Reviewer: Mary
I received a review copy
Summary:
Thirty-year-old Enza Parker is at a crossroads. To prove to her overbearing father she can flip a house on her own, she takes on an ambitious project and it puts her in the path of the most alluring man she’s ever met.
Enza plans to flip the house she inherited from her estranged grandmother, Vergie, in Bayou Sabine, Louisiana. As a child, she spent summers there until the day her mother—Vergie’s daughter—inexplicably left. Since then, Enza hasn’t let anyone get close to her.
Arriving in Bayou Sabine, Enza finds her house occupied by bedeviling firefighter Jack Mayronne. Enza has no intention of being a landlord, but Jack convinces her to let him stay in exchange for helping her with repairs. With only six weeks to fix the house and sell, she’s determined to prove her father wrong, but she didn’t count on all the delicious ways Jack could distract her.
When Enza’s fling with Jack intensifies, she finds herself entangled with a vengeful arsonist from Jack’s past. As she reaches her breaking point, she must decide: Should she sell the house and leave her past in Bayou Sabine behind for good, or can she overcome her fears and build a new life there with Jack?
Review:
A passionate Enza Parker is in desperate need of something to call her own. Working for her father’s house flipping business feels more like a trap — he won’t give her the room or independence to take on the projects she longs to complete. That is, until a house she inherits becomes her new prospect. Enza is the new owner of her late maternal grandmother’s house in New Orleans, where she spent many summers as a child until her mother disappeared.
When she arrives to the bayou, she discovers many things about the house she remembered differently — it feels smaller, looks older, and now has an attractive fireman lounging in the hammock out front. Jack was Enza’s grandmother’s tenant and would like to continue living in the house. Enza wants him gone so she can get to flipping it. Together they find a solution that brings about a steamy love affair, voodoo mystery and a serial arsonist who threatens the small town.
This romance novel contains some heavy plot twists (and detailed sex scenes), yet still remains a light and fun read. The characters – or at least the main characters – are exceptionally likable and developed. You can pretty much predict what happens between Enza and Jack, but the subplots surrounding voodoo, crazed lovers and villains add some mystery that will keep you reading.
From start to finish, Bayou My Love is packed with dialogue, fire (the romance kind —and actual fire!) and secrets, making it easy to pick up and hard to put down.
5 stars
