Showing posts with label Lauren Blakely. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lauren Blakely. Show all posts

Review // Pretending He's Mine by Lauren Blakely

July 11, 2022

Pretending He's Mine by Lauren Blakely

This man—this young, delicious man—was saving the day.

────── ♔ ──────


Pretending He's Mine by Lauren Blakely

Pretending He's Mine by Lauren Blakely


Standalone - Caught Up In Love #2
Release - March 2, 2013
Genre - Contemporary Romance / fake relationship
Dual POV - 3rd person
Heat - 3 out of 5 / a few scenes
Length - 144 pages
Publisher - Indie
This novel is now titled The Pretending Plot — a reimagining of the 2013 story Pretending He’s Mine (no longer available for sale). The Pretending Plot has been rewritten in first person and expanded from a novella to novel length!

Once upon a time in New York City, there was a down-on-his-luck actor named Reeve, who was talented and gorgeous in that dreamy, broody sort of way that makes all the women swoon. But show biz is a rough biz – he lost out on a part in a big film, and now his day job hours have been cut too. What’s a handsome young thing in need of a role to do?

Enter Sutton Brenner.

She’s sexy and shrewd and the most top-notch casting director there is. She’s this close to landing a coveted gig casting a film based on a best-selling mega-romance novel, but there’s a catch. After one too many transgressions with lovely single ladies, the film’s philandering producer has been put on a short leash by his wife, who’s forbidden him from working with anyone unattached.

So the happily single Sutton strikes a pact with Reeve – play the role of her fiancee until she closes the deal, and he’s guaranteed to get an audition for the starring role in the film. But as the two play pretend, the lines between make-believe and matters of the heart start to blur. Especially after that hot night in the balcony of the Broadway theater. And that scorching afternoon in the stacks of the New York Public Library.

Who’s playing who? Or is someone else really the director in the secret affair of their lives?

My Two Cents

3 "Fake it 'til you make it" stars

There's something about fake relationship romances that hit the spot just right.

➜ all of the crazy tension of being forced to pretend there's something there, thinking there's nothing there, when there's really something there
➜ the chemistry that is even more intense because the characters deny its existence
➜ that moment when it all comes down to who will finally admit their feelings

And this story had all of that. Sutton needed a fake fiance pronto and Reeve needed an in to the acting role to jumpstart his career. Win-win, right?

It even has a cute happy-for-now epilogue. I only wish that I really felt this relationship. I enjoyed the characters and maybe would have felt more if I spent more time with them. Maybe that's why the author rewrote the story and made it more of a full-length book.

About the Author

A #1 New York Times Bestselling, #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling, and #1 Audible Bestselling author, Lauren Blakely is known for her contemporary romance style that’s sweet, sexy and witty. She also writes red-hot, sexy romance and USA Today bestselling LGBTQ romance. With fourteen New York Times bestsellers, her titles have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestseller Lists more than 100 times, with more than 60 titles on the USA Today Bestsellers list alone. She’s sold more than 4.5 million books. A graduate of Brown University, Lauren likes dogs, cake and show tunes and she is the vegetarian at your dinner party.

Visit http://www.laurenblakely.com for more information

ARC Review: THE REAL DEAL by Lauren Blakely

July 09, 2018

The Real Deal by Lauren Blakely
April Hamilton wants you to know she hasn’t been on GigsforHire since that time she sold her futon after college. She doesn’t even spend that much time online. And even if she did, she would not be looking up personal ads. But going home alone for her family's summer reunion is an invitation for every single relative to butt into her personal life. She simply can’t handle another blind date with the butcher, the baker or the candlestick maker from her hometown. So when she finds the GigsforHire ad for a boyfriend-for-hire, she’s ready to pay to play.

Heading Home and Need a Buffer? I’m the REAL DEAL.

Theo Banks has been running from the past for years. He’s this close to finally settling all his debts, and one more job as a boyfriend-for-hire will do the trick. He’s no gigolo. Please. He’s something of an actor, and he knows how to slip into any role, including pretending to be April’s new beau -- the bad boy with the heart of gold.

Even if it means sleeping in close quarters in that tiny little bed in her parents’ inn. Even if it means spinning tales of a romance that starts to feel all too true. What neither one of them counts on is that amid the egg toss, the arm wrestling, and a fierce game of Lawn Twister that has them tangled up together, they might be feeling the real deal.

She only wanted to show her family once and for all that she had no need to settle down.

He didn’t expect to have the time of his life at her parent’s home.

They didn’t plan on loving every single second of the game.

But can a masterful game of pretend result in true love?

Goodreads | Amazon


ARC Review: THE V CARD by Lauren Blakely & Lili Valente

December 13, 2017

The V Card by Lauren Blakely & Lili Valente
When you think about how easy it is to lose keys, phones, sunglasses and your dignity on social media, you might figure it'd be a cinch for me to ditch my V Card.
You'd be wrong.
At 25, I run a successful business, live in a fantastic apartment, and have fabulous friends to go out with any night of the week. And yet I'm still a card-carrying member of a club I don't want to belong to anymore. Good thing I know just the man for the deflowering job—my brother’s business partner and best friend.
Graham Campbell is charming, smart, and, I’m told, oh-so-skilled in the sack. As long as I keep my eyes on the prize, there’s no way this pluck-the-flower project could possibly complicate matters.
***
Work and pleasure. As the CEO of a fast-growing company, I've been enjoying both to the fullest. What do I do when the board throws me for an unexpected loop so I can keep my business in my hands? I enlist the help of my best friend's little sister since she holds a big stake in the company. But then I learn there's another big stake she wants.
The one between my legs.
I can do this. Seven nights to teach her everything I know in the bedroom. There's no way I'll fall for her, even though she’s earning top grades in every single sinfully sexy lesson. And turns out I’m learning something too. The trouble is I don’t have the answer key to what to do when I fall hard for her.
And that throws a whole new hitch in my plans.

