Butterfly Bayou is a new series by Lexi Blake. I will admit, the cover totally won me over. I mean, a cute dog, in boat? Adorable! Small town romance? Great! My actual feelings on the story are much more mixed however.
Let's start with what worked! The heroine, Lila, makes some real personal growth and I love that in a character. She was kind of rude in the beginning, but I think I was able to see that as a defense mechanism. The hero is a sheriff, single dad, and a little wary of letting any woman in his life. Totally understandable given that his daughter is disabled. He pursues Lila though, which is great! There is a scruffy dog that worms it way into Lila's life and I love books with dogs that help a character soften.
So, where did it lose me? The book is WAY heavier than I expected. I mean, I looked at the cover and thought "bright, sunny, small town romance". WRONG. Seriously, Lila has baggage, Armie has baggage, there is a lot of angst and nothing is light. Maybe because I went into this expecting something less angsty I am being more critical. I just know that the longer the book went on, the less I was enjoying it. Armie changes and does some really dumb things; this seemed totally out of character from the beginning of the book. Lila actually becomes more likable as the story progresses (which I expected), but I was so mad at Armie, I kind of wanted her to leave him.
Butterfly Bayou left me confused. There were several things I really enjoyed about the story; but there were just as many things that I didn't love. Its been awhile since I read a book that left me this on the fence. I decided to check goodreads. Most of the reviews are 5 stars! Maybe it was because I went into the story with a preconceived idea and the book didn't match that. So, take my review as perhaps a cautionary tale to not judge a book by its cover! As a side note, I do think I will read the next books in the series! They sound interesting and now I know not to expect light hearted just because there is a puppy on the cover.
- POV: 3rd
- Tears: no
- Trope: small town, single dad
- Triggers: Domestic violence
- Series/Standalone: stand alone
- Cliffhanger: no
- HEA: yes
authors like Kristen Ashley, Shayla Black, Lorelei James...then you will probably like Butterfly Bayou!
See full review on The Book Disciple