*Blog Tour: By Referral Only by Lyla Payne*

        Hi Brats :) Today the blog tour for Lyla Payne's new NA Contemporary Romance novel, By Referral Only, makes a stop at TheSecretBookBrat HQ :)  This was another book that I fell in love with and found myself adding Cole Stuart to my growing list of illustrious affairs with Book Boyfriends :) I have a weakness for accents and Scottish royalty combined with a man that rocks a kilt doesn't hurt :)      
Synopsis
After being unceremoniously dumped freshman year because of her family’s “new money” status, Ruby Cotton has taken care not to put her heart on the line. No matter how enticing Emilie and Quinn make it look, relationships are scary and hard—while a string of flings is easy and fun. That’s what Ruby wants. Easy and fun. The only problem is, when it comes to satisfaction in the sack, most of the boys at Whitman are nothing but pretty window dressing and false advertising.

Ruby takes it upon herself to make campus life more fulfilling, creating a referral database that allows female students to rate their sexual experiences, thereby informing girls of what they’re getting into before agreeing to a date.

When her acting partner, Liam Greene, finally shows some interest, Ruby figures she won’t need to utilize the helpful gossip. He’s handsome, fun, and most importantly, not a guy she’d ever fall for hard enough to let him break her heart.

Not only that, but dating Liam gives Ruby the perfect excuse to say no to Cole Stuart.

As a star swimmer and heir to honest-to-God Scottish royalty, Cole sits at the top of Whitman’s A-list—but he’s also the lowest rated referral on Ruby’s website. The ratings make rejecting his repeated requests for a date a no-brainer, but her real reason for avoiding Cole runs deeper than a string of unsatisfied exes.

He’s gorgeous, he oozes sweetness and charm, and the electricity between them could power half of Whitman, but Ruby knows it will only last until his family or friends convince him she’s not good enough.

Before she knows it she’s falling anyway, waiting for the other shoe to drop but clinging to a tentative hope that Cole might be as different as he seems. When the secret behind his low ratings comes to light, that hope is torn apart, and Ruby wonders if she was right to give him her heart…and whether she has the strength to let him keep it.

My Review
We first met Ruby Cotton as Emilie’s best friend in Broken At Love, but until now, we didn’t know her story.
The initial foundation of the story is based on the clever and witty title, By Referral Only, when Ruby decides to start an online referral system for the guys at Whitman University. Girls register on the site and not only rate the guys they have sexual encounters with, but they can also choose to refer them or not – this saves fellow female students from wasting energy on guys that are simply not worth the trouble.
Of course, this is a double edged sward – Ruby may be helping the girls at Whitman but she also risks ruining the reputations of the guys, not all of which are deserving of that.
Like Cole Stuart.
Cole receives numerous low ratings and no referrals, and when he suddenly asks Ruby on a date, she declines. But what she soon discovers is that there is a lot more to Cole than what his ridiculously low ratings tell her. He may be Scottish Royalty, but Cole is sweet, kind and generous, with a gorgeous body to complete the package. His family is funny, and his siblings take a liking to Ruby, as does Cole, regardless of her New Money status and lack of social standing.
“I helped you when your car wouldn’t start because again you were the most beautiful lass in distress I’ve ever seen and maybe it’s in my blood to play the white knight but I didn’t like you suffering”
So what exactly holds Ruby back?
Ruby’s insecurities stem from the emphasis placed on Whitman University’s ‘Old Money vs New Money’. Because her ex-boyfriends’ family looked down on her familys’ new fortune (and by new they mean wealth that us younger than Ruby) she spends her time in meaningless, unfulfilling sexual relationships. However, she soon realises that she does in fact want more – she wants to find to find the proverbial Unicorn, much like Emilie has found Quinn.
“The jealousy that stabbed my heart didn’t have anything to do with my begrudging Emilie this amazing outcome – she deserved every bit of her happiness. It had everything to do with my wanting something amazing of my own and knowing it wasn’t there.”
Ruby and Cole’s relationship is captivating, and the sexual tension between the two is electrifying. Lyla Payne definitely upped the ‘hanky panky’ in By Referral Only, which made it slightly less innocent than Broken At Love.
Once again, Lyla Payne was able to draw you into the world of Whitman University and submerge you in the drama that comes along with gender feuds of a sexual nature. She also created some great supporting characters that were well developed, but somehow, I think Ruby and Cole’s story is going to be really hard to top. **4.5 Stars**
*Highly Recommended**       Cole       Ruby        Lyla Payne Bio:  I’ve long had a love of stories. A few years ago decided to put them down on the page, and even though I have a degree in film and television, novels were the creative outlet where I found a home. I’ve published Young Adult under a different name, but when I got the idea for Broken at Love (my first New Adult title), I couldn’t wait to try something new – and I’m hooked.  In my spare time I watch a ton of tennis (no surprise, there), play a ton of tennis, and dedicate a good portion of brain power to dreaming up the next fictitious bad boy we’d all love to meet in real life.
Links:  Goodreads  By Referral Only on Goodreads  Tumblr  Website   Facebook Twitter: @lyla_payne

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  Thanks for stopping by Brats :)  Love you all madly! Tam