Genre: Romance


Thursday, May 24, 2018

Great Secondary Characters but Unimpressive Hero: Hot Asset by Lauren Layne

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I received this book for free from Montlake Romance in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Great Secondary Characters but Unimpressive Hero: Hot Asset by Lauren LayneHot Asset by Lauren Layne
Series: 21 Wall Street #1
Published by Montlake Romance on May 22nd, 2018
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Source: Montlake Romance
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two-half-stars

A sexy agent hounds Wall Street’s hottest new wolf in an exhilarating novel from New York Times bestselling author Lauren Layne.

Ian Bradley is the definition of a Wall Street hotshot: seven-figure salary, designer suits, and a corner office. His drive off the floor is just as potent. Every woman who knows him has felt the rush. But now he’s met his match in Lara McKenzie—a woman with the power to bring Ian to his knees.

An ambitious, whip-smart daughter of FBI agents, Lara is a rising star in fighting white-collar crime. Her latest case—the investigation of Ian Bradley for insider trading—could make her career. She knows a scoundrel when she sees one. Ian fits the bill: a cocky, ridiculously handsome bad boy with a slick swagger.

She’ll do anything to prove he’s guilty. He’ll do anything to prove he’s not. But it’s only a matter of time before their fierce battle of wits gets oh so hot and personal. Now, taking down Ian has become more than business for Lara. It’s become a pleasure—and there’s more at risk than she ever dreamed.

Lauren Layne has slowly become one of those romance authors I can count on to deliver a book that will sweep me up by my feet. Her characters tend to have good chemistry, great banter and just generally good personalities. When I read the premise for Hot Asset, I was immediately intrigued but overall, the book wasn’t what I had come to expect from Lauren Layne.

It started off really rough with me wanting to DNF a chapter or two in but I persisted and slowly became more attached to the secondary characters and the general world Layne had built. I finished the book on a much stronger note than I had begun it although I am still not sure if I even really liked it??

My biggest issue with the book was Ian Bradley. Lauren Layne writes cocky love interests and that’s never been a problem for me. Ian Bradley was a problem. I hated him. I hated how obnoxious he was and I hated his woe is me attitude about everything that had ever happened to him. From the get go he is framed as “the rich successful man with a sad backstory” and tbh, I am not really gonna feel bad for the rich successful man. I hate how his backstory and his charitable work is seen as an excuse for his shitty behavior. It isn’t. He seems incredibly entitled to Lara’s (the heroine’s) time and gets upset when she is trying to stay true to her job. It was never the least bit endearing and mostly wanted to make me scream that Lara deserved better.

So am I just a masochist to have kept reading? Maybe? But also, I genuinely adored all the secondary characters and even liked Lara and her plot. I just despised Ian Bradley and didn’t understand what Lara saw in him.

Maybe this review is getting a little convoluted and now I’ve confused everyone reading it. I am sorry. I am just a terrible person. So. Hot Asset. The book I am reviewing. It follows the stories of Ian and Lara. Ian is a rich wall street type and Lara is the one investigating him for fraud. Interesting right? Potential for sparks and an angsty romance? Yup. Potential reached? NOPE. Because Ian is a piece of shit who were are supposed to feel bad for because he had a rough childhood. I am sorry. Your rough childhood doesn’t entitle you to my sympathy if you’re a jerk. WHOOPS.

I think the book is worth a read though if you are a fan of Lauren Layne and also if you have interest in the series because I can promise you, the secondary characters are absolutely worth sticking around for and I cannot wait to read their stories.

two-half-stars

2.5 Hot Espressos

What a Girl Wants with a Twist: Royals by Rachel Hawkins

Posted by on 05/11/2018 • 1 Comment

Rachel Hawkins is an auto-read author for me so I barely even glanced at the Goodreads blurb before diving into this. I just saw her tweet a bunch about it and decided I definitely needed this book in my life. Anyway, so. I dove in. Fell in love and then realized I should probably look up the Goodreads blurb. ANYWAY. SO. A book about royalty!!!! Most books about royalty feature that one character who finds themselves amongst royalty because they have fallen in love with someone who is royal except that is absolutely, 110% not the case with Daisy. Daisy’s sister has fallen in love with the Crown Prince of Scotland. This is not ideal for Daisy, not because she has royal aspirations of her own but because she…

