Southern Bombshell (North Carolina Highlands #5) by Jessica Peterson

* * * * 

The Wedding Planner’s Rulebook:
Keep the bride happy.
Keep the wedding party out of trouble.
Never let anyone know you’ve been in love with the groom for years.

I lived by these rules. Until Nate Kingsley.

The Capulets and Montagues have nothing on the Beauregards and Kingsleys. Our families have feuded for centuries, and Nate was always forbidden—which made fooling around with him that much more delicious. But then I fell for him, and he fell off the face of the earth, ghosting me without so much as a goodbye.

Fast-forward two years: as an expert in romance, I’m a wedding planner to the rich and famous. I never expected Nate to show up at my office, least of all with a shiny new fiancée on his arm. She’s got money to burn, and she wants me to plan the most extravagant wedding of my career.

It’s a make-or-break moment for my business. I convince myself I can do Nate’s wedding and keep my feelings for him in check, even if he does look good.

Really, really good.

But when the secrets we buried years ago come to light, what kept us apart suddenly binds us together. Even if my heart belongs to Nate, and his belongs to me, he belongs to someone else. And that’s a rule we absolutely cannot break.

Source: ARC provided in exchange for an honest review

Now that all those pesky older brothers are out of the way, it's Milly's time to shine! She's always just been kind of on the periphery, quietly doing her own thing while her brothers have been getting all the attention. So no one would know that Milly was quietly in love with Nate Kingsley, quietly had a steamy fling with him, and then quietly got her heart broken into a million pieces when Nate broke up with her. Milly quietly nursed her broken heart and threw herself into her work as a wedding planner, putting Nate firmly in the rear view mirror. That is until he walks into her office with his fiancée, ready to hire her as their wedding planner. Awkward doesn't even cut it. Milly, who's meticulously cultivated a poised, organized professional persona over the years is slightly thrown off her game. However, she'll set aside her personal feelings and do the job.

Nate still feels bad about walking out on Milly two years ago. Worse because he never revealed the reason why. He'll always regret how he did it but not why he did it. But they've since moved on and by all accounts, they both seem happy. Sure, having her plan his wedding to Reece will be weird as all get out but they can both be adults about this. 

It's apparent that though Reece and Nate love each other, they're missing the sizzling chemistry that Nate and Milly had. And as I worried about the potential of the story moving towards a cheating storyline, Nate and Reece simply drift apart leaving Milly and Nate to pick up from where they left off, like none of the preceding two years ever happened. They still need to address the circumstances of their breakup but they can put that off while they ... reconnect.

Nate and Milly create a lot of heat and intensity which is great when you're expecting that kind of drama in a romance. I liked that they're both a few years older, also wiser as they've had time to grow up. While Milly's been thriving at work with her borthers at the family's resort, Nate's been doing the same albeit without the supportive atmosphere that Milly's privileged to have. Nate's dad is a gambler and a walking nightmare. Everything he touches turns to trash and Nate does what he can to keep him away from the business aspect of their whiskey distillery. He also gets protective of Milly, not wanting her to be in the cross hairs of his ongoing fight with his father. Milly has enough to deal with what with her brothers' overprotectiveness and her own troubles with finding joy in her work again - something we all experience at some point or other - and it takes rekindling things with Nate again and honest conversations with him to reconsider what brings her joy. I liked this second chance love story. It's obvious these two were made for each other and I loved their moments together. Nate's pretty much the whole package and Milly is pretty terrific herself. 

I do have to address a couple of details. One of them is during Nate's point of view when he's recalling his family dynamics and he mentions that his mother passed away, and in parentheses it's mentioned from what disease she died of. Honestly, it was jarring and caught me off guard and was incredibly triggering. It took me out of the moment and I was upset to come across it, even more so when that specific detail ended up not having any bearing on the rest of the story. If it had nothing to do with the plotline as a whole then I don't understand why it had to be included. Then this "feud" between the Beauregards and the Kingsleys. The blurb compares it to Romeo and Juliet levels of rivalry but there wasn't enough in there to give said feud any weight or presence in the story. All I could get was Nate's dad's jealousy of the Beauregards' success, and that the feud started decades back, and I wish there'd been something more tangible and recent perhaps to make the feud seem insurmountable, therefore making Nate and Milly's reunion scandalous. 

I liked Southern Bombshell even if those couple of details bothered me. There's a lovely epilogue at the end from another family member we haven't heard from before and it's actually a fitting end to the series on the Beauregards, filled with all the happily ever afters for everyone in this big, loud, protective, unconditional loving family.

