Hot fling or real thing? There are no Big Easy answers in New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Erin Nicholas’s sultry series.As far as flings go, single dad Gabe Trahan is pretty sure that Addison Sloan is his best bet. Once a month, Addison comes to New Orleans and then… happily-no-strings-attached sex. And beignets. And jazz. But lately for Gabe, it isn’t nearly enough.
Sure, maybe Addison’s gotten a bit hooked on Gabe. After all, who can resist a guy who’s so sexy, so charming, and so…available? But maybe he’s too available for her right now. Addison’s just moved to New Orleans, and relationships are definitely off the table. Besides, guys always bail when they learn her secret: she’s a single mom.
Only Gabe’s not running. Worse, he’s thrilled. But Addison never signed up for ever-after romance, and Gabe won’t settle for anything less. Now it’s a battle of wills—and when it comes to the woman he’s falling for, Gabe isn’t above playing a little dirty.
more
Gabe and Addison – whew they were hot! The anticipate for this book was great with both the short story and the prequel. I loved Gabe right away – I thought he was funny, charming, caring – overall swoon-worthy. He was overzealous when it came to Addison as he was ready for more and was ready to jump in while Addison didn’t necessarily share that confidence. It was fun to watch them even each other out.
Addison grew on me throughout the book – I wasn’t crazy about her at the beginning of the book. But as we found out more about her, I fell in love with her right alongside Gabe. Her childhood really shaped who she was and understanding that background helped me see her differently.
Ultimately I loved them together and with their kids – Stella and Cooper were adorable! And the sexy times between Gabe and Addison were super hot! I can’t wait to read about the rest of the ‘boys’ and see how everyone’s stories play out!
Going Down Easy, the first book in the Boys of the Big Easy, is a classic Erin Nicholas novel. Humor, romance, heat, and all the feelings.
From the beginning I liked Gabe. He’s a fun guy with a big heart, and has found himself falling for Addison after only spending a short of amount of time together.
I was not as big a fan of Addison at first, but as the plot unfolds I began to understand her better. I did really like that she was so excited about everything New Orleans.
The best part of the book for me, though, was the kids, Connor and Stella. They were adorable and sweet. It was nice, too, that Gabe and Addison didn’t have the parenting thing all figured out. Their worries and triumphs with the kids felt very realistic.
If you have read and enjoyed any of Erin Nicholas’ other books, you should definitely pick this one up too!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This might just be Erin Nicholas’ BEST book yet! (And I’m a BIG fan, so I’m really saying something here…). This one started off HOT and steamy right from the get-go, so initially I had one idea of what this book was going to be…and I loved how much it surprised me. This book gave me ALL the feels. It made me cry (more than once), and I felt like I really knew and understood these characters pretty deeply. (That doesn’;t mean I didn’t want to kick them both in their behinds once or twice, though, haha). One of Erin Nicholas’ strengths is her character building–she develops strong main and secondary characters and really makes you care about them. In this book, there are also kids involved, which I wasn’t initially sure I was up for…but the inclusion of the kids was PERFECT. They added to the story without taking over–and they added depth to ALL the characters. I loved the inclusion of the parents group, and I really liked the different perspectives from different people in the group–all details that added depth and warmth to the story. I’ve always loved Nicholas’ small town romances, and when she set this new series in New Orleans, I wondered if we’d lose that charm…but this book put those fears to rest. While New Orleans isn’t a BIG character in this book, it is a character, and I suspect it may become more so as the series goes on…but Nicholas does capture some important New Orleans elements and brings them in, adding some nice flavor, depth and atmosphere. As I mentioned, the book started off VERY hot–it takes a while to get back there, but I actually really enjoyed that. I kind of felt like I had jumped into the middle of the book and I liked the slow build that came after. Overall, this was a WONDERFUL read. I couldn’t put it down, I stayed up until it was done the day I got it, and I’ve already read it a second time. I loved these characters and I am VERY excited about this new series. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It’s romantic and sexy, it breaks your heart a little bit a couple of times, it will make you laugh and I’m betting it will make you cry…but best of all, it will make you HAPPY that authors like this are out there and creating these worlds for us to escape to. Thank you Erin Nicholas. I didn’t know how much I need this one!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Wonderful! Absolutely amazing! I think I’m in love with Gabe Trahan! He is so sweet and sexy and in love with Addison. And the way he loves Cooper and Stella…there is nothing more sexy than a man who loves his family. I’m swooning over here.
I loved single dad Gabe Trahan, who loves working in the family bar with his brother. He enjoyed getting to know Addison Sloane whenever she came to town for work, which was once a month. He felt connected to her & wanted forever but she wasn’t big on relationships. She enjoyed spending time with Gabe but never told him when she relocated to New Orleans for work. They had a battle of the wills & Gabe fought hard for her.
