Review: Steal Me by Lauren Layne (New York's Finest #2)

Note: This ARC was provided by Forever (Grand Central Publishing) in exchange for an honest review.

If it's one thing that police captain Anthony Moretti knows, it's his priorities in life. Family, the New York Police Department, and the New York Yankees are nearest and dearest to his heart and he's passionate about all three. Following in his father's footsteps is a no-brainer and his record has always been stellar...that is, until a criminal nicknamed Smiley goes on a spree, breaking and entering into homes and stealing whatever he feels like taking with him. All he leaves behind is a smiley sticker and a thank you note. You'd think someone who's committed such seemingly petty crimes would be easy enough to apprehend, but Smiley is testing Anth's resolve. The only one beating Smiley at that game is the beautiful but clumsy waitress over at The Darby Diner who waits on Anth and the rest of the Morettis every Sunday.

Waitressing isn't what Margaret Walker wants to spend the rest of her life doing, but it helps tide her over as she works on her book, one that she hopes will be published in the near future. One of the bright spots at her job is waiting on the Moretti family, a close-knit group that's always treated her with kindness...except for the eldest among the siblings. He may be a police captain but the man seems to have a perpetual scowl on his face and he treats her as if she's the poster child for ineptitude. He's somewhat of a jerk but his physical appearance appeals to her. Then she glimpses a police sketch that looks remarkably like her ex-husband, and she's the closest that the NYPD has come to progressing in the Smiley case. The brooding police captain needs her help and she offers him whatever he wants--including her fragile heart.

Steal Me is the second novel in bestselling author Lauren Layne's romantic suspense series, Steal Me, and shifts the spotlight from the youngest among the Moretti siblings to the eldest, thirty-six-year-old Anthony Moretti, a police captain with the New York Police Department and on a career path similar to that of his now retired father. He's the one Moretti who seems to have an adverse reaction to thirty-two-year-old Maggie Walker, the waitress at the diner he and his family go to regularly. But can you really blame the guy, what with Maggie's habit of spilling drinks on his lap or dropping a food item on his clothing? However, Anth isn't blind and has noticed Maggie from the beginning, only he doesn't pursue, accepting the harsh truth that he isn't meant for committed relationships, a must for a woman like Maggie.

This love story had the two main characters, Anthony in particular, straddling the line between animosity and attraction, though I would think that part of that animosity stems from the fact that he is attracted to the bungling waitress that is Maggie. Their interactions always felt as if there was this underlying bed of sexual tension that existed only between the two of them, even when they were surrounded by Anthony's highly opinionated and involved family. He scowls, she smiles, but there's that much needed connection that I look for when it comes to couples, and it has equal shares of lightheartedness and strained anxiousness. Both Anthony and Maggie have experienced what it's like to have a failed relationship, but while it's made her make changes in her life, it's made him somewhat closed-off when it comes to intimacy.

One of my favorite things about this on-going series is the familial relationship that exists within the Moretti clan. They're all very close to one another and would do anything for each other, whether called upon or not. They face everything with a healthy dose of humor and self-deprecation, and Nonna Moretti, the siblings' paternal grandmother, is the resident source of comic relief in the family. With two brothers --Anthony and Luca--having already been featured and with Vincent up next and I'm assuming Elena will also get her chance at happily-ever-after,  I'm curious to see if Marco, the Moretti brother who moved to California to be with his girlfriend, will also be part of the series, since he's on a completely different coast. Suffice it to say that New York's Finest is quickly becoming a favorite, with me giving Steal Me 4.5 stars. ♥

Release Date: 24 November 2015

Date Read: 24 November 2015

Learn more about Lauren Layne.

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