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Thursday, March 5, 2020

Review: Passion on Park Avenue by Lauren Layne

Author: Lauren Layne
Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication Date: May 2019

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 strong minded, 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…

Filled with charm and heart and plenty of sex and snark, this entertaining series will hook you from the very first page.


I finished Passion on Park Avenue about a week ago and I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about it.  One one hand, I liked the overall story and on the other, I rolled my eyes through a lot of it.
The premise is that three women meet at a funeral.  Two of them were having an affair with the deceased not knowing that they were dating a married man.  The three women (one of whom was the deceased's wife) decide to become friends.  This is Naomi's story.  

What I liked most about the story was Oliver.  I loved his transformation from bratty kid to a man who stepped up and took responsibility for his actions.  As well as finding it in his heart to care for his ailing father.  I know that had to be hard since the man was not a great father when Oliver was younger.  I had a harder time connecting with Naomi.  I thought her placing any blame on Oliver for what happened when they were 10 years old was a bit of a stretch.  Um, that was all on her mother and the guy she was sleeping with.   I did like the growth that Naomi showed over the book in her journey to forgiveness.  

What I didn't love was the length of time it took Naomi to tell Oliver who she really was and her motivation for living in the building.  I'm not a fan of secrets being kept for that long.  I also wasn't a fan of the almost fade to black love scenes.  this is kind of a slow burn love story and I wanted more of a pay-off in the end.  Would I recommend it?  Sure it's not a bad romance.  I just didn't love it as much as I would have liked.  I will probably read the next book in the series.


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