BAYOU BELOVED
A Butterfly Bayou Novel
#6
Lexi Blake
Summary
When a woman returns home to Louisiana’s Butterfly Bayou, her high school crush finally notices she exists, in a small-town contemporary romance from New York Times bestselling author Lexi Blake.
Quaid Havery always planned to follow in his father’s footsteps. He went to law school and then came home to take over his dad’s legal practice. Being the only lawyer in small-town Papillon, Quaid is pretty sure he’s seen everything. After all, he was once asked to sue an alligator for defamation of character. He’s prepared for anything the town can throw at him, until he encounters Jayna Cardet. She’s gorgeous, smart, funny, and unlike any woman he’s met before….Except he has.
Jayna never thought she’d return to Papillon, but when her life gets turned around she must learn to live in the close-knit community again. She certainly never dreamed she would practice law in her little town, but she finds herself in the courtroom, and the opposing counsel is her former high school crush, Quaid. It wouldn’t be so bad if the man had developed a beer belly, but Quaid is more handsome than ever. And instead of ignoring her like he did in high school, he’s made it plain that he wants to get to know her.
Thus begins a courtship destined to end in a wedding or a war. Either way, the locals are popping some corn and eagerly awaiting the outcome. (Courtesy of Goodreads.com)
Review
I received an ARC from NetGalley and Berkley Publishing in exchange for my honest opinion.
Genre: Romance
Spice Level: Bit high (On page 2x—I skipped it because spice is not my jam.)
Tropes: Grumpy/Sunshine, Rich/Poor, Small Town/City, Jock/Nerdy Girl
Oh my goodness! This book had me laughing more than most romcoms. There are some lines that are so amazing. And the banter between the love interest is spot on! The cover does not do this book justice. But I can see why this author is a New York Times Bestseller. This was my first book by this author.
Jayna is back from working in the city, beaten down from a nasty divorce and a hearing in the works about her ethics as a lawyer.
Quaid never left his hometown (except for attending Harvard) and is run ragged trying to keep up with all the legal needs in his community.
The story starts out like a lot of books with Quaid being the former football star who was shallow, popular, and just kind of a jerk. While Jayna was the nerdy girl with her head in a book, dying to get out of town—completely forgettable. And of course, Jayna had a crush on Quaid.
After the set up is where the story becomes unique. Their families’ dynamics are messy. The courtroom antics—that’s right, antics, since the cases are larger-than-life, ridiculous, and farcical. Also throughly enjoyable.
I’m glad we didn’t have too much with the friends interrupting the main storyline. Keeping the focus on Jayna and Quaid was perfect for this story. I read this story in ONE day—I just couldn’t stop myself.
One thought I have to share: I didn’t feel like there was much racial diversity in the story. (Did I miss it?!) I would’ve expected more side characters to be Black &/or Latinx because this is based in the south. I understand if the author is caucasian then her main characters won’t be BIPOC, but I missed that real world element to make the town realistic. UNLESS I MISSED IT! Please tell me if I’ve made a misinterpretation here.
For any adult who wants a romance and laugh-out-loud fun, I highly recommend this story.
Happy reading,
Michelle
PS: Will Brian the raccoon have a love interest? Inquiring wildlife wants to know.
Tales Untangled 