Just a head's up: today is a 'two book tours for the price of one' kind of day, so if you haven't yet, please check out Harper Kincaid's Rule Breaker as well!
I'm a fan of Lauren Layne's. There, I've said it. I've been honest. She's got multiple series on the go and I cannot resist checking out each new book with her name on it. The Trouble with Love returns readers to the world of Stiletto magazine in Layne's Sex, Love & Stiletto series. This is the book that we've been waiting for - finally we find out about Emma and Alex! I've got some great information about the book and author, an awesome excerpt, and a giveaway for you!
For other stops on the tour, check out Tasty Book Tours.
The Book
As Lauren Layne’s salacious Sex, Love
& Stiletto series returns, a jaded columnist discovers a steamy way to get
over an old flame: falling for him all over again.
As
Stiletto magazine’s authority on all things breakup-and-heartache, Emma
Sinclair writes from personal experience. Five years ago, Emma was Charlotte,
North Carolina’s darling debutante and a blushing bride-to-be. Now she’s the
ice queen of the Manhattan dating scene. Emma left her sultry Southern drawl
behind, but not even her closest friends know that with it she left her heart.
Now Emma’s latest article forces her to face her demons—namely, the devilishly
sexy guy who ditched her at the altar.
After
giving up everything for a pro-soccer career, Alex Cassidy watches his dreams
crumble as a knee injury sidelines him for good. Now he’s hanging up his cleats
and giving journalism a shot. It’s just a coincidence that he happens to pick a
job in the same field, and the same city, as his former fiancée . . . right?
But when Emma moves in next door, it’s no accident. It’s research. And Alex
can’t help wondering what might have been. Unlike the innocent girl he
remembers, this Emma is chic, sophisticated, and assertive—and she wants
absolutely nothing to do with him. The trouble is, Alex has never wanted her
more.
The Trouble with Love is available now!
Excerpt
Alex spun the conference room chair just slightly in the direction
of Stiletto’s
editor in chief.
“You’ve told them, right?” he asked.
Camille ignored him, continuing to tap out something on her iPad
with the awkward, pointer-finger taps of someone only reluctantly familiar with
touch screen technology. And touch screen was definitely new to her. Camille
Bishop had been in the business longer than he’d been alive and tended to cling
to old school methods whenever possible.
“Told them what?” Camille asked innocently. Too innocently.
He gave her a look, which she returned vacantly.
She was wearing big, oversized glasses today. Everything about
Camille seemed big. Even though she had a wiry figure, her voice was loud. Her
hair was bright. Her personality was . . . massive.
“No, I haven’t told them,” she hissed. “That’s what this meeting is
for.”
He groaned. “Come on, Camille. Not even a heads-up?”
She pursed her lips and ignored him.
Shit.
As in, shit would definitely hit the fan when Camille
dropped her little bomb on her team.
“Okay, everyone, let’s get started,” Camille said, standing and
waiting until the small talk around the table trickled off. “You’ve probably
noticed that there’s an extra dose of testosterone in the room today.”
At least two dozen pairs of eyes snapped to Alex. Half of those eyes
had been staring even before Camille had mentioned him. There were nearly
thirty people in the room, and there was only one other guy besides Alex.
And from the way the one other guy—Oliver, if he remembered
correctly—was giving him the once-over, Alex was fairly sure he was the only
man in the room who liked women.
He gave a weak smile at the group, wishing he could be somewhere
else. Anywhere else.
Up on his floor, the Oxford guys were probably discussing
last night’s game. Instead of joining them, Alex was surrounded by presentation
boards covered in everything from lingerie to perfume ads.
He liked to think of himself as a relatively modern man. A little
gruff and stoic at times, sure.
But he didn’t grunt and drag women around by their hair, or brand
them, or scream at them to make him homemade biscuits every morning. And he
liked his nice suits and cologne and high-thread-count sheets. He was evolved.
But Stiletto was too much woman. It
was like girly stuff on steroids. It made even the most modern man long for
beer and onion rings.
“As most of you know, Alex Cassidy is the editor in chief for Oxford,
our sometimes rival, sometimes partner. He’s the man version of me, so to
speak.”
God
help him.
“Anyway, he’s here because I have an important announcement to
make.”
Camille paused dramatically, clearly waiting for someone to beg her
for more info. She frowned when everyone merely stared at her, half-bored,
half-expectantly.