When Will Book 7 Be Out: After the Wedding by Courtney Milan

Posted by on 04/24/2018 • 0 Comments

It is no secret that I have been in a pretty big reading slump this month. I’ve mentioned it in a post or two and if you’re a frequent visitor, you’ve probably noticed that I haven’t posted a review in a while. It isn’t that a bad book or a really good one put me in a slump, it is that I haven’t really wanted to pick up a book and just keep on reading it until I finish. When After the Wedding landed in my inbox, I messaged my pal Lisa asking if she wanted to buddy-read since we had both been waiting for this book for what felt like a millenium. We got off to a rough start but soon, I literally couldn’t stop reading and maybe jumped…

Cute but Needs Work: How the Cowboy Was Won by Lori Wilde

Posted by on 03/16/2018 • 0 Comments

When one of my mutuals pointed out How the Cowboy Was Won was an Emma retelling, I was all aboard. I adore Jane Austen novels and I especially adore retellings of them. I don’t think I’ve seen many literary Emma retellings so it’s amusing that this year, there are two on my TBR!

So. Anyway. I have a complicated relationship with this book. There are parts of it I really liked but there were a bunch of things that rubbed me the wrong way and I haven’t seen many reviews talking about some of the things that bothered me which makes me more inclined to be critical. I want issues to be talked about. SO. ANYWAY. I am going to start with the good stuff first and break this review down…

Not Linden’s Best: My Once and Future Duke by Caroline Linden

Posted by on 02/16/2018 • 0 Comments

I might have waited too long to write this review because I am really scrambling to gather those thoughts. I’ve read several books by Caroline Linden and have really enjoyed her HRs. When I heard about her upcoming release and heard there was gambling involved, I was 110% in.

Here was my main problem though, I enjoyed the romance, I loved the story, I just didn’t love the Duke of Ware. He is completely insufferable and too pig-headed for my liking. He is intense and not in a good way. I warmed up a little bit to him, but for the most part, his pushiness and self-centeredness was not endearing in the list.

But if I hated the love interest, why did I enjoy the romance? Well, Caroline…

The Royal Romance I Didn’t Know I Needed: A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole

Posted by on 02/15/2018 • 2 Comments

If you have ever read or enjoyed a romance novel, this book needed to be on your TBR yesterday. I was over the moon when I was approved to read an advanced copy and the book held up to every single one of my expectations + more.

REASONS TO READ Naledi Smith is in grad school studying to be an epidemiologist Spam emails that aren’t really spam from the assistant of the Prince of Thesolo Cocky Prince who doesn’t really know how to function outside of a castle but learns to impress a girl Some cooking experiments when said cocky prince is trying to impress Ledi Angst but like good angst Swoony romance with hate-to-love vibes. Discussion of socio-economic privilege Discussion of what it’s like to live in a non-western…

Liked But Didn’t Love: The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory

Posted by on 01/26/2018 • 2 Comments

I have no clue how I am supposed to start this review. I tried to explain to Nick how I felt about the book because we sorta buddy read it (she finished a day before I did) and it’s really hard to capture my overall reaction. There were bits that I loved but overall, The Wedding Date just didn’t make the impression I had hoped it would. It’s a total feel-good read and I want to see it on a big screen (this is the second time I am saying that about a book in the span of a month.)

I am a big romance reader but as Nick will tell you, I am really picky and want a very specific sort of vibe. I want the domestic scenes…

Complex and Feel-Good: Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann

Posted by on 01/24/2018 • 9 Comments

Let’s Talk About Love surprised me. I went in expecting good vibes and it still blew my expectations out of the water. It is NOT a perfect book, I am nitpicky and its hard for books to be perfect for me, but Let’s Talk About Love is damn well a fantastic read that is worth your time.

Do you love a feel-good romance that will sweep you off your feet? Do you love reading about friendships that have true-to-life complexity? Do you love some angst (the good kind)? Let’s Talk About Love is an ode to not just romantic love but all kinds of love, it explores the complexities of all kinds of relationships and it’s just a GOOD BOOK.

So why am I a nit picky bastard? Well because…