Review: Yours to Keep (Lauren Layne)

Yours to Keep
Series: Man of the Year, #2
Author: Lauren Layne
Publication Date: September 1, 2020
Publisher: Montlake
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Sports

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ½

Synopsis:

An irresistible baseball star and a resistant hometown girl stumble into love in a flirty romance by New York Times bestselling author Lauren Layne.

Pro baseball shortstop Carter Ramsey is about to be Citizen magazine’s Man of the Year, but the only title that matters to him is out of reach: World Series MVP. Benched by a recent injury, Carter retreats to his hometown to recover. His ten-year class reunion and a potential reconciliation with the sweetheart he left behind could be perfect distractions. Until another old acquaintance throws Carter a curveball.

Olive Dunn admits that her former high school science partner is still a handsome charmer. But she wasn’t swayed then, and she won’t be swayed now. Because Olive remembers Carter’s little shortcoming: he tends to bail the moment it suits him, without a backward glance. Best to keep her feelings strictly platonic while he’s in town.

Except the entitled boy she knew is a changed man: solid, reflective, and generous. As they ease back in to their familiar friendship, things take a surprising turn, and Carter and Olive must decide if what they have is a passing flirtation or a real shot at love.

Lauren Layne is back! Well, she didn’t really leave, but… I hate to admit that the first Man of the Year book wasn’t my cup of tea. That didn’t stop me from wanting to read Yours to Keep because it is very rare that I don’t fall in love with an LL book. I totally fell in love with this book. What made it so great, you ask?

• Yours to Keep is one of those books that made me smile the entire time I was reading it. The words feel like they’re wrapped in this upbeat, happy bubble wrap no matter what’s going down.
• The characters were lovable, each in their own way. Carter because he was a professional athlete trying to figure out who he was without baseball (a great guy). Olive because she wasn’t about to let anyone decide who she was without her input. They weren’t perfect, but they were good people.
• The chemistry was undeniable, but I loved that they started off by developing a friendship.
• The side characters were great and added some fun moments to the story. I especially loved Carter’s twin and parents.
• Just have to say that I loved the ending and epilogue for this book.
• This is a weird one, but I loved that the whole “Man of the Year” article was what tied this book to the first one and not the political aspect from the first book. They almost didn’t even feel related, and that was a good thing for me.

Was there anything I disliked? Not really. The only thing I could probably point out was that I would have preferred it be in first person instead of third, but this LL so the third worked for me. Yours to Keep was another great addition to her contemporary romance catalog, and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series. Can it hurry up and get here, please?