I’m telling you, it’s always the guys with the freckles and the glasses. They’re the ones you want to set your sights on.

Set your sights on Archie, my friends. Because oh, he was a spine-tingling, sweet, stuffy delight. And that's not even mentioning his Buns.

I'll be honest with you—I came into this book with concerns. I liked Nuts but didn't LOVE it, and Cream of the Crop left me a little cold, so I wasn't sure what I'd get from the third book in Alice Clayton’s Hudson Valley series.

I'm happy to report that what I got was an entertaining, quirky, organic read. It was a little sluggish to start—I took much longer to read the first third of this book than the remaining two-thirds—and I very much wanted to shake some sense into Clara at times, but for the most part, Bunswas a brilliant return to the fun, funny world of Bailey Falls.

Starting with the man to set your sights on Archie, there is a nearly endless (yes, that's hyperbole, but go with it) parade of lovable characters surrounding the Bryant Mountain House. Be they old friends—Leo, Roxie, Chad and so on—or new, such as the loyal hotel staff, they added much in the way of heart and humor to this simple and simply enjoyable enemies-to-lovers romance.

And it WAS enjoyable. Once I was over the initial hump (which could have been a by-product of my concerns), I laughed out loud on many occasions, highlighted several banter-laced passages, swooned and sighed over Archie, commiserated with Clara, and was moved more than once by the pasts that were mixed into the overall story.

Ooh, and I developed a craving for Archie's buns… You might, in fact, say I've set my sights on them—something I think you’ll want to do, too.

He put his hands on me. He put his lips on me. And it was all I could do to still feel the earth underneath my feet. Because when this man kissed me, I forgot everything.

~ FOUR Bossy STARS ~

Alice Clayton blends romance, humor, and heat with the finesse of a master chemist, and Buns is a drop-dead sexy and poignant love story infused with ingenious and subtle wit. Even the book’s title and cover are a testament to Clayton’s clever humor. My new book-BFF, Clara Morgan, is loyal, resilient and fun, and she’s brilliant at her job revitalizing troubled hotels and resorts. She’s on the verge of a huge promotion if she can succeed at her latest project – the historic family-owned and family-run Bryant Mountain Resort. She arrives on the job at full throttle and bursting with innovative ideas, and she immediately clashes with the owner’s son, Archie Bryant. He believes she wants to change everything and ignore their longstanding traditions, and an epic battle of wills commences. The equally strong-willed Clara and Archie fight it out through snarky, verbal skirmishes, and it doesn’t seem they’ll ever see eye –to-eye.

Clara denies she’s attracted to Archie, but she cannot ignore the sexual tension that is progressively building between them, and it reaches a fever pitch until they combust. They might have now found common ground in the bedroom, but their combative working relationship continues to complicate things, especially when they develop deeper feelings for each other. Both have complex pasts and reasons to fear falling in love, but it is uncontrollable and unavoidable. Witnessing Clara and Archie slowly begin to trust each other enough to lower their defenses and risk vulnerability is breathtakingly romantic, and Buns is an exceptionally crafted romance that is simply irresistible. I can’t wait to read it again. - Mary Dubé, USA Today's Happy Ever After

Clara is immersed in her job. She lives and breathes it and not much has room beside it except her two best friends who live in a small town called Bailey Falls. Her apartment is a place she sleeps in but it's a bit of a stretch to call it "home". Just as well, because she isn't at home much anyway, her job requires a lot of travelling. She specializes in rebranding and has made a name for herself in her profession. This time her job sends her to an old luxury resort, the Bryant Mountain House. Wild guess where this resort is located? Yup, upstate New York, Bailey Falls.

Upon arrival she has her first unpleasant encounter with the owner's son, Archie and let me tell you, he seems to be exactly what you expect from a guy with such an archaic name. Old-fashioned. Proud of the Bryant traditions and history. Stuffy. And mostly composed. Unless you are a tiny whirlwind of a woman called Clara. Archie and the rebranding specialist are supposed to work together to rejuvenate the run-down resort and the cooperation goes everything but smooth.

