The book cover is fab! I love it.

I really wanted to love this book, as Oscar was a rom-com character dream. It just took me a while be be invested in the story; some parts had me quickly turning the pages, some parts didn't.

I was left wanting more backstory on Naomi: her company, why her mother wanted Naomi to live on Park Ave, etc.

Overall I would be interested in the series to see how the characters have turned out.

I was surprised by how much I liked this considering I’m not a fan of third person point of view. But Lauren layne has never let me down before and this was no different. Looking forward to continuing the series.

This is definitely my kind of book. A nice quick read that kept me turning pages. I look forward to reading more from this series!

Classic Lauren Layne. She never disappoints. I fell in love with her books with the Oxford and Stilletto series, and I didn't think anything could top that for me. But this does. High on the feels, great romance, and the female friendships are an added bonus.

I loved Lauren Layne's adventure into Women's Literature. Of course, this is the Romance that I've come to expect and love from Lauren Layne, but it also goes a step farther by following the impact and friendship that comes from being wronged by the same man. Naomi is stubborn and prideful and also passionate and following her personal growth as she falls in love with her childhood nemesis Oliver is such a good story I couldn't put it down until I was done. I recommend for anyone who is a fan of Lauren Layne will enjoy this book. Anyone who enjoys stories with character growth and well-written characters will love this book.

I loved this book. It was cute and sweet. The friendship element was amazing between the ladies and how they were brought together.

I really enjoyed Lauren Layne's take on the very popular TV series Sex and the City. However, it is so much better because it doesn't have the same cyclical drama but gradual angst and sizzling sexual tension leading towards a very deserved HEA.

Naomi Powell is a self-made billionaire CEO of an accessory subscription company. It is totally a rag to riches story for this Bronx-born independent, fabulous, and sassy woman. This story and essentially the series is based on revenge fantasy come to life. 

Naomi is a bit thrown from some current revelations in her life. It's not everyday a girl finds out her dead lover has a wife... and a mistress. A shock to not only her but to the other two women. Like any resilient NYC woman she forms a pact with said women to never be fooled by men of that caliber ever again. It's a strange relationship - yes... but totally makes sense. Naomi's mom was a house keeper for Oliver Cunningham's family and he tortured her in a typical childhood fashion, made worse by their very different socioeconomic differences, and a very deep betrayal that changed her life in the worst way. Pumped up from her new group of friends and a right opportunity, Naomi sets out to enact some revenge on her childhood foe.

Once the chance is presented to buy into a building where wrongs were done to her and her mother she makes that jump immediately and right into Oliver's face. Too bad he can't remember who she is or why a sexy as sin woman so confrontational to him from the get go. What is worse is that Naomi can't keep up with her revenge against Oliver as she gets to know him and his father all over again. Time does change some things.

This turned out to a fabulous summer page turners. It reads super quick and very NYC fabulous.

This book was cute, fun, and easy to read. I enjoyed the story, and I loved that it had a happy ending. That being said, I felt that almost all of the characters were underdeveloped. The main plot device, that the women just decide to become best friends, felt very unrealistic and forced to me. I would have loved to see this same story, but with an actual development of the friendship.

3.5 stars. This was an entertaining novel although the characters weren't necessarily my favorite. The writing was solid and very professional. I think a younger 20 year old would maybe enjoy this novel a lot more than I did. It just wasn't my personal taste but a good effort by the author for sure.

4.25 Stars / 1 Steam Fan

The storyline of three women and one connecting factor of a man, a douche, horrible man. Naomi has risen from the ashes of her childhood to make something of herself in New York. When she is offered an apartment in the same building that she grew up in by her childhood bully Naomi's journey begins. Oliver has had a difficult family dynamic which he is truly seeing while taking care of his father. Naomi and Oliver have a connection that was a fun and frustrating journey. I liked the circumstances that Naomi, Claire, and Audrey come together and the friendship that they bond together. This was a sweet and funny women's lit story with a dash of romance. I look forward to reading about the other ladies in the group.

This specific video review will be included in the August 2019 wrap-up.

For other video book reviews check out my YouTube Channel: Steph's Romance Book Talk.

The premise of this story feels like it should be something that I wouldn't really enjoy. The way these three women befriends each other is wild!! I can't even imagine making friends with anyone involved in this situation but something about it just works. I do wish that we had gotten to see more of the bonding period with the ladies from the time they first meet to when the particulars of Naomi's story begins. I feel like we'll get to see more of their connection weaved throughout the series though, so that will be helpful.

Have you ever read a book and just fallen in love with all of the characters but then when forced to sit down and explain why you can't come up with anything? That's how I feel about Oliver and Naomi. I really liked their characters but there is nothing particular that stands out as to why I like them so much. Perhaps that's the reason why I did? I'm over jerky heroes and the heroines who save them. I like that both Oliver and Naomi could stand on their personalities individually and that I wasn't waiting on one to complete the other. I like that while there was conflict, there wasn't a lot of drama just for the sake of drama.

