Title:  Bayou My Love
Series:
Author:  Lauren Faulkenberry
Genre:  Contemporary Romance
Published:  March 7, 2016
Publisher:  Velvet Morning Press
My Rating:  4 stars
Source:  NetGalley
Cover Description:

Thirty-one-year-old Enza Parker is struggling to change the trajectory of her life. To prove to her overbearing father she can flip a house on her own, she takes on a project much too ambitious for her––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?

Read on for my thoughts on Bayou My Love.  No true spoilers, promise.

I had read the prequel to this story, Back to Bayou Sabine, a while back so I had a pretty good idea of the background to this story.  Enza is tired of her father giving her all the crap parts of the job of flipping houses and none of the responsibilities.  She’s good at what she does, and it’s time that good old Dad lets her tackle one on her own – and she’s already picked it out.  The house she inherited from her grandmother, the one where she had spent childhood summers in the sultry heat of the bayou.  That was the house she was going to work on and sell to prove once and for all that she had just as much business sense and talent at flipping houses as her dad did.

She didn’t count on the memories that would come flooding back as she approached the house.  And she certainly didn’t count on Jack, the sexy fireman who was doing a bit of squatting on her property.  Jack offered his services as handy man and worker in exchange for letting him continue to live in the house until it was sold.  Enza agreed because she could use the help.. and he was one fine specimen of a man.

As Jack and Enza begin to act on their attraction to each other, more surprises are awaiting them in the swamp.  A vindictive arsonist.  A touch of voodoo magic.  To name just two.  This couple has some issues to work out and quickly before someone gets hurt.

I enjoyed Bayou My Love .  It had such a Southern feel to it that I didn’t need to stretch my imagination too far in order to fall into the locale or the people living there.  Jack and Enza were a solid couple who had some issues to deal with – and Enza had some decisions to make, the kind that change lives forever.

If you enjoy a bit of mystery, local flavor and sultry nights in the bayou, then you’ll want to put Bayou My Love on your reading list.  Definitely an entertaining tale.

Available for the Kindle