Love the One You're with (Sex, Love & Stiletto, #2)

by Lauren Layne

[stacey_is_sassy]

She went from a cheater to a manwhore…brave (or stupid).

I liked Love the one you’re with, I just wasn't completely in like with the couple.

Let’s be serious for a second…not all love stories are believable and definitely, don’t leave you with the feeling that they can stand the tests of time. This one was sweet, a little quirky and had some laugh out loud moments. I’m just not convinced this couple had staying power. Too many hits that left marks, feelings that were denied or shoved down to avoid hurt and an inability to trust in each other. All these things left me feeling that this couple had A LOT of work to do to make me believe in the possibility of an HEA for them.

Grace needs to make some changes in her life. Probably not a bad thing considering her nine-year relationship, that she thought was with the love of her life, ended with him being unfaithful. Douchewaffle.

Grace writes a romance column talking about ways to keep the love alive and knowing when your partner is cheating. Obviously, it doesn’t come across as convincing if she was cheated on for months before she knew it. Now is the time to kick men to the kerb and live life happily as a single woman.

Unfortunately, Grace nominated to do an article with a fellow journalist as a competition to see who knew the other sex better. She does it to make herself stronger and gain a bit of confidence in her abilities. He does it as a stepping stone…

Jake is a manwhore…but a nice one. Well, he thinks he’s a nice one. Most of the chicks he has banged and dropped don’t probably see him that way, unfortunately. When he is forced by his boss to take on a new job he is not happy. The job involves dating a woman 5 times over 5 months and writing up the experience. They are making it a competition to see who understands the other better. Jake is willing to do it IF he gets what he wants at the end.

Jake wants to be footloose, fancy-free and travelling the world. He wants to be a travel reporter. Boss man is willing to negotiate. Jake does the job and at the end, he can have his dream job. Jake knows women, so he thinks the job will be easy peasy…then he meets who he’s competing against.

Grace and Jake have a chemistry that jumps off the pages. Their first meeting was kind of funny and lighthearted. Grace wasn’t into the smooth talking arrogant jerk, but Jake was into the hot chick with great legs who doesn’t seem to want him.

What the?????

Everyone wants the Jake Man?!?

Hmmm…very, very interesting. When they find out they are working together or competing against each other, they take it really seriously. Their first “date” sees them both using tactics to win, but unfortunately, Jake’s win left me with a bad taste in my mouth. But don’t worry, Grace really got him back with a hit to his ego…NICE.

I actually really enjoyed this couple together most of the time. They are funny and use sarcasm and insults as a form of seduction. It’s obvious the two of them are fighting their attraction to each other from the very beginning. At times, I wanted to shake them and make them realise they were hurting themselves as much as each other. Their tough act wasn’t believable and everyone saw straight through it.

This was an interesting look into the world of glam magazines and what women want versus what men want. It also proved that deep down men don’t really understand women and women don’t really understand men. There were some steamy scenes between the couple and some really sweet interactions as well. I loved catching up with the gang from Stiletto and I enjoyed meeting the men from Oxford (the men’s magazine) as well.

I’ve already got the next book in the series ready to roll, now I just need to find some time to read it.


I’m an Aussie chick who loves to read and review romance, drink coffee, be a Style Setter and stalk David Gandy. To see more of my reviews, fashion, food and pervathons -