I really think that I'm going to love this series!!

* I received an ARC from NetGalley for voluntary review

Passion on Park Avenue is better than the blurb let's on. I saw it was a Lauren Layne novel and nodded sure. I was intrigued by the blurb. But I had no idea what I was in for!

This group of New York women have a meet cute that is unforgettable, a bond that shouldn't work but does, and an outlook that is refreshing. Naomi, Aubrey, and Claire are going to keep you interested, engaged, and begging for more. But enough about them...you want to know about Oliver. Sigh. Well, it's...complicated.

Past, present, and future are a mess with these two. But only one person knows that! Secrets, history, and judgement keep them apart, while passion drives them insane. Passion in Park Avenue has some delicious push and pull. I love feisty and Naomi is the epitome of feisty.

It's easy to fall for these two and keep falling. Friends, family, and complications make park Avenue the place to be in this story.

A story where Naomi Campbell has made it from nothing to the top in the fashion world. Now with the big move of her company to new offices and her to a new apartment, she receives a call from the Upper East Side and a place that she and her mother once lived. Her mother as a housekeeper, they shared a room together. Now they are asking her to come for an appointment for an interview as a new tenant. She goes just to see and realizes that it was her mother’s last act before dying. Now going into the interview is a grown man Oliver Cunningham. This person was her nemesis when she lived there for she lived with his family. Now he was giving the interview and does not remember her. The bantering continues to the point that she even gets the apartment. Wanting to make right the wrong that was done to her and her mother so many years ago she realizes she can’t because his father is ill and does not remember. She must now work through her own emotions, but she is also falling in love with the man. Her problem with him is she still sees the boy that did not stick up for her and her mother when they kicked out because of his father, and that not night they slept on the street. He did not get it until then and both of them must forgive the other one if they want any kind of chance for a new beginning. A wonderful story, full of emotion and has very good characters. Very much worth the read.

The premise to this series is absolutely delicious; three women realize they’ve been sleeping with the same man at his funeral, not realizing he’s been married the entire time. There’s two unknowing mistresses and the wife, who form a fascinating bond when they accidentally meet each other. I loved seeing these women not at each other’s throats and being catty, but rather putting the blame squarely on the shoulders of the lying and cheating man, where it rightfully belongs. But I digress…
Passion on Park Avenue introduces us to mistress number one, Naomi. Once a girl on the wrong side of the tracks and the poor daughter of a maid that cleaned apartments on Park Avenue. Now Naomi is a strong and fiery successful business owner that can afford any apartment she wants. But then a peculiar happenstance lands her on the waiting list for an apartment in the exact building where her mother used to work and also the place that changed both of their lives forever. It also lands her in front of the boy that made her life a living hell that’s now turned into a man that she’s desperately fighting her attraction to.
Oliver is absolutely perfection. Lauren Layne has written the quintessential nice guy but with plenty of broken edges that you can’t help but fall for. Oliver is just trying to adjust to his new normal after losing his mom to cancer and now dealing with his father’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Oliver doesn’t know why the woman sitting across from him in the apartment interview for the building he lives at is looking at him with so much animosity. All he knows is that he’s inexplicably drawn to her, no matter how much she sasses him.
Admittedly, while I understood Naomi’s grudge towards Oliver, I struggled with her inability to tell him who she was. I didn’t feel that this should have been something that was dragged for the entirety of the book. I struggled truly connecting to her reasoning pst the halfway mark. I did absolutely loved their slow burn road back to each other again. Two kids that hated each other years ago, now are the perfect match as adults. I loved the slower pacing of the relationship development and the additional peeks into Oliver and who he was then and who he is now. He was honestly my favorite part of the boom. I also really loved the friendship between the women and the camaraderie that they all share.
I really enjoyed the story but I also couldn’t help but wish there was slightly a little more romance. This is most definitely a slow burn, but I didn’t feel like we get enough when they finally DO get together to satisfy my romance cravings. This missed the typical sensual sizzle that Layne’s book usually have and I couldn’t help but wish we got that here. Ultimately this was still a wonderfully entertaining read that I enjoyed from beginning to finish and I eagerly anticipate the next books in this series.

I received "Passion on Park Avenue" courtesy of Net Galley and it'll be released on May 28th.



"Passion on Park Avenue" captured my attention because it takes place in New York, is a modern love story mixed with a touch of revenge, and the cover is pretty stunning. I read this book in maybe a week or so; it was an incredibly easy read due to the characters, the story and the writing.



While I am an intense reader I really appreciate the beauty of an easy, interesting book. "Passion on Park Avenue" was straight to the point story with a predictable plot, like your favorite romantic comedy and I loved every moment of it.









