REVIEW: I Wish You Were Mine by Lauren Layne

In I Wish You Were Mine (Oxford #2) by Lauren Layne, Mollie Carrington knew that falling in love with her sister’s husband, Jackson, was wrong. Still, she fell hard for him anyway, and now that Jackson is single, Mollie wants him more than ever. Except, he’s just as much off-limits now as he was when he was married. Yet, when Jackson makes her an offer she can’t refuse, and she finds herself in close quarters with him, Mollie finds her loyalty to her sister wavering.

”Okay, I give up,” Mollie said with a little shrug. “What is it that I neglected to tell you?”
His gaze flicked over her just briefly. “You look…different.”
Mollie burst out laughing. “Jackson, no offense, but that’s the most constipated non-compliment I’ve ever heard.”

After the car accident that ended his gridiron career, then subsequently, his wife filing for divorce and ruining his reputation, Jackson Burke has been doing his best, not to let his bitterness get the best of him. Certainly, avoiding his ex’s younger sister isn’t helping, especially when she’s always been there for him. But when his ex shows up looking for another chance, will he finally be able to move on with someone new? Or will he get caught in her toxic web again?

Only having recently discovered Ms. Layne’s books, and after reading the blurb to this story, my interest was immediately piqued. And I’ve got to say that this story does not disappoint due to its forbidden love trope, which gave the couple some interesting obstacles to overcome. Such as Mollie believing the lies her sister told that ruined the hero’s reputation, the fact that Jackson can’t embrace his new life away from football, and of course, the heroine’s self-absorbed sister determined to win Jackson back.

I really enjoyed the banter between Jackson and Mollie as well as Jackson and his colleagues once he began to interact with them. There were some really good light-hearted moments that kept me turning the pages. Yet, it was the intense dialogue that really captivated me. As it had me wanting to know more about this couple’s history, their back stories and why Mollie was so loyal to her sister and what Mollie’s sister would do to crush the heroine’s happiness.

She lifted her eyebrows. “You have a personal bartender back there, or…?
“I’ll have you know that I have the deluxe man card. I can 007 it up right now, baby.”
“Just swap that suit for a tux, and you could totally give Daniel Craig a run for his money in Casino Royale.”

I really liked Mollie and Jackson. In the beginning, I felt sorry for the hero because he’s having a hard time coming to terms with what he’s lost – his career, his reputation. Yet, Mollie is good for him. Helps him to see that his life can be good again, if he at least tries to embrace the life he has now; starting with making friends with his colleagues. While the heroine, she’s brave in taking a chance with Jackson, even knowing that her sister won’t be happy and the fact that Mollie feels she owes her sister, for all she sacrificed to take care of her when they were younger. In the prologue, she’s shy and awkward. Yet, she really grows a lot throughout this story. She’s smart and definitely has a lot of courage when she finally confronts her sister about the truth of her relationship with Jackson.

Scorching sex scenes light up the pages, and illustrate the intense chemistry these two had from the very beginning. They were a couple meant to be, and no manipulative sister/ex was going to keep them apart. Even if she did her best to, by manipulating Jackson and getting him what he wanted most.

Overall, I absolutely loved this story where the secondary characters charmed me almost as much as Mollie and Jackson did. The ending made me smile and had me cheering. It finally took Jackson’s ex-wife telling him the truth to make him realize what he wanted in life, even if it did make things more problematic between Mollie and her sister. I Wish You Were Mine by Lauren Layne would appeal to fans of Alice Clayton and Emma Chase.

Book Info:

 February 2nd, 2016 | Loveswept | Oxford #2

Perfect for fans of Alice Clayton and Emma Chase, Lauren Layne’s Oxford series heats up in this story of forbidden desire as a brooding jock hoping for a comeback falls for a woman who’s strictly off-limits.

A year ago, Jackson Burke was married to the love of his life and playing quarterback for the Texas Redhawks. Now he’s retired, courtesy of the car accident that ruined his career—and single, after a nasty scandal torpedoed his marriage. Just as he’s starting to get used to his new life as a health and fitness columnist for Oxford magazine, his unpredictable ex shows up on his doorstep in Manhattan. Jackson should be thrilled. But he can’t stop thinking about the one person who’s always been there for him, the one girl he could never have: her younger sister.

Mollie Carrington can’t say no to Madison. After all, her older sister practically raised her. So when Madison begs for help in winning her ex-husband back, Mollie’s just glad she got over her own crush on Jackson ages ago—or so she thought. Because as Mollie reconnects with Jackson, she quickly forgets all her reasons to stay loyal to her sister. Tempted by Jackson’s mellow drawl and cowboy good looks, Mollie is sick and tired of coming in second place. But she can’t win if she doesn’t play the game.