Monday 17 August 2015

New Release & Review: Blurred Lines by Lauren Layne


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BLURRED LINES
Lauren Layne
Releasing Aug 25th, 2015
Loveswept



In a novel that’s perfect for fans of Abbi Glines and Jessica Sorensen, USA Today bestselling author Lauren Layne delivers a sexy take on the timeless question: Can a guy and a girl really be “just friends”?

When Parker Blanton meets Ben Olsen during her freshman year of college, the connection is immediate—and platonic. Six years later, they’re still best friends, sharing an apartment in Portland’s trendy Northwest District as they happily settle into adult life. But when Parker’s boyfriend dumps her out of the blue, she starts to wonder about Ben’s no-strings-attached approach to dating. The trouble is, even with Ben as her wingman, Parker can’t seem to get the hang of casual sex—until she tries it with him.

The arrangement works perfectly . . . at first. The sex is mind-blowing, and their friendship remains as solid as ever, without any of the usual messy romantic entanglements. But when Parker’s ex decides he wants her back, Ben is shocked by a fierce stab of possessiveness. And when Ben starts seeing a girl from work, Parker finds herself plagued by unfamiliar jealousy. With their friendship on the rocks for the first time, Parker and Ben face an alarming truth: Maybe they can’t go back. And maybe, deep down, they never want to.




 “Milk?” she asks again.
I take another bite of cereal, and it takes all of my self-control not to look pointedly at the bowl of cereal I’m eating. Of course we have freaking milk.
“In the fridge,” I say with a friendly smile. She smiles back and she’s got deep dimples in each cheek. Cute. I can see why Ben likes this one.
She walks past the table to the fridge, and I cringe when I see the fact that she has airhead monogrammed on the butt of her baby blue sweatpants. Really? Really?
Airhead has apparently forgotten that she wanted milk and instead pulls out one of the cans of Starbucks iced coffee that I keep stocked for Monday mornings when I need an extra pick-me-up, which is every Monday, because, well, Mondays are just the worst, aren’t they?
Airhead pops the tab and takes a sip without asking, which I guess is kind of annoying, but I’ve never really been one of those girls who likes to waste energy getting bitchy about stupid things, so I let it go.
“Hey, so I’m Parker,” I say.
“I’m Liz. Are you dating Ben’s roommate?”
Considering I know for a fact that Liz is the latest in a rather impressive streak of one-night stands, dating seems sort of a presumptuous word choice, because how does she know I’m not just a onetime sleepover guest like her?
This, too, I let pass without comment.
I mean, what else is the girl supposed to ask: Did you get drunk and sleep with a guy you barely know, like I just did?
Plus, I have a fun surprise for her.
“I am the roommate,” I say, keeping my smile friendly. I’m wearing my oldest pajamas and haven’t even pretended to have tried to take off last night’s mascara, which is now all over my face. I’m pretty sure I don’t look threatening.
But I’d be wrong.
Liz pauses halfway in, drinking my precious iced-coffee beverage, and her previously curious expression turns wary.
I mentally shrug. Ben tends to use my unisex name to full advantage by avoiding female pronouns when referring to his roommate while a booty call is in progress. He picked up this approach after several hookups that failed due to the fact that some girls still subscribe to the old girls-and-guys-can’t-be-just-friends axiom.
Amateurs.
Ben ambles into the kitchen, his sweatpants matching the style of his girl toy’s, although his are dark UO green, and instead of a tacky phrase on the back, they just have the Oregon Duck, our old college mascot. We graduated a couple years ago, so the frat-boy attire’s a little sad, but I can’t judge him too harshly since my entire workout wardrobe consists of old college shirts.
He yawns and smiles. “Morning. Have you girls met? Liz, Parker, Parker, Liz.”
Ben’s either unaware of the fact that Liz is giving him a dark look or he no longer cares now that he’s gotten laid.
Here’s the other reason I don’t exactly get my rocks off thinking about Ben in a romantic light: He’s kind of a player. As a friend, I can love him for it, but on the romantic front? Never. Ever. Not even with every possible STD test.
“Hey, what happened to the must-wear-shirts-in-the-kitchen rule?” I ask, shoveling another bite of increasingly soggy Wheat Chex into my mouth.
“No such rule exists,” he says, with a wink for Liz-slash-Airhead. Her expression softens lightly, and I resist the urge to slap a little sense into the poor girl. I want to tell her that his winks are a dime a dozen, but what’s the point? She has airhead printed on her sweatpants for God’s sake.
“There is too a rule about shirts in the kitchen,” I insist. “House rule number fourteen. Speaking of which, where are my house rules?”
“Hard to say,” he says, opening the fridge and glancing at its meager offerings before pouring a cup of coffee instead. “But I may have used them to mop up OJ the other day. Or maybe as a coaster for my beer.” He snapped his fingers. “Oh wait, no, I remember. I just plain threw them out the old-fashioned way.”
I point to the doorway. “Shirt. Now.”
He glances at Liz. “She can’t concentrate when my abs are on display. We have to give her anti-swoon pills.”
Liz giggles even as she shoots me a searching look, as though she’s trying to determine whether I really will swoon over Ben’s admittedly impressive upper body. The guy’s like a machine. He misses workouts only on the worst of his hangover days.
“Do you wanna grab some breakfast?” Liz asks Ben.