Get it today! http://amzn.to/2ARJDgT

Review: Most Valuable Playboy by Lauren Blakely

August 30, 2017

Most Valuable Playboy by Lauren Blakely
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Standalone - Ballers and Babes #1
Release - September 1, 2017
Genre - Friends-to-lovers RomCom
Male POV - 1st person
Heat - 4 out of 5
Length - 288 pages

Hands down, my favorite thing in the world is to score. Touchdowns.
Don't let the fact that I'm the leading pick in the Most Valuable Playboy charity auction fool you. These days, I'm only a player on the field. I've kept my pants zipped all season long -- and it has been long -- because nothing's more important than leading my team to victory every week. Except maybe escaping from the team owner's recently-widowed and handsy-as-hell sister who's dead set on winning more than a date with me.

Enter Violet and a well-placed Hail Mary.
She's my best friend's sister with a smile as sweet as cherry pie and a mind that runs quicker than the 40-yard-dash. After Violet saves the day with the highest bid, I don't even give her a two-minute warning before I kiss her in front of the whole crowd and then announce that she's my girlfriend. Which would be fine except my agent tells me we have to keep up the act while he's negotiating my contract.
Violet takes one for the team and pretends to be mine, but our boyfriend-girlfriend scrimmage quickly turns into a full contact sport, and I want it to go into overtime. The problem is -- I've been riding the bench for years.

How can a guy like me, who finally has a chance to prove his worth on the field, convince the girl she’s most valuable to his heart?

Review: The Hot One by Lauren Blakely

February 26, 2017

The Hot One by Lauren Blakely
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Standalone - One Love #3
Release - February 27, 2017
Genre - Second Chance RomCom
Dual POV - 1st person
Heat - 4 out of 5
Length - 300 pages

Ever notice that sometimes a guy will do something really stupid, like let the love of his life slip through his fingers?

Yeah. I'm that guy. But the moment I run into the woman I once loved madly, I’ve got one goal and one goal only—a second chance. The plan? Go big or go home.

Fine, at first glance, stripping naked at my ex-girlfriend's place of work might not seem like the brightest way to win her heart again. But trust me on this count—she always liked me best without any clothes on. And you've got to play to your strengths when you're fighting an uphill battle. As a lawyer, I know how to fight, and I'm prepared to fight hard for her. Because sometimes you need a second chance at first love.

He's the one who got away . . .
The nerve of Tyler Nichols to reappear like that at my job, showing off his rock-hard body that drove me wild far too many nights. That man with his knowing grin and mischievous eyes is nothing but a cocky jerk to saunter back into my life. Except, what if he's not . . .? I've tried like hell to forget him, but maybe I'm cursed to remember the guy I fell madly in love with eight years ago. Lord knows I’m not over him, so what's the harm in giving him a week to prove he's changed in the ways that matter?

After all, how do you resist the hot one…

Find it here:
Goodreads | Amazon

Review: Full Package by Lauren Blakely

January 05, 2017

Full Package by Lauren Blakely
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Standalone - Big Rock #4
Release: January 9, 2017
Length: 280 pages

I’ve been told I have quite a gift.

Hey, I don’t just mean in my pants. I’ve got a big brain too, and a huge heart of gold. And I like to use all my gifts to the fullest, the package included. Life is smooth sailing....

Until I find myself stuck between a rock and a sexy roommate, which makes for one very hard… place.

Because scoring an apartment in this city is harder than finding true love. So even if I have to shack up with my buddy’s smoking hot and incredibly amazing little sister, a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do.

I can resist Josie. I’m disciplined, I’m focused, and I keep my hands to myself, even in the mere five-hundred square feet we share. Until the one night, she insists on sliding under the covers with me. It’ll help her sleep after what happened that day, she says.

Surprise—neither one of us sleeps.

And even though we agree to return to roomies-without-benefits, I quickly realise I want more than someone to split the utilities with. Now all I want is to spend every night—and every day—with my gorgeous roommate.

Did I mention she’s also one of my best friends? That she’s brilliant, beautiful and a total firecracker? Guess that makes her the full package too.

What’s a man stuck in a hard place to do?

Review: The Only One by Lauren Blakely

The Only One by Lauren Blakely
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Standalone - One Love #2
Release: December 6, 2016
Length: 140 pages

Let’s say there was this guy. And he gave you the most mind-blowing night of sex in your life. And you never saw him again.
Until ten years later.
Now, it turns out he’s the ONLY ONE in all of Manhattan whose restaurant is available the night of my charity’s gala.
The trouble is, he doesn’t recognize me.
***
This woman I’m working with is so damn alluring. The first time I set eyes on her, I’m captivated and I can’t get her out of my mind. Even if it’s risky to tango with someone I’m working with, she’s a risk I’m willing to take.
The trouble is, she won’t give me the time of day.
But I’m determined to change that.

THE ONLY ONE is a standalone novella following characters first introduced in THE SEXY ONE (Gabriel) and WELL HUNG (Penny).

Find it here:
Goodreads | Amazon