Our friends from Bailey Falls are back. Buns is Clara Morgan's story. It's a fantastic story. Clara is fiercely independent. She doesn't let anyone in. Except Natalie and Roxie. When she starts her job at the Bryant Mountain House, she doesn't expect blue eyes and freckles. She needs to resist her attraction to Archie. She's not staying in Bailey Falls.

I haven't read a book by Alice Clayton that I didn't love. This series is fantastically written. This group of friend's have become family and the strength in them is unbreakable.

Told in Clara' s POV, this book is full of laughter, friendship, and hot steamy love scenes. Can be read as a standalone, but I highly recommend reading the series in order.

I've always been a fan of Alice Clayton. Her books are sexy, flirty, and humorous. How can you top that? Buns was my favorite of the Hudson Valley series by a mile and I really enjoyed Nuts and Cream of the Crop, so Buns was awesome!

I loved Clara. She was entertaining and I liked how kick-ass she was at her job. Archie was a great match for her. I liked how he made all the first moves and how understanding he was of Clara. Top notch book boyfriend right there folks.

It took me a while to get into the book, totally not the book's fault, though. Whenever I would sit down to read it would be late at night or down time when I was just exhausted. So I'd fall asleep. But once I really got into the book, I could have pulled an all-nighter.

This is the third book in the Hudson Valley series and each one is a standalone. I love Alice Clayton’s writing style and enjoy reading everything she writes. Her stories are well written, funny and witty. BUNS is another fun romance, with lots of banter between the characters. In this story we have two people who are total opposites and they start out disliking each other and end up falling in love.

Bryant Mountain house has been in Archie’s family for generations. The beautiful old hotel sits on a breathtakingly beautiful piece of land with cliffs, lakes and hiking trails in the Catskills in upstate New York. Archie Bryant loves everything about Bryant Mountain House and enjoys upholding all the traditions that have been going on for generations. It's all he has ever known and he is upset when his father hires an outsider to come in and suggest changes.

Clara grew up in foster care and she doesn't have any traditions. She is a workaholic and is constantly traveling with her job. She and Archie have lived very different lives and have little in common. She works for a branding agency. It is Clara’s job to make suggestions to improve the sales and image of a hotel.


Archie and Clara argue and fight over everything. Until they meet, they are both just existing and when they are together, they both finally come alive. They know they shouldn't pursue a relationship but they can't seem to resist each other. I was pulling for them and wanted everything to work out between them. They have a passionate, fun relationship with plenty of chemistry. Archie is reserved and set in his ways and Clara is mouthy, rude and tells it like it is. It shouldn't work between them, but somehow, it does.

There are some fun secondary characters that add even more hilarity to the story. Clara’s two best friends also live in the small town where she is currently working and they were each featured in the first two Hudson Valley books.

First, thank you for the opportunity to read this title. I adore Alice Clayton and was so excited for this one...but I really couldn't connect with it the way I did with her other titles. Usually, I will DNF a book after picking it up a couple of times and not being engaged, but this one I opened about 6 times, hoping.

Unfortunately, I have decided to not finish and not review this title.

I am sure this is a "one off" so to speak and I will absolutely love her next book.

Thank you,
Laura

Alice Clayton hits it out of the park with Buns. The best in the series, yet.

Full text at: https://natashaisabookjunkie.com/2017/05/23/review-buns-by-alice-clayton/

Putting down roots is not a reality for some. For others – their roots extend into years of family and tradition. For Clara – life lands her wherever the job leads. As the person that is sent in to revamp hotels and bring them out of the red, Clara travels extensively. Living out of her suitcase more times than she can count.

The latest assignment lands Clara smack dab in the Hudson Valley. A place her two best friends now call ‘home’. The Bryant Mountain House is a luxury resort specializing in getting back to nature on the extravagant end of things. This fifth generation property reeks of generations past. Enveloping the guests in traditions that have spanned many years. Archie Bryant doesn’t believe his hotel needs updating. He is content with keeping things as they have been throughout time.

Clara only wants to help bring The Bryant Mountain House into the 21st century and help the hotel get out of the red. Armed with suggestions for drawing in new business and updating the accommodations, Clara quickly discovers how much Archie rubs her the wrong way. Where there is smoke you certainly have fire, and Clara and Archie can’t ignore the flames that ignite between them for very long!!