Aww, poor Airhead. She doesn’t know the name of the game.


Lauren Layne is one of my go-to authors and the friends to lovers trope is a favourite of mine making Blurred Lines a gem of a book.

Parker Blanton & Ben Olsen have been best friends for six years. The pair have spend a lot of time convincing people that it is possible for a man and woman to have a purely platonic friendship. They are roommates! Their arrangement works for them because Parker is in a long term relationship with Lance, so Ben knows she's off limits although very aware of her attractiveness. Ben isn't allowed to be shirtless -that is one of Parker's house rules! This unusual living arrangement works for them until circumstances alter the way they see each other. At this point, Parker is a heroine you want to applaud for her boldness and smack for believing her proposal would be so easy. As for Ben, he soon realises there are serious consequences to his actions.

The interaction between the protagonists is palpable. After spending so much time together they act like a couple who are very comfortable with each other. The easy banter is fun which highlights the subtle clues as to their true hidden feelings for each other. So when the relationship turns physical it is deep rooted feelings of inadequacy and misunderstandings that threaten to ruin the relationship they both have cherished for so long. Only they can't go back to the way things were now the line has been crossed.

What happened next was unexpected but in a good way. The author manages to bring all the loose strings together in such a convincing way. On the surface Parker and Ben have always looked perfect together, but like many couples they still have secret thoughts and opinions that they don't share with one another until the cracks begin to appear within the relationship.

Parker and Ben's story is both fun and heart-warming with just a touch of angst! The author's writing style always manages to keep me engaged the whole time and Blurred Lines is no exception.

4.5 Stars

***arc generously received courtesy of Loveswept (Random House) via NetGalley)




Lauren Layne is the USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary romance.

Prior to becoming an author, Lauren worked in e-commerce and web-marketing. In 2011, she and her husband moved from Seattle to New York City, where Lauren decided to pursue a full-time writing
career. It took six months to get her first book deal (despite ardent assurances to her husband that it would only take three). Since then, Lauren's gone on to publish ten books, including the bestselling Stiletto series, with several more on the way in 2015.

Lauren currently lives in Chicago with her husband and spoiled Pomeranian. When not writing, you'll find her at happy hour, running at a doggedly slow pace, or trying to straighten her naturally curly hair.





Release Day: Cocky Bastard by Penelope Ward & Vi Keeland


Meet Chance in COCKY BASTARD!
A standalone Contemporary Romance novel by
New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Authors
Penelope Ward & Vi Keeland





Read Chapter One of Cocky Bastard HERE: http://bit.ly/1MCrJk9


He was someone who belonged in my wildest fantasies instead of a rest stop in the middle of Nebraska.
A sexy, cocky, Australian named Chance was the last person I expected to run into on my cross-country drive.
When my car broke down, we made a deal. Next thing I knew, we were traveling together, spending sexually-tense nights in hotels and taking unplanned detours.
My ordinary road trip turned into the adventure of a lifetime. It was all fun and games until things got intense.
I wanted him, but Chance wouldn’t make a move. I thought he wanted me too, but something was holding him back.
I wasn’t supposed to fall for the cocky bastard, especially when I knew we’d be going our separate ways.
All good things must come to an end, right?
Except our ending was one I didn’t see coming.



Vi Keeland is a native New Yorker with three children that occupy most of her free time, which she complains about often, but wouldn't change for the world. She is a bookworm and has been known to read her kindle at stop lights, while styling her hair, cleaning, walking, during sporting events, and frequently while pretending to work. She is a boring attorney by day, and an exciting smut author by night!





Additional Books by Vi Keeland

Life on Stage series (2 standalone books)
Beat


Throb
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1zk882K


MMA Fighter series (3 standalone books)
Worth the Fight (MMA Fighter Series, Book One)
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1alpVES
Smashwords - http://bit.ly/1is0zNX

Worth The Chance (MMA Fighter Series, Book Two)

Worth Forgiving (MMA Fighter Series, Book Three)


The Cole Series (2 book serial)

Belong to You (Cole Series, Book One)
Made for You (Cole Series, Book Two)

Standalone novels
Left Behind (A Young Adult Novel)
First Thing I See
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1JWFo21

Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author. She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor, before switching to a more family-friendly career. She is the proud mother of a beautiful 10-year-old girl with autism and a 9-year-old boy. Penelope and her family reside in Rhode Island.







Other books from Penelope Ward

Stepbrother Dearest

Gemini
Jake Undone (Jake #1)
My Skylar
Jake Understood (Jake #2)