I love when a romance is super fun and kind of an escapist fantasy while also being realistic. That happened with Lauren Layne's novel Yours to Keep. I had a delightful time reading it and it was just what I needed during a really exhausting week.
Here's the synopsis:
An irresistible baseball star and a resistant hometown girl stumble into love in a flirty romance by New York Times bestselling author Lauren Layne.Pro baseball shortstop Carter Ramsey is about to be Citizen magazine’s Man of the Year, but the only title that matters to him is out of reach: World Series MVP. Benched by a recent injury, Carter retreats to his hometown to recover. His ten-year class reunion and a potential reconciliation with the sweetheart he left behind could be perfect distractions. Until another old acquaintance throws Carter a curveball.Olive Dunn admits that her former high school science partner is still a handsome charmer. But she wasn’t swayed then, and she won’t be swayed now. Because Olive remembers Carter’s little shortcoming: he tends to bail the moment it suits him, without a backward glance. Best to keep her feelings strictly platonic while he’s in town.Except the entitled boy she knew is a changed man: solid, reflective, and generous. As they ease back in to their familiar friendship, things take a surprising turn, and Carter and Olive must decide if what they have is a passing flirtation or a real shot at love.
This is the second book in the Man of the Year series but I jumped in without reading the first or any of Layne's other novels. I don't think it matters that I hadn't met any of the other couples from other stories or the first book that features Man of the Year. It did get a bit small town romance-y with couples popping up everywhere who I was expected to know but I didn't let that bother me. I do want to read some of Layne's backlist now because this one was so much fun.
I'm a baseball fan and I love when novels feature a ball player. Typically I find them to be pretty basic with just general sportsing terms thrown around but Layne seemed to know her stuff and it felt authentic. Even if she did make Carter a shortstop of the New York MLB team...I kind of rolled my eyes at the parallel between the romance hero and a recently famous Yankees shortstop (full disclosure: I'm a Toronto Blue Jays fan and decidedly not a Yankees fan so this is all personal and all in good fun). Anyway! Don't worry if you don't like sports (Olive most definitely doesn't). The games and terms are kept to a minimum but it's a bonus for baseball fans like me.
I'm sure I've mentioned before but I tend not to reread the synopsis of a book before diving in so I can try to be surprised by the plot, if possible. Because of this, I forgot which girl was which so when Carter's sister lures him back into town because of an old girlfriend, I thought, "Goody! Second chance in a small town - my favourite!" Forgetting that that old flame has some competition in the unexpected girl next door. Which, it turns out, is another favourite of mine. And this girl next door? I LOVED her.
Olive was the kind of quirky I aspire to be. She is confident in her choices in life and doesn't much care who judges her for it. (If they even decide to judge her...most people wouldn't because she's such a gem of a human.) She likes what she likes and isn't going to change for just anyone so I think how she was feeling for Carter threw her off a little bit. All of a sudden it seems like he's not "just anyone" and there could be major changes ahead. Changes that are for the best because they'd be together. If they could figure their shit out, of course. Also, I personally loved that Olive was 5'10". I'm 6' so a tall heroine is always appreciated. I had to giggle at the start when her height was first mentioned and she notes (via third person POV) that she's not the tall, waif-like model tall. No, she's the strong and comes from Viking stock kind of tall. The imagery that evoked was so amusing to me because, as a tall woman, I totally get it.
I may not have told you much about the details of Lauren Layne's novel but I hope you get the sense that I had a damn good time reading Yours to Keep. Sometimes books don't need to be picked apart (yes, I realize how ridiculous that sounds for someone whose hobby is reviewing books). You just need to enjoy the story and the Happily Ever After. If you're in need of a pick me up, I'd definitely suggest this book!
*An egalley of this novel was provided by the Canadian distributor, Thomas Allen & Son, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*
I'm a baseball fan and I love when novels feature a ball player. Typically I find them to be pretty basic with just general sportsing terms thrown around but Layne seemed to know her stuff and it felt authentic. Even if she did make Carter a shortstop of the New York MLB team...I kind of rolled my eyes at the parallel between the romance hero and a recently famous Yankees shortstop (full disclosure: I'm a Toronto Blue Jays fan and decidedly not a Yankees fan so this is all personal and all in good fun). Anyway! Don't worry if you don't like sports (Olive most definitely doesn't). The games and terms are kept to a minimum but it's a bonus for baseball fans like me.
I'm sure I've mentioned before but I tend not to reread the synopsis of a book before diving in so I can try to be surprised by the plot, if possible. Because of this, I forgot which girl was which so when Carter's sister lures him back into town because of an old girlfriend, I thought, "Goody! Second chance in a small town - my favourite!" Forgetting that that old flame has some competition in the unexpected girl next door. Which, it turns out, is another favourite of mine. And this girl next door? I LOVED her.
Olive was the kind of quirky I aspire to be. She is confident in her choices in life and doesn't much care who judges her for it. (If they even decide to judge her...most people wouldn't because she's such a gem of a human.) She likes what she likes and isn't going to change for just anyone so I think how she was feeling for Carter threw her off a little bit. All of a sudden it seems like he's not "just anyone" and there could be major changes ahead. Changes that are for the best because they'd be together. If they could figure their shit out, of course. Also, I personally loved that Olive was 5'10". I'm 6' so a tall heroine is always appreciated. I had to giggle at the start when her height was first mentioned and she notes (via third person POV) that she's not the tall, waif-like model tall. No, she's the strong and comes from Viking stock kind of tall. The imagery that evoked was so amusing to me because, as a tall woman, I totally get it.
I may not have told you much about the details of Lauren Layne's novel but I hope you get the sense that I had a damn good time reading Yours to Keep. Sometimes books don't need to be picked apart (yes, I realize how ridiculous that sounds for someone whose hobby is reviewing books). You just need to enjoy the story and the Happily Ever After. If you're in need of a pick me up, I'd definitely suggest this book!
*An egalley of this novel was provided by the Canadian distributor, Thomas Allen & Son, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for stopping by Books Etc.!