In Marriage on Madison Avenue, the third installment of Ms. Layne’s Pact in Central Park trio, we have a friends-to-lovers, fake dating extravaganza that includes an Instagram influencer, a wedding at the Plaza, and a controlling mother. Combine that with Ms. Layne’s ability to write female friendships and this is a gentle and charming tale.

The introduction to the book is the conceit of the series. On the day of a philanderer’s funeral, the three women he was sleeping with (including his wife!) all meet on a park bench and decide to become friends. Each woman gets her own story and this one is Audrey’s.

A fairly famous influencer, Audrey’s made a living with her authentic and unbiased reviews of life as a single gal in New York. When she starts getting harassed and bullied by a Gossip Girl-esque outlet, she talks her best friend and complete commitment-phobe Clarke into posing as her fake fiancé.

We all know where this is going, don’t we?

What follows is classic Layne – appearances from old favorite characters, women speaking truth to each other, men discovering they can take risks on love. The package is tidy and enjoyable and if she writes your chosen flavor of romance, you can’t go wrong with this one.

My only quibble is a spoiler, so I won’t put it here, but it’s not a deal breaker by any means. It just knocks it from what could have been an A-/B+ for me to a solid B.

Buy it at: Amazon, Audible, or your local independent bookstore

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