Review & Giveaway: Love the One You're With by Lauren Layne

Love the One You're With (Sex, Love & Stiletto #2)  by Lauren Layne

Publication Date: December 9th 2013 by Loveswept

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble 

About the book:

As a leading columnist for Stiletto, Grace Brighton has built a career warning women about rotten, cheating liars. She just never suspected her fiancé would be one of them. After Grace takes a heart-mending hiatus, her first assignment is to go on a couple of dates with a counterpart from the men's magazine Oxford and report her impressions. Grace 1.0 may have been instantly smitten with the gorgeous correspondent, but Grace 2.0 has sworn off relationships for six months, and she's not falling for his outstanding bod and trophy-winning kisses... or is she?

Jake Malone wants to get back to the fly-by-night, who-knows-what's-next guy he used to be, and he knows exactly how to do it. Oxford is adding a travel section, and Jake—with no wife and no kids and a willingness to live anywhere, eat anything, do everything—is perfect for the job... except that his playboy reputation makes his new editor nervous. To get the gig, he must agree to a fluffy joint article with Stiletto.

But after just one date with snooty, sumptuous, sensational Grace Brighton, Jake starts taking this assignment a whole lot more seriously...

My Thoughts:

Lauren Layne has quickly become one of my favorite romance authors, and Love the One You’re With is another win.  Ms. Layne has a talent for writing a fun, flirty romance with some surprisingly deep emotions at the center.

Grace Brighton is one of the resident Stiletto magazine writers with a regular column as the “relationship expert” in the love, sex, and relationship section. She had thought she was in a stable, loving relationship and on the way towards walking down the aisle until she found out her boyfriend of the last nine years was cheating on her, for months.  Grace is humiliated after being blindsided so thoroughly and after giving out advice publically on how to spot infidelity, she feels like a fool.  To redeem her reputation at the magazine and personally, Grace has come up with a new improved version of herself: Grace 2.0.  Grace 2.0 will see men for how they really are and will not be fooled by their charm and lies.

The perfect opportunity presents itself in the form of a contest between the popular men’s magazine, Oxford.  A joint series of articles is to be written after five dates between a rep from each magazine, the winner being the most spot-on with their perception of the opposite sex. Grace needs to nail this to get her reputation and confidence back.  She has her work cut out for her because, Jake, the opposition is oh- so-sexy, confusingly sweet, and more often than not infuriating! 

Jake is a consummate bachelor and columnist at Oxford magazine.  He’s roped into participating in this contest between the magazines so he can get the gig he really wants: writing as Oxford’s travel expert.  He doesn’t expect to be so charmed by Grace, a girl full of contradictions and spunk. 

My heart went out to Grace when I first met her in the previous novel After the Kiss. It was clear to everyone but Grace that her boyfriend was a jerk, and then she found out he was cheating, crushing her hard! I wanted to crush him hard!  Grace needed a guy who appreciated her for being the loving, kind hearted girl she is.  When we meet Jake he comes off as a bit of a player, but his POV gives insight into him, showing that he had a heart underneath his womanizing ways.  Here’s an example to make you sigh:

Jake wasn’t ashamed to admit that he’d never been able to walk away from a woman whose chin was doing that pre-cry wobble. And the sight of long female lashes spiky with tears made him want to fight the whole world and make it better.*

Yes, please!

Sexy, snarky banter along with heated glances, and lingering touches amped up the sexual tension between Grace and Jake.  You know it’s not long before they have to give in leading to deliciously spicy scenes!  Yet, this romance had some angst that felt like a punch to the gut, and I really wanted to smack Jake around a few times!  Fortunately, nothing is drawn out to the point of frustrating; just enough to make a happy ending feel earned and so much sweeter. 

Lauren Layne has a flair for writing romances filled chemistry and sizzle, but more than that, ones that touch your heart.  I anxiously await my next Lauren Layne fix which won’t be until March with Just One Night (Sex, Love & Stiletto #3).  

4.5 Suns

About the author: Lauren Layne writes contemporary romance for Grand Central Publishing (Forever Yours) and Random House (Loveswept).

After dabbling in an e-commerce career in Seattle and Southern California,  Lauren moved to New York City where she now writes full time.

Lauren graduated from Santa Clara University with B.S. in Political Science that she has yet to put to good use. She lives with her husband and plus-sized pomeranian in a tiny Manhattan studio.

Connect with Lauren Layne:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

    

I want to share my love of Lauren Layne’s romances with one of our awesome readers! Winner gets their choice of an e-Copy of After the Kiss (Sex, Love & Stiletto #1) OR Love the One You’re With (Sex, Love & Stiletto #2). Giveaway to end on the release date of Love the One You’re With, December 9, 2013. Giveaway is through US Amazon or US Barnes & Noble. Simply fill out the rafflecopter for a chance to win. Thanks for visiting Waves of Fiction, and good luck!

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