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.

2 in1: Hard Sell & Huge Deal by Lauren Layne

Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Date of publication: September 2018

Twenty-eight and filthy rich, Matt Cannon is the youngest broker on Wall Street. He may be a “boy wonder,” but he’s every inch a man. Ask any woman—any night. But when Matt’s latest fling makes scandalous headlines, his clients get anxious, and his bosses at Wolfe Investments level an ultimatum: keep his assets zipped, get a “real” girlfriend, and clean up his act. Only one woman can help Matt with something this hard.
For PR genius Sabrina Cross, the best fixer in Manhattan, playing Matt’s steady is going to be a challenge, even if it’s just for show. They already have an explosive history, she can’t stand the cocky party boy, and worse—she can’t stop thinking about him. So who’ll dare to break her “no touching” rule first? Because when that happens, Matt and Sabrina’s game of let’s pretend will get so hot it could set both their reputations on fire.

Hard Sell is probably my favorite out of the 21 Wall Street trilogy.  I love frenemies to lovers stories and Matt and Sabrina made for a fun story.   Of course, their animosity started with a complete misunderstanding.  Because no one ever talks about anything and they just make assumptions.  Anyway, I loved these two.  Matt's family situation was interesting to say the least and I could see how it helped shape who he was. Sabrina was a strong and fun take charge female character.  I would to have her on my side! These can be read as stand alones. so I would recommend this one the most out of the three.

Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Date of publication: February 2019

An alpha among the wolves of Wall Street, Kennedy Dawson rose to the top of the pack by striking the right contracts at the right times. But there’s one deal that’s been giving him a run for his money—a pact to never again let his assistant, Kate, get under his skin. She may be smart, gorgeous, and sharp as a whip, but she’s definitely off-limits.

Kate Henley isn’t a banker, but she knows a thing or two about risk management—specifically, about managing her attraction to her smolderingly sexy boss. She already fell once, and Kennedy showed no sign of paying a return on her investment. So when Kennedy’s brother starts pursuing her, Kate figures she has the best of both worlds. Jack is charming, rich, very attentive, and the spitting image of his older brother.

It’s also making Kennedy think twice. But to win Kate’s heart, he’ll have to broker the deal of a lifetime…and prove he’s worth the risk. 

Huge Deal was sadly the least favorite of mine out of the trilogy.  I really wanted to love this one, because this couple was hinted at since the beginning of the series.  I just ended up being OK for me.  I think where the book went wrong was the amount of time it took for Kate and Kennedy to finally hook up.  I never felt like Kennedy genuinely fell for Kate.  He only did it because the author wanted him to fall for her.  It just wasn't convincing enough for me.  I honestly liked Kate with Kennedy's brother more.  They had more chemistry from the beginning.  It's not a bad read.  It still had a cute ending.  I just wanted more chemistry.

Overall. this is a cute and fun trilogy and I definitely recommend it.  You can read my review of the first one, Hot Asset here.