Bayou Baby
Butterfly Bayou, Book #2
By Lexi Blake
Author Website: LexiBlake(.)net
ISBN: 9781984806581
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra
Summary:
Seraphina Guidry loves Butterfly Bayou. A young, single mom, she’s trying to find a place for herself in the town she cherishes, but past mistakes have made her wary. She adores her son but has sworn off men. She’s dedicated herself to restoring an historic house and building her own business. A quiet life is all she wants.
Harrison Jefferys never expected to find himself in small-town Louisiana, but he has a job to do and a family to reconnect with. After years in the Army, he’s happy to spend time with his Aunt Celeste and his cousins in such an idyllic spot. When he meets Seraphina, he starts to think Papillion might be a great place to call home. But a secret from Sera’s past rears its head and threatens to tear the community apart.
Caught between the woman he’s coming to love and the only family he has left, Harry knows he has to follow his heart and with the help of the crazy, loving, meddling locals find a way to keep them both. (Goodreads)
Review:
In this second installment of the Butterfly Bayou series, Lexi Blake has created a masterpiece of fiction in Bayou Baby. The characters were engaging. as was the story and all of its twist and turns. I loved the evolution of the characters in the book, their personal growth was a pleasure to watch.
The depth of the main protagonist, Seraphina Guidry, was evident throughout, she is a strong woman (though I am certain that in the beginning, she did not believe herself strong) with a good belief system and loyalty to her family and friends. All excellent traits! And a loving mother to her toddler. I loved one particular passage where Harrison is thinking of Sera:
“In fact, it dialed his attraction up a few notches because she was so real and raw. Because she wasn’t holding back. There was something about this woman that called to him, and he didn’t even want to think about all the reasons he shouldn’t be here.”
Harrison Jefferys is a strong, principled man who has fallen for Seraphina, even though his family history surrounding Seraphina dictates this is a bad idea. Especially since his Aunt Celeste blamed Sera for the death of her boy, Wes. Harrison’s dog is also a great addition to the cast of characters… especially when he bonded so quickly with Sera’s son and looked after him the way only a dog can.
Another character I really liked was Celeste as she showed much personal growth. Her character is the classic wife demonstrating the problems that arise when they think they must do and say whatever is dictated by their husbands in order to be a good wife and mother. Additionally, what happens to the whole family unit when they remain in a marriage with an abusive spouse (whether it be physical or psychological). However, I did find her lack of attention to two of the three children she had not a great mothering strategy. Luckily, she finally realized she had it all wrong and the change was very entertaining to watch.
The love story is predictable – families opposing Harrison and Sera getting together. They believe this too, but the attraction is so great, it is decided to risk the wrath of their families. They are great together and the relationship seems effortless. Until the secret gets out. Now if they can get over this hump…. they may be able to have their happily ever after (HEA).
Overall, I found the characters we were introduced to (either initially or from the first book in the series) had sufficient depth, sense of humor, and baggage to make for an entertaining story. And we did get to see Otis again. Gotta love that gator!
Bayou Baby was an easy, entertaining, heart wrenching love story and great addition to the Butterfly Bayou series. I can hardly wait for book 3 – Bayou Dreaming.