This hot and steamy book has so much more than a romance between a man and a woman. There is more than one emotional roller coaster as these two single parents try to navigate having a relationship. What is amazing to me are the pearls of wisdom for every parent out there, single or not. So thank you Ms. Nicholas for that. I always fear not doing or over doing for my child. These pearls helped me see I’m doing the best by loving him. Sorry, I got caught up.
So the main characters have been seeing each other for a few weeks now. But much to Gabe’s dismay, it’s only one weekend a month since Addison lives in New York. Gabe is a true man of New Orleans. They explore the city together and have some phenomenal sex but don’t discuss anything too personal like the fact that they are both single parents. The hilarity of the discussion that Addison has with Gabe about her daughter is awesome. She expects him to run for the hills.
When he does the total opposite and is thrilled that they have yet another thing in common. Addison does NOT see this as great. She’s the one running for the hills when it dawns on her that her responsibilities would double with the thought of another child. I emphasized with Addison. Parenthood is tough sometimes and you want to crawl into a hole and let someone else deal with everything but you have to be the adult and do it. Gabe is an all in kind of guy. He whole heartedly believes in the more the merrier.
When Addison runs, Gabe pursues but in a subtle way. He invites her to a single parents group meeting and she finds support in the whole group, not just Gabe. Eventually she wears down and lets him and his son in. Its a beautiful thing. Their kids are the same age and get along beautifully. They become the best of friends. The two couldn’t be more opposite if they tried. But they are great for each other. Where one is afraid, the other is not. And they support each other.
Their parenting styles are total opposite as well. Addison has no one to help raise her daughter. She must make all the decisions and hope for the best. Gabe is being helped by his mother and brother and relies on their opinions. They are both excellent parents. Sometimes the different methods get in the way of their relationship.
I loved these characters. They are fun, loving and so deep that I could imagine myself as friends with them.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Going Down Easy is the first book from Erin Nicholas that I have read. Gabe and Addison have a hot and heavy night once a month. They have a great connection but keep so much of their personal lives hidden from each other until they can’t keep all their secrets hidden anymore. It seems they are both hiding the same secret. They are two single parents each raising a five year old. The second part of the story is all about finding a balance between building a stronger relationship and blending a family together and all the challenges that goes with that.
I definitely enjoyed this interesting story of simple lovers to the meshing of two families.
I loved the premise of this book. After a series of weekend flings in New Orleans, suddenly Gabe & Addison find themselves living just blocks from each other. This should be easy right? Well , neither one mentioned their 5y/o child during the flings.
Now taking this relationship to a new level is not so simple. There are children and parenting styles to account for.
I really liked how some of the challenges of single parenting were addressed ( loved the support group) and how both G & A needed to come to terms with their approach to parenting and relationships in order to make one bwtn the 2 of them work.
I REALLY liked that there was no juvenile misunderstanding drama that created a wedge — more an inner turmoil and growth point in the relationship that they had to figure out.
Another winner from Erin Nicholas – can’t wait for the next book in the series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I loved this book! This is the first book in Erin Nicholas new series and I can’t wait to read the others. Addison thought she had the perfect fling going with Gabe, Gabe loved his arrangement with Addison but finds himself wanting more. Gabe gets his chance to win Addison’s heart when she moves permanently to New Orleans-but she puts up a heck of a fight that Gabe takes on with gusto!!! Fun, hot and sweet it’s a perfect read!
Where to begin!?! This book made me swoon, cry and sigh happily. This is the start of a new series from Erin Nicholas and we’re off with a romantic bang. There’s an emotional ride of love and angst. The very scary challenge of facing your fears to move on to a better place or even figuring out if the risk is worth it. The author is an expert at taking a seemingly simple story and reveal the complexity and bringing the reader right into the depth of the emotional struggles most of us face in some capacity on a daily basis. This book is achingly sweet and sexy and so so adorable. I can’t wait to see who’s next in this series.
This book has so many feels. I loved it.
Yes it’s a romance about Gabe & Addison; two single parents. And yes there are plenty of steamy scenes. But there is so much more than that. There’s family dynamics at play and each character learning so much more about themselves and what they are capable of and what they’ve been missing. There is just so much emotion in this book. It had me choking up a few times as I read but in a good way as the characters were figuring things out. I can’t wait to read the next one!!
