PASSION ON PARK AVENUE
Series: Central Park Pact #1
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Lauren Layne
Release Date: May 28, 2019
From the author of the New York Times bestselling Stiletto and Oxford series, the first in a sizzling new series following the unlikely friendship of three Upper East Side women as they struggle to achieve their dreams and find true love and happiness in the city that never sleeps.
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…
Filled with charm and heart and plenty of sex and snark, this entertaining series will hook you from the very first page.
Since the day he’d met her, she’d gotten under his skin, pissed him off, confused the hell out of him, and he was damn grateful for it. Naomi Powell had brought him back to life…
The premise to this series is absolutely; three women realize they’ve been sleeping with the same man at his funeral, not realizing he’s been married the entire time. There’s two unknowing mistresses and the wife, who form a fascinating bond when they accidentally meet each other. I loved seeing these women not at each other’s throats and being catty, but rather putting the blame squarely on the shoulders of the lying and cheating man, where it rightfully belongs. But I digress…
Passion on Park Avenue introduces us to mistress number one, Naomi. Once a girl on the wrong side of the tracks and the poor daughter of a maid that cleaned apartments on Park Avenue. Now Naomi is a strong and fiery successful business owner that can afford any apartment she wants. But then a peculiar happenstance lands her on the waiting list for an apartment in the exact building where her mother used to work and also the place that changed both of their lives forever. It also lands her in front of the boy that made her life a living hell that’s now turned into a man that she’s desperately fighting her attraction to.
Oliver is absolutely perfection. Lauren Layne has written the quintessential nice guy but with plenty of broken edges that you can’t help but fall for. Oliver is just trying to adjust to his new normal after losing his mom to cancer and now dealing with his father’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Oliver doesn’t know why the woman sitting across from him in the apartment interview for the building he lives at is looking at him with so much animosity. All he knows is that he’s inexplicably drawn to her, no matter how much she sasses him.
Admittedly, while I understood Naomi’s grudge towards Oliver, I struggled with her inability to tell him who she was. I didn’t feel that this should have been something that was dragged for the entirety of the book. I struggled truly connecting to her reasoning pst the halfway mark. I did absolutely loved their slow burn road back to each other again. Two kids that hated each other years ago, now are the perfect match as adults. I loved the slower pacing of the relationship development and the additional peeks into Oliver and who he was then and who he is now. He was honestly my favorite part of the boom. I also really loved the friendship between the women and the camaraderie that they all share.
I really enjoyed the story but I also couldn’t help but wish there was slightly a little more romance. This is most definitely a slow burn, but I didn’t feel like we get enough when they finally DO get together to satisfy my romance cravings. This missed the typical sensual sizzle that Layne’s book usually have and I couldn’t help but wish we got that here. Ultimately this was still a wonderfully entertaining read that I enjoyed from beginning to finish and I eagerly anticipate the next books in this series.
Lauren Layne is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of more than two dozen romantic comedies. Her books have sold over a million copies in nine languages. Lauren’s work has been featured in Publishers Weekly, Glamour, The Wall Street Journal, and Inside Edition. She is based in New York City.
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THE UNHONEYMOONERS
This book needs to come with a warning; do NOT read in public! Why? Because you’ll look like a slightly deranged person sitting and giggling to yourself while twitching happily. Ok. Maybe you won’t twice. But I did! Because this book gave me all of the happy tingles and I was a flailing pile of reader goo at the end. Basically, I seriously and I mean SERIOUSLY loved The Unhoneymooners.
THE RISK
Reading an Elle Kennedy book is like eating your favorite ice cream; it’s a sweet treat that feels slightly naughty and you just love every minute of it. So what can I tell you about The Risk? I loved it! It was enemies to lovers goodness that I devoured from start to finish with a goofy smily on my face the entire time!
DEAL WITH THE DEVIL
Sweet mother of ovaries, the woman did it again. Each time I think March wrote her best alpha yet, she outdoes herself with the next one. And Forge is sure to make ovaries flutter all over the world. Add into that one of the best heroines I’ve read in the longest time, and stick a fork in me. I’m on book cloud 9!
FIGHT OR FLIGHT
OH MY GOD.
PRETTY VENOM
OH MY GOD! THIS BOOK.
The story takes a delicious turn from enemies to lovers and back again in this ulcer inducing romance, and this reader couldn’t get enough of it. Heartburn and bald spots and all.
And this is where the angst really starts. Callum’s brand of punishment and cruelty truly takes a turn from painful to downright eviscerating. The man puts Renee through hell. Every move, word, and look is calculated for maximum pain. That warning is no lie, because the things he does makes you want to peel your skin off and throw it at him. But at the same time, knowing what he’s going through in his head, you get where the anger is coming from. You hate him for what he does, but you understand why he’s doing it. It’s a special sort of hell, because as much as it hurts, it’s also absolutely riveting.
Ella Fields is a mother and wife who lives in the land Down Under. While her kids are in school, you might find her talking about her characters and books to her two cats. She’s a notorious chocolate and notebook hoarder who enjoys creating hard-won happily ever afters.
WORTH THE RISK
They say you save the best for last, and that’s precisely what K. Bromberg has done with the third Malone brother. Ever since I read 
As much as I wanted to hate Grayson for his treatment of Sidney at times, I simply couldn’t. This was a man with deep emotional scars, and it’s hard to let go of a past that colored so much of your future. Sidney, for her part, at times let him believe the worst of her, until of course, she didn’t. That had to have been my favorite part; watching her finally show him who she is. Watching her change and fall hard. Luke was just as adorable as he was in the other books, I loved that little boy to pieces. It was no wonder it took him no time at all to steal Sidney’s heart.
New York Times Bestselling author K. Bromberg writes contemporary novels that contain a mixture of sweet, emotional, a whole lot of sexy, and a little bit of real. She likes to write strong heroines, and damaged heroes who we love to hate and hate to love.
BURN FOR YOU
Looking for a perfectly paced slow burn romance? Well, I’ve got your fix right here! This series is so appropriately titled, and for this slow burn lover? I gobbled it right up.
SCANDALOUS
The Sinners of Saint is my crack, and LJ Shen, my dealer. The woman writes some of the most addicting and sizzling enemies to lovers romances I’ve ever read. Trent Rexroth has always seemed like the most tame of the HotHoles, when compared to Vicious’s vicious streak and Dean’s shenanigans. If you think Trent was the nice one of the bunch, think again. You know what they say about those quiet ones, don’t you?
Enter Edie Van Der Zee. His new partner’s daughter, and eighteen year old pain in his ass. An entitled, spoiled little rich girl that bends to every single one of her daddy’s commands. Or so he thinks. But not all is at it seems with Edie. She’s drowning in her own world, barely keeping her head above water, stuck between a needy and helpless mother and a vicious, power hungry father.
If you’re looking for a sweet and emotional romance, you’ve picked up the wrong book, my friend. When I say Trent and Edie are absolutely toxic for each other, I mean it. But they also burn up the pages together. Their connection is palpable and the sexual chemistry between them, undeniable.
Scandalous was a delicious, sizzling and angst filled ride from beginning to finish. This series just can’t seem to disappoint and you’ll never find this reader complaining.
