Author: Lauren Blakely
Kindle Edition / Audiobook. Audible
Narrators: Vanessa Edwin and Shane East + full cast (book 3) and Jacob Morgan and Teddy Hamilton (standalone novel)
Book 1 – One Night Only
Book 2 – One Exquisite Touch
Book 3 – My One Week Husband
Standalone Novel tied in: One Time Only (prequel novella Maybe This Time, where Stone and Jackson meet)
The Extravagant series is Lauren Blakely’s series set in Las Vegas, in The Extravagant Hotel. With Vegas as backdrop, be prepared to clutch your pearls a little bit if you are so inclined. It’s Blakely’s “racier” series I have read so far.
One Night Only – the story of Callum and Ivy. It’s the classic Bodyguard/heiress story falling in love with a little spice. I have seen some people categorize this as a MFM romance when it definitely is not. But be advised that there is one scene that may make you clutch the aforementioned pearls. Let’s just say they in one night have “a little help from a friend”, this friend being the sexy and wonderful rock star Stone Zenith (he his own story in One Time Only), who happens to be Callum’s best friend.
One Exquisite Touch – the story of Sage and Cole. It’s an enemies (more rivals than enemies) to lovers, masquerade ball with a touch of Cinderella style story also set against the backdrop of The Extravagant. Well, my friend, get ready for a little of pearl clutching. Sage is finding herself sexually, and this masquerade ball is the chance she gets to live her fantasy of being loved by two men. These men are Cole and his best friend Daniel. They meet at the ball, with the sense of privacy and security of wearing masks and hiding their identities. That leads to a very steamy threesome at an alcove at the ball. But, life is full of surprises, and when Cole goes to see his rival hotelier, lo and behold, it’s Sage, the woman he now can’t get out of his mind. The book is steamy, but I confess I didn’t get much into the romance side of the story. To be honest, it feels like there isn’t much plot. I didn’t get invested in the characters as much. I can understand what moves Sage better, but Cole and Daniel not so much. They are best friends and Daniel is there more like a wingman to Cole. I just wish Cole’s character was a little more developed. Sage is also a twin, so I find it really strange her twin appears in the book only twice – once as mention and then in one scene. They are not only twins, they run the hotel together, so it felt strange. Daniel gets his own story in My One Week Husband, so we will see a little bit more what moves him. I understand that focus of the book may lie elsewhere, but I need more fleshed out characters. (You also get a cameo appearance by Stone and Jackson, of One Time Only). Because of the reasons I stated re characterization and all, this definitely can be read as a standalone.
My One Week Husband – the story of Daniel and Scarlett. A friends/business partners to lover romance. This one is the third and final installment in the series per se. Scarlett and Daniel see themselves having to pretend to be married to check out local boutique hotels that they want to acquire for their enterprise. Their friend and business partner Cole suggests they do that so that they scout the locations without the owners knowing who they really are. So they set out to see establishments in the wonderful French countryside. The thing is, they BOTH have been very attracted and infatuated with each other for years, unbeknownst to one another. The close proximity, the marriage ruse… it all leads to a steamy and romantic week of make believe. But both of them carry a lot of baggage. Scarlett is a widow who found out her husband was cheating on her for the best part of their marriage and Daniel holds secrets of his own. He never gets close to anyone but his best friend Cole. He has no family and he has a scar in his right had that he never talks about. Will he open up to Scarlett? This last one was my favorite of the three books in the series. It has the steam of the whole series but it also has a lot of character development. You learn what motivates them. (And at the end you get a little hint of another series, starting with Nadia’s, Scarlett’s best friend, story).
I listened to this one. Its is a full cast production. The narration is done duet style by Shane East and Vanessa Edwin (both wonderful narrators!!) and Erin Mallon plays Nadia, Joe Arden plays Cole and additional narration is done by Victoria Mei, Siiri Scott and James Joseph. We also get some music thrown in.
One Time Only – here is another bodyguard story. This time it’s Stone Zenith, a happy-go-lucky, adorable, free-spirited, playful rock star and Jackson Pierce, his strong, stoic bodyguard, who has lost his partner to an accident, leaving him grieving and in debt. Their love story is steamy but also very adorable. Stone is an openly bisexual man who is incredibly attracted to his handsome bodyguard, who he could have sworn is straight as an arrow. One day, Jackson gets really jealous of one Stone’s hookups and lets him know. Stone is surprised and delighted to know that the man his lusting after is not only gay but out and proud. What I love about their story is that the conflict has nothing to do with their sexuality but with their employer/employee situation. Jackson is very uncomfortable with the fact that he’s attracted to his boss. It’s an honor and duty situation.
If you are listening to the audiobook for this you get narration by Jacob Morgan (Stone) and Teddy Hamilton (Jackson), a powerhouse narration duo. You not only get wonderful performances, but Jacob also sings a teeny tiny bit, which is guaranteed to make you swoon. And the epilogues are narrated duet style, and if you hadn’t swoon before you will when you get to them! And when you get to meet Sofia, your heart will just melt.
I must confess that I only “read” this book because of the narrators… and I feel in love with the story! I am not part of the LGTBQIA+ myself, but I have friends and family who are. The way the main characters’ sexuality is dealt in this book is what warmed my heart. The big , burly alpha friends of the hunky bodyguard don’t care that he is into guys, they actually cheer him on when they see how happy he is with his new boyfriend. The families are supportive of them. The rockstar’s fans are supportive of him. In this book, the world really doesn’t care and that is the world I want for my friends – and me- to live in.
Stone, is a wonderful character. I feel in love with him immediately. Jackson Pearce is your standard hero.
(In the epilogue, you get an appearance by Declan, who is one of the main characters of yet another MM series by Blakely – Men of Summer: Book 1 (prequel) Crushing on Him Book 2 Scoring With Him ad Book 3 All in With Him.)
All in all, I enjoyed the books – the three that are listed under the series umbrella and, most of all, the story of Stone and Jackson. It was incredibly sweet!
I recommend all books for a fun read.
Possible triggers: death in the family / murder / cheating
