Bayou My Love by Lauren Faulkenberry

​ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
 
Publication date: 09/28/2017
Kindle Unlimited: No
Cliffhanger: Kinda
​
I was sold on reading this book when I saw that it was a renovation romance. (Even though the title is a little lame) That’s all it took. I have an almost unnatural fascination with home remodeling shows. I’ve lost DAYS to HGTV binges. I’m not proud of that, by the way. I’m just letting you know how much I adore the idea of renovation romance novels. And this one started off strong, too. Too bad it didn’t quite stick the landing…

First of all, I loved that it was the heroine, Enza, (which is a name that struck me as almost too unique, bordering on weird) was the house flipper, not the hero, Jack. There was a good amount of competence porn here. (And y’all know I love me some competence porn)

Jack was a great hero, too. He was laid back and sexy and alpha without being a complete jackhole. (He was also a handsome firefighter, which is NEVER a bad thing) 

Where this one lost me was early on when Enza gets drunk and does some really stupid things that force Jack to rescue her, all alpha-man style. (If I remember correctly, he even had to toss her over his shoulder at one point while she argued about why her asinine behavior wasn’t asinine. Spoiler alert: it was asinine. She was just too drunk to realize it.) I’d really liked Enza up until that point, and it totally bummed me out to see her turn into a ridiculous, spoiled, TSTL heroine who would’ve been at home in any Kate Hudson or Sandra Bullock romantic comedy. (Not that I’m knocking Kate Hudson or Sandra Bullock. They’re talented ladies who have made some awesome films, but let’s face it, they’ve had a few stinkers in the romantic comedy department.)

From there, there was an annoying “other woman” plot (She’s a crazy stalker. There wasn’t any cheating) and a truly odd voodoo plot that I didn’t see the point of. (I won’t spoil that one. You’ll have to read this book if you’re really curious about that)   
     
And finally, while this didn’t really end on a cliffhanger, there were some unanswered questions that I assume will be answered in future installments in the series. I hate unanswered questions. I also hate it when an author tries to force me into reading other installments in their series because I need to have my questions answered. It feels manipulative. I want to read the rest of the series because I love the series, not because I have unanswered questions.

But, long-story-short, I guess fans of romantic suspense and competence porn could do worse than Bayou My Love. It’s well-written and the characters are interesting. And there were parts of it that I truly loved. As a whole, though, it just wasn’t my cuppa.    

Full disclosure: I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Does this book contribute to or help crush the romance stigma?
It’s clean and sober. No rehab needed.     

Other reading suggestions
My favorite renovation romance is Somebody to Love by Kristan Higgins. Highly recommend!

---