Three restaurants, three flops.Chef Gregory Valteau doesn’t want to believe it’s a sign, but his culinary future in New Orleans looks bleak.Until he meets a handsome hipster with all the right moves, behind the bar and in bed.Gone the next morning, the sexy bartender leaves Greg inspired and wanting more—of him and his creative cocktails. Anthony Monaco has spent five years on the go, but a … spent five years on the go, but a steamy NOLA night with a sexy chef has Tony aching for a return trip to the Big Easy.
When Greg offers him the chance to help launch a new gastropub, Tony can’t turn it down.
But six weeks is all he’s willing to commit.
Any longer and he might not be able to leave, especially working beside temptation-in-a-chef’s-coat every day.
As Dram prepares to open and the chemistry between them boils over, Tony’s fears come true.
His heart whispers stay while his brain shouts go.
Greg can’t abide by the latter. He wants Tony in his life and behind their bar.
He’s the one, but to keep him, Greg will have to show Tony the world without leaving the one they’ve built together.
The Last Drop is a stand-alone foodie romance novella featuring lovable main characters and all the tasty food, cocktails, and romance you could want in a short and sweet, low-angst read.
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The Last Drop is set in the same world as Dine With Me. I read Dine With Me last year and was really excited for this one in which we get the story of Greg, who is the best friend of Miller, one of the main characters in Dine With Me. The Last Drop is set before Dine With Me and is a novella instead of full length. While set in the same world, it’s easily read as a standalone.
The Last Drop is a quick romantic read. I really enjoyed reading this one. Greg and Tony meet each other in a bar one night. They are attracted to the other and after some flirting at the bar they have a one night stand. Tony leaves the next morning off to his next destination, he doesn’t stay in the same place long and never returns to the same place. Greg wakes up inspired the next morning and has this idea of a new restaurant. Months later he sends out an ad hoping to reconnect with Tony and have him be his business partner and maybe more.
I liked this novella and had fun reading it. It’s a fun short read with a great romance and I liked the focus on food. It was short and I while would’ve loved to read more about Tony and Greg, it didn’t feel rushed. I mostly wanted more as I liked what we saw of them. The author paced the story well and I liked how it developed. The author did a great job of building the characters and their romance within a shorter read. I felt like I still got a good feel for the characters and their personality and I could feel the chemistry between the characters.
I liked how this book was low on the angst and drama. There were a few things the characters had to work through, but due to the short length of the book this was all resolved relatively quick. The book starts with a steamy scenes and there is a bit of heat later on as well. There are also some getting to know each other scenes and I liked when Tony opened up to Greg about why he kept moving and how Greg convinced him to stay here with him. I liked reading about these characters and getting a feel for them. And they were great together. Their chemistry was clear from that first meeting. And then when they work together and try to keep it professional it was clear how much they both wanted more. I liked reading about these two and seeing their dream of this restaurant become reality and them find happiness together.
I liked how just as in Dine With Me food plays a central role in this story as well as drinks. The book starts with the two of them bonding over drinks and there are plenty more scenes with food and drink in the rest of the book. I like how much this was part of the story.
To summarize: The Last Drop is a fun romantic read with a bit of steam. Tony and Greg meet one night at a bar where tony is the bartender and they have a one night stand afterwards. Months again Greg reaches out with an idea for a new restaurant and he wants Tony to be part of it. The chemistry between these two was clear from the start. I liked how we got a feel for both characters and their romance was great too. Due to the short length things do get resolved rather quickly, but it didn’t feel rushed or like something was missing. I liked the focus on food and drinks in this book. All in all I would definitely recommend this one.
This novella is fun and sweet. We meet Greg and hear about Tony in Dine With Me and this novella is their story. It’s a short story that is full of heart as they get to know each other, fall in love, and build their dream.
Greg tries hard to show Tony that he doesn’t have to keep running. He gives Tony not only a home, but a way to do everything he’s always wanted at the same time and it is so sweet. Greg is so patient and kind and this is a sweet love story that has a familiar face if you’ve read Dine With Me
Greg and Tony’s story is short and sweet…and hot. And hot one night stand turned into so much more. Great story and well-developed characters and did I mention the food and drinks? Thanks, Layla Reyne for the 5 star read!
