Lauren Layne is famous for her lighthearted romances that excel with witty banter, sexy scenes and always a happy ending. Ever sine reading the blurb I couldn't wait to read Hot Asset.

I really loved the premise. The hot shot trader at Wall Street and the SEC investigator. Te synopsis promised a good amount of sexual and professional tension between the couple and I was definitely signing up for that.

Hot Asset is the first book in a new series, and it already introduced the reader to a group of friends including possible pairings that leave me wanting to read their stories ASAP. And for a first book it did a fabulous job in describing the dynamic and energy between the characters - lots of sexual tension already broiling.

All in all, this book had many things in its favor, except at the end of it all it fell a bit flat for me. I expected a more detailed investigation, maybe even Lara and Ian working together but that was just not the case. The actual investigation was just background noise. The investigation definitely was partly responsible for a good amount of tension between Ian and Lara, including the bad timing of their relationship in regards to the investigation. It's just not smart business for the investigator to get involved with the party that is being investigated. Nevertheless Ian and Lara made it work, but the story wasn't as great as it could have been. The back and forth between the main couple because of the investigation was quickly  getting old, and most of all I was missing the investigative part of the story. It could have made the story much more interesting.

But besides that, I LOVED the characters. The entire group sounded fabulous. Ian's friends sounded genuine and likable, and the book promises interesting pairings in the future.

Like I said the story sounded really great, I just had the wrong expectations.

If you love a lighthearted romance and an easy read, this is the book for you. Fans of Lauren Layne won't be disappointed, I'm sure of it, I just expected more.

This book is Lauren Layne perfection and an amazing start to a new series. I’m obsessed with Ian and Lara and I’m super excited for the next couple of books in this series.

This book has all the sassy heroine/cocky hero dynamics you love from a Lauren Layne book. I also loved that there was so much more to Ian than the cocky playboy exterior. I loved getting to know both of them and seeing their attraction develop.

I loved the kind of forbidden aspect of their attraction because of their jobs and I really enjoyed getting to the bottom of what brought them together

Hot Asset is a hot solid romance. Ian is cocky and full of himself and then he meets Lara. Lara is an intriguing woman and out to prove Ian is a criminal. Nice blend of heat and romance.

This book marks the beginning of a new totally HOT and HILARIOUS series by romance expert, Lauren Layne or LL, as I call her. Hot Asset is the first book in the 21 Wall Street books, following rich, successful players on the Wall Street scene. In the prime of his rich life of business and pleasure, Ian Bradley, comes under suspicion of insider trading... UH OH! And with that tip comes the SEC agent, Lara McKenzie to investigate him and his firm. Ian is already in a bit of a pickle with the whole possibly going to jail part, when he starts having feelings for the woman with the sexy glasses and smart ponytail. And soon, they're both fighting the attraction brewing between them.

<b> "I've kissed my fair share of women-more than my fair share. But I've never <i> needed </i> to kiss one like I do this woman, never felt like I'll regret it the rest of my life if I don't take my chance." </b>

After their hearts and bodies win over their willpower, they have to figure out a way out of this mess of an investigation. But with the careers and heart on the line, who comes out on top?

<b> Lara McKenzie isn't a one-night kind of woman. She's an all-the-nights kind of woman. Surprisingly, the thought doesn't freak me out nearly as much as it should. " </b>

I thought Ian and Lara's romance was fab! It was a total disaster at first, since she was there to prove he committed a crime, but when you get past that (which they did), it really romantic to see them falling in love. And I love the other characters, Matt, Kennedy, Sabrina, and Kate. I can't wait to find out more about their stories! I sense romance and drama is brewing...

I received an ARC copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Lauren Layne launches the 21 Wall Street series with the story of attractive and successful investment broker Ian Brady, and the determined SEC agent tasked to investigate him.

Ian isn’t deterred when he learns the true identity of the only woman who doesn’t instantly swoon over his good looks and natural magnetism and he’s certain of two things. One, he’s never taken a shortcut to reach his goals and achieve success. Two, he always gets what he wants and he wants Lara.

