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Review, Excerpts, & Giveaway: THE TROUBLE WITH LOVE by Lauren Layne

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Hello?? Is there anyone out there? I feel a little alone here, all by my lonesome, reviewing Lauren Layne’s The Trouble with Love. Yes, just little old me. Solo. Have I mentioned that I’m all on my own? You see, I did my past two Lauren Layne book reviews with Sunny and Kindle Gal, so this feels a little, well, awkward with no one to bounce my thoughts off of. Read on to see if I can handle the pressure and finish this review by myself!

The Trouble with Love cover

Publication Date: March 3, 2015 <— TODAY!
Length: 248 pages
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Sex, Love & Stiletto, Book 4
Publisher: Loveswept (Random House)
Source & Format: Review copy provided by publisher via NetGalley; digital
 
Official Summary
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.
 
 

Emily‘s Review

Emma Sinclair, the heroine of The Trouble with Love, is a columnist for the women’s magazine Stiletto. Full disclosure: I wasn’t really much of an Emma fan when she entered the Sex, Love & Stiletto series in Book 2 (Love the One You’re With). I mean, why mess with a winning formula? I liked the original three ladies of Stiletto – Julie, Grace, and Riley – and, well, Emma was kind of an interloper. Until I realized that through her, the love I have for Lauren Layne and this great series could continue.

In The Trouble with Love, Emma has to report to Alex Cassidy while her wacky boss, Camille, is on a hiatus. Alex is Camille’s counterpart at Oxford, the men’s magazine owned by the same company, which makes him the logical choice to lead while she is on leave. That is all fine and good, except Alex and Emma have some serious history – and chemistry – together. Per Alex, “there is still a 787’s worth of baggage between them” and neither seems inclined to do much about it. Alex is also not really interested in taking over the women’s magazine, even for a short term. Here are his thoughts when he realizes what he is in for:

Alex didn’t react, although inside he cringed. He’d agreed to this only because he’d assumed it was a figurehead position – a way of making the higher-ups feel comfortable with Camille’s absence. Surely she didn’t expect him to actually run this estrogen nightmare?
 

I quite liked Alex, which probably isn’t a surprise since I am a total hero ’ho. Although he was a little uptight, I liked his relationships with his friends (yes, I’m a bromance ’ho, too), as well as how he acted in the role of Emma’s temporary boss. Right away there are teases with hints and innuendos to Emma and Alex’s shared past, and I won’t spoil the fun and disclose too much here. Just know that it takes a long-ass time to get the entire story out, but it is a lovely slow reveal! Oh, and the chemistry…I’d be negligent if I didn’t let you know that this book is hot. Admittedly, it takes a while to get to the “sexy time,” but there is so much chemistry and attraction between them, it builds up perfectly and totally makes sense in the story.

My only issues with this book were around believability. Some things seemed a little farfetched – like the fact that they ended up working at the same building for the same company. Emma and Alex also hadn’t had some pretty critical conversations. I liked Emma most the time, though I did think she was a bit of an ostrich, ignoring things she didn’t want to face for so long. I also didn’t love the story Emma had to write for her next column or her strained relationship with her family.

Assuming you are looking for a read to make you laugh and enjoy a HEA, none of these issues really take away too much from the book, as it is meant to be entertaining, but I did think things wrapped up rather quickly and a little too neatly. That said, I do love me a good HEA as much as the next girl, so I really am not complaining.

The Trouble with Love is the 4th book in the Sex, Love & Stiletto series. While I have read all the prior books, I don’t think you need to necessarily read them first, or even in order, to appreciate this story. But I promise you will be tempted to read them if you read The Trouble with Love, so I would encourage you to start at the very beginning (yes, per Julie Andrews, a very good place to start). :)

Bottom Line

Great writing, awesome chemistry, wonderfully awkward, and tons of snark—it is a recipe made in book reader’s heaven, right (even if I had to review it all on my own)? I recommend The Trouble with Love to all those who have read and enjoyed the prior books in the Sex, Love & Stiletto series, as well as those who like a well-written contemporary romance with some laughter and sass.

Rating: B+ (4½ stars)

Wine/Beverage Pairing: Working at a women’s magazine makes Alex crave beer and onion rings. Yum! I’ll pair this with an icy-cold Summit Pale Ale – my beer of choice – and if the onion rings were beer battered as well, all the better!

Buy Digital:  Kindle Nook  |  iBooks Kobo
 

 
 

Sex, Love & Stiletto Series Reading Order

After the Kiss (Book 1)After the Kiss mini cover

Kindle Gal’s Review  |  Goodreads
 
Buy:  Kindle  Nook
 
 

 

Love the One You're With mini coverLove the One You’re With (Book 2)

Kindle Gal & Emily’s Joint Review  |  Goodreads
 
Buy:  Kindle  |  Nook
 
 

 

Just One Night (Book 3)Just One Night mini cover

Kindle Gal’s Review  |  Goodreads
 
Buy:  Kindle  Nook
 
 
 

 

Excerpt from The Trouble with Love

Lauren Layne is so very awesome at writing the quirky and awkward situations I love to cringe over and laugh at and devour. She is also a fabulously awesome person and is letting us share the entire first chapter of The Trouble with Love with our readers. Sweet, huh? Seriously, embrace the awkward, people… :)

Emma had considered calling in sick.The flu. Cramps. Measles. Dysentery. Mental health day. Whatever.

At the very least, she probably should have waited until after the morning rush hour. Or perhaps snuck in the back door of her office building along with the water cooler delivery guy.

But Emma Sinclair was not a fan of letting life’s little hiccups inconvenience her.

Although . . .

She supposed one could argue there was nothing so little about the fact that her apartment had gone from completely normal to entirely flooded in less time than it took her to curl her eyelashes.

And as for the fact that said water catastrophe had resulted in her entire building losing power . . . well, that was pretty much just a straight-up apocalypse.

Still. There were worse things than coming into work with your hair soaking wet and your makeup nonexistent, dressed in a hot pink bridesmaid dress from your cousin’s wedding that was the only dry item in your closet thanks to its protective plastic covering.

Emma had barely bothered to look in the mirror before she’d dashed out of her apartment chased by a string of F-bombs from her frazzled landlord. But then, she didn’t need to look in the mirror to know that her look was one part too glamorous for the office, one part street rat.

Besides, who needed a mirror when you had friends like Julie Greene?

Emma was digging through her bag for the badge that would let her pass through security at the Ravenna office building where she worked when Julie strolled up behind her, Starbucks cup in hand, smile firmly in place as always.

“Hi, Em . . . aaahh,” Julie said, breaking off in horror as she took in Emma’s appearance.

Emma gave Julie a droll look. “You like?”

“I don’t even understand what’s happening here,” Julie said, her voice mystified. She held out her Starbucks cup. “Here. Take my caramel macchiato. You need it more.”

Emma started to give a dismissive nah, that’s okay, but on second thought, accepted the offering. Her friend was right. She did need it more. The Incident had happened mid coffee-brew, which meant Emma was running on a caffeine deficit.

She took a sip as Julie continued to stare at Emma’s outfit in dismay.

“Explain?” Julie said.

Emma sighed. “The apartment above me had some sort of water disaster. My entire apartment looks like the set of Titanic, minus the nubile Leo.”

Julie eyed Emma’s wet hair. “So, is your hair wet from, like, dirty pipe water?”

“No,” Emma said, taking a last sip of Julie’s coffee and handing the cup back as she located her badge. “Fortunately, I’d showered before the pipe burst and I managed to dodge the worst of the spray. Unfortunately, drying my hair wasn’t an option.”

“Right. That whole electrocution thing,” Julie said as they swiped their badges and headed to the elevators.

“Um, yeah, I couldn’t have gotten electrocuted even if I wanted to,” Emma said, punching the up button. “The power went out.”

Julie’s brown eyes bugged out. “Seriously? Flooded and you have no power? Is everything ruined?”

