This wasn't for me.

First of all, I didn't like the characters. Olive was *a lot* and exhausted me, and Carter lacked any kind of charm. They didn't have any chemistry either.
Then there's the drama with Carter's ex. It just annoyed me and was such a boring plot device.
Then there's the scene where Carter basically buys Olive's affection. I wasn't a fan.

I think I'll stay clear of Lauren Layne's books from now on, at least for a while.

I have mixed results with Lauren Layne’s books. I wanted to love this one, but it wasn’t grabbing me when I tried it. I will try it again at a later point! DNF for now.

I really wanted to love this book but most of it felt boring. I only realized I was enjoying it in the last 20% of the book. The banter between Carter and Olive was really cute and I loved their friendship; however, I didn't feel invested in their romance.

Yours to Keep is the second book in the Man of the Year series. This book is told from dual points of view from Carter Ramsey and
Olive Dunn.

Carter is set up to be the Man of the Year in a magazine, however at the same time he's hurt his arm and can't be playing baseball. So he is back in his hometown. While there he sees his new neighbor is his old school science partner Olive. Olive is one of Carter's sister's friends. The sister needs their help planning their ten year class reunion and brings Carter and Olive on board.

With them working together sparks start to fly again. Will the past come back to haunt them? What happens when Carter's magazine is published. What about when he goes back to baseball. I enjoyed this book.

Yours for Keeps is the second book in the Man of the Year series by Lauren Layne. When I found out that LL was going to write another leading man who become Man of the Year, my first reaction was “Awesome news!” In my opinion, LL is a must-read, 1-click author.

Olive Dunn and Carter Ramsey’s story was a light hearted, romantic comedy. Two science lab partners who hadn’t seen each other since high school brought back together in their small town by a sport injury. These two are hilarious together! They get closer and develop a friendship that soon becomes a lot more. But what happens when Carter’s arm injury gets better? Will there still be in the lineup? Does he want to be now?

Will the Man of the Year make a change for the hometown girls of his dreams?

I received an arc copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The last few books I've read from Lauren Layne haven't been my favorite, so I put off reading Yours to Keep for a long time. Having read it now, I 100% regret it because this book had all the elements I enjoy in a good Lauren Layne book. This is a neighbors falling in love romance between Olive, a high school teacher in a small town and Carter, a pro baseball player recovering from an injury. The two went to high school together but didn't share anything romantic. When they are forced to co-chair the upcoming high school reunion, they become fast friends. The romance in this book progressed from a friendship to more, which I was 100% here for. In typical Lauren Layne fashion, Olive and Carter exchanged plenty of witty banter that had me smiling. Their chemistry together was hot and that sexual tension was definitely palpable to this reader. I really did love watching the two come together. Though there was a little of drama in the form of Carter originally wanting to reunite with his high school sweetheart and his career prospects, I found Yours to Keep to be light on the drama overall. It made for a very pleasant reading experience. I'm thrilled that I had a good time reading Yours to Keep because it's rekindled my excitement for Layne's books. If you want a friends-to-lovers that's light, sexy, and plenty of banter, this one is for you!

At first, I wasn't too sure how I was going to feel about this book. I wasn't a fan of Olive... I felt her character development happened too quickly. It could've just been me not paying attention at her first introduction or just misinterpreting it but I didn't take her as a bold, quicky character... not in the way she turned out to be.

I'll admit I found her annoying at first but by the end, I was really rooting for her.

The story is pretty typical; big baseball player goes home for a high school reunion and starts a friendship with the nerd who he wasn't friends with back in the day. It read like a Hallmark movie but it was perfection.

I adored the character of Carter -- I love how Layne writes her main, male characters; super sweet, a little tortured and massively misunderstood. I loved how him and Olive slowly started to tolerate each other and how they eventually opened up and formed a true friendship.

I also love how they flirted, how it was so natural for them. It made the book so exciting! The sexual tension was truly jumping off the page and I find that to be really difficult for a lot of writers to convey. Sometimes it feels like the relationship can be forced but with Olive & Carter, it happened nice and slow, really building it up.

