People... have you heard of this series? No? Yes? Why NOT!!! Honestly, I hadn't either. I don't know that I've ever read this author before. I had vacation coming up and wanted something that would take my attention away from long drive times and chatty kids. This book came up on one of those facebook ads, so I clicked and the little snippet provided caught my attention. So, in we go. I one-clicked. Congrats on a successful ad Nicole! Mission accomplished!
Immediately I was sucked into the story of Layla and Nico. Who cares he's a Fedex guy. Who cares there's an age difference. They start with this sudden attraction, this need, this desire to be together and the flirting. GAH! got me right away. Once their relationship started, I was done for. Stick a fork in me, these two are just too cute, done. I don't care about his background, her struggling, nothing. These. Two. Need. To. Have. Their. HEA. Kind of done. And that's where my obsession with this series started.
It's been a long time since I could say I read a book and immediately picked up the other books in the series because I couldn't put them down. That's what happened here. I was so involved, so sucked in, living and breathing Nico and Layla for 4 days. Had to make a potty break, opened Layla and Nico. Had to cook food, opened Layla and Nico. In the car, open Layla and Nico. There was pretty much little that would get in my way of getting back to these two.
So as I'm going through this series, falling in love with reading again, falling in love with these characters and their story, imagine my surprise when we have a cliffhanger. Now, if you've ready any of my reviews before, you know I HATE CLIFFYs. However, I've also said there is a right way to do them, and a wrong way. This one... This one was done alllllllll sorts of right. I actually loved it. The way she ended the first book left me DYING for more. DYING and CRAVING book two. So... on we went.
I can honestly say this one was rough. We get introduced to a new character. A villian. A mother freaking BAD guy. BAD BAD BAD guy, but we don't really notice it at first. And it's funny. When reading this, you're so involved you don't really see what Giancarlo is doing to Layla. I mean, you get some of the stuff, but the isolation, it isn't blatant. It's not a slap you in the face kind of thing. He's smooth about it. The way Nicole writes it, it's so realistic. It's so true. It's so honest to the fact of reality in those situations. I'm going to be real honest right now. As hard as that is to read, as heartbreaking it is to feel when you have your characters you love going through that, it's oddly beautiful that the author can write something like that and bring out those feelings for you. But, even with Giancarlo's black cloud, Nico will always be the sunshine after the rain. Not only with Giancarlo, but can we discuss WHAT IN THE EVER LOVING HELL QUINN! Quinn is a roommate, best friend, and if you haven't read this... you'll love her in the beginning. And I'm just going to leave it at that.
Again, my friends... not a cliffy kind of cliffy on book 2. This should be interesting...
So we move on to book 3. And I can't love these two more than I had before. Their reunion, their relationship, their growth. Layla's growth. Nico's assistance. Nico's confidence in who he is and what he can do. Brazil. Cuba. Immigration. Court. His Family. Her Family. How they got each other there in the end.. I just can't. This is what it's about people. This is what reading is about. This right here. This conclusion, even if it does say for now, I can't tell you how perfect this is for me, as a reader, and for these characters. When people ask for my favorite series', I've always said the big ones (Christian, Gideon, Colton), but I think... I think... nah, I know, this will be a new one added to the list. I can't get enough of their love, their passion, their determination, their devotion to each other, and their families. I'm telling you people. If you haven't heard of this series before, pick it up. If you have, let's discuss our love for all things Layla and Nico, and our hatred of Quinn.
The only bad thing i have to say is this. I found quite a few editing mistake. Ms French, with a story like this, this quality, get those fixed ASAP.
Want to see some of my favorite quotes? Check out my goodreads highlights and notes below.
Bad Idea highlights
Lost Ones Highlights
True North
Bad Idea (Bad Idea #1) CURRENTLY FREE ON AMAZON
From the second she saw him, Layla Barros knew Nico Soltero was all wrong. Wrong age. Wrong education. Wrong job. Wrong everything. She had a hard enough time convincing her parents that New York really is the right place for their nineteen-year-old daughter without telling them she's got a thing for the FedEx guy at her new part-time job. Too bad the second she saw him, Layla Barros no longer cared about right and wrong.
Raised with three siblings in Hell's Kitchen by a single-mom, half Puerto Rican, half Italian Nico Soltero is a quintessential New York mutt who's always had to shoulder the burdens of his family. Burdens which have cost him almost all of his dreams, like going to college or becoming an FDNY firefighter. Now, at twenty-six, he's finally getting the chance to leave the place that's always felt more like a dead weight than the center of the universe. Too bad the city of his birth has one last hard knock to deal: the girl of his dreams, sitting right in the middle of his delivery route, three months before his plane is supposed to take off.
As Layla and Nico find out, love isn't always convenient, and it never happens how they planned. The choices that Nico and Layla make now will affect their lives forever. Will they make them together or apart?
Goodreads Link
Lost Ones (Bad Idea #2)
Six months ago, I gave my heart to a girl.
Beautiful, kind, and sexy as sin, she’s the only person who saw past my record or the color of my skin. Who ever saw me for me.
She loved me enough to let me go, let me leave this city to find my own path.
But without her, I drift, lost without direction.
Without me, she spirals, desperate for connection.
I gave my heart to a girl, and she gave hers to me.
But love shouldn’t hurt this much.
Goodreads Link
True North (Bad Idea #3)
They said I was a bad idea. Poor. Violent. Criminal.
They said I'd amount to nothing, and I believed them too.
Until I met her.
Layla Barros saved me from my worst, but to do that, she lost the best herself. Now it's my turn to bring her back to life. If only I can figure out how to do it.
I'll do anything to protect the chance we finally have together. I'll follow her to the other side of the word: Brazil. Cuba. You name it. But how can I be her true north when I'm still finding my direction too?
Because sometimes your worst demons are those closest to you. And sometimes getting rid of them isn't a choice at all.
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