I absolutely LOVED this sweet, charming, poignant, grab-you-by-the-feels, engaging, endearing, delightful, delicious, lovely, tender, explosive, sexy, and totally awesome story. It had me hooked from beginning to end, and I would recommend having a snack handy before you start reading this gem of a tale.
I am so happy the author decided to expand the story above the original Heart2Heart submission!
This awesome feel good story of new beginnings and second chances is a shorter, but very wholesome story of two great MCs. Among the food and drinks, we get a beautiful glimpse of New Orleans and are taken on an emotional journey of self-discovery and trust.
Fair warning though. Reading this on an empty stomach may be painful.
“His time here hadn’t just been a gig. It had been a labor of love, on multiple counts” -Layla Reyne. This book was released at the perfect time. A fluffy romance, that also shows the love of a city, family, and friends in addition to a relationship that starts out with sparks and continues to grow more slowly and wonderfully. A chance night between Greg and Tony eventually leads them both back to each other. Building the gastropub serves as the basis of a beautiful story as they build a friendship and more as they also finish the bar and build a great food and drink menus that reflect how their passions intersect in more ways than one. Layla Reyne’s love for the food service industry continues to shine through just like it did in Dine With Me. I felt like I could taste the food and drink as Greg and Tony described them. In fact, I don’t know that I’ve ever wanted to visit a fictional place more than the restaurant/bar that Greg and Tony and their New Orleans friends and family built throughout this book. While “The Last Drop” features characters from the novel “Dine With Me”, it can definitely be read as a stand alone or even as an introduction to Dine With Me. I highly suggest grabbing this book and giving it a read.
This is a quick, short but lovely read.
Greg (Mr. New Orleans) and Tony (Mr. Manhattan) story begins with an ad in a paper which was adorable!
Will Greg get is dream place off the ground again and will Tony ever stop running from place to place? Pick up this book and make yourself a drink to enjoy with this steamy, sweet short book!
I love Greg and Tony’s story. It’s a quick read but it is full of so much passion both in the relationship and the food. Something I really love when Layla Reyne writes is that I get hungry everytime and I fall in love with the characters. Just the description of everything is so detail that I feel like I am right there in the story. Definitely recommend.
Absolutely loved this expanded version of the short story which appeared in the Heart2Heart anthology. Dine With Me was one of my favorite books of 2019 so it’s a thrill to get Greg’s expanded story.
Greg and Tony are great characters that you want to root for right from the beginning. They are intriguing and complex. In fact, I’d have loved a full length novel for them to explore their backgrounds even more.
The story is sweet and low angst. It’s a quick read and just the right light, hopeful, positive read for this current time. Highly recommend.
When you put one of my favorite cities- New Orleans- in a book with well developed characters and an enjoyable storyline you have my attention! I love Layla Reyne’s style and highly recommend this book!!
I absolutely loved The Last Drop. The blurb hooked me when it mentioned a chef, and I just loved every bit of it. It was so fantastic, a real fast-paced, sexy and fun story. I love the dynamic between Greg and Tony, they just clicked and I definitely felt their connection. It was such a positive book to read and, the cover was hot and I think there might be a story to come about another character, which always makes me happy, so I definitely recommend it!
I loved it! Okay, maybe I’m a bit biased but I was really curious about Greg and Tony’s story and I knew I’d love it. I’m a foodie myself and it’s always good to read books which are full of passion and not just with the bedroom kind. This book was filled with passion for food, drinks, men and the words which made it possible to share this story with us. Layla has a great talent to dose information through the pages and have the readers drawn in with curiosity and have them sitting on the edge of the chair while reeading “just one more chapter”. It had only one deficiency: it was too short. I wouldn’t mind reading more of it
This was a quick read that I had finished in one sitting. I enjoyed Greg (Mr. New Orleans) and Tony’s (Mr. Manhattan) story and was drawn into it. The pair started out as a one night stand but developed into more. I was intrigued by Tony’s back story as he started early on that he did not return to the same place twice and I was interested in knowing why but in the end he was drawn to come back to Greg. Greg was a strong character in that he did not give up despite previous failures and continued to work for his dreams. Together, this pair were comfortable together and had great chemistry that at times was palpable. I enjoyed this book from the start and would recommend it to others.