Light and fun! Audrey and Clarke are super sweet but I kept yelling at the book- get together for real
already! Super slow burn and low on sexual content but still a good read. I like the friendship and the fake fiancé troupe. I think I enjoyed books 1 and 2 better but this cover was my favorite and all 3 in this series are really good!

All in all, a fun contemporary romance. The third in a series, but stands alone easily. I haven't read the others, and didn't feel lost in plot points at any time.
The friendship between Audrey and Clarke is believable, giving a solid foundation for their relationship. The other star friendship between the women in the story starts with a fun premise and helps build the framework of the book.
Overall, this was a fun, easy read. For those who don't like sex on the page, this would fit the bill. I'd give this a likable 3.5 stars, so I'm rounding up to 4.

This is the third book in the Central Park Pact series, and while this was my least favorite of the three books in the series, it still was a quick and fun read. Being in the public eye as an instagram influencer, Audrey is basically called out online as being a homewrecker for being one of Brayden's mistresses and she takes this guilt to heart. In an effort to help her best friend and get some of the gossip away from her, she agrees to have a fake engagement that in the end turns out to not be so fake.

I loved learning about Audrey's life as an instagram influencer, but the reason this book was my least favorite was because at times I wanted to smack Audrey for being so stubborn to the idea that her best friend could indeed be the love of her life. She resisted SO HARD, even though everyone else knew it was clear they belonged together.

The friendships and the relationships that Lauren Layne builds is definitely one of my favorite things about this author. I always come away feeling like I've made new best friends that I want to hang out with and catch up with. Overall I would definitely recommend reading this book if you're in the mood for a light, fun, and romantic read, as well as other books by this author. Also, even though this book is part of a series, it still can be read as a stand-alone romance.

*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review*

This is the third book in the Central Park Pact trilogy and is best read in order, though not essential. Audrey has been branded a home wrecker by a Gossip Girl clone called SlanderBoy. The accusation hits hard given her guilt over her relationship with Brayden, the cheating husband whose accidental death brought the three friends together and was the impetus for the Pact they made to protect each other from bad men. Her best friend Clarke wants to end his mother’s meddling with his love life. So, when she tries to force a reunion with a former girlfriend, he fakes an engagement with Audrey to throw her off-track (the 3rd time he’s used this ploy). The ruse will help both of them, and they’ll be able to “break up” when the pressure is off. However, when the engagement gets extended and they have to convince everyone they’re in love, the friendship takes a decidedly romantic turn.

Although there’s no new ground covered in this friends-to-lovers story, there’s a reason Layne is an ace at contemporary romance. Her characters are gorgeous, wealthy, and genuinely nice people who readers want to rout for. This one lacks the steamy scenes of most of her other titles, but the kisses are titillating and sex is alluded to. Fans of this trilogy who are eagerly awaiting Audrey’s story won’t be disappointed.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Gallery Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Always a pleasure to read Lauren Layne's books. I adored this couple very much. I have been waiting for their story for a while now and it did not disapoint me at all. Layne is a very versatile author and can spin some great stories and make the reader feel all the feels the characters are having at that moment.

First of all many thanks to the publisher and author for the ARC.

How do you tell your best friend that you’ve fallen in love with him or her without risking your friendship? How does a best friend get out of the friend zone?

This book is about friendship, love, and sometimes New York City. I wasn’t aware that this book was part of a series, and that it was the last in the trilogy. Nevertheless, I still read it and after reading this I became a fan of Lauren Layne. I just wish that their story was longer. This book can be read as a stand-alone, lighthearted, fun, and sexy at times. It also made me curious about the previous the other characters in the series.

Overall, I’m giving this book stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟 because now I can’t hardly wait to read the the other two books in the series Passion on Park Avenue and Love on Lexington Avenue.

Having not read any other books in this series, I didn’t feel I missed anything. It’s a cute story, but a bit superficial. The two characters didn’t seem to be the best friends touted on the blurb and barely in the book considering what they held back from each other. Even so, an easy fluff read.

I was provided with an ARC of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love Lauren Layne’s books so much. This one took me a couple of tries to get into it but when I did I read the whole thing in a day. I’m not really sure about the premise of these books —- three women betrayed by the same (dead) man — but I am total sucker for friends to lovers. This did not disappoint. I really loved Audrey and Clarke and their relationship was interesting and multi layered. I loved the pacing, the angst level and all I could have asked for was a little more epilogue. Another great one by Lauren Layne.

If you are looking for a quick, easy, fun, light-hearted read - look no further than Marriage on Madison Avenue, Lauren Layne’s third installment in the Central Park Pact series. And, for those of you who have not read books one and two - this can be read as a stand-alone (which I did) with no issues following along.

