Review: Fun sexy read. one of my favourite romantic series
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 18, 2013
This is turning out to be one of my favourite series of all time. I was so excited to see the next instalment in the Sex,Love and Stiletto series come out that I couldn't wait to dive right in. Lauren Layne has a terrific way of writing this sort of romantic story which I love so much. She writes strong, smart characters, funny, sweet, romantics, that have you entertained all the way through.In this, the second book in the series, we follow Grace's story, who has just come back to work at Stiletto magazine after a bad breakup and has sworn off men for 6 months. So when her editor and the editor of the mens magazine Oxford, come up with this hair-brained idea of having their two most respected relationship experts go on a series of dates and turn it in to a competition to see who knows who better, this book is set up to be one heck of a funny ride. As with the first book, I immediately related to the characters and it was easy to slip right back in to their inner circle.Grace is a classy, strong and independent woman, like her friends, and she endeared me to her with her attitudes and honesty. After finding out her boyfriend of nine years was cheating on her, she saw this series of articles she was writing with Jake, as the perfect tonic to her wounded soul, a way to prove that she still is a relationship expert. However, when she meets Jake she realises that sticking to her no-man-for-6-months plan may be a lot harder than she first thought. What I loved about Grace was her ability to see that life doesn't fit into a neat plan, that life throws your curveballs and there is not one solution, one answer for how to live your life. She realised that she can be a beautiful mix of the old and the new Grace and she grabbed it with both hands once she figured this out. She has a kind and generous heart, particularly when Emma comes on the scene. I loved how that all played out. Her friendships are important to her and she knows just how to be a true friend. I loved who she became when she was with Jake. She blossomed and was a joy to watch.My first impression of Jake is a ladies man, but we get to see the real Jake by reading his point of view, and I just love seeing both points of view. It adds so much to the story and just engages me more fully in their emotional journey. Anyway, back to Jake. Well isn't he just the most swoon-worthy, sexy man in New York. A man that really knows how to make a woman feel like a woman and who has a compassionate heart underneath, a perfect combination. He thinks that this little competition his editor has suggested is going to be torture and all he wants to do is move on to more exciting journalism, traveling the world, but nothing goes to plan when he spends time with Grace. She sets his world on fire and makes him question everything he has thought that his life was missing.Once again, Lauren Layne has written fantastic banter between the characters. I love the snarky, sexy dialogue, the stolen glances and touches, and the chemistry between the two was palpable. The whole scenario regarding their little competition for the sake of the magazines, was really entertaining and I loved the funny situations they set up, the way they handled the fallout and how the relationship developed because of it.This is my go-to feel good series and I love the way Lauren Layne writes. Her characters are smart, sophisticated, funny and real. They are easy to connect with and easy to love. The chemistry between the characters makes your reader just melt. They are the perfect blend for a feel good romantic story that has feeling and emotion, steamy and swoon-worthy scenes. One of my favourite authors of 2013