Hot Asset (21 Wall Street, #1)

by Lauren Layne

[stacey_is_sassy]

***IT'S ALIVE!!!***

Even Prince Charming needs to move with the times…

Oh, how the times have changed. Gone are the days where Prince Charming rides in on his steed and saves the day. We don’t want our heroes to take over and make everything all right. We don’t need him to throw money at a problem to make it disappear. He doesn’t need to protect the damsel. He doesn’t have to rule the world to show us he’s in control. Now, Prince Charming needs to help us fix our own problems. Now, we have our own money and spend it how we want. Now, he stands beside his fair maiden and shows support. Our hero needs to work with his heroine to make their world work together. Basically, Prince Charming just needs to be a good bloke.

Lauren Layne nails Prince Charming by giving us Ian, in Hot Asset. I really enjoyed this story and found myself falling for Ian from the very beginning. He’s far from perfect, even coming close to being an egotistical, arrogant manwhore. But, from the start, I knew he had some hidden depths. This guy has worked bloody hard to be where he’s at and, he doesn’t hesitate to share his good fortune with others who started out the same way he did. He takes full advantage of the money he earns and maintains a certain reputation to keep the women coming back for more.

If only he didn’t have a pesky insider trading accusation hanging over his head.

I really liked Lara, our heroine in the story. She’s strong, independent and determined to reach her dream position of working for the FBI. When she’s put in charge of investigating Ian, it’s another step closer to reaching her dream. Then, she meets him, her heart flutters, and if she’s not careful, he might distract her from her job.

I think I’m going to be a BIG fan of the 21 Wall Street (I sing it every time, like the 21 Jump St theme song) series. The characters are interesting and definitely not cookie-cutter representations of every other “suit” working finance in New York. I liked that while Ian, Kennedy and Matt are fighting each other to be the best in the workplace, they are also besties. They share the highs and lows of working and living in New York. Kate, Ian, Kennedy and Matt’s secretary was one of my favourite characters. I really hope she gets her own story with a certain nerdy man of money. Sabrina, Ian’s best friend from childhood is a ball-buster that I admired. All of them together are funny, sweet and thoughtful which balanced out their crass, nosy and opinionated sides.

I was hooked from the first page of Hot Asset and thought the pacing was perfect. The process of investigating white-collar crime was interesting. The love story was something I enjoyed seeing unfold. Both Lara and Ian know that they shouldn’t but their connection and attraction never dimmed even with a concentrated effort to ignore their feelings. Lara took her job seriously and wasn’t willing to risk the repercussions of a fling. Ian’s life was in limbo and he respects Lara too much to risk her job and the fallout if their relationship were to be discovered. These two actually proved their intelligence by being smart about starting a relationship. Kind of refreshing in romance these days.

I loved the ending of Hot Asset. Yes, all of it comes together perfectly, but who doesn’t like finishing their story with a big goofy smile on their face? We get to see our modern day Prince Charming work together with his fair maiden to reach their very own happily ever after. Ain’t love grand… ❤❤❤

I cannot wait for the next instalment of 21 Wall Street to see whether Matt can clean up his act a little to keep the Sam’s happy.

Stacey is Sassy, received an advanced copy of this story. The copy provided is not the final copy and may be subject to edits and changes.