Books Over Sleep: RELEASE DAY REVIEW & GIVEAWAY - I Wish You Were Mine by Lauren Layne

I Wish You Were Mine

Oxford #2

By: Lauren Layne

Release Date: February 2, 2016

Publisher: Loveswept

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REVIEW

As you may already know, I am a HUGE Lauren Layne fan. Anything she writes cannot be a disappointing romance. It's always filled with smooth talking men and strong-willed women who knows what they want. One important aspect in her books is the friendship and support the characters have around them. What I get out of it is: as long as you have a strong support system, you will be okay. They'll be there for you no matter what. The Stiletto and Oxford series contain some of my favorite friendship stories. Ones you want your friendships to based off of. Although it's fiction, it seems so real. #friendshipgoals

Mini-synopsis:

Jackson Burke - Forced to retire from the game after an accident. Divorced from a woman who he thought he loved. Moved to a city to start a job he may or may not like. All of these drastic changes happened in a short time span. But one thing kept constant through out it all: his friendship with Molly Carrington.

Molly Carrington - Loyal to those who deserve it. Kind to those who don't deserve it. Caring to those who really need it. A person you can always depend on when you need something...even though it may be hard to ask. Her only flaw is falling in love with someone who you shouldn't fall in love with: your sister's ex-husband, Jackson Burke.

Together - Suppressed feelings rise, Sparks ignite. Tensions build. All leading to a forbidden, friends to lovers romance.

Thoughts:

LL had me hooked right from the start! The prologue was so sweet but so sad at the same time. Questions would start to bubble and you can't help but wonder what will happen next. This story is one of those: you can't help who you fall in love with. Yes, it is one of those forbidden romances, where you shouldn't date your friend's ex (especially your sister's). Or there is an age gap that makes you want to say, "no that shouldn't happen". But, all these things should not matter. There is no right way to fall in love. You should fall in love on your own terms. This story amplifies it.

I love it when friendships turn into something more. Wanting to help that person even though they don't need it. Needing to connect with that person when they are not there. Jealousy rising after the realization of being slightly possessive of that person. All signs leading somewhere....

Besides the growth of Mollie and Jackson's relationship, there is the growth of other friendships. It might be hard to join a tight knit group who knows about EVERYONE'S business. But it will be enjoyable once to try to join in on the fun. Jackson learns how to break out of his shell and discovers friends who will be there when he needs them most. Friends who are willing to push him in the right direction. Oxford/Stiletto crew is not only just friends. They feel like a family. A crew I truly wish existed so I can join them one day. Looking forward to the last installment of the series. Lincoln Mathis is a mystery everyone is trying to solve!! :)

5 STARS - Loved It!

EXCERPT

“I thought I might find you out here,” he said quietly as he took a sip of his own champagne.

Mollie snuck a look out of the corner of her eye. He’d come looking for her? She hadn’t thought anyone had noticed she’d slipped away.

“I messed up the toast,” she said quietly.

“Nah,” he said, stretching his long legs out in front of him and slouching down a bit to get comfortable. “Just think how many people you educated on the mating ritual of parasitic worms. They should be thanking you.”

Mollie groaned. “It was supposed to be romantic. I did a paper about them for my systematics and biotics diversity final. They’re unusual because they’re bonded for life. Most organisms sleep around or, you know, the male dies after mating—”

Jackson winced, and Mollie wished she could wither and die just like a male bee.

Mollie knew she had lots of useless trivia in her head, but she didn’t normally go spouting it out like this. Not that she was a smooth talker or anything, but she was usually pretty quiet and normal, if a bit nerdy.

But tonight she felt . . . off. Starting with the fact that the dress Madison had picked for her was the exact color of Mollie’s complexion, so she looked like a mole rat. And then there was the fact that she’d tripped a bit as she’d been going down the aisle, courtesy of the five-inch stilettos her sister had insisted on.

Add in an awkward maid-of-honor speech where she’d gone on for a good five minutes about Schistosoma mansoni worms and how they mated for life, just like the bride and groom, and . . . oh God. Why had nobody stopped her?

Mollie scrunched down on the bench with a moan as she took a sip of champagne. “Madison’s going to kill me.”

Madison was in a mood anyway. She’d been a bridezilla from the moment Jackson had put a ring on it, but Mollie had figured when the actual day came around, her sister would relax.

Nope.

She’d been pissed about the flowers being ivory instead of true white to match her dress. Had bitched about the fact that Lily, one of her bridesmaids, had styled her hair in a way that was too close to the bride’s style.

Then Madison had vented about how the bracelet Jackson’s mother had shyly presented as Maddie’s “something old” was dumpy.

That one had gotten under Mollie’s skin. Mrs. Burke was the closest thing to a mother that either of them had. Their own mother had died of an overdose years ago, and Mollie would have given a kidney to have a surrogate as lovely and kind as Jackson’s mom.

“Maddie won’t kill you,” Jackson said, putting an arm around the back of the park bench and smiling down at her. “She loves you, even if she doesn’t get your whole triple-major, science-camp vibe.”

Mollie withheld a snort. That was an understatement. She loved her sister, but the closest Madison ever got to science was her monthly chemical peel.

Still, Mollie felt a fierce need to make sure that Jackson Burke knew she was an adult. “I’m twenty. I do not go to science camp.”

He lifted an eyebrow, and Mollie pointed her champagne flute at him. “Okay, I used to go to science camp. But I’m not the one who used the word ‘lactation’ in relation to a mermaid.”

“Hey, you’re not the only one who took bio in college.”

“But you were a communications major. Journalism,” she said.

He gave her a surprised look, and Mollie looked away, mentally kicking herself. That was exactly what Jackson Burke didn’t need—another groupie stalker.

She snuck another glance and saw that he’d slumped even farther, matching her own crappy posture, and Mollie was surprised to see that he looked . . . exhausted.

“Are you okay?” she asked. Because she couldn’t not ask. Not after she’d seen the weariness around his eyes, the slight tension in his shoulders.

Jackson turned his head so their eyes locked and he frowned before returning his attention to the mermaid. “Nobody ever asks me that.”

Her heart squeezed at the lost note in his voice. It was strange to think of someone as big and important as Jackson Burke being lonely, but somehow . . . somehow she knew he was. Even here, among all these people, he was somehow alone. Apart.

Like her.

Lauren 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).