Review – To Love and To Cherish by Lauren Layne

After 8 years of waiting…he’s got 1 month to make her his.

 

TO LOVE AND TO CHERISH
The Wedding Belles #3
Lauren Layne
Releasing Oct 18th, 2016
Pocket Books

 

Sex and the City meets The Wedding Planner in The Wedding Belles, a contemporary and witty romance series about three high-powered New York City women who can plan any wedding—but their own.
 
Alexis Morgan has spent the past six years devoted to turning her tiny start-up into Manhattan’s premiere wedding planning company, The Wedding Belles. Now that her business is thriving, it’s time to turn towards her much neglected personal life, and Alexis approaches her relationships like she does everything else: with a plan. Not a part of that plan is Logan Harris, the silent partner in the Belles, and the one person who’s been there for her since the very beginning. But Alexis needs someone fun, and Logan’s all business, all the time—except when a late night at the office ends with an unexpected kiss that leaves the usually cool and together Alexis reeling.
Logan has lusted after Alexis since the day he walked into the tiny Harlem apartment that used to double as her office. But the ambitious wedding planner has always been untouchable…until now. Alexis has made it clear that she’s on the dating market—and equally clear that he’s not in the running. But when Alexis finds herself in need of a date for her sister’s last minute wedding in Florida, Logan knows it’s the perfect time to show Alexis that there’s more to him than numbers and spreadsheets—and beneath the pinstripes and glasses lies a hot-blooded heartthrob. As Florida’s sultry days turn into even hotter nights, Logan’s out to convince Alexis that the fling of a lifetime could just maybe turn into forever…


BUY NOW
   Amazon | B & N | Google | iTunes | Kobo

 

BFF K’s Review of To Love and To Cherish

rating_4.5

To Love and To Cherish is the sweet and wonderful conclusion to the Wedding Belles Series by Lauren Layne and it is absolutely terrific! I’ve enjoyed every book in this series and while I was most excited for Alexis and Logan’s story, I am also sad to see the series come to an end. These are all standalone books, but the interconnected characters make for a wonderful series!

Alexis is tough, driven and determined. She has built a very successful wedding planning business through sheer will and countless hours of hard work. But, that success has come at a price. She has no big love of her own and struggles with the weight of a past relationship.

Logan is patient. I’m not even sure there’s a phrase or analogy to describe just how incredibly patient Logan has been. But, he’s forced to make a decision and make some moves where Alexis is concerned. After 8 years of waiting, he has a short amount of time to convince her what he’s always known, they are perfect for each other. Logan’s careful and tender seduction of Alexis is sweet and emotional. And, Alexis needs to figure out if and how she can move Logan from ‘Accountant’ to ‘Love of My Life.’

To Love and To Cherish is a wonderful, well-written, thoroughly enjoyable Romance. I have come to expect just this kind of story and reading experience from Lauren Layne. She always delivers emotional, and heartfelt stories that are sure to leave you content and fulfilled! If you haven’t read The Wedding Belles Series, you should start today. You won’t be disappointed.

 

romance_5

heroine_4

hero_5

sweet_5

butterflies_5

hea_5

signoff_K_sm

 

 

 

An advance copy of this book was received. Receipt of this copy did not impact the content or independence of this review.

 

Don’t Miss Any of the Wedding Belles Novels

Read BFF K’s Reviews of the entire Wedding Belles Series

From This Day Forward (Prequel Novella)

Excerpt

“Hello.”

The sexy British accented startled Alexis out of her thoughts, and she glanced up, both alarmed and intrigued to find that the face that awaited her was every bit as appealing as the voice.

The man was about her age—early, maybe midtwenties—and ridiculously cute. His hair was dark and maybe just a touch too long, as though he intended to get a haircut but kept forgetting. The eyes were brown and friendly, accented by trendy black-framed glasses.

The chunky cable-knit sweater with elbow patches—for real—bordered on dorky, but then, Alexis had always had a soft spot for dorky. He had a bit of the Clark Kent thing going on, which had always been far more her type than the overrated Superman.