When they finally do get together, it felt so satisfying but then of course, it was ruined. However, the ending is heartbreaking on so many levels, but yet also satisfying. I was sobbing by the end of it and it was truly magical.

This is the perfect romantic comedy to read when you need something easy to lose yourself in. The story was very easy for me to get roped into and become invested in. I needed to know what happened next and I needed to see if and when Olive & Carter's flirting would move to the next level.

It was the perfect book to take your mind off the world and just feel giddy about romance. It was everything a modern romance novel should be!

Book 2 in the Man of Year series and it was a great read. Loved Carter and Olive. A quick friends to lovers romance that will have you smiling the entire time you are reading. Great characters and a wonderful story.

I have to admit, I am a little bit sad over my rating.. Not that 3 stars is a bad one it's just... not what I was expecting.

This book was enjoyable... but not anything I was to engrossed in or anything memorable.

Starting this, I was excited. But the more I read, the more I realized I just didn't care much about the characters or the romance. I didn't feel anything romantic between them or even saw the potential of romance for a good chunk of the story, even their friendship felt a bit too rushed and forced in my taste. They were cute, I have to admit it... but that was it.

Both characters felt.. whatever to me in a way. Although, I did like Olive more than Carter, it wasn't really by much. Neither of them stirred up any huge feeling for me, I was mostly meh about them as much as I was about their relationship.

Honestly, for the most part, I just didn't care about the romance. The characters didn't feel suited to me, I didn't feel the chemistry or that tug that makes you root for two people to be together, and the side storyline with Carter's ex absolutely didn't help matters. It was unecessary and made absolutely no sense.. the only purpose it served was make me even more uninterested in seeing Olive and Carter together.

I did, however, enjoy the side characters more. Especially Kelly and Mark, their relationship intrigued me and had me grinning and wanting to read their book so much, I genuinely was more interested in their tiny little scenes than the main relationship; and I was SO happy to find out that they already have a book!!

This, sadly, wasn't one of my favorite of Lauren's work, but I am still very excited for the next installment which is(finally!!) Jarod's book, one that I've been wanting ever since I read Hard Sell in the beginning of last year and have wanted even more after reading Marriage on Madison Avenue!!

This year, I’ve made the decision to catch up on all of Lauren Layne’s books, so when I saw that she had this new series, I knew that I wanted to give it a shot. YOURS TO KEEP is the second book in the Man of the Year series. It features a baseball player named Carter Ramsey and his former high school science partner, Olive Dunn.

I was definitely looking forward to this book, but I found it a little hard to get into. The writing is fine in that it flows nicely. However, something about the characters felt a bit flat to me. I never really fell in love with Carter and Olive didn’t really shine for me either. I kept reading, hoping that something would change or a spark would finally ignite, but the book just went on smoothly until it finished and I was left still wanting more.

So unfortunately, I was a little disappointed in it. I don’t know if that’s because I had high hopes for it, but the romance just didn’t dazzle me like I hoped it would. YOURS TO KEEP is a very easy read though. But I wish there was more to the plot and romance. Something just felt like it was missing despite it having an interesting premise. Nevertheless, I look forward to seeing Layne’s future books. Hopefully, they will enchant me more.

I’ve been a fan of Lauren Layne ever since I read Only With You back in 2014. (According to Goodreads, I’ve read seventeen of the author’s books which is a good indication that she a) writes a lot and b) is one of the authors whose new releases will generally catch my attention). But I hadn’t read anything by her recently (too many books, not enough reading time) so I decided to dive into her latest release, Yours to Keep, the second book in the Man of the Year series. It’s got a familiar-sounding plot – sporting hero gets injured and goes back to his home town, only to fall in love with the girl next door. But in this author’s hands it gets that extra special something that makes it a home run.

