A sinfully sexy new standalone romance from #1 New York Times Bestseller Lauren Blakely I’ll say this about Christian — he made one heck of a first impression. When I first saw the strapping man, he was doing handstands naked on a dock along the canal. His crown jewels were far more entertaining than anything else I’d seen on the boat tour, so I did what any curious woman would do — I took his … would do — I took his photo. I might have looked at the shot a few dozen times. Little did I know I’d meet him again, a year later, at a secret garden bar in the heart of the city, where I’d learn that his mind and his mouth were even more captivating. But given the way my heart had been trampled, I wanted only a simple deal — No strings. No expectations.
Our arrangement worked well enough until the day I needed a lot more from him…
***
Let me just say, this whole part-time lover thing was her idea. I’d have gone all-in from the start, but hey, when a gorgeous, brilliant woman invites you into her bed, and only her bed…well, I said yes.
But then, one hysterical phone call from my brother later, begging me to find myself a wife so grandfather’s business stays in the family, and I need a promotion with Elise. Turns out a full-time husband suits her needs too, and a temporary marriage of convenience ought to do the trick, until we can simply untie the knot…
As long as no one finds out…
As long as no one gets hurt…
As long as no one falls in love…
But our ending was one I never saw coming.
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Super sexy and swoonworthy!
4.5 stars–PART-TIME LOVER by Lauren Blakely is a contemporary, adult, stand alone erotic, romance story line focusing on language translator Christian Ellison of British / Danish decent, and British / French business woman Elise Durand. Although Christian and Elise were first introduced to the reader in the author’s Wanderlust, PART-TIME LOVER can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty.
Told from dual first person perspectives (Christian and Elise) PART-TIME LOVER follows the in the aftermath of a ‘missed opportunity’ in Denmark wherein a chance meeting between Christian and Elise is only the beginning of their fated relationship. Fast forward one year, and fate will throw our couple together, once again, but this time Christian isn’t willing to let go without a fight as he pursues the woman who has starred in all of his fantasies for close to a year. What ensues is the ‘friends with benefits’ relationship, on Elise’s terms, that soon grow into something more when, in order to save the Ellison family business, Elise makes Christian an offer he is unable to refuse-a marriage of convenience with an end date-an end that neither one was willing to accept.
The relationship between Christian and Elise is fated by circumstance, by chance, by attraction and by spirit. Elise doesn’t do romance or relationships. Burned in the past, our heroine is no longer willing to risk her heart for a possible happily ever after that will never come to be. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic, and intense without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.
PART –TIME LOVER is a fantastic addition to any romance reader’s collection of memorable, sassy and sexy story lines. The back and forth, one on one witty interaction and inter-play between our leading couple is refreshing, amusing, clever and fun. Lauren Blakely pulls the reader into an edgy, emotional and energetic tale about betrayal, heartbreak, reflection and love.
Fantastic Audiobook! I loved the voices and they fit perfectly with the characters. Absolutely loved the British accent. Loved the book as well, fantastic story line and had me laughing in several of the scenes.
I loved this story about heartbreak when her husband dies in an accident only to find out he was already married in another country under a different name. Then she meets Christian who evokes something inside of her but she is scared. Then Christian’s brother Erick’s wife tries to steal the company the grandfather created. So Christian and Elise get married to save the company but instead they save each other
This wonderful love story of Elise and Christian was an absolute joy to read.
Elise has vowed to never fall in love again, yet the universe has other ideas.
Christian enjoys life as a young retiree and does only what he likes, but when fate brings back the one woman who he only got a glimpse during his morning activity in Copenhagen a year prior, he has to have her.
Audio review from 2018
This story was so cute!
Takes the idea of a fake marriage and twists it!
Christian is such a fun loving person and is bright to life beautifully by Shane East!!
Grace Grant does a fabulous job voicing Elise!
They have just a tiny typical misunderstanding on-wards the end of the story that’s not swelled upon too much. This story was smooth and heart warming!
