New York Times bestselling author Lexi Blake is back with an all-new heartwarming, small-town contemporary romance series set against the spicy southern backdrop of Louisiana’s Butterfly Bayou. Life in Dallas took a tragic turn for nurse practitioner Lila Daley. In need of a fresh start, she retreats to Papillon, Louisiana, a tiny town on the bayou. Sure she’s greeted by a gator, finds herself in … a gator, finds herself in the middle of golf cart wars, and unwittingly adopts a scruffy dog, but Lila remains undaunted. She’s focused on running the town’s medical clinic, but fitting into the quirky community is harder than she imagined.
As a single dad, Sheriff Armie LaVigne embraces routine. But there is nothing routine about the town’s newest resident. Lila is a gorgeous fish out of water and he’s ready to catch her. In fact, in no time at all, Armie knows Lila is the woman for him and he plans to win her heart. But when the past threatens their happiness, Armie will have to decide if he has the courage to trust Lila enough to find a true happily ever after.
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5 Stars
Lila Daley has not had an easy path in life. Stepping into a role as a mother at just 10 years of age turned her into a woman who was always practical and made sure everything was perfect, on the surface. Watching this strong and intelligent woman grow into an even stronger and more well rounded version of herself is a ride through so many emotions. She heads to Papillon as a way to start new, and run away from the nightmare she survived, and she found the family and life she never knew she needed or wanted. Armie, the town sheriff, is the driving force, along with his daughter Noelle. The fire between Armie and Lila cannot be denied and eventually they embark on a relationship that is full of passion, beauty and love. Unfortunately, no relationships is without its complications and pitfalls. As these two strong minded people push up against each other over an issue that has become important to them both, things get messy, and painful and your heart will break for them both! Of course, we have some fantastic suspense thrown in with our love story, as can be expected from Ms. Blake, and in the end this beautiful couple will learn a half life, is not really a life at all…and boy isn’t this something we all should remember as well!
Cara – Alphas Do It Better Book Blog
3.5 Stars
Honestly, I had a harder time getting in tune with this story from Lexi Blake, than I have from all of her other novels that I have loved. But once I got past 3oish% it picked up and the storyline drew me in more, the characters took over my mind and the dramatics of the little town of Papillon, Louisiana took me out of reality.
Butterfly Bayou is a sweet little story of finding oneself to the greater good. Turning a negative past devastation into a positive light and taking a chance on someone.
tous les ingrédients sont réunis dans cette romance pour passer un bon moment. Le côté petite ville, le renouveau pour l’héroïne, le héros que tout le monde aime mais qui ne s’aime pas vraiment lui-même. J’ai passé un excellent moment en leur compagnie d’autant plus que j’adore particulièrement la Louisiane et son ambiance si particulière (Nola forever <3 ). Les pages se tournent très vite, je ne me suis pas ennuyée une seule seconde et j'ai adoré découvrir ce premier tome ! Je suis curieuse de retrouver tout ce beau monde pour la suite !!
I loved this book! I will admit it was not quite what I was expecting, but it was still a great read. Lexi Blake is an amazing author and I am so excited for this new series!
I knew from the blurb this was my jam, but also I was hooked because the words single dad romance. I’m so glad that I read this one. If you start this late in the day be prepared to reading long into the night. Only reason I put this book down was because my kindle ran out of juice and to charge. I fell in love with this little bayou town. I love quirky characters and this book is filled with them. I can tell you this book has left me wanting more from this series already. It’s going to be so hard waiting for the next book. I loved Lila ad Armie. They’re first meeting is quite memorable and sets up great tension. My heart breaks for Lila with the reason she needs a fresh start. This book has everything I want in a book. It has so much heart and feels, but it also delivers on the heat, humor, and a touch of suspense. This is a must read that I highly recommend. The characters are going to make you fall i love with them.
If you’ve read any previous Daley siblings, you’ll be familiar with Lila. She has always come off as almost clinical and cold in those stories but Butterfly Bayou is her emotional redemption. What a journey of growth! Just love her and Armie together…simply magical!
Lila went through something so traumatic that she almost didn’t make it through mentally and emotionally. But now she’s ready to start over in a new town, living near her sister and brother-in-law. When she’s pulled over and ticketed on her very first day in town, she hopes it’s not an omen for how things will go for her in her new home.