Ian is unapologetic about the way the leads his life. He didn’t grow up privileged but has worked hard all his life to reach his goals, including having the funds to support his ailing father and the means to enjoy life.

Lara is equally hard working and effective at what she does and is resolute in fulfilling her dream of becoming an FBI agent and Ian’s case just might get her there. But at what cost?

Lara and Ian are appealing characters, they have strong and determined personalities that go along with their careers and make them an attractive central couple whose banter, inner monologues and chemistry had me smiling, laughing and fanning myself.

Layne also creates an interesting cast of secondary characters whose loyalty was admirable, complement Ian and Lara’s story nicely, and set intriguing foundations for future books.

Set in the fast paced Wall Street backdrop, Lauren Layne upholds her lighthearted, fun, witty and sexy standard creating this entertaining tale of two people who weren’t looking for love but found it in unorthodox circumstances and despite the odds worked to overcome them.

Hot Asset is book #1 of the 21 Wall Street series by Lauren Layne. It is a standalone, contemporary romance. Told from both points of view with a happily ending, no cliffhanger.

Great wall street read!! It had a lot of high profile wall street espionage! It was a sizzling read!!! The story line was very intriguing! I will definitely read this whole series when it comes out!! I want to thank netgalley and the author and publishers for sharing this book with me!! It was an awesome read and I highly recommend it!!

"For one bizarre-ass moment, the woman feels meant for me. The kicker? She's not even my type."

"Somehow Lara McKenzie's gaze has more effect on my boy than any other woman's physical touch. I've been in a constant state of want since our first meeting, with no relief in sight--I can't have her, and I don't want any of the women I can have."

"I've never wanted---needed---anything like I want her to stay. To want me back."

"I've kissed my fair share of women--more than my fair share. But I've never needed to kiss on e like I do this woman, never felt like I'll regret it fore the rest of my life if I don't take my chance. My fingers wind around her ponytail. Mine. I want this frustrating, complex woman as my own. I nip her lip. Surrender."

Hot Asset is the first book in the exciting new, 21 Wall Street Series. Hot Asset follows the story of Ian and Lara. Ian is the quintessential walking talking Wall Street Playboy. He's rich, good looking, completely arrogant and totally used to getting his way. That is until he meets Lara. She doesn't buy into his charming playboy ways and Ian takes that as a challenge. He's determined to win her over. The only problem is that Lara isn't just some girl. Lara is an SEC agent who gets tasked to investigate Ian. She should be off-limits. But as the saying goes, opposites attract and nothing strikes the flame hotter than wanting someone you know you can't have. Will these two opposites give in to their desires or will they just crash and burn? There's only one way to find out....

Hot Asset is a fun and entertaining story. I found this story to be well written and captivating. I thought the plot was fresh and unique. I couldn't wait to dive further into Ian and Lara's story. I loved the dynamic and banter between the two of them. They both gave as good as they got and couldn't deny the sparks that were flying around them. Their push and pull had me burning through the pages, anxiously wanting to know how their story would play out. The road to happily ever after for these two definitely wasn't an easy one. For starters, Lara was investigating Ian, so any type of hook-up would be a definite no, no. But their jobs weren't the only hurdle these two had to overcome. Nope they had quite a few hurdles along the way and they both had to learn how to trust one another...

Hot Asset was a terrific read from beginning to end. I fell in love with the characters instantly and am dying to know more about he secondary ones. I loved the intrigue and drama surrounding this book. I thought it had just the right mix of drama, angst and sexy good times. I think this series is off to a great start and I look forward to checking out more in this series in the future.

3.5 stars

This book turned out to be a little different from what I was expecting. Ian's POV is strong and this is the second book of the series. I didn't read the first but it was easy to put the pieces together. The heroine is bossy and strong as she is determined to make a name for herself in her field.

She is supposed to take him down for insider trader, but of course he is innocent and they fall for each other. Dispute lots of obstacles they get their HEA. I enjoyed the epilogue.