The novel centers around Naomi and her two new friends who have just discovered they have something very specific in common. It is the catalyst for the entire novel and the story takes off from their first meeting.



Naomi is a New York businesswoman who started her own accessory business but has a hidden secret about her past, one that comes up when she is approved by a co-op board for an apartment on Park Avenue. Naomi meets her delicious looking next door neighbor, Oliver Cunnigham and immediately dislikes him. Why? Well, you'll have to read to find out.



I know a lot of people hate the word 'chick-lit' but I personally love it because it is literally a romantic comedy in book form. I definitely classify "Passion on Park Avenue" as a chick lit book but it does go a little deeper than that. It deals with familial issues, illness, and a lot of other heavy topics but does so in a light way. It's a really great marriage of different genres.



From the Goodreads title, it says "Central Park Pact #1" so I'm assuming we will be getting more books which is very exciting! There is a lot left to this story so I'm excited to see where it goes next.



If you need a light, quick read you should definitely check this out when it is released on May 28th. I think this is going to be my new favorite series!


xoxo

B

4 The Stars of Something Different Stars
* * * * Spoiler Free
Lauren Layne understands how to present a series. She draws you in and takes you on an adventure. Her use of New York City and its cultural views have always set the feel of what was to come. If the series is living in Manhattan then we know Layne will use it to be a major part of the tale. Because in my mind and my timing living there...There is nothing like Manhattan! There is this energy which will become part of you and you will remember it always.

When an author decides to do a series, there has to be something to link all of the books. With this series, Layne created something unique, something which was more than a "Cute Meet". She created a situation which brought together three women who had something very unusual in common. She had them all deciding not to attend an event, to end up on a Central Park bench realizing what tied them together and dealt with it in a compassionate way towards all of them.

This realization of what each of these different unique women had dealt with laid the foundation of friendship between them. They decided to look out for one another so that they Never fall for what happened before. Each of these women was capable, strong and brought their special talents to the group. We are intrigued and want them to flourish.

This first entry focuses on Naomi Powell, the self-made entrepreneur who has one of the up and coming accessory/jewelry company. This is a woman who was never made to feel as if success was part of her future. Oh, her mother was an advocate for her but the circumstances of her life lessons were not those of most CEO's. Her mother was a maid to a family living on Park Ave so Naomi would be there but not allowed to feel as if she belonged. There was a boy who would torture her, tease her and make her life difficult.

Then the boy did something even more horrible, something unforgivable. He lied and that lie changed everything for her and her mother. The impact of this planted the seed of revenge...something which festered and grew deep inside Naomi.

Now Naomi is very successful and is looking to move into her next apartment/condo. As she looks throughout the city, she receives a call saying the same location where she lived where her mother worked, has an opening and her interview with the board is upcoming.
Stunned and later finding out how her name was listed, Naomi decides to meet just to experience it.

Oliver Cunningham does not have time to interview a potential buyer of the available apartment in the building. The fact that he has grown up in the building and has 2 apartments shouldn't have anything to do with it. The way he was pushed to meet with this possible neighbor made it impossible for him not to...So here he is sitting across a desk from a woman who seems to hate him without even knowing him!

Naomi couldn't believe this was happening...There plain as day was her nemesis, Oliver Cunningham, all grown up and becoming this annoyingly handsome intelligent man. Oh, and on top of it...He has No Idea who she is...that she is the little girl he tormented and changed her life with his lies.

Lauren Layne gives us a story which looks at the idea of revenge when one has grown, presents another view and allows the idea of love between two people who never thought it would be presented this way. Each of these characters had very deep backstories which formed their perceptions and who they were. It is the coming together which allows them to blossom and grow to be who they are meant to be.

The added bonuses in this book are the other women supporting Naomi. We are given a taste here and there which causes us to be interested in the upcoming stories. The next one, Love on Lexington Avenue, will be coming soon.

This was okay for me. I typically love all of Lauren Layne's books but this one just lacked its usual spark. It feels too sanitised from the setting to the story. I couldn't quite my finger on it because I liked the characters well enough. And their chemistry was fine but nothing spectacular. Like I said, it was okay and fine.

Unfortunately this did not catch my attention quick enough for me to keep reading. I know some people will enjoy the book, but I had to DNF it. I have so many reads on my TBR that I can not push myself to hard to read something that doesnt draw me in right away.

Imagine your husband died and during his funeral you meet his mistresses.

PHEW - This was an interesting read. While I find it doubtful that I'd have the capacity to become close friends with two women my deceased spouse was sleeping with, I did enjoy this book.

This novel shows you the true value of having good and strong relationships to carry you through hard times.

A cute rom-com! Almost a second chance love story though the love interest doesn’t remember the main character and she initially attempts to trick him. It took a little while for me to get in to it but it picks up and unfolds to a fun romance.