{"id":6692,"date":"2016-05-17T06:00:05","date_gmt":"2016-05-17T10:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=6692"},"modified":"2016-05-08T11:01:28","modified_gmt":"2016-05-08T15:01:28","slug":"arc-review-good-girl-by-lauren-layne","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=6692","title":{"rendered":"ARC Review: Good Girl by Lauren Layne"},"content":{"rendered":"

Buy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook<\/a>
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Review<\/strong><\/h4>\n

4 stars!<\/b><\/p>\n

I have loved Lauren Layne\u2019s previous books and was so excited to dive into this one, and once again she has given us a sweet and sexy love story with a great romantic dynamic. It\u2019s a love\/hate set-up with great chemistry and banter that had me laughing out loud. Such an enjoyable read, I loved it.<\/p>\n

This is officially book 2 in the Love Unexpectedly<\/em> series, but doesn\u2019t seem to tie into book 1 (I haven’t actually read it) and can definitely be read as a standalone.<\/p>\n

Jenny Dawson is America\u2019s sweetheart and a country music superstar. At only 22, it isn\u2019t the life she imagined for herself and though she loves writing music and singing, she\u2019s feeling overwhelmed by the media attention. When a new scandal erupts unjustifiably putting her in the middle of a famous actor\u2019s claims of infidelity and tarnishing her \u2018good girl\u2019 reputation, she flees LA for a sleepy little town in Louisiana and an old house she spent an idyllic summer in as a child, where she can live in peace while she writes her new album and waits for the media frenzy to die down.<\/p>\n

I love Jenny! She\u2019s sensible, relatable and instantly likable, and her inner monologue and narration of the story had me instantly invested.<\/p>\n

I, myself, am Jenny Dawson.
\nA country singer.
\nDon\u2019t.
\nRoll.
\nYour.
\nEyes.
\nI <\/i>get that country music can be polarizing, I do, I really do. But I <\/i>swear I don\u2019t twang about dead dogs and dusty highways. I just write songs about real life. <\/i>My life. And then I sing them.
\nFormerly in the shower, and now on the radio. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The house she is escaping to belongs to Preston Noah Maxwell Walcott. 27 year old Preston is the illegitimate son of a wealthy businessman and inherited his father\u2019s business and properties upon his death. However he was raised in a trailer by his single mother, where he went by the name Noah. Torn between two worlds, he has escaped to the old house in Louisiana, working to fix it up while he ignores his problems. He agreed to rent his house out to Jenny but wants to continue living an anonymous life, so he introduces himself as Noah Maxwell, tells her he is the property\u2019s caretaker, and moves into a smaller house on the property while he works on the house.<\/p>\n

Of course from the moment Noah and Jenny see each other they are immediately attracted, but Noah is a grumpy a-hole, and he wants nothing to do with the girl he perceives as a spoiled, home-wrecking princess.<\/p>\n

I’ve never been sucker-punched with equal waves of lust and disdain before.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But the intense chemistry between them cannot be denied and though Noah is mean and cruel to Jenny as he tries his best to keep her at arm\u2019s length, she comes right back at him and their banter and teasing is fantastic! (Zip-ties anyone? Phew!)<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re playing with fire, little girl,\u201d he says quietly. \u201cI\u2019m not one of your toys, and I\u2019m not interested in what you\u2019re offering.\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m not offering anything.\u201d I retort, even though his words sting. \u201cI like my men more\u2026refined.\u201d
\nHis grin calls my bluff. \u201cYou sure about that?\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I really like Noah. He’s a bit of a complex character, and not immediately likable with his broody snarkiness masking what\u2019s really going on with him, so I love that we get his POV so that we can see where he’s coming from and really understand his motivations.<\/p>\n

Fuck this girl and her addictive everything.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I love these two together! The sexual tension is zinging from the very beginning, and it builds beautifully as they spend time together, and when they finally cave in to the inevitable it\u2019s hot as all hell! But with Jenny only in town for a short time, neither of them want to get too attached and Noah is determined to keep things impersonal between them but as they open up and get to know each other, real feelings start to develop and they soon realise that what they have between them is more than just sex.<\/p>\n

Damn it, I want Noah Maxwell to care about me. I want a tiny bit of tenderness from this rough, gruff guy who most of the time can barely stand me.
\n<\/i>Keep dreaming, princess, I tell myself in a mocking version of his harsh, drawling timbre.
\nBut then I really <\/i>must be dreaming, because his hand moves, hovering above mine with only a split second of hesitation before it closes over mine gently but authoritatively.
\nI bite my lip to fight the smile, but it comes all the same.
\n\u201cDon\u2019t make it weird, princess,\u201d he says gruffly.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s wonderful to watch them slowly fall for each other even though they\u2019re both trying so hard not to, and the heat between them blends really nicely with the growing emotion. Jenny knows she is falling for Noah, but she is due to return to her real life soon and Noah is still figuring out what he wants from his life, knowing only that he wants no part of a life in the limelight. They are both dreading the moment where she has to leave, but with their completely different lives and with Noah in denial about his true feelings, what does the future hold for them?<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t want to belong to anyone but myself. I don\u2019t want to live anyone\u2019s life but my own.
\nAnd I do <\/i>not fit into Jenny Dawson\u2019s life. I\u2019ve known it from the very beginning.
\nBut damned if it didn\u2019t feel like she was just starting to fit into <\/i>mine.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I loved this book! Jenny and Noah are both great characters, and I could completely relate to them and all that they are feeling. The chemistry between them is wonderful, and I loved their heat-filled bickering as much as the sweet moments, and the oh-so-steamy sexy time.<\/p>\n

Ranger and Dolly, Noah and Jenny\u2019s dogs, are absolutely sensational, with real personalities that add something special to the story. And Noah\u2019s best friends Finn and Vaughn are both fantastic, and I hope that they get their own books, because I would love to read more about them!<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m starting to feel a lot less like running from something and a lot more like\u2026home\u201d
\nFinn pulls out his phone. \u201cI need to write that down. See if Ma will stick it on a quilt for me.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This was a really fun read. I was instantly sucked in, and Jenny and Noah\u2019s story kept me engaged the whole way through. I was rooting for them to find their happy ending, and I was really happy with how it all ended – including a gorgeous epilogue that left me with a big grin on my face.<\/p>\n

I loved it \u2013 4 stars.<\/p>\n

An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided in exchange for an honest review.<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Buy:\u00a0 Kindle Ebook Review 4 stars! I have loved Lauren Layne\u2019s previous books and was so excited to dive into this one, and once again she has given us a sweet and sexy love story […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5602,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":4,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"Product","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[57,86,9,29],"tags":[253,48,76],"class_list":["post-6692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrities","category-enemies-to-lovers","category-romance","category-steamy","tag-lauren-layne","tag-review","tag-standalone"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Good-Girl.jpg?fit=150%2C227&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-1JW","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6692"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6692\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5602"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}