Title: Loving Layne
Author: VL Locey
Series: Hockey Allies Bachelor Bid #2
Genre: M/M Romance
Release Date: April 7, 2020
Cover Design: Meredith Russell
Sometimes the last thing you expect to happen might turn out to be what you needed all along.
Roman Kennedy’s first trip to the Windy City isn’t going quite as planned. Mysteries intrigue him, and his best friend Dillon seems to be sitting on a whopper. So, with his grandfather’s favorite hat on his head and his notebook in hand, the journalism major starts digging. Sadly, getting his bestie to spill the beans on what the secret is isn’t as easy as Roman had hoped.
Now, through no fault of his own, he’s stuck in an expensive hotel attending a bachelor auction of all things. He’s surrounded by lumbering jocks who, he’s sure, are just waiting for the chance to poke fun at the skinny, gay Jewish guy. Imagine his surprise when one of the big lugs sits down with him and talks Bernstein and Woodward.
Layne Coleman is sexy as sin, smart as a whip, considerably older, and has the same passion for investigative journalism as Roman does. His deep blue eyes and dark hair make concentrating on anything but the soft kisses they’re now sharing difficult. Roman’s keen instincts are understandably clouded by romance, so when Dillon reveals his secret in a highly public way, it’s hard to say who is more stunned—Roman or Layne, the man at the center of it all.
This story was absolutely brilliant! I'll admit it took me a couple of chapters to get into it but that was more to do with the fact that the last book I read before starting Loving Layne was a highly paranormal and complete opposite of this but once I was able to let go of the previous reading I was hooked on Layne and Roman's journey.
I won't lie, I was expecting a completely different kind of set-up with a series titled Hockey Allies Bachelor Bid but I wouldn't want Layne and Roman's story any different than the one VL Locey has written. May/December romances are not something I generally seek out but nor to shy away from them, Miss Locey has done a wonderful job showing that age is just a number and that you don't have to be within 5 years of each other to be a perfect fit.
As for Roman, well his love of nearly everything "old"(and I am not referring to Layne😉😉) was a welcome element. I love so many things classic and it's just not an aspect you often find in main characters when reading so it was a point that I not only welcomed but highly appreciated. When it comes to Layne, well I loved him, it wasn't hard to see what drew Roman in. Not making Roman feel like an odd duck for his love of everything classic was also highly appreciated. There really is no doubting their connection from the getgo.
As for Dillon's bombshell, well I won't go into that and spoil anything but I truly loved the reactions and how each character dealt with the news. Perhaps Dillon's original dropping of the bombshell could have been handled better but we have to have some drama, don't we?😉
Could Loving Layne been even better with a few points explored deeper? Maybe. Did the story being on the shorter side leave some lacking gaps? Perhaps. Personally, when written well, "gaps" that happen off-page pull me in even deeper because it kicks my imagination in high gear to help the author "write" the journey. So in short: Loving Layne is an amazingly fun, dramedy with real characters that entertained me, and I can't ask for nor want anything more.
RATING:
Hot hockey players on the auction block…
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Place a bid. You just might find someone to keep you warm.
USA Today Bestselling Author V.L. Locey – Penning LGBT hockey romance that skates into sinful pleasures.
V.L. Locey loves worn jeans, yoga, belly laughs, walking, reading and writing lusty tales, Greek mythology, Torchwood and Dr. Who, the New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee. (Not necessarily in that order.) She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, one dog, two cats, a pair of geese, far too many chickens, and two steers.
When not writing spicy romances, she enjoys spending her day with her menagerie in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with a cup of fresh java in one hand and a steamy romance novel in the other.
Loving Layne #2
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