Passion on Park Avenue

Naomi Powell has spent her entire life trying to prove she is better than that little girl who got kicked out of the Park Avenue household her mom worked at because her mom was caught in a compromising position with the man of the house. Now, Naomi run a billion dollar jewelry company and has the world at her hands. When Naomi receives a phone call about her application for an apartment at the same Park Avenue building that they were kicked out of she is intrigued. Once realizing that her deceased mother filled out her application, Naomi is ready to leave when who walks in but Oliver Cunningham, the son of the family that threw them out. Too bad Oliver doesn't recognize Naomi. After exchanging a few choice words, Naomi walks out with her head held high. Imagine her surprise when she is later called and told that she has the apartment. Imagine her further surprise when Naomi already realizes that her neighbor is Oliver....it seems he is very intrigued by her. Naomi decides that she must confront her past and confront the Cunningham men but quickly learns that Walter Cunningham is not the same man she knew....he know has Alzheimer's. As much as Naomi wants to hate the Cunningham men she is starting to realize that she actually likes them. As Naomi is trying to make her way through all that life has thrown at her, she must decide if she can let go of the past in order to be able to move on into the future. I really liked Naomi. She is so strong willed. Sometimes she is a little stubborn but based on her past it is easy to see why. I really loved Oliver. He just seemed like my perfect type of hero....strong, sexy but compassionate and the sexual attraction between these two was crazy. I really also enjoyed Naomi's friends that she had met through an interesting circumstance and I can't wait to read their story's. Overall this was a fun, sexy enjoyable read.

PASSION ON PARK AVENUE is the first instalment in Lauren Layne’s contemporary, adult CENTRAL PARK PACT romance series focusing on three friends: Naomi Powell, Audrey Tate and Claire Hayes-three woman who would discover there were all in a relationship with the same man. This is thirty year olds, successful business-woman Naomi Powell, and architect Oliver Cunningham’s story line. Told from dual third person perspectives ( Naomi and Oliver) PASSION ON PARK AVENUE follows Naomi Powell days after the death of Braydon Hayes, a man whose infidelities would bring three strangers together, forming a friendship that would push them closer together. Six months after the death of her mother Danica Fields, millionaire business woman Naomi Powell would be invited to join one of the wealthiest apartment units on Park Avenue-the caveat- it is the same apartment building where her life had spiralled out of control twenty years earlier, when her mother was caught having an affair with the man that she worked for. Fast forward twenty years, wherein, Naomi will come face to face with her past in the guise of thirty year old Oliver Cunningham, the son of the man that destroyed her mother’s life. What ensues is the enemies to lovers relationship between Naomi and Oliver, and the potential fall-out as Naomi is reluctant to reveal the source of her animosity towards Oliver and the Cunningham family, a reluctance that is about to blow up in her face. Naomi Powell wanted retribution for her mother. Six months after her mother’s death, Naomi would discover that Danica Fields put into motion Naomi’s path for revenge, revenge that would stutter when Naomi comes face to face with her childhood nemesis. Oliver Cunningham has no idea why his new neighbor despises the ground upon which he walks. With her unwillingness to reveal the source of her animosity, Oliver can only presume that the woman with whom he is falling in love has suffered greatly at the hands of a previous love. The relationship between Oliver and Naomi is a frenemies to lovers romance wherein Naomi battles between head and heart knowing that torment and loss her mother suffered at the hands of the Cunningham family. Oliver’s attraction to Naomi is instant but our heroine tries to keep her distance from the man with whom she will fall in love. The lone $ex scene fades to black and is mostly implied. We are introduced to Audrey Tate and Claire Hayes; Naomi’s assistant Deena; Audrey’s best friend Clarke West; Oliver’s father Walter Cunningham; his caretaker Janice; Oliver’s friend and fellow architect Scott Turner. Claire and Scott’s story line is next in LOVE ON LEXINGTON AVENUE. PASSION ON PARK AVENUE is a story of betrayal; of vengeance; of broken memories, heart break and loss; secrets and lies; forgiveness, romance and falling in love. The premise is captivating and emotional; the slow building romance is sweet; the characters are energetic, colorful and lost.

Absolutely adorable – Layne has taken another redheaded heroine with a take charge attitude and brought her a never-hoped for chance at happiness! Naomi has taken her idea for an accessories company that collects and sources unique pieces from her small Bronx apartment into a very successful enterprise. A surprise to her after the life she knew with her mother fell apart and existence became a series of one-bedroom apartments, hotel rooms and sleeping rough. But, with the need to move into larger office space and finding the “perfect’ Tribeca apartment, the time is right for new beginnings. Of course, she’s still stinging from the death of her ex-boyfriend: less the death than finding out he had both a wife and another girlfriend. At his funeral. Or rather, after ditching his funeral for a walk in Central Park and coming upon his widow and the other – other woman. Funnily enough, the three find that friendship between them is a far better option than anger at one another – consolidate their anger against the cheating, lying man who still has managed to upset their lives from the grave. Yet an unexpected twist in Naomi’s life happens when she gets a call for her interview with the co-op board for a building at 517 Park Avenue, the same building where her life with her mother started to unravel. Discovering that the interviewer was her 10 year old nemesis Oliver instantly reduced Naomi to the spiteful little girl who wanted to get back at the bully. Soon she finds herself with two apartments to choose from, and an unreasonable attraction to Oliver, her new neighbor in her 517 Park apartment. A pre-war building, the residents are mostly older, with Oliver and Naomi being the only under 50’s in the building, but Oliver’s time and availability are limited, not that she’s asking. He’s caring for his father now fully consumed with Alzheimer’s, having help to care for him during the days, while he takes nights and weekends. But, Oliver’s father Walter, after a chance encounter with Naomi, likes her, and it seems to take a bit of the bite from Naomi’s anger, fueled by her mother’s lack of adult sense, to blame everyone but herself for their decreased circumstances when she was 10. Naomi and Oliver are lovely together, and the moments between Naomi, Claire and Audrey (the wife and the other-other woman) are lovely, as are the insets of Naomi’s PA Deena – a Jersey Housewife if ever there was one. Slow friendship, a coaxing out of more, and plenty of moments that illustrate the stressors of caring for an aging and ailing parent, unfinished business, and plenty of ‘running scared’ from Naomi as the ‘not quite fitting in” voices in her head vary in their insistence. They are well-matched but not in the “oh he will fix everything” sort of way, with a genuine interest in one another, Oliver’s recognition of his own bad behavior as a child, his actually READING all of Anne of Green Gables through to discover what ever became of Anne and Gilbert, and the steps the two make on their way to something more is classic Layne – engaging, funny, heartwarming and with a depth that sneaks up and takes your breath away with the gentleness with which she handled the difficult moments in their lives. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.