Blog Tour: Steal Me by Lauren Layne (Excerpt, Teasers, Review, Giveaway and Buy Links)
Steal Me
Book One
384 Pages
Release Date: 11/24/2015
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing | Imprint: Forever
Genre: Romance | Contemporary Romance | Series: New York’s Finest
In Hot Pursuit
Being a cop might be in Anthony Moretti’s blood, but protecting and serving the city of New York has always been more than just the family business. If that means his love life stays locked up, well then that’s just another sacrifice made in the line of duty. That is, until he sets eyes on the gorgeous new waitress at The Darby Diner and suddenly Anthony’s morning coffee is leaving him a whole lot more hot and bothered than usual.
Though waitressing at The Darby isn’t exactly Maggie Walker’s dream job, it pays the bills and gives her time to work on her novel. Now if only she could stop fantasizing about gorgeous Anthony Moretti every time he sits down at her table, she’d really be in great shape. But when he needs her help identifying a criminal threatening The Darby—and Maggie recognizes her ex-husband—she fears her fresh start might be a pipe dream. Faster than a New York minute, Maggie and Anthony find themselves in one perilous pursuit that only gets hotter with each and every rule-breaking kiss.
Amazon | B & N | Google Play | iTunes | Kobo
Keep reading for an excerpt, more teasers, my review and rating, and details on how to enter a fantastic giveaway for two print books!
From Steal Me by Lauren Layne:
For Captain Anthony Moretti, three things in life were sacred:
(1) Family.
(2) The NYPD
(3) New York Yankees.
And on this breezy, September Sunday morning, two out of these three things were making him crazy. Not in the good way.
“What do you mean, you don’t want to talk about it?” his father barked, leaning across the table to help himself to one of Anthony’s pieces of bacon.
Maria Moretti’s hand was deft and practiced—the mark of a mother of five—as she swiftly swatted the bacon out of her husband’s fingers. “The doctor said you were supposed to take it easy on the bacon!”
“I am taking it easy. This is Anthony’s bacon,” Tony clarified, rubbing the back of his hand.
“Is it?” Anthony muttered, glancing at the now empty plate. “I don’t seem to remember actually getting to eat any of it.”
His youngest brother and fellow cop stabbed a piece of fruit with his fork and waved it in Anthony’s face. “Cantaloupe?”
Anthony gave Luc a withering look. He could appreciate that his baby brother felt man enough to get a side of fruit with his Sunday brunch, but Anth would stick to potatoes and fatty pig products, thanks very much.
“I think I’m going to hurl,” his other brother, Vincent, said to no one. “Shouldn’t have gotten the side of pancakes. Too old for this shit.”
Anthony felt the beginnings of a headache.
Item number one on his priority list (family) was also thehis number one cause of his frequent, Please, God, take me away to a deserted tropical island,prayers.
But there was no tropical island. Just the same old shit.
For every one of Anthony’s thirty- six years, Sundays had looked exactly the same. All Morettis filed obediently into their pew at St. Ignatius Loyola cChurch on the Upper East Side of Manhattan for 10ten o’clock Mass.
Breakfast always followed, always at the same diner, although the name had changed a handful of times over the years.
The sign out front currently read The Darby Diner, named after…nobody knew.
But the Morettis had never cared what it was called. Or why it was called that. As long as the coffee was hot, the hash browns crispy, and the breakfast meats plentiful, they were happy.
Granted, the greasy-spoon food of Tthe Darby Diner was a far cry from the Morettis’ usual fare of home- cooked Italian meals, but Anthony was pretty sure they all secretly loved the weekly foray into pure Americana cuisine. Even his mother didn’t seem to mind (much) so long as her family was all together.
*ARC provided by Publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review*
First Impression: Impeccable writing, excellent characterization, compelling story opening.
I don’t think it’s any secret that I’m a fan of Lauren Layne and her New York’s Finest series for Grand Central Publishing Forever. I was lucky enough to read an ARC of the first book in this series, Frisk Me, and quickly fell in love with the world of the NYPD, the characters of Luc and Ava, and the Moretti clan. Not only was the book well-written, but it was vastly, memorably, entertaining.
Steal Me, book two in author Lauren Layne‘s New York’s Finest series, proved itself to be even better than the first book. I absolutely loved the character of Anthony Moretti. Not only was he extremely funny, but he was equally fascinating and entertaining to read about. His interactions with his family killed me because they felt so real and authentic to the area and to his character. I loved the voice, the writing style, and the flawless in-depth characterization of Anthony.
I also loved Maggie’s introduction to the story. She was so clumsy and flustered around Anthony, it made for a fantastic meeting scene. Yes, he was a bit of a jerk to her, but that only proved his realness to me. He has flaws, and they are on full display at the start. I seriously loved that, and I loved that their interactions weren’t expected, or easy.
This story was a delightful, fast-paced, witty and sexy read that thoroughly entertained me and absolutely captivated me. I loved each stage of this book, from Antony and Maggie’s first interaction, to their follow-up interactions that lead into them spending more and more time together. Each time they were together, they sparked, they danced, and I learned just a little bit more about them. I loved learning about these characters, getting to know who they were once the masks fell away. They are so well-drawn, so well-characterized, that I fully expect to run into both of them the next time I go into a diner for breakfast or lunch.
Lauren Layne has written a series about a family of cops that I adore and love more and more with each and every book. I am fully confident in saying that I hope this series continues on after the remaining Moretti siblings all get their own books, with co-workers, cousins, friends taking up the helm in future books because I’m completely addicted to this world, and the way this author writes her characters. Love, love, love it!
Final thoughts: Do not miss this book. Or the first book, either. This is a must-read series that you will fall in love with and want to own, reread, and talk about over and over again.
And don’t forget to check out the first book in the series!
Amazon | B & N | iTunes | Kobo | Goodreads
Want to know more about the series?
Check out the Goodreads series page!
Rafflecopter Giveaway
Print Set of FRISK ME & STEAL ME, $5.00 Starbucks Gift Card and a Writers Gift Set
Enter the Rafflecopter giveaway here!
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.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
This tour is brought to you by the fabulous:
Want to follow the tour?
Click here to visit the list of blogs participating.
Thank you so much for hosting STEAL ME