“Of course not. I still have this lovely dress,” Emma said, pulling the hem of her dress out to the side, curtsy style. She pretended not to notice the way the two girls who had been gossiping happily as they crossed the elevator lobby immediately quieted when they spotted her.

The dress would have been a distraction all by itself. The drippy wet bun was also atypical for a swanky office building in which sophisticated and polished was the unofficial dress code for women.

But a lack of makeup made everything worse. Much worse.

Not that Emma was really a glam type of girl, but she had a distinct disadvantage of having very fair eyelashes, despite her medium brown hair. And her eyes’ shape made it worse. They were both large and tilted upward in a semi-distinctive manner. Bambi eyes, her mother had always called them.

But without eyeliner and mascara, she was more Lord of the Rings’ Gollum than adorable baby deer.

“You know, it’s a good dress, if a bit out of place for work,” Julie mused, as they followed the two gossiping girls and a middle-aged man yapping into his phone onto the elevator. “Sexy. A little slutty even. Go you!”

“That’s great, Jules. Slutty was just what I was going for on a random Wednesday morning at the office.”

“Well then, you should have called me. We’re the same size–ish. I could have lent you something.”

“I’ll be taking you up on that tomorrow,” Emma said as Julie hit the button for the twelfth floor. “Everything I have will need to be dry-cleaned at best, burned at worst. But this morning, I couldn’t make it from Upper East over to Upper West in the middle of traffic and still make it to the office in time.”

The elevator doors had just started to close when a male hand stuck between them, activating their sensors so that the doors reopened.

Great. Really freaking fantastic.

A lesser woman would have groaned in dismay at the sight of the man in front of her.

Emma merely straightened her shoulders, ignoring Julie’s softly uttered, “Oh, dear.”

It was him.

The man was gorgeous in the sort of way that made women stop and stare. The tall and lean athlete’s body was as impeccably dressed as ever in a trim, perfectly tailored black suit. No sign of a tie today, although there often was one.

His dark hair was perfectly styled, the clean-shaven face showing off a strong jaw and symmetrical lips.

And the eyes . . . green today, although they often could burn blue.

But Emma didn’t have to look at the man to know all of this.

She knew it all from her memories. Bad memories.

He didn’t falter at the sight of Emma and her low-cut cocktail dress and ugly wet bun.

In fact, he didn’t look at her at all.

Nothing—not surprise, not even acknowledgment—fluttered across his features at her presence.

The man was in control.

Always.

Julie shifted to the corner of the elevator to make room for him, and he nodded briefly at her before turning so that he and Emma were standing shoulder to shoulder.

The doors closed, and Emma lifted her eyes to the little screen that indicated the floor number.

He mimicked her posture, his eyes also focused on the spot where the L became 1, then 2 as they ascended.

“Emma,” he said politely, not looking at her.

“Cassidy.”

“You’re looking well.”

“And you,” she said, her tone smooth. Monotone.

“You didn’t get dressed up on my account, I hope.” His voice never lost its casual politeness.

She didn’t so much as glance at him. “Oh, do you not like it? I’ve been so hoping a fancy dress is all it would take for you to ask for my number.”

The elevator stopped on the seventh floor, and Emma and Cassidy stepped to the side so the man in the back corner could exit. In sync, they moved immediately back into their previous positions as the door closed.

They still had not looked at each other.

“You know, it’s a little bright for my taste,” he mused, as though they’d never been interrupted. “I like more subdued colors on a woman. Say . . . white. I always like to see a woman in a white dress. Do you own one?”

Julie cleared her throat, although Emma couldn’t tell if it was a warning or a laugh.

The elevator stopped at 12. Emma’s stop. Finally.

“Excuse me,” she murmured to Cassidy as she stepped off, her voice sugary sweet.

Julie followed her.

And much to Emma’s dismay, so did Cassidy.

“Wrong floor, Cassidy,” Julie said sweetly, with a pretty smile for the wretched man.

Traitor.

“Not today it’s not,” he replied.

“Ah,” Julie said. “Got a meeting with Camille?”