After reading the first book in the series, I knew I had to discover more about these engaging characters in the Hudson Valley. Clara and Archie clearly are at odds with their business arrangements. Modernization is something that Archie has fought against, and Clara wants to guide his hotel towards. As they explore different possibilities for improvement, this duo discovers that they have an attraction that clearly can’t be ignored. The two begin to spend more time together while venturing throughout the property. An adventure that leads to more than a business relationship.

Archie was a softie when you pushed through that hard exterior. Something that Clara desired just as much as she feared. With a few not-so-subtle inquiries from their friends in the valley, Clara and Archie decide that fighting their attraction was clearly not in the cards. It wouldn’t be the Hudson Valley without some hysterical moments that will leave you chuckling with each turn of the page. A perfect summer read for any fan of romance!!

Alice Clayton is back with more romantic comedy fun in the Hudson Valley. This time, she’s trading hot farmer heroes for a hot hotel owner. Clara Morgan is a hotel rebranding expert brought in to to help revitalize the Bryant Mountain House Resort – a massive family-owned hotel resort in upstate New York that is struggling to adapt to the times. Archie Bryant, soon to be the head honcho in charge when his father retires in the upcoming year, is reluctant to make any changes at all. Ruh-roh! Time for the butting of the heads!

One of my favorite things about this whole book is how good Clara is at her job. She’s not suggesting stupid generic things. She suggests things that still keep the spirit of the place. She suggests money-saving options for things that aren’t working and haven’t been working for years. Archie eventually can’t help but be swayed because her ideas are good and solid. Professional competency floats my boat, apparently.

On the surface, this is an opposites attract romance. Clara’s whole job is to suggest changes for the resort, while Archie wants to continue to do things the way they’ve always been done. Clara is the kind of person who is always running and never stays in one place and Archie is as steadfast, dependable, and tied-down as one can be. He loves everything about his family’s resort and doesn’t long to be anywhere else but there. Deeper down, though, Clara and Archie have more in common than they first appear to. Among other things, they both have fiercely loyal loved ones and neither is looking for a long-term relationship, because they both know how it feels to be left behind.

Clara and Archie are a fun pair and their chemistry is palpable. They compliment and challenge each other.

“I’m telling you, it’s always the guys with the freckles and the glasses. They’re the ones you want to set your sights on. They’re the ones who’ll make you forget your name, but get you to say the filthiest things imaginable.”

The biggest obstacle to their happy ever after is overcoming Clara’s tendency to run for the hills. Part of this is necessity, as the nature of her job means she goes somewhere new every few months. But a much bigger part of it is a coping mechanism from her childhood in foster care. If she’s never in one place too long, then she can’t make lasting attachments and become vulnerable. Her BFFs (heroines of the previous books in the series, naturally) are the only exceptions, and even they get far less of her than they’d like. Clara’s got decades of experience running when things get messy. So staying, even when she wants to, is really hard.

This is overall a really nice conclusion to the Hudson Valley trilogy with likable leads, great friends, a super fun setting, and a marvelous grand gesture/grovel ending. I’m sad to leave the Hudson Valley, but, boy, was the ride enjoyable.

I loved this book so much! It was a get continuation of the Hudson Valley series and can not wait for more in the series.

Alice Clayton is always a fun, fast read. It's great seeing characters from the Hudson Valley series get their own stories. Her writing is fresh and I know I will always laugh along with the characters. Alice Clayton is on my One Click buy list.

I had been a bit of a book slump prior to reading, from just life getting in the way of books. But this book, was simply everything. It was hilarious, heart-wrenching, sensuous and it gave me the gooey feeling inside that I love so soo much!

Archie and Clara have both have particularly tragic pasts that set them on the road they were on when their paths intersected. Archie is a sexy nerd with some hot buns, and glasses and freckles...

"I'm telling you, it's always the guys with the freckles and the glasses. They're the ones you want to set your sights on. They're the ones who'll make you forget your name, but get you to say the filthiest things imaginable."

