Thursday, March 31, 2016

3.5 stars--Cuff Me (New York's Finest #3) by Lauren Layne

One grumbly hero, a perky heroine, 6 long years of being partners, one engagement...to another man *gasp* and a lot of meddlesome Italians. Ahhhh the fun! Cuff Me...yes, please!

The quick of it is that Jill and Vincent are homicide detectives and have been partners for 6 years. But she's been away for a few months taking care of her sick mom. It's given him time to stew and think about how he wants more from her only to find out she's engage to a guy she met while she's away and is about to turn all their lives into a tumble. But something's just not quite right with any of it and tensions they rise. Oh do they rise!

What worked for me...

Vincent. I loved Vincent. He's grumbly and gruff and one of my favorite things. Layne writes one hell of a man that, really, is nearly impossible to resist the urge to lick. He's a good guy that's not all that awesome at expressing himself but he's trying and damn it was endearing. Plus broody, growly, quiet him. Yum!

I really love their partnership. These two have been cops together for years and I liked that history between them and the dynamic it brought to the table.
"You hungry?"

"Always," she said. "Nachos?Wings? Ooh, we could split a burger!"

Vin lowered the menu and gave her a look. "One does not split a burger."

"One can and one should when the burger is as big as it is here," she said.

In the end, they ordered nachos for her and a burger for him.

"I'm not sharing," he said, pointing his newly refilled beer at her.

"Of course not," she said soothingly, picking through all of the nuts to get at the almonds and leaving the peanuts for him.

Vin grunted. He knew that voice. He was definitely going to end up sharing that burger.
I really love Vincent's family. They're quirky and meddlesome and if they were yours they'd totally make your eye twitch but good lord they're hilarious and totally a family I'd want to spend the holidays with just to see what would happen. lol

I liked the case they were working on as well! There's been a murder and for the first time in their careers they've got...no clue who in the world is behind it and it's pretty much driving them insane. And it kept me guessing too. I liked watching them trying to figure it out and seeing all the daily bits as they worked.


The heat and tension was nice. There were some definitely 'whew, boy' moments but actual naughty things happening was fairly limited.  
"Come here often?" he said dryly, watching as she located Elena's corkscrew and wineglasses without having to search.

"She hosts a lot of our girls' nights," she said, defiantly opening the bottle and pouring them two generous portions.

"Where you talk about boys and lipstick?" he asked, accepting the glas she handed him.

"God no," she replied. "Mostly we talk about the kind of sex we're not getting."

Vincent choked on his wine. Don't ask. Don't ask. "What kind of sex is that?"

He asked.

Jill merely looked at him over the rim of her wineglass before giving a little shrug. "You know. Hot. Raunchy. Often."

He opened his mouth to respond, only to realize there was no response to that.

None.
I was okay with Jill for the most part. She's chipper and dealing with some of her own issue. I didn't totally love her but didn't hate her either though she did make me growl a couple times. lol

What didn't totally work for me...


If you're wanting full on romance for even half the book it's rather lacking. She's engaged to another man until the 60ish% mark. No cheating but still engaged to another man. That makes romance with the actual hero...rather non existent. They pretty much spend all that time being prickly around each other and thinking about how much they want the other person but never saying anything. And then it takes even longer for anything to happen between them. 70ish mark? So that for me was a bit of a frustration. I personally like more time with my couple an actual couple or working towards being a couple.

All in all, though, even with the romance taking a fairly big back seat I enjoyed the read. I liked the characters and seeing them deal with issues and I love his family as always. They bring in a nice element of fun and love and spending time with them is always entertaining.
Vincent Moretti is one of the NYPD's top homicide detectives-and one of the most eligible bachelors in town. His family, however, thinks he should date his longtime partner, Jill-a sassy, sexy, smart-mouthed blonde who drives him absolutely crazy.

Behind the quiet authority, tough-guy demeanor, and dark aviator glasses lies a man with a big soul-and a hard body that can soften any girl's heart. After years as his coworker, Jill Henley has given up hope that anything could happen between her and Vin. Besides, loving him would break all the rules. But seeing Jill with someone else triggers feelings in Vincent he never knew he had. Now he'll have to stop playing good cop/bad cop-and find a way to convince her to be his partner for life. . .

   
  
*covers link to Amazon

Challenges: Pick Your Genre (contemporary) | Goodreads

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