“I do.”

Camille Bishop was the editor in chief of Stiletto magazine, and Julie and Emma’s boss. Since Cassidy was the editor in chief of Oxford magazine, Stiletto’s brother publication, it wasn’t strange that he occasionally stopped by the twelfth floor.

Didn’t mean Emma had to like it.

“See you ladies around,” Cassidy said with a smile for Julie. Emma barely warranted a glance. “Oh, and Emma, just a friendly reminder that winter’s right around the corner. Careful you don’t catch a cold with that wet head.”

He moved away before Emma had a chance to respond. Or give him the finger. Not that she would have bothered.

“Friendly reminder my ass,” Emma muttered, glaring briefly at his back before she and Julie headed toward the office they shared.

“I think it’s sweet. Maybe he cares,” Julie said, linking her arm in Emma’s.

Emma grunted in response. “Give me the rest of your coffee. I need it.”

Julie complied and the two of them stepped into their office. Grace and Riley were already there. Grace, texting on her phone . . . probably sexting with her husband, if her dirty smile was any indication.

Typical.

Riley was eating a doughnut. Also typical.

Riley paused in her chewing when she saw Emma. “Whoa. Is it prom already? Nobody told me! I didn’t even order a corsage.”

Emma dropped her purse on her desk. “Tell me one of you has a hair dryer.”

“Yeah, I totally carry one in my purse,” Riley said, even as she shook her head to indicate that she most definitely did not have a hair dryer.

“I don’t have one, either,” Grace said. “But we can hit up the girls in the beauty department. One of them might.”

“Emma had an incident,” Julie said, plopping in her chair.

“What, like a ‘Noah wouldn’t let her on the ark because she was overdressed’ kind of incident?” Riley asked.

Emma smiled, despite her bad mood.

“Oh my gosh, Emma!” Grace leaned forward. “Did you go out to that gala at the Guggenheim last night? Ooooh, did you go home with someone? Is this your version of the walk of shame?”

“If it is, I’m impressed,” Julie mused. “My walks of shame involved a lot more sweat pants with ‘USC’ written across the butt and a dude’s oversized T-shirt and flip-flops.”

“You should totally write a story about this, Em,” Riley said, resuming her dedication to her doughnut. “‘The Walk of Shame for Grown-Ups.’”

“Okay, you guys are making this situation way more interesting than it actually is,” Emma said, holding up her hand with a plea to stop.

“Well, of course,” Grace said, tilting her head. “That’s what we do. We sex things up.”

Emma had to grant her that. It is what they did.

Stiletto was the top-selling women’s magazine in the country, and Julie, Grace, Riley, and now Emma were its darlings as the Love & Romance gurus.

Between the four of them, they covered everything from “Ten Things He Secretly Hates” to “Outside-the-Box Anniversary Plans” to “A Beginner’s Guide to Kinky Foreplay.”

The range in stories varied from month to month based on whatever inspiration each woman had, or whatever whim Camille threw at them, but for the most part, they all had their niche.

Julie was all about fun, flirting, and dating: “First Kisses,” “How to Make Him Pant at First Glance,” and so forth.

Grace’s stories were mainly geared toward women already in relationships: “Making It Last,” “Couples Therapy for Newbies,” “Keeping the Romance Alive.”

Riley was sex. All sex, all the time.

And as for Emma? Emma was the resident heartbreak expert—the one who helped women figure out how to cut him loose, or how to survive the aftermath when you were the one set loose.

Her most recent article was “Surviving the Single Life When Your Friends Are Coupled Up.”

Emma was able to write that one from personal experience. Hell, Emma would even call herself an expert on the topic, because her best friends were very much coupled up. In the best way possible, of course.

When she’d joined the Stiletto team a year ago, Julie had already landed the dead-sexy Mitchell Forbes, while Grace and Riley had been single.

Since then, she’d watched Grace fall head over heels in love with hotshot journalist Jake Malone, who she’d married in a small, gorgeous destination wedding a few months ago.