WARNING*: CLEAR YOUR CALENDAR. DO NOT start this book without having plenty of time to read it all the way through and then wallow a little and reread all the parts that made you smile and sigh and laugh. If not, you may find yourself trying to convince yourself that it’d be OK to let the thirteen-year-old drive to practice just this once, since MarioKart is close enough or resenting the fact that the other members of the family cannot actually prepare meals (well, is two really too early to use knives?) or pondering whether it would be OK to skip out on that critical one-on-one this afternoon (what are they going to do–fire you?!)…
Hoooooboy. This was definitely a five star read. Going Down Easy is the first book in Erin Nicholas’s Boys of the Big Easy series, set in New Orleans. It’s about two single parents who don’t actually start their relationship knowing that the other person has a child. Gabe and Addison meet by chance when a mutual friend brings Addison to Gabe’s bar when she’s in town for the weekend. They immediately discover a delicious, irresistible chemistry which sets the tone for their repeated whirlwind weekends when Addison’s in town for work.
In the same way, Erin Nicholas draws us in with Gabe and Addison’s fun, flirty banter. But then she brings ALL the feels. While the incredible weekends they’ve spent in bed are certainly one aspect of their characters they’ve shared with each other, the beauty is that this is merely the surface. Ms Nicholas leads us into their inner worlds, with their parenting challenges and fears, their tender hearts, their hearts’ desires. The situations ring true. Their dialogue shines.
Other pluses include a stellar cast of supporting characters, from friends to family; characters who do their best to adult but who can forgive and be forgiven when they inevitably stumble; and beignets. Mmm…
I read Ms Nicholas’s stories both eagerly and reluctantly, dreading the moment I reach the end. Fortunately Going Down Easy is the first book in the series. I absolutely can’t wait for the next.
*No children were actually harmed (or allowed to drive) in the preparation of this review. Really. 😉
What a great start to Erin Nicholas’ newest series. I love dirty talking, hot, alpha male Gabe. I adore strong, independent Addison. Then you add in their two wonderful kids, Cooper and Stella and you have a really fantastic page turner about two single parents. I’m looking forward to hearing more from New Orleans.
Oh my gravy, where do I even start with Gabe and Addison. Hot hot hot. Ok full honesty here, I thought for sure I knew exactly how this book was going to play out (yea I think I’m cool like that) but NOPE. The ride was totally worth it let me tell you. This is one instance I’m happy to feel foolish.
Gabe Trahan is a 5th generation tavern owner in the heart of New Orleans. (Insert southern accent here. Go ahead, I’ll wait). One night a beautiful woman walks into his bar and they proceed to have a sort of relationship whenever she is in town. Which currently is 1 weekend per month. He loves spending time with Addison and she is the first woman he can truly see spending his life with. But (there is always a but isn’t there), he has a secret that he guards close to the vest and hopefully it won’t send her running back to New York.
Addison Sloan looks forward to her monthly visit to NOLA, not just to see Gabe and spend time with him (ok that’s a lie, he is the best part) but to fully engage herself in the southern culture. She has lost her heart to both Gabe and everything New Orleans and dreads going back home. When a surprise local job offers presents itself she takes it knowing she has to say goodbye to Gabe. She wouldn’t be able to live and work in the same town as him knowing it could never be a real relationship. When he doesn’t get the hint she knows her secret will send him running faster than anything else she could do or say.
Gabe and Addison think they both have something incredible to lose in this scenario but in reality their secrets were the least of their issues. Though seemingly two totally different people on the outside, just shows us they are the same on the inside. They just present themselves to the world as they want to be seen. They both need to look inside themselves and realize they are good enough, just the way they are.
Going Down Easy is the first book in a new series by Erin Nicholas. And as with her other series I am hooked. Hook, line, sinker hooked already. Gabe and Addison are only the beginning in what I can already tell is going to be a steamy southern series. 5 stars for this read, wish I had more stars to give honestly. I received an advance copy without any expectation for review. Any and all opinions expressed above are my own. I’m going out to buy some pralines and beneits now, be right back.
I love how Erin makes the characters honest about how it is to be a single parent. You don’t want to introduce just any random fling to your kids. And having kids isn’t always sunshine and rainbows. She writes in a way that is honest and real life. I think that is why I have to say…this is my favorite Erin book ever. The way Gabe and Addison feel about protecting their children is real. I felt Addison’s “mama bear” instincts to keep her daughter from getting hurt. Gabe was more open to the situation but it was still clear that Cooper came first.
Going from a weekend fling to a full time romance is a huge step, especially when kids are involved.
Absolutely loved this story and I’m excited that it’s just the start of a new series from one of my favorite authors. This book is super sexy and fun with a great setting in the Big Easy. Gabe and Addison’s relationship may have started out as a once a month booty call but things get real when Addison moves to New Orleans permanently. Since their prior relationship never involved much talking and definitely no personal details they are both surprised to find out they have more in common than either ever dreamed.
