Just when I thought I had read it all, Lauren comes out with Hard Sell!

A little while ago, I had read Hot Asset, the first book in this series. I completely fell in love with it, and didn't think the other books in the series would make me fall as hard. Whelp.... I was wrong. Hard Sell made me fall even harder. This novel blew me away.

Matt and Sabrina had such a complex and complicated relationship. Nothing these two ever did, or said to one another was simple and easy. There was always implications and ramifications. While I was reading, all I wanted was for these two lost souls with broken hearts from their past, to end up getting their happily ever after. I thought that they deserved that more than anything.

While I won't tell you what happened and give away spoilers, I will say, that in their times of need, the other was always there, and willing to help them no matter what.

For me, Hard Sell has topped Hot Asset in becoming my all time favourite Lauren Layne read! Go and grab this beautifully written novel today. Trust me... you won't be sorry!

5/5 Stars

This is the second installment of the 21 Wall Street series by Lauren Layne. We first met Matt and Sabrina in Hard Asset, Ian and Lara’s story and the first in the series. It’s here that you are first exposed to the animosity between these two. In Hard Sell you find out the reasons behind their particular dynamic. Matt, aka The Wonder Boy, finds himself in hot water with his bosses after a wild Vegas weekend attending his cousin’s bachelor party. Sabrina, Ian’s childhood friend, is a well respected fixer to the rich and famous or infamous. As the storyline progresses you begin to understand the reluctance of these two against relationships. Mixed in this story you also get glimpses of the third man of this group of friends Kennedy and the assistant extraordinaire, Kate, who attends to these three workplace needs.

I anxiously wait for this author to delve into Kennedy and Kate’s story plus updating us with the rest of the group of friends.

I voluntarily read an advanced review copy of this book

This was a really good book. I loved Matt and Sabrina. She was so solid and stable and he was so much of a party boy that it was affecting his job. When Matt finds himself with no other options he turns to the only person he could turn to … Sabrina


Will Sabrina be able to help Matt while protecting her heart? Read and find out!

3.5 Stars

“Hard Sell” was for me a hard sell… The beginning started out strong with some fun moments, but it fell short in the middle and ended up being too cliched for my liking.

Matt is a very successful 28 -year-old Wall Street wonder boy who climbed the ranks at a young age. He likes to party, and that is okay with the bosses until he becomes an above-the-fold newspaper item of him partying a little too hard on a bachelor trip. His image is now tarnished and the bosses are worried his clients will take their business elsewhere. I liked this part of the story. He had a comical way of describing himself and his woes.

Sabrina is personal assistant who fixes everything. She is the A-list go-to-gal when your image needs clearing up. She would be the perfect gal to entrust to change Matt’s image. And the bonus…Sabrina and Matt already know each other!

We’re simply two people who, against their better judgement, sleep together, with each ill-fated naked encounter somehow driving us further apart instead of closer together.

Well this certainly puts an interesting spin on the tale, now doesn’t it? But this is where I felt the same story being told…frenemies to lovers…one is falling in love with the other…it’s a tale as old as time. I lost interest. Matt’s personality definitely outweighs Sabrina’s and I liked the book just for Matt.

I really enjoyed Hard Sell by Lauren Layne. If you are a fan of boardroom romances, you will really enjoy this. It definitely has the whole "dating for convenience" vibe, but also a business aspect. It was a slow burn in terms of the characters actually getting together, but once they did it was worth it!