Armie is a single dad and the sheriff who pulled Lila over. He’s attracted and wants Lila, but he’ll have to work hard at convincing her, considering the walls she’s got up. He and his daughter are too much for her to resist, though, and soon Lila’s falling hard. When Lila and Armie’s differences in how to handle his daughter’s non-will to become independent become too much to get past, will Armie do the right thing or the wrong thing?
I gotta get this out of the way first – I am super disappointed in Armie. He pulled a bonehead move near the end, and I honestly felt like Lila was far too good for him at that point. He never redeemed himself in my eyes, and I wanted her to just say no when he came and groveled. Aside from him, though, I liked this story. It’s a lot heavier than I was expecting – both had tons and tons of baggage and demons, but Lila took giant steps forward in her character development, and I loved the secondary cast and the adorable dog. All in all, a good read. Not my favorite by this author, but still entertaining, if a bit heavy.
Butterfly Buyou seems to be a place where folks come to relax and regenerate. Lila has had a rough time. Armie has had a rough time. Noelle pulls at your heart. This does remind me a lot of the Bliss series. A lot of push pull. Action and drama. Lots of life lessons about ,love, family and strength.
This turned out to be a heavy read. I’ve read previous characters books and figured there would be an issue or two touched on, just not the degree portrayed. The domestic abuse of a couple of side characters was the heaviest bit. Add on multiple communication breakdowns between Lila and Armie, and his daughter, Noelle and they simply had me plum worn out. I actually liked Lila way more than I expected to, while Armie went from likable to nope. He should have groveled way more than he did. A lot more.
In this first book of a new series by Ms. Blake, we meet Lila Daley. Where does she live? What does she do? Who are Will, Laura, and Lisa? I loved Noelle, had mixed thoughts on Armie and Zeb. I frowned bout the locals for the most part. What experiences brought Lila to her new home from her time in Dallas? Where does she go? What do we learn about her childhood? How does that help her now? Who is Carrie? What does Lila do when Carrie shows up for the second time? While Lila is in New Orleans, what phonecall does Armie get that has her running home? This story had me in tears several times! I really enjoyed the read and look forward to more of the series!
RECEIVED THIS BOOK AS A GIFT FOR A FAIR/HONEST REVIEW and REVIEWER FOR Bloggin’ With M. Brennan.
3.5 stars. Butterfly Bayou is the first book in the new Butterfly Bayou series by Lexi Blake, a spin off series of the Masters and Mercenaries. This is Lila and Armie’s book. We were introduced to the town of Papillon in a previous book. Papillon is a quirky small town in Louisiana and is home to Lisa, Lila’s younger sister. Lila decides she needs to change her life after a traumatic event, so she leaves her fast paced job as a nurse practitioner in the ER. She moves to Papillon to be closer to her sister and to take over the town’s family practice from it’s retiring doctor. But things start off on a bad foot, when on her way into town she gets a speeding ticket from the sheriff of Papillion, hot cop Armie. Sparks fly between them, but Lila soon finds she has her work cut out for her getting the townspeople to trust her so that she can do her job and things keep getting harder as time go on when it becomes obvious someone has it out for her. Armie is interested in Lila, but he has a disabled teenage daughter and isn’t sure he will ever be able to take time for himself to have a relationship. Still, the two have a chemistry that can’t be denied, which leads to a complicated relationship, some heartache and finally an HEA.
This was a good story. It had a small town, quirky feel with fun characters and a little mystery. I liked Lila a lot. I kept picturing her as a Meredith Gray type doctor. Kind but no nonsense and take no bull. She was strong but she deserved someone to take care of her finally. As for Armie, I should mention that I hated the name Armie (short for Armand). It reminded me of smarmy. Anyway, I liked his character more in the beginning, but I didn’t like the way he treated Lila for much of the book. He convinced her to give him a chance for a relationship, only to be the one to break up with her. Twice he jumped to conclusions, fought with her and dumped her, without trying to understand her point of view. He hurt her a lot, though she still wanted to work things out with him. They got together in the book relatively quickly, but were broken up and fighting for the last quarter of the book and only got back together at the very end. I did not trust him to not break up with her again next time they had a disagreement. It was a shame because the book was really good other than Armie’s behavior, which left a bad taste in my mouth. It would have been a 4 star read for me. Still, the story was interesting and the writing good. I really liked Lila and was glad she found a place where she belonged in the charming town of Papillon.
Overall, I liked this book, even if I didn’t love it. I think this is going to be a really fun series and I look forward to more from Ms. Blake in the future!
