Series: Central Park Pact, Book 3
Publisher: Gallery Books
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: January 28, 2020
Source: Publisher
Buy it here: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Audible
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?
Marriage on Madison Avenue is a sweet confection of a book. I’ve been excited to read Audrey and Clarke’s story ever since I first saw them together in Passion on Park Avenue and Lauren Layne did not disappoint. Marriage on Madison Avenue is the literary equivalent of sunshine and rainbows – it made me incredibly happy while I was reading it and I hated having to look away from the book for even a minute.
Audrey is simply one of the most loveable heroines you’ll ever meet. She may have grown up a pampered Upper East Side princess and her job as an Instagram influencer is not one many take seriously, but she works hard at her job and is so genuinely sweet and charming that you cannot help but love her. Her best friend since childhood, Clarke, has always been there for her and they seriously have the best friendship. I’ve adored their interactions all throughout the Central Park Pact series and I love how they’re always there for each other, no matter what. Clarke may look like a hunk and have a playboy image, but he also works hard at his father’s company and there’s far more to him than others see.
Clarke and Audrey have faked an engagement before to get out of a situation, but this time something’s different. This time the two of them are starting to see what is crystal clear to everyone they know: that Clarke and Audrey are made for each other. They know they love each other and that is never in question throughout the book (another thing I loved), but what they can’t see is that they’re also in love with one another. Both of them are wary of risking their hearts. For Audrey having found out that her boyfriend was married shook her to the core and Clarke has a past of his own that makes him want to guard his heart. A fake relationship with their best friend is easy for both of them. Until new and uncomfortable feelings start to arise. Feelings that make their fake engagement feel all-too-real. How things play out, I won’t reveal. Suffice it to say Ms. Layne takes readers on a wonderful journey in one of the best friends-to-lovers stories I’ve ever read. Everything about Audrey and Clarke’s journey worked for me and I think it’s in part because Ms. Layne make the core love and friendship at the base of the relationship so strong and that strength shines. It’s the little moments Ms. Layne includes throughout the story that just bring everything in Audrey and Clarke’s relationship together. Their slide into love feels fated and though it’s not a smooth path to happily ever after, I was cheering them on every step of the way.
Audrey and Clarke are the heart of Marriage on Madison Avenue but the friendship between Audrey, Claire, and Naomi is vital to the tale as well. Their friendship had had an unusual beginning, but these three strong, independent, very different women are a treat to read about. Their support, rapport, and genuine caring are what makes me love the Central Park Pact series. Though you don’t have to have read Passion on Park Avenue or Love on Lexington Avenue in order to enjoy this book, you’d be missing out on two charming stories of love and friendship. Marriage on Madison Avenue was the perfect ending to a wonderfully entertaining trilogy. It’s bright, endearing, and hits all the right notes.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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