The instant passion between these two was so tangible. They couldn't agree on anything when it came to the hotel that Archie was set to take over, and Clara was there to freshen up it's image. The dynamic between them has been simulated previously, but these two characters have set the bar for how love to hate passionate love affairs should be written.

The romance is story EPIC! I mean, kissing on the roof of a gorgeous well built hotel during a meteor shower... could it be more magical... *sigh*

If you don't read any other book this year, read this one. It has easily slid into one of my top reads of the year, if not ever.

I just love reading any of Alice Clayton titles. She will always write funny romance read that it will make your day no matter what. She does it in any of her titles especially Buns.
Buns will bring the last member, Clara, to Bailey Falls. Clara is the very independent person in the friend group. She will always have her things on point for any occasion. She has a hard lesson in life that she has an independent lifestyle. But things will start to unravel when she meets the hardheaded yet sexy, Archie Bryant.
Archie Bryant is a brilliant yet stubborn man in Bryant Mountain House. He works very hard in his family that he does not care for any outsider opinion especially the feisty yet sexy, Clara. Clara has so much guidance in his family business that he takes to take notice if he wants it to run in the long-haul. While he is making changes to the business, he is also starting a thing with Clara.
Clara and Archie may argument when it comes to changes things in the business. But they definitely have an intense chemistry between them that it is so hot to read. It is definitely hot between them that they definitely go for it. But they will have some challenges because they have baggage to go through. Every relationship has some bumpy road but it takes courage to overcome them. And I definitely know Clara and Archie can.
Buns are the right message for Clara and Archie because they will definitely bond over buns and more. It is a fun yet light romance read with funny moments in between. Four stars.

Rating~ 4 - 4.5 stars

This new instalment in the Hudson Valley series is about Clara Morgan and Archie Bryant.

Clara Morgan loves her job, rebranding hotels and giving them new life gives her the warm fuzzies anyone can wish with their job. Clara prefers running from one job to another, never really setting, she has an apartment but its more to keep the stuff she’s collected than actually live. As a foster child and a with drug addict of a mother, Clara never really had much stability in her life and was never around a family to become actually a part of the family.

Archie Bryant happens to be the complete opposite of Clara, he is the son of owner of the Bryant Mountain house in Hudson Valley, a hotel which has been in his family for several generations. Archie’s whole life has pretty much been on that mountain and losing his wife some years earlier has made the hotel is sole focus. Archie is extremely reluctant to change anything in the hotel, especially when it’s coming from the hurricane made Clara.

Anyone who likes enemies to lovers would surely enjoy this! With their sparking chemistry, the ever present lust and the fights between the two are highly entertaining. Even though they both want to resist each other and keep things professional somehow they just seem to end up kissing huh! :P They both want the best for the hotel but fight often about what Clara thinks would be helpful and what Archie thinks doesn’t need to be changed.

I really loved Archie! He had been in love with his wife forever losing her had changed him, just as meeting Clara had! He wanted to know about Clara as a person, it was pretty obvious that he was in love with Clara, and just wanted her to see and be with him. He was lovely with her, very understanding and loving. I also really liked Clara, she pretty much grew up alone and except her two best friends she never really had someone who really cared for her and loved her. She had a few personal demons that made it difficult for her to see that all she needed to do was give herself a chance to be happy, love and settle/belong somewhere but when she finally does, it’s full speed ahead.

Quibbles: [spoiler]I wish we had gotten more of the characters lives because Clara didn’t talk much (avoided really) about her foster families/her childhood or herself much hence we never got to know her in detail or her experiences and since the book is from Clara’s POV we only got to learn what she learned about Archie. Another thing this is very minor but it feels like the last chapter could be from any guy in the series instead of actually him as we get to know, the whole my girl thing didn’t feel like Archie, all three heroes who seem different would have a very similar monologue towards their significant other made me feel like ??! [/spoiler]

Overall, a very enjoyable book with great banter and two lovely individuals who deserved love and a happy ever after.

Another winner from Alice Clayton. I love this series. Each one is funnier than the last,

It’s official: Alice Clayton books are my happy place. I feel like I’ve been waiting for this book for forever, but let me tell you, it was most definitely worth the wait. What a funny, fabulous, and generally fantastic book this was. I dove heart first into Archie and Clara’s story, barely pausing for breath as the group of characters I’ve come to know and love took me on another addictive and truly heartwarming Bailey Falls adventure.

