit up in one sitting because…I loved this guy. So, so much.

Hero Casting

This is the perfect Kennedy Dawson, IMO. I pictured this guy the entire time that I was reading and loving Kennedy in his book. He’s got the looks, the chin and just the rich boy air that I imagined Kennedy having. If you want to know why I loved Kennedy, you should read his book because he’s bomb as hell.

Buy the Book

AMAZON || BARNES & NOBLE || GOOGLE BOOKS

21 Wall Street Series

Have you read Huge Deal by Lauren Layne yet? If so, did you love Kennedy as much as I did? Did you love Jealous Kennedy even more?

five-stars

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Review: Hard Sell by Lauren Layne

Posted August 31, 2018 by Rowena in Reviews | 10 Comments

Review: Hard Sell by Lauren LayneHard Sell
by Lauren Layne
Series: 21 Wall Street Series #2
Published by Amazon, Montlake Romance on September 4, 2018
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Point of View:Alternating First Person
Pages: 252
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Add It: Goodreads
four-half-stars

Brilliantly hot Matt Cannon doesn't mind his "boy wonder" nickname. At twenty-eight, he may be the youngest--and richest--broker at his firm, but the constant string of women in his bed know he's all man. When Matt's boss insists he clean up his image to land a potential investor, Matt knows just the woman to pose as his girlfriend.

Sabrina Cross is Wall Street's go-to "fixer"--a chameleon of a woman who can be anything, to any man, for any reason, with just one rule: no touching. Matt and Sabrina have always been like oil and water, but their new arrangement lights a match to the animosity and leads to something altogether hotter.

Lauren Layne is at the top of my favorite author’s list. I will read whatever she puts out because I’m that big a fan of hers and lately, she’s been knocking shit out of the park. It’s no different with Hard Sell. Matt and Sabrina’s romance was just as awesome as I hoped and I completely adored the both of them.

So, Hard Sell is the second book in the 21 Wall Streets series and it was another rollicking good time. I enjoyed Ian and Lara’s story in Hot Asset but the bickering and angsty love of Matt and Sabrina really worked for me. I thought Lauren Layne did the fake relationship turned real relationship thing between Matt and Sabrina really well and everything just worked for me.

When we first meet Matt and Sabrina, you just know that there’s a history between the two. They bicker constantly and are always having to be separated because of their bickering. They belong to the same circle of friends and while they don’t seem to like each other, they tolerate each other for the sake of their shared loved one, Ian Bradley.

Matt works with Ian and Sabrina is a fixer who is Ian’s oldest friend. When Matt needs a fake girlfriend to fix his image for a potential investor, who better to fix this problem for him than Sabrina? She fixes problems and he has a problem that not just anyone could help him with so even though he doesn’t get along with Sabrina, he does trust her. He also desperately needs her.

They both knew that the situation was a weird one and that it wasn’t going to be easy. They barely get along and having to pretend to love each other is going to take a lot out of them and I laughed and laughed because Lauren Layne’s humor game in this one is strong.

“How’s the Sabrina thing been going?”

“I’m exhausted.”

“It’s only been two days.”

I enjoyed the way that they both understood how they felt about each other and I enjoyed seeing them work through their seperate issues to come out on top. They were a great couple with amazing chemistry and I thought Layne did a fantastic job of telling their story.

Matt Cannon is my book boyfriend for this week because he was flat out the bomb. I loved his cocky attitude, his witty personality and I really adored the way that he came to love Sabrina. The passion was always there for them but everything else was new to him and seeing him come to realize that was so good. I loved seeing him get so jealous and then going after what he really wanted. A jealous Matt Cannon is super sexy.

I’ve been thinking the hardest part of this whole thing will be faking being in love when I don’t even believe in love. Now I know better. The hardest thing is going to be keeping my hands off the only woman I’ve ever wanted.

Here’s my Matt Cannon.

Overall, it’s another winner for me. I enjoyed the characters, the romance, everything and even though there were times when I wanted to junk punch both Matt and Sabrina, in the end, I just flat out loved them. I cannot freaking wait for Kennedy and Kate’s story.

Final Grade

4.5 out of 5

Buy the Book

Hard Sell by Lauren Layne
September 4, 2018
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

21 Wall Street Series

four-half-stars

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Review: I Think I Love You by Lauren Layne

Posted July 13, 2018 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

Review: I Think I Love You by Lauren LayneI Think I Love You
by Lauren Layne
Series: Oxford #5
Also in this series: Irresistibly Yours, I Wish You Were Mine
Published by Random House, Loveswept on July 10, 2018
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Point of View:Alternating Third Person
Pages: 200
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Add It: Goodreads
four-half-stars

A game of seduction between two best friends goes deliciously wrong in an irresistible Oxford Novel that brims with wit and sexual tension. Library Journal hails Layne’s work as exemplary contemporary romance.”

Brit Robbins knows that dating in New York City is hard—she just hoped to have it mastered by age thirty. But after yet another promising suitor says they have no sparks, Brit decides it’s time to torch her dating game and try a new plan. And who better to coach Brit through the art of seduction than the guy who first gave her the “let’s be friends” card?

Hunter Cross has always figured there’s nothing his best friend Brit can do to surprise him. But Brit’s request is a surprise he doesn’t see coming—and one he’s definitely not prepared for. Hunter and Brit have always been careful to keep things perfectly platonic, but the fake dates and faux flirting are starting to feel like the real deal. And soon Hunter realizes he has taught Brit too well. Not only has she become an expert at seduction, the man becoming thoroughly seduced is him.

I Think I Love You is the final book in Lauren Layne’s Oxford series and on one hand, I’m super sad about that but on the other, another Oxford book! Lauren Layne strikes again with a sweet contemporary romance that I couldn’t put down.

So this story follows Hunter Cross and Britt Robbins as they take their best friendship into forever love land. Britt has just been dumped again and she starts to wonder why every man on the planet seems content to keep her in the friend zone. Her friends are starting to pair off with their love matches and she’s feeling a little alone and wants to find her own person to settle down with. Or, she wants to make guys stop seeing her as their bestie and start seeing her as the girl they’d like to bang. Who better to help her learn the ways of lovin’ than her best friend, Hunter.

Only Hunter doesn’t want any part of helping Britt learn how to seduce random men, especially since he’s starting to see her as more than friend. Seeing these two fumble their way from best friends to more than friends was fun and it was funny and I completely adored them.

Hunter Cross is my book boyfriend of the week because I adored every single thing about him. I loved seeing him fall in love with his best friend. I loved seeing him with his family. I loved the brother he was to Malik and I really loved that he was the one that fell in love with Brit first.

Sure, he was a complete bonehead in the way he dealt with those feelings and then the way that he tried to play the martyr where Brit was concerned at the end made me want to kick him in the nuts but holy cow, the way that these two came together made me so happy that I forgave Hunter for being dumb. I believed in him and his feelings for Britt and I knew that he loved her with all of his heart and that hit me right in the feels.

Thanks to Lauren Layne’s awesome Pinterest boards, I didn’t have any trouble picturing Hunter in my head because this was her inspiration behind his character and holy cow, he’s perfect for Hunter. Super duper perfect.

If you’re a fan of the Oxford and Sex, Love and Stilettos series then you should read this one because you’ll get a lot of those folks in this book and the story itself is a good one. Lauren Layne knows how to write the heck out of a romance and this one isn’t to be missed.

Final Grade

4.5 out of 5

Oxford Series

four-half-stars

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