3.5 ! I actually adored this one!

Definitely for you if you enjoy:
- Enemies to lovers
- Sunshine Person A & Grumpy Person B
- Slow burn

Violet Townsend lives the perfect life amongst New York elites all prim, proper and perfect. She never makes a scene and is the most polite person in a room. She’s also at something of a plateau in her life. When her fill-in grandma, Edith Rhodes, asks Violet to teach Cain Stone, her long lost grandson, all about New York rules, fitting in and how to win over the board at the Rhodes company, she’s hesitant but up to the challenge.

Cain is from New Orleans, rides a motorcycle and has a wild mane of hair. He’s the bad boy of anyone’s dreams and as much as Violet wants to help, Cain is eager to complain about all of it. Cain’s uneager to change and conform to all the rules, museums, and correct usages of forks. It’s in between all their lessons that Violet finds she’s not only teaching Cain but that he’s teaching her about herself. They finally find even ground and mutual respect for one another when they have to decide whether conforming to society will work or if they’re just from two completely different worlds.

📚

I didn’t know how into this one I’d be but I did like it! Cain and Violet weren’t the most loveable characters to me but they did compliment one another. I also enjoyed watching Violet’s change of mind and heart turn out on the pages.

I also don’t mean to ruin an ending but I will just say I loved the epilogue and I think we personally need more with bigger time jumps.

A cute love story where you know the ending but still hold your breath as surprises pop up!

I really liked the fact that there was an epilogue to tie in the perfect happy endings. The author didn't leave it at 'and they lived happily ever after'. She described the 'happily ever after'.

I also liked that Edith had a second chance to love!

Thank you #NetGalley and Gallery Books for giving me the opportunity to read this.

It is my lot in life to love every book written by Lauren Layne, and I’m just going to have to be content with that!!

Loved it. Gruff but sweet guy, sweet but spoiled girl, both with insecurities and the desire to be loved for themselves. A love letter to being new to NYC, finding a home here or anywhere, with the right person.

Now I need an Ashley sequel ASAP.

QOTD: Have you ever visited NYC?
My A: Nope, and I ever plan to! The anxiety I get just looking at pictures of NYC and the crazy crowds and all the roads I’d get lost on is enough to convince me not to.
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If there’s one author who could make me see NYC in a different light, it’s NYC queen Lauren Layne. I read and loved her Central Park Pact series and recently got a chance to read her book To Sir, with Love so of course I had to snag this one when I saw it on NetGalley. To Sir, with Love had alllll the You’ve Got Mail vibes and this time LL is giving us a fresh take on My Fair Lady. I’ll be honest, this one didn’t hold my attention quite as well as the Central Park Pact series, but I still enjoyed it! I just never really clicked with either of the main characters, but especially Cain. He was just a jerk but maybe if we’d gotten a dual POV I would've liked him better?
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BLURB:
Violet Townsend has always been a people pleaser. Raised in the privileged world of Upper East Side Manhattan, she always says the right things, wears the right clothes, and never rocks the boat. Violet would do anything for the people closest to her, especially her beloved grandmother. So when she asks Violet to teach the newly-discovered grandson of her friend how to fit in with New York City’s elite, Violet immediately agrees. Her goal? To get Cain Stone ready to take his place as heir to his family company…but to say he’s not exactly an eager student is an understatement. Born and raised in rural Louisiana and now making his own way in New Orleans, Cain Stone is only playing along for the paycheck at the end. He has no use for the grandmother he didn’t know existed and no patience for the uppity Violet’s attempts to turn him into a suit-wearing, museum-attending gentleman. But somewhere amidst antagonistic dinner parties and tortured tux fittings, Cain and Violet come to a begrudging understanding—and the uptight Violet realizes she’s not the only one doing the teaching. As she and Cain begin to find mutual respect for one another (and maybe even something more), Violet learns that blindly following society’s rules doesn’t lead to happiness…and that sometimes the best things in life come from the most unexpected places.

Loved! Such a fun reverse My Fair Lady! I enjoyed the characters and the dynamics between all of them. Even though I knew what the ending would be, I was hooked. The perfect combination of conflict, chemistry, and romance! Thank you, NetGalley!

Lauren Layne gives My Fair Lady a fresh, modern twist with this cheerful story about a Manhattanite who must coach a rough around the edges man from rural Louisiana how to fit in in order to take over his long lost family’s business empire.

Violet Townsend is the very definition of a pampered Upper East Side princess. She’s also kind, considerate and would do anything to help her surrogate grandmother Edith and doesn’t hesitate to help Cain with his upper crust-CEO-business man transformation, much to Cain’s disdain.

Violet embarks to showing Cain the wonders of New York City while taking him shopping and teaching him about the company’s board members. And while the two butt heads at every turn in the beginning, their relationship turns to mutual respect, and love.

The greater part of this book is set in magnificent New Work City. I loved walking in Central Park and stopping to watch skaters while eating a delicious pretzel. But Cain and Violet also travel to New Orleans during Mardi Gras. It was fun and colorful going to Bourbon Street with them.

Even though the animosity between Cain and Violet causes sparks, their romance is definitely a slow burn. Besides the two of them being from very different backgrounds, they also have very different personalities. Violet is happy a people pleaser, while Cain is surly, grumpy and sullen and fights Violet tooth and nail, until he doesn’t which felt like a too quick 180o.

Overall, the story is quick, light and fun.

Made in Manhattan is a standalone contemporary romance by Lauren Layne. It is told from the heroine’s POV with a HEA. Tropes: enemies to lovers | New York Setting | grumpy-sunsine

I have been in SUCH a reading slump lately, and when I saw this described as a reverse ‘My Fair Lady’ retelling with a grump/sunshine trope, I literally couldn’t request it from NG quick enough.
Violet was the clear shining moment in this novel. Her growth and development from basically a blank canvas to someone with clear direction and an actual personality was beautiful.
I think I would have liked Cain more if we’d had more of a read on him, without basically feeling like he was slapping us in the face constantly.
And I usually adore the best friend in books, but this one was a little unrealistic. If my best friend continuously pushed me toward someone who was constantly rude to me, I’d have to wonder what was wrong with her.
Overall, this was enjoyable, but with some tweaks, it could be perfection.

Ahhhh...so dang cute!

Opposites attract? Heck yes!
Slow burn? Yup!

Violet and Cain are about as different as different can be. Violet's a product of the Upper East Side of Manhattan. She's Jimmy Choos, pearls, and white wine. Cain's the product of his mom's one-night stand with Adam Rhodes, heir to Rhodes International. He's blue-collar, blue jeans, and beer.. But, maybe they're more alike than different?

Edith Rhodes is ready to retire, Her son Adam's hard-partying ways caught up with him, and he died of an overdose. She's located Cain and wants to hand over the reigns to her only grandson.

Violet, Edith's unpaid assistant, is tasked with prepping Cain for the job - teaching him the ways of $200 tee shirts and personal tailors. Cain's pretty abrasive and resentful of the pressure to change.

Ultimately, while it is Violet's job to change Cain to fit in, it's Violet who has the most dramatic change. .

I loved every part of this except the epilogue. I thought that got a little too schmalzy.

Otherwise, it was a fun read and I didn't want it to end!

Thank you NetGalley and Gallery Books for the opportunity to read a digital ARC in return for an honest review.

4 “Toto” stars

Lauren Layne delivers yet again. Although not quite as strong as her most recent release(TSWL), nonetheless both TSWL & MIM (plus a recent reread of LTOYW) have proved my affection for Lauren Layne’s books is still very much intact 🥰. After a few lackluster reads of some of her more recent offerings, I was beginning to wonder if my preferences were changing or her writing style was. Glad to be back on track as LL is one of my favorite feel good/romcom writers.

Let’s rewind a bit & get into the nitty gritty a little more. As glowing as the above sounds (& I meant every word), it was a 4 star read, not a 5 star. So naturally, there was a miss or two, HOWEVER not many…
- It took some patience with Violet in the beginning. She was so malleable to whatever everyone else in her life wanted her to be or do. There wasn’t much in the way of individual personality to connect with Violet initially. I know that isn’t exactly a great sounding endorsement, but stick with her. As she tries to peel back Cain’s rough edges & mold him into what his newfound grandmother(Edith, who’s like family to Violet) wishes him to be in this present day spin on My Fair Lady, eventually we get to peel back & see Violet is more than the Stepford shell she’s grown accustomed to protecting herself with over the years.
- Also while the storytelling was pretty solid most of the way, ticking many of the boxes & giving me the feels, there was a time or two, I thought LL shut down the moment that was happening between Cain & Violet a little soon. I think she missed one moment entirely after the jazz club.
- This is a silly one for sure & even though it was just a little thing, I don’t know why it stuck out to me at all, BUT I couldn’t quite shake imagining Cain as Violet’s initial unimpressed prim & proper society girl opinion of his appearance & looks in general. So even as she was letting go of what her actual issue was(he was a shock to her mundane comfort zone) & starting to see him as he really is, my sad imagination still needed help 😂. So with some insta inspo, I think I’ve remedied it & found my Cain as he should be…Voilà!
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Beyond that, though there’s so much good & the vast majority flows so well.
- Cain is most certainly grumpy*, however, Idk that I would quite classify Violet as sunshine(as in grumpy/sunshine). So let’s call it opposites attract…like oil & water. LL set the stage, nicely unfolded moments between them revealing they might not dislike the other so much & just maybe aren’t entirely so different as they thought. That there also let them feel seen by each other. Not that either was prepared for this possibility, which caused some good ol’ tension between the two.
(* Perhaps some may even perceive him as an ass[& he definitely is one sometimes], but to be fair, I don’t think I would be on my best behavior either if I had a new wealthy grandmother making me feel like I wasn’t enough as is. Even if she didn’t mean for him feel looked at less than by her & those in her life, including her right & very own, Henry— Henrietta? [errr, that’s awful 😂]— Higgins.)
- I know this & TSWL are both a spin on 2 movies, but even though I didn’t latch on to Violet for a bit, LL’s storytelling in both have a movie quality on their own merit imho I don’t often feel even with other books I really enjoy.
- We get some sexy back!
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…BUT wait…
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Ok ok, I don’t want to oversell it.It is somewhat brief, BUT it is there. Although I still really enjoyed the clean romances she’s released lately, my smutty read loving little heart is happy to see it return, even if it was a little quick 😏😉.


Bottom line — Made In Manhattan might be a bit shy in a couple of areas from being one of my favorite Lauren Layne books. It was certainly delivered some feels, fun to read & sucked me in, leaving a happy & pretty content LL fan here 😊 .

**This ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Always looking to please everyone, Violet agreed to groom Cain to assume the CEO position of his family’s business. When she embarked on this makeover, Violet never expected to be the one experiencing so much change.

There’s a reason I never hesitate to pick up a Lauren Layne book, and it’s because I know I will be left elated and in a great mood at the end. This was my 29th LL book, and I loved every minute of Violet and Cain’s story.

This pairing was fantastic. Right from the start, there was snappy banter and lots of tension. I loved every time Violet found herself growing more and more attracted and intrigued by this man. And Cain was such a surprise. I didn’t quite know what to expect following that first rocky encounter, but each and every new thing I learned about him showed what an incredible person he was. I sort of knew there was a reason to get to know him better by how sweet he was to Violet’s dog, but there was so much more to it. I especially loved seeing him in his own environment, New Orleans. They all had him pegged as a country bumpkin, but he was a savvy business man with a huge heart.

As with the original tale, this story was about change. Both Cain and Violet had realizations about what they wanted for their future, but they both also grew to open their hearts. Violet probably had the more impressive transformation, in that she morphed from a people pleaser to someone who went after what she wanted. I found myself cheering her on and excited about all these decisions she was making.

Though Violet’s losses broke my heart, it was wonderful seeing her build a family. There were some really sweet and touching moments shared between Violet and Edith. My heart definitely expanded three sizes. And the ending! I think my heart exploded when I read that. Simply perfection.

Layne continues to warm my heart and make me smile with her lighter side romances. Combine a fabulous romance with an adorable dog, a meddling grandmother, and the sights and sounds of NYC, and it’s another winner for me.

Made in Manhattan by @laurenlaynebooks is a gender switch Pygmalion story that takes place in the Upper East Side. I love a good makeover story, so this one was right up my alley!!

Violet is a boring heiress- picture a nicer, less drunk Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl. She spends most of her time as an unpaid assistant to her deceased grandmother’s bestie who runs a Fortune 500 company. Rich Nana discovers a long lost grandson, Cain, who she hopes will take over the company. Except Cain is from the south (gasp), and wears jeans (gasp), uses swear words (gasp gasp), and has long hair (triple gasp!!). Boyfriend needs a makeover- fast!!! Rich Nana wants to retire asap and wants Cain to take over asap, even though he is presumed to be a hick from the country. Violet is tasked to teach him manners, buy him expensive clothes, and convince him to chop his long, sexy man mane to make him fit in. They butt heads at first, but slowly fall for each other and eventually butt other things.

While I enjoyed the book and would recommend if you are looking for an easy, low maintenance light romance, there are definitely some deficiencies in the plot. Cain was presumed to be a dumb dumb from the bayou, but he actually ran a successful business in New Orleans, which was totally overlooked bc he had long hair and a surly personality. Violet at first seems fairly one dimensional, but we do learn the reason for her boring facade and I while I appreciate her arc of self-discovery it felt a little too quick and tidy. Nonetheless, I liked the book for what it was. It was a well-written, easy, slow burn romance. Would be the perfect beach read on vacation- when you want something superficial and fun and not too heavy.

Smut- 2.4 stars
Romance- 4.2 stars
Story- 4 stars
Knowing that when the book hero has long hair he is going to give amazing dick- 10 stars

Thanks @netgalley and @gallerybooks for this ARC. Pub date is 1/20/22.

Made in Manhattan was a breath of fresh air! Might be cliche to say, but it’s true. This story provided a mini getaway amidst the chaos of a busy work week. Lauren Layne is one of the first authors I picked up when I started reading romance. This book solidifies why she is exceptional at the contemporary romance genre.

Violet is fun and sweet. She is a wealthy socialite, but to others she comes across as stuffy and a people pleaser. She is absolutely caring and kind. Her dearest mentor and long time family friend, Edith, has enlisted her help. Edith needs Violet to turn her newly found grandson, Cain, into the CEO of her family’s business. It’s literally up to Cain, or the business her late brother started won’t stay in the family. Edith basically wants Violet to get Cain ready for the social circles of the New York City elite. Violet believes this will be harder than Edith thinks because all Violet sees is that Cain is grumpy, rude, and dresses abominably. She sees a southern boy from Louisiana with no manners or business skills. Cain thinks Violet is stuffy and snobby. Both characters made judgement calls on each other and the more time they spent together, the more they realized that those initial impressions were fallacies. Violet and Cain also have to discover within themselves what they truly want out of life. It’s fun to watch the journey these two travel to get to their happy ending. This is definitely a slow burn romance with some angst, has elements of enemies to lovers, and also forced proximity. Highly recommend this sweet story for a little getaway.
4/5stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book I’m exchange for my review. This book is set to release 1/18/22

I gave this book 4 stars on Goodreads. I thought it was a really solid romance novel. This book was just so much fun. I was totally immersed in the setting of New York, I was invested in the characters, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Lauren Layne knows how to write a phenomenal and engaging New York contemporary romance, that is for sure. I will totally be making my way through the rest of her backlog, after reading this one.
Of course, as a book cover snob, I must mention that I adore this cover! I think that it is so cute! I love it, you know that I couldn't not mention it here. :)
I really enjoyed the banter that developed between Violet and Cain. The two were a great match for each other. I was rooting for them consistently. I did feel that this book was lacking a bit more depth, but was still an enjoyable and light read.

Overall, I would recommend this book to readers 18+. If you love the big apple, romance novels, and engaging character, I think you would enjoy this book. If you're looking for a fun romance story that is light and will make you smile and swoon, but also deep enough that it will pull at your heartstrings, then I highly recommend that you read "Made in Manhattan"!

This was a sweet story, but the whole time I just wanted to yell at the characters to TALK TO EACH OTHER! It was a bit childish at times, especially with how long some of their bickering carried out, but overall an enjoyable read.

Thanks to the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book. Violet is high society and knows how to dress, speak, and move with others in high society. Now she must teach Cain, who knows nothing about high society, how to do the same. Cain resents being told he has to look and act a certain way to be accepted, but he puts up with Violet because there is a big payoff at the end. As Violet is teaching Cain, she learns a few things about herself too, and that happiness isn’t always found where you expect.

I always enjoy Lauren Layne books and this one was no exception! I really enjoyed the reverse My Fair Lady concept. Violet is asked by her surrogate grandmother, Edith, to help turn her new found grandson from Louisiana into a New York City CEO candidate.

I enjoyed both Violet Townsend and Cain Stone. Violet starts out as a snob, but she wasn't a mean person. She realizes how she is rather quickly after a few interactions with Cain. Cain is a tell it like it is and I am what I am kinda man. He was a breath of fresh air to Violet. She needed a break from her current good girl, people-pleasing ways.

I enjoyed the slow burn between them, Violet's small dog Coco AKA "Toto", and the hypochondriac side character, Alvin. This is a shorter, fluffier romance with light steam. The two things that would have made this more enjoyable would have been to have it in first person and to have Cain's perspective.

Thank you to Gallery Books and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars!

As a fan of the classics Pygmalion and /i> I am so excited to get this reverse version of it told by an author I absolutely adore.

I read it in two hours and could not put the book down. I loved it!

As much as I loved the book and the movie, I think I may love this re-mix of it more. It all has to do with the message this story conveys. Also the chemistry between Violet and Cain is just so delicious! I mean they really both start off on the wrong foot, but it doesn't take long from them to realize their initial assessments of each other are wrong, and it just gets better from there!

I would love for Lauren to write a story about Ashley, Violet's best friend. But regardless of who features in the lead of her next story, I'll be excited and eager to read it!

Lauren Layne's books have been on my TBR for the longest time and I'm so glad I finally read one of her books and can't wait to read more! The cover of this book initially sold me and then when I heard it was a gender swap of My Fair Lady, one of my favorite musicals, I couldn't wait to dive in. While there are similarities throughout the book to My Fair Lady, I liked that it wasn't a complete retelling of the musical.

Violet and Cain are two very likable characters and I loved that Manhattan was basically a secondary character in this book as Violet helped Cain acclimate to his new city. While Violet's initial goal was to give Cain a makeover so he could take over as CEO, I enjoyed that it was not only Cain who was discovering things about himself throughout his time with Violet, but that she went on a transformation as well in what she wanted out of life in her relationships and career. Their banter was perfect, which I always feel is needed in the enemies to lovers trope.

While this book was more of a closed door romance, the fade to black scenes had the perfect amount of steam for you to understand the chemistry between Violet and Cain. I absolutely loved the ending and may have been wiping away a few tears in the final pages.

*Thank you to Lauren Layne, NetGalley, and Gallery Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

I have only read one Lauren Layne book previously and that was "To Sir with Love" which was one of my favorite books, so I was very excited to read this. Made in Manhattan is a quirky take on My Fair Lady, but the roles are switched and a New York Princess (or Dutchess as Cain calls her) is tasked with turning a New Orleans country bumpkin into a dashing prince ready to run a company.

Violet, an Upper East Side wealthy twenty something, works for Edith. When Edith finds out she has a long-lost grandson, she wants to groom him to take over Rhodes International, a company her son was running until he died six months prior. Cain Rhodes is rough around the edges, but he is not quite the social pariah that Violet thinks he is. This is enemies-to-lovers/opposites attract trope and Layne does an amazing job. Her characters come alive and it turns out that Cain is not the only one transformed. This is a shorter romance with a slow burn but I loved every minute!

Thank you NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC!

This one grew on me! I did appreciate that there wasn’t really lead up to the main plot, it started right off the bat.

Violet (our heroine) definitely became more interesting to read about as she also figured out who she really was/wanted to be. I quite liked Cain as well.

I honestly wasn’t sure I’d like this one, but it turned out to be super cute.

I recommend this one!