CREAM OF THE CROP by Alice Clayton: Review

Posted July 12, 2016 in Reviews / 0 Comments

Cream of the Crop by Alice Clayton
Series: Hudson Valley #2
Published by Gallery Books
Publication Date: July 12th 2016
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 384
Source: Publisher
Format: eARC
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Disclaimer: I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely mine.

New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Alice Clayton brings her trademark blend of funny and sexy to this second contemporary romance in the brand-new Hudson Valley series!

Manhattan’s It Girl, Natalie Grayson, has it all: she’s a hot exec at a leading advertising firm, known industry-wide for her challenging and edgy campaigns. She’s got a large circle of friends, a family that loves her dearly, and her dance card is always full with handsome eligible bachelors. What else could a modern gal-about-town wish for? The answer, of course, is…cheese.

Natalie’s favorite part of each week is spending Saturday morning at the Union Square Farmer’s Market, where she indulges her love of all things triple cream. Her favorite booth also indulges her love of all things handsome. Oscar Mendoza, owner of the Bailey Falls Creamery and purveyor of the finest artisanal cheeses the Hudson Valley has to offer, is tall, dark, mysterious, and a bit oblivious. Or so she thinks. But that doesn’t stop Natalie from fantasizing about the size of his, ahem, milk can.

Romance is churning, passion is burning, and something incredible is rising to the top. Could it be…love?

Review

Billionaires and bad boys, eat your hearts out because farmers are in! Oh, and big girls are a lot of fun, too!

Seriously though, I really wasn’t feeling the new craze about farmers until I read CREAM OF THE CROP. This was such an outrageously funny and very sexy opposites attract story that left me feeling really good at the end. There was so much to love about it, from the vivacious Natalie to the broody Oscar (shiver) and the small town setting.

Natalie Grayson is in the thick of things, with a thriving career in advertising and access to the best places in New York City, and she enjoys her very active social life but all of that pales beside her favorite thing to do – visit the farmer’s market every weekend for a glimpse of her favorite farmer. Plus, she’s a city girl through and through and considers going outside her slice of Manhattan a trek to the boonies and going outside the city is a big no, but when her firm lands a contract that would put her in the same vicinity as her farmer, all bets are off and a trip to the Hudson Valley is not such a big deal after all. And there is no shortage of shenanigans to keep the laughter flowing. Who wears four inch designer boots to muck around in cow patties? Only Natalie!

Natalie is independent, successful, smart and definitely not shy in any way, but Oscar is the only person that can reduce her to a fumbling mess and I thought it was really cute and laugh out loud funny. She’s got a really big personality, is really comfortable in her size eighteen body and would make the perfect best friend, and I loved that she didn’t take herself too serious.

I’ve never really gotten the appeal of broody heroes before Oscar. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve read books with them and brushed over all that broodiness, but with Oscar it was like I just saw the light and I really liked that there were no huge issues going on with him. He’s gorgeous, hardworking and very much her opposite and I thought they fit together really well. Plus, he’s a rock star in the sack.

Ms. Clayton chose the perfect setting for this story. I can see the cute, picturesque little town in my mind’s eye and it’s so appealing, with the laid back life, the slow pace and the really nice people. Small town living was never more tempting.

I have never read any book by Ms. Clayton before this so I didn’t have any specific expectations, but the cover of this one drew me in and my enjoyment of this book guarantees that I will finally dive into her back-list that has been sitting on my tablet for ages.

If you are looking for a really fun time with a lot of laughter, you can’t do better than CREAM OF THE CROP this summer.