“Hi,” she replied quickly, realizing that she’d been staring.

His smile grew wider as he extended a hand. “Logan Harris.”

Darn. Even the name was good.             

“Alexis,” she said.

“Does that come with a last name?” he teased, lowering himself to the vacant barstool beside her.

“Not to strange men,” she retorted.

“I could buy you a drink. Get rid of the ‘strange’ part.”

Alexis’s smile slipped as she remembered that romance, even flirting, wasn’t part of her plan. She’d learned the hard way that she could have one or the other—her own business or a boyfriend—not both. And even if she wanted the latter, the latter didn’t want her back.

“No thanks; I’m fine,” she said, letting the slightest amount of chill enter her voice. The ice-princess treatment, Roxanne called it.

Logan shrugged, undeterred. “All right then. May I borrow your menu?”

She nodded, and he picked it up, perusing it for several moments and paying her no attention.

It was both a relief and also a bit of an insult, if she was being entirely honest, to be given up on so easily.

Alexis tried to turn her attention back to her laptop but watched out of the corner of her eye as he finally shut the menu, waiting patiently to catch the bartender’s eye.

“Hi there,” he said, when the bartender ambled back over. “I’d like a Stella, and a maybe bite to eat?”

Alexis didn’t miss the once-over that the bartender gave Logan before the curvy redhead leaned over the bar, displaying perky boobs as she clicked her pen and pulled a notepad out of her back pocket.

“Shoot,” the bartender said flirtatiously, looking a good deal friendlier than she had when she’d spoken to Alexis.

Not that Alexis blamed her. A cute Brit could do that to a girl.

“All right then,” Logan said. “I’d like the burger, medium, with Swiss. Fish and chips, extra tartar, and . . . how’s your chicken club?”

The bartender blinked. “It’s good. But you want all that?”

“I do. Thank you.”

“Suit yourself,” she said, scribbling Logan’s order on the pad.

“Hungry?” Alexis couldn’t resist asking after the bartender moved away.

Logan gave a sheepish smile. “I’m a recovering student. I sometimes get so wrapped up in my day that I forget to eat.”

“A recovering student. What does that mean?”

He turned slightly toward her. “Someone’s showing plenty of interest in a strange man.”

She bit her lip. “I’m sorry if I was rude before. I’m just not really in the market for . . . you know.”

He gave her an easy smile. “Everyone’s in the market for a friend, Alexis.”

She opened her mouth and then shut it as she realized he was right. She could use a friend. She’d spent her entire life in Boston and knew almost nobody in New York. This guy seemed nice and nonthreatening enough—what would be the harm in a little conversation over dinner? It had been too long since she’d had somebody to share a meal with.

Logan seemed to know the moment she capitulated, because he turned more fully toward her. “A recovering student, Alexis, is a recent graduate. One who hasn’t quite absorbed that there will be no more finals, no more requisite all-nighters, and no more dorm sex.”

Alexis laughed. “Undergrad, then?”

He gave her a wry look. “How young do I look, darling? MBA from Columbia. Just finished up end of last year.”

She felt a little stab of relief that he wasn’t twenty-two.

He leaned toward her slightly. “Twenty-five next month, just in case you were wondering. As a friend.”

She tried to hide her smile and failed. “Columbia, huh? You’re a long way from home.”

“Noticed that, did ya?” He winked. “I came out here for undergrad, also Columbia. Always figured I’d go back to London and maybe someday I will, but . . .” He shrugged. “Seems I have stuff to do here first.”

“Such as?” She took a sip of her wine, dismayed to see that it was half-empty.

“Well, this will probably shock you, given my vast amount of brawn, but I’m an accountant. Or at least I will be, once I get my business up and running.”

Alexis was impressed. “Your own business?”

Most twentysomethings, even those with an entrepreneurial bent, opted to get a few years of work under their belts for someone else before branching out on their own.

He nodded. “I’m working out of my flat for now, but I’m hoping to lease some office space soon, get some legitimacy. If nothing else to get my father off my back.”

