After the Kiss

Sex, Love, & Stiletto Series, Book 1

By: Lauren Layne

Narrated by: Samantha Cook

Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

Julie Greene loves flings. Loves steamy first dates, sizzling first kisses, and every now and then, that first sexy romp between the sheets. Comfy pants, sleepy Sundays, movie nights on the couch? Shudder. But when Julie gets assigned the hardest story of her career - a first-person account of that magical shift between dating and "I do" - she'll need a man brave enough to give a total commitment-phobe a chance at more.

Normally, Mitchell Forbes would be exactly that man. A devastatingly hot workaholic who tends to stay in relationships for far too long, he should be the perfect subject for Julie's "research." But what Julie doesn't know is that Mitchell is looking to cut loose for once in his life. And the leggy journalist notorious for avoiding love is exactly the type of no-strings fling he's looking for. In other words, Mitchell is the polar opposite of what Julie needs right now. And, at the same time, he's exactly what she wants.

Contains mature themes.

©2013 Lauren LeDonne (P)2018 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Packed with loads of sizzle and Snickerlicious fun, Lauren Layne's After the Kiss is a knock-your-stilettos-off, total page-turning treat that had me fan-girling up within the first chapter. I absolutely loved this read!" (Mira Lyn Kelly, USA Today best-selling author)

Hilarious and More

The best book in this series and one of my favorite romances. Light, funny and touching. And Samantha Cook’s performance is worthy of an old-time screwball comedy. My only quibble is with the premise: the magazine that sets things in motion is heartless. But put that aside. All ends happily. Enjoy.

connverse to "how to lose a guy in 10 days"

Sweet and somewhat comical take on learning how to "take it to the next level" and fall in love with someone.

Great story!

I really enjoyed the twists and turns this book took. It moves beyond the initial romance and talks about what it means to be in a relationship, what it means to care about another person.
What a joy!!

Love Lauren Layne

I read this entire series before taking a shot at the audio version, just for fun. I absolutely loved the books and all the characters, the friendships between the women and even the men (their friendships grow as they engage in relationships with their female counterparts) were fluid and realistic. The steamy scenes were enough to make me fear my Kindle might catch on fire!

I thought that the narrator, Samantha Cook, did a good job for the most part. At least, with the female characters and her emotional range. However, I was really taken out of the story whenever she voiced a male character. To me, they all kind of sounded like she was trying to voice old men, and they each sounded really similar, if not exactly the same.

I’ll keep on buying Lauren Layne’s amazing romance reads!

Remove plastic before cooking frozen pizza!

Not the typical love-at-first sight story, but perfect just the way it is. The sarcasm of the main characters made me lol. Sweet ending.

loved it

I really enjoyed this author. I can't wait to read more books from this author.

B+ rating...

My Review:
Overall: 4.0
Performance: 3.75
Story: 4.0

Which came first How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days or this book? I honestly don't know, but this book reminded me so, so much of that movie. It was hard to separate the two in my mind.

Like the movie, Julie Greene has her girl-tribe who all work with her at her magazine at Stiletto. She also has a demanding boss who requires her to go out and do the impossible story...a story about falling in love...something that Julie doesn't do. She's the dating girl. The one who goes out and has fun for a couple of dates and then MOVES ON. So, to complete her assignment, she goes for the boring guy.

Mitchell is a guy from Wall Street. In other words...he's BORING. While Julie is dating him for an article. He's dating her for a bet. (See, I told you...this is so much like the movie. But I liked the movie, so it was fun to basically see a retelling of it with slightly different circumstances.)

And while on the surface these two have nothing in common, they don't care what the other thinks so they are themselves...something that neither one normally is and they quickly discover that they have some amazing chemistry.

Even with all the similarities to my favorite movie, I loved listening to the audio of this book. It was fun and entertaining and funny. I loved the romantic chemistry between Mitchell and Julie and loved the whole setup of who they are as characters. I've read the last few novels of the Oxford series, so it's fun to go back and read through the first novels of the Stilettos side of that.

Lauren Layne is one of my favorite authors and I recommend all her books. They're smart and fun and there's always great dialogue and repartee between the characters that makes for really entertaining reading.

I can easily recommend this one, too.

After the kids

Wonderful story. Would like to read more. Stories such as these. By Lauren Layne Author

After the kiss

This is one of my favorite stories and series. I listen to this and read the books many times. Great narrative and great love story!

After The Kiss

Julie works at Stilello, The Magazine for women and is part of the "IT" girls, the trio who write the infamous articles and her newest assignment is NOT something she is familiar with and doesn't have the first clue where to turn and she is spinning out of control. When met with an ultimatum from the boss, either write the article or lose her spot to her nemesis, she bends to a bet to have a fling for the sake of a relationship so she can write the article. This puts Mitchell in her sights. Mitchell works on Wall Street and he is recently single. He is a serious dater who when he dates it is for real and long term. This leads his friend to bet him he cannot actually have a fling and "love 'em and leave 'em" and puts up Yankee tickets as an incentive. This puts Julie in his sights. Oh, what a tangled web this is, especially when things start to get serious and hearts become involved. When the bets are made public knowledge, tempers flare and words are exchanged and hearts are broken. Oh my, how will they ever find their happy ending because these always have a happy ending. This was so good and listening to it in audio was a hoot. I found myself laughing out loud! I highly recommend it and off to get the next one in the series now!