Review: After the Kiss by Lauren Layne
After the Kiss:
By Lauren Layne
Available Aug 26 from Random House (Loveswept)
(Blurb): Julie Greene loves flings. Loves steamy first dates, sizzling first kisses, and every now and then, that first sexy romp between the sheets. Comfy pants, sleepy Sundays, movie nights on the couch? Shudder. But when Julie gets assigned the hardest story of her career—a first-person account of that magical shift between dating and “I do”—she’ll need a man brave enough to give a total commitment-phobe a chance at more.
Normally, Mitchell Forbes would be exactly that man. A devastatingly hot workaholic who tends to stay in relationships for far too long, he should be the perfect subject for Julie’s “research.” But what Julie doesn’t know is that Mitchell is looking to cut loose for once in his life. And the leggy journalist notorious for avoiding love is exactly the type of no-strings fling he’s looking for. In other words, Mitchell is the polar opposite of what Julie needs right now. And, at the same time, he’s exactly what she wants.
Book Information:
Age group: New Adult/Adult
Genre: Contemporary romance
Review:
I love, love, love this book! This was my first read of Lauren Layne's books and I couldn't put it down. Even as 2 am rolled around and I knew I had to be up in a couple of hours!
Lauren delivered humor, chemistry, personalities, and fun entertainment brilliantly in After The Kiss. From the first page where Julie Greene starts giving a breakdown of her life - I was hooked. There was something oddly familiar about the characters mindset on relationships that had me laughing and feeling a sad sort of empathy at the same time.
Mitchell Forbes is a great character! I was a little worried that once the plot started unraveling that Mitchell (not Mitch) would loose his "Wall Street" touch. But he didn't and I'm glad! I love when you are able to fall in love with a character for who he/she is and not have to permanently sacrifice their personality for the sake of developing "chemistry".
The way in which the author was able to convey both Julie's and Mitchell's feelings was well done. By the end of the book you didn't feel like either just gave into their respective situations with no further thought, and at the same time the characters didn't behave completely irrationally. It was an excellent progression that played out between Julie and Mitchell, and there's actually some great relationship advice that we all (Yes, gentleman too) should take to heart.
Moral of the story: Just because it's a way you've always known, doesn't mean it is the only way you have to know.
I recommend this to any reader who wants some comedy mixed in with their romance, shaken on the rocks, with a side of relationship-reality-check.
Ratings:
Romance: Sexual tension and great character connection
Plot progression: *****
Originality: **** (it's actually quite different than a lot of the "dare you to date" type books)
Character development: *****
My Rating:
Pre-Order for Kindle or Nook
Find more Lauren Layne here!
By Lauren Layne
Available Aug 26 from Random House (Loveswept)
(Blurb): Julie Greene loves flings. Loves steamy first dates, sizzling first kisses, and every now and then, that first sexy romp between the sheets. Comfy pants, sleepy Sundays, movie nights on the couch? Shudder. But when Julie gets assigned the hardest story of her career—a first-person account of that magical shift between dating and “I do”—she’ll need a man brave enough to give a total commitment-phobe a chance at more.Normally, Mitchell Forbes would be exactly that man. A devastatingly hot workaholic who tends to stay in relationships for far too long, he should be the perfect subject for Julie’s “research.” But what Julie doesn’t know is that Mitchell is looking to cut loose for once in his life. And the leggy journalist notorious for avoiding love is exactly the type of no-strings fling he’s looking for. In other words, Mitchell is the polar opposite of what Julie needs right now. And, at the same time, he’s exactly what she wants.
Book Information:
Age group: New Adult/Adult
Genre: Contemporary romance
Review:
I love, love, love this book! This was my first read of Lauren Layne's books and I couldn't put it down. Even as 2 am rolled around and I knew I had to be up in a couple of hours!
Lauren delivered humor, chemistry, personalities, and fun entertainment brilliantly in After The Kiss. From the first page where Julie Greene starts giving a breakdown of her life - I was hooked. There was something oddly familiar about the characters mindset on relationships that had me laughing and feeling a sad sort of empathy at the same time.
Mitchell Forbes is a great character! I was a little worried that once the plot started unraveling that Mitchell (not Mitch) would loose his "Wall Street" touch. But he didn't and I'm glad! I love when you are able to fall in love with a character for who he/she is and not have to permanently sacrifice their personality for the sake of developing "chemistry".
The way in which the author was able to convey both Julie's and Mitchell's feelings was well done. By the end of the book you didn't feel like either just gave into their respective situations with no further thought, and at the same time the characters didn't behave completely irrationally. It was an excellent progression that played out between Julie and Mitchell, and there's actually some great relationship advice that we all (Yes, gentleman too) should take to heart.
Moral of the story: Just because it's a way you've always known, doesn't mean it is the only way you have to know.
I recommend this to any reader who wants some comedy mixed in with their romance, shaken on the rocks, with a side of relationship-reality-check.
Ratings:
Romance: Sexual tension and great character connection
Plot progression: *****
Originality: **** (it's actually quite different than a lot of the "dare you to date" type books)
Character development: *****
My Rating:
Pre-Order for Kindle or Nook
Find more Lauren Layne here!
This sounds good and Julie and Mitchell sound interesting and likable! Might have to get it on Kindle sometime!
ReplyDeleteAs much as it is overdone, I am a sucker for the "dare you to date" type of books. I went into this one thinking it was going to be like all of the others, but Lauren did a great job at giving this book its own personality and twist on the plot. And it's very comical - especially if you're like me and can relate to the mindset of it ;-)
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