Soon they fight over every detail and it seems whatever Clara suggests, Archie is against it just for the heck of it.

“You’re incredibly rude, a know-it-all wrecking-ball girl who is more than a little bossy.”
I laughed in spite of myself. “What lovely things to say, coming from a pretentious, snobby, incredibly rude himself hotel boy who’d rather rattle around spooky hallways and spend time with antiques than listen to reason.”

Faster than he thought he has to admit though that Clara's strategy is successful. And that bites. It also bites that there is an undeniable spark between them and once it's fully ignited it burns bright. Clara finds herself wanting more but her past has shown her that people don't stay. They all leave at some point so she armors up her heart and seals it tight.



Clara is an immensely independent woman. She has been hurt too often and attaching yourself to somebody only sets you up for more pain. While her past is really sad she still has kept her lively and sprightly attitude and takes great pleasure in riling Archie up. Her bossiness was hilarious. Her abandonment issues are understandable but I couldn't help to get a tiny bit frustrated with her towards the end. Yet, Clara was an endearing and fun heroine.

Archie is so stiff and buttoned-up when we start out on this journey. you want to give him a hug and tickle him silly. His love and respect for his extended family runs deep. He also has had his own share of pain. Archie is a man of old stock and tradition - the pain that comes with change makes him adverse to it so he fights Clara with teeth and nails.
The more he interacts the more he loosens up though and when he does he becomes this adorable sweet guy who is crazy about Clara.

***He gazed down at me, an expression I couldn’t quite identify on his face. “You’re a bit wonderful.”***

Archie has a past we unfortunately only learn a little bit about and I would have liked to see some flashes of what he was like when he was younger. Has he always been this severe? I suppose not because the guy has a sense of humor to boot and when it comes out to play it's a blast. I just wanted to have something more substantial on him. Nevertheless he was a delightful male lead.


***My girl was wild. And loud. And obnoxious. And irritating. And bossy as all get out. And I wouldn’t have her any other way.***

Clara and Archie are so different but that's what provides the tension in this story. They complement each other and the result is better than the sum of its parts making their banter delightfully funny.

“Who chases someone up a mountain?”
“Who runs away from someone chasing them up a mountain?” I fired back.
“I just wanted to talk to you.”
“Talk to me? You want to talk to me, you ask me. You request a meeting, you send me an email, hell, you pass me a note while I’m sitting next to you at a meeting for Pete’s sake, you don’t chase me up a mountain!”


When they give in to their desire it's downright hot and let me say...I did not expect Archie to be such a sensual man.

This was my first journey into a small town called Bailey Falls and I'm utterly charmed. I loved the side cast of this story a lot. They completed the picture of our main characters. Ms Clayton's writing style is effortless and humorous and so evenly paced, I was instantly a fan. Now I need to find the time to read the backlist of this author because I have a new favorite!

Alice Clayton never disappoints! I'll be posting about this on retailers on release day!

Once again Alice Clayton has given me a book in her Husdon Valley series...This time we have Clara - the 3rd friend who's found herself in the Hudson Valley (we met Natalie & Roxie in Cream of the Crop & Nuts)

Clara has been hired to help the Bryant Mountain House resort rebrand themselves, help bring this family business back to life. Hired by Archie's father, Clara is coming in with ideas of changing it all, to make it better. However, Archie, the stuffy - suit wearing son, isn't interested in change. He loves the rich history of Bryant Mountain isn't too interested in change.

Clara is a bad ass character (as most of Alice Clayton's heroine characters are). She's so strong, on the outside, but has a few broken pieces inside that she keeps hidden away for no one to see.

Archie is a widower, who has no interest in change in his business or personal life. But as you know - this story would be no fun if that remained the status quo!

The push and pull of Clara and Archie is epic. The angst is high. The laughs are perfectly placed.

