BOOK REVIEW : Love on Lexington Avenue

Title : Love on Lexington Avenue (Central Park Pact #2)
Author : Lauren Layne
Release date : September 17th 2019
Date Read : July 17th 2019
Rating : ★★★★★

“You want me to do the knee thing? I’ll do the knee thing.”
She laughed, a little breathless, still staring at the ring. “Isn’t this all kind of soon? We have time.”
He reached for her left hand, rubbed his finger along the base of her fourth finger. “It’s not too soon for me. You’re it for me, Claire. But if you need time, I’ll wait as long as it takes.”

Going into this, I had no idea what to expect, all I knew was that I wanted more of the characters I met in Passion on Park Avenue. And this book did not disappoint.


So, what is this book about ?

Claire is a widow who no longer believes in love when she finds out her deceased husband was cheating on her with not only one woman, but two; and these are only the ones she’s aware of. In order to move on with her life, she needs some changes. And that, starting with her house. That’s where Scott comes in, her new grumpy, jaded contractor who is no stranger to heartbreak and cheating exes.


Claire and Scott are one of my favorite type of pairings; she is sassy and has the biggest heart, while Scott is so grumpy he is downright rude. So the result is one amazing, impossible to put-down, romance.

Before I talk about said romance, I wanna talk about the characters.

Claire has had the worst year ever. Not only did she lose her husband, but she discovered in the worst way, that what she thought was a good, happy marriage was everything but. So, as hard as she tries to not let it get to her, she is incapable of letting go of the hurt and just puts on a brave face. I have to admit, Claire is easily one of my favorite characters in romance, because even if she’s strong, she’s also really vulnerable and that makes her REAL and HUMAN. She doesn’t need to be perfect all the time, she doesn’t need to be put together 24/7h, and though she tries her hardest to, there are moments where she just.. can’t. And that just makes you love and root for her happiness more. Another thing I loved about this character, is how, instead of alienating her husband’s mistresses, she befriends them. And that strength alone speaks volumes of her character.

“Regardless, she wasn’t sure she would have survived this past year without Naomi and Audrey. Whether it was because of their shared experience with Brayden or just three women finding each other at exactly the right time, Audrey and Naomi felt more like sisters than friends, and had from the very beginning.”

Scott, on the other hand, remains a mystery until this book. We meet him for a little while in Passion on Park Avenue as Oliver’s contractor best friend who’s hardly ever in one place for long and that’s about it. We get a deeper look into his character in this installment (duh, it’s his book!). Scott is also a character who has been wronged before, in kind of the same way as Claire, but while Claire didn’t let it change her heart, Scott closed off his heart completely, became jaded and devoted his entire life to his career.

Which brings me to the romance; these two, against all odds, make SENSE. They just do. Claire doesn’t let him get away with his rudeness and he actually listens to her. Their development is slow but at the same time not really. Their chemistry is amazing, they bring out the best in each other, open each other’s eyes about a lot of things and also accept each other just as they are. I loved them, I loved their scenes, I loved their development and I loved how Scott was willing to give up everything he ever thought was IT for him to be with her. Because, at the end of the day, SHE is IT for him.

“Don’t you dare tell me it’s too much,” he said, reaching out and pulling the ring from the box. “Because I want everyone who sees this, and that includes the astronauts on the International Space Station, to know that you’re taken.”

Similar to my Passion on Park Avenue review, as much as I loved the romance, my favorite part about this series remains the friendship. OH MY GOD!

I am now, a 100% convinced Naomi, Claire and Audrey have ruined me for every friendship ever. The circumstances in which theirs was born just makes it all the more better. These three are each other’s (unlikely) support system, each other’s go-to and not only for superficial stuff. I loved how their friendship is also about the real stuff and doesn’t stop at gossiping and giggles. They TRUST each other, they LOVE each other, they SUPPORT each other. They may have all just gone through one of the shittiest thing in their lives, but they got each other out of it, so no matter how bad it was, they got the best thing out of it : their friendship.

“The Instagram model, the jewelry queen, and the calligraphy ninja,” he said. “You ladies make a hell of a trio.”

This has officially become one of my favorite series ever, and I absolutely CANNOT wait for Audrey and Clarke’s story and seeing more of these characters. I just know I will love it.


*ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.