Carter Ramsey, famous baseball player, is about to grace the cover of Citizen Magazine as Man of The Year – and it’s an unhappy coincidence that he won’t actually be playing his sport when it happens because he’s been sidelined by an injury to his throwing arm. His career dreams of winning the World Series look farther away than ever. When his twin sister Caitlyn calls to encourage him to come home to Haven for some family time and recuperation (on the heels of his mother doing the same) Carter decides to do just that. She’s also co-chairing their ten year high school reunion, which doesn’t thrill him, but he knows he’d be a big draw to get others to go. And when she tells him that his high school sweetheart Felicity will be there, and that she’s newly single? Suddenly going home sounds very appealing.

Olive Dunn may not have a decorating gene in her body, but helping her pregnant best friend Caitlyn with posters for their upcoming high school reunion is a no brainer. Plus she’s a teacher at said school, so showing enthusiasm for anything related is a given. Upon arriving home covered in glitter she discovers someone moving into the vacant house next door and though she doesn’t recognize him at first, when she goes over to introduce herself she realizes that the golden boy of Haven, Caitlyn’s brother Carter, has returned. She and Carter had been lab partners in high school but had run in different crowds. Popular and good looking Carter had had the popular and good looking Felicity as a girlfriend and ordinary, sometimes weird, sometimes too loud Olive had wished them well. But Carter seems a bit bruised around the edges now, and his not-so-perfect self intrigues her. Rekindling a friendship – a real one this time – is easy. And truth be told, there’s an interesting new attraction springing up between them. But can the girl next door compete against a second chance romance?

What brings me back to Lauren Layne’s books over and over again is her characters. She has the knack of writing people with whom you can identify. Whether they are going through complex life situations or just hanging out with their friends, they are people you can empathize with and that you can see being your friends. I love that in this particular story, Olive’s natural, friendly nature puts Carter at ease from the first moment they meet each other again and that he comes to realize how valuable her friendship is, even as he discovers that he’s attracted to her, too. Their banter is super funny and Carter appreciates that Olive hasn’t changed – she’s not starstruck by his fame and he has no worries that she might have any ulterior motives other than helping him feel comfortable and giving him a sympathetic ear when he shares his career concerns with her. Olive on the other hand finds that behind Carter’s ‘perfect’ exterior is a generous, kind hearted and decent man – it’s no wonder she finds herself sexually attracted to him too.

This is a slow burn romance, with their friendship taking center stage for the first half of the story. Plus, the appearance of the ex-girlfriend complicates things. Carter and Felicity had broken up because they’d been going different ways after high school, and Felicity had gotten married and has since divorced. Felicity proposed a pact when they broke up, that if, ten years after high school, neither of them were married, they would marry each other. Olive’s reaction to learning about that:

He finally brought himself to look at Olive, whose eyes were comically wide. “Please tell me you didn’t agree to that.”

He winced.

“You did!” Olive said with a delighted laugh. “Oh my God. Oh my God! That is too good. I didn’t know that sort of thing happened outside of terrible movies! A marriage pact!”

“I was eighteen,” he said under his breath. “And I’d already hurt her. I didn’t want her to start crying again, and…”

“And?” she managed through a laugh, wiping her eyes.

“Well honestly, I thought I’d be married by now! And she married the Hollywood guy, so I chalked the whole thing up to childhood crap and forgot about it.”

Obviously, the couple that is going to end up with the HEA is clear by this point, but the author does a great job of weaving this extra person into the story, and turning the expected ‘second chance romance’ that could have been on its head in favour of a couple you really want to root for.

This is a small town romance, so you get plenty of scenes with the community and all sorts of quirky locals, plus sweet moments with Carter and his family. And it’s a baseball romance too, but instead of the major leagues it’s the high school playing field and Carter teaching Olive how to play so that their teacher team doesn’t suck in their games against neighbouring schools. Baseball has defined Carter’s life for so long that not being able to play – and the possibility that he’ll have to retire – is also a focus of the plot. How he deals with that, and leans on Olive for her advice and guidance is part of what makes him realize his future is with her. Even skimming through the book again to write this review has made me want to read it over from start to finish. Plenty of laughs, sexy scenes and heartwarming romance make Yours to Keep a Desert Isle Keeper.