Schmooze, you lose. ‘Hot Asset’ has all of the trademark Lauren Layne hallmarks in it: the sharp banter (though there’s an edge here as it starts out hostile), the reformed manwhore by the end of the story and a brewing conflict that one can see coming miles away. Layne’s character voices are distinct, along with a solid introduction to secondary characters who will get their own books, as Ian/Lara’s own tale moves along at a brisk but steady pace, making ‘Hot Asset’ an easy afternoon read.

Written in the alternating first person POV, ‘Hot Asset’ starts off ominously nonetheless—not in the horror story sort—but with a cocky and smarmy male voice who lauds his work achievements (as well as the women he always manages to snag and never for a second-time around because he casually attributes it to ‘faulty wiring’). Whatever Lauren Layne means to achieve with these few starting paragraphs, I wasn’t sure if Ian Bradley tanking to the depths in my esteem is it because he starts off as a protagonist I love to hate.

And ‘Hot Asset’ fails in this particular bit for me, because Ian is the furthest from what I can actually imagine as a romantic hero worthy of a HEA with a woman who frankly, deserves a lot better. Maybe Layne has characterised Brady all too well such that he fits the manwhore financial guru to a ’T’, to the extent where everything he says and does not only becomes predictable, but also eye-rollingly repulsive.

Lara’s steely-eyed determination and perception in contrast, unfazed as she is when faced with these men who think the world of their own invincibility, is no small pleasure I take as she and Ian clash. Still, it’s hard to recover from the respect Ian’s lost in my eyes as he talks about women as commodities or as a sum of her body parts. ‘Leftovers’ for instance, is a word I detest, because it shows the dismissive regards he has for his hookups. That he eyes every woman in terms of her looks (hot or not) and the potential of a hookup made him distasteful, or that he also uses Lara’s attraction to him as a weapon or rather, as an attack on her lack of personal life, undercuts every preconception of what a romantic hero should be when I first started ‘Hot Asset’.

I hated that Ian doesn’t stay the professional path in getting his name cleared, but uses his womanising/flirting skills to get her to prove his innocence and is hurt when it doesn’t really work. Re-thinking his meaningless work-hard, play-hard life because he’s terrified that jail will take it all away from him…surely there’s more depths to plumb in the shallows of Ian Bradley? I never quite got the idea that Lara stands out for Ian other than being someone who is off-limits to him, and that’s the only difference it makes among the sea of good-looking women he’s slept with.

I think the risk of writing such egomaniac womanisers—Layne’s constant emphasis on this truly doesn’t help the case—who finally fall for one woman, is that believability thereafter becomes the issue, where the uphill task thus falls on the author to get a reader to believe that a man like Ian can finally commit and hasn’t till now only because he hasn’t wanted to try enough. Trying to get a reader to see that there are other qualities to this man despite this glaring fault somehow didn’t work with me at all, not when I couldn’t overlook the lascivious ways he eyes women as challenges to overcome and yes, Lara as well, who has become part of his tried-and-true tricks.

I’m painfully aware this puts me in the minority, but Layne’s portrayal of sleazy Ian has been nothing but an immense disappointment. I usually expect more of male protagonists in romantic fiction, at least for integrity and respect they can show women and I struggled hard to find this in Ian, especially in the end when it was one of his (adulterous) flings that caused him to land in hot soup. The only consolation I took was in Lara’s own strength and determination (though she obviously caves to his charm) in seeing the case through, though that didn’t seem enough to redeem this couple that Layne tries hard to build.

The rant is probably enough to say that ‘Hot Asset’ isn’t a read that sat well with me, which is an understatement as it comes. It has sort of diminished my enthusiasm for the rest of the books in the series, to be honest, because I’d always thought Layne could do much, much better than this.

Ian is way more patient then I would have been while being investigated for something he didn't do. And Lara is way to good at her job. She turns over every leaf to make sure there are no secrets. The way they dance around each other was great.