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Review and Excerpt Tour: Stud Finder: Lauren Blakely

by - Saturday, September 30, 2017

Stud Finder
Lauren Blakely

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Release Date September 26, 2017

Man seeking woman: Hot, rich, smart, witty, self-made multimillionaire Internet genius seeks classy, intelligent, sexy, fun-loving woman who’s interested in settling down and sharing all the good things.

There. Best. Ad. Ever.

I will absolutely find the woman of my dreams, someone who’ll love me for me. Even if my sister thinks I need help dating, I’m confident I can pull this off, courtesy of the great worldwide web.
Let me just hit the upload button right now...
***
No. Just no. As a woman and a professional matchmaker, I can’t let Dylan Parker run this ad. He’s the catch of all catches. That’s why his sister has asked me to help her ridiculously good-looking, insanely rich, but socially clueless brother find a woman. As a broker of happily ever afters, I’m known as the Stud Finder since I make a great living pairing wildly successful women with men who won’t fleece them but will adore them. After all, what woman in her right mind wouldn’t fall in love with Dylan?

I mean, besides me. It totally won’t be me.

An adorable modern love story of a smart, rich, software nerd and an elite matchmaker. All she is supposed to do is find the perfect mate for her friend's attractive but somewhat naive and socially awkward brother. She shouldn't like spending time with him. She should be appropriate and professional. She isn't even looking for a relationship herself.

But Dylan Parker is totally adorkable, funny, kind, handsome, and charming. He is easy to spend time with for "research". Evie is sassy, quirky, outgoing, observant, and as competitive as he is. They are more alike than they initially thought and a connection starts growing despite the best intentions. They are not supposed to be interested in each other...but they are. And they're hesitant to show it or be the first to admit it. She's not even looking for a love connection, and and he is and doesn't want to waste his time on something with no long term benefits.

But sometimes the best laid plans go awry. And there are circumstances pushing you in unexpected directions. 

There are fun cameos from some old friends and various little connections for Lauren Blakely fans, but it can easily be read as a stand-alone. It packs a punch for being a short novella and it felt like a full story on its own. 

This was a cute, funny, flirty, novella with lovable, sweet characters, and a fun modern fairytale-ish feel. I was totally sucked in Dylan and Evie's story and their quest for new experiences. I am looking forward to more with the side characters like his twin brother, Flynn (yes, there is another hot, successful, intelligent nerd man!), and Mia Summers who has the been the sister and sidekick in a couple of books so far. Their time must be coming!

I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review. 
Evie is focused on building her matchmaking business and prides herself on the matches she has made. Her clients are typically women and she works to find the perfect man for them. When her best friend’s brother posts an atrocious online dating ad and is swarmed by gold digging women, Evie knows she can find him a better match, faster than he can find on the internet.

Dylan trusts technology. He knows electronics and math, so when he decides it is time to start dating, he is sure he can find a match online. He is nerdy and a little socially awkward, so when Evie offers to help, he jumps at the chance.

Evie has never had a problem keeping things professional with a client, until now.

It felt like the perfect match from the beginning -- the classy, put-together matchmaker and the goofy nerd. Each had personalities that were more than their job titles, but fit their chosen professions to a T.

I loved the fun feeling throughout this story. This read more like a novel than a novella in it’s details and pacing. I never felt like the story or characters were rushed and enjoyed every minute of this story. It was different without being outrageous and fit so comfortably into Lauren Blakely’s world. Previous characters make cameos, so it is a great return for those who have read her before. But the storyline stands alone completely without any need for backstory, so newcomers can get a great introduction to this world of stand-alones. 

I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review.


I’ve known Dylan for the last year or so. He’s our first baseman, and a Scrabble teammate in a monthly competition hosted by some friends, not to mention the winner of the Punniest Costume from Olivia’s most recent Halloween party, put on by her friend Henley at the Battery Park penthouse she shares with her husband, Max. Sporting a blue shirt, Dylan had draped a phone cord around his neck and hung a rubber chicken from it for Chicken Cord on Blue.

How have I never noticed his ass before? Maybe I was looking at the chicken. Although, in all fairness, I think I checked out his behind on the field in Central Park when he whacked a grand slam earlier this summer.
I wave. “Hi, Dylan!”
He stops a foot away from me. “Hey, Evie, person who’s not holding a cell phone like everyone else in the city. How do you function?”
I laugh. “I know. I’m a throwback.”
“And it’s not even TT. Throwback Thursday,” he says, quickly explaining. “You’re old-school interacting with the RW.” He pauses, peering at me through his brown eyeglasses. “That’s real world.”
“I figured as much.”
He laughs awkwardly. “Sorry. I get caught up.” He steps closer and offers a hand to shake. He stops. Shakes his head. “Wait. That’s weird. We can hug, right?”
A smile crosses my lips. “We can definitely hug IRL.”
He laughs again, and this time it’s not awkward.
As he wraps his arms around me, he says, “I was debating a cheek kiss, but that seemed old-fashioned. Same as a kiss on the hand. By the way, did my sister tell you she thinks I’m socially clueless?”
I don’t answer him right away, because his arms are so sturdy, stronger than I’d expected, and I’d nearly forgotten how tall he was—I’m guessing six foot one. And he smells so good, like deodorant, which is actually quite a nice scent on a man since it means he’s showered, and he’s clean.
I’m a big fan of clean.

Lauren Blakely

A #1 New York Times Bestselling author, Lauren Blakely is known for her contemporary romance style that's hot, sweet and sexy. She lives in California with her family and has plotted entire novels while walking her dogs. With fourteen New York Times bestsellers, her titles have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestseller Lists more than eighty times, and she's sold more than 2 million books. In October she'll release HARD WOOD, a sexy, standalone romantic comedy. To receive an email when Lauren releases a new book, sign up for her newsletter!
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