“He’s not a fan of your plan?” Alexis asked.

Logan’s shoulder lifted, and for the first time he seemed a little sad. “Both parents have had it in their head that I’d come home. Run the family business in London.”

“Which is . . . ?”

He spun his beer glass idly. “Financial consulting firm. My father’s the CEO, Mum’s the COO.”

“Wow, that’s . . .”

“Scary?” Logan supplied.

“I was going to say impressive. That they work together—without killing each other, I mean.”

“They’re in love. It’s atrocious,” he said with a wink. “What about your folks?”

Alexis laughed. “Not in love. They divorced when I was in high school. Dad’s remarried and happy now, I think. Mom not so much.”

“And you?” he said. “Are you happy, Alexis?”

She pursed her lips, surprised and yet not entirely unsettled by the personal question. “It’s been a while since anyone asked me that. Since I even thought about it, really.”

“Think it out. I’ll wait,” he said with a wink.

She didn’t have to think that long. “I’m almost happy.”

“You sound quite confident on that.”

She shrugged. “Let’s just say that I need a few things to fall into place in my professional life, but once that happens . . . yeah. I’ll be happy.”

She’d make sure of it.

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author

Lauren Layne is the USA Today bestselling author of more than a dozen romantic comedies. She lives in New York City with her husband (who was her high school sweetheart–cute, right?!) and plus-sized Pomeranian.

In 2011, she ditched her corporate career in Seattle to pursue a full-time writing career in Manhattan, and never looked back.

In her ideal world, every stiletto-wearing, Kate Spade wielding woman would carry a Kindle stocked with Lauren Layne books.

For a list of all her works, please be sure to check out her official website!

 

 

 

 

 

Review – For Better or Worse by Lauren Layne

Will a budding wedding planner and her bad boy neighbor 
stop banging heads and start hearing wedding bells?
FOR BETTER OR WORSE
The Wedding Belles #2
Lauren Layne
Releasing Aug 30th, 2016
Pocket Books

 

Will a budding wedding planner and her bad boy neighbor stop banging heads and start hearing wedding bells in the sexy second novel in USA TODAY bestselling author Lauren Layne’s irresistible new series that marries Sex and the City with The Wedding Planner?

When small-town girl Heather Fowler finally gets promoted from assistant to actual wedding planner, she’s determined to make it as one of Manhattan’s elite Wedding Belles. Unfortunately, her first client demands an opulent black-tie affair at the Plaza…in five months’ time. Heather’s days quickly become a flurry of cake tastings, dress-fittings, RSVP cards, and bridal tantrums. But what she’s really losing sleep over is the live music blaring from her playboy neighbor’s apartment all night.

Five years ago, Josh Tanner was an up-and-comer on Wall Street, complete with the penthouse and the migraines. But a grim cancer diagnosis made him realize there is more to life than the corner office. If only he could convince his pretty, workaholic neighbor to let loose, too. As Heather lets down her guard, Josh is surprised when he starts falling for the sweet, vulnerable woman hiding beneath those power suits. Soon, it’s Heather’s turn to convince Josh to take the biggest risk of all: love.


BUY NOW
   Amazon | B & N | Google iTunes | Kobo

BFF K’s Review of For Better or Worse

rating_4_80

A swoony, romance-filled, love story about a wedding planner and a cancer survivor? Sign me up! This book is everything you hope for when you pick up a romance novel by one of your favorite authors!

Josh is living a life that embraces the here and now. There’s a beautiful woman every day, a different beautiful woman. He’s embracing music and doing what he loves every day. But when he meets his feisty, sassy and sexy next door neighbor, he begins to wonder if he should hope for more. Heather is a successful wedding planner with everything she’s ever dreamed of within her reach. She’s determined not to let her sexy and carefree, playboy neighbor derail any of her plans or goals.