~ Bel

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Edit 1/27/21  -- CW for mention of brain cancer (Nate's mom); also mention of CTE (Beauregards' dad who was a NFL player; Beau has also been diagnosed with it and this was first mentioned in Southern Southern Seducer book 1 of the series); gambling problems (Nate's dad, and Nate's brother but his brother has recovered)

Southern Playboy (North Carolina Highlands #4) by Jessica Peterson

* * * *

Hiring the woman who wrecked me to nanny the kid I just found out I have is a dumb idea. Getting naked with her in the back of my truck is even dumber.

But old habits die hard.

Amelia Fox was my high school sweetheart, the girl who broke my heart and nearly ended my football career nine years ago. It was all I could do to put one foot in front of the other, much less make a comeback.

But I did come back. And I’m not about to let go of everything I fought for just because my world is imploding again.

When I find out I’m the father of a two-year-old boy, I’m ready to start my final season in the pros. It’s my last chance to nab the championship I promised my dad I’d win before he died.

Enter Amelia: teacher, toddler whisperer, and—oh yeah—my ex-girlfriend. We haven’t spoken in almost a decade, but I’m desperate, and she’s looking for a job.

I need to focus, which means I need help with this kid. Which means I need her.

The arrangement works until one night of bad decisions and great sex threatens to ruin everything.

Can we make it work this time around?

Or is she just another bad habit I need to break before she breaks me?

Source: ARC provided in exchange for an honest review

The North Carolina Highlands series has become like comfort food because you keep returning to a familiar place with familiar faces. Getting to know each Beauregard sibling has been a blast and I have to say, Rhett Beauregard might just be my favorite right now.

Rhett's still playing football professionally and has only recently started feeling ambivalence towards the sport to which he's devoted his entire life. At his brother's engagement party he sees his first love, Amelia. The reunion goes sort of well i.e. things gets awkward. Though the blast from the past is a little much for his drunken mind to take in, the memories that come back are welcomed. But Rhett's life takes an unexpected turn when he learns that he is the father of a two year-old and that he now has sole custody of the child. Unsure of what to do and how, he reaches out to Amelia for help. As a preschool teacher, she's well equipped to handle a toddler and teach him how to be a father. Since Amelia's job situation kind of blew up in her face, she agrees to become a nanny for his child on the condition that they adhere to strictly professional interactions and nothing more. But we already know that's going to be hard. Mutual attraction aside, Rhett's family has always been kind and welcoming to Amelia. Where her family unit contains only her and her hippie grandmother (she is a character, by the way!), Rhett's family is the large, loud, loving brood has a lot of love to go around. So there's no way they can avoid any overlapping.

This felt like a very mature story with Rhett's impressive response to being a father and taking on the responsibility immediately. This guy was meant to be family man. His existential crisis comes from his conflicting desires to end his football career successfully or extend it for the promise of more lucrative opportunities that would mean financial security for his son. He's been guided by his need to fulfill a promise to his father but now with his son, Liam in the picture, he's begun to adjust his mindset.

I do feel the need to bring up a couple of trigger warnings. One, there is brief mention of Amelia's mother passing away from cancer. Two, there is second brief mention of cancer during a quick conversation between Rhett and his trainer about Rhett's health. It comes about because he's been tired during training lately (duh, he's a dad now and up all night with a kid!) and the trainer gets in to hysterics and assumes it's cancer. When I came across it, I don't know ... it just came off as flippant and unnecessary. Yes, I'm sensitive to it at the moment but that was my honest, immediate reaction to it.

Other than that, Southern Playboy is a sweet, sexy, endearing read about establishing connection, and in Rhett and Amelia's case, re-establishing it. It's also about connecting back to what makes them individually happy in the first place. The story's hard to put down and Rhett just makes my day!

~ Bel

Southern Sinner (North Carolina Highlands #3) by Jessica Peterson

* * * * *

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Until I brought my fake girlfriend home.

When I took a seat next to the gorgeous brunette at the blackjack table, I had no idea it would be the start of the hottest weekend of my life. By day, Stevie and I dominate the casinos of Sin City.

By night, I dominate her in my penthouse suite.

Then my brother Samuel ruins it by asking me to come home for his engagement party.

Because he’s not just getting married. This isn’t a normal celebration for me. His future bride is my "one who got away." The girl I may or may not still be in love with.

The catch? He wants me to prove I’m over his fiancée before they set a date. So I ask Stevie to double down on our chemistry and pretend to be my girlfriend.

We set our ground rules: lots of sex, plenty of pretend smiles, and no strings.

