Name: sam's review of I Wish You Were Mine by Lauren Layne
Item: I Wish You Were Mine
Rating: 5
Author: sam

Lauren Layne

USA TODAY BESTSELLER • In this charming Oxford Novel, hailed by Keri Ford as “a sizzling-loud friends-to-lovers story,” Lauren Layne poses a provocative question: What do you do when you fall in love with your sister’s ex? A year ago, Jackson Burke was married to the love of his life and playing quarterback for the Texas Redhawks. Now he’s retired, courtesy of the car accident that ruined his career—and single, after a nasty scandal torpedoed his marriage. Just as he’s starting to get used to his new life as a health and fitness columnist for Oxford magazine, his unpredictable ex shows up on his doorstep in Manhattan. Jackson should be thrilled. But he can’t stop thinking about the one person who’s always been there for him, the one girl he could never have: her younger sister. Mollie Carrington can’t say no to Madison. After all, her older sister practically raised her. So when Madison begs for help in winning her ex-husband back, Mollie’s just glad she got over her own crush on Jackson ages ago—or so she thought. Because as Mollie reconnects with Jackson, she quickly forgets all her reasons to stay loyal to her sister. Tempted by Jackson’s mellow drawl and cowboy good looks, Mollie is sick and tired of coming in second place. But she can’t win if she doesn’t play the game. Praise for I Wish You Were Mine “A smart, sexy, and absolutely irresistible read!”—USA Today bestselling author Mira Lyn Kelly “I Wish You Were Mine is a sizzling-loud friends-to-lovers story with a unique twist of my-sister’s-ex-husband. A hot and sexy read with a strong bond of friendship make this a book you don’t want to miss.”—Keri Ford, author of the Turtle Pine series 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 a special message from the editor, as well as an excerpt from another Loveswept title.

An Oxford Novel

I Wish You Were Mine

Charlotte Thompson

after reading pencole, i wasn’t expecting this book to be as good but i was wrong! this was such a heartfelt read with not just mollie and jackson’s relationship but also jackson’s growth! reading about jackson’s character development after leaving his home state and moving to a new city to start over from a horrible situation felt so heartwarming. jackson finding a place to belong with the stiletto/oxford group and realizing mollie was his home

"During a quiet moment, Jackson found himself alone for the first time all evening, and when he glanced over to where she stood laughing with what everyone called the “Stiletto crowd,” his heart swelled with . . . something."

also the angst of molliejackson was good but i especially love their connection and how they understand each other!!

"You know when you texted me today? Something dumb about whether or not we needed more paper towels? Seeing your name on my cell phone did a hell of a lot more for me than my entire meeting with Madison. Are you hearing me? 

It was the mere sight of your name that did it for me. That’s it, Mollie. Seeing your name undoes me. 

also the unexpected duo of mitchell and jackson!!! i love it! introverts unite

riley and mollie <3 I love the stiletto/oxford family growing bigger

call it what you want - taylor swift

after reading pencole, i wasn’t expecting this book to be as good but i was wrong! this was such a heartfelt read with not just mollie and jackson’s relationship but also jackson’s growth! reading about jackson’s character development after leaving his home state and moving to a new city to start over from a horrible situation felt so heartwarming. jackson finding a place to belong with the stiletto/oxford group and realizing mollie was his home

"During a quiet moment, Jackson found himself alone for the first time all evening, and when he glanced over to where she stood laughing with what everyone called the “Stiletto crowd,” his heart swelled with . . . something."

also the angst of molliejackson was good but i especially love their connection and how they understand each other!!

"You know when you texted me today? Something dumb about whether or not we needed more paper towels? Seeing your name on my cell phone did a hell of a lot more for me than my entire meeting with Madison. Are you hearing me? It was the mere sight of your name that did it for me. That’s it, Mollie. Seeing your name undoes me. ”

also the unexpected duo of mitchell and jackson!!! i love it! introverts unite

riley and mollie <3 I love the stiletto/oxford family growing bigger

Ending could’ve been better. I just hated how Mollie was so forgiving and blind towards her sister, even after everything she did while Mollie and Jackson were in New York.

