Cream of the Crop
Hudson Valley #2
Alice Clayton
Genre: Romance
Release Date: July 12, 2016

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?

This book is one of my favorites from 2016! Alice Clayton has grown as a writer and this book marries her humor with so much more. It is a brilliant story weaving romance, culture, identity, and body image. Everything about it was on point and I adored the characters and plot line. Cream of the Crop is a must read for 2016!

Natalie is one of my favorite heroines I have read this year. Her personality is refreshing and her outlook on life is vibrant. How can you not fall in love with this woman?! She is feisty, owning who she is in a way that many heroines in romance books cannot seem to grasp. She is woman, hear her roar. But this confident woman has grown in ways we learn as we read. I loved how Clayton gave her depth and a history without taking away from who she is in the present. You grow to admire her even more from what happened and I found myself wanting to be her with every chapter I read.

And Oscar… Where do I even begin?! This man of few words is sexy and confident, the perfect balance for Natalie. Their chemistry is off the charts and he makes you long for a strong man to sweep you off your feet. Everything about Oscar at one point or another seems to be a contradiction but those things make him into the perfect man. He is kind, hard working, and dominant in the best way (not an alpha jerk but a man who knows what he wants and goes for it). And for this package of a man to make delectable cheese, be still my heart and jiggly hips!

This book couples fun reality with romance and adds a dash of emotional depth and laughs. It threw everything I wanted into a pot and presented me, in the end, with something I cannot wait to read again! Alice Clayton, you win all the things. All I can say is take me to Hudson Valley. Perhaps my perfect match is waiting on an organic farm just for me! 

You can grab your copy of Cream of the Crop today from the retailers listed below!

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