REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: GOOD GIRL by LAUREN LAYNE

 

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Good Girl

By: Lauren Layne

Releasing May 17, 2016 
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In Good Girl by Lauren Layne, when a rotten lying dirtbag ruins her good girl image via means of the media, country music superstar Jenny Dawson packs her bags and heads for Lousiana. She figures getting away from the spotlight instead of fighting back will help her situation, especially when she needs to get some songs written for her next album. But she never imagined that the caretaker of the property where she's staying could provide both the right amount of distraction and inspiration. Yet, she'll take all the help she can get.

Preston Noah Maxwell Walcott knows lying to Jenny about who he really is could backfire, but he does it anyway. If only to give himself the chance to forget about his troubles for a while, mainly his manipulative ex that thinks he'll come back to her. He shouldn't be considering getting involved with someone -- even if it is temporary -- but Jenny is hard to resist, especially when she continues to surprise him. How could he ever believe she was anything like his ex?

  

I always look forward to when Ms. Layne releases a new book, because she's an author that never fails to grab my attention from the very beginning and doesn't let go until I'm at the end. And of course, this book managed to do exactly the same just as I imagined it would. The opening chapter had me laughing, as Jenny has a major dilemma with what's called her burrito belly. But as soon as the horrible situation with the rotten dirtbag unfolds, dragging her good name through the mud, I couldn't help feel anything but sympathy. She didn't deserve what happened, and yet, it turned out to be a good thing both personally and professionally.   

 

The dialogue was entertaining, and I loved the verbal sparring between Jenny and Noah. She provides a challenge for the hero, and it doesn't help that he makes some wrong assumptions about her in his attempt to keep his distance. However, the dialogue is also intense due to the main characters back stories. Noah didn't have the easiest of times growing up, because he grew up in two different worlds. His mother didn't have a lot to offer, while his father had money. The saying 'money doesn't buy happiness' certainly rings true from Noah's point-of-view, as he struggles to decide what he wants out of life, and I liked what he finally decides. 

 

I enjoyed both the main characters, and Noah's best friends definitely charmed me with their antics. One he met when he lived with his mom, and the other when he lived with his dad, so they're complete opposites. But they really care about Noah and want what's best with him, even if they don't agree with some of the things he does throughout this story.

 

Jenny is strong, brave, tenacious and feisty. She goes through a lot in this story, and I liked how she handled the situation, even if I thought running away was the wrong decision at first and that the suggestion her friend, Amy, made was the way to go. However, in saying that, her time away gave her a chance to get her priorities straight. To give her a chance to realize what she wanted for her future. Did she want to keep following her dreams if she couldn't handle the ups and downs of being famous? Then there's the friendship she has with her dog. The little fluff ball sounds cute, and definitely is a good judge of character. 

 

While Noah, he's a total jerk in the beginning. Lying and making snap judgments about Jenny certainly proves how much of a jerk he is, and as the story progressed, I could understand why he wanted to steer clear of getting close to the heroine. However, she proved him wrong. She is nothing like his ex, and it goes to show that he shouldn't judge a book by it's cover and shouldn't rush to judgment. That she should be considered innocent until proven guilty by what the media is claiming she did. 

 

Overall, Ms. Layne has penned another really good novel where hot sex scenes heat up the story, and illustrate the strong chemistry between these two that is there from the moment they meet. Chemistry that just keeps building because of their constant bickering. The way this story ended was perfect, as Noah needed to find a way to make things up to Jenny after the fiasco that tore them apart. I would recommend Good Girl by Lauren Layne, if you enjoy a hero and heroine that need each other to help them realize what they want for their future. 

 

OVERALL RATING:

 

        

  

 

BLURB:
In this steamy novel from the USA Today bestselling author of Blurred Lines, country music’s favorite good girl hides away from the world—and finds herself bunking with a guy who makes her want to be a little bad.
 

Jenny Dawson moved to Nashville to write music, not get famous. But when her latest record goes double platinum, Jenny’s suddenly one of the town’s biggest stars—and the center of a tabloid scandal connecting her with a pop star she’s barely even met. With paparazzi tracking her every move, Jenny flees to a remote mansion in Louisiana to write her next album. The only hiccup is the unexpected presence of a brooding young caretaker named Noah, whose foul mouth and snap judgments lead to constant bickering—and serious heat.
 

Noah really should tell Jenny that he’s Preston Noah Maxwell Walcott, the owner of the estate where the feisty country singer has made her spoiled self at home. But the charade gives Noah a much-needed break from his own troubles, and before long, their verbal sparring is indistinguishable from foreplay. But as sizzling nights give way to quiet pillow talk, Noah begins to realize that Jenny’s almost as complicated as he is. To fit into each other’s lives, they’ll need the courage to face their problems together—before the outside world catches up to them.

 

Buy Links:      Amazon | B & N | Google Play | iTunes | Kobo

 

 

“What time did you say this chick was arriving?” Finn asks around his cigarette.

“Tomorrow morning,” I say, rapping my toe against a funny-looking floorboard and wincing when it buckles.

“Huh.” Finn exhales and looks out the window.

I know that tone. “What?”

“Seems she might have gotten here early,” he says, a second before the quiet afternoon erupts with the sound of my dog losing his mind, mingled with the shrill piercing yap of a much smaller dog.

“Seriously?”

Finn shrugs and nods. “There’s a girl outside.”

“Shit,” I mutter as I head toward the stairs, dodging the two broken ones.

Ranger’s about as good a dog as they come, wouldn’t hurt a fly. But he’s a big dog with a big bark, and one serious weakness: gleefully humping smaller dogs. He’s a rescue, and though he was fixed after they brought him in, he’d already gone through canine puberty, or whatever. He’s still got the fierce urge to hump, although it’s more habit than hormones.

I exit out the front door just in time to see my big brown Lab leap forward, his clumsy paws finding the shoulders of a blond girl who lets out a shriek, holding a cat above her head like that scene from The Lion King.

“Ranger, no! Down.”

I run forward, my hand finding the collar of my dog and yanking him backward as I search the ground to find the source of the small-dog barks still piercing the air.

Then I register that the sound is coming from above, and realize . . .

The cotton ball isn’t a cat.

That orange piece of fluff is a dog, and Ranger is apparently in love.

“What the heck is wrong with your dog?” the girl says as she slowly lowers the puffball from over her head, cradling the hideous little monster against her chest as it continues its high-pitched bloody-murder yips.

“At least my dog is actually a dog,” I say, staring in horror at the pointy face of a canine that could fit in one of my hands. “I’ve seen dust bunnies bigger than that thing.”

“Dolly’s a Pomeranian,” she says, setting a hand on top of the monster’s head. “She’s supposed to be this tiny.”

“Well, Ranger’s a Lab. He’s supposed to be this normal.”

“He attacked me,” she says, giving Ranger a wary look as his tongue hangs out the side of his mouth, his eyes locked lovingly on Dolly.

“He didn’t want you, he wanted the . . . dog,” I say, forcing myself to acknowledge that the creature in her hands might be part of the canine family.

“For what, dinner?”

I don’t respond, because now that the crisis is averted, I’ve managed to shift my attention from the dogs to the girl, and . . .

Holy shit.

I’m not sure I’ve ever been sucker-punched by equal waves of lust and disdain before.

Jenny Dawson is hot as hell.

I knew that going in, but up close she’s even more mouthwatering. Her white skirt is short and tight, her legs long and toned.

She’s wearing some billowing pink top, so I can’t get a good look at what’s happening there, but it doesn’t really matter. I’ve always been a legs man, and I can’t stop looking.

The legs are a 10.

The face is a 10.

And the long blond hair spilling over one shoulder definitely begs to be spread over a man’s pillow. My pillow.

And yet even as my cock says yes, my brain is saying hell no.

Gorgeous as she is, she screams diva from the pink toenails to the sky-high stiletto sandals and all the way up to the carefully made-up face.

I just turned my entire life upside down trying to get away from a woman exactly like this one, so this is definitely a look, don’t touch situation.

But I’m looking. I’m definitely looking.

 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Lauren Layne is the USA Today Bestselling author of more than a dozen contemporary romance novels.

Prior to becoming an author, Lauren worked in e-commerce and web-marketing. A year after moving from Seattle to NYC to pursue a writing career, she had a fabulous agent and multiple New York publishing deals.

Lauren currently lives in Manhattan with her husband and plus-sized Pomeranian. When not writing, you'll likely find her running (rarely), reading (sometimes), or at happy hour (often).

 

 Author Links:  Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads