BEA'S BOOK NOOK "I can't imagine a man really enjoying a book and reading it only once." C. S. Lewis “If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.” ― Oscar Wilde

Monday, December 23, 2013

Review of Bayou Noel by Alexandra Ivy and Laura Wright

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services
Series: Bayou Heat #8.5
Format Read: Kindle Book
Source: I own it
Release Date: December 11, 2013
Buying Links: Amazon* (According to goodreads, it's available on Smashwords but I couldn't find it.)

Blurb from goodreads:

'Tis the season for new beginnings.
Molly is through with spending Bayou Noel alone - after waiting five years for Garrick to notice her as more than just his mother’s caregiver. The aggravating male might always have a place in her heart, but she’s determined to find someone who wants to build a family with her. She has no idea that writing a letter of resignation will bring Garrick back to the Wildlands.

It will take a miracle to bring them together
Garrick can’t believe that Molly is willing to walk away. She’s not only become irreplaceable to his mother, but he’s become addicted to her letters when he was far away from home. He’ll be damned if he is going to let her slip away. But once back in the Wildlands, Garrick is forced to choose between opening his heart to the female he loves or risk losing her forever.



Bea's Thoughts:

I haven't read any of the other stories in this series, I didn't even realize it was part of a series when I downloaded it as a Kindle freebie. It worked as a stand alone though the world building was practically non-existent; presumably the authors assumed readers would have read one or more of the books and wouldn't need explanations. For the most part, you can pick up info from context but there were a few things that were confusing, such as the lack of humans and whether or not this occurred on our Earth or an alternate earth.

Molly and Garrick, our hero and heroine, are puma shifters. He's the son of a wealthy family and some sort of Diplomat; she's a Nurturer, some sort of nurse/caretaker, for his mother. He doesn't visit home often but he and Molly write each other letters just about daily. In those letters, they've gotten intimate with each other but on his visits home, he ignores her despite their mutual desire and frequent correspondence. After five years, Molly has had enough and tries to quit. That is just the kick in the butt that Garrick needs to make his move but not without being a bonehead first.

I liked Molly, though I thought she was a doormat for having waited so long for Garrick. In my opinion she should have made her move earlier or walked away sooner. Garrick, I didn't warm up to so much. Although we spend time in his head, we don't get a good feel for him. What we do see, doesn't impress much - he doesn't visit his mother often, treats Molly poorly, and uses, well tries, to use her sexually then walks away. Still, I liked Molly and rooted for things to work out in her favor.

The sex scenes should have been hot but they didn't do it for me and, as I said, I didn't really warm up to Garrick. Noel appears to be this world's version of Christmas.  "Bayou Noel" is okay and it's a short read, only 60 pages, but it didn't wow me and I doubt if I'll pick up more in the series.
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3 comments:

  1. I haven't read the series yet either though I know a lot who love it. Novellas can be so tricky especially if they're part of a series.

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    Replies
    1. Yeah, jumping into the middle of a series is tricky. My main problem was that I didn't thimk Garrick deserved Molly. I thought she deserved better.

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    2. I read one like that recently but switched. He deserved so much more than his heroine. Hard to buy into a romance when that's all you're thinking :/

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