Josh and Heather are so fantastic! Their witty banter and snappy dialogue will keep the pages turning at a brisk pace even while the steamy scenes threaten to fog-up your Kindle! The premise is fun and unique and the characters and story are clean, concise and so well-written. It’s a quick read that’s thoroughly delightful from beginning to end! If you’re a sucker for a sweet romance with great characters and a fantastic HEA, this is a definite one-click!

cd_4

steamy_4

romance_4

heroine_4

hero_4

tears_3

hea_5

butterflies_4

sweet_4

signoff_K_sm

 

 

 

An advance copy was received in exchange for an honest review.

 

Don’t Miss Any of the Wedding Belles Novels

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author

Lauren Layne is the USA Today bestselling author of more than a dozen romantic comedies. She lives in New York City with her husband (who was her high school sweetheart–cute, right?!) and plus-sized Pomeranian.

In 2011, she ditched her corporate career in Seattle to pursue a full-time writing career in Manhattan, and never looked back.

In her ideal world, every stiletto-wearing, Kate Spade wielding woman would carry a Kindle stocked with Lauren Layne books.

For a list of all her works, please be sure to check out her official website!

 

 

 

 

 

Review – To Have and To Hold by Lauren Layne

Sex and the City meets The Wedding Planner in The Wedding Belles!

 

TO HAVE AND TO HOLD
The Wedding Belles #1
Lauren Layne
Releasing July 26th, 2016
Pocket Books

 

Sex and the City meets The Wedding Planner in The Wedding Belles, her sizzling brand new
contemporary romance series about three ambitious wedding planners who can make any bride’s dream come true…but their own.

Discovering her fiancé is an international conman just moments before they exchange vows devastates celebrity wedding planner Brooke Burke’s business—and breaks her heart. Now a
pariah in Los Angeles, she seeks a fresh start in New York City and thinks she’s found it with her first bridal client, a sweet, if slightly spoiled, hotel heiress. Then she meets the uptight businessman who’s holding the purse springs.

 

Seth Tyler wishes he could write a blank check and be done with his sister’s fancy-pants wedding. Unfortunately, micromanaging the event is his only chance at proving Maya’s fiancé is a liar. Standing directly in his way is the stunning blonde wedding planner whose practiced smiles and sassy comebacks both irritate and arouse him. He needs Brooke’s help. But can he persuade a wedding planner on a comeback mission to unplan a wedding? And more importantly, how will he convince her that the wedding she should be planning…is theirs?

BUY NOW

 

BFF K’s Review of To Have and To Hold

rating_4.5

What a wonderful book! To Have and to Hold is an emotional, sweet, steamy read. The character development is fantastic and the multiple story lines, with similar themes, blend so well and deliver a really satisfying conclusion.

Seth Tyler is having to be involved in his little sister’s wedding planning. He loathes the planning and his sister’s fiance. But, the wedding planner stirs some other strong emotions in the sometimes-stodgy businessman. Brooke is beautiful, but Seth knows there is so much more to her than meets the eye. If they could only get out of each others’ way long enough to allow love to take hold!

There is some wonderful tension that exists in this back and forth dance between Seth and Brooke. There are a few steamy scenes and lots of love and butterflies! Lauren Layne delivers consistently reliable and enjoyable love stories and she’s quickly become one of my go-to-favorites! You can’t go wrong with To Have and To Hold! This book delivers everything promised in the synopsis and so much more! I’m already looking forward to the next book in this series.

cd_4

steamy_4

tension_4

romance_4

sweet_5

butterflies_5

supptchar_4

signoff_K_sm

 

 

 

An Advance Copy was received in exchange for an honest review.

 

Excerpt

Hold on. Back up. Back all the way up. What do you mean you’re getting married?”

It was eleven p.m. on a Wednesday, and Seth Tyler was exactly where he always was these days: behind his expansive mahogany desk at the Tyler Hotel Group, suit jacket slung over the back of his ergonomic chair, tie begging to be undone, impeccably pressed white shirt cuffed at the wrists.

He raked a hand through his thick light brown hair in frustration and fixed his younger sister with his best no-nonsense glare, an approximation—like everything else he seemed to do lately—of his deceased father.

