Cake
By Lauren Dane
4/5
()
About this ebook
From New York Times bestselling author Lauren Dane
She won't be satisfied with just one bite.... Art student-slash-bike messenger Wren Davis pursues what she wants. And what she wants now is Gregori Ivanov, rock star of the Seattle art scene. With his tattoos, piercings, and sensual sneer, Gregori is the ultimate bad boy. Wren's gotten to know the man beneath the body art, too - and it only makes her crave him more.
But Gregori loves women like he loves cake and champagne - intensely, but only for the moment. And after Wren experiences just how scorching sex with Gregori is, she's determined to show him that just one taste won't be enough....
Lauren Dane
Lauren Dane is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over fifty novels and novellas across several genres. She lives in the Northwest with her patient husband and three wild children. Visit Lauren on the web at www.laurendane.com E-mail laurendane@laurendane.com Twitter: @laurendane You can write to her at: PO BOX 45175, Seattle, WA 98145
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Reviews for Cake
53 ratings5 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Who doesn't love cake? I can almost always find room for a slice when it's this tasty.
Although, the frequently nibbled sweets in this novella were more macaroons than cake.
Disclaimer #1 - I received a free ARC of this novella via NetGalley and Harlequin in exchange for an honest review.
Disclaimer #2 - I'm (barely) acquainted with Lauren Dane; I hosted her during her Once and Again blogtour, and enjoyed drinks at the same table for a few hours last year.
What I loved about this novella: the romance has developed slowly; at the novella opens, Wren, an art school student and part-time bicycle messenger in Seattle, and Gregori, the famous Russian artist she frequently delivers to, have known each other for a year, and been flirting for a year. They still do not hop right into bed, but the tension and attraction between them is allowed to build deliciously.
Gregori is a multi-media young artist - paintings, sculpture, and more, and cultivates a bad-boy persona that Wren sees right through, but also doesn't judge; she understand it's necessary for him to put on a mask as artiste from time to time. Wren herself is an up-and-coming graphic artist who, unlike many of Gregori's hangers-on, isn't trying to milk him for contacts or assistance. She's grittily determined to make it on her own. Wren is also sexually uninhibited and unafraid to pursue what she wants - and she wants Gregori. Gregori is very attracted to Wren, but he's afraid of ruining their friendship, so he tries to keep her at arm's distance with tea, cake, and macaroons.
The tension sizzles, and the sex scenes are smokin' hot; my only problem is sometimes Dane switches POV in the middle of a sex scene and it's hard to tell whose head I am now in. This was exacerbated for me by some formatting issues - missing paragraph breaks, some words that ran together - which I am assuming will be corrected before the final version is released.
I also liked the intimate friendship among Wren, her cousin Kelsey, and her roommate Zoe, the girlish sharing of all the juicy details. The style is light, it's a very fast read, and very sexy. If you like tattooed artists with bright red Mohawks and sexy accents, and confident, bold heroines who have their own interests, you'll love this story. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/53.5 StarsCake is a steamy romance that is fun, hot, and doesn't take that long to read. The main character is Wren Davis, and I just loved her. She works as a messenger making deliveries on her bike to help support herself while she is in art school. One of the people she delivers to is the eccentric Russian artist Gregori Ivanov, who is quite the character. He looks like a rock star, tends to be moody, has the definite bad boy thing going on, and has a reputation as a player. Over time, Wren and Gregori become really good friends, but the sexual undertones have always been there. They are definitely attracted to one another and there is enough chemistry to light up a city going on, but they have been very cautious of crossing that line from friendship into something more. Circumstances are set in motion that take them over the edge and they find themselves in a hot, steamy, sexy, and intense relationship. Whether it will destroy their friendship or cause them to draw closer remains to be seen. I really loved Wren's character. She is funny, snarky, and has a great personality. She is very confident for the most part, though she isn't crazy about the partying scene, and most of all, she isn't afraid to stand up to Gregori. Gregori is hot, kind of mysterious, moody, and very sexy. He's been burned by love once, and doesn't do relationships, but Wren gets to him in a way that no one else ever has, which really frightens him. Wren is different than most of the women Gregori has seen. She isn't there to use him and doesn't want his money or connections, she likes him for him, and they really just click. She understands him, yet isn't afraid to do what she needs to do to get her point across. Cake is a light, fun, and extremely hot romance that is entertaining that will leaving you smiling and fanning your face at the same time. This is an adult book with adult scenes and is not appropriate for readers under the age of 18.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The connection between the two MCs was off for me. I'm usually living the same emotions as the characters in a Lauren Dane book, but I didn't feel any chemistry or connection between the MCs in this one.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales.Quick & Dirty: Strong female character who follows her heart and a hero that is to die for.Opening Sentence: She heard the music as she ascended the stairs and knew he’d be working.The Review:There are not many novellas that I can truly say that I remember after an hour much less days after reading them. This is a stellar exception. The story was so well built and consuming that I tumbled into the world and remained there until the final words were read.Some may wonder about the length of this book and whether it conveys the passion, depth and substance that we get from a full novel and I am pleased to tell you that you will not miss any of these in this supremely well crafted novella. I don’t even know that I would categorize this as a novella because of how well the story was stitched together and there is a real sense that every word was agonized over and questioned for relevance and only the epic-ness of the story remains. I think of this as more of a bookette then novella.So enough of my singing the praises of this book, I’m sure most of you want to know a little bit about our main characters. Wren Davis is an art student that supplements her income by being a messenger. Wren acts as a messenger on behalf of Gregori Ivanov’s assistant taking items that require signature and such direct to Gregori’s home and this is how these two meet.I love that we are given a glimpse of the past in the beginning of the book, but don’t need three chapters of Wren having a meeting with Gregori that isn’t going to result in anything more than frustration on behalf of Wren and the readers.Now why is Gregori so amazing, let me count the ways. First, he is an artist with an accent. Can anybody else say “Heck Yeah!” with me. Second, in our first meeting we get to see him sans shirt and gaze in the wonder that is this man’s perfection. Thirdly, he is truly just an interesting individual that has been burned and needs the love of a good woman. I do believe that is what we call in the romance world “The Male Triple Threat”.To sum up this book is a great example of what happens when you get amazing authors writing quality work and why Cosmo Red-Hot Reads are currently on my must buy list. Lauren Dane is now an author that I look forward to following more closely in the future. She is also my new novella or bookette hero.Notable Scene:Pale winter sun gleamed against his bare back. Ink trailed along his spine, over lean muscle. Lines of poetry, mainly in Cyrillic, wrapped around his forearms. Barbed wire marked his ribs, interspersed with more words. When he went shirtless, she’d discovered both his nipples bore silver hoops. He wore fingerless leather gloves, one hand grasping some sort of tool as he prowled around a large metal sculpture he’d been creating for the better part of the past three weeks.His hair, currently scarlet red, stood up in liberty spikes, but other days he didn’t bother with the full Mohawk effect and he put it in a ponytail to keep it from his eyes. On many it would have looked ridiculous. But on Gregori? It worked. Like really, really worked.FTC Advisory: Cosmo Red-Hot Reads/Harlequin provided me with a copy of Cake. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wow! I couldn’t put this torrid gem of a novella down!Wren and Gregori are fantastic characters. Both are so easy to like and incredibly sexy. Wren is refreshingly confident. She’s a strong, vibrant and sensual heroine who doesn't shy away from a challenge. Gregori is a brisk, charismatic and deliciously commanding Russian stallion. The two share an intense, explosive chemistry that leads to pages and pages of passionate titillating sex.Cake was just what I was hoping for and more. Well worth reading.ARC courtesy of Harlequin via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.