Read and Review #6 - After the Kiss (Lauren Layne)

Title: After the Kiss (Sex, Love and Stiletto #1)

Author: Lauren Layne

Publication date: 26 August 2013
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group - Loveswept
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Synopsis:

Julie Greene loves flings. Loves steamy first dates, sizzling first kisses, and every now and then, that first sexy romp between the sheets. Comfy pants, sleepy Sundays, movie nights on the couch? Shudder. But when Julie gets assigned the hardest story of her career—a first-person account of that magical shift between dating and "I do"—she'll need a man brave enough to give a total commitment-phobe a chance at more.

 Normally, Mitchell Forbes would be exactly that man. A devastatingly hot workaholic who tends to stay in relationships for far too long, he should be the perfect subject for Julie's "research." But what Julie doesn't know is that Mitchell is looking to cut loose for once in his life. And the leggy journalist notorious for avoiding love is exactly the type of no-strings fling he's looking for. In other words, Mitchell is the polar opposite of what Julie needs right now. And, at the same time, he's exactly what she wants.

My rating: 

5 out of 5 wants to marry a Wall Street broker

My review:

*I received a copy from the publishers via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

I have to admit, the reason I was drawn to this book was because of the author. I read Ms. Layne's Isn't She Lovely (psst, I wrote a review about it!) and enjoyed it immensely. I liked the way she writes her stories and I was hoping I'd get that in this book. Fortunately, I wasn't disappointed. In fact, I liked this book just as much (maybe more).

Julie Greene is a columnist for a magazine called Stiletto who writes the dating column in the Dating, Love and Sex segment of the magazine. She had never been in a relationship that lasts more than a couple of weeks and most of them are for research in her columns. When her editor told her to write a column on taking the next step in a relationship, Julie almost declined because she doesn't write about being in love. She writes about how to date a guy. And so she decides to do a research: be in a relationship with a guy and make it to Movie Night. In search of a subject to use as part of her research, she met Mitchell Forbes.

Mitchell Forbes, a Wall Street broker wanted nothing more than to prove to his colleague that he is able to have flings instead of safe, boring relationships. Being a workaholic, he opted to stay in a relationship even when he didn't want to. And so he made a bet. He would have a fling with a woman and dumps her before she starts to feel anything for him. And who better to have a fling with if not the notorious serial dater, Julie Greene? 

This is not one of those instant love at first sight kind of story. In fact, they don't even like each other that much at the first meeting. They are the total opposites of each other, hating the other's way of thinking. But eventually, they found that underneath their clothing and jobs lies a different person that they can tolerate and fall in love with. 

Normally I don't like reading about falling in love at such a fast pace but the way this story is written, the idea of falling in love that quick doesn't seem tacky or strange. Their relationship is sweet and towards the end I couldn't stop crying. 

"Here was a short-term kind of girl begging for a long-term relationship from a long-term kind of guy who wanted a fling."

"For the past few weeks, I've been doing something I've done an awful lot of. I've fallen in love. Then I went and did something crazy. Something wonderful. I stayed in love. I stayed past the first kiss, the first inside joke, the first fight. But I did it all wrong. I played it like a game, and I broke someone's heart. And I broke my own in the process." 

The only thing that I didn't like about this book was how short it was. I'm a very dramatic kind of girl and while this book managed to jerk the tears out of my eyes, I wanted more. It's fully recommended for those who enjoyed banters, love/hate relationship and just plain old crying over fictional characters.