Epic friendships? Check. Best friends falling in love? Check. Fake engagement turned real? CHECK, CHECK, CHECK. Lauren Layne serves up another charming, dishy, fun and romantic story with Marriage on Madison Avenue.


Marriage on Madison Avenue
by Lauren Layne 

From New York Times bestselling author Lauren Layne, the “queen of witty dialogue” (Rachel Van Dyken, New York Times bestselling author), comes the final installment of the Central Park Pact series, a heartfelt and laugh-out-loud romantic comedy that’s perfect for fans of Sally Thorne and Christina Lauren.

Can guys and girls ever be just friends? According to Audrey Tate and Clarke West, absolutely. After all, they’ve been best friends since childhood without a single romantic entanglement. Clarke is the charming playboy Audrey can always count on, and he knows that the ever-loyal Audrey will never not play along with his strategy for dodging his matchmaking mother—announcing he’s already engaged…to Audrey.

But what starts out as a playful game between two best friends turns into something infinitely more complicated, as just-for-show kisses begin to stir up forbidden feelings. As the faux wedding date looms closer, Audrey and Clarke realize that they can never go back to the way things were, but deep down, do they really want to?


Marriage on Madison Avenue is a must-read for all romantics. This is absolutely my favourite Lauren Layne novel of all time and the very best of the Central Park Pact series. (It also reminded me that Cecily von Ziegesar was SO ahead of her time with the Gossip Girl books--hello, Scandal Boy!) I've loved the Central Park Pact series, and the friendship at the center of it, in a way that is rare for me nowadays. And while I was super excited to get to Marriage on Madison Avenue, I was also a bit nervous that it would be too similar to Blurred Lines.

Naturally, I was very wrong. Marriage on Madison Avenue is the older, more polished sister, to that novel. They share similar archetypes and tropes, but they aren't the same story. This third installment to the now-beloved Central Park Pact series is just as enchanting, dishy, romantic and stylish as its predecessors. 

Actually, it's even moreso--in the best kind of way. Marriage on Madison Avenue sent me into a fit of emotions and made me miss the city, and new friendships, and love, and all the electricity that comes from life. I had no choice but to devour it in hours with a glass of wine. As always, this book is pure fun.

Lauren Layne continues to dazzle with her wonderful dynamics. The friendships are heart-warming. The romance is electric. (Phew! Lifelong chemistry that was never tapped into finally hitting its breaking point. Sign. Me. Up.) The characters are flawed and on a journey of self discovery. The endings are happy.

Every page of Marriage on Madison Avenue holds the right amount of life and sparks the interest from the first page. These are the types of characters you want to root for. Audrey and Clarke weren't necessarily destined to be my favourite pairing, and solo characters, from this series, but by the end of Marriage on Madison Avenue... they just are. I honestly haven't stopped grinning since finishing Marriage on Madison Avenue--what a swoon worthy read!