I found this novel very enjoyable and devoured it in a little over a day. The characters are well written and you will find yourself laughing, and maybe even shedding a tear, right along with them.

Thank you to Gallery Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

I will be suggesting this to all my chick-lit, women’s fiction, romance reading friends!

I have been waiting to read Audrey Tate and Clarke West's story for months after finding out about this Central Park Pact series. The series does not have to be read in order (I actually didn't... oops), but it is worth it to do so. Each novel can function as a stand-alone. While I know this is supposed to be a romance between Audrey and Clarke, my favorite parts are always the growing friendship moments between the girls. Their friendship is one that everyone hopes for. Layne does an amazing job of weaving friendship, romance, and comedy into one great novel. While many of us know how Audrey and Clarke's "fake" engagement will end, Layne throws us some curveballs along the way to really keep in interesting. This novel is 100% worth a purchase and read.

4.5 Stars

Audrey and Clarke...we have been waiting for their story since we met them, and it's as fun as you want it to be.

Despite the fact that it's obvious to those around them (and based on some of their interactions before they figure it out it should be obvious to them) they take their own sweet time acknowledging what's going on between them.

Once they do, it's so well-done and feels so authentic that you find yourself falling in love with the characters all over again.

This is a fade to black romance, so the sexy times are not part of the story, but while it's lacking in sex it's not lacking in the passion, romance and pure attraction that you want from the story.

I also loved the ending. I hate it when a series ends, but this one comes full circle in such a perfect way that you almost have to be ok with the ending of the series because you get to leave it in such a perfect place. It's a very small scene, and it's not even direct, but it's there and it's lovely.

I enjoyed and recommend this title.

Such an amazing ending to an even more amazing series. Ever since Passion on Park Avenue, I have been dying to see audrey and clarke finally realize that what they have goes beyond friendship, and this was everything I wanted for them and more. I loved watching them fall in love with each other, and their interactions were just so fun to read.

the highlight of this series for me are the friendships. Naomi, Claire and Audrey turned a situation that most people would have a negative reaction about, and made a beautiful friendship out of it. on top of that, every single book in this series just makes their friendship stronger, their interactions eve more entertaining and sweet, and this one had some of my favorite moments between them.

I also loved seeing the guys become good friends too, which we hadn't seen before that much!

overall, i loved this with my entire heart and i am just sad to see this series end. I would read millions of books about audrey, noami and claire. their friendship is definitely one of my all time favorite literary friendships ever.

Soo happy to have received this ARC about Audrey and Clarke and how they came up with a plan to pretend to be engaged in order to help each other with messy situations in their lives. Which turns out to be one of the best things for both of them when they realize that their friendship has turned to more and that neither of them want their "fake" engagement they want the real thing. Highly suggest reading!

This series, and more specifically this book, was so romantic and charming. Ever since Clark and Audrey were introduced in the first book, I have been impatiently waiting for this book. Lauren Layne took the friends-to-lovers, upped the stakes with a fake engagement, and topped it off with Audrey and Clarke thinking they are only friends while they humorlessly fall in love with each other. Kudos to you Lauren Layne, you gave me exactly what I wanted and you even threw in ‘Scandal Boy’ making all my Gossip Girl Dreams come true. Audrey is the perfect mixture of elite upper east side princess with the wholesome girl next door sweetness. She’s just a girl who’s trying to find love though she thinks she doesn’t deserve it. Enter stereotypical playboy with the six pack abs and heart of gold Clarke. I love that Clark started off as a typical player and ends up as the guy who finds flowers sensual. Though he’s a bit immature at times and still has the teenage rebellion to defy his mother when he can, it finally worked in his favor and made him grow up and see what was right in front of him his whole life. I loved the bickering due to jealousy, the slow evolution of feelings, and the unraveling of truths trying to hide under denial. Lauren Layne knows how to make a girl swoon with delight and make me smile. I loved the friendship that was built and flourished between Naomi, Claire, and Audrey. It shows that even in the darkest situations, there is some light that can be found. This book was entertaining and playful and it was the perfect way to end this series. I think it’s time though, that Lauren Layne gave some love to Jarod

I love this series! Lauren Layne hit it out of the park with these books and I always found myself eager for the next one. While I am sad that this is the final one, I do know that Lauren will continue to write amazing books so I have a ton more to look forward to.

This is an interconnected series. The characters DO play a part in each book (even if they are small) so I would personally recommend reading them in order. This isn't totally necessary though.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to.

What a sweet ending to a great series. This was the 3rd and last book in this series. Best friends that are faking an engagement to throw off Instagram and a meddling mother. It was a quick feel good read. Thank you NetGalley for my arc.