Joselyn

Connor 

Read this one because... I liked the Oxford crew as I saw them in... okay, the fifth book (the library only has certain e-books to choose from, okay?!). 

anyway, still weirded out by the familial exes, but Molls and Jackson were pretty cute and I'm pretty sure people would murder for his apartment.

Inês Filipa

well I’m a simple person - it’s a stiletto/oxford book, i pick it up and devour it. 

in all seriousness, i was scared of this one since i had seen some not-so-good reviews. but turns out, i really enjoyed it. 

it was a cute, easy read. and if I haven’t stressed this enough… the best part is the friend group. they are iconic, they are genuine. 

as for the main characters, mollie is very likeable and i liked how into science she was. even jackson, being sort of a grumpy hero and sometimes a stubborn man, was very likeable. i didn’t feel like he was being annoying, which sometimes is an issue with grumpy characters (although they are also my favourites).

i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again: these books are my one and only source of serotonin.
in fact, the more i read about these characters, the more i lean towards buying a one way ticket to new york. 

4-worm-stars ✨

p.s. cannot wait for emma and cassidy’s wedding in the next book; as well as reading about lincoln!!

ingrid

i liked mollie and jackson a lot, the forbidden love trope is very entertaining to me so i loved them. but i do wish mollie had stopped all contact with maddison at the end after realizing how manipulative she had been and how she lied about jackson :/

krissy

forbidden love always hits i loved this so much

catia

“You want me to talk your language? You’re my worm, Mollie. The creepy, mate-for-life variety. I’m here to stay, Mollie. Because of you. You, who’s always been there. And no, my romantic feelings for you don’t have the long roots that yours do for me, but that doesn’t make them any less intense. And they are intense, Mollie.”


Mollie and Jackson first meeting after months of not seeing each other was one of the best scenes ever!! Mollie is a queen and god Jackson was so down bad the second he laid his eyes on her!!
As for the book itself I definitely wasn't my favorite simply because I hate the sister plot and Madison had too much screen time for my liking, she annoyed me so damn much and the way she treated Mollie and what she did to Jackson pissed me off!! Overall Mollie and Jackson as characters and then as a couple were so damn good and hot and I wasn't ready for them to serve that but they did! Loved how Jackson only wanted to go back to be involved with football but as soon he step foot in his hometown he finally released it was his home anymore and the job he had in New York and his new friends and Mollie were his home! Actually Jackson's growth was one of the best things in this book, I really did love seeing his development!! And Mollie, god Mollie was just a cutie, tho she wasn't my favorite girl, she definitely deserved more and I'm so happy she got the happy ending she truly deserved and maybe the family too!!
Seeing all the other Sex, Love and Stiletto couples made my heart so warm and god seeing the guys form Oxford and Penelope involving Jackson into their group right away, was so damn beautiful and perfect and Mollie getting into the girls group too and Riley helping her even though they didn't know each other that much, made me cry!! What truly made this book fun was seriously all the scenes with the guys from Oxford and then the girl from Sex, Love and Stiletto! But I did enjoyed a lot seeing Mollie and Jackson love story and how they always had each others back, and how their friendship actually turned into something so pure and sincere and true and just beautiful!! Jackson and Lincoln's friendship was my favorite truly and now I'm a little scared for Lincoln's book but also so excited!! And also seeing Daisy getting her happy ending!!


  “Thank you,” he said gently. “For loving me. Even if I didn’t know it, I’m honored. I’m humbled.”
“I don’t want any of that nonsense,” she said. “I just want your love.”
He smiled down at her. “I hope you’re sure about that. Because you’re going to have it for a long, long time to come.”

Emilie Adele Rognmo

4.5 stars

molliejackson. thats it. my loves. i adore them. also love me some roommates trope and forbidden romance. couldn’t stop reading. i’m so freaking in love with oxford i might pass away.

