I am a gigantic fan of Boys of the Bayou. I’ve mentioned in several reviews of the original series how much the Landry family feels welcoming and how a story set in Autre feels like visiting home.
So, imagine how excited I was that there is a new spinoff series, Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild. The author cleverly hinted at the possibility in Four Weddings and a Swamp Boat Tour by introducing grumpy Griffin, Mitch’s roommate, and Tori’s co-worker.
Side note: If you haven’t read any of these books, get started with My Best Friend’s Mardi Gras Wedding. Your enjoyment will be infinitely multiplied with the background on the Landry family that has been built over previous books.
About Griffin: he’s a grumpy bastard, pretty much by his own admission. He definitely prefers animals over humans. Honestly, who can blame him? Haven’t we all felt that way at one time?
What was hysterical to me is that the animals seem to return the favor – he is their favorite human. The otters adore him, the llamas respect him…and then there’s Sugar.
Sugar gets a special mention because she happens to be one of the funniest characters I have read in a long time. Her personality comes across clear and strong.
Charlie should also get a mention in here because the story is half hers. Just like the other women in the Landry family, she’s equal parts sass and strength, but with a vulnerability that makes her more appealing.
That’s another strength of the author. Her female characters are not perfect by any stretch. They’re not the shining ingenue who the reader loves to hate. Nowhere close.
Charlie, just like Tori, Maggie, Kennedy, and the other Landry women (either by blood or by marriage), is somebody I want to know. I want to be able to hang out with her, commiserating over lost jobs and obnoxious men, sharing Bayou gossip, and grilling her on the sexy times.
And oh, those sexy times. It’s a wonder Charlie and Griffin didn’t set the barn on fire. Yet another strength of the author – making me feel that pit in my stomach of a new love being explored in the most delicious ways.
I could go on and on about how many different things I liked about this book and highlight all of the parts that made me laugh, swoon, and even tear up.
But truly, you should just pick up the book and lose yourself in the Bayou. As I said earlier, this can be read as a standalone romance, but you’d be better to start with the first in the original series.
Do it for Gus, Al Pacacino, Bobby and Cindy, and (of course) for Sugar.
Treat yourself. You deserve it.
