Received an ARC from NetGalley for this review.

I thought the book was good - not great.

I thought the issues that Matt and Sabrina had to work through were real. I liked them and the chemistry they had but there was just something missing. I can’t put my finger on it, but it was a little lacking. I found myself wanting more about Kennedy and Kate which my guess will be the next book than in these two.

Hope the next one has a little more of a hook.

I am really enjoying this series.
I love when a fake relationship turns real. This was such a good story. Matt & Sabrina end up being perfect for each other. Love their steaming hot chemistry! The back and forth between them made for such an enjoyable read.

Hard Sell tells Sabrina and Matt’s story.
We meet them in the previous and first book of this series.
Matt is an investment broker on Wall Street while Sabrina is a “fixer”.
They’ve known each other for four years and have this hate/lust relationship.
The book begins after Matt’s been in Vegas for a bachelor party gone awry. Problem is a reporter was there and wrote a piece on his wild night, so he needs to straighten his image. And what better way to do that than get into a very public relationship? He turns to Sabrina because he is absolutely sure that she would never fall in love with him, because she hates him, right? Wrong.

Full disclosure, I’ve read almost all books by Lauren Layne and plan on catching up.
While reading Hot Asset, the first book of this series, I knew Matt and Sabrina were gonna be the next couple and I was really looking forward to it. Hard Sell did not disappoint.
The characters were layered and so endearing.
The plot was perfectly set up and I just could not stop reading, I read it in like 4 hours, in one sitting.
It made me feel so much too, from anger to sadness, to butterflies…
I cannot wait for Kennedy’s book. Fingers crossed.

I really enjoyed this book, although it was definitely not my favorite of the series. I love how Lauren writes a good love/hate romance and such strong characters—both male and female. This book was no different. Good story that hits all the right points of a romance that I look for.

This is a difficult book to review because not a lot happened. This is a story of frenemies who hook up every once in a while. I really like Sabrina. Matt was more difficult. In the early days of their relationship, Matt made an unfortunate hurtful joke which implied Sabrina was offering sex for money. Which wasn't true. He made a similar hurtful comment later in the story. He seemed clueless more than anything. Sabrina on the other hand was really likable. She held her own with Matt and if she went over the line in things that she said? I couldn't fault her because I wasn't a huge fan of Matt to begin with.

This book, I think, suffers from starting in the middle of the story. They've been off and on for years when it begins. It didn't make much sense to me why it was taking this long for them to progress past the hook ups and the bickering. I understand the forced intimacy of a fake engagement but with their intimate history? It didn't hold the same weight as it does in this trope when these fake relationships bring about sex which then forces the couple to see each other in that way.

I felt half the story was missing. And when they got together? I was happy for Sabrina. I just felt this other guy Jarod who made a couple appearances would have been a better choice, even though he wasn't an option. Matt's reasons for fearing intimacy is a well worn cliche and even the author had his friends point that out to him.

I did enjoy the friendships between the secondary characters. It has that Stiletto/Oxford vibe (Layne's previous series). Meanwhile, I'm actually looking forward to Kate's story, the third in this series. I hope she gives Kennedy a run for his money.

Thank You Montlake and Netgallery for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

I absolutely love Lauren Layne's books and will read anything she writes. I ended up reading this book, the second in the series, prior to the first but it can be read as a standalone. I really enjoyed this book; it was very well written and I love how all of the characters are intertwined with each other. It makes you really excited to read the other books in the series. Plus the humor and hilarious situations that Lauren includes in all of her books really makes them great.

This book follows Matt, a wall street whiz, and Sabrina, a PR whiz. Matt and Sabrina already know each other through Ian (book one main character) and in fact have hooked up a few times. They already have major chemistry and use each other for a hookup when they can't resist each other but at the same time there is some bad history between them due to some careless words and things being taken the wrong way.

When Matt gets into the press for bad behavior at a Vegas bachelor party, his bosses give him an ultimatum. He has to clean up his act and be presentable or lose his very cushy job. Enter Sabrina, the PR whiz who can spin almost any situation. Matt has to convince her to play the role of doting girlfriend and soon to be fiancé. The additional time spent together in the ruse really let's them get to know each other. But will it be enough to overcome their bad history? Neither wants to love anyone due to issues each have in their past but when one falls in love, the other has to decide if they want to take the risk. Of course it is never that easy especially when another player enters the picture.

Overall a fantastic read and I would highly recommend. I am looking forward to the rest of the series. My only one complaint is that I was a bit confused at first that Matt and Sabrina had history as there wasn't much of a back story for that. Otherwise I loved it!

This was a Hard sell! It took me a little longer to get into this title than most other Lauren Layne novels. Almost like too much information, that wasn't needed. (This didn't flow as easy as most of her novels.) However, like all Lauren Layne books, it has a happy ending, and I read it from start to finish. I enjoyed it, just not as much as most of her other novels. I can't wait for the next novel out!! Go, Lauren!

Matt Cannon is boy wonder. He's the guy that finished school early, college early and has made a name for himself on Wall Street. He's another Ladies man from Wall Street getting whatever he wants, whenever he wants, only he's in hot water with his bosses when some less than great headlines are made. Enter Sabrina Cross.
She's the fixer of Manhattan. She's known for fixing things in their swanky world, has great connections and a great reputation. Just what Matt needs. They've been between the sheets before so they know they have chemistry, but are always at each others throats. Can they convince the Sam's that they are romantically involved and save Matt's tarnished reputation without blurring the lines?

I loved this one more than the last. It's another enemies to lovers type story with a bit of drama and a whole lot of chemistry.

I can say that I think the next book in this series is gonna knock it outta the park!

Though it's maybe not quite "professional" - or even a word, really - I feel like there's only one proper reaction to a book that feels this good: squee!!!

For me, this was a "just one more chapter" book. That is, I felt sort of addicted to it, unwilling to let go of the delicious way it was making me feel, and so I kept pressing on for "one more chapter" until it was well past my bedtime. I simply did not want to put it down.

I loved this take on enemies-to-lovers - a trope that does not always work for me. But gentled down in the way that Matt and Sabrina's story was? It was just perfect. I adored them - their banter more sparky than contentious, and the chemistry between them simmering from first page to last. There was a surprising amount of sweetness tucked into these pages, and I couldn't get enough of it.

Hard Sell is a smart, sexy love story that set my heart to fluttering like crazy, and had me smiling so big. Seriously, the star rating on this one is directly reflective of the amount of time this book kept me smiling. I loved it. This story just got me, right in the feels, in the very best way. Definitely do not skip this one!

I have to say that Hard Sell was an enjoyable read but not my favorite in the series.

I think it comes back to the fact that it is an enemies to lovers story and for some reason those don’t work well for me. But because it is a Lauren Layne novel I read it...I read anything she writes. But with this trope...I find that I don’t like either one or both of the main characters and that was the case with Hard Sell. I really didn’t like Sabrina much.

I also find that the push and pull lasts way to long with this type of story. I want to pull my hair out and yell at them!! Tell them to get it together!!

Now don’t get me wrong, if you love the enemies to lovers story this is one you should read!!

Hard Sell is the second book in Lauren Layne’s 21 Wall Street series. It is a standalone novel that has interconnected characters. This series is about 3 friends who all work on Wall Street for the same company. So you will see past characters but I don’t think this series needs to be read in order. This story is told in Dual POV. I thought the flow and pace of the story worked well, just would’ve liked less push and pull between Matt and Sabrina. It kind of made the ending seemed rushed. Even though I was absolutely thrilled with the ending!!!!

In Hard Sell we follow the story of Matt and Sabrina. Matt works at Wolff Investments as a top Broker. But he just got back from a bachelor party in Vegas and has brought some bad press to himself and the company. The Sams (owner of the firm) want him to change his reputation from a playboy party man to a settled man….or he is out. In comes Sabrina. She is a “fixer” so to speak. I never truly understood her actually job, but that’s how I would describe her. Sabrina and Matt have some history from 4 years ago, but we are left guessing for awhile before all is revealed. We just know that they don’t get along and want nothing to do with each other. That is until Matt needs her help and is desperate. What ensues is a game of push and pull and some smoking hot chemistry!!! Will Matt and Sabrina be able to get passed the past?? Can they find their HEA?? Read this enemies to lovers story to find out.

I would recommend this book to all fans of Lauren Layne’s and if you are a fan of the enemies to lovers romance novel. This is another enjoyable read by Lauren Layne!!

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for my review. I am a huge Lauren Layne fan and have read many of her books including others in her Wall Street series. This one was a hit! This is the story of Matt Cannon, a Wall Street wizard who is caught in some compromising photos while at a bachelor party in Las Vegas. When his clients see the incriminating photos they start dropping like flies. Matt's bosses demand that he clean up his reputation, and they suggest he finds a girlfriend just until the uproar over the photos dies down.

Sabrina Cross is a fixer-picture Olivia Pope, fixer. She makes other people's problems disappear. When Matt asks her to "fix" his little problem by becoming his girlfriend for hire, Sabrina agrees, after all she and Matt have a bit of a past themselves. But what happens when the professional fixer starts to unprofessionally fall for her client?

This was a really fast read. The characters and plot were predictable, but the snappy dialog and steamy scenes kept me interested the entire book. Throw it in your beach bag!

This was a really fun enemies-to-lovers romance. I'm a real fan of Lauren Layne's writing and her sense of humor is the kind I enjoy on my romantic comedies.

Matt is the kind of hero I adore ans I love that Sabrina doesn't take his bullshit. Just the opposite. Tjis was a funny, romantic and veey well-written romance. Now I can't wait for the next book in this series!

There was no way I could read this to completion. I do not like the style of writing. I will not review this anywhere as I do not want to influence someone who may very well love this book.
Thank you for the opportunity.

4.5 stars - I’m a Lauren Layne fan. It’s just that simple. So whenever I hear she has a new release coming out, I’m all over it. Know why? Because she always delivers!

Hard Sell, is full of wit, honesty, friendship and hotness. I love friends to lovers stories. If you read the previous book in the series, you saw the writing on the wall for Matt and Sabrina. Yet, even knowing they were going to get together, Lauren does such a great job of crafting the characters, their backstories and their unique journey to HEA, that even the expected is delivered with unseen depth.

It was great. I loved it and I can’t wait to read Kennedy and Kate’s story!

I received an ARC of this book, via NetGalley, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I’m have been and always will be a huge fan of enemies-to-lovers romance. Throw in the fake relationship trope, Lauren Layne’s unique blend of these two traditional tropes makes for a perfect contemporary romance read.

Hard Sell is the second instalment in Layne’s 21 Wall Street series, featuring Ian’s (from Hot Asset) two best friends- Matt and Sabrina. Despite boy wonder Matt Cannon’s success on Wall Street, his reputation is not as lucky when Wall Street Journal publishes his involvement in a wild Vegas party resulting in his bosses’ ultimatum to fix his image or lose his shot at achieving the very dream he has worked so hard for. The best solution to his predicament is PR wonder Sabrina Cross. Unfortunately despite their sizzling chemistry and frequent hook-ups, they simply cannot stand each other.

As their relationship develops from sexually charged tension to emotional feelings for one another, both Matt and Sabrina struggle to come to terms with how they truly feel. Although I had hoped for a more intense explanation as to why they disliked each other in the first place (such as a shocking backstory or betrayal of sorts maybe), Layne’s trademark bantering moments more than made up for it and are hilarious as usual. Their story progresses with a perfect blend of hate, affection and angst as Matt and Sabrina grapple with their own personal baggage, and readers are able to understand the full extent of both characters’ inner conflicts via their different perspectives.

I am so excited to see that Georgie from Walk of Shame has a cameo in this book and cannot wait for Kennedy and Kate’s story and hopefully even more to come in this series.

I enjoyed this romantic comedy that is an enemies to lovers story. I personally love this trope and steamy romance novels!
Thank you Netgalley for this ARC!

What else can I say? It’s a book by Lauren Layne. That’s enough to make you go out and purchase it to add it to your already existing Lauren Layne book collection. This book does not disappoint and has all of the intrigue passion and angst her novels are famous for.

I always enjoy Lauren Layne’s books - she writes sophisticated contemporary romances about professionals, usually in New York that just hit my romance-reading spot. This novel is no different. It’s a mix of a enemies-to-lovers, a friends-to-lovers romance, plus a phony-to-real romance with a dollop of characters’ with a messed-up childhoods learning that it is possible to really have a loving relationship with someone.

This is the second in Layne’s series about three hot guys who work for a Wall Street money-managing firm. Matt has just had an ultimatum handed to him to straighten up after a Wall Street Journal published a story about his living it up at a bachelorette party in Las Vegas. He decides he needs a phony girlfriend. He turns to Sabrina, a friend within his group, with whom he has had a frenemies relationship every since they spent the night together years earlier. Sabrina has some sort of rather amorphous business as a “fixer” for when people get into any sort of difficulty and need someone to straighten things out for them. Against her best judgment, she agrees to pose as Matt’s fake girlfriend to help get his bosses and the media off his back so that people will once more trust him to invest their billions with him.

Well, we all know how this is going to turn out and there aren’t any real surprises. It’s like when your favorite bakery and buy your favorite pastry. You know exactly how it’s going to taste but you still enjoy gobbling it down.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

If I could read books written by Lauren Layne every week I would be a happy person. There is good character development, and she makes you feel like they're your friend or acquaintance. At one part when Ian gives Sabrina a "look", I got a total visual in my head like I knew him and was watching the scene take place. The writing is just that good. We were introduced to this pair in the first of the series, and it left us wondering what their past was. Supporting characters add to the story, which isn't too deep but just flows. Once again, I'll recommend this to our customers and look forward to the next release!

<strong>Hard Sell</strong> is the second book in the 21 Wall Street series by Lauren Layne and I was so looking forward to jumping right in. Matt and Sabrina sure did make a splash in the first book, <a href="">Hot Asset</a> and I couldn't wait to see the sparks take off in their own book.

So this book starts off with Matt arriving at work and finding out that his weekend of debauchery was captured and splashed all over the Wall Street Journal and his bosses want him to cool his heels, fix up his image or find another job. So what does Matt need to fix this mess? He needs a fixer and a girlfriend and he finds both of those in Sabrina Cross. Matt and Sabrina are close in the sense that they're both in the same circle of friends but they don't like each other so their interactions are always spicy. They have a colorful history and they hate-bang on occasion so really, their book was bound to be a good one.

Matt is a young numbers whiz and he's good at what he does. Unfortunately for him, he's also a really young kid that his clients find it really hard to stay loyal. His playboy attitude doesn't help his cause so he needs to get his act together quickly so that they can stop trippin' on giving him their money. Matt was my favorite in Hot Asset and I couldn't wait to get to know him better and I thought Lauren Layne did a great job with his character. He was strong, he was sexy and oh so smart and he just really hit all of my happy buttons.

Sabrina is just as strong and capable and sexy as Matt is and I really enjoyed getting to know her as well. It would have been so easy for her to come off as cold but once again, Lauren Layne did a great job of making us readers connect with Sabrina's story. I loved that she was completely aware of why she was the way that she was with Matt, even though nobody, Matt included, understood why she was so testy, she did and I completely got it.

As much as I enjoyed both Matt and Sabrina on their own, I really enjoyed seeing them together. It was like, they were better together or as that song says, "I like me better when I'm with you", that's how I felt with these two. The chemistry between them was off the charts but also the loyalty that they had for each other was pretty great. Seeing their relationship change from fake to real and their friendship really grow made for a pretty fantastic book and I was here for it all.

Hard Sell brings together two people that were not fans of the other but grew them into a pretty strong and solid unit and Lauren Layne did a rather fabulous job of giving us the goods on these two while at the same time, teasing us with more goodness to come with Kennedy and Kate. I can't wait for Kennedy and Kate. Gah, I'm so gone for these characters. I love it and I definitely recommend it.

<strong>Grade: 4.75 out of 5</strong>