I've been a fan of Lauren Layne ever since I read Only With You back in 2014. (According to Goodreads, I've read seventeen of the author's books which is a good indication that she a) writes a lot and b) is one of the authors whose new releases will generally catch my attention). But I hadn't read anything by her recently (too many books, not enough reading time) so I decided to dive into her latest release, Yours to Keep, the second book in the Man of the Year series. It's got a familiar-sounding plot – sporting hero gets injured and goes back to his home town, only to fall in love with the girl next door. But in this author's hands it gets that extra special something that makes it a home run.

Carter Ramsey, famous baseball player, is about to grace the cover of Citizen Magazine as Man of The Year – and it's an unhappy coincidence that he won't actually be playing his sport when it happens because he’s been sidelined by an injury to his throwing arm. His career dreams of winning the World Series look farther away than ever. When his twin sister Caitlyn calls to encourage him to come home to Haven for some family time and recuperation (on the heels of his mother doing the same) Carter decides to do just that. She's also co-chairing their ten year high school reunion, which doesn't thrill him, but he knows he'd be a big draw to get others to go. And when she tells him that his high school sweetheart Felicity will be there, and that she's newly single? Suddenly going home sounds very appealing.

Olive Dunn may not have a decorating gene in her body, but helping her pregnant best friend Caitlyn with posters for their upcoming high school reunion is a no brainer. Plus she's a teacher at said school, so showing enthusiasm for anything related is a given. Upon arriving home covered in glitter she discovers someone moving into the vacant house next door and though she doesn't recognize him at first, when she goes over to introduce herself she realizes that the golden boy of Haven, Caitlyn's brother Carter, has returned. She and Carter had been lab partners in high school but had run in different crowds. Popular and good looking Carter had had the popular and good looking Felicity as a girlfriend and ordinary, sometimes weird, sometimes too loud Olive had wished them well. But Carter seems a bit bruised around the edges now, and his not-so-perfect self intrigues her. Rekindling a friendship - a real one this time - is easy. And truth be told, there's an interesting new attraction springing up between them. But can the girl next door compete against a second chance romance?

What brings me back to Lauren Layne's books over and over again is her characters. She has the knack of writing people with whom you can identify. Whether they are going through complex life situations or just hanging out with their friends, they are people you can empathize with and that you can see being your friends. I love that in this particular story, Olive's natural, friendly nature puts Carter at ease from the first moment they meet each other again and that he comes to realize how valuable her friendship is, even as he discovers that he's attracted to her, too. Their banter is super funny and Carter appreciates that Olive hasn't changed – she's not starstruck by his fame and he has no worries that she might have any ulterior motives other than helping him feel comfortable and giving him a sympathetic ear when he shares his career concerns with her. Olive on the other hand finds that behind Carter's 'perfect' exterior is a generous, kind hearted and decent man – it's no wonder she finds herself sexually attracted to him too.

This is a slow burn romance, with their friendship taking center stage for the first half of the story. Plus, the appearance of the ex-girlfriend complicates things. Carter and Felicity had broken up because they'd been going different ways after high school, and Felicity had gotten married and has since divorced. Felicity proposed a pact when they broke up, that if, ten years after high school, neither of them were married, they would marry each other.  Olive's reaction to learning about that:

He finally brought himself to look at Olive, whose eyes were comically wide. “Please tell me you didn't agree to that.”

He winced.

“You did!” Olive said with a delighted laugh. “Oh my God. Oh my God! That is too good. I didn't know that sort of thing happened outside of terrible movies! A marriage pact!”

“I was eighteen,” he said under his breath. “And I'd already hurt her. I didn't want her to start crying again, and...”

“And?” she managed through a laugh, wiping her eyes.

