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4 Stars / Contemporary / Review

Review: Beauty and the Bayou by Erin Nicholas

A sexy small town, beauty and the beast rom com!

Sawyer Landry knows he’s been beastly to be around for the past few months. But he can’t seem to remember how to be fun-loving and friendly. Until he sees Juliet Dawson on his boat dock… and realizes that hip waders are, apparently, one of his turn-ons. But despite the beauty in the boots, the last thing he needs right now is a city girl in his way for the next two weeks.

But he’s not really getting a vote. Juliet is determined that her little brother rebuild the dock he and his idiot friends smashed. She’s quirky, klutzy, independent… and possibly an even bigger pessimist than Sawyer is. He’s incredibly drawn to the cynical fish-out-of-water, who seems to be the one person who isn’t intimidated by his growling.

The big, gruff boat captain is the first person in a long time to want to watch out for her and Juliet finds that hotter than his grandma’s jambalaya. Well, that and his sexy scar, his emotional baggage, and the sense of humor and fun that is buried deep.

But Sawyer doesn’t need any more people to worry about long-term and the things that make him feel protective of Juliet aren’t going to go away. So, this two-week adventure can’t be anything more than a fling. With Juliet down on the bayou, there’s an even bigger threat than alligators and hurricanes. There’s the very good chance of someone ending up with a broken heart.

Title:Beauty and the Bayou
Author:Erin Nicholas
Series:Boys of the Bayou (Book 3)
Pages:282
Genre(s):Contemporary
Trope(s):Small Town Romance
Beauty and the Beast
Opposites Attract
Point of View:
Location:Autre, Louisiana, USA
HEA:✔️
Release Date:13th August, 2019
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Another winner from Erin Nicholas

You can always count on an Erin Nicholas book to pull you into small town life and make you fall in love with the characters as they themselves fall in love. And it’s no different with this book.

This is the third book in the Boys of the Bayou series (after My Best Friend’s Mardi Gras Wedding and Sweet Home Louisiana) and while it does stand alone, I think you’ll enjoy it so much more (and maybe understand some of the nuances, banter – and other characters) if you’ve read at least one of the prior books in the series. There’s also a cameo from Gabe and his kids from Going Down Easy – part of Nicholas’ Boys of the Big Easy series.

There’s a very loose ‘beauty and the beast’ theme – hence the book’s title – but, to be honest, Sawyer’s beastly tendencies fly right out the door almost the moment he sets eyes on Juliet. I liked their instant chemistry – especially Sawyer’s newfound fascination in finding safety gear sexy! Sawyer changed due to the (previous) death of his best friend [not a spoiler] and while that’s a traumatic event for anyone, we never get so deep in his emotions that it takes away from the lightness of the book as a whole.

“I liked their instant chemistry – especially Sawyer’s newfound fascination in finding safety gear sexy!”

Now Juliet – I just loved her. She had such an interesting backstory and was as quirky as they come without every being a stereotype or a cliche. I liked seeing a heroine with her particular history and backstory in my romance. I thought her coping mechanisms were cute as a button – but they made perfect sense. But it was the way that Sawyer didn’t judge her and didn’t mock her – it was so wonderful to see such a perfect pairing and boy was I rooting for them.

Having read a previous book in the series, the town of Autre and its residents really came alive for me in this book. All that down home charm just made me ache to visit the town and take a trip with the Boys of the Bayou.

If I had one complaint it was that right before we ramped up for our happily ever after, the story seemed to stutter just a wee bit. But it’s still a book I would happily recommend and I’m looking forward to reading the next in the series, Crazy Rich Cajuns, which will be Kennedy and Bennett’s story. 4 stars for this fun and enjoyably quirky story.

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Erin Nicholas has been writing romances almost as long as she’s been reading them. To date, she’s written over thirty sexy, contemporary novels that have been described as “toe-curling,” “enchanting,” “steamy,” and “fun.” She adores reluctant heroes, imperfect heroines, and happily ever afters.

Erin lives in the Midwest, where she enjoys spending time with her husband (who only wants to read the sex scenes in her books), her kids (who will never read the sex scenes in her books), and her family and friends (who claim to be “shocked” by the sex scenes in her books).

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Excerpt:

“I guess when we need relief from the heat, we go, you know, into the actual shade.” He looked amused. “Among other things.”

“Other things?”

It wasn’t so much that she needed to know other ways to keep cool. But she really liked the way he looked when he was mildly amused. It was a very good look on him.

“Lots of water and sweet tea,” he said.

She gave an involuntary shudder.

His amused smile grew. “No to sweet tea?”

“Not my favorite,” she admitted. “But don’t tell Ellie,” she added quickly.

He chuckled at that. “I would never.”

Yeah, the chuckling was nice, too. “I’ve got the water covered though,” she said.

“Good.”

“Anything else?”

“Well, when we get hot there area couple of other things we do,” he said.

Had he moved closer?

Juliet swallowed. “Like what?”

“We take clothes off,” he said.

Yeah, his voice was definitely deeper now.

“I gue—” She cleared her throat. “I guess that makes sense, but there are bugs and sunburn to consider.”

He gave her a nod. “Sunscreen and bug repellent are important. Cora makes bug repellent that’s amazing.”

Huh. Homemade bug repellent. She might have to give that a try. These people intrigued her, she had to admit. “What about the flying debris?”

Sawyer glanced at the boards behind her. “Yeah, well, I guess we do take some risks down here.”

Ah, ha. “I’d rather be a little hot than dealing with an infection from a piece of wood imbedding itself in my skin and muscle tissue.”

Sawyer paused, then shook his head, almost disbelievingly. “Okay, girl. Then that only leaves one other thing to do when you get too hot.”

“What’s that?”

“Swimming.”

For a moment, looking into Sawyer Landry’s eyes, for the first time since she’d been ten years old, Juliet wanted to take her clothes off and jump into a body of water.

That lasted about twelve seconds. But that was twelve seconds longer than she’d considered doing it to that point.

“I don’t have a swimming suit.”

“You don’t need one. The fewer clothes the cooler you get.”

“Skinny-dipping?” she asked.

“Skinny-dipping,” he confirmed.

“You actually skinny-dip?” she asked.

“Of course.”

Sawyer Landry naked.

She just took a few seconds to relish that thought…and the images that went with it. Skinny-dipping with Sawyer might be the one way she would ever even possibly consider any of that. “Do you have a private pool with lots of chlorine and a maximum depth of three feet?” she asked.

She wondered if being naked but with a life jacket on still counted as skinny-dipping.

“Don’t need a pool when I’ve got a whole bayou in my backyard.”

She shuddered. “There is no way I’m jumping in there. Clothes or not.”

“So, the naked part of skinny-dipping isn’t the problem?” Sawyer asked. “It’s the water?”

“It’s absolutely the water,” she said. It was actually all water, but water where she could see the bottom, touchthe bottom, and that was pumped through a filtration system was tolerable. Maybe. For a short period. With plenty of floatation devices within reach. “I mean, other than just the dirt, there are snakes and alligators and fish…and fish and alligator poopin there.” She frowned. “Do snakes poop? I mean, they probably do, right?”

Sawyer blinked at her. “I’ve never really thought about it.”

She nodded. “They almost have to. And they probably do it in that water, too.” She shuddered again. “No, thank you. There are just places I do notneed dirty bayou water.”

“It’s the poop that’s keeping you from skinny-dippin’?” Sawyer asked, clearly trying not to laugh. “You are really thinking about the wrong thing when it comes to bein’ wet and naked, darlin’.”

Boys of the Bayou Series:

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