I was (and still am) completely obsessed with Nuts, and Cream Of The Crop (the first two books in this Hudson Valley series), so I was incredibly excited to have Buns sitting on my Kindle. I was desperate for more Archie and Clara after finishing book two, so I was over the moon when I first found out that the third book would follow them as Clara helps to turn Bryant House around, and not only was it everything I hoped it would be, it was more!

For starters, I just love everything about both Clara and Archie (on their own and together); Clara is Clayton’s signature sassy and fabulous woman, and Archie is like a sexy, sometimes grumpy nerd. And he’s also about 10 years older than her (bonus points for the sexy older man appeal). I loved how stuck in his ways Archie was when it came to changing the hotel. He fought everything he didn’t agree on, and didn’t fall at her feet and offer her everything as soon as they started sleeping together, they still fought over the decisions which I thought was a great touch of authenticity.

I also loved, loved, loved the romance (and the sexy times before the romancing happened). I fell head over heals in love with Archie Bryant, though admittedly, Oscar still holds the majority share of my heart, Archie has himself a nice big chunk of it. And speaking of my tall, dark and sexy man, I loved seeing the rest of the Hudson Valley gang again! I could spend all my days with these guys, and I’m praying this isn’t the last we see of them.

Simply put, this book is a must read!!

After not really loving the previous book in this series {and my first Alice book}, I decided to give this one a try.

I liked Clara and Archie. I really enjoyed their banter and their chemistry was fantastic. There were some fun hotel employees and of course the MCs from the other books. The dialogue is some of the best and if it were more character driven in that sense, I would no doubt be devouring all of Alice's books.

I guess my hang up is the inner monologue. It's rambling and I struggled to settle into it. There are several full descriptions of her outfits {complete with labels/designers.} I found myself skimming entire passages because I didn't care about a full paragraph on a particular shade of wallpaper or what the creaky floor sounded like.

Overall, I did enjoy this one a bit more, but I doubt I'll read any of her other titles.

**Huge thanks to Gallery Books for providing the arc free of charge**

Shel: This series, The Hudson Valley Series, always seems to get me in the Norman Rockwell state of mind. The way Alice Clayton describes Bailey Falls has me longing to live in a small town in some snowy hamlet just a train ride from New York City; knowing that she's going to paint a beautiful picture of the town in her descriptions is one of the reasons I've gravitated to this series. There's also the humorous dialogue and situations she puts her characters in but it's the obstacles she throws in the paths of her characters that are what I think many readers connect with.

Court: She does! She really makes the story come alive in our mind. The descriptions of the setting, the characters background and how we get to know them through their thoughts, dialogue but also how their group of friends see them is pretty special and really helps make the story that much more enjoyable. I really liked the idea of this girl and her job though, as that would be a really fun thing to do!

Shel: In the case of Clara and Archie, Clara is the biggest obstacle of all. Her upbringing makes her reticent (aka stubborn) to have anything but a cursory relationship with any person or place she comes into contact with. The more I knew about her, the more I could rationalize why she did what she did and that's where I think Clara becomes more and more relatable to readers. Even if we haven't all been through what she's been through some of us may feel like an outsider looking in, or the one that's been left behind, and can easily relate to how painful that feeling can be. Clara's need to put up the emotional walls is easy to understand but it doesn't mean that I didn't want to knock them down, especially when Archie started warming up to her. Alice Clayton writes some really great male characters--they're wonderfully sweet, clever, funny, but most importantly, they're the exact right person for her heroines--as evidenced by Archie.

Court: They are. But also, Archie had some baggage of his own that he didn't like being poked around so that really gave them that much more depth in getting to know each other. Add in the fact that this is basically his family home, this place is his legacy, and he is not going to go down without a fight when an outsider comes in wanting to change things. I loved the characters and friends on his side of things because I really did get a feel of what it would be like to go somewhere a la Dirty Dancing and spend a summer somewhere that is truly an unforgettable place. This one is in a companion series so you're not missing out on anything in the other books in this series other than gaining a strong desire to know those characters as well...so get ta reading!

Shel: Buns has a great balance of humor and romance that packs an emotional punch.