"That man can lay it the fuck down. And pick it the fuck up. And lay it back down again!"

This story has a little more grit and sadness than I am used to with Alice Clayton (not a bad thing, just sayin)

Take a trip to Alice's Clayton's version of Kellerman's (think Dirty Dancing) and enjoy the fun and sweetness of the Bryant Mountain resort!

received in exchange for a honest review

Stuffy,stickler stuck in the past man meets woman wanting to bring his business into this century and out of the Dirty Dancing era. What could go wrong here??? Well so much yummy fun entertaining moments. Many mentions of hot cross buns that are more than just at Easter and steamy times as well as Archie is brought into a new view and has him falling in love and letting go. .

Alice Clayton has once again given us a book with laughs and love. We get a man that your heart goes out to. He is a stickler for keeping tradition as is at Bryant Mountain House but slowly comes around to Clara’s ideas for he doesn’t want to lose his legacy. He is lost in grief as well but Clara does something there too. She opens his eyes and helps him move on in more ways than one. And the innuendo Clayton gives is wonderfully weaved in to give us wild banter and hoots and hollar times.

Clara is the girl who was raised in a tough situation. She doesn’t want to be permanent anywhere and love isn’t in her cards. She likes to fix hotels and is good at it. Bryant Mountain house is her next project and she’s excited about this. She gets to see her girls again and have sometime with them. What she doesn’t expect is Archie. The man with great buns and not just the sticky hot cross kind. But he is just as stubborn as her. They both try to get the other to see their perspective but sometimes it doesn’t quite work as planned.

As they work their magic on each other we see the foundation of trust and respect build. We also get some terrific witty banter and attraction that heats the pages. both fight it due to the situation and pasts. Archie comes around faster and wow he is swoony when he does that doesn’t mean he comes out of the stone age completely with the updating of his property but he does come around. It’s Clara who is harder to see love and accept it.

this book is witty, entertaining and sweet. We get to see old characters and have some really fun times there. See a town get to embrace this wonderful place that is Bryant Mountain house. Have some great bun moments and see love abound. there is no limit when it comes to the witty humor, sarcastic fun retorts and sexy times that Alice Clayton gives us in this wildy entertaining story that has the girl being doofy and the guy see that he can keep traditions and still bring his property out of the stone ages in a way that will have it boom and also move on and find love.

I LOVED THIS BOOK! It was sweet, it was sexy and it was damned good! Chock full of laughs, tender moments and sexy times, ‘Buns’ is my favorite in the series!

Alice Clayton NEVER fails to put a smile on my face! Her writing is solid and perfectly paced; not too fast, not too slow. As well, she has perfect comedic timing. Her humor isn’t forced, it just is. But that’s not all, not only are her main characters thoroughly developed, so are her secondary characters!

Clara Morgan did not plant roots. She didn’t enjoy being in one place for too long. She loved meeting new people and exploring new towns. Moving from one job to the next, rebranding hotels, Clara rarely spent any time in her apartment. Her busy life was perfect, the perfect distraction to the thoughts and memories that were too loud, too uncomfortable and at times, too raw.

❝All joking aside, no one had ever looked into my eyes, punched through my chest and wrapped their hands around my heart and said I love you.❞

Archie Bryant was the heir to the Bryant Mountain House. He was focused, he was determined and he was lonely. The last thing he expected was to be tempted by a smart, bossy, and incredibly sexy woman, who would not only challenge his work ideas but him personally.

❝You literally, filled up my heart.❞

Reading an Alice Clayton book is like cozying up with a nice glass of wine while sitting on your deck on a nice spring evening, it’s delightful, relaxing and the best part about your day!

I will not be reviewing this book as I wasn't engaged at all

Buns is the third novel in the Hudson Valley series. Like the other two, the cover drew me in. It’s quirky but sexy. Buns is written in First person point of view. It’s definitely meant for mature readers, lots of steamy scenes.