4 <b> praying for love in a lap dance and paying in naivety.</b> Stars
<img src="http://business-ethics.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Wall_Street_Sign.jpg" width="400" height="300" alt="description"/>

This is book 2 into the wall street book and it focuses on Matt and Sabrina.
Matt has been a bad bad boy and was caught getting a lapdance and with his morals in question his clients are dropping him like flies … is Sabrina the honey he needs to attract his clients back or will they both burn like moths to a flame?
This is an enemies to friends story. Matt and Sabrina have history that you were told about in book 1 hwoever this book can be read out of order. I think for me the book was both too long and too short in terms of the romance. However, the slow burn of it really justified the speed love aspect that was given. The couple matching isn’t my favorite because they are a bit too different and I think I wanted them to end up with different people. I think Matt’s bad image needed a different result. Also … I am still mad that this was his character. However the scenes were hilarious and fun and I think their emotional level was a good fit. This is a book you stop living your life and read cover to cover and you don’t even stop for a bathroom break.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Mary – ☆☆☆☆
What happens when a bachelor party in Vegas gets a little out of hand and the bosses in New York see it in the newspaper? No one is happy and the clients are starting to pull away. So now it is time for damage control.

When Matt Cannon gets called into his bosses’ offices, he cannot think of why but when the two Sams show him the newspaper with a picture of him, he doesn't know what to say. But when they tell him to straighten up or lose his job, Matt can't believe what he needs to do and only one woman can help him.

Sabrina Cross is a fixer and she can fix Matt's problem. But only one problem first, they can't stand each other. So how is she going to play Matt's steady girlfriend without them killing each other? Sabrina's only condition to the contract is there will be no fooling around while she is his pretend girlfriend. That would only make things more complicated. Because there are sparks between them that could burn down all of New York City.

Can Sabrina and Matt make it until the Wolfe Gala without falling for each other? Will Matt win his biggest client with Sabrina's help? Or will Matt lose the biggest client to win over Sabrina? Will forever be enough for the both of them?

I really enjoyed the first in this series and loved Matt and Sabrina just as well. And now I can't wait for Kennedy and Kate. Author Lauren Layne knows how to write the hot and sexy Wall Street men that are alpha all the way, until they meet the woman that steals their heart. Another great addition to this series.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is the second book in the series, and I loved book one, so was excited to get to read the next installment. With Ian settled with Lara, just Kennedy and Matt are footloose and fancy free. As it turns out, Matt's exploits make the Wall Street Journal, and he is going to have to do some major damage control if he wants to save his career.

Cue Sabrina, Ian's best friend and a fixer by trade, coming to his rescue. The two of them have had four years of meeting each other thanks to Ian, and they have a love-hate yet-often-sex relationship, which neither of them understand. But for the planned devoted girlfriend set-up to work, she insists that sex is off the table.

I always find Lauren Layne's characters interesting, but these two are definitely in a mould of their own. Matt has a very unconventional home life, which has definitely put him off any form of permanence and romance, even if he finds himself irrationally desiring forever with Sabrina. Sabrina had a terrible childhood, but has pulled herself up by the bootstraps, and will not make herself vulnerable again, even if Matt tests her resolve.

As we get to read both their viewpoints, we know the inevitable will happen, but just how will it all fall into place... their friends have a ball being along for the ride... but Kennedy better watch out, his turn must be coming!


Jordan – ☆☆☆☆☆
I am a huge Lauren Layne fan and I love that I can always count on her for a lovely read with a happily ever after. I read the previous book in the 21 Wall Street series, Hot Asset, which is not necessary to read in order to enjoy book #2 (Hard Sell). However, the Wall Street Wolfe’s are HOT and an easy sell. Honestly, I’m obsessed with these guys. After being completely charmed by Hot Asset, I have been waiting to finally read more about Sabrina and Matt’s rocky history!

Hard Sell follows the story of Matt, who is somewhat of a wunderkind, but his playboy ways have caught up with him and after a recent stint at a Vegas bachelor party, his bosses, the Sams, are giving him an ultimatum to clean up his image – get a real girlfriend. After the recent SEC investigation, the company can’t take any more bad press. Matt needs a girlfriend to make him look settled and clean up his playboy image. And who better for the role than Sabrina Cross, NYC’s ultimate PR consultant/fixer upper. The only problem is their explosive history, which means a “no-touching” rule has to be established. But rules were meant to be broken.

