Red Velvet is the story of two friends who are in love with each other but never tell each other and the man that enters their lives and shakes up everything! I really wanted to love this story because it has a lot of really good elements. I will even admit that I enjoyed reading it. My one problem (and it's kind of a huge problem) is that the total story wasn't realized. This felt like a great idea and beginning but the details weren't there so it didn't have any impact.
Layla is smart and driven. Oh, and a touch crazy, in the best way. I really wanted to know more about her and how she got that way. She's a lawyer who ends up a cupcake baker. What a neat concept! Teague is Layla's best friend and fellow cupcake baker. He is totally in love with Layla but doesn't act on his feelings until he is afraid he is going to lose her. The author made it clear that the cupcake shop was his passion but beyond that, I don't know much about him other than he is a bit of a whore. Max becomes Layla's obsession as he comes in each day for a cupcake. He's rich, handsome and, of course, perfect in every way. So basically, he has no depth.
Let the games begin! Max meets Layla when she is pretending to be someone else. For reasons I still don't understand, she keeps up the pretense even after she sleeps with him and decides she's falling in love with him. And Teague helps her to perpetuate the lie even after he meets Max and sleeps with him! And Max has a woman stalking him because their families decided they should get married. And in a predictable fashion, she wants to bake cupcakes and ends up in a competition with Layla and Teague. That's when the whole story blows up!
Don't worry, there's a happy ending. After all, people totally fall in love in a forever way after only going on less than a handful of dates. And they fall in love as part of a three way relationship and there are no issues with that. That's what I mean by the total story wasn't realized.
If you want a simple, quick read with a MMF relationship, read this book. If you like more substance in your stories, you might want to skip this one. I gave this four stars because it was a quick read and I was looking for a book that didn't challenge me too much.
Quotes:
"Cupcakes," Max repeated. "This is a cupcake shop. Are you going in to grab a couple?" loc 579
He knew then that he couldn't fight what was happening inside of him. loc 1245
I received an advance reader copy of this book.