Redemption (Layne)

"Who knew that pretending you're not falling for someone would be so much more difficult than pretending that you are?" Stephanie Kendrick gave up her whole summer to ace her NYU film school screenwriting course, so she's pissed to be stuck with a preppy, spoiled frat boy as her writing partner. Then again, with her piercings, black-rimmed eyes, and Goth wardrobe, Stephanie isn't exactly Ethan Price's type, either. He's probably got his eye on some leggy blonde... or does he? Ethan is desperate to make his snobbish mother forget the pedigreed girl who broke his heart. While Stephanie's a stretch as a decoy, the right makeover just might do the trick. She may not love the idea of playing Ethan's brainless Barbie girlfriend, but the free rent and luxurious digs make a tempting offer. So does the promise of a ready-made screenplay idea inspired by their charade. But when Stephanie steps into Ethan's privileged world, the "acting" begins to feel all too real. The kissing and touching that were intended to fool the Hamptons crowd wind up manipulating them. And Stephanie faces a question she's too afraid to ask: Is Ethan falling for the real her or for the dolled-up princess he wants to see?

When Olivia Middleton abandons the glamour of Park Avenue for a remote, coastal town in Maine, everyone assumes she's being the kind do-gooder she's always been. But Olivia has a secret: helping an injured war veteran reenter society isn't about charity, it's about penance. Only, Olivia's client isn't the grateful elderly man she's expecting. Instead, he's a brooding twenty-four-year-old who has no intention of being Olivia's path to redemption... and whose smoldering gaze and forbidden touch might be her undoing. Paul Langdon doesn't need a mirror to show him he's no longer the hotshot quarterback he was before the war. He knows he's ugly-inside and out. He'll do anything to stay in self-imposed exile, even accept his father's ultimatum that Paul tolerate the newest caretaker for three months or lose his inheritance. But Paul doesn't count on the beautiful twenty-two-year-old who makes him long for things that he can never have. And the more she slips past his defenses, the more keeping his distance is impossible. Now Paul and Olivia have to decide: Will they help each other heal? Or are they forever broken?

Lauren Layne's latest novel about the healing power of redemption tells the story of a crush gone wickedly wrong, proving that what you want isn't always what you need. Growing up in New York, Michael St. Claire never expected to spend his twenties wearing cowboy boots. But that was before he learned about his real father, a total stranger with a family in Cedar Grove, Texas. Once in the Lone Star State, Michael meets Kristin Bellamy, who is exquisitely refined and everything Michael always thought he wanted in a woman. The only problem is that Kristin is dating Michael's new half-brother, Devon. Kristin's mouthy, curvy sister Chloe has always been in love with Devon Patterson. So, when Michael offers to help Chloe break up Devon and Kristin, Chloe agrees to a deal that seems too good to be true. Before long, Chloe finally gets her man, only to make a startling discovery: She no longer wants the guy she had to fight for-she wants the one who stood by her side. After all he and Chloe have been through, Michael swears he's damaged goods. Can Chloe convince him that love is worth the risk?