Blog Tour + Review: "Sex and Other Shiny Objects" by Lauren Blakely

Happy release day to Lauren Blakely's latest rom-com, "Sex and Other Shiny Objects," the second book in the Boyfriend Material series. My full review is included at the end of this post, but in short, I loved this charming, funny, and sweet story and recommend it for both new and existing readers of Ms. Blakely's work. I'm a big fan of the "best friends-to-lovers" trope, and this story was an especially fun example of that theme. Main characters Peyton and Tristan were both well-developed and incredibly likeable, and I found it very easy to cheer them on to their HEA.

About "Sex and Other Shiny Objects"

The second the test-the-sexy-scenes offer landed in my lap, I said yes.

After all, I've been damn curious about a few things I've read in romance novels. Do buttons truly go flying across the floor when you rip off a guy's shirt? Is staircase sex hella hot or does it leave you with a big old bruise mark on your back? And don’t even get me started on all that panty shredding, and whether it even works.

Time to find out as I embark on Project Sexy Scenes Research, at the request of my hotshot book editor bestie.

All I need is a willing scene partner. Enter Tristan, my best guy friend. The witty, tell-it-like-it-is, bearded hottie volunteers for the experiment.

He's also the guy who gave me the most devastating, toe-curling kiss of my life ten years ago. But nothing has happened since then.

And nothing will come between my panties and our friendship now since we have a plan to keep it PG.

But once the buttons start flying, all bets are off…

My Review

"Sex and Other Shiny Objects" by Lauren Blakely was a fun and very amusing read. I enjoyed getting to know the female lead character, Peyton, when she was introduced as a secondary character in an earlier book, but I found her to be even more charming as the lead character in this story. I especially loved watching Peyton cast off the last shackles of her failed engagement and blossom into the bold, independent, successful businesswoman she was meant to be. I also loved the idea of using her blog to drive foot traffic into her lingerie store and connect with customers on a personal level. It was obvious how much Peyton genuinely cared about her customers and wanted to help them find the perfect items to make them feel both special and empowered.

Peyton's best guy friend and eventual love interest, Tristan, was a wonderful lead character too. I very much admired the way he stepped up to care for his younger brother and managed to maintain a close relationship with him despite the tough situation. Tristan's romantic feelings for Peyton seemed so obvious to me from the beginning of the story that I'm not sure how she could have missed seeing them, but I guess the timing for them was always just a little bit off. In addition, sometimes we only see what we want to see, and in Peyton's case she may have been too afraid to look for something deeper than friendship with Tristan because she didn't want to lose him him if it didn't work out. I can certainly understand that fear, but I was thrilled when the two of them finally threw caution to the wind and admitted their feelings for each other.

The romance novel scenarios Peyton and Tristan tested were pretty hilarious. I too have wondered if some of those ideas would work in real life, especially the literal tearing off of clothing and undressing while going up a staircase in high heels. Maybe it's just that I am incredibly uncoordinated (I am, in fact, a danger to myself and others when wearing high heels, even on a completely level surface), but I have always imagined that even the most coordinated of women would be at risk of falling and injuring themselves if attempting such a thing. It was nice to be proven right!

At any rate, I very much enjoyed "Sex and Other Shiny Objects" and can't wait to see what the next book in this series has in store for us.

*ARC provided by the author via Candi Kane PR.  All opinions expressed are my own.