In this novel Clara, who works at helping hotels who are in trouble, goes to work at Bryant Mountain House. Not only does she need to worry about the staff, but also the owners’ son Archie Bryant, who will inherit the hotel.

Alice is amazing at creating characters that are distinct and likable. They have flaws but it’s so great to discover how they play into the storyline. I really liked Clara, the calmest in my opinion, of the three friends. Her past, growing up in foster care, is the reason why she tries to stay unattached. I wasn’t sure what I thought about Archie at first, but I learned to like him more and more as I began to understand him.

Since I’ve read a few other novels by Alice, I was expecting them to come with humor and Buns was no exception. When you have so many characters who are fun and their conversations are full of innuendos you get a supper sexy and hilarious story.

4 stars. This was a pretty good book! This is Clara and Archie's story. Clara is in the hospitality industry. She lives her for her job, traveling around to different hotels consulting on ways they can improve their facilities and business. Clara's newest project is the Bryant Mountain House in Bailey Falls, NY. Her two best friends, Natalie and Roxie, both have recently fallen in love with the town, and their boyfriends who live there, and moved to Bailey Falls. Clara begins work on the Bryant Mountain House resort, where she meets Archie Bryant, the son of the hotel's owner, who runs it. Archie is very resistant to the changes Clara wants to make and does everything he can to halt her progress, but he gradually begins to see that the changes are good ideas. And he gradually, begins to fall for the fun and outgoing Clara. She is cautious about getting involved with him, knowing that when her project is over her job will take her elsewhere. She also is afraid to get too comfortable in her feelings for him because she was raised in the foster care system, where she learned that all homes and relationships are temporary. But Archie is pretty convincing and Clara has to decide to take a chance on love and finding a new, permanent home with Archie.

This book was actually a really cute, sweet romance. There was very little angst and pushing away in the book. The couple did start off as enemies and became lovers. But they had chemistry right away. I liked Clara and Archie a lot. They were really good together. I did wish for more resolution and a farther into the future epilogue. It seems Ms. Clayton likes to leave her readers to make their own conclusions about how the relationship goes in the future.

I loved the glimpses of the other couples in the series and I LOVED that Caroline from Wallbanger (one of my fave books) had a part in the story too. . I liked the hotel setting and the characters who worked there. The story was different and interesting. The writing was good as always. Overall, I really enjoyed Clara and Archie's story! I think this is my favorite of the three books in the series. I will definitely look forward to more from Ms. Clayton in the future!

It was the cover, I had seen those other two around and I just had to read this one for the cover. I did read the first book in her red head series, that one was funny, this one did not have that humour.

Anyhow. Clara is sent to save a hotel. She was very focused, loved her job and wanted to do it right. And she has issues, she has been in foster care and now she is all I dare not love. Sometimes I wish there was a book where the mains did not have issues ;)

Archie thinks she has too many ideas (even though they are all good ideas but he is stubborn). And he has issues too, but he let go of those faster than her.

These two fight, oh but the tension is there and they just want to rip each other's clothes off. But they fight, then there is passion and they will fall in love, stubbornly ;)

Conclusion:
A nice romance, with buns, those yummy buns...I am talking about the ones you bake! I mean hello

I absolutely adored this one! I really enjoyed the characters in this one as they have great wit and banter as well as amazing chemistry. In typical Alice Clayton fashion, you are kept on your toes with the humor and the scorching moments!

5 star Review Buns (Hudson Valley #3) by Alice Clayton

What's not to love about this series? I really enjoyed Buns, it was as fun and quirky as the previous two books in the series.

This is the story of Archie Bryant, an uptight widower who is about to take over the running of Bryant Mountain House in Bailey Falls and the bossy, yet determined Clara Morgan who is assigned the job to bring the hotel back to it's glory and move it into the current century whilst retaining it's charm and history.

From the first moment these two meet there is a push and pull situation happening, both equally opinionated and determined as to the vision of the hotel and how it should move forward.

