Review: Frisk Me (New York's Finest #1) by Lauren Layne

Title: Frisk Me (New York's Finest #1)
Author: Lauren Layne
My rating: 4 of 5 Stars

MY THOUGHTS

Can you proclaim yourself a fan of an author if you’ve only read a couple of books written by him/her? No? I’ve read only two books by Lauren Layne: Isn’t She Lovely and Broken, yet I dare to say that she is one of my favorite authors. I can’t quite explain this, but every time I open a book written by this author, I have very pleasant feelings, it’s like tasting your favorite chocolate after a long break: anticipation and when you finally put a bit into your mouth, you are lost to sensations.

So unsurprisingly I loved Frisk Me. It was Lauren Layne’s trademark mix of likeable characters, swoon worthy romance and humor with a big dose of family. The plot was engaging and I was glued to the pages.

Luc Moretti is a NY cop, who’s unwillingly become famous. A tourist filmed how he saved a drowning little girl. Now there will be a TV show about him. Meet Ava Sims, a journalist who will be following Luc every day to write a story. Only Luc doesn’t think he is the hero, he’s struggling with guilt over the case that went wrong several years ago. And it looks like this sexy, sassy journalist would dig out all his secrets.

I loved the romance in this book. It was a perfect “from hate to love” type. It developed slowly at realistic pace with delicious anticipation and sexual tension. The author skillfully uses sex scenes to make a point. Nowadays there are millions adult and NA novels with a lot of meaningless sex. But in Lauren Layne’s books it actually adds something to the story.

As usual family plays a big role in latest Layne’s novel. I fell in love with Moretti family. The author said in her acknowledgments that her husband is Italian, and she consulted with her in-laws about ins and outs of Italian family. And the result is very authentic, at least for me. I love this bustling, nosy and very loving mob.

And of course humor. Lauren Layne always manages to put a smile on my face. Luc’s grandmother Nonna made me laugh out loud.

Despite overall light mood of the story Lauren Layne raises several serious topics here. The aspect than resonated with me the most was family pressure on the child in choosing his\her profession. Both Luc and Ava feel this pressure, since Luc is from cop family and everyone in Ava’s family works on TV. Luc’s ambitions are the same that the expectations of his family, Ava is not so sure. Her straggles and doubts resonated with me on a personal level. I chose the same professional field as my parents, and there were points at my life when I asked myself if it was my decision of it was pressure of my family.

All in all Frisk Me is an engaging story, full of swoon and fun. I enjoyed it immensely and highly recommend it. I’m looking forward to read Anthony and Vincent stories.

PS. This cover. Ugh… Does this model look anything like Italian Luc Moretti? And I’m not happy with the covers for the next books.

Review: The Mistake (Off-Campus #2) by Elle Kennedy

Title: he Mistake (Off-Campus #2)
Author: Elle Kennedy
My rating: 3 of 5 Stars

MY THOUGHTS

A while ago all I’ve seen in my feed was this book: updates, quotes, reviews and comments nonstop. I decided to wait until the hype would wear off a little before picking it up.

The book started off well. Elle Kennedy’s writing is engaging and easy-flowing. I was really enjoying the first third of The Mistake, but gradually I began to lose interest and became annoyed.

This book is about Logan, whom we know from the first book. He’s in love with his best friend’s girlfriend. He’s ashamed of it and copes with it with a stream of girls and meaningless sex. One day he stumbled into Grace’s dorm room by mistake. She is a freshman who has been worshipping hot hockey-player Logan from afar. One thing led to another and she almost gave her V-card to him. But Logan ruined the evening with his behavior. Now summer is over and with school year starting Logan has all intentions to win Grace back. Only will she let him?

I really liked Logan and Grace together at first. Their interactions were believable and the chemistry definitely was there. However when they met again after their fall out my interest began to waver.

I didn’t get why Logan was so obsessed with Grace. Why he decided that she was the one for him. It was like one moment he was hang up on Hannah, and the next it was all about Grace.

There was another thing that grated on my nerves. How Logan described himself in his POV. Here an example for you. Logan’s mother called him right after he had a shower:

“Hey, Mom,” I greet her, gripping the edge of my towel as I head for the dresser.

“Hey, Mom,” I greet her, gripping the edge of my towel as I head for the dresser.
And later during the same call from his mother:

I set the phone down and drop my towel, then yank a pair of sweatpants up my hips. My hair is still wet, sprinkling droplets down my bare chest, so I rub the towel over my head before picking up the phone again.

I found this ridiculous. I get that the author wants us to drool over Logan’s hotness, but wasn’t there another way to do it? Like maybe in Grace’s POV…

I also wasn’t happy with how Logan’s family issues were handled. Some serious topics were raised in this book, but it was like the author just used Logan’s situation at home just to make him more interesting. It all felt forced and not genuine. And this abrupt half-baked resolution didn’t help either. The last scene between Logan and his father made me roll my eyes.

The best aspect of The Mistake for me was the bromance between the guys. Their teasing and banter make me smile and laugh out loud. It’s apparent that they cared about each other and when one of them was in trouble, others were ready to help.

I realized that my review sounds more negative than I intended. It’s just that there were several aspects that annoyed me a lot, but overall my feelings after finishing this book were positive. Though The Mistake was just an ok read for me, in comparison to many bad NA it definitely stands out. This was an entertaining, lighthearted story with steamy romance and a lot of funny, laugh out loud moments. If you liked The Deal, I definitely recommend The Mistake to you.