REVIEW: Love on Lexington Avenue by Lauren Layne

Love on Lexington Avenue by Lauren Layne: Claire is in a rut. She’s realizing that she needs more in her life than just doing what is expected of her. She’s still struggling to come to terms with her husband’s unexpected death and the revelations of his cheating. The only thing keeping her going are the planned renovations on her brownstone and her newer best friends.

Scott needs a break from working on businesses. As an in-demand contractor who is always willing to travel, he has his pick of projects. New York may be his home base, but he chooses to travel more than staying close to home. The only relationship he has is that with his dog.

Scott comes highly recommended, as they have mutual friends in common. Scott agrees to a meeting with Claire about her project and is surprised by how badly he wants to work on her home. They don’t get off on the best of starts as he is blunt and gruff, while Claire is just discovering her need for color in her life.

“You’re welcome,” she said primly, reaching around him to open the front door. “Until tomorrow.”
He stepped out onto the porch, turned back. “When you say pink, you at least mean a discreet mauve, right?”
“Goodbye, Mr. Turner.”
He turned away. “Strawberry lemonade my ass.”

Initially, Claire and Scott tolerate each other as he’s pretty much always there. Over the course of the renovation, they begin to discover what they have in common and form a friendship. They have their ups and downs as they push, challenge, and provide solicited (and unsolicited) advice. As they grow closer, their inconvenient attraction also grows. Getting too involved may not be a smart move and everyone has an opinion.

He sighed. “Give it a little time. It’s been two days.”
She huffed and stood, clearly not liking his response.
“Where are you going?” He called after her.
“You’re useless. It’s time to bring in my wingwomen.”

Love on Lexington Avenue is smart, funny, and quite the journey. Lauren Layne continues to develop memorable characters with heart, heat, banter, conflict, and friendship. Ms. Layne created an entertaining story and I can’t wait for the next book. Love on Lexington Avenue can be read as a standalone, but it’s worth it to read the first book in the Central Park Pact series. Fans of Marina Adair and Kate Meader will enjoy Love on Lexington Avenue.

Book Info:

Publication: September 17th 2019 | Gallery Books | Central Park Pact #2

“Fans of The Devil Wears Prada will flip over Love on Lexington Avenue.” —Karen Hawkins, New York Times bestselling author

From New York Times bestselling author Lauren Layne comes the second delightfully charming installment in the Central Park Pact series, following a young widow whose newfound cynicism about love is challenged by a sexy, rough-around-the-edges contractor.

There are no good men left in New York City. At least that’s Claire Hayes’s conviction after finding out her late husband was not the man she thought he was. Determined to rid her home of anything that reminds her of her cheating husband, Claire sets out to redesign her boring, beige Upper East Side brownstone and make it something all her own. But what starts out as a simple renovation becomes a lot more complicated when she meets her bad-tempered and rough-around-the-edges contractor Scott Turner.

Scott bluntly makes it known to Claire that he only took on her house for a change of pace from the corporate offices and swanky hotels he’s been building lately, and he doesn’t hesitate to add that he has no patience for a pampered, damaged princess with a penchant for pink. But when long workdays turn into even longer nights, their mutual wariness morphs into something more complicated—a grudging respect, and maybe even attraction…

Filled with laugh-out-loud scenes that blend perfectly with the touching friendships Layne brings to life on the page, this “hugely entertaining” (USA TODAY) novel is perfect for fans of Lauren Weisberger.