herding cats & burning soup: Frisk Me (New York's Finest #1) by Lauren Layne

So. This is going to be a weird review because Frisk Me left me feeling very conflicted and split pretty much down the middle on what I thought about it. So in a way I'm going to do two reviews.

But first the quick of it. Luc is a cop in NYC and he's in the spotlight because he's...a hero. He rescued a little girl who fell into the river and saved her life and just happened to get caught on camera doing so and now he's a wee bit famous and being targeted by a national news station and their reporter, Ava, who want to do a 3 hour special on him. And his bosses at the precinct aren't giving him much of a choice. He's gonna chat it up with this reporter and she's gonna follow him around near constantly for a few weeks to get an in depth look at the man behind the badge.

If I was rating Frisk Me based on the hero and his family...4 stars no question. Luc is an amazing man and hero in every since of the word. He's just a good guy that cares, is good at his job and loves his family. Hell he even lives with his brother and grandmom and is so cute about his very eccentric nonna. I absolutely adored him.

His family was amazing too. They're a big Italian (and pseudo-Italian) family that's all up in each other's business. It reminds me of home and they were just funny and frustrating and sweet together with all their meddling and teasing. I cannot wait to read about his siblings finding romance and love. More of his battling mom (who was Italian) and grandmom (who claimed Italian though she'd only been married to one) and argue over how to chop tomatoes. His mom was one of those homey sweet ones you'd just want to wrap you in hugs and his grandmom...hilarious and so very inappropriate. Like would make you hang your head and go "oh grandma!" with her yoga. push up bras and teasing her grandkids about sex. I'd totally want to be a part of this family.

"Did I mention that Miss Sims and I have a history?" he said, knowing it would be exactly the kind of topic change that she would latch on to.

Nonna's gray eyebrows lifted. "Did you fornicate?"

Luc chocked on his beer. "Jesus, no. And there should be a ban against that word."

"Don't be prudish, Luca. So if you didn't fornicate with this girl how did you know her? Did she fornicate with one of your brothers? Anthony gets around."

"I'll tell him you said so," Luc muttered. "And no, she hasn't fornicated with any Moretti."

At least he hoped not.

"Three years ago, I gave her a parking ticket."

Nonna's eyes went big. "No! Not a parking ticket!"

He gave her a look. "Are grandmother's allowed to be this sarcastic? Aren't you supposed to be doting with baked goods?"

She pointed toward the kitchen. "I've got pancetta from Ottomanelli's sizzling in the pan. You don't think that's doting?"
---
"You know, if you want to get on the good side of this girl without shagging her silly--"

Try to be appropriate. Just try."

Heck I even liked that there was animosity between the hero and heroine. That combined with chemistry can be very fun to watch unfold. And Layne does a great job of that as usual. For a while there in the middle some hilarious grrr filled interactions between the two. So there was a lot of good stuff happening.

Now. Where the problem comes in. If I was rating this based on the heroine...2 stars. And that is being generous. Extremely generous. I felt bad for Ava. I felt pity for Ava. She had a difficult family but that's not why. It was because I didn't really think she was a good person. Reporters in general are a little hard to swallow in romances. But sometimes it can work. I was even starting to like her there in the middle of the book for a while but then Ava did the typical and betrayed her hero to advance her own career. A career she didn't even want or like. Her attempt at groveling to fix the jerkery was pathetic and not nearly enough to redeem her in any way. This was one of those times where I wished there was no HEA because Ava didn't deserve it and Luc deserved better than what he got--a woman who thinks of herself first and what she can get and not the people around her who really care about her. Even her partner and camera man was disappointed in her.

There was another thing that came up a couple times and had me going what the heck? So the hero was being featured in the news because he saw a little girl fall into the river and jumped in to save her. Who in the world would think it was actually a valid question to ask..."why would you jump in to rescue a kid that you don't even know. Was it just because it was your job?" What the fuck? No. Any decent person would rescue a little girl from death by drowning if they could. Who even questions that shit? And now I'm done with my rant I think. lol

So how to rate a book where you loved half and the other half made you grit your teeth. Hell if I know. I'm splitting the difference and giving a 3, I guess, but honestly Ava really made me want to rate it less than that which is frustrating as hell because omg Luc!

Am I going to read the next? Yeah. Despite the cringe-able heroine issues in this book I did love the hero and his family. I want to see them get their happily ever afters and spend more time with them. They're one of those crazy Italian families that love each other passionately and drive each other crazy in turn which is so fun to be around. I've got hope for the series and am looking forward to more. Just hoping the heroine issues pass and I can get lost in the characters and story like I usually do with Layne.

Ever had this trouble where you're completely torn with loving and hating a read?

Any GOOD reporter heroines that don't do the betrayal storyline?

Officer Luc Moretti had no idea that his dive into the East River would have him drowning in a media frenzy. No matter how many times he tells reporters he was just doing his job, they're determined to make him into NYC's newest hero. Coming from a long line of NYPD's finest, Luc knows that being a cop has nothing to do with headlines and viral videos, and he's more than ready to get back to life away from the cameras—until he meets the gorgeous but jaded journalist assigned to film a TV special on him.

Ava Sims may be the only woman in NYC who isn't in love with Officer Moretti. That's why she's going after the real story—to find out about the man behind the badge. Ava's determined to keep things strictly professional, but the more time she spends around Luc, even she has to admit there's something about a man in uniform . . . and she can't wait to get him out of his.

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