{"id":24621,"date":"2019-09-17T08:18:48","date_gmt":"2019-09-17T12:18:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/?p=24621"},"modified":"2022-10-11T16:59:40","modified_gmt":"2022-10-11T16:59:40","slug":"review-love-on-lexington-ave-by-lauren-layne","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/17\/review-love-on-lexington-ave-by-lauren-layne\/","title":{"rendered":"Review \u2764\ufe0f Love on Lexington Ave by Lauren Layne"},"content":{"rendered":"<!--themify_builder_content-->\n<div id=\"themify_builder_content-24621\" data-postid=\"24621\" class=\"themify_builder_content themify_builder_content-24621 themify_builder tf_clear\">\n    \t\t\t<!-- module_row -->\n\t<div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_row themify_builder_row tb_bbbcac8 tb_first tf_w tf_clearfix\">\n\t    \t\t\t<div class=\"row_inner gutter-narrow col_align_top tb_col_count_2 tf_box tf_rel\">\n\t\t            <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col3-1 tb_49667e8 first\">\n                                                        <div class=\"tb-column-inner tf_box tf_w\">\n                        <!-- module image -->\n<div  class=\"module module-image tb_7036296 rounded drop-shadow customBorderRad_top image-center auto_fullwidth tf_mw\" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div class=\"image-wrap tf_rel tf_mw\">\n\t\t    <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/love-on-lexington-ave-lauren-layne.jpg?w=640\" title=\"Review \u2764\ufe0f Love on Lexington Ave by Lauren Layne\" alt=\"Review \u2764\ufe0f Love on Lexington Ave by Lauren Layne\">\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<!-- \/image-wrap -->\n    \n    \t<\/div>\n<!-- \/module image --><!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_a1982ef customBorderRad_bottom repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p style=\\\"text-align: justify;\\\"><span style=\\\"color: #ffffff;\\\">There are no good men left in New York City. At least that\u2019s Claire Hayes\u2019s conviction after finding out her late husband was not the man she thought he was. Determined to rid her home of anything that reminds her of her cheating husband, Claire sets out to redesign her boring, beige Upper East Side brownstone and make it something all her own. But what starts out as a simple renovation becomes a lot more complicated when she meets her bad-tempered contractor Scott Turner.<\/span><br \/><br \/><span style=\\\"color: #ffffff;\\\">Scott bluntly makes it known to Claire that he only took on her house for a change of pace from the corporate offices and swanky hotels he\u2019s been building lately, and he doesn\u2019t hesitate to add that he has no patience for a pampered, damaged princess with a penchant for pink. But when long workdays turn into even longer nights, their mutual wariness morphs into something more complicated\u2014a grudging respect, and maybe even attraction&#8230;<\/span><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->                    <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n                        <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col3-2 tb_23787e9 last\">\n                                                        <div class=\"tb-column-inner tf_box tf_w\">\n                        <!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_2d1ea91  repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p><img class=\\\"size-full wp-image-16466 aligncenter\\\" src=\\\"http:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/3-hearts.jpg\\\" alt=\\\"\\\" width=\\\"135\\\" height=\\\"44\\\" \/><\/p><hr \/><p><strong>Release Date:<\/strong> Sep 17, 2019<br \/><strong>Series:<\/strong>\u00a0<em>The Central Park Pact<br \/><\/em><strong>Book:\u00a0<\/strong>2<br \/><strong>Heat Level:<\/strong> Warm\/Sensual<br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong> Simon &amp; Schuster<br \/><strong>Imprint:<\/strong> Gallery Books<br \/><strong>Price:<\/strong> $11.99<\/p><hr \/><p>\u00a0<\/p><p style=\\\"text-align: justify;\\\"><em>Toned down Lauren Layne leaves me unsure of my feelings.<\/em><br \/><br \/>So I missed the first book I this series, and I\u2019ll have to remedy that because I want to know more about the characters in book one. The premise of this series is very intriguing with three woman, complete opposites of each other, becoming friends after they find out they were all the same man when said man dies.<\/p><p style=\\\"text-align: justify;\\\">This book is Claire\u2019s story, the wife of the deceased. Yes, you can gasp. I sure did. Her dead husband, Brayden was a piece of work. The story is about Claire discovering who she is now that she\u2019s not Brayden\u2019s wife. I like Claire, can relate to her plight of giving up a career, being a housewife, but her husband never made her a mother and since his passing she\u2019s been adrift. Which is exactly what happens when you live a life for someone else and pretend to enjoy all the things they do. Discovering he wasn\u2019t a good guy is one thing, but she needs something new. Cue the remodel and longing for adventure.