When Seth’s father dropped dead of a heart attack eight months ago, Seth had thought the hardest part about his father’s passing—other than the mourning, of course—would be taking over the family company.

Sure, Seth had been groomed for the role. He’d wanted the president and CEO title. He’d always wanted it.

Eventually.

But not yet, for God’s sake.

Seth had no problem admitting that he was a perfectionist, and he’d been bound and determined to take over the family company his way. The right way.

And the right way, as Seth had determined it, was spending at least a year shadowing each of the senior-level Tyler Hotel Group executives. Seth had wanted to learn every possible detail, every in and out of the business, before even thinking about taking over the reins of the Fortune 500 company.

But his father’s heart had had other plans. Mainly, up and quitting during a routine round of golf. And so, quietly, per his father’s wishes, Seth had become CEO two years ahead of schedule.

Not a day passed that Seth didn’t wish his father was still with him, but in truth, taking his place at the head of the boardroom table had been easier than Seth had anticipated. The investors hadn’t freaked out. The executive team hadn’t left in mass exodus. Even Hank’s longtime assistant, Etta, had stuck around, seemingly content to call Seth boss even as she busted his balls about not eating enough vegetables, getting enough sleep, or getting his hair cut.

But if taking over the family company was easier than Seth had expected, there was one ramification of Hank Tyler’s death that Seth hadn’t been in the least prepared for:

A wedding.

Maya Tyler inhaled a long, patient breath, as though preparing to deal with a difficult child. “Well see, marriage, Seth, is when two people fall in love and decide to spend the rest of their lives—”

“Yes, I’m aware of how marriage works,” Seth interrupted. Although, not as aware as well as he’d like, as it turned out. He wouldn’t be getting any firsthand knowledge of how marriage worked any time soon.

Maya bit her lip. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to remind you of Nadia.”

Seth glanced down at his desk to avoid his sister’s too-perceptive gaze. She wasn’t wrong. He’d gotten to the point where he could go most days without thinking of his ex, but he hadn’t yet figured out how to think about marriage without hearing the incredulous laugh she’d let out when he’d gone on one knee and showed her the ring he’d spent months picking out.

“Can we not?” he said curtly.

“Don’t get pissed. It’s a wedding. You’re supposed to be happy.”

“I’m not pissed; I’m just surprised.”

That was an understatement. Seth had not seen this coming, and for a man who exercised precision in all things, he couldn’t say he was enjoying the shock value of Maya’s announcement. Especially not on the heels of his father’s death. A death that everyone but Seth had seen coming, because Seth had been the lone outsider on the knowledge that was his father’s longtime heart condition.

Apparently, Hank had considered his only son a control freak—had known that Seth would have stopped at nothing to try to halt death in its tracks.

His father had been, well, right. It was hard to admit, but if Seth had known about his father’s condition, he’d have devoted every waking hour to researching experimental treatment and the best doctors.

Hank Tyler hadn’t wanted that for his final months. Not for himself or for Seth.

Still, Seth resented not having the choice. Resented his father nearly as much as he missed him.

But he’d put that behind him. Mostly.

Hank was gone, and Maya was still here. Maya was all he had.

He had known she was dating a new guy—Neil something or other. But Seth hadn’t thought a thing about it. Maya had whipped through a constant string of casual boyfriends since high school, and other than a two-year relationship in college, they had never been serious.

And it certainly hadn’t gotten close to marriage.

What’s worse, Seth hadn’t even met this man that was apparently to be his brother-in-law.

But none of this would have mattered, not really, if Seth’s instincts hadn’t been buzzing that something was amiss with the way this was all going down. Something was off. He knew it down to his gut.

“How long have you been seeing this guy?” he asked.

Maya slumped back in the plush chair facing Seth’s desk with a groan. “Don’t do this. I knew you were going to do this.”

He frowned. “Do what?”

“The big brother thing,” she said.

“Hard not to, what with me being six years older and all,” Seth said.

