I KNEW YOU WERE TROUBLE by Lauren Layne: Review

I Knew You Were Trouble by Lauren Layne
Series: Oxford #4
Published by Loveswept
Publication Date: June 13th 2017
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 215
Source: Publisher
Format: eARC
Goodreads
Buy Online: Amazon ♥ B&N ♥ Kobo ♥ Apple

Disclaimer: I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely mine.

New York City’s hottest bachelors are stirring up trouble in this fun, flirty Oxford Novel, as a love triangle forces a feisty beauty to choose between winning back Mr. Right or giving in to Mr. Wrong.

Taylor Carr has it all—a sleek job in advertising, a stunning Manhattan apartment, and the perfect man to share it with: Bradley Calloway. Even after Bradley dumps her for a co-worker on move-in day, Taylor isn’t worried. She’ll get her man eventually. In the meantime, she needs a new roommate. Enter Nick Ballantine, career bartender, freelance writer—and longtime pain in Taylor’s ass. Sexy in a permanent five-o’clock-shadow kind of way, Nick knows how to push Taylor’s buttons, as if he could see right through to the real her.

Nick’s always trying to fix people, and nobody could use a good fixing more than Taylor. Sure, she’s gorgeous, with mesmerizing silver eyes, but it’s her vulnerability that kills him. Now that they’re shacking up together, the chemistry is out of control. Soon they’re putting every part of their two-bedroom apartment to good use. Then Taylor’s ex comes crawling back to her, and Nick figures she’ll jump at the chance to go back to her old life—unless he fights for the best thing that ever happened to him.

Review

The Stiletto/Oxford series is always a good one if you are looking for some fun and entertaining reading and I KNEW YOU WERE TROUBLE was everything I expected it to be: fun, lighthearted, sweet and a really enjoyable story.

From the very first page Nick and Taylor will have you wanting more of the snappy dialogue and sizzling chemistry they share and with the boys at Oxford to play a supporting role, you just can’t get enough.

Unfortunately for Taylor and Nick, even with the chemistry between them, their timing is terrible and they just keep dancing around each other. Until they somehow end up sharing an apartment, which should make it easy for them to get together, right? Wrong.

Taylor may appear to have it all – the perfect job, man and apartment – but her breezy confidence is a cover for a deep-seated vulnerability that was really heartbreaking.  Losing her parents at an early age and being raised by an aunt who frowned on emotions of any kind, Taylor doesn’t trust her feelings and prefers to work with her brain, but getting involved with Nick means letting go and opening herself up to the possibility of finding the love that has always evaded her and the risks that she could also get hurt.

Nick likes his life carefree with no commitments or so he would like you to think, but he really is a relationship kind of guy. He is also very sweet and easygoing, and gave as good as he got from Taylor. Their relationship was mostly antagonistic (think cats and dogs) and their dialogue filled with clever quips, but when they lay down arms, they were so good together.

While this story was lighthearted, there were also some emotional moments that moved me to tears for the woman who never really knew love, even the parental kind and didn’t know how to recognize and accept it when it was offered; and the man who had given everything to a woman who was undeserving of his love and was now struggling to let down his guard before he lost the best thing that had ever happened to him.

This was a really good addition to the series and I hope that Ms. Layne will give us more hot couples and soon.

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