Cream Of The Crop by Alice Clayton Series: Hudson Valley #2
Published by Gallery Books on July 12th 2016
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
Purchase @ AMAZON or BN
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New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Alice Clayton brings her trademark blend of funny and sexy to this second contemporary romance in the brand-new Hudson Valley series!
Manhattan’s It Girl, Natalie Grayson, has it all: she’s a hot exec at a leading advertising firm, known industry-wide for her challenging and edgy campaigns. She’s got a large circle of friends, a family that loves her dearly, and her dance card is always full with handsome eligible bachelors. What else could a modern gal-about-town wish for? The answer, of course, is...cheese.
Natalie’s favorite part of each week is spending Saturday morning at the Union Square Farmer’s Market, where she indulges her love of all things triple cream. Her favorite booth also indulges her love of all things handsome. Oscar Mendoza, owner of the Bailey Falls Creamery and purveyor of the finest artisanal cheeses the Hudson Valley has to offer, is tall, dark, mysterious, and a bit oblivious. Or so she thinks. But that doesn’t stop Natalie from fantasizing about the size of his, ahem, milk can.
Romance is churning, passion is burning, and something incredible is rising to the top. Could it be...love?
Liezel’s Thoughts:
Step aside rockers, athletes, and billionaires…a new type of book boyfriend is taking over. Farmers! Specifically the farmers in Alice Clayton’s Hudson Valley series. Who would have thought that there was appeal about these types, but O.M.G. the way Alice describes them has me wanting more!
It isn’t just the men in these books that will have you enchanted rather it is their female counterparts too. In this book, that would be Natalie Grayson. She is this successful advertising executive with one remarkable personality. The confidence Natalie exudes is nothing like I’ve ever witnessed before yet all of that disappears once she’s in the immediate vicinity of the owner of Bailey Falls Creamery – Oscar Mendoza.
Natalie’s reaction to Oscar is quite laughable, really. The very first time they ever meet and there are so many more moments like this that are priceless. If you’ve read an Alice Clayton book in the past you know just how entertaining it could possibly be. She certainly outdid herself with this one. And while I did spend a considerable amount of time chuckling at Natalie’s antics I appreciated the seriousness and romantic side as well.
I loved how the author also integrated the previous couple into this book. The camaraderie, friendship, and loyalty between the friends is outstanding. Again, I need to mention how Alice did such a great job portraying small town New York. It was charming and so picturesque that it has me yearning for that simple life or perhaps finding a quiet getaway out in the country.
Overall, I enjoyed Cream of the Crop. I would definitely recommend it to all the old and the new Alice Clayton fans who are looking for a fantastic romance with an equal amount of humor.
The Verdict:
About Alice Clayton
Alice Clayton is a novelist with an unholy love for her KitchenAid mixer. Making her home in St Louis, she enjoys gardening but not weeding, baking but not cleaning up afterwards, and is trying desperately to get her long time boyfriend to make her an honest woman. Hi sweetie!!
After working for years in the cosmetics industry as a makeup artist, esthetician, and national educator for a major cosmetics company, Alice picked up a pen (read laptop) for the first time at 33 to begin a new career, writer. Combining her love of storytelling with a sense of silly, she was shocked and awed to be nominated for a Goodreads Author award in 2010 for her debut novels, The Redhead Series.
Alice has penned three novels, The Unidentified Redhead,The Redhead Revealed, and coming soon in November 2012, Wallbanger. She thinks you should purchase them immediately. She’s not kidding, not even a little bit. Everyone needs some comedic erotica in their lives. She is hard at work on the third book in The Redhead Series, set to release in Spring of 2013, continuing the saucy and sexual escapades of everyone’s favorite couple, Jack and Grace.
Additionally, Alice loves spending time with her besties on Not Your Mother’s Podcast, make sure you check them out at notyourmotherspodcast.com or over on iTunes. 3 women rushing towards their forties still acting like teenagers. A saucy little mix of sex, love, relationships, pop cultural, celebrity gossip and All Things Jake Ryan.
Alice enjoys pickles, Bloody Mary’s, 8 hours of sleep, and a good pounding.
Finally Alice would also like all her readers and listeners to help her convince Mt. Alice that the only other thing that would make her truly happy is finally bringing home a Bernese Mountain Dog. She is totally serious. And done talking about herself in the third person…
