Passion on Park Avenue

Starred review from March 18, 2019
Strong characters and relatable situations elevate Layne’s bighearted contemporary. When self-made woman Naomi Powell receives a message that she’s been approved for an interview for a fancy Park Avenue co-op, she isn’t sure what to think. She is looking for a place to live, but the building holds terrible memories from her childhood: her late mother was a housekeeper there until her employer, Mr. Cunningham, fired and blacklisted her. To complicate matters, Naomi’s mother is the one who sent in the application without Naomi’s knowledge. Naomi goes to the interview and comes face-to-face with Oliver Cunningham, the son of her mother’s ex-employer, who surprises them both by approving her purchase of the apartment. The sting of betrayal is fresh in Naomi’s mind, but Oliver doesn’t remember Naomi or her mother, and he’s quickly confused by both his new neighbor’s anger at him and their instant mutual attraction. When Oliver needs daytime help for his elderly father, who now has Alzheimer’s, Naomi’s snap decision to volunteer changes the nature of their relationship and sets these two strong personalities up for a collision course. This vivid enemies-to-lovers romance digs into class differences, emotional baggage, and the reality of dealing with aging parents. Agent: Nicole Resciniti, Seymour Agency.

April 15, 2019
As the CEO of Manhattan's largest jewelry empire, Naomi Powell has worked hard to put her rough Bronx childhood behind her. She and her mother got a taste of the high life when her mother was hired as live-in housekeeper for the Cunninghams on Park Avenue?until her mother was discovered having an affair with her boss, and the two were thrown out on the street. But before she died, her mother somehow got Naomi on a list at the tony co-op building, which is how Naomi ends up neighbors with her childhood nemesis?and son of her mother's old boss?the charming and incredibly handsome Oliver Cunningham. He doesn't recognize her, but she remembers him, and she is out for revenge. Layne's latest, the first in a planned series, is filled with snark and sexual tension as Naomi and Oliver's love-hate relationship grows. Featuring wine in coffee mugs, dinner parties with ulterior motives, and Naomi and Oliver being (almost) caught with their pants down, this is perfect for readers who love the dishy women's fiction of Candace Bushnell.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)