Having been brought up in the foster care system, Clara shies away from holidays and anything “family” orientated. Archie, on the other hand is all about the history of his family. These two should not connect and yet they do.; this is a case of opposites attracting and after spending a great deal of time flirting, Archie and Clara finally give in to their feelings.

The banter and camaraderie between Archie and Clara as well as their friends is amazing. It really is like coming home when I picked up this book. I love these characters and the mischief they get up too.

I always finish an Alice Clayton with a smile on my face. This was possibly my favourite of the trilogy as I absolutely loved Archie and Clara, separately and together. The vulnerability that both had as they slowly opened their hearts and minds to the possibility of love was heart warming.

I recieved an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review through the publisher and Netgalley

Book 3 in The Hudson Valley Series and oh what a pleasure it is to be back with characters that feel like family.
Clara Morgan grew up in the foster system and she has never felt like she belonged anywhere enough to call it home, she spends her spare time running marathons and triathlons and for work she travels around renovating hotels and her latest job is helping the new owner Archie Bryant of Moutain House do up the hotel. Is it Archie or the delicious hot cross buns that have her feeling like this could finally be a place to settle in .....
Archie Bryant wants his family's Mountain House Hotel up and running, he wants it to be successful but it's his father who hires Clara and Archie is really not convinced she is the one to put the hotel back to its former glory.
This book is Alice Clayton at her best, it's a emotional driven rom-com that will make you laugh and will have you smiling like a Cheshire Cat.
The banter between the characters is perfect, it's a sweet romanance and it was a book that I found hard to put down.

4 Hot Buns!

I have to say, Buns, is my favorite read in this series! I loved the banter between the characters. It is fun, sexy and romantic. And it gave me a Dirty Dancing vibe (minus the dancing!)

Archie Bryant is the owner of Bryant Mountain House in Bailey Falls. This hotel has been in his family for generations, but the stagnate marketing promotions has the hotel hanging by the limb. So in order to get this resort running back on a positive revenue generator, Archie's father hires the sassy Clara Morgan to help revamp the family business.

Clara Morgan is always on the move. She lives her life out of her suitcase, because of her job and when she ends up at the Bryant Mountain House her life will never be the same. That's because she ends up meeting and working for stuffy, old-fashioned and against- change, Archie. These two couldn't be more opposite.

Even thought Archie is adamant about change, he will do anything to keep his family's manor afloat and that means giving into Clara's ideas.

Buns is a great read that has humorous banter between the characters and plenty of sweet and hot moments. And great end to this series!

Buns!!!
Oh my goodness! What a ride this book had me on!
Clara's job is rejuvenating hotels that need some help and ventures into Hudson Valley to the Bryant mountain lodge!
When she gets there under an alias little did she know but Archie knew who she was!
With whimsical banter and some rather tense moments between the two whilst she's learning about the different parts of the hotel, you only have to laugh!
There are cameos from the previous two books and that's hilarious, with innuendoes galore! We also get another cameo that will certainly surprise you!
I absolutely loved it and couldn't put it down

I gave it Five Stars because for me its close to perfect. Ever since I read "Wallbanger," I couldn't hardly wait for what Ms. Clayton will be writing next.

Buns is probably my favorite out of the 3 books in the Hudson Valley series. It is about love, family and the feeling of belonging, combined with laugh out loud moments of Archie and mainly Clara. Also, it is a stand alone with a happily ever after ending. And since I have finished reading this, I might as well as read the first two books in this series again.

I hope that this is not the last book in this series.

Another saucy and funny tale from Alice Clayton! Makes a great, and sexy, poolside read.

