Blog Tour Stop : Frisk Me by Lauren Layne

Summary (from Goodreads) 

Title : Frisk Me (New York's Finest #1)
Author : Lauren Layne
Publication Date :  July 28th 2015
Publisher : Forever
Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes & Noble

Officer Luc Moretti had no idea that his dive into the East River would have him drowning in a media frenzy. No matter how many times he tells reporters he was just doing his job, they're determined to make him into NYC's newest hero. Coming from a long line of NYPD's finest, Luc knows that being a cop has nothing to do with headlines and viral videos, and he's more than ready to get back to life away from the cameras—until he meets the gorgeous but jaded journalist assigned to film a TV special on him.

Ava Sims may be the only woman in NYC who isn't in love with Officer Moretti. That's why she's going after the real story—to find out about the man behind the badge. Ava's determined to keep things strictly professional, but the more time she spends around Luc, even she has to admit there's something about a man in uniform . . . and she can't wait to get him out of his. 

Personal Thoughts

Lauren Layne is easily one of my favorite contemporary romance authors. She writes really fun romantic comedies and she has yet to disappoint me with her books. When I saw that she was releasing a new series with cops at the center, I was ecstatic. Now, I'm not a reader who actively seeks out books about men in blue, but I knew that Lauren Layne would be able to make me fall for them and boy was I right!

Frisk Me might actually be my favorite book by the author. Lauren Layne excels at writing relateable characters who you fall for quite easily. The characters in Frisk Me were no different. I loved Luc Morretti from the very beginning. He was this gruffy, tough and intriguing cop who hated being in the limelight after videos of him doing heroic deeds while on duty are uploaded on YouTube. Luc was also dealing with the guilt of a case having gone wrong where he also lost his partner. I felt for Luc and wanted to give him a hug (a little bit for selfish reasons because YUM!). He came across as very cold and stoic at first, but over the course of the book, we get to watch him open up. When he did finally let us see who really was behind that hard exterior, it was glorious. Luc could be one heck of a swoony guy and he certainly managed to charm the pants off of me (and his heroine Ava!). He was flirty and a total ladies' man. I really did love the more easy-going side to his character. Ava was also a character I enjoyed for the most part. I loved how strong and determined she was. I have a lot of respect for female characters that chase after their own dreams and work hard to achieve them and Ava was that kind of character for me. She was headstrong, fierce and did not mince her words. I'll admit that towards the end, I did end up being slightly disappointed with Ava for something that she does to Luc. I was so angry at her and I hated how she hurt him for selfish reasons. Still, overall I did like Ava a lot and I was eventually able to get past what she did.

The romance in Frisk Me was a lot of fun. Luc and Ava had a bit of an antagonistic relationship going on at the beginning because he is forced to work on a TV program on which Ava is the leading journalist. This slowly morphed into delightful banter that had me grinning like a fool, and it was all very delicious. I loved how playful they were together and their chemistry was really hot too. When they finally got together, it was so worth the build up. The romance in Frisk Me just solidified why I love slow burn romances so much. Every romance novel has that big misunderstanding that temporarily separates the couple at about 75% and Frisk Me had it too. It's what that made me lose a little bit of respect for Ava and I honestly could have done without it. Thankfully, Lauren Layne did not drag their separation for too much of the book. I did wish that we could have seen a bit more groveling on Ava's part, but Luc was too much of a sweetheart to make her suffer for long, which made me fall harder for him. Family was also a main theme in Frisk Me and I loved him. The Morretti's were an entertaining bunch and I loved them all so much. Nonna, Luc's grandmother, was especially a meddling spitfire of an old lady. She brought about so many hilarious (and exhausting for Luc) scenes that had me laughing. Seriously, this lady needs her own book! The rest of his family were also quite lovely and I loved how tight-knit they were as opposed to Ava's family. I can't wait for some of the other Morretti siblings to have their own books.

Lauren Layne is a natural at writing and Frisk Me proved just that. If you enjoy light-hearted romances with fabulous characters and big families, this is the book for you. Frisk Me was a strong start to what will, it seems, be a romantic and engaging series. I, for one, want to devour more!

Rating 

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 4/5

Excerpt

A woman stood in the back corner of the room, helping herself to coffee from the fancy coffee machine Brinker kept for his own personal use.

Her body was mostly hidden by one of the horrible potted plants that Brinker’s wife insisted gave his office “homey character.”

And then she stepped into plain view.

He couldn’t help it; he checked her out. Everything about the woman demanded a second look, the legs in particular.

Luc had never really considered himself a legs-man, being more of an “equal opportunity” guy when it came to female body parts. (Although, if his mother ever asked, he’d swear up and down that he only ever noticed personality. Maybe the eyes.)

But the legs on this one were damn near perfect. For that matter, the high breasts and slim waist also earned high marks.

Her subdued black skirt and white blouse should have been boring, but they’d obviously been perfectly tailored to fit her trim frame perfectly.

The black high heels were icing on the already perfect cake.

Then he looked at her face, and for a second, Luc felt just a little bit dazed.

If anything, her features were even more perfect than the body. Her eyes were maybe just slightly too large for her otherwise petite features, but there was no doubt about it, the woman was stunning.
And yet, there was something else there too, just beyond the jolt of sexual awareness.

Recognition.

Luc might not have his brother Vincent’s photographic memory, but he was pretty damn good with faces. And he was pretty sure he knew this one. His brain scrambled to place her, but he kept coming up empty.

Her eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly on Luc, and his narrowed right back. He definitely knew her from somewhere.

She gave him a slow, knowing smile. “Fifth and Fortieth, three years ago.”

He shook his head to indicate he didn’t follow.

“You’re trying to figure out how you know me. Three years ago, you gave my news van a parking ticket, and we exchanged…words. That’s where you know me from. I’m Ava Sims.”

Author Biography

Lauren Layne is the USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary romance.
Prior to becoming an author, Lauren worked in e-commerce and web-marketing. In 2011, she and her husband moved from Seattle to New York City, where Lauren decided to pursue a full-time writing career. It took six months to get her first book deal (despite ardent assurances to her husband that it would only take three). Since then, Lauren's gone on to publish ten books, including the bestselling Stiletto series, with several more on the way in 2015.
Lauren currently lives in Chicago with her husband and spoiled Pomeranian. When not writing, you'll find her at happy hour, running at a doggedly slow pace, or trying to straighten her naturally curly hair.

Author Links:

Website: http://www.laurenlayne.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/laurenlayneauthor
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/_laurenlayne
GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6969772.Lauren_Layne

Giveaway

Prize:
- $50 Amazon GC
- Copies of Frisk Me, Only With You and Made For You

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to check out the other tour stops here.

Thank you to Tasty Book Tours for letting me be part of this blog tour and to NetGalley and Forever for the e-ARC of Frisk Me.