Nedu

ok yeah, this was not hitting at all. jackson & mollie were blah, hell I wanted to find out more about madison instead and her motivations despite all the tiring and uninteresting drama. anyways lincoln's book is next so that should be great

Andrea Trask

Linda Quintanilla

Oh, Lauren Layne always know how to write the amazing romance books! She always know how to create a fun yet sassy yet emotional yet romantic read. And she did it again with I Wish You Were Mine. 
I Wish You Were Mine is the second book in Oxford series. I Wish You Were Mine starts off with the new employee, Jackson, adjusting to working in Oxford magazine. Jackson had a successful career in football that it all came crashing until he got injury that ended his career. He is having a hard time in accepting his new career role since he is waiting there is another chance in football. I definitely understand how hard it must be for Jackson since he loved to play football but he cannot play. I definitely know it take some time to adjust to a new dream that you definitely need support from friends and family. And Jackson will get his best support from co-workers and the beautiful yet off-limits, Mollie.
Mollie is a beautiful yet nerdy women that she is perfect for Jackson. But there is a big problem which would be that Jackson married Mollie older sister, Madison that it definitely off-limits for them to reconnet. But you cannot stop true love from being together which is Jackson and Mollie. They may not know that they are meant for each other but in time they will. With the time, they get to know each other more that they are undeniable chemistry between them. They definitely know how to rock each other world that it is explosive and passionate! 
They may have hot passion between them but they still need to figure out what they want from each other. Communication is a scary for couple because true feeling will be out but you cannot be afraid because you need to know each other feeling about each other. 
I Wish You Were Mine is a perfect romance read that you will melt while you read it. Five Stars!

Find this review and more at 
  kimberlyfaye reads.
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I loved this book! After finishing Irresistibly Yours, I went into this one completely blind, having no idea who or what it was about and I'm so happy I did. I had no preconceived notions or thoughts about the characters and the storyline. I'll admit, I was a little worried about the unrequited love and sisters aspect when I first started, but that didn't last all that long. Mollie and Jackson were fantastic. The sister, Madison, was utterly heinous. I didn't feel the least bit bad about rooting for Mollie to get the guy. She deserved him and truly cared for him. Madison did not. 

I Wish You Were Mine could've easily been a huge, messy, overly-dramatic read. It was anything but. Mollie pined for her older sister's husband, Jackson, from afar for years. What she didn't know was that he had been thinking about her too. She thought she was invisible when it came to her sister, but she was anything but. Mollie was a kind soul with a good heart and she'd been there for Jackson at times when Madison was too preoccupied with Madison. (I was so NOT a fan of this bitch.) Now that Jackson's pro football career is over – as is his marriage – and he's dealing with the fallout of a supposed scandal, it's a great time to reconnect with Mollie. Of course Madison is there to try to throw a wrench into things. (So heinous.) But what Mollie and Jackson are building is stronger... right? 

It was easy to relate to Mollie. Even if you've never crushed after your sister's husband, we've all had an unrequited crush, no? Felt like we played second fiddle to someone else? It doesn't always turn out like Mollie's situation did, but it was easy to understand how she was feeling about everything. Through all the twists and turns, I was in her corner – even if that meant being against Jackson if he did something stupid. I wanted her with Jackson, but more than anything I wanted her happy. She deserved it. Jackson was super swoony and had that whole cowboy swagger that makes me weak in the knees. I can definitely see why Mollie was so taken with him. Together? They were perfection. They brought the sexy times, sweet romance and a fair few feels. I couldn't put this book down! 

This series is fantastic! I still haven't gone back and read the Stiletto series, but maybe I'll do that while I'm (im)patiently waiting for Lincoln's book. Which, you know, I need right this second. (Side note: I just went to check the title of the third book. It's Someone Like You. But it doesn't release until December?! *whines* I'm not sure I can wait that long!) Well, at least I'll have plenty of time to catch up on Lauren's backlist, huh? 