Alex hid a smile. Clearly the Stiletto editor in chief
had cried wolf one too many times. Her team didn’t expect this news to be
earth-shattering.
And he supposed it wasn’t. Not really. But it might be to one person
in the room.
A person he still refused to look at.
Camille finally snapped when the silence stretched on ten seconds
past awkward. “I’m going on a sabbatical,” she said.
“A what now?” Riley asked.
“A sabbatical,” a snooty-looking blond woman on Alex’s right
explained. “It’s when—”
“I know what a sabbatical is, Kandice,” said Riley. “I just didn’t
realize Stiletto
offered them. How do I get one? Because there’s this sex camp—”
Camille held up a hand. “No sabbaticals for you. You want one, wait
until you’re editor in chief.”
“Why would I want to be editor in chief?” Riley asked.
“Exactly,” Camille said, looking pleased at the lead-in. “It’s a
thankless, tiresome job, and one I didn’t want to wish on any of you while I’m
gone for three months.”
“Three months?” Julie asked. “We’re
leaderless for three months?”
“Not quite,” Camille said. “You need someone to steer the ship, of
course. So . . .”
She made a dramatic flourishing gesture in Alex’s direction.
He waited patiently for everything to register with the Stiletto
crew.
“No. A boy?!” Riley said, scandalized.
My Review
Normally I'm not a fan of second chance at love stories. There's so much emotional pain involved, often someone (or both) have been truly hurt and I kind of shy away from that in romance novels. However, Emma and Alex have intrigued me from the start of the Sex, Love and Stiletto series.
Now, an organizational error on my part led to me having two reviews to post up today, and I have to confess that I hadn't read The Trouble with Love yet. I put together the template for the review and had it up at about 11 pm last night, and thought, well, that's it then. Because I'm a sleep-deprived mother of two and there's no way I could pull an all-nighter getting the book read, and a review written.
And then I thought I'd just read a few pages to get a sense of the book.
And now it's 1 am and I'm writing this review because not only could I not put the book, but I laughed and I *cried.*
So many tears.
This book brought Alex and Emma together in such a perfect way. They have this incredibly painful past that neither has really moved forward from, and trying to negotiate through those memories.... Wow.
Just wow.
This isn't my most clever or well-written review, but when I read the last words of the book, I knew I had to write it. Because I loved this book. Loved it. And I wanted to go on the record, as it were, about it. Read this one. Read the rest of the series too, because the anticipation of finding out what the heck is going on with these two heightens the experience. But definitely read this one.
Now, an organizational error on my part led to me having two reviews to post up today, and I have to confess that I hadn't read The Trouble with Love yet. I put together the template for the review and had it up at about 11 pm last night, and thought, well, that's it then. Because I'm a sleep-deprived mother of two and there's no way I could pull an all-nighter getting the book read, and a review written.
And then I thought I'd just read a few pages to get a sense of the book.
And now it's 1 am and I'm writing this review because not only could I not put the book, but I laughed and I *cried.*
So many tears.
This book brought Alex and Emma together in such a perfect way. They have this incredibly painful past that neither has really moved forward from, and trying to negotiate through those memories.... Wow.
Just wow.
This isn't my most clever or well-written review, but when I read the last words of the book, I knew I had to write it. Because I loved this book. Loved it. And I wanted to go on the record, as it were, about it. Read this one. Read the rest of the series too, because the anticipation of finding out what the heck is going on with these two heightens the experience. But definitely read this one.
The Bottom Line:
The Trouble with Love is a beautiful story about two people who can't move forward until they've revisited the past. It's got humour and heart, good friends, sweet moments and painful ones. It's a fantastic contemporary romance that I absolutely recommend!
5 stars
For fans of contemporary romance, second chance love stories
About the Author
Lauren Layne is a
snarky cynic with a serious weakness for happily ever afters.
Marrying her high
school sweetheart was a good start. *cue Disney soundtrack.* But Lauren wanted
all romance, all the time.
Now she writes
fictional happy endings, and considers her job done well if you swoon while
reading her books. Don't worry. You will.
Once upon a time
she lived in a Manhattan high-rise, but now she's on the laid-back train in the
Seattle area. If you ever find yourself in Issaquah, she'll probably buy you a
drink. Maybe.
Find her on the web:
Giveaway
Loveswept is hosting a Tour Wide Giveaway for a $25 eGift Card of Winner's Choice Bookseller, Loveswept Mug and Romance at Random Nail Polish
Yes! SO many feels!
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