Put this one on the must read list, you don’t want to miss it. I highly recommend.
GOING DOWN EASY is the first full-length instalment in Erin Nicholas’ contemporary, adult BOYS OF THE BIG EASY erotic, romance series. This is bar owner and single father Gabe Trahan, and architect /single mother Addison Sloan’s story line.
Told from dual third person perspectives (Addison and Gabe) GOING DOWN EASY follows the building relationship between bar owner and single father Gabe Trahan, and architect /single mother Addison Sloan. For months, New Yorker Addison Sloan and New Orleans’ bar owner Gabe Trahan kept up their once monthly affair when Addison returned to the Big Easy for work and play. No personal information was exchanged by our leading couple; no history no stories, just time together one weekend per month. With Gabe and his brother Logan’s Trahan Tavern due for an extensive historical overhaul Gabe had no idea that the woman with whom he had was having a fling is part of the architectural firm about to renovate his bar. Enter Addison Sloan, and the woman with whom Gabe will fall in love. What ensues is the building relationship and love between Gabe and Addison, and the potential fall-out when Gabe’s life as a single father begins to spiral out of control.
Throughout their earlier affair Addison and Gabe never revealed intimate details about their personal lives including that inevitable reveal that each was a single parent to a five-year old child. Addison Sloan is a reluctant single mother whose life changed the moment her daughter was born. A successful architect, Addison struggles to be the kind of mother her daughter deserves but a mother who has taught her child to be independent and strong. Gabe Trahan has always had the support of family and friends when it comes to his bar, and raising his five-year old son but an incident at school has Gabe questioning his parenting abilities, questions that may threaten his relationship with the woman he loves. An over-protective father Gabe may have done his son a disservice in his attempts to protect him against outside harm.
The relationship between Addison and Gabe is one of immediate attraction that started out as a monthly affair, and soon grew into something more. With Addison’s move to Louisiana, Gabe saw the opportunity to pursue our heroine for a full-time relationship. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and passionate without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text. Gabe likes to talk dirty both in and out of the bedroom.
There is a large ensemble cast of colorful and charismatic secondary and supporting characters including a number of single parents at a local single-parent club. We are introduced to Gabe’s five-year old, quiet and unassuming son Cooper, and Gabe’s brother Logan Trahan; Addison’s exuberant five-year old daughter Stella; and the members of the Single Parents Support Group: Roxanne, Dana, Bea, Lexi, Ashley, Caleb and Corey. I did question the ‘maturity’ level of two five-year old children-a maturity level that, at time, outstripped the maturity of their parental guardians. Logan and Dana’s story line is next in TAKING IT EASY.
GOING DOWN EASY is a story of family, friendship, romance and love. Addison’s attitude and earlier behavior was a bit of a turn off but our heroine quickly realized that her opinions about motherhood and children weren’t necessarily wrong but difficult to acknowledge. The premise is engaging and heart breaking; the romance is seductive and intense; the characters are numerous, dynamic, flirty and animated. GOING DOWN EASY is a captivating, spicy and realistic look at family struggles, and building love.
First book in Erin Nicholas’s new series is a winner and I can’t wait for more in the series!
Very interesting take on single parents dating. Loved the support group interaction. Swamp boat tour will never be the same again!! 😉
Addison and Gabe certainly brought the heat and eventually got to their HEA.
Sexy, sweet, fun, heartwarming and very realistic romantic journey filled with hard choices, loving family and loyal friends…. could not get enough of the thrilling adventure and look forward to visiting again.
Gabe Trahan is charming, sexy, fun loving and a deeply caring father (just adored him) Addison Sloan is a sexy, smart, fun and fearlessly independent single mom doing it all on her own… until Gabe. Loved every witty banter filled struggle and eye opening revelation. Highly entertaining reading.
I’ve never read anything by Ms. Nicholas that I haven’t enjoyed and Going Down Easy is no exception. She pairs together a man and a woman who basically have had a super hot weekend together once a month for numerous months. Addison has liked knowing that it can never go anywhere, because she lives in a different state. Gabe is beginning to wish for more. So what happens when she takes a job in New Orleans, where the bar is that Gabe owns and helps run? When Gabe finds out she was going to break it off, will he withdraw and let her go or will he fight for the relationship Addison is determined not to have?
This book is different in that Ms. Nicholas has created two characters who are both single parents who face the challenge in far different ways. One does it totally alone and wants no interference or help from anyone else and the other leans on family a little too heavily. The challenge is not only the relationship of two people, but the relationship of two single parents and their children. Is it really possible to make it all work out?
Another great Erin Nicholas book!
I received a copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.