<\/p><p style=\\\"text-align: justify;\\\">Our hero, Scott Turner is a grumpy contractor. A growly man known for building fabulous building across the world. His speciality is remodeling old houses those, and Claire\u2019s townhouse is the perfect specimen. But her idea or a remodel involves rebellion and the awful color pink. Scott can\u2019t help but see Claire\u2019s appeal and as much as he\u2019s attracted to her he is only good at most for a fun fling\u2026 thought she\u2019s determined to keep it all business between them. Even as Claire tries to get Scott to assist her in discovering how to have meaningless sex with someone.<\/p><p style=\\\"text-align: justify;\\\">The author does a fantastic job of showcasing the heroine re-inventing and rediscovering herself, though at times her introspection appears to be a broken record with plenty of scratching. These two coming together didn\u2019t have as much heat as other Layne series, like Oxford or Stiletto. There is more emotional heft, and growth for the characters. Claire\u2019s internal conflict drags, where her external conflict does remain halfway through the book. Scott, in my opinion, did not get nearly as much screen time for his own internal struggles. Though both characters realize that what they want is so different than what they thought they did.<\/p><p style=\\\"text-align: justify;\\\">What this book also has: Classic Layne\u2014Big city setting, fancy clothing and accessories, cute animals, whirlwind backstory for both characters, and fabulous banter\/internal witticisms. <\/p><p style=\\\"text-align: justify;\\\">Overall, this isn\u2019t my favorite Layne story. I liked the characters, but still haven\u2019t put my finger on what this story is missing. I will always check out the next book Layne puts out, she\u2019s almost an auto-buy for me.<\/p><p><em>~ Landra<\/em><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text --><!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_eb0616c customBorderRad repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p style=\\\"text-align: center;\\\"><strong><span class=\\\"s1\\\"><a href=\\\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2ZZeYgV\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\" rel=\\\"noopener\\\">Amazon<\/a><\/span><span class=\\\"s2\\\">\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\\\"https:\/\/books.apple.com\/us\/book\/love-on-lexington-avenue\/id1454466937?mt=11&amp;app=itunes&amp;at=11l88k\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\" rel=\\\"noopener\\\"><span class=\\\"s3\\\">iBooks<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\\\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/love-on-lexington-avenue-lauren-layne\/1130508271?ean=9781501191619#\/\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\" rel=\\\"noopener\\\"><span class=\\\"s3\\\">B&amp;N<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\\\"https:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/ebook\/love-on-lexington-avenue-1\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\" rel=\\\"noopener\\\"><span class=\\\"s3\\\">Kobo<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\\\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/books\/details\/Lauren_Layne_Love_on_Lexington_Avenue?id=4ROKDwAAQBAJ\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\" rel=\\\"noopener\\\"><span class=\\\"s3\\\">Google Play<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->                    <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n            \t    <\/div>\n\t    <!-- \/row_inner -->\n\t<\/div>\n\t<!-- \/module_row -->\n\t<\/div>\n<!--\/themify_builder_content-->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There are no good men left in New York City. At least that\u2019s Claire Hayes\u2019s conviction after finding out her late husband was not the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24622,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[103,112,48,55],"tags":[146,217],"class_list":["post-24621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gallery-books","category-landra","category-reviews","category-simon-schuster","tag-3-stars","tag-contemporary-romance"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Review \u2764\ufe0f Love on Lexington Ave by Lauren Layne - Smitten by Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2019\/09\/17\/review-love-on-lexington-ave-by-lauren-layne\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Review \u2764\ufe0f Love on Lexington Ave by Lauren Layne - Smitten by Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There are no good men left in New York City. 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At least that\u2019s Claire Hayes\u2019s conviction after finding out her late husband was not the man she thought he was. Determined to rid her home of anything that reminds her of her cheating husband, Claire sets out to redesign her boring, beige Upper East Side brownstone and make it something all her own. But what starts out as a simple renovation becomes a lot more complicated when she meets her bad-tempered contractor Scott Turner.