“Well honestly, I thought I'd be married by now! And she married the Hollywood guy, so I chalked the whole thing up to childhood crap and forgot about it.”

Obviously, the couple that is going to end up with the HEA is clear by this point, but the author does a great job of weaving this extra person into the story, and turning the expected 'second chance romance' that could have been on its head in favour of a couple you really want to root for.

This is a small town romance, so you get plenty of scenes with the community and all sorts of quirky locals, plus sweet moments with Carter and his family. And it's a baseball romance too, but instead of the major leagues it's the high school playing field and Carter teaching Olive how to play so that their teacher team doesn't suck in their games against neighbouring schools. Baseball has defined Carter's life for so long that not being able to play - and the possibility that he'll have to retire - is also a focus of the plot. How he deals with that, and leans on Olive for her advice and guidance is part of what makes him realize his future is with her. Even skimming through the book again to write this review has made me want to read it over from start to finish. Plenty of laughs, sexy scenes and heartwarming romance make Yours to Keep a Desert Isle Keeper.

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Thank you netgalley for allowing me to read this early. I have never read anything by this author so i was excited when I was granted access. I generally dont read sports romances because Im not a fan of sports, but this one was really good and kept me interested. I will definitely be checking out more from Lauren Layne.

This book was FARRRRR better than man of the year 1 however the huge connection of characters is still missing. The story was fun and different I liked the different take on the characters but they just didn't make sense to me. I feel the female character needed more development because I assumed she was average in looks and then at the end she was this thin gorgeous thing and I just didn't see it. Now two beautiful people deserve each other but i really feel the book was trying to go on that small town love story and it was like a weird forced thing. It needed just a bit more but wow its so much better than book 1.

Wow... I felt this one fell short of the normally great writing of Ms. Layne. It was slow moving for me. I never really got to like any of the characters and the small town setting was not my cup of tea. Overall not up to the awesome standards Lauren Layne usually meets.

Yours to Keep is a small town sports romance, which is one of my favorite genres. While I enjoyed the story and the characters, it did take me some time to warm up to Olive. She is brash and opinionated and likes to get into everyone’s business. What finally won me over, was her kindness and caring. Whatever she did, she did it because it was the right thing to do.

Carter, a professional baseball player, returns to his small hometown to rehab after an injury. He has been away for ten years and his life has changed dramatically since he left small town life. He has changed and experienced many things, but he slowly realizes how much he enjoys being back home again. Carter is reunited with Olive when he moves in next door to her. In high school they were lab partners, but now as they become reacquainted, there is a spark simmering between them.

Olive knows everyone in town and makes sure she keeps up with everything that is going on. She doesn’t treat Carter like a celebrity like everyone else does and Carter appreciates that about her. Olive is honest and down to earth. She doesn’t play games and she is just what Carter needs in his life right now. If you like reading about sexy baseball players, you will enjoy this one.

Yours to Keep was a great read. I love Olive and Carter. Such great banter written by Lauren Layne. Its a mix of everything I love to read. I gave all the feels and keep me wanting more of their story.

This was a fun and entertaining read. The dynamic between Carter and Olive is a delightful one and it really goes deep into two people reuniting after a decade and seeing each other through different eyes. A good book to read when you want to lift your spirits!

This wasn't a bad book, it just didn't work for me because it didn't fit into the Lauren Layne universe that I knew so I had a hard time caring about the MCs. I found myself reading it just in the hopes that we would see a glimpse of what Jared's book would be about.

Thanks to Montlake Romance and Netgalley for my copy to review.

REVIEWED BY SUNNY

It’s a sign of a great book when you don’t want it to end. I loved Carter a lot and I can’t even describe how amazing Olive was. I’m typically all about the hero and Carter didn’t disappoint. But Olive may have just taken the top spot as my favorite heroine. Lauren Layne couldn’t have made her better! Sweet, laugh-out-loud story.

Highly recommended!!!

5 very glittery stars for this great baseball romance.