I Knew You Were Trouble

I Knew You Were Trouble An Oxford Novel

Lauren Layne2017
USA TODAY BESTSELLER • New York City’s hottest bachelors are stirring up trouble in this fun, flirty Oxford Novel, as a love triangle forces a feisty beauty to choose between winning back Mr. Right or giving in to Mr. Wrong. Taylor Carr has it all—a sleek job in advertising, a stunning Manhattan apartment, and the perfect man to share it with: Bradley Calloway. Even after Bradley dumps her for a co-worker on move-in day, Taylor isn’t worried. She’ll get her man eventually. In the meantime, she needs a new roommate. Enter Nick Ballantine, career bartender, freelance writer—and longtime pain in Taylor’s ass. Sexy in a permanent five-o’clock-shadow kind of way, Nick knows how to push Taylor’s buttons, as if he could see right through to the real her. Nick’s always trying to fix people, and nobody could use a good fixing more than Taylor. Sure, she’s gorgeous, with mesmerizing silver eyes, but it’s her vulnerability that kills him. Now that they’re shacking up together, the chemistry is out of control. Soon they’re putting every part of their two-bedroom apartment to good use. Then Taylor’s ex comes crawling back to her, and Nick figures she’ll jump at the chance to go back to her old life—unless he fights for the best thing that ever happened to him. Praise for I Knew You Were Trouble “Lauren Layne is one of a handful of authors that can break your heart, while keeping you smiling the whole time.”—I Love Romance (five stars) “It is a fun and flirty battle of the sexes that will leave you giddy over the sheer romance of falling in love.”—All About Romance Lauren Layne’s New York Times bestselling Oxford Novel series can be read in any order: IRRESISTIBLY YOURS I WISH YOU WERE MINE SOMEONE LIKE YOU I KNEW YOU WERE TROUBLE I THINK I LOVE YOU Don’t miss any of Lauren Layne’s hot reads: The Love Unexpectedly series: BLURRED LINES | GOOD GIRL | LOVE STORY | WALK OF SHAME | AN EX FOR CHRISTMAS The Sex, Love & Stiletto series: AFTER THE KISS | LOVE THE ONE YOU’RE WITH | JUST ONE NIGHT | THE TROUBLE WITH LOVE The Redemption series: ISN’T SHE LOVELY | BROKEN | CRUSHED The I Do, I Don’t series: READY TO RUN | RUNAWAY GROOM Includes an excerpt from another Loveswept title.
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Reviews

Photo of sam
sam@sammiev
4 stars
Nov 15, 2023

i love taylor so much like i wanna give her a hug and nick is there lol i'm kidding he's great too

"mean it" by lauv, lany - for the third act break up :p

Photo of jupiter
jupiter@toryvega
4 stars
Jan 23, 2023

i loved them… also could’ve been longer but i say that about all her books

Photo of brianna
brianna@adansey
1 star
Jan 22, 2023

this was torturous

Photo of Connor
Connor @cgbart
4 stars
Oct 5, 2022

love a good enemies to lovers trope~

Photo of Inês Filipa
Inês Filipa@inesfilipa6
4 stars
Aug 18, 2022

4 stars but i missed the whole crew 😭

Photo of ingrid
ingrid@pipravis
4 stars
Aug 17, 2022

that was just EXCELLENT! loved everything about this book and taylor became one of my favorite girls in the slas/oxford series very quickly. had so much fun with this one 🫶🏻

Photo of macy
macy@macyy
3 stars
Aug 17, 2022

3.5

Photo of krissy
krissy@krissyo
3 stars
Aug 17, 2022

a fun read as usual however feel like they didn’t reach their full potential taylornick needed more pining especially since they’d liked each other for a year but couldn’t ever get the timing right also there was like no cameos from the rest of the gang i miss them

Photo of meha
meha @santischloe
5 stars
Aug 16, 2022

5 stars!!! no because i have a question how is that nicktaylor arent talked about enough?? because honestly they should be!! ever since i met the characters nick and taylor in the lincoln’s book, i just fell in love with them! when i started reading their book, loved it from the beginning page to end! nick and taylor are such different characters from the others in the series, which i really loved!

Photo of fer ❀
fer ❀@calebaltair
4 stars
Aug 16, 2022

3.75/5

Photo of jupiter
jupiter@toryvega
4 stars
Aug 16, 2022

i loved them… also could’ve been longer but i say that about all her books

Photo of catia
catia@catiaslibrary
5 stars
Aug 14, 2022

“I’d still be asking you to be my wife, Taylor Carr, because I want to marry you. Baby or no baby, you’re the love of my life. And you can say no, and I’ll be annoyed, but then you’ll be annoyed too, because I’m not going to stop asking. Not ever.” “This is so clichéd,” she whispered. “The post-pregnancy-announcement proposal.” He shrugged. “Got the ring before that.” Her eyes flew to his. “You did not.” “When I was in Oregon. My mom helped me pick it out and was bossy as shit. That’s going to be one more reason I’ll be annoyed if you say no, because I did not endure that process for nothing.” “You wanted to marry me before you knew I was pregnant?” she whispered, disbelieving and yet wanting so, so much to believe. The corner of his mouth lifted. “Very much.” Again Lauren Layne killed it with this one! Nick probably along side with Cole is my fave men from Oxford! His story was so heartbreaking and seeing him getting the happy ending he deserves, the family he deserves and the love of his love was a really magnificent journey and I love how deep down he is such a big softie man and I just fell in love with him more and more each chapter! Taylor, my strong baby who did also finally had the beautiful happy ending with the love of her life and finally learned that she is loved and got the family she truly deserved it!! Taylor wasn't my favorite of the women but god she is such a strong woman, and following her journey too, seeing her thinking she wasn't worthy of love or be loved to having her happy ending with Nick was so damn heartwarming and just thinking about it makes me what to cry! They probably become one of my second couples along with Lincoln and Daisy because both of them learned from each other and reading their story was painful but also so worth it and so magical and beautiful, I don't care what people say, I loved them and I will love them until the end of my days!! Now I am ready to reading the story of two best friends and I just know I will love it not only because of Lauren Layne's writing but also Hunter and Brit already stole my heart since the minute I met them in the others books so I can't freaking wait to see them fall in love or actually finally accepting they love each other and are meant for each other!! BritHunter here I go!! “I knew you were trouble from the very first second, Ms. Carr,” he said, reverently running a finger over her mouth. “Worth it, though. Right?” He smiled tenderly. “You are the best thing that ever happened to me. So hell yeah. It was all worth it.”

Photo of Emilie Adele Rognmo
Emilie Adele Rognmo@emilieadele
4 stars
Aug 2, 2022

4.25 stars just love, all around love. stiletto/oxford my family. tho i really missed the whole group in this book. taylornick did enemies to lovers and roommates so well. i love them. i just wish we’d have gotten a longer happy ending. it ended WAYYY too quickly. now brithunter <3

Photo of Nedu
Nedu@nedu
4 stars
Apr 8, 2022

*3.5 stars*

Photo of Kim
Kim@kimberlyfayereads
4 stars
Oct 6, 2021

Find this review and more at kimberlyfaye reads. Some things in life are just certain. Me falling in love with Lauren Layne's characters is one of them. Another would be me loving Lauren's latest release. When I learned the Oxford series was going to continue with I Knew You Were Trouble, I was all geeked out. I loved the Stiletto ladies. I loved the Oxford guys. Any time I can get more of any of them, I'm all in.  One of the reasons I probably enjoyed this book so much is that I dig a good slow burn romance. That's definitely what Lauren delivered with Taylor and Nick's story. These two had tons of chemistry, but as often happens in real life, the timing wasn't quite right at first. And for awhile thereafter. That made it all the more realistic to me. Who hasn't met someone and realized the timing was off? Thankfully, for these two, the universe had a way of making things right and they wound up with another opportunity. Which was great because, even with their differences and their tendency to pick at each other, they were great together.  I loved watching both Taylor and Nick grow over the course of this book. I also enjoyed seeing them come to terms with their individual pasts so they could move forward together. And, as always, it was great to see some of my past favorite characters make appearances here. Long story short, Lauren delivered the laughs, swoons, feels and sexy times I've come to expect from her books.  I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. FAVORITE QUOTES She liked men. Liked their size, the way they kissed, the way the male body felt above her, below her, whatever. But not for keeps. Never for keeps.  "I think you underestimate just how badly you and Nick Ballantine have been giving the rest of us who have to be in your orbit blue balls." "You should come with a warning label. Or at least an instruction manual."

Photo of Jolie
Jolie@readwithme
4 stars
Sep 16, 2021

I really enjoyed reading I Knew You Were Trouble….even though it was book 4 in the Oxford series. Reading books out-of-order from the series that they are in usually annoy me. Unless they are standalone and I Knew You Were Trouble is definitely stand alone. While the other people from the other stories are in the book, they do not overwhelm the book with their stories. Instead, Taylor and Nick’s story is allowed to follow its own path. What really made this book enjoyable to me was that the author took the time to have Nick and Taylor build up their relationship by starting the story almost a year before their relationship took off. You got to see them both grow into their feelings for each other. Honestly, on that, I didn’t think that they would. They were like oil and water and there was always verbal fallout when they got together. You did get to see a softer side of Nick and Taylor when her aunt died but that was the only niceish interaction until Bradley chickening out and breaking up with her by letter (who even does that????) scene. I liked Taylor but I didn’t like how cool she was with Nick. You could feel the sexual tension every time they were together, regardless if they were in relationships or not. There was one point in the book, before the trench coat scene, where I kinda wanted to reach through my Kindle and shake her. Why? Because she was fighting her attraction to him and I thought she was being stupid. So I was pretty happy when the trench coat scene happened. I am going to say that I think that she could have handled Bradley showing up unexpectedly at her apartment a bit better. Look what happened. A huge misunderstanding that almost cost her the man that she needed. I love Nick. He was such a wise guy and kept Taylor on her feet. He also was the only one who was there for her when her aunt died and then again in different parts of the book. It didn’t take me long to see that he was falling for her (I think I figured that out before he did). Another thing I liked about him was that he was a nice guy. A genuinely nice guy who got hurt pretty bad by his ex. So I wasn’t surprised at his reaction to Taylor’s news. Honestly, I wouldn’t have expected him to act any other way. I was a little taken aback by certain events involving Taylor and Nick. Honestly, I didn’t see Taylor’s news happening and but, like I said above, I could see what Nick reacted the way he did. I just think that maybe a week was too long but then again, Nick needed time to process what he was told. He did make it right but I was so afraid that he was too late. Of course, the book wouldn’t have had its happy ending if he didn’t but still I worried. The end of the book and the epilogue was perfect. Not going to give anything away but I loved…..well you need to read the book to find out what I loved about the epilogue (haha). How many stars will I give I Knew You Were Trouble: 4 Why: Sweet romance with likable characters that had oodles of sexual tension Will I reread: Yes Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes Age range: Adult Why: Sex and language **I received a free copy of this book and volunteered to review it**

Photo of Joana Rodrigues
Joana Rodrigues@asomima
3 stars
Sep 3, 2021

personal disclaimer: Lauren Layne is my free pass in this genre. i have free pass when it's her books and no one can judge me for reading these...adult romances when it's HER adult romances.

Photo of shar
shar@judeccardan
4 stars
Aug 18, 2022
Photo of Ana Clara Moreno
Ana Clara Moreno@annikavolkov
5 stars
Jul 4, 2023
Photo of Em.
Em.@xxem13
3 stars
Mar 12, 2023
Photo of Rajyeshwari Bhattacharya
Rajyeshwari Bhattacharya@rajyeshwari
4 stars
Feb 15, 2023
Photo of Jasmine Patel
Jasmine Patel@jasminepatel
5 stars
Feb 6, 2023
Photo of celene
celene@recluseperformer
3 stars
Jan 23, 2023
Photo of aya zamzam
aya zamzam@aryaaa
3 stars
Jan 22, 2023

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