And Riley? Riley had successfully completed her ten-year quest for the heart of Sam Compton. They were getting married in a few months.

But then there was Emma.

Emma was still most definitely single. Intentionally.

She dated whenever it suited her, and had had plenty of relationships over the years. But Emma had no intention of shackling herself to a man, no matter how happy her friends were.

Because that happiness could be ripped away faster than a burst pipe could ruin your morning. And then you were left with nothing but a gaping hole where your heart should have been.

“Okay, so if there wasn’t a hurricane or prom date gone wrong, what’s with the weird combination of wet hair, au naturel makeup, and glam cocktail dress?” Grace prodded.

Emma filled them in on her apocalyptic flood situation. As she talked, Julie rummaged around in her purse until she came up with a mascara wand, lip gloss, bronzer, and a hairbrush.

She offered them up to Emma, who reached for them eagerly.

Grace checked her watch. “Sorry, Em. You’ll have to rock that natural look a bit longer. Staff meeting’s about to start.”

“Emma, you didn’t tell them the best part of your morning,” Julie said, as the four of them headed toward the conference room.

“What?” Emma asked. “The part where you gave me your caramel macchiato?”

“Nope,” Julie said, “I’m talking about who we saw in the elevator.”

Emma rolled her eyes. Oh. That.

“Who?” Riley asked. “Was it the Duchess of Cambridge? I heard she and Prince Willy were coming to the States and I must know what hair conditioner she uses.”

“We saw Cassidy,” Julie said in a singsong voice.

“Yikes,” Grace muttered as she pushed open the conference room door. “I hope everyone was bundled up. It’s always like an ice storm when Emma and Alex are in the same vicinity.”

Emma’s eyes flicked to Grace in surprise. It was weird to hear someone refer to him as Alex. When they’d gone to college together, the guy had been known only by the last name scrawled across his back on game day. To Emma, Alex Cassidy had only ever been Cassidy. Had that changed? Had he grown up? Decided to ditch the soccer superstar identity and go by his first name?

Not that she cared. Whether he went by his first name or last name, it all translated to the same thing: jerk.

“Speaking of that ice storm,” Riley whispered, as they filed into the conference room. “Brrrr.”

It took Emma all of five seconds to know what Riley meant. She didn’t see Cassidy so much as felt him.

But no matter.

She didn’t know what the hell he was doing at their Stiletto staff meeting, and she didn’t really care.

She’d quit caring about anything having to do with Alex Cassidy long ago.

Say . . . right about the time he left her at the altar.

 

(Huge thanks to Ms. Layne for allowing us to reprint this chapter in its entirety.)

 

Sex, Love & Stiletto Giveaway

The author, Lauren Layne, has generously offered to give away a digital copy of ANY backlist title in her Sex, Love & Stiletto series (winner’s choice) to TWO lucky Kindles & Wine readers.

To enter for your chance to win, you must:

  1. Be a follower of our blog (click HERE to subscribe), AND…
  2. Emma was the “new girl” in this series, who I wasn’t sure I wanted to like. Hit the comments and tell me about a character you didn’t want to like at first … but who grew on you, and how did they win you over?

Please note: All entrants must review and adhere to our official giveaway policy. This contest will close on Wednesday, March 4 at 11:59 PM (CST) and the two winners will be notified via email on Thursday, March 5.

 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lauren Layne is a USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary romance. Prior to becoming an author, Lauren worked in e-commerce and web-marketing. In 2011, she and her husband moved from Seattle to New York City, where Lauren decided to pursue a full-time writing career. It took six months to get her first book deal (despite ardent assurances to her husband that it would only take three). Since then, Lauren’s gone on to publish ten books, including the bestselling Stiletto series, with several more on the way in 2015.
 
Lauren currently lives in Chicago with her husband and spoiled Pomeranian. When not writing, you’ll find her at happy hour, running at a doggedly slow pace, or trying to straighten her naturally curly hair.
 
You can learn more at Lauren’s website, and connect with her on Facebook, Goodreads, and Twitter.
 
 

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