Cream of the Crop Volume 2

De: Alice Clayton

Narrado por: Deacon Lee, Olivia Song

New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Alice Clayton brings her trademark blend of funny and sexy to this second contemporary romance in the brand-new Hudson Valley series!

Manhattan’s It Girl, Natalie Grayson, has it all: she’s a hot exec at a leading advertising firm, known industry-wide for her challenging and edgy campaigns. She’s got a large circle of friends, a family that loves her dearly, and her dance card is always full with handsome eligible bachelors. What else could a modern gal-about-town wish for? The answer, of course, is...cheese.

Natalie’s favorite part of each week is spending Saturday morning at the Union Square Farmer’s Market, where she indulges her love of all things triple cream. Her favorite booth also indulges her love of all things handsome. Oscar Mendoza, owner of the Bailey Falls Creamery and purveyor of the finest artisanal cheeses the Hudson Valley has to offer, is tall, dark, mysterious, and a bit oblivious. Or so she thinks. But that doesn’t stop Natalie from fantasizing about the size of his, ahem, milk can.

Romance is churning, passion is burning, and something incredible is rising to the top. Could it be...love?

About cheese, not cheesey

I really liked this second installment. It unfolded at a good pace, offered a good amount of character development. This book is about Natalie a woman from NYC and a dairy farmer who we met in book one. To be fair, we briefly met Natalie as well. I especially liked the background story of Natalie. Clayton did a fine job of illuminating her strengths and weaknesses making her strong, flawed as we all are, but strong. Oscar, her love interest, had his moments when I wanted to scream at him for being shortsighted., but hey it is a romance novel. Loved the curse-can shaking comic relief.

Most of the book is narrated by Olivia Song (all but 9 minutes) and she does a great job. Deacon Lee did the Epilogue. Song should have got top billing here. Lee gets a pass. In the book, Clayton sets up the next friend ideally to be bitten by Bailey Falls. Can't wait to read it. I give it a thumbs -- big.

I'm going to need more Olivia Song!

Oh how I loved this book! First of all, I have a MAJOR girl crush on the heroine, Natalie. She is admittedly a big girl, she's not ashamed of it and she has so much confidence it's contagious! She's spunky, funny and bold. I had so much fun with this book! I absolutely LOVED Olivia Song's spirited and animated performance. I'll definitely be looking up more of her Audiobooks. Alice Clayton delivers another fantastic story worthy of all the side splitting pain you are going to endure while laughing and all the hot flashes you are going to endure while swooning.

Not as good as nuts.

Would you consider the audio edition of Cream of the Crop to be better than the print version?

I think they are both fine.

Would you recommend Cream of the Crop to your friends? Why or why not?

I mean it's a smutty fun summer read. I just didn't find the characters to be as likable as I did in the first book.

Which character – as performed by Deacon Lee and Olivia Song – was your favorite?

I guess the main character, or Roxy's hilarious daughter.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It just made me laugh, no crying. :)

Disappointing

Generally story was sweet but they frequently point out that they don’t talk enough to really know each other so they jump into bed and forget to talk. The worst was the hotdog incident. Before he went into his long rant about how unreasonable she was being, someone should have asked how he would feel if she was the one with an ex who did not respect her new relationship and observe reasonable boundaries. If he retorted that he wouldn’t be so rude to her ex she could point out that he wouldn’t have to because she would tell her ex he needs to respect her relationship. She was made out to be the unreasonable one and he was allowed to have his muffins and his big bottom. I can’t believe a woman wrote this point of view.

Sexy City Business Executive Meets Dairy Farmer

Cream of the Crop is the second book in the Hidden Valley series. It can be listened to as a standalone.

Natalie is the definition of a New York executive business woman. She is curvy and has learned to be confident in her skin and make men look at her full figure twice. She was burned in a past relationship, so her heart isn't up for grabs, but feel free to grab her body, please.

Oscar is an ex-NFL football player who was sidelined in his seventh professional game. He used his signing bonus to buy a dairy farm. Now he runs Bailey Falls Creamery, making some of the finest hand made cheeses anywhere and selling them at the farmer's market on the weekend.

These two bump into each other almost every week. Oscar isn't big with words, being more of an action man. Normally well spoken Natalie finds herself nervous and tongue-tied as soon as she is near Oscar. For months their only interaction is "Brie?" " Oh. Yes. "

Natalie gets the account from the Bailey Falls mayor to do some advertising and commercials to draw more people to their beloved town. Of course, she gets to finally say more to Oscar also. This fun city vs country romance comedy was a joy to hear. I loved Nuts, the first in this series, and this was fun as well, if a bit more far fetched at times. Cute couple that has a lot to overcome outside the bedroom, but can set the barn on fire inside it.