Bitter Bayou

Humidity in the streets; chemistry in the sheets

I apologize in advance if this review is all over the place as I'm still finding my voice and rating scale as a reviewer. That said, I give this book the highest rating I can give according to what I value most in this world (Taco Bell): 5/5 Crunchwrap Supremes. 

Bitter Bayou by Kailee Saunders is a romantic suspense novel that is the first in what I hopeeeee is a series of standalones (no pressure on the author, I just want to see more of this world). The story follows Maren Sharpe, an overworked staffwriter who needs to get a hit out of her newest assignment: a biography of the famous Thurstan Family from southeast Louisiana. She finds her juicy story and her greatest challenge, and--eventually--multiple O's in Cade Thurstan.

Please read the blurb for a thorough summary, I'm just here to give you my opinion on:

Characters: The chemistry between Cade and Maren is evident from the beginning, but this is not instalove. I really enjoyed them fighting each other and themselves as their relationship developed. They're both incredibly stubborn and incredibly intelligent. They're both hellbent on protecting their families. Once they learn to trust each other as partners and friends, their romance blossoms and they become unstoppable in their pursuit of the truth about Cade's mother's death.

Plot: One of the reasons romantic suspense is not my typical sub genre is because it's oftentimes too dark for why I read romance - to escape. This was not the case here. There was enough humor to keep it enjoyable and enough darkness to keep you intrigued. The mystery was well-paced in my opinion as I was impatient to learn whodunnit, but not so impatient and/or bored with the tension to skip to the end (I do this with about 90% of romantic suspense novels I read); which I believe is a testament to how enthralled I was.

Steam: As Saunders indicates in the opening pages of the book; the steam scenes are detailed and open-doored. I'm not sure what everyone's flame scale looks like. It's so subjective. I thought the scenes were hot, urgent, and satisfying. So did Maren.

Humidity: It may seem weird to add this here, but as someone who lives in the real version of the fictionalized world Saunders created, I was really happy to read someone who seems to GET it. It's hot down here! To have it described so perfectly made me feel seen (as I sweat bullets onto my keyboard at 7am).

Lastly*, a note on TWs: There are some. The author gives adequate space for you to find them in front of the Ebook by going to her website for a full detailed list. As someone who appreciates the consideration of TWs and CWs even though I don't have many, I want to rate this separately: 7/5 Mexican Pizzas.

I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review, but I still intend to purchase it as a gift for someone, because I want the author to get my money.