Clara works to rebrand businesses (hotels, inns, resorts, and the like), helps them to turn themselves around, to bring new life – and money – back into the business. She’s great at what she does. Her newest job is a big one, and if she knocks it out of the park, she might be on track to be partner at her firm very soon. She heads up to the resort a few days early, under a different name, to get a real feel for the place before she actually “arrives” and meets with the owner. She assumes that the man she first meets that night is the bellhop . . . until she finds out that he’s actually Archie, the son of the owner – and soon to be the owner when his dad steps down in the next year. And when he sees the papers that fall out of her bag, he knows that she’s not the average guest that he first thought, either: she’s the outsider his dad brought in to go through the resort. Game. On.



Like with most of her clients, Clara has to fight to show the Bryants that her plans will save their business, and the changes will be for the better, without destroying the long, beloved history of the place and its memories. But she’s determined and smart, and Archie and his father both see this and come to (slowly) accept the changes she wants to discuss. Oh, there’s still some push back at times, but it’s never because they don’t think her competent, it’s simply the knee-jerk reaction of seeing everything they’ve known torn apart to reveal the flaws, to show how some things need to change after more than 100 years in business, in order to make the place thrive for decades to come, not just struggle for a few more years.



I fully admit, the first, eh, maybe 10-15% of the book or so wasn’t my favorite. There’s nothing overtly wrong with it, it’s not terribly boring – but it also didn’t grab my attention fully, not like the rest of the book did. But once Archie and Clare started to butt heads . . . Oh, shit, it was ON!



That little gem of a first kiss comes after she chases him up a mountain -- no, literally. Well, okay, she was both chasing him to get him to talk to her and also they were competing to see who could reach the top first. I'm going to say that they both won with that "prize". :)



These two have chemistry and then some. The tension between them is vivid and sparkling, and the banter and battles – under the disguise of “we’re fighting about the resort changes, of course” – add so much delicious buildup to what comes later. (Heh, comes later….) These two had some of the best interactions I’ve read in a long, long time, and I can’t tell you how many scenes I highlighted while reading. There’s so many, and a large portion are all BEFORE they ever fall into bed. But don’t worry, that tension and banter and clashing continues after the orgasms start. It’s not that they hate each other, oh no, they’re just both very strong and independent and they spark off of each other in the very best, most delicious way.


I’m sorry, I’ve said delicious a lot, haven’t I? But it’s true!



Archie . . . oh, Archie. I know, I know, the name is a bit, well, not hero-like, let’s be honest. But damn, Archie might be one of my new favorite heroes, and definitely my favorite from Clayton (more on this in a bit). Archie is a very straight-laced, controlled man – and you know I love those kind of men because they are always the dirtiest fuckers. On top of that, Archie has auburn/red hair, wears glasses, AND has adorable freckles. Excuse me, sir, why must you be so goddamn sexy? He hits ALLLLL my weaknesses, basically, and I loved him. He’s also a widower, a bit older than Clara (I think? I wasn’t certain on his age compared to hers), and when he finally lets loose with her . . . Well, I needed a cold shower. Or an Archie of my own. Preferably the latter. *sigh*



Here’s what I love about Clayton’s writing, especially with Buns: her sex scenes aren’t terribly explicit (as in descriptions of the dirty-smutty-goodness), but with what she does give, she manages to convey a fuckton of steam and heat anyway and I love it. It’s NOT fade to black, but you don’t get pages of description, and (at least in this book) there’s no “cock” used during any of the scenes. You know by now how I love my romances – the dirtied the better – but I don’t mind the *slightly* lower filth level here because the scenes are built around their killer chemistry in such a way that it comes across just as hot as a 10 page erotica sex scene anyway.



Trust. Me.


Their first time, besides being both hot and tender, was also fun because there's a little mishap and he loses his glasses, leaving him completely blind. But don't worry, Archie still got the job done without his sight. 😏


Seriously though, I could give you pages and pages of quote examples of both their banter AND their sexy times.


Dear God. I need a moment after that round of innuendo banter.



Someone stop me.


No, really. Otherwise I’ll be here all day.



