Birthday Suit

Birthday Suit is vintage Lauren Blakely. I'm not sure there is anyone else who can combine heartwarming characters with the sights and sounds of NYC quite like she does. Right from the very start, Leo and Lulu grabbed my attention and their story of a years long unrequited love hit all the right notes. I'm forever enamored with the way Blakely practically insists that many of her heroines have a culinary talent that is unmatched. Lulu's chocolate confections had my mouth watering right along with whoever might be the lucky one to taste test one of her decadent treats. It's no wonder that Leo, a marketing genius in all things chocolate, fell hard once again for the woman who is his match in every way possible.I loved that we got the entire story with chapters dedicated to the 3-sided friendship that started 10 years prior between Lulu, Leo and Leo's best friend, Tripp. There is a sad tale that slowly unfolds as to why Lulu ended up with Tripp and not Leo. Despite the fact that they had so much in common and felt at ease with each other right from the start. But it's Leo's desperate love for Lulu that he had to keep hidden all these years that made my heart ache. I just wanted him to declare his love for the girl that got away and have her realize she made a mistake when they were young. His pain truly became my own.The words flow effortlessly as Lulu and Leo begin a work relationship that is filled with crazy team building exercises, using NYC as the answer to riddles that determine the winner of a week-long vacation and prize money. I just loved their easy rapport and how they saw each other in a new light, desperately wanting to leave the past behind. They each battled their memories in different ways but there was never a lack of respect nor affection when it came to the other.This is a tender kind of romance and it was hard not to root for our couple to find that perfectly imperfect rhythm they could call their own. With wonderful secondary characters in Kingsley, Ginny, Noah, Cameron and even George, this book is rich with emotion and has the perfect balance of humor and love.There is a comfort in Blakely's words that continue to put a smile on my face long after that last word is read. The forbidden aspect is well thought out and never feels over the top nor unreasonable. Leo and Lulu are smart and witty and only have eyes for each other. Getting over their shared past is not easy but is necessary to reach such an uplifting conclusion.Starting off 2019 beautifully, I happily give Birthday Suit a huge 5 stars!

Birthday Suit by Lauren Blakely4 stars!!!“…there is no organ more susceptible to trickery, subterfuge, or sabotage than the heart. Embrace it, treat it as something precious, and be very wary of it.”Lauren Blakely never fails to deliver and Birthday Suit is no exception. This was a great friends to lovers read with a touch of the forbidden romance thrown in. Lauren Blakely’s characters are always relatable, and these two will capture your heart from the very beginning. Mancode is always written in stone, and our hero took a step back when he realised the woman that he was falling for was more interested in his best friend. Over a decade of unrequited love seriously hurts, but when circumstances and fate throw these two together once again, can they think of their future rather than their past?Sometimes timing sucks, and it never sucked harder for Leo. The girl that he had been crushing on and chatting to on the regular meets his best friend for the first time, and the sparks fly. The trio become the three amigos and standing on the sidelines while your best friend gets the girl of your dreams was no mean feat. It hurt, and hurt bad. Being both their best friend for over a decade only ingrains that hurt and makes it fester. Leo was such a great friend to both of them, always there, reliable and only had their best interests at heart even if that meant his own fell by the wayside.“I took my own vow that day. No matter what, I had to get over her. There were no runners-up in love.”LuLu has had it tough and now leaving NYC and moving to California she gets the job of her dreams. A master chocolatier, a flair for recipes that tingle every taste bud, LuLu is in her element and being reunited with her best friend, Leo was the icing on the proverbial cake. Having been single for a while, LuLu isn’t blind, and when she sees Leo for the first time, thoughts she had never had come to the forefront, when had she become so blind?Lauren Blakely touches on all your emotions in this book as Leo and LuLu carefully navigate their feelings and try to shake off their past. A past that keeps pulling Leo back. When the woman of your dreams is presented before you, you feel like all your Christmases have come at once, but there is always that niggling doubt with Leo. Leo faces the biggest battle of his life… heart vs. conscience.“You’re a dream chaser. A go-getter. Have you found your dreams?”“Most of them. Some slipped away though.”Leo was swoon-worthy with a capital S, and I dare anyone not to fall for his heart of gold and his effortless charm. LuLu was a character that had learned from her mistakes and to see her take her life back by the horns was fantastic. With some great secondary characters there was nothing I didn’t love, and by the end, I didn’t want to leave these two. Such a cute read.

What a way to start 2019. Lauren Blakely starts it off with a Fantastic new read with Birthday Suit.We meet the fun and carefree Lulu Diamond. An amazing Chocolatier, a woman looking forward to moving on and making her career a priority after a past she needs to move on from but when you meet part of that past in the most fun and accidental way there is always a reason why.Leo Hennessy is man that seems to have it all, a great job, great family & friends but when one of your best friends reappears in your life you need to try and get past the past and look to the future.Leo & Lulu are amazing together the fun just pours off the pages and you can’t help have a smile on your face when you read there story. There will be some emotional roadblocks that will get in there way but with the help of some good friends and good advice you know that maybe they will find there way to one another.

4 Leo & Lulu StarsThis is a really enjoyable story about Leo , who has had unrequited love for Lulu for ten years , and Lulu - who had no clue whatsoever that Leo loved her.They met at College but on the day they meet , Leo introduces her to his best friend Tripp and a little way down the line Tripp and Lulu become romantically involved. My heart ached for Leo. He watched the woman of his dreams marry his best friend and it impacted his life hugely. He saw other women but no one lives up to Lulu.He tells nobody of his feelings and the three of them remain friends. This is NOT a love triangle. Ten years on , Leo & Lulu reconnect and Tripp has been out of the picture for a while. Tripp may have been the more vivacious of the two men but he had his own demons to battle. Leo comes across as very grounded and reliable and so loyal. I liked him as a hero but I wanted him to loosen up a little at times and to have more glimpses of him with his guard down because fun Leo is sexy Leo.Lulu was a really well written heroine with great resilience & strength. She had clearly learnt from her marriage & was ready to embrace her new life. Leo just had to catch up. Great secondary characters & the dark themes were well tempered by the lighter moments provided by them.HEA? Awww - yes!!Cheating? NoTrigger? Alcoholism. Death of a partnerAudio review: I listened to this book on audible and it was unusual in the there was a full cast of narrators. It took me a little while to get used to that but once I did I really enjoyed it. I would love more audiobooks to be done this way. Also , the interview at the end of the book with Sebastian York ❤️❤️❤️ and Andi Arndt 💖💖💖 was gorgeous to listen to. The highlight might have been Sebastian swearing with an English accent!

I really enjoyed Leo and Lulu’s witty banter and riddles between them. They’re friendship is fun and easy.Leo fell in love with Lulu the day he met her unfortunately for him, she fell for his best friend.After reading “Strong Suit” I expected to have more of Noah and Ginny’s story as those two are so cute.

Lulu and Leo are best friends who realise they are in love with each other. The only problem is Lulu used to be married to Leo's best friend. This creates huge problems. These two are sturdy as a rock though and this just strengthens their relationship. Such a wonderful read that deserves to be read time and time again.

Bit of a miss for me. I've enjoyed some of Blakely's other novel's but this one was lacking. The title didn't make sense til the very end of the book!!!Was a quick read & the supporting characters were interesting.Love triangle, long unrequited for one of the parties - finally finds happy ever after gag!

This was not one of my favourites by this author. It took me a while to get into the story and I found myself skipping bits. I did like the fact that Leo & Lulu got their HEA.