The road to self-discovery leads Maverick Kensington deep into the heart of New Orleans. The colorful characters, beautiful scenery and a hot mess of a woman he finds along the way offer him the perfect place to reinvent himself.The French Quarter and Blue Bayou are exactly the change of pace he’s looking for, helping him escape the soul-sucking work he does for his father’s company.Carys … company.
Carys Matthews is young and inexperienced. Having her family’s hotel dropped in her lap after her mother’s untimely death, she’s struggling to keep her head above water and keep the hotel’s doors open. She doesn’t have time for relationships, but Maverick Kensington is worth an exception. Besides, his stay is temporary and a fling never hurt anyone, right?
His passion and business know-how is exactly what she needs.
Her carefree spirit is what he wants.
Their whirlwind relationship is one for the books until truths are untold and assumptions are made. Everything comes to a screeching halt just when they were getting to the good part.
There’s always been a saying around the hotel: eventually, everyone comes back to the Blue Bayou. Will Maverick be the exception?
more
Absolutely loved this story…the characters, the history, the heartache and the LOVE…it’s written beautifully and her descriptive writing makes you feel like you are there experiencing all of it!!! This is a new author for me but I’m already diving into her other books.
One of my favorite parts of this story was the way it made me feel as if I was back in the middle of one of my favorite cities, New Orleans. So much about this made me long to be there, even with the sweltering humidity, I was reminded of the wonderful food and the lively people and atmosphere that makes the city such a unique and fun place to visit. The characters were ones that made good romantic interests for each other, and had their own personalities that were a perfect fit to make their match.
At times the writing made such wonderful use of descriptive language that I was itching to pick up my own novel I’ve been working on and try to see if I could come up with my own vivid imagery. Once or twice though, it seemed to be a bit more of telling than the showing that is recommended for fiction. And some of the storyline was a bit predictable, but then again, so many romances use those same types of situations to create the drama, so I can’t really fault the story for that, just because it is a pet peeve of my own. It’s these things though that kept my rating to a 4 star instead of any higher.
But back to the food! I was reminded of my love of beignets, I could almost taste the sweet powdery sugar fried pastry as I listened to the story. And then the description of the special Blue Bayou flavored macaron made me actually want to give these cookies another try, even though every experience I’ve ever had with them has been a negative – dry and bland.
And finally, the cast of characters was great, and as I finished up, I was hopeful for stories of the two that I know are coming up in the other two books of the series that work at the bar called Come Again, and the coffee shop called Neutral Grounds.
Oh, and I have to also talk about the narrators, because I really liked both of them! Although I did get a little annoyed with how the female narrator got about saying macaron, other than that she had the perfect voice for this character. And the male narrator is one that I know I’ve heard before, and I really like him as well.
Oh, Maverick and Carys, you almost broke my heart! I’m so glad it all worked out in the end.
I’m a fan of Jiffy Kate. This duo writes so many books that filled with intelligent characters, humor, fun and heart. Blue Bayou lived up to every single one of my expectations from them, and then some.
Maverick is a man that needs to find himself, and he takes the most interesting journey to get there. Along the way, he meets Carys, and all of the characters that work with her at the quaint inn that she’s inherited. And what a cast of characters they are! I love it when side characters leave an impression and the prove that the main characters aren’t one dimensional.
Carys is a bit of a free spirit, but she’s close to caving under the pressure of trying to refurbish the Blue Bayou. Maverick comes into her life at just the right time. I loved listening to them fall in love.
The narration by Eric Michael Summerer and Loretta Rawlins complemented the material and really brought the story to life. It was so easy to listen to both of them capture the spirit of these characters.
I’ve read two other books by Jiffy Kate–Watch & See, and Come Again. I loved them, gave them both five stars. But this one—Sheesh! It’s nothing at all like those other two. If I had read this book first I would have never gone on to read the other two books, so I guess I’m lucky in that regard.
The writing is clumsy and the dialogue isn’t young. Doesn’t read at all like how a millennial would talk. The insta-lust kicks in immediately as soon as they meet and the story isn’t much of a story.
On a good note, the secondary characters are terrific, especially Jules. He’s a great character. There’s a drunk scene with Jules and Maverick that is really funny. It’s the best scene in the book. And the journal is a character in itself representing Maverick’s grandfather and passing along his wisdom.
This is the first book in the French Quarter series and the other books are really good so I would recommend reading it, even if just to get to the second book Come Again. That’s one of my favorites.
This was my first Jiffy Kate and I definitely enjoyed Blue Bayou. I enjoyed the premise of the story and how Cary and Maverick came together. It was refreshing to read about Mavericks experience of the pressures of his life before heading down to New Orleans.
I really loved Cary and Maverick’s attraction. Their was an instant attraction from the beginning and the chemistry was palpable. Both of growth was also great read. What really surprised me was how much of learning experience I got. I learnt about New Orleans so much; including the French culture, the New Orleans city life and culture and the importance of love and family.
I look forward to the continuing books by Jiffy Kate!
This book was so sweet and great. Maverick loves to help. He is getting sucked down by his everyday life that he needs a break. He leaves to New Orleans without knowing what he was goibg to do. He stubles upon Carys while she is having an incident. Lol. Mavericks decides to stay at her hotel and starts helpi h her out, like the sweet southern gentleman he is. This book has a great story line and wonderful characters. Jules cracks me up.
I liked this book. It was very good. Held my attention, I actually couldn’t stop reading. I loved reading about New Orleans. It sounds like an amazing place to visit.
I loved how Carys went from knowing very little to figuring it out and holding her own and I love how Maverick helps her with encouraging her and helping her believe in herself.
This is the second book I’ve read by Jiffy Kate and I can’t wait to read more!
A sweet story and great setting. The history of the hotel and the struggle Carys feels to live up to the legend lends a great back story. Maverick and carys have amazing chemistry and are really cute together. I felt the story was good but at times there was a lull in pace. Luckily it picked up again quite quickly.
A fun, fast paced read with instant attraction. Running from his father, Maverick finds himself stumbling across a little unknown hotel the Blue Bayou. Deciding to stay and take a break from the pressure of his family, Maverick find himself drawn to the owner of the hotel. Helping her make improvements Carys finds herself attracted to Maverick and they begin a heated affair. But as feelings grow Carys finds she might just get her heart broken when Maverick’s secrets are revealed. A hot and fast instant attraction turned love story, this will keep you invested from start to finish.
This was a really good one. I loved the descriptions of New Orleans and the feelings of community and family. The main characters were great and their chemistry was amazing. I wish I could book a room at Blue Bayou and hit all of the spots mentioned in book.
I loved watching the relationship between Maverick and Carys grow throughout the story. They were both wonderful characters, both truly needing the other one when they met. The supporting characters are fantastic (except Maverick’s father) who bring a lot of insight and laughter into the story. Flawless writing keeps you reading from start to finish without wanting to stop. You will be cheering on this couple the entire book!!
This book is a must read!!
Sweet and steamy read. I absolutely adore southern stories and this book made me wish I was in New Orleans. I couldn’t seem to put this book down and I really enjoyed reading how Carys and Mavericks love story developed. Really great story. I will definitely be rereading this book very soon.
Fantastic! This is an inspired story filled with lust and self discovery, and so much more. The chemistry between the characters is tangible, their emotions raw, and the story moves along with just enough attention to detail to draw the reader in and keep them captivated. I enjoyed this wonderful story and my first work by this author very much, and will be reading more as soon as possible.
Great story. Love at first sight. To have the pull maverick and carys share is beautiful.