The Prenup
By Lauren Layne
Published by LL Book Co
"Ten years ago, I married my brother’s best friend. I haven’t seen him since. Until now ..."
Charlotte Spencer grew up on the blue-blooded Upper East Side of Manhattan but she never wanted the sit-still-look-pretty future her parents dictated for her. Enter Colin Walsh, her brother’s quiet, brooding best friend, and with him a chance to pursue her dreams. One courthouse wedding later, Charlotte’s inheritance is hers to start a business in San Francisco and Irish-born Colin has a Green Card.
Ten years later, they're happily married. On different coasts. With separate lives. In fact, she hasn't even seen Colin in a decade, and that's just fine by her. But fate throws her a curve-ball when her husband calls her back to New York, and she realizes the boy she's married is long gone. In his place is a shockingly appealing man ... who wants a divorce. The problem? The terms of their prenup arrangement state that before either can file for separation, they have to live under the same roof for three months.
Now, in order to get divorced, they have to pretend to be married. For real ...
Genre #RomCom
If you don't want to know what happens in The Prenup, Stop reading! Seriously!
So I am just going to come right out and say it ... I. Loved. This. Book.
Loved it so much I finished it in a day.
The Prenup is a stand alone romance novel by Lauren Layne. I will admit, I love most of Lauren Layne's novels, but the Prenup is up there on the top of the list, along with her Sex, Love & Stiletto series, and Oxford series.
The Prenup is centered around Charlotte, a thirty-one year old successful entrepreneur, who lives life to the beat of her own drum, which has caused a rift between her and her parents. The last straw was when Charlotte, at twenty years old, agrees to marry her brothers best friend Colin, so she would have access to her trust fund to escape her parents, and so Colin could get a green card, as he was born in Ireland. This was all arranged by her brother, who, as well as Colin, just graduated law school, and he wrote up the prenup, that neither Charlotte or Colin read, because ... brother ... best friend ... trust.
See, Justin(the best friend and brother) had good intentions, but also hoped that the marriage would stick if they got to know each other. He put a stipulation in the prenup that they needed to live together for 3 months before divorcing. Which leads to Charlotte moving back to New York, to live with the husband she doesn't really know, and facing her past with her parents.
Colin and Charlotte's chemistry was on fire. Their whole opposite personalities, and sarcastic banter with one another made me not miss the lack of sexual detail. This is another one of Lauren Layne's more PG-13 romances, where you know they have sex, but its behind closed doors. Usually, this bothers me. I know I said in another post I must be secretly a perv, but maybe its because sometimes, writers don't convey the intimacy between their characters well enough without the sex. I would imagine its very hard to do, but Lauren Layne does it PERFECTLY in the Prenup. I didn't need the sex. There was enough chemistry, and intimacy between these characters without it.
The last few chapters I cried, people. Its a romance. I knew they would end up together. But I hurt for these characters to the point of crying. Its that good.
The Prenup had an original story, and it was obviously addictive. I read it in a day. The characters were well written, and had enough back story to explain why they were the way they were, but not so much that we had needless information, and useless plot. It moved along at a fast pace, but not so fast I felt like it was rushed. If you like romance, pick up The Prenup.
Ma'am. Ouch. I make a mental note to stop putting off replacing my eye cream. - Charlotte
Kurt: "So, in case I don't get to tell you before this all goes to hell, I've already told Lewis that if you go to jail, he needs to pull some strings so that you're incarcerated here in California. So I can bring you gift baskets."
Charlotte: "I'm not going to jail, Kurt."
Kurt: "You might as well be. You're seriously going to live with someone you don't know? What if he's a serial killer?
Colin: "You didn't see my note?"
Charlotte: "No, I did."
Colin: "And this seemed like the smaller room to you?"
Charlotte: "I wanted to learn a little more about my darling hubby."
Colin: "And?"
Charlotte: "Do you ever wear the Rudolph tie?"
Colin: "Out."
Charlotte: "Note to self, spouse does not share his space well."
Colin: "While you're making notes, jot this down ... stay out of my bedroom."
Charlotte: "Were you this much fun when we got married?"
Colin: "Were you this annoying?"
Charlotte: "Oh, hubby. You haven't seen anything yet."
Charlotte: "If we're going to survive the next few months, we're going to need to talk about boundaries."
Colin: "Says the woman who was just snooping through my bedroom."
Colin: "At least there's one upside to all of this."
Charlotte: "What this? The fact that we don't like a single thing about the other person?"
Colin: "Exactly. With all this antagonism and bickering, if Immigration Services comes looking for us, there should be no doubt in their mind that we are, in fact, man and wife."
He doesn't strike me as the type to make bad decisions. Well, other than marrying me, of course. - Charlotte
Colin: "Vodka or gin?"
Charlotte: "Either. Both. Bond drank vodka."