<br \/><br \/>Scott bluntly makes it known to Claire that he only took on her house for a change of pace from the corporate offices and swanky hotels he\u2019s been building lately, and he doesn\u2019t hesitate to add that he has no patience for a pampered, damaged princess with a penchant for pink. But when long workdays turn into even longer nights, their mutual wariness morphs into something more complicated\u2014a grudging respect, and maybe even attraction...<\/p>\n<p><img class=\\\"size-full wp-image-16466 aligncenter\\\" src=\\\"http:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/3-hearts.jpg\\\" alt=\\\"\\\" width=\\\"135\\\" height=\\\"44\\\" \/><\/p><hr \/><p><strong>Release Date:<\/strong> Sep 17, 2019<br \/><strong>Series:<\/strong>\u00a0<em>The Central Park Pact<br \/><\/em><strong>Book:\u00a0<\/strong>2<br \/><strong>Heat Level:<\/strong> Warm\/Sensual<br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong> Simon &amp; Schuster<br \/><strong>Imprint:<\/strong> Gallery Books<br \/><strong>Price:<\/strong> $11.99<\/p><hr \/><p>\u00a0<\/p><p style=\\\"text-align: justify;\\\"><em>Toned down Lauren Layne leaves me unsure of my feelings.<\/em><br \/><br \/>So I missed the first book I this series, and I\u2019ll have to remedy that because I want to know more about the characters in book one. The premise of this series is very intriguing with three woman, complete opposites of each other, becoming friends after they find out they were all the same man when said man dies.<\/p><p style=\\\"text-align: justify;\\\">This book is Claire\u2019s story, the wife of the deceased. Yes, you can gasp. I sure did. Her dead husband, Brayden was a piece of work. The story is about Claire discovering who she is now that she\u2019s not Brayden\u2019s wife. I like Claire, can relate to her plight of giving up a career, being a housewife, but her husband never made her a mother and since his passing she\u2019s been adrift. Which is exactly what happens when you live a life for someone else and pretend to enjoy all the things they do. Discovering he wasn\u2019t a good guy is one thing, but she needs something new. Cue the remodel and longing for adventure.<\/p><p style=\\\"text-align: justify;\\\">Our hero, Scott Turner is a grumpy contractor. A growly man known for building fabulous building across the world. His speciality is remodeling old houses those, and Claire\u2019s townhouse is the perfect specimen. But her idea or a remodel involves rebellion and the awful color pink. Scott can\u2019t help but see Claire\u2019s appeal and as much as he\u2019s attracted to her he is only good at most for a fun fling\u2026 thought she\u2019s determined to keep it all business between them. Even as Claire tries to get Scott to assist her in discovering how to have meaningless sex with someone.<\/p><p style=\\\"text-align: justify;\\\">The author does a fantastic job of showcasing the heroine re-inventing and rediscovering herself, though at times her introspection appears to be a broken record with plenty of scratching. These two coming together didn\u2019t have as much heat as other Layne series, like Oxford or Stiletto. There is more emotional heft, and growth for the characters. Claire\u2019s internal conflict drags, where her external conflict does remain halfway through the book. Scott, in my opinion, did not get nearly as much screen time for his own internal struggles. Though both characters realize that what they want is so different than what they thought they did.<\/p><p style=\\\"text-align: justify;\\\">What this book also has: Classic Layne\u2014Big city setting, fancy clothing and accessories, cute animals, whirlwind backstory for both characters, and fabulous banter\/internal witticisms. <\/p><p style=\\\"text-align: justify;\\\">Overall, this isn\u2019t my favorite Layne story. I liked the characters, but still haven\u2019t put my finger on what this story is missing. I will always check out the next book Layne puts out, she\u2019s almost an auto-buy for me.<\/p><p><em>~ Landra<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\\\"text-align: center;\\\"><strong><a href=\\\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2ZZeYgV\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\" rel=\\\"noopener\\\">Amazon<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\\\"https:\/\/books.apple.com\/us\/book\/love-on-lexington-avenue\/id1454466937?mt=11&amp;app=itunes&amp;at=11l88k\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\" rel=\\\"noopener\\\">iBooks<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\\\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/love-on-lexington-avenue-lauren-layne\/1130508271?ean=9781501191619#\/\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\" rel=\\\"noopener\\\">B&amp;N<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\\\"https:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/ebook\/love-on-lexington-avenue-1\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\" rel=\\\"noopener\\\">Kobo<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\\\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/books\/details\/Lauren_Layne_Love_on_Lexington_Avenue?id=4ROKDwAAQBAJ\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\" rel=\\\"noopener\\\">Google Play<\/a><\/strong><\/p>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24621\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}