Cuff Me by Lauren Layne
Series: New York’s Finest #3
Forever – Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: March 29, 2016
Date Read: March 30, 2016
Source: NetGalley
★★★★☆
Vincent knows he’s not the most charming of the Moretti brothers. He prefers brooding to flirting, reading to talking, and he sure as hell isn’t about to give into his mother’s insistence that he ‘settle down with a nice girl.’ Luckily, Vincent’s gig as one of the NYPD’s top homicide detectives keeps him busy. As does his long-time partner, Jill Henley–a tough-as-nails cop with the face of an angel and smart mouth that makes Vincent crazy in all the worst ways.
After six years of working the homicide beat with the tight-lipped Vincent Moretti, Jill figure she knows him better than anyone. Which is not at all. But when their most recent case points to a potential serial-killer situation, the higher-ups send them on a rare undercover mission to a place no NYPD officer dares go: the Upper Eastside.
Now the bureau’s most antagonistic set of partners is posing as Mr. and Mrs. Brooks of Park Avenue. Spending 24/7 in the suspect’s territory brings them closer and closer to their killer . . . and closer to each other. Soon Vincent and Jill are playing good cop/bad cop in and out of bed, and Jill’s falling hard. But can she convince Vincent to give her a shot as partner in life, as well as at the bureau?
I loved this book! It was definitely my favorite in the series so far. There is just something about Vincent and Jill that just makes my heart melt a little bit. They were meant to be with each other but they have to figure out how to make that happen. While this book is the third installment in the New York’s Finest series, it can easily be read as a stand alone. Vincent and Jill have appeared in the earlier books in the series but I didn’t really feel like I knew them until spending time with them in this book.
The characters in this story were amazing. Seeing the characters from the previous books was great but I just loved everything about Jill and Vincent. They are both detectives in the New York Police Department and have been paired up for the past six years. Jill considers herself to be an adopted member of the Morelli clan and the pair have a great working relationship and easy friendship. Jill just felt so alive in this story. She had a lot to give and had decided to try to find some happiness by getting engaged. Her fiance, Tom, is a genuinely good guy but their relationship lacks some of the magic she is looking for.
Vincent is incredibly guarded. He has never had a serious relationship and doesn’t take chances with his heart. When he finds out that Jill is engaged, he realizes exactly what she means to him. Watching him learn how to open up to Jill was heartbreaking at times because I could really feel how hard everything was for him. I was so glad that Jill was as patient and kind as she was with him and they really proved to be a wonderful couple with a whole lot of chemistry.
The case that Vincent and Jill were working on was incredibly interesting as well. An elderly actress falls to her death and there are no leads. It was nice to watch the pair work together because it was almost magical how well they complemented each other. I thought it was fitting that the case they were working on caused them a lot of difficulty to match the turmoil in their personal lives. The eventual resolution of the case was very well done.
I would highly recommend this book to fans of contemporary romance. I am a huge fan of Lauren Layne’s writing and this book is an excellent example of her writing. I plan to continue reading Lauren Layne’s work and have my fingers crossed that we will see more of the Morelli’s soon.
I received an advance reader edition of this book from Forever – Grand Central Publishing via NetGalley for the purpose of providing an honest review.
The Series – New York’s Finest
About the AuthorLauren 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).
I have seen this series around but never picked it up for some reason. This totally sounds like something I would love though. Glad to see it can be read as a stand alone too. Great review!
Lauren Layne writes such wonderful romances. I hope you get a chance to read this series. Thanks!
I love the idea of detective partners falling in love and having a good case to work on. I need to read this series.
I think the fact that they were detective partners really added to this one's appeal.
I've been really into detective and crime love stories lately. I'll have to check this one out… 🙂
This book really told a nice story, Rachelle. I hope you get a chance to read it sometime.
Oh gosh. I've tried. Really tried to get through the first book to this series, but it just wasn't getting to me. Sigh.
I liked this one more than I did the first book in the series. I always seem to fall for friends to lovers though.
This sounds like an interesting series! I know just the friend of mine that I think will love it! Thanks for sharing. Great review!
It was a really well done contemporary romance. Thanks!
Is it me, or does she release a new book every few months? LOL! I've been wanting to try this series for a while.
You are right, Lekeisha! She seems to have a new book coming out every time I turn around. I can't imagine being able to write so many books every year.
Thank you so much for featuring CUFF ME!
Thanks for letting me be a part of the tour!
This one's on my TBR but I need to read Steal Me first 🙂
Steal Me was good too! I hope you love both of them.
I haven't heard of this series before, Carole, but it's right up my alley! It sounds so good. And I love that the hero would rather read and brood than go out and flirt! Adding these books to my shelves ASAP.
Lexxie @ (un)Conventional Bookviews
I really enjoyed this one, Lexxie! The hero in this book was fantastic and a little different that what you usually see. I hope you get a chance to read this one soon.
This sounds interesting!! Thank you for sharing♥
Jumana @ Books by Jay
Lauren Layne is a terrific author. I hope you get a chance to pick up one of her books 🙂