Lila is tough, she has fought her way out of poverty while raising her siblings but a traumatic event has pushed her to change the path her life is on. Moving to Papillon to take over the local clinic is culture shock. In her quest to find success, she closed herself off from emotion but moving to a small town where everyone finds their way into everyone’s business, has her questioning all her decisions. Meeting the local sheriff, Armie, is frustrating and exhilarating all at the same time. He becomes someone she can lean on as she navigates the locals to win them over and trust her as their medical professional. Armie’s world flipped when his daughter is in an accident that leaves her in a wheel chair. He had traded in big city law enforcement for the slower pace of his hometown. Now his goal is to make sure Noelle has a great life. Meeting Lila opens him up in a way he never expected. Each of them has their own ghosts and demons to face but will they be willing to open themselves up to love and possible heartache. I fell in love with Papillon and all it’s crazy, wonderful characters. The journey that Lila and Armie each face provided hope and inspiration along the way. I voluntarily read an ARC of this book and this is my honest review.
Butterfly Bayou by Lexi Blake is book 1 in the Butterfly Bayou series. This is Armand (Armie) LaVigne and Lila Daley’s story.
Lila was a ER nurse from a big city whose moved to Butterfly Bayou to take over the clinic. Why would she do this after living in the city? The story tells why. The hero in the story is the single dad sexy sheriff and woo-hoo is the chemistry between the new nurse and the sheriff sizzling.
I will say, at first, Lila the nurse was a little hard to connect with because she came off as standoffish, cold. Yet slowly as I learned more about her and as she gets warming up to Armie, she becomes more relatable. I found her likable and found her as someone who I’d want to be friends with. Armie, single dad sheriff was totally lovable. He came off as relatable and his feelings were out front. He put his feelings for Lila out front and wasn’t afraid to act up.
Now there was some actions that confused me with Armie. He did something and acted totally wrong…when reading the story, you’ll know. So I went from totally be in love with him to just not knowing what to think.
This story had alot of great moments to some roadblocks. Overall, if you like small town romances with sexy sheriffs and sassy nurses then you’ll like this book. I think that it could have been even better but still, this was still very good. I look forward to book 2.
My Rating: 4.4 stars *******
If you’re like me, you picked up this book just because you’re a Lexi Blake fan. The blurb seemed interesting so that was good. But mostly I’m a big fan of this author’s writing and have pretty much loved everything she’s written that I’ve read so far. She’s basically an auto-buy author for me.
So when I heard about the release of Butterfly Bayou it was an instant yes for me. But within the first few pages I went from
‘the blurb seemed interesting’
to
‘sitting up, paying attention, I am here for this’.
From those very first few moments, I needed to know more about leading lady Lila. So much was given about her right away, and yet not nearly enough. Why was she the way she was? What made her tick? I needed to know more.
And as the story unfolded I got lost in the words as I often do with this author. I fell in love with the leading man Armie and his daughter. I watched Lila open up and let her walls down. And I got addicted to this small southern town.
This book was amazing and I cannot recommend it enough.
Pain and heartache are the only things waiting for Lila Daley in Dallas. Determined to put it all behind her, Lila packs up everything and heads to Papillon, Louisiana. The bayou is the perfect place for Lila to find a new lease on life. What wasn’t expected was that ‘new lease’ would come in the shape of the local Sherriff.
Thanks to the local gator in town, Sherriff Armie LaVigne found the woman who has been haunting his dreams. Lila was the fish out of water that tempted this Sherriff with each snarky comment that came out of her mouth. Now all Armie can think about is finding a way to keep the woman of his dreams from fleeing the bayou.
Butterfly Bayou is the first book in a brand new series by Lexi Blake. The small town feel of living in the bayou shines through each chapter of the book. Starting over in Papillon was an interesting concept to this book. Lila wasn’t exactly looking for love, but it certainly found her. The first half of the book was very good. I found myself rooting for Lila and Armie. Then things began to become too ‘hard’ for either to work on building the foundation of a relationship. There came a point in the story where I didn’t really care for Lila or Armie.
As the ending approached, I found there was a huge push for a ‘happily ever after’ that didn’t really jive with the push and pull in the plot of the novel. So – this one ended up landing in the middle of the road for me. I liked the story, but at the same time I found myself annoyed. I will definitely try again with the second book in the series to see if things improve!!
Going into this story I was expecting a small town romance, which I did get, but I usually associate them with a lighter romance and this was WAY heavier than I expected. Maybe my perception of small town romances is wrong but I can only go on what I have read in the past and this one was very different.