Ever since reading about Matt and Sabrina in the first book, Hot Asset, I’ve been so curious to finally read their story. Sabrina and Matt have phenomenal chemistry and it practically leaps off the pages. Hard Sell easily sucked me into the life of Manhattan’s Wall Street guys and kept me reading into the night. Another fantastic addition by Lauren Layne. I can’t get enough of these guys. Honestly, this series has quickly stolen my heart and I can’t wait to see what Layne does in her third installment. Plus, I’m so excited to finally see what happens in Kate and Kennedy’s story.

5 STARS for Hard Sell by Lauren Layne

This is the second book 21 Wall Street series and this series just keeps getting better with each new book. It has everything, fabulous characters who have real depth, plenty of steam and sexiness, fantastic banter and an entertaining storyline, it’s all wrapped up in a story I didn’t want to put down at all. Can’t wait for the next book in this series and by this author. A definite must read of 2018.

This book... These words... This author... Just so amazing. Every book is fabulous from the beginning to the end.

Hard Sell was perfect. Every word of pure perfection. I flew through this book, and I still wish I had more. AMAZING!

Hmm not sure what to say about this book other than yes I did enjoy it for what it was.... A fairly predictable story about love where the two main characters 'hate' each other but then fall in love...... A few laughs along the way but still ended in the exact way i predicted.

An easy summer read. Many thanks to netgalley for an arc of this book in return for an honest review.

I loved this story!! The banter between Matt and Sabrina was hilarious and just so great! It had all the feels in one story. I liked the whole frenemies to lovers concept. This was my first Lauren Layne book, but it sure wont be my last!

I thought this was a good read! This was a first for me from this author, and the writing kept my attention from the start. I thought Matt and Sabrina had great chemistry! Even when they're arguing, you could tell that there was a spark there. Although it's eventually revealed why Sabrina was hurt by what Matt said to her when they first met, I felt like she was WAY to hard on him over it. He didn't know her situation, and it wasn't said maliciously. I haven't read the first book in this series, but I didn't feel like it kept me from enjoying this one. I hope the next one is Kennedy and Kate's story!
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced readers copy of this book.

4.5 stars

I loved this one. Lauren Layne is my go-to author for enemies to lovers story and this one didn't disappoint. Matt and Sabrina had great chemistry and their banter kept the story moving at a fast pace. I also found the book to be very touching after getting a look at Matt and Sabrina's upbringing and how it shaped them. I would say that the conflict, the reason Matt and Sabrina hate each other, seemed a little like an afterthought. I understand Sabrina's knee-jerk reaction and hurt from what happened, but it seems to me that she would have realized pretty fast that it was an overreaction based on things Matt had no way of knowing. I think with them being in the same friends' group, the misunderstanding would have been worked out sooner. That's a really small quibble though. When I finished this book it gave that 'I just finished a great book' feeling and it gave me a book hangover.

Loved this book. Sabrina is snarky, sarcastic and oh so wonderfully. Matt is quick, witted, funny and I think sweet. I love them as couple, as negotiators, enemies, friends and lovers. This is such a good book in a superb series and I can't wait for more. So many beautiful details, and meaning without words ( there is a desperation to the goodbye hug, goodbye to the way we were…..oh my)

4.5 stars

Hard Sell by Lauren Layne is a great read and I loved everything about it.

The storyline was entertaining, the characters were likable, engaging and my interest was captured from the first page until the end.

Another wonderful read by the talented Lauren Layne and a great addition to the 21 Wall Street Series.

*A big thank you to the publisher via Netgalley for the advance copy.*

Matt Cannon is rich and the youngest broker on Wall Street. He may be the wonder kid, but when his latest fling makes scandalous headlines, his clients get anxious, and his bosses at Wolfe Investments give him an ultimatum to clean up his act.

