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Tuesday, July 22, 2014

ARC Review: Only with You by Lauren Layne


Only with You is the first book that I have read by Lauren Layne, and I thought that it was enjoyable. I was drawn in by the blurb, and couldn't wait to read about Sophie and Gray. While this story was good, it was predictable and fairly similar to other contemporaries. This one doesn't offer much in the way of different or unique, but I did enjoy Lauren Layne's writing style and I think it was written well. I did like this book, but there were a few things that kept this one from being great for me.

When cocktail waitress Sophie Dalton heads to Vegas for a themed bachelorette party, she ends up getting stuck in an elevator with a handsome stranger who mistakes her for a prostitute. She decides that it is time to change her life and quits her job. When she goes to her weekly family dinner, she is faced with her judgmental parents and too perfect sister who is showing up with her new boyfriend. When she discovers that it is Gray the handsome stranger from the elevator, things quickly go from bad to worse. With her sister's encouragement, Gray offers Sophie a job as his assistant. While things between Gray and Sophie's sister Brynn are boring and seem to be going nowhere, Gray and Sophie can't help but feel the attraction between them even if all they do is disagree. But soon, things are heating up between Gray and Sophie and both are finding it harder to fight what is between them. But Gray doesn't do commitment and forever, and Sophie isn't willing to just be his latest play thing. 

Gray was hard for me to warm up to if i'm being honest. He seemed to be very stiff and judgmental, and even though there was attraction between him and Sophie he seemed to just be a jerk. I understand that he had been hurt, but I thought that he treated Sophie pretty badly at first. I couldn't figure out why one minute he would berate her for making comments about not being worthy, and yet the next minute he was making similar remarks or alluding to the same thing. It was pretty confusing at times, and his behavior just didn't always make sense to me. It was nice to see him lighten up with Sophie's help, and I did like seeing the softer side of him. It was good to see him admit to feeling alone and opening up about wanting to have someone to spend time with. Sophie was fun and didn't let Gray get away with anything and I liked that about her. It was fun to see their banter and verbal sparring, and I liked watching her keep him on his toes. But it was great to see her start to figure her life out and realize what she was looking for. I thought that Sophie and Gray were actually really great for each other once they got over all the tension, and I think that because they were so different they were the perfect balance for one another. There was a ton of tension and chemistry between them from the start, and I liked watching that build to the point that it had to eventually explode.

Overall, I did like this book. I did have mixed feelings about it though, and a lot of that was the characters. It took me awhile to warm up to Gray, but he did win me over. It was Sophie's family that really bothered me though. Her parents were awful and I didn't understand their actions at all. Even when Sophie told them how she felt and told them about what she was doing with her life, they seemed stuck in their ways still and had no regard for her feelings at all. I also thought her sister Brynn was a stuck up snob, and was beyond selfish. I just didn't like any of the secondary characters except for Sophie's best friend Will. I felt really badly for him towards the end of this book, and I can't wait to get his story next. He deserves more, and I hope that he gets his HEA with some groveling from his heroine. She needs to do some major redeeming of herself in order for me to be happy about the way things are headed for them. I think that if you are looking for a contemporary with an HEA, that you might give this one a shot. But if you are looking for something new or different, this one might not be for you. I am looking forward to Will's story next in Made for You.

**ARC Provided by Publisher**

Purchase: | Amazon | B&N |





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