Marriage on Madison Avenue

Written by Lauren Layne

Narrated by Kelsey Navarro and Kyle Tait

A USA TODAY bestseller!

One of O, The Oprah Magazine’s “22 Romance Novels That Are Set to Be the Best of 2020” and one of Goodreads’s “28 of the Hottest Romances of 2020”

From New York Times bestselling author Lauren Layne, the “queen of witty dialogue” (Rachel Van Dyken, New York Times bestselling author), comes the final installment of the Central Park Pact series, a heartfelt and laugh-out-loud romantic comedy that’s perfect for fans of Sally Thorne and Christina Lauren.

Can guys and girls ever be just friends? According to Audrey Tate and Clarke West, absolutely. After all, they’ve been best friends since childhood without a single romantic entanglement. Clarke is the charming playboy Audrey can always count on, and he knows that the ever-loyal Audrey will never not play along with his strategy for dodging his matchmaking mother—announcing he’s already engaged…to Audrey.

But what starts out as a playful game between two best friends turns into something infinitely more complicated, as just-for-show kisses begin to stir up forbidden feelings. As the faux wedding date looms closer, Audrey and Clarke realize that they can never go back to the way things were, but deep down, do they really want to?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Jan 28, 2020
• ISBN: 9781797103860

Lauren Layne

Lauren Layne is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of more than three dozen romantic comedies. Her books have sold over a million copies worldwide. Lauren’s work has been featured in Publishers Weekly, Glamour, The Wall Street Journal, and Inside Edition. She is based in New York City.

Reviews for Marriage on Madison Avenue

[RankaFranka · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Best one of the trilogy! I liked it very much!

[Holly · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I liked the first two books, but this one felt rushed and the story is quite absurd. Also there were stroy inconsistencies (won't bother you if you haven't read the first two books of this series). It's a pity, the main character had a lot of potential...

[Lisa Albright · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book finished off the series with a delightful happy ever after.

[SerendipityReads · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed the unique couples in this series a LOT! Lots of warm fuzzy feelings of ooey gooey deliciousness as the relationships develop.

But all three books had me REALLY invested throughout, and then left feeling a tad let down in the end. And I think one factor is definitely the absence of the "spice" factor.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not someone who HAS to have sex in my books. To me it's so much more about the FEELINGS than the physical, and I have absolutely no problem reading "clean" authors, if the romance is there.

But for some reason the "fade to black" and "closed door" approach just didn't work for me in this series. In each relationship the physical attraction was ALLUDED to, and (after it finally occurred) the sex referred BACK to, but....the author just never really manages to SELL the heat between the characters. It left me wishing she'd just left that aspect out at all, and just focused solely on the relationship.

THAT SAID!! This third installment was NOT marked by some of the weaknesses of the first two books, and my romantic little heart was fully satisfied, this time, by the expressions of love that got the MCs past their moment of crisis. 4.5 stars from me!

Yes, this entire series requires a HUGE dollop of "suspension of disbelief"....and it's not perfect....but it's one I will DEFINITELY come back to again for another spin.

Overall, Lauren Layne is prooving to be a favorite new author for me.
Unique stories about unique characters in unique situations....and strong writing!

[Teresa · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was like drinking a glass of champagne, bubbly, fun and intoxicating. Friends to lovers is a difficult challenge for most authors, especially when the main characters both have each other as firmly in the “friend-zone” as Audrey and Clarke. Throughout the first two books, readers witnessed their easy banter and genuine friendship. I really didn’t see any sparks, and neither did the characters. I think that’s what made their transition from buddies to *ahem* more, so much fun.

My favorite part of this book was the slow build between Audrey and Clarke. They’re life-long friends and neither of them suddenly woke up one day in love. They were forced into a fake dating relationship and slowly realized how much they mean to one another, outside of their rock solid friendship. It was masterful plot pacing! Although, I selfishly wanted it to be less of a slow burn, it totally worked for the story.

I think one of the things Lauren Layne does really well is write about jealousy in a relationship. That might sound weird, but it’s a difficult skill for most authors. It’s never an angry or scary jealousy, it usually just helps the characters realize their feelings for each other, and makes me delighted as a reader. This one had an A+ jealousy scene involving a sexy, silver fox billionaire *chef’s kiss*.

I do wish Audrey and Clarke had a little more time as a couple in actual love. An epilogue or “tie it all up in a bow” ending with all the couples wouldn’t have gone amiss. I also thought Audrey and Clarke never quite got to the emotional intimacy I expected of them it was always a little too surface, even the “deep” parts.

Overall, Lauren Layne has written another delightful series. She does the best job writing light and fun contemporary romances that never fail to put a smile on my face. Again, selfishly, I wish she would back away from the “fade to black” scenes, but I’ll take what I can get!

**I received an ARC of this book in order to provide an honest review**