Yours to Keep by Lauren Layne

In a loose crossover between two series, Carter Ramsey, an injured pro-baseballer, is tricked into coming home by his very pregnant twin sister. Well, not exactly tricked. More like an irresistible bribe is dangled in front of his nose; his high school sweetheart is coming to town. She was his first love, the one with whom he made a pact to get married if they were both single at their ten year reunion. And that's why his sister wants him to come home. He is a big star and having him at their reunion will guarantee her success as a co-chair.
The other co-chair, Olive Dunn, is not as excited that Carter is back. She prizes her solitude and he's moved in to the house next door. He recognizes her right away (they were lab partners in senior year chemistry after all) much to her chagrin. She was sort of hoping she had transformed into an amazing swan. But overall, Olive is very happy with who she is. And it's that confidence is part of what draws Carter into wondering whether the first love is the best love after all.
Light humor enmeshed with an unexpected romance made this a fun read. The epilogue didn't need to be there and there were some spots that made me cringe a bit but overall a fun read with a great heroine.

Three stars
Follows Yours in Scandal
This book comes out Sepember 1st
ARC kindly provided by Montlake Romance and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Yours In Scandal by Lauren Layne

After eight years, Robert Davenport has to step aside from being the mayor of New York City, a job he has loved. The next logical step (at least as far as what his advisers are telling him) is to run for governor. But the man who is currently governor will be hard to unseat. But the man does have an Achilles heel; his daughter was a wild child and her name was splashed across the gossip columns for a long time. Five years ago, she abruptly disappeared. Robert's team has tracked her down and think that she might be convinced to release some of her father's secrets.
Adeline Blake changed her name, changed her hair color, and dropped out of sight. She did not have an easy childhood living with a man who was so dedicated to appearing like the perfect candidate to the world while living a completely different life behind the scenes. She just wants to plan events and stay out from under the microscope of public opinion. She definitely doesn't want to hop back into the political realm that burned her before. Working with Robert is starting to teach her that maybe not every politician is the same.
It's definitely smart to release a book about politics in the 2020 election cycle, especially with a politician everyone can connect to. Except I never really connected to either Robert or Addie. Even so, I don't think regular Layne readers will be disappointed.

Three stars
This book comes out March 10th
Followed by Yours to Keep
ARC kindly provided by Montlake Romance and NetGalley
Opinions are my own