Bayou My Love by Lauren Faulkenberry captured my attention in a way most romances novels don't. Enza Parker is trying to prove herself to her father and takes on the renovation of her estranged grandmother's house which she has inherited. The plan is to renovate, sell and move on, as her father wishes. However, Enza didn't anticipate meeting Jack Mayronne, the handsome firefighter living in the house or that the town of Bayou Sabine, which she had visited every summer when she was young would tug at her heartstrings and make her wish she didn't have a deadline and a point to prove to her arrogant, domineering father.

I found myself rooting for Enza to stand up to her father and fight for what she wants and knos is right, not only for the house but for her. The question is, will she be able to do it? Bayou My Love was a very satisfying journey through the mind of a strong and independent woman who is making her way in the world on her own terms. Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this wonderful book!

Romance and mystery set in southern Louisiana?
Definitely a great combo for this Louisiana raised gal to read.

Jack epitomizes much of the guys of my youth in this novel which had me a little homesick.

I liked Enza and Jack's story. It was sexy and mysterious and just plain fun. Looking forward to reading the next book.

I enjoyed this book! Enza was a strong female character, independent, passionate, just what I want to read! Learning about the flipping business was cool too. I wasn't a huge fan of how she saw things with her dad, but family is complicated. Enza and Jack together were an interesting couple and I enjoyed their interactions.

An enjoyable contemporary romance with mystery and suspense thrown into the mix! The characters were likeable and the story well written and entertaining.
*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher*

Enza returns home to her Grandmother's home as part of her inheritance to fix up and move on . She discovers Jack is resident of the house and finds a will to stay when their feelings blossom. Set in Louisiana this book is part of the Bayou Sabine series. Page turner from the start and looking forward to reading more in the series.

just enough of everything. Love it! 💕


enough romance, intrigue, curiosity, action and heat. I was engrossed on the story and house flipping and the love story. although it will really come to that because they live in the same house. (duh!?)

Nice light read. When Enza returns to her grandmother Vergie's home she finds Jack, living in her inheritance. She has big plans to flip the house and prove herself to her overbearing father. Enza and Jack's lighthearted fling turns serious and brings out all of the nuts in the Bayou. Nice character development, intriguing mystery.

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.

while this is definitely a romance, there was so much more to the story. For me, the suspense and the voodoo elements made the story, and i will definitely be coming back for more.

Other than "The Pelican Brief", I can't think of any books based in Louisiana. That is where this romance/mystery plays out. A 30 something house flipper from North Carolina (Enza) heads to the bayou to flip the house she inherited from her grandma. Normally she works with her father on projects, but she wants to prove that she is capable on her own. When she arrives at the house, she finds that a handsome firefighter (Jack) has been renting the house since her grandma moved into the city a few months before her death. Enza and Jack have chemistry, but Enza's afraid of getting too close to people since her mom abandoned her as a teen. And Jack's past places them in danger.

The character's are believable. The plot moves along, pulling you with it. I stayed up too late reading this book on more than one occasion. I have only read a couple other romance novels so I don't have much to compare to, but I found the intimate scenes to be pretty tastefully done.

My one grievance is that the voodoo thread is never really wound up. Hopefully, it is addressed in the next book.

Enza is in Bayou to do up the house left to her by her grandmother. But when she gets there, she finds there is a tenant in the house, firefighter Jack. She agrees to let him stay in exchange for helping her with the renovations.
Not sure about the whole voodoo element of the book, as I felt it was never 100% resolved. Also I couldn't understand why she didn't do more to find out about her mother, when she is in her mother's home town - but maybe that will be in the next book!

I really thought this would be more of a feel good romcom. That is not the case. It’s kind of heavy and pretty dark in places. I’ll give the next book a go when it comes out but I’m on the fence about this one.

A sweet romance, light, fun and it's got voodoo, mystery, suspense, crime and likable characters. I got an eARC off NetGalley this afternoon because I was looking for some romance to read. My simple take on it is that this is interesting as it is romantic.

Overall a good bayou mystery romance. Enza (different name) inherits her grandmother's house down in the bayou north of New Orleans. Her mother's mother, and one she had not seen for over 15 years. Her mother had left her and her father when she was young, and her father kept her from the rest of the family. When she arrives at the house she meets Jack, who is living in the house. A likeable story, but leaves a lot hanging. For example, all the voodoo stuff is never explained, and Miranda is never resolved. Nor the letters and journals she finds in a box. I can see the technique for more books, but still found it irritating to leave so many story lines just hanging in the air. Would still recommend the book and author though, but wish more would have been resolved before moving to the next plot.

I enjoyed Enza and truly loved jack..felt bad they had so much to deal with starting out with a fresh relationship. .But that makes you stronger..so many problems to deal with...crazy exes, horrible family members, arsonists. But how to deal..well my friends read the book to see the outcome, because they did have good friends to stand by them..given for honest review