Love the One Your With ( Love, Sex, and Stiletto # 2 ) by Lauren Layne is a December 2013 Loveswept publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Grace writes for Stiletto magazine and thought the knew a thing or two about men. When she finds out that Greg cheated on her and she had never even seen it coming, she vows to never be fooled by a man again. This is the new Grace, Grace 2.0.
When readers begin to complain that Stiletto magazine is naive about men and the advice doesn't really work, Julie compares notes with the editor of a popular men's magazine named Oxford. Alex is getting the same sort of feedback. The articles are all one sided. So, a little friendly competition is suggested. One person from Stiletto and one person from Oxford will go out on a few dates, then they will write articles about what they were thinking while on the date. Grace sees the perfect opportunity to show everyone what low down, lying, cheats men really are and volunteers to do the piece.
So, who is the lucky guy Grace will go with? Jake Malone. Jake has had some run ins with women, one of which landed him in the gossip columns. He hated these types of tepid articles and at this stage in his career it was embarrassing to be writing such contrived pieces, but he was a professional and he agreed to do the article if he was promised a few things by his new boss.
When Grace and Jake meet for their date they realize they have met once before. They shared a cab one day and a few sparks had flown between them much to Grace's dismay. The start off their first "date" by trading barbs. Then they begin to try and out do the other one by trying to make each other look bad for the article. But, before the date was over Grace had ended up spilling her guts. So, Grace gets a little help from the staff at Stiletto for her second encounter with Jake. From this point on it's war as each side is determined to win the competiion.
Lauren Layne is turning into one of my favorite contemporary romance writers. This second book in the Stiletto series is just as great as the first one as an all out battle of the sexes erupts. Grace is hurt and because it is her job to give women advice about men, he is now a little insecure about her career. Jake, I think felt this type of thing was beneath him as a journalist, but he is just a competitive as the next guy and so he intends to do his job well. He never expected Grace to be such a challenge or to pull out all the stops in the competition.
So, who will win the competition? Stiletto or Oxford? Jake or Grace? or maybe... both?
Lauren Layne has a great sense of humor and a sharp wit. I loved the banter between Grace and Jake and couldn't help but cheer them both on.
If you love chick lit, contemporary romance and happy ever afters you will really love this book. I can't wait to read the next one in the series.
Overall this one gets an A.
Purchase Links for Love the One You’re With:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Love-One-Youre-With-Stilettoebook/
dp/B00DFIE9NI B&N: http://www.amazon.com/Love-One-Youre-With-Stiletto-ebook/
dp/B00DFIE9NI iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/love-the-one-youre-with/
id680266490?mt=11 Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/love-the-one-you-rewith-
3 Other: http://www.randomhouse.com/book/227833/love-the-oneyoure-
with-by-lauren-layne
Lauren Layne writes contemporary romance for Grand Central Publishing (Forever) and Random House (Loveswept), as well as new adult for Random House's Flirt line.Lauren graduated from Santa Clara University with B.S. in Political Science that she has yet to put to good use. After dabbling in an e-commerce career, she decided to quit talking about writing and actually do it.
A Seattle-native, Lauren's also tried on the Bay Area, Orange County and Manhattan for size. She's currently writing from the Pacific Northwest, but is always looking for the next place to call home. Texas? The South? New England? Suggestions welcome.