The sex was hot as hell, the banter stimulating and fun. But I also loved that they had intimate, soft moments, too, as they worked their way to a HEA. What I'm saying is I really loved their romance, and while, yes, Archie does move a bit fast from “I will never look at another woman again because I loved my wife” to “But dammit, I can’t resist Clara, and that’s okay, I’m not insulting my wife’s memory by moving on”, I still believed the change. It worked for me. I could see that it’s a quick move, but it didn’t come across as annoying quick while I was reading, if that makes sense?



Which brings up what I touched on earlier, about loving Archie the most out of this trilogy of heroes. Now, I also loved book 2 (my first Clayton, btw), and while Oscar was perfect for Natalie and swoon-worthy in his own right, I never felt like I really *saw* him, you know? His character was a bit vague to me, even by the end. Book 1 is my least favorite of this series, for other reasons, but Leo was also harder for me to see and connect with. But Archie here? Oh, I got a much clearer sense of his character, of who he is and why Clara fell for him – and why I should as well. And I did, oh, I definitely did.



The book is written entirely from Clara’s POV (well, except for a few pages of an epilogue from Archie), and that’s the same way books 1 and 2 were. I’ve not read Clayton’s other books, but I assume she sticks with 1st POV, heroine only, there too (correct me if I’m wrong, of course). While I love her overall fun writing style and have enjoyed what I’ve read so far, my one complaint is I really want dual POVs, I want to really get to know BOTH characters fully. And while, yes, Clayton pulled Archie off much better here despite it being entirely Clara’s POV, giving him more depth for me to see and connect with than the previous heroes, I still wanted more, still needed his POV, too. What I got here was great – clearly, look at the rating I’m giving the book overall – but having both of their voices would have made this an even stronger book for me. Will I still read more of hers knowing that 1st POV is likely what I’ll keep getting? Yes. But I still hold out hope for dual POV in future books.



So, besides the fantastic tension and sex (and Archie, oh Archie!), I also loved seeing this resort and the community involved in it. (Though I didn’t like that Archie’s father was a fairly big part at first and then just disappeared once Clara and Archie started working together; I get that he wasn’t going to be owner for much longer, but he’s still a part of the business, of the family, of Archie’s life, and that was disappointing for him to all but left the book entirely like that.) I loved seeing Clara doing her job, and she does it so well.



But I also enjoyed seeing the previous couples (Clara’s friends) show up, Natalie, especially. She’s so fun, and her naughty-girl with a take-no-shit-give-no-shits attitude was still just as vivid here as it was in her own book. I ended up highlighting a lot of quotes from her, too. I think their – Roxie, Natalie, and Clara – friendship could have be a bit stronger in the course of the book, and the entire series for that matter (because I do love a good, strong friendship) but I was still quite happy with what was shown, as these three were fun together, and clearly had each other’s backs – even if Clara has such a hard time reaching out for help.



And yes, Clara’s hangup with family/relationships/commitment – all stemming from her shitty childhood growing up in the foster care system, and not with good foster families either – does play into this book, creating a few ripples between her and Archie. He never pushes her, but she lashes out anyway, not wanting to accept help, not wanting to talk about her past. On one hand, I could relate a bit to where she was coming from with said reactions, but on the other hand, I definitely had moments where I just wanted to shake her and yell “TALK TO HIM LIKE THE GROWN WOMAN YOU ARE, FUCK THE GHOSTS OF YOUR PAST”.




To put it simply: Buns was such a fun, sexy and romantic read for me. I had a blast reading it – just look at my Twitter feedand all the quotes if you don’t believe me! – and while I technically gave Cream of the Crop and Buns the same rating, Clara and Archie stole my heart just a bit more, becoming my favorite of this trio. This one, like the other two books, can be read as a standalone (I read the series out of order, 2-1-3), and I really did like all the books. But for me, you just can’t beat a strong heroine butting heads with an uptight hero, and Clayton does that dynamic so well here. #sparksfordays



4 1/2 STARS!