I’ve had this in my cue to read for awhile and I have no idea why I waited so long now that I’ve finished it. Loved this book. Loved how they came to be and how they were just straight up honest with one another on a whole nee level of open from the start. Except when their feelings started to change lol. Loved how chill Christian was and how he is as a brother, partner and lover. He loves to live and laugh and it shows in how he cares for others. And Elise is shit down after everything she went through and rightly so but Christian was the perfect one to get behind her fortified walls. Loved how they grew. They became best friends and it was beautiful. Loved the garden scene! On an aside I wish they ferreted out why Jandy really did what she did. Idk that bothered me but it did and it felt like she sort of won by getting what she wanted in a way even if it was for the betterment of Erik’s mental health. Will we get his and veronicas book/ maybe a novella?
This was an enjoyable listen, but I enjoy almost anything Shane East narrates. The added plus to this audiobook was the writing.
This book was fun, funny, quirky, witty, sweet, and romantic. The story was so entertaining. I liked that this couple liked one another so much before their marriage of convenience.
I liked the sense of injustice Elise felt in regard to what was done to Christian’s brother. She was committed to righting a wrong. I liked the way Elise handled Eric’s wife when she made an appearance.
This was a marriage of convenience book that just felt different. I also appreciated their HEA, and loved the 3 epilogue and the bloopers.
This is one of the best written Contemporary Romances I’ve read. Made me feel I was in Paris and Copenhagen! Could smell the flowers and candies!!
Super cute story, filled with romance and terrific characters.
3.5 stars, if I could
My feelings are mixed here. I loved that it’s set in Paris but I wish it explored Paris and Parisian culture more. I loved that the characters are crafted to be so multicultural but it didn’t seem to shape them much. Christian and Elise were both interesting characters but I don’t feel like the plot went deep enough into their interesting bits. Their banter and teasing/flirting was fantastic and I adored it but it’s like trying to subsist on candy alone. It wasn’t filling.
Basically, I wanted more. I wanted more depth, more build, more tension, more conflict, more more more. I think this needed to be longer to really do the characters justice. The end kind of felt like a cop out, too. It seemed to resolve too easily. And I could’ve done with one less epilogue but then again, I’m probably scarred for life where epilogues are concerned.
This would make a cute beach or travel read but it doesn’t make the top of my list for those categories.
This might be my favorite romance book yet. The author did an amazing job of building the fake marriage premise – something that usually makes me roll my eyes, and also making me fall in love with the characters. This very sophisticated romance, set in Europe, stole my heart with all the feels, hot & emotionally driven sex, and a fully fleshed out happy ending. A truly enjoyable, well-written read!
Thoroughly enjoyed.
Loved this book!
This book will take you on a wild ride in so many ways. I felt like I was back in the cobbled streets of Paris, experiencing the sounds and scents of that wonderful city all over again. Not to mention the emotional roller-coaster. All. The. Amazing. Feels.
Highly recommend it.
Loved the two cities of Paris and Copenhagen. In this time of Covid, it was a nice escape to Europe!
Christian and Elise are so wonderful together! They were great supporting character’s in Wanderlust, but on their own they are just so damn sexy and sweet, and at times I just wanted to slap them both and tell them to pull their heads out and say how they really feel! Shane East and Vanessa Edwin do a spectacular job at narrating. Love, love, loved this book!
Take a romp from Copenhagen to Paris to New York …. do set reality aside. This is a fun read. It does get steamy with sexual details a few times, but not overly much. It does go off on unnecessary tangents a few times. But, it is well worth it. Made me laugh, made me want to cheer them both on. The villianice is an evil woman. The dupie brother is a pain in the tush. Don’t miss all the epilogues.
Sweet as candy
I love this story, and I almost always love this authors books. She delivers, fun, sensual and almost realistic romances.
No unnecessary descriptions of surroundings
Lots of good dialogues
Well written characters that comes alive due to her writing style that’s easygoing and filled with emotions at the same time.
The storyline is good and progresses nicely to a happy ending
Solid 5 stars romance
What a romance!!!! You just don’t want to put it down