<em>Marriage on Madison Avenue</em> is the final book in the <a href="http://bookbinge.com/reviews/series/the-central-park-pact/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Central Park Pact</a> series by Lauren Layne and IMO, it was the weakest book in the series. I still enjoyed it but not nearly as much as I enjoyed <a href="http://bookbinge.com/2019/10/review-love-on-lexington-avenue-lauren-layne/">Love on Lexington Avenue</a> and <a href="http://bookbinge.com/2019/05/review-passion-on-park-avenue-by-lauren-layne/" target="_blank">Passion on Park Avenue</a>. I was bummed out about not enjoying this book nearly as much as I was prepared to love it because it's got the best friends to lover trope and a fake relationship trope that I'm super trash for but I was disappointed in a bunch of little things that I didn't completely recover from by the end of this one.

Audrey Tate and Clarke West have been best friends for as long as they can remember. Since they were kids. They have amazing chemistry that everyone but themselves can see but they've never gone down that road before because they've always been such great friends and who wants to mess with that? Not these two for sure. Audrey is a social media influencer and when the haters start to talk about her in a not so great light, a fake engagement to her best friend seems like the way to fix her problems. When Clarke's ex-girlfriend tries to come back into his life, he's got his own reasons to want a fake engagement to his best friend. So Audrey and Clarke become "engaged" and plan to only keep up the ruse for a little while, just until the rumors about Audrey die down and Clarke's ex-girlfriend goes away. Only things don't go down the way that they planned and before they know what's what, their engagement goes on longer and longer and starts to feel a lot more real with each passing day.

Here's what I did like about this book. The book still had the strong female friendship that I adored in the previous books and I loved seeing how protective both of the previous heroes were over Audrey...even against Audrey's own best friend. I loved seeing Alexis Morgan make an appearance in this one. I also still really enjoyed both Clarke and Audrey individually and the romance was still a good one even though I had some issues.

The lack of communication between Clarke and Audrey had me rolling my eyes down the street. You guys are best friends, you tell each other everything but you can't tell each other that you're in love with each other? Clarke, you let Audrey find out about your Dad's deal on the day of your wedding? You guys love each other so much, have each other's back but you let each other settle for a marriage of convenience instead of pushing each other to hold out for true love the way that you guys both deserve? On top of that, the way that their engagement kept getting bigger and bigger when they had every intention of calling it off made me mad too. They were wasting so many people's time and it just annoyed the crap out of me. I would have much preferred the conflict to be more about Clarke and Audrey figuring out that they've been in love with each other for a long time without the drag out, knock down fake engagement that started to piss me off the longer it went on and the deeper Audrey and Clarke got into the planning of a fake wedding.

Despite my issues, Lauren Layne still kept my attention throughout this entire book and though I was still annoyed with both Clarke and Audrey, I was glad that they got their heads out of their asses and figured their shit out. I thought the ending was rushed but by the time that came around, I was ready for the happy ending so I wasn't too annoyed with that. So while this book wasn't one of Layne's best, it wasn't all bad. I came for the female friendships and wasn't disappointed in the least in that department.

3.5 out of 5

Audrey Tate and Clarke West have been best friends since elementary school. Audrey is always loyal and down to cover for Clarke's playboy antics. While her friends Claire and Naomi are finding true love, Audrey is still platonically fake dating Clarke any time they need a social buffer. As Clarke's mother's matchmaking schemes escalate, however, Clarke ups the ante announcing a fake engagement. As they begin to celebrate their "engagement" and plan their pretend wedding, Audrey and Clarke find themselves unable to "break up" without causing a major ruckus. And the worst part is, neither of them are quite sure the want to.

Um this book is ADORABLE. I was cheesin like a fool the whole time I read it. As the conclusion to the Central Park Pact series (and the best book yet), the friendship between Audrey, Claire, and Naomi is already well-cemented. That is one of the best parts in each of their books. While they are ultimately romcoms and stories of finding true love, their friendship is steady beneath each of their individual adventures.

Audrey and Clarke are frickin cute and I swooned so hard as they fell in love. Nothing like a good friends-to-lovers romance with a fake relationship thrown in. The best part about their relationship is how believable it is. There are no steamy scenes, so you have to rely completely on other moments of chemistry. And there were plenty. This speaks highly to Lauren Layne's ability to write a good story.

In conclusion, I loved it. You will to.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC.

I feel like I’ve been waiting forever for Clarke and Audrey’s story, but it was worth the wait! Best friends since childhood, Clarke and Audrey have always supported one another. But what happens when, they decide to enter into a fake engagement to throw Clarke’s mother off the matchmaking scent and stop an evil blogger from attacking Audrey? Will these two finally realize that they not only love each other, but are in love with each other?

Clarke’s parents throw a few monkey wrenches in their scheme, but Audrey’s other besties, Claire and Naomi and their other halves, are around to help Clarke and Audrey navigate the rocky waters. It was a great ending to a terrific series!