Steal Me
Maggie & Anthony’s Love Story
New York’s Finest
Book Two
About
NYPD Captain Anthony Moretti puts duty above all else, but when a sweet-natured waitress also becomes his star witness he begins to redefine what it means to put it all on the line.
Maggie & Anthony
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New York's Finest
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Maggie & Anthony · New York's Finest ·
Some Details
Vibe
The publisher wanted something like Blue Bloods, only … that’s not my style, so these books have a lot of 3 brothers giving each other crap about falling in love against their better judgement.
Heat Level
Steamy sex scenes.
POV
Alternating third person.
Tone
The original covers look like they should be romantic suspense, or at least gritty. They are … not. They are banter-filled romance novels just like my other books, but with cops instead of men in suits.
Author Note
I wrote this series very early on in my career because my publisher at the time wanted something similar to Blue Bloods, set in NYC. And since I live in NYC, they tapped me.
I sometimes think I should have said no, because I don’t know anything at all about the world of law enforcement, and I learned pretty quickly that writing someone else’s premise feels fundamentally wrong to me as an artist.
But I’m still glad I did it. All three books in the series received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, and I learned so much about how to craft a novel from these books.
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
“HOT! Smart dialogue, creative plotting and an insightful, unexpected romance ensure that Layne’s latest New York’s Finest novel is a sure-fire success…a pitch-perfect addition to a lovely series.”
―RT Book Reviews
Taylor Swift Song Pairing
Guilty as Sin
Tropes & Vibes
Forbidden Romance ∙ NYC
A Little Excerpt
“I don’t know what to do about it either. But I feel it. Like I’ve never felt anything before.”
He closed his eyes. “You shouldn’t have said that.”
“Why not?” she asked, lifting her chin in annoyance that he’d all but begged her to tell him what she was thinking and was now scolding her for it.
He made a low growling noise. “Because now I won’t be able to stop myself from doing this.”
His hand pressed against her stomach, spanning the entire surface as he pushed her backward into the wall. His eyes were wild as they looked down on her, and the last thought Maggie had before his mouth slammed against hers was that Anthony Moretti completely out of control was the sexiest thing she’d ever seen.
His kiss was fierce. Carnal. Unapologetic. There was no soft coaxing to get her lips to open, he merely used his firm mouth to maneuver hers open and then he took.
The hand on her stomach held her pinned against the door as his other hand came up to the back of her neck, keeping her mouth tilted up for his wonderful invasion.
on Book Covers
I’ve made the unusual decision not to show the official book covers on my official author website for a variety of reasons:
Most of my books have multiple cover versions depending on language/country; the US English version is only one of many.
Several of my cover designs were spot-on when they released, but are now quite dated even though the love stories within are timeless.
I have an unwavering love for neutral colors, and elegantly minimalist design. The current rom-com cover trend towards candy colored cartoons is not my jam.