He didn’t add that he was doubly obligated to be protective given Hank’s death just months earlier. Maya had definitely been Daddy’s Little Princess. She still got tears in her eyes every time their father’s name was mentioned.

Maya leaned forward, her pale blue eyes much like his own, although her blond hair was lighter than his, thanks to her frequent trips to the salon.

“I love him, Seth. I know you’re jaded these days, but Neil is exactly the type of guy we women spend our entire lives dreaming about.”

Seth bit his tongue to stop from saying that he bet Maya was exactly the type of girl that guys like Neil dreamed about, too. Young, pretty . . . and filthy rich.

Or so Neil likely thought.

 

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

About the Author

 

Lauren lives in New York City with her husband (who was her high school sweetheart–cute, right?!) and plus-sized Pomeranian.

Five years ago, she ditched her corporate career in Seattle to pursue a full-time writing career in Manhattan.

She writes smart romantic comedies with just enough sexy-times to make your mother blush, and in her ideal world, every stiletto-wearing, Kate Spade wielding woman would carry a Kindle stocked with Lauren Layne books.

When not bringing The Sexy, she likes to blog about her Instagram addiction, and why mean girls are the worst.

 

Review – From This Day Forward by Lauren Layne

Enter to Win a Print ARC of TO HAVE AND TO HOLD

 

FROM THIS DAY FORWARD
The Wedding Belles #0.5
Lauren Layne
Released June 6th, 2016
Pocket Star

 


Sex and the City meets The Wedding Planner in this prequel to USA TODAY bestselling author Lauren Layne’s The Wedding Belles series about three high-powered New York City women who can plan any wedding—but their own.

Up-and-coming wedding photographer Leah McHale’s career is on the rise–thanks in no small part to the Wedding Belles, the elite New York wedding planning agency that always throws top-tier business Leah’s way. So when one of the Belles asks Leah to fill in at the former First Daughter’s wedding, Leah is overjoyed to say yes–until she finds out who she’ll be working with.

Jason Rhodes is the one man who was able to capture Leah’s heart and, once he had it, promptly stepped all over it and left her broken. Now he’s working side-by-side with her at the biggest wedding of the season and Leah is determined to give him the cold shoulder. Despite his persistence, she is not going to fall for his charming, impish ways again. Not even if he still has that killer, irresistible smile…

 
BUY NOW
Amazon | B&N | Google | iTunes | Kobo

BFF K’s Review of From This Day Forward

rating_4_80

Lauren Layne has come upon an idea that absolutely hits upon one of my favorite storylines….the wedding planner! From This Day Forward is a novella prequel that gives us a brief intro to the successful ladies of the Wedding Belles. These successful, no-nonsense women create incredible events to stun celebrities and commoners alike.

From This Day Forward gives us a glimpse into their world through the eyes of two of their most trusted business partners. Leah and Jason are wedding photographers and incredibly good at what they do. They’re also former lovers, with unresolved feelings and a common assignment to photograph the wedding of the year. It’s a wild ride to discover if they can they make it through without ripping each other apart or ripping each others’ clothes off!

As is common with novellas, it didn’t always feel like there was enough time given to the characters or their story. I found myself wanting more. I wish there had been more time for the storylines and the characters. But, I guess it’s a good thing to finish a book and still be wanting more. The good news is this novella is just a small taste of whats to come. I’m intrigued by the world and the characters that are being created and I’m certainly ready for the first full-length story in the Wedding Belles series…..Coming soon!

steamy_4

romance_4

sweet_4

signoff_K_sm

 

 

 

An advance copy was received in exchange for an honest review.

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author

 

Lauren Layne is the USA Today bestselling author of more than a dozen romantic comedies. She lives in New York City with her husband (who was her high school sweetheart–cute, right?!) and plus-sized Pomeranian.

In 2011, she ditched her corporate career in Seattle to pursue a full-time writing career in Manhattan, and never looked back.

In her ideal world, every stiletto-wearing, Kate Spade wielding woman would carry a Kindle stocked with Lauren Layne books.

For a list of all her works, please be sure to check out her official website!