"For as long as she can remember, Bronx-born Naomi Powell has had one goal: to prove her worth among the Upper East Side elite—the same people for which her mom worked as a housekeeper. Now, as the strongminded, sassy CEO of one of the biggest jewelry empires in the country, Naomi finally has exactly what she wants—but it’s going to take more than just the right address to make Manhattan’s upper class stop treating her like an outsider.
The worst offender is her new neighbor, Oliver Cunningham—the grown son of the very family Naomi’s mother used to work for. Oliver used to torment Naomi when they were children, and as a ridiculously attractive adult, he’s tormenting her in entirely different ways. Now they find themselves engaged in a battle-of-wills that will either consume or destroy them…"
My Thoughts:
This was such a fun and enjoyable read for me! I don't read a ton of contemporary romances but this book has me reconsidering that. One of my absolute favorite tropes in romance is the (I'm not sure what this is exactly called but this is what I'm calling it) hate to love romance. I adore when the main characters despise each other but ultimately can't fight their attraction to one another! It's my favorite so it was a sure fire thing that I was going to enjoy this book with that kind of set up. I think one of the reasons that I enjoy this type of trope so much is that it usually means that there isn't any kind of insta-love which is my least favorite romance trope. The romance between Naomi and Oliver was a slow burn of the best kind in my opinion. Also, just to let other readers know - this is a book that I've been recommending to readers who want a romance without the steamy scenes. I just wanted to throw that out there for any other readers who are looking for that kind of romance! In this book, Naomi remembers Oliver instantly from her childhood when they meet for the first time but Oliver doesn't remember her. This leads to some humorous moments as Oliver can't figure out why Naomi seems to despise him on sight. Especially as he is as attracted to her as he is annoyed with her for the way she is treating him. The chemistry between these two was just absolute perfection so I couldn't get enough of reading it. I also really enjoyed the friendship that Naomi had between two other ladies which is the kind of setup of this trilogy. I don't want to give too many details on how they become friends, but I'm now eager to read both of their books so I can see them get their happy ever after as well. This was just a fun read for me even though there were some serious aspects to it. Oliver's father has Alzheimer's disease which plays a prominent part in this book. The disease isn't glossed over and it is something that Oliver is constantly dealing with throughout the book. I really liked the end of this book and am eager to get my hands on the next book in this trilogy.
Overall, I enjoyed my time with this book and am looking forward to reading more by this author. This is actually the second book that I've read by Lauren Layne - the other book that I read was Cuff Me which had more of a suspense vibe to it than this book did. Two very different books but both books that I enjoyed immensely. Looks like I have another author whose backlist I need to catch up on! Also, I can't believe that I haven't mentioned this before but how gorgeous is that cover? I love it! It was almost a shame that I read this book on my e-reader so couldn't experience that cover in its' full glory. Ha! I would recommend this book to fans of romance but also to readers who are starting to get on board with the new wave of romantic comedies that are becoming so popular as of late. This book was just a plain fun read at times and I think that there are many other readers who will enjoy it as well. An easy book for me to recommend!
Bottom Line: A fun and enjoyable read that has me excited for the next book!
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher. Thoughts are my own.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher. Thoughts are my own.
Great, enthusiastic review! It sounds as if you enjoyed this book a lot.
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