Review: Cake by Lauren Dane

Title: Cake
Author: Lauren Dane
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: 15 September 2013

She won't be satisfied with just one bite...

Art student-slash-bike messenger Wren Davis pursues what she wants. And what she wants now is Gregori Ivanov, rock star of the Seattle art scene. With his tattoos, piercings and sensual sneer, Gregori is the ultimate bad boy. Wren’s gotten to know the man beneath the body art, too—and it only makes her crave him more.

But Gregori loves women like he loves cake and champagne—intensely, but only for the moment. And after Wren experiences just how scorching sex with Gregori is, she's determined to show him that just one taste won't be enough...

This is a story that's incredibly easy to read and get immersed in. Both main characters are likeable, and I was glad to watch them find their way together. However, something was missing. I can't even really lay a finger on it, but something kept this from being an amazing read.

Wren is a great heroine, one that's secure in herself, determined to go after what and who she wants, and not afraid to work hard to get it. I really admire her actually - a huge bonus after some of the previous books I'd read. The chemistry with Gregori was pretty intense, too. Their flirting was some of my favorite points in the book.

Gregori is a fairly stereotypical artist - temperamental - and brilliant. He's also incredibly stubborn and commitment-phobic (though perhaps after his ex-wife, he has a good excuse). I really enjoyed how he genuinely thought of Wren as a friend and cared about her that way.

There's not much of an overall plot, except for the commitment scare issues that come up about 3/4 of the way in - the rest of it is a pure, simple romance. There are plenty of smexy times, and I think that might be something that actually kept this from being a higher rating for me - I started to get bored, and the sexy times weren't so sexy to me after a while. That's likely a "it's me, not you," thing though.

Overall, I enjoyed this uncomplicated romance with two nice characters. I think this is the first thing I've ever read by Lauren Dane and I can definitely say I'll be digging deeper into her backlist now.

Grade: C+

Amazon | BN | kobo | Sony | Goodreads