Bayou Beloved by Lexi Blake

This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.

Title: Bayou Beloved
Author: Lexi Blake
Series: Butterfly Bayou #6
Published by: Berkley
Release Date: March 28, 2023
Format: eARC
Pages: 336
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Source: NetGalley
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2023 COYER Chapter 1, Lenoreo's 2023 Netgalley and Edelweiss Challenge
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ B&N ✩ Google ✩ Kobo ✩ iBooks ✩ IndieBound ✩ Book Depository
My rating:

Blurb:

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.

My Review:

I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.

4 stars — I really love this quirky little town and it’s lovable crazy characters.

I will admit that I had an entirely different expectation of who Jayna was going to be, and I think it took me a little bit to warm up to her.  She’s very forthright and ambitious and I was expecting more shy or something!  She it NOT SHY!!  ROFL.  And while we have nothing in common, and I think she was a bit of a jerk as a child, she really grew on me and I felt like I got to know what shaped her and made her who she was…back then and now.  She was definitely damaged, and had a lot to work through, but I was rooting for her to see her place in Papillon.

Quaid was such a strange hero for me.  He could be absolutely adorable, and I loved the way he cared for his town.  But wow, he was damaged when it came to his family.  I was truly worried that he wouldn’t see his way forward with them and with Jayna, he kept making missteps, but it made his eye opening that much more satisfying.

Obviously I loved the two together, they had chemistry right from their first courtroom battle.  It made for a very fun dynamic between the two, and I appreciated how they respected one another as lawyers, and how that just added a little something extra to their courtship.

I will admit that the pacing felt a bit unpolished at times…I don’t know if it was me, but it just felt a bit fast at times.  Not necessarily the plot, but just the writing…something.  Obviously I am not a writer, something just didn’t feel as smooth to me.

I hope Ms. Blake continues with this series forever, because I love this town and it’s crazy inhabitants.