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Hot Asset was a little edgier than I’m used to with Lauren Layne books, but after reading 15 other books by her over the years, it was a good departure from her normal writing. Told in a dual first person perspective, Hot Asset follows Wall Street hotshot Ian Bradley and Lara McKenzie the brilliant and inexplicably alluring SEC agent that’s investigating him for insider trading.
The sharp banter and push and pull between Lara and Ian was highly entertaining and probably my favorite part of the novel. On the surface, it was a bit of an “opposites attract” kind of situation- he’s the total playboy, she seems a bit high strung, and they definitely clash over their vast differences. But I really enjoyed that more their relationship was explored, the more you realized they had all the right things in common. They were both ambitious and hard working and cared fiercely for the people closest to them. It helped make a couple that seemed incompatible make a lot of sense together.
I also really enjoyed that the story wasn’t just about the temptation of their forbidden romance, there was also a lot of intrigue around the mystery Lara is trying to unravel regarding who’s making Ian look so guilty of a crime he didn’t commit. The culmination of her investigation was pretty interesting and while a bit dramatic, ended up being somewhat believable and was well established throughout the story, so it didn’t feel like it was coming entirely out of left field.
And because this is a Lauren Layne book, adding to the story were really well used and developed secondary characters. Layne did a great job of laying the groundwork for their stories in future novels that I’m really looking forward to reading.
The sharp banter and push and pull between Lara and Ian was highly entertaining and probably my favorite part of the novel. On the surface, it was a bit of an “opposites attract” kind of situation- he’s the total playboy, she seems a bit high strung, and they definitely clash over their vast differences. But I really enjoyed that more their relationship was explored, the more you realized they had all the right things in common. They were both ambitious and hard working and cared fiercely for the people closest to them. It helped make a couple that seemed incompatible make a lot of sense together.
I also really enjoyed that the story wasn’t just about the temptation of their forbidden romance, there was also a lot of intrigue around the mystery Lara is trying to unravel regarding who’s making Ian look so guilty of a crime he didn’t commit. The culmination of her investigation was pretty interesting and while a bit dramatic, ended up being somewhat believable and was well established throughout the story, so it didn’t feel like it was coming entirely out of left field.
And because this is a Lauren Layne book, adding to the story were really well used and developed secondary characters. Layne did a great job of laying the groundwork for their stories in future novels that I’m really looking forward to reading.