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 … 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?more
This is the second book in the Hudson Valley series, it’s a standalone, it’s typical laugh out loud Alice Clayton. Cream of the Crop is a lighthearted, feel-good rom-com with just a little bit of tension and a lot of snark and steam. My first introduction to Alice Clayton’s writing was her Cocktail series and while it’s still my favorite, Hudson Valley comes in a close second.
BRIE? OH YES
This is Natalie and Oscars story and although I loved parts of this book I felt there was a lot that wasn’t addressed. I wish there would have been more maybe it was a bit rushed not sure.
I really enjoyed this book. Its a nice clash of city girl and farm boy(man). This book follows Oscar the quiet, broody milk and cheese farmer and Nicole, one of Roxie’s friends. Nicole has the serious hots for Oscar when he comes into the city each week to sell his cheese at the farmers market. That’s where confident and sexy Nicole becomes a shy mumbling fool whenever she tries to talk to Oscar. When an opportunity at her job sends her to Hudson Valley, Nicole and Oscar become very well acquainted.
I really liked Oscar. There was so much more to this mysterious man we meet in Nuts. I won’t say that his story goes as in depth as Leo’s in Nuts, but I guess its enough to understand his character. He’s very happy and content with his life and loves what he does. Albeit he does not like to talk and customer service is nonexistent. But hes not so who cares. At first I really didn’t like Nicole much because all she talked about was sex and how she could get any man in her bed. I enjoy sex as much as any other girl, but I didn’t understand it. There is way more to her story that I found really interesting and got through to me. I liked that she embraced her curves. But I think it over the top and the reason why my rating dropped for this book.
If you liked Nuts, definitely give this book a try. I can’t help but love its small town charm and endless number of hot men. Plus Polly is just adorable.
Natalie was loud, opinionated, and rocking self confidence..I couldn’t help but love her! Oscar fell into the tall, quiet, didn’t need to be famous (which caused some friction later on) category. Since the story was told from Natalie’s POV, I have no idea what was going through his mind. The romance started out fast and hot, but love has a way of sneaking up when least expected and these two deserved their HFN.
I absolutely LOVED Pinup and her Caveman and are my favorite couple yet, don’t get me wrong Leo and Roxie were sweet in “Nuts” but “Cream Of The Crop” is my story! Let me start off my saying I love that we have a book that the main female character is a plus size and absolutely confident with herself. Natalie is a cheese loving city girl all the way but when she catches a glimpse of Oscar the owner of the Bailey Falls Creamery she is swooning from a distance as often as she can. When the opportunity arises to head on over to Hudson Valley to campaign to bring business in for the town Natalie is all over it. This story is sweet, funny and heartfelt. You’ll be aching to see Oscars Barn yourself. This town is one I would love to live in, everyone is there to help one another and are just so damn friendly. When they say “Hudson Valley where the food looks good and so do the farmers” they are spot on! This is a standalone but you need to grab the entire series, you won’t regret it. I’m jumping into book 3 “Buns” next. This is my unbiased and voluntary review.