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New Release Review! HEAVY PETTING by Erin Nicholas (Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild #2)

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Heavy Petting,, an all-new heartwarming and laugh-out-loud romantic comedy in the Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild Series by New York Times bestselling author Erin Nicholas. is available now!

He’s her best friend.

A reformed bad boy turned hot teacher.

And after one spur-of-the-moment Vegas wedding… her husband.

Jordan Benoit and Fletcher Landry have been best friends since they were six. He’s always been The Guy. When she needed picked up, cheered up, or lifted up–like literally, to see the stage at a concert–Fletcher was the guy.

So when her boyfriend dumps her–on national TV–Fletcher immediately gets on a plane and comes to her rescue.

And when she ends up in a Vegas wedding chapel and needs someone to say, “I do”…yep, Fletcher’s the guy. Of course.

But being The Guy 24/7 is a lot. He just wants everyone to give him a freaking minute to get this marriage thing right. Including his sexy, sweet new wife who he’s wanted for three years. Who is exasperatingly, temptingly all-in from minute one.

Jordan knows what she wants. A life in her hometown. A job with alpacas. And Fletcher. Not necessarily in that order.

They’ve said the vows. They’d told the world. They’ve told their grandmas. Forget taking things slow. Forget just heavy petting. Forget any chance of backing out when things get tough. They’re going to have to go all the way, in every way.

After all, friends becoming lovers should be the easiest thing in the world. Right?

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Excerpt:

“I also think that I need to—”

“Marry me.”

“Date you.”

They spoke at the same time.

Then stared at each other.

“What?”

“What?”

They spoke simultaneously again.

“I was trying to give you some freaking space before I said anything.” He seemed very annoyed suddenly.

She leaned in, bracing her hand on the seat between them. “The last person I need space from is you, Fletcher. I mean, we’ve basically been dating for twenty years. If dating is about getting to know someone and figuring out how well you fit with them and figuring out if you want to spend the rest of your life with them…we’ve done that.”

He shook his head. “You have got to be one of the most exasperating people in my life.”

Her eyebrows rose. “Considering your twin brothers are Zeke and Zander, being one of the most exasperating people in your life is pretty huge.”

He shook his head. “Absolutely exasperating. To think I could’ve kissed you when we were standing next to a king-sized bed and you were only in your bra and panties and you would have been all in.”

Jordan felt her cheeks flush, but she grinned widely. “I really am a pain.”

“You really are.” His gaze dropped to her mouth.

Jordan felt a zing of excitement go through her. She really wanted him to kiss her.

“I think you dating me is a great idea,” he said after a moment.

Thank God.

“You’re sure you’re done dating other people? Having fun with all those girls? All the casual relationships?” she asked.

“If it means I get to be with you? Absolutely.”

Her stomach swooped, harder and faster than before. “This isn’t crazy?”

“It makes a hell of a lot more sense than anything else. Like you dating other men. Or either of us being with anyone else.”

“We’ve never talked about this before.”

“You’ve been taken,” he said simply.

Right. That was true. And Fletcher was too good of a guy to go after another man’s girl.

She still felt compelled to say, “It’s been three years since anything happened.”

“Again, because you’ve been taken.” His voice dropped. “Only because you’ve been taken, Jordan.”

Her heart skittered at that and she wet her lips. She thought about her next words carefully. Several seconds ticked by. Then she said simply, “Prove it.”

Fletcher reached out, wrapped his big hand around her wrist, and tugged her close. He cupped the back of her head and brought her in until they were nose to nose. “This changes everything,” he said. Almost as if it was a warning.

“I know.”

“I’m the last frog you’re ever going to kiss. So be sure you want it now.”

That was exactly what she’d wanted to hear without even realizing it.

Review:

Friends-to-lovers FTW!

Friends-to-lovers can be so much fun, and that’s only *one* of the reasons I was really looking forward to this one! Ms Nicholas gave her story a bit of a twist–BFFs since age 6, Fletcher and Jordan actually get married in the very beginning of the book, which is where a lot of romances end, assuming the HEA is at hand. Here, though, it’s only the beginning–and I have to admit I wondered how the author was going to swing that.

Of course, my concern was completely unwarranted 😉

Though we’ve seen Fletcher (and Jordan, to a lesser extent) in other books, here we really get to know him and understand why marrying his BFF, who he’s wanted more from for at least 3 years, wouldn’t be “the end” for him. Poor guy, he spends too much time in his head (and too much time listening to his younger brothers!) and not *enough* time listening to his new wife–he could have saved himself a lot of grief and reversed those two, honestly, but that would have cheated us out of a really fun book.

Not to mention all of that heavy petting… 😉

As has been customary in all of the Erin Nicholas book I’ve read so far, the end of this one leaves us with a teaser for the next book ( Flipping Love You ) that has me all but salivating for it…

Rating: 4 stars / B+

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

Erin Nicholas author photo

About the author:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Erin Nicholas has been writing romances almost as long as she’s been reading them. To date, she’s written over thirty sexy, contemporary novels that have been described as “toe-curling,” “enchanting,” “steamy,” and “fun.” She adores reluctant heroes, imperfect heroines, and happily ever afters.

Erin lives in the Midwest, where she enjoys spending time with her husband (who only wants to read the sex scenes in her books), her kids (who will never read the sex scenes in her books), and her family and friends (who claim to be “shocked” by the sex scenes in her books).

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