Frisk Me
Ava & Luc’s Love Story
New York’s Finest
Book One
About
After a courageous rescue is caught on camera, NYPD officer Luc is thrust into the national spotlight, but there’s one beautiful reporter out to prove this hero cop isn’t all he seems…
Ava & Luc
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New York's Finest
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Ava & Luc · New York's Finest ·
Some Details
Vibe
The publisher wanted something like Blue Bloods, only … that’s not my style, so these books have a lot of 3 brothers giving each other crap about falling in love against their better judgement.
Heat Level
Steamy sex scenes.
POV
Alternating third person.
Tone
The original covers look like they should be romantic suspense, or at least gritty. They are … not. They are banter-filled romance novels just like my other books, but with cops instead of men in suits.
Author Note
I wrote this series very early on in my career because my publisher at the time wanted something similar to Blue Bloods, set in NYC. And since I live in NYC, they tapped me.
I sometimes think I should have said no, because I don’t know anything at all about the world of law enforcement, and I learned pretty quickly that writing someone else’s premise feels fundamentally wrong to me as an artist.
But I’m still glad I did it. All three books in the series received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, and I learned so much about how to craft a novel from these books.
That said, Frisk Me’s cover is my least favorite of any of my books. No disrespect to the model or the creative team, but it could not be more wrong for tone or character.
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
“Layne launches the New York's Finest contemporary romance series with this stellar example of the genre. Ava and Luc's sparks are immediate, and the evolution of their relationship-which starts with little common ground except a dedication to singlehood-is stimulating and realistic.” P
—Publishers Weekly
Taylor Swift Song Pairing
The Archer
Tropes & Vibes
Enemies-to-Lovers∙ NYC
A Little Excerpt
“Answer my question, Sims. You attracted to me?”
He moved in, then, not quite touching her, but somehow pinning her against the railing using body heat alone. Ava kept her eyes locked on his chin even as her pulse flipped into overdrive.
Luc touched a knuckle to her cheek. “I think the woman behind the reporter is pulled to me. Just like the man behind the cop is drawn to you.”
He was going to kiss her. She could tell by the firm command of his voice, the positioning of his body.
She wanted it.
Oh, how she wanted it.
on Book Covers
I’ve made the unusual decision not to show the official book covers on my official author website for a variety of reasons:
Most of my books have multiple cover versions depending on language/country; the US English version is only one of many.
Several of my cover designs were spot-on when they released, but are now quite dated even though the love stories within are timeless.
I have an unwavering love for neutral colors, and elegantly minimalist design. The current rom-com cover trend towards candy colored cartoons is not my jam.