Colin: "Churchill drank gin."
Charlotte: "Bond was hotter."
Colin: "Are you always this talkative?"
Charlotte: "Yes. Most people find it extremely charming."
Colin: "Most people aren't married to you."
Colin: "Where are you going?"
Charlotte: "To call my mom. If you hear screaming, be a good husband and make me another drink, would you?"
Colin: "You had a vision for your life, and that's fine, but your mom had a vision for your life too."
Charlotte: "And let me guess. That vision's come to involve you."
Colin: "Look at that, folks. Smart and pretty."
Charlotte: "How do you not hate me?"
Dad: "Biology. I'm physically required to love you."
Charlotte: "Wow. Romantic."
Colin: "Why would I be romantic?"
Charlotte: "Hey. You're the one who suggested we play husband and wife for the entire evening. Which, by the way, would have gone better had you bothered to talk to me even once. Or even stand beside me."
Colin: "I didn't exactly see you clamoring to stand by my side."
Colin: "For all they knew, I could have been sneaking into your bedroom when I came and stayed with your family on holidays. Or that we met every weekend to have conjugal visits."
Charlotte: "Gross"
Colin: "Gross?"
Charlotte: "Are we setting off sparks? Do I set you all aflame?"
Charlotte: "But no cuisine can compete with pasta."
Colin: "I wouldn't know. You ate most of mine."
Charlotte: "We agreed to split them."
Colin: "No, you 'suggested', we split them, didn't take no for an answer, and then ate the lion's share of each."
Charlotte: "An exaggeration."
Colin: "So. How was your reunion with your first love?"
Charlotte: "The pasta?"
Charlotte: "Damn you, wine."
Charlotte: "What time is it? Oh my God, six? On a Saturday? What is wrong with you?"
Justin: "It's noon here."
Charlotte: "And what, you couldn't do the math?"
Justin: "You've called me about a hundred times in the past couple of weeks. I thought you'd be happy I called."
Charlotte: "Ah ha! So you have been seeing my calls!"
Justin: "And may I just say, God bless Caller ID."
Charlotte: "So, a fiancée and a wife. Tricky, tricky. No wonder you're in such a bad mood all the time."
I suppose, if my emotional chip was damaged like his, he and Rebecca make sense. It's probably nice for Colin to find someone who shares his affliction for having something stuck up his ass. - Charlotte
Charlotte: "Oooh. I love this song."
Colin: "God save me. It sings."
Colin: "Can I ask you something without you getting mad?"
Charlotte: "Are you sure you're engaged? For having a wife and a fiancée, you know remarkably little about women."
Charlotte: "Must have meant they doted on you."
Colin: "The normal amount. But they were fairly strict. Serious."
Charlotte: "No. But you're so fun-loving and free!"
Colin: "Two beds. We'll need two beds."
Charlotte: "Yes, two beds would be great. My husband here has a pretty intense rash."
Clerk: "Ah. Yes. Here we are, one room for Mr. and Mrs. Walsh. I see you're one of our Platinum members, which makes you eligible for an upgrade, but I'm afraid the only suite we have left has a king bed ..."
Colin: "The regular room with two beds will be fine."
Charlotte: "It's a really bad rash. You remembered to pack your cream, right, darling?"
Colin: "Yes, my pet. I tucked it in right alongside your hemorrhoid cream so we could keep all the medicated ointments together."
Charlotte: "Hey! You found me."
Colin: "I tracked your phone."
Charlotte: "That's creepy."
Colin: "You did it to me just last week to see if I was near a gelato shop."
Charlotte: "Which you were."
Colin: "I was eight blocks away."
Charlotte: "And yet, when you got home, there was coffee gelato in one hand. For me. And chocolate in the other. For you. So who's the real winner in this scenario?"
Colin: "Is something wrong?"
Charlotte: "No. Why?"
Colin: "You're quiet. Which feels akin to the calm before a storm."
Colin: "In case you want to take notes. This, in the garbage. This, back in the drawer."
Charlotte: "Are you sure that's where that goes? Because I can think of another place to put it. Here's a hint: the sun nevvvvver shines there."
Colin: "What are you doing under there? Are you okay?"
Charlotte: "Go away."
Colin: "You're so damn hardheaded, I'm surprised the desk didn't crack. How many fingers am I holding up?"
Charlotte: "I know how many fingers I'm holding up."
Charlotte: "Another joke! I'm rubbing off on you."
Colin: "God save me."
Colin: "What was the plan, building a fort?"
Charlotte: "Nope. Smothering. I wanted to try out a couple different ones, see which felt the best as I held it over your face."
My eyes drift closed as I feel his minty breath against my mouth and even though I know it's so, so wrong, I will him to kiss me. I send a silent prayer to the heavens to do everything else right in my life to make up for this one wrong moment that I want more than I've ever wanted anything." - Charlotte
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