But we’re not only gambling with the truth. We’re gambling with our hearts.

They say every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future. But Stevie’s past may force us to fold on our future before it’s even begun.

Source: ARC provided in exchange for an honest review

Southern Sinner is an absolute winner for me. I adore this story of Hank who's been on a travel bender looking to get past his heartbreak and humiliation after being rejected (by his brother's girlfriend, though he didn't know they were together at the time), and Stevie who's newly single and ready to live it up. Hank and Stevie walk a different path to what I think is a happily for now for them. To make it simple, I've just listed my favorite takeaways from the story.

The good:

✔️ Younger guy, older woman dynamic 

✔️ Independent woman who declares aloud what she does and doesn’t want . Stevie wants the fun but not the hassle of a committed relationship as she’s recently finalized her divorce.

✔️ She’s an bad ass and successful entrepreneur 

✔️ Hank’s not intimidated by her ambition or success

✔️ He’s totally supportive of her aspirations

✔️ So many lovely and swoon-worthy references to Bridgerton

✔️ Close-knit family

✔️ Music - It plays a big part in their story. Stevie is named after the Stevie Nicks, after all. But it's also one of the most significant ways in which Stevie and Hank bond. There's a scene where they're composing a song together that to me is far more intimate than any of their sex scenes because they're speaking straight from the heart. It's raw, honest, vulnerable and it gave me the chills.

✔️ Steamy moments - Speaking of bonding ... it's Jessica Peterson so we know what we're in for and plenty of it!

Not so great:

✖️ Stevie’s self-doubting moments. She was terrified to let her guard down and that kept her inert. She stood in her own way and I understood where it all came from but I was still so frustrated on her behalf.

✖️ Close-knit family: the flip side.  I love the Beauregards but they bulldozed their way into Hank and Stevie’s business. That type of behavior makes me cringe no matter the story or the author, and I tend to have a visceral reaction to that.

Bonus:

➕ Hello, cliffhanger! Just drop that bomb on us and walk away, why don’t you, Jessica Peterson? 😉😆

If you’re in to the fake dating but falling for each other for real, long distance that complicates things, and overcoming some serious trust issues to get to that HFN/HEA, this is it! Hank and Stevie make a great couple. Hank, in particular, is one of the best romantic heroes I've read. He's considerate, secure, loves his family. He aims to be an equal partner which is exactly what Stevie was missing from her former marriage. The concept of equal partnership being so alien to her that she doesn't even recognize what Hank has been offering all along. I don't think people realize that they deserve that so I took great heart in seeing it come to fruition for someone like Stevie who carried all the guilt about her marriage failing.  

Southern Sinner is my favorite in the series so far and now I CAN NOT wait for Rhett's book because it sounds like it's going to be a doozy!

~ Bel

Here are the links to my reviews of the previous two books in the North Carolina Highlands series:

Book 1: Southern Seducer

Book 2: Southern Hotshot

Southern Seducer (North Carolina Highlands #1) by Jessica Peterson

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I’ve done a lot of stupid stuff in my life. But sleeping with my best friend tops the list.

Annabel and I have been close since college. When I left school to play pro football, she was there. While I collected Super Bowl rings and cars worth more than the house I grew up in—she was there.

I always assumed we’d end up together. Everyone did.

But by the time I retired from football, Bel was married. I thought I’d missed my shot at love.

So I buried myself in my new job as CEO of Blue Mountain Farm, a five-star resort my family and I built in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. It seems like a good place to be alone with the secret I have to keep from her.

Now Bel is a divorced single mom, struggling to raise her daughter on her own—and it’s my turn to be there for her.

So I invite her and the baby up to the resort for some much needed R&R.

Then, in a moment of bonfire-and-bourbon induced weakness, I kiss her.

And the fallout could ruin everything. 

SOUTHERN SEDUCER is a full length, standalone novel. It is the first book in the all new North Carolina Highland series.

Source: ARC provided in exchange for an honest review 

 

I was super excited about reading this latest book from Jessica Peterson because I knew she was doing something a little different. Taking inspiration from real life, Peterson introduces us to Annabel, a new single mother who has been recently diagnosed with Postpartum Depression. On hearing this, her best friend Beau invites her, her baby Maisie and her mom, up to his family's resort for some much-deserved R&R. He does have ulterior motives, too. Beay's always been in love with Bel, as he affectionately calls her, and wants to be there for her in her time of need. He also has to come clean to her about something that he's going through. 

Before going further, let it be known that there's a lot of baby stuff. A LOