Cream of the Crop by Alice Clayton

Cream of the Crop (The Hudson Valley, #2)

by Alice Clayton

New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Alice Clayton brings her trademark blend of funny and sexy to this second contemporary romance in the brand-new Hudson Valley series!
    Manhattan’s It Girl, Natalie Grayson, has it all: she’s a hot exec at a leading advertising firm, known industry-wide for her challenging and edgy campaigns. She’s got a large circle of friends, a family that loves her dearly, and her dance card is always full with handsome eligible bachelors. What else could a modern gal-about-town wish for? The answer, of course, is...cheese.
    Natalie’s favorite part of each week is spending Saturday morning at the Union Square Farmer’s Market, where she indulges her love of all things triple cream. Her favorite booth also indulges her love of all things handsome. Oscar Mendoza, owner of the Bailey Falls Creamery and purveyor of the finest artisanal cheeses the Hudson Valley has to offer, is tall, dark, mysterious, and a bit oblivious. Or so she thinks. But that doesn’t stop Natalie from fantasizing about the size of his, ahem, milk can.
    Romance is churning, passion is burning, and something incredible is rising to the top. Could it be...love?

Reviewed by kimbacaffeinate on

4 of 5 stars

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Coffee Dates with Cream of the Crop

First Date: We met Natalie and Oscar in Nuts, the first Hudson Valley novel. Natalie is one of Roxie’s best friend and a total city girl. Oscar is a dairy farmer with long locks, and sleeve tattoos who left vibrant and confident Natalie tongue-tied when she encountered him at Union Square market selling her one true weakness CHEESE. She also has a running playlist of songs in her head and when she broke out with Brick House I fell in love with her. Right away, I knew we could be besties. Natalie is still tongue-tied but makes it a point to visit his stall every Saturday morning for Brie. She knows he is interested, but cannot seem to say anything around him but “Yes, Brie.” These encounters are hilarious. Natalie works for a PR firm and when a possible account for Bailey Falls opens up, Natalie jumps at the opportunity.Possible sighting of Oscar in his natural habitat yes please. I cannot wait to see what happens next.

Second date: OMG…hilarious moments involving cows, puddles, rubber boots and barns ensue. Oscar is a man of few words and finesse is not a word I would associate with him, but lordy he is fine to look at. Natalie continues to amaze me with her confidence and once she and Oscar kiss her talkative, confident nature returns. Of course, things are not easy for a city girl and a farmer, whose overly friendly ex is not helping things. The chemistry between them is H-O-T and slowly building into something more.

Third date: Time spent in New York City, getting to know the characters and shared moments of heat, laughter and time with friends. All of these moments made reading Cream of the Crop enjoyable. We have a little conflict, as Natalie must decide how much she is willing to compromise for love. Clayton mixes heart, humor and deliciously sexy moments into her stories. It was fun watching all the pieces fall into place as we see them make compromises.

Copy provided by publisher, This review was originally posted on Caffeinated Book Reviewer

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 19 June, 2016: Finished reading
  • 19 June, 2016: Reviewed