Lila is a nurse practitioner in Dallas Texas and after a HORRIBLE event takes place she moves to the small town of Papillon Louisiana to be closer to her sister and take over the medical practice in town. I think the only funny part of the story is the way the people in town initially treated her, the city slicker, and honestly it wasn’t that funny.
Armie is the town’s sheriff and a single father to a sixteen year old daughter who is in a wheelchair. I really liked his daughter, even tough there were a couple of times where I didn’t agree with what she was doing.
Armie and Lila were interesting together, they definitely had the chemistry but they each had so much baggage I think it was hard for them to really connect as a couple for a while.
While I liked this story, I didn’t love it and that is because of the mind frame I had going in. When you expect something light and you’re hit with a heavy subject that doesn’t just go away after the first couple of chapters I like to be prepared for it. I think I would have probably rated this book higher if I had gone in knowing that it was based around a subject that is a trigger warning for some.
I don’t normally put spoilers in my reviews and I really don’t consider this a spoiler since it happens in the first chapter but be warned. If you have been in a domestic abuse relationship this book might hit some triggers for you, it did for me and I wasn’t prepared so I am putting it out there so you are prepared.
I loved the secondary characters and I added all of the books to my TBR shelf that are listed already. I cannot wait for Roxie and Zep’s book!
Happy Reading!!!
WOW!! LOVED!! Butterfly Bayou by Lexi Blake, book one in Butterfly Bayou series is an amazing story that I just could not put down. After being involved in a tragic, deadly, hostage situation nurse practitioner Lila Daley was desperately in need of a fresh start. Deciding to leave Dallas, she relocates in Papillon, Louisiana, a little town on the bayou, to be closer to her sister and run the town’s medical clinic. She doesn’t find the nice, calm she expected. Lila is greeted by a gator that roams the town, adopts a scruffy dog that used to live in the house she bought, and finds herself in the middle of golf cart wars. No matter what, Lila is still an outsider and finds it more difficult to fit into this quirky community than she imagined. Single dad Sheriff Armie LaVigne thrives on routine in order to make it through each day. There is nothing routine about the new resident and town “doc”, Lila. Lila checks all of Armie’s boxes and he’s ready to help her adapt to the town. In no time he knows Lila is the one for him and he sets out to make her his. When the past threatens their happiness, Armie will need to decide if he has the courage to trust Lila enough for them to have a true happily ever after.
I loved the way the town came around after seeing Lila in action, saving three town people involved in an accident. She gained the trust of these people as well as more clients. Armie and Lila were the perfect match, fitting together like puzzle pieces; yin to yang. Armie holds on tight to his daughter, Nicole, who is in a wheel chair after a car accident; killing her mother. Nicole needed normal instead of protectiveness. Lila getting along with and loving Nicole was icing on the cake for this couple; until it wasn’t. Lila is a survivor; especially after all she had been through. It is because of her diligence growing up that she and her siblings became the strong, successful people they are today. The secondary characters were such fun and a welcome addition to this story, especially Lila’s sister’s in-laws.
Ms. Blake wrote an emotional, sexy, and amazing story, with a touch of humor that should definitely not be missed. She provided a tale that sizzled with magnetism, scorch the sheets chemistry, witty banter, and endearing characters kept me flipping the pages of this intense and emotional romance. I totally enjoyed and highly recommend Butterfly Bayou to other readers and look forward to reading the next book in the series.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
3.75 stars–BUTTERFLY BAYOU is the first instalment in the contemporary, adult BUTTERFLY BAYOU erotic, romance series focusing on the people who live and work in Papillon Bayou Louisiana. This is forty year old, single father and Sheriff Armie La Vigne, and practical nurse Lila Daley’s story line.
NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be some triggers for more sensitive readers.
Told from dual third person perspectives (Armie and Lila) BUTTERFLY BAYOU follows three distinct paths: the building relationship between forty year old, single father and Sheriff Armie La Vigne, and practical nurse Lila Daley; a couple of cases of domestic abuse that place Lila in the direct line of fire; and the relationship between Lila, Armie and Armie’s sixteen year old daughter Noelle, a young woman confined to a wheelchair since the accident that claimed the life of her mother.