PR genius Sabrina Cross is the best fixer in Manhattan but finds Matt to be a challenge. Combining their past history with their pretend game will lead to some explosive results.

Another fantastic story from Lauren Layne! Loved the chemistry between Matt and Sabrina, plenty flirtatious and sexy, with witty and snappy dialogue. It does help that they're already friends, when Matt needs a "girlfriend" to help clean up his image. Despite their years-long friendship, there is an undercurrent of something more that could happen between them.

3.75 stars
The whole "Wall Street" world is not really my thing, but I looove these characters, even more than the first couple. I enjoyed their banter and chemistry, they were great together.
I'm really excited for the next book. I've been waiting for that couple!

Having read and loved several of Lauren Layne’s series, she’s become one of my go-to authors for romances that are fun, flirty, sexy, and sophisticated. Her New York-based series, 21 Wall Street, may be new, but the tightknit group of characters – from the Wall Street hotshots to the strong, independent women that keep them on their toes – have become instant favorites. After watching the sparks fly between Matt and Sabrina in Hot Asset, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that the two of them would be paired together. Their constant bickering and the palpable sexual tension between them promised to deliver a scorching hot enemies-to-lovers romance and that’s exactly what Lauren Layne gives readers with Hard Sell.

After his playboy, partying reputation puts Wall Street boy-wonder, Matt Cannon, in hot water with his employers, he enlists the help of fixer, frenemy, and occasional lover, Sabrina Cross. Matt is required to have his public persona overhauled and what better way to show he’s reformed than a serious girlfriend (albeit a fake one)? What should’ve been a strictly platonic, emotionally detached relationship is complicated not only by their potent chemistry but by the hurt feelings and unresolved issues lingering between them. As unconventional as their new arrangement may be, it forces Matt and Sabrina to confront their past and acknowledge the undeniable connection and unbridled passion between them that refuses to be ignored.

With a fast-paced, compelling narrative, characters that are complex, endearing, and entertaining, and a romance that's sexy and slow-burning, Hard Sell is another unforgettable installment in Lauren Layne's 21 Wall Street Series. Matt and Sabrina are two characters that’ll tug on your heartstrings and have you rooting for two cynics to get their shot at a happy ending. Hard Sell is a book you can easily devour in one sitting, leaving you satisfied once you’re finished, but still wanting more...namely Kennedy’s book. I. Can't. Wait!

*complimentary copy provided by publisher for an honest review

Rating: 4.5 Stars

After reading the first book in this series, 'Hot Asset', I have been dying to know the history between Matt and Sabrina’s characters. These two couldn’t even be in the same room for two minutes without some type of bickering! Needless to say, my anticipation was high going into this, and it did not disappoint. Lauren Layne’s 'Hard Sell' is yet another super sweet, fun, and sexy romance in this 21 Wall Street Series!

My goodness, Matt and Sabrina totally cracked me up in this story! Their characters both had such a charm and grace about them, unless they were actually dealing with each other. Then their fangs would come out of nowhere, full of feisty venom and nastiness. Forced to now spend copious amounts of time together to pull off their charade, they had to deal with their past but were also re-acquainted with their already established friendship of sorts. Then, of course, there was that attraction to each other to contend with as well...

Layne’s writing is just so refreshing with her fun storylines filled with heart and feeling. This was unique in that she was hoping to convey it as more of a ‘frenemies to lover’s romance,’ and I really enjoyed that she did. The story was light and moved at a fast pace, although there were a few angsty moments. I did think there might be a little more to what initially sent Matt and Sabrina sideways, and the ending also wrapped up a bit quickly for me. However, it didn’t affect the overall feeling, and sometimes when I’m really enjoying a good story, I hate for it to end!

I am just loving this 21 Wall Street series of standalones, and I absolutely adore all of the characters with their friendships, love, and loyalty between them. These make for really fun reads, and I’m definitely looking forward to Kennedy and Kate’s story next in 'Huge Deal'!