I Think I Love You

Ballantine Group; Loveswept | On Sale: July 10th, 2018 | ISBN: 9781101969557 | Pages 200 | Price: $4.99

A game of seduction between two best friends goes deliciously wrong in an irresistible Oxford Novel that brims with wit and sexual tension. Library Journal hails Layne’s work as “exemplary contemporary romance.”

Brit Robbins knows that dating in New York City is hard—she just hoped to have it mastered by age thirty. But after yet another promising suitor says they have no sparks, Brit decides it’s time to torch her dating game and try a new plan. And who better to coach Brit through the art of seduction than the guy who first gave her the “let’s be friends” card?

Hunter Cross has always figured there’s nothing his best friend Brit can do to surprise him. But Brit’s request is a surprise he doesn’t see coming—and one he’s definitely not prepared for. Hunter and Brit have always been careful to keep things perfectly platonic, but the fake dates and faux flirting are starting to feel like the real deal. And soon Hunter realizes he has taught Brit too well. Not only has she become an expert at seduction, the man becoming thoroughly seduced is him.

“I want you to teach me.”
The silence stretched on and on, until finally Brit forced herself to look up at Hunter.
“Teach you what?” His voice was kind but completely confused.
“How to seduce a guy.”
His head snapped back, and he inhaled through his nose. “No way.”
“Why not?” she said, giving an impatient little bounce of irritation on the couch. It was what she’d expected, but it was frustrating all the same. “You’re the perfect person.”
“How you figure?”
Ah. Now, this she was ready for. She and the girls had talked out this part of her argument, and Brit was armed and ready with her answer. Setting her glass aside, she began to count out the reasons on her fingers.
“For starters, you apparently have some sort of innate charisma. You said it yourself—women are physically attracted to you, even when you don’t want them to be. It’s the very opposite of my problem, and I want to figure out what the difference between us is.
“Second,” she continued. “You date. A lot. You’ve got a ton of experience, and you’re a guy’s guy. You know what makes them tick, especially in the dating world.”
He frowned. “I could name a half dozen other guys who also fit into those categories. Ask one of them. Hell, I’ll ask them for you.”
“There’s one more reason,” she pressed on, ignoring his objections. “You’re you. We’re us. I trust you in a way I don’t trust anyone else. Plus, you’re single. I can’t ask Lincoln, or Nick, or Cole. They could give me advice, probably, but they’re all married or involved with some of my closest friends. I can’t practice on them.”
Hunter choked on his drink. “What do you mean, practice?”
“We’re talking the art of seduction here,” she said practically. “I’m not an expert, obviously, but I know it means more than just words. It’s about looks, and touch, and … moves.
“Don’t you dare laugh at me,” she said quickly, lifting a finger in warning when his lips twitched.
“Moves?” he said, trying to hide the impending smile and failing. “Is this high school in the nineties?”
She leaned forward and gave him a not-so-gentle punch on the arm. “Will you help me or not?”
“Not.”
Brit scowled. “You said you’d do anything for me.”
“Yeah, but not teach you how to … mate.”
“Mate? Okay, that’s worse than moves. And it’s not so tawdry as that. I just need some pointers on how to get guys to stop viewing me as a pal. That’s all.”
“Oh, is that all?” He said it sarcastically, dragging a hand over his face. “It’s weird, Brit. You’re my friend. My closest friend.”
“Exactly the problem. Every other guy wants that role too.”
“Do I have competition in the friend department?” He smiled as he said it, but she noticed he was watching her as though he cared about the answer.
“Of course not. You’re still my number one.”
“You’re flattering me now.”
“Is it working?” she asked hopefully.
“Nope.”

Reading the last book in a series you have enjoyed is always bittersweet. While this series did start off as just ok for me, the books only got better and better.

I Think I Love You was the perfect ending to this series and I loved every bit of this book. This can be read as a standalone and it will make you fall in love with these characters so much that you will want to go back and read the other books.

I won’t go into any details because the blurb pretty much tells you what to expect as for plot. However, it’s how everything plays out that makes this book so good. It all sounds cliché – friends to lovers, he teaches her how to seduced and ends up being the one to be seduced in the end. But it’s how Lauren plays this out that just sucks you in.

The sexiness, the playfulness, the teasing – all of the interactions between Brit and Hunter are so real and fluid. Lauren writes her characters to where everything just feels natural and true to life. Lauren’s writing style is what makes her stories stand out from the rest and it’s why I will always read her books.

Lauren makes falling in love so beautiful and sweet – it’s impossible to not fall in love with her characters and their stories.

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