Eight months earlier Lila Daley’s life imploded when a gunman killed her co-worker taking Lila hostage in the process. Fast forward to present day wherein our heroine, struggling to move on from the past accepts a position as a practical nurse, moving from Dallas Texas to Papillon Bayou, Louisiana, a town that is unwilling to accept Lila as one of their own. Having to deal with the small-town mentality and discrimination that comes with the inability to change, Lila finds herself on the outside looking in when Papillon Bayou, Louisiana refuses to accept Lila into their arms. Enter Sheriff Armie LaVigne, the man with whom Lila will fall in love. What ensues is the building but acrimonious relationship between Lila and Armie, and the potential fall-out when Lila finds herself on the receiving end of death threats, anger and Armie’s inability to accept Lila’s methods and means of tough love towards his only daughter.
Lila Daley is a strong, independent, intelligent, practical nurse with attitude to spare; who gives as good as she gets, and who isn’t afraid to speak her mind but speaking her mind in Papillon Bayou, Louisiana means alienating the townies who struggle to accept Lila as their new primary care personnel. Used to the ways of the old doctor, the residents of Papillon Bayou begin to make Lila’s life miserable until an accident threatens the life of one of their own. Armie LaVigne is a single father who cares for his daughter, a young woman whose carefree attitude hides a darker fear but it is Armie’s personal battle with Lila’s stance that threatens his relationship with our story line heroine.
The relationship between Lila and Armie begins when Armie pulls over Lila Daley in an effort to get to know Papillon’s newest resident but everything backfires when Lila’s ego, demeanor, mindset and temperament continues to annoy the townsfolk, including the man with whom she will fall in love. Lila believes she is better than the people of Papillon Bayou, and it’s this philosophy and perspective that begins to push away any future relationships. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.
There is large ensemble cast of colorful secondary and supporting characters including Armie’s daughter Noelle, Lila’s sister Lisa Guidry and her husband Remy, her brother Will and his wife Laurel, nurse Mabel; townies Rene Daron, Zep Guidry, Quaid Havery; town deputies Major and Roxie; real-estate agent Miranda Jossart; Carrie Petrie, her husband Bobby, his brother Donny , and their mother Lorna, as well as several other town folks who push in and out of our heroine’s life.
BUTTERFLY BAYOU is a story of family, friendships, acceptance and love; of struggle and betrayal; vengeance and drama. The premise is edgy and intense; the characters are spirited, sassy, judgemental and snobs; the romance is seductive and moving but struggles in the face of preconceived notions, issues of trust, misunderstanding, and spurious reactions to events and outcomes. BUTTERFLY BAYOU is a wonderful introduction to the people and town of Papillon Bayou, Louisiana but you have to set aside first, second and third impressions about our leading characters.
This is the first book in the new Butterfly Bayou series but I would absolutely read the books about her siblings in the other series before reading this one. Not only are they mentioned in the book but Remy and Lisa’s story help introduce the characters that are featured in this story. We met Lila in all of her siblings books but we saw a bit more of her in Lisa’s book. And while I was left wondering why she was the way she is after some of the things she said in that book, I honestly didn’t feel like I would like her at all. But this author not only managed to turn my opinion of her around, she also managed to make her someone you can connect with and actually feel something in common with. And I truly didn’t think that would be possible with this character! Lisa always came off as stuck up, uppity, and full of herself. Little did anyone know what she is truly hiding inside of herself, not only from outsiders but from herself. What happened to her is truly horrific and it shouldn’t happen to anyone but the strength she has is phenomenal. Armie is this likable man with a heart of gold who also went through something that no one should have to deal with. But he also makes his own share of mistakes and at times I wanted to smack him. Together these two not only have a chemistry that is off the charts but they share a connection that is perfect. Especially once they truly learn to trust each other. I loved this one!! After Remy’s story, I knew I wanted to see stories for his siblings but I never realized that I would love to have a story for the sheriff as well! I can’t wait to see where this series takes us next! I kinda hope it’s Seraphina’s story though, because she makes me sad and she needs a HEA!
I enjoyed getting lost with Lila, Armie, and the town they lived in! Lila had a trauma in her life that brought her to Papillon. She needed a change and she also wanted to move to a place where her sister lived. While her family embraced her arrival to town and her new job, the rest of the town wasn’t on board. So Lila had an entire town not ready to embrace the newcomer. But she did have Armie on her side. She didn’t move to find love, but it definitely found her. And they were old enough not to let fear rule their lives. Armie had had his own fear and trauma rule his life but Lila gave him a new purpose and helped him see things more clearly. I enjoyed the twists and turns this book took me on. I thought it was a good start to the series and I can’t wait to go back to Butterfly Bayou with Lexi!