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

FAVORITE QUOTES:

  "Tonight at her sister’s wedding, Mollie Carrington had gone and fallen head over heels in love. With the groom."


  "I saw you, Mollie. I've been seeing you."

Joana Rodrigues

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.

Lacey

Originally posted at Booklovers For Life

3.5 STARS

I’m a huge Lauren Layne fan – she is definitely a go-to author for feel-good, funny, entertaining contemporary romances. I’d been looking forward to reading I Wish You Were Mine ever since reading Irresistibly Yours, even though the blurb had me feeling a bit nervous. But I never should’ve doubted Lauren – while this book isn’t my favorite of hers, it’s still a sweet, heart-warming story. If you have worries about Jackson’s ex-wife, you absolutely shouldn’t – her character didn’t impede on Jackson and Mollie’s romance like I thought she would!

After an accident that causes him to lose his ability to play football, Jackson has a job he hates and an ex-wife who left him for another man. He has nothing going for him anymore… except Mollie, his ex-wife’s little sister. The one who has always been his friend, who has always been there for him when he was going through the rough times in his marriage, the one who he’s always been able to lean on. But seeing her now, all grown up as a beautiful, successful woman, Jackson wonders if he married the wrong Carrington sister after all.

But somewhere along the line, Mollie Carrington had ceased to be that awkward kid who talked about bugs at inopportune times. Somewhere along the line, she’d become his rock. The one person in the world, save for perhaps his parents, who always knew the exact right thing to say to make him feel like a human whenever he’d started to feel like a caricature of himself.

Mollie has been in love with Jackson since forever, but since he was always classified as her sister’s man, he was off-limits. But now that he’s single, and has offered her to room with him in his apartment, all the feelings she once felt come rushing back, as if they never left. Still, she worries about betraying her sister, who raised her when their parents died. Can Mollie find it in herself to pursue the one man she’s always wanted, or will her loyalty to her sister hold her back from having the love of her life?

I adored Jackson and Mollie together. I love friends-to-lovers romances, so of course I enjoyed this book. I loved the history these two characters had between them, how the chemistry simmered until they finally couldn’t help but fall in bed with each other (and they are HOT together!). They are so sweet and wonderful, definitely meant to be, but they have to first get over obstacles that prevent them from together.

“You are your own woman, and you are a woman, Mollie. You’re not a kid. You’re not a girl. And if I’ve been a complete asshole lately, it’s because I’m having a hell of a time coming to grips with the fact that I want you. And fuck, Mollie, I want you. I want you so bad, I’m dying.”

I don’t really like reading romances that involve hero’s exes, because sometimes I get worried about the hero’s loyalty to the heroine. But I absolutely shouldn’t have worried at all about Jackson and his ex-wife. Madison is a total bitch, and Jackson knowns that the woman he thought he loved never really existed. He is 100% done with his ex-wife, which I definitely appreciated.

The main reason why I didn’t fully LOVE this book was because I do wish there had been more romance. We get plenty of Jackson and Mollie as friends and as something more than friends, but we never really see them TOGETHER. As in, in a relationship. If that had been expanded upon more rather than in just the epilogue, I’m sure I wouldn’t hesitate to love the book. I also hated Madison whenever she popped up in the book, but I was expecting that, so it wasn’t too bad.

I may not have loved I Wish You Were Mine, but it was still a thoroughly enjoyable read. The humor, the writing, Mollie and Jackson’s characters, I loved them all. It’s not as light-hearted as the previous Lauren Layne books I’ve read are, as there is some angst and tension, but if you’re a fan of the author, you won’t want to miss this book! You get to see a lot of the Oxford/Stiletto gang as well – right now I’m dying to read Lincoln’s story!

Thanks to the publisher for generously providing me an ARC to review.

Quotes are taken from the ARC and are subject to change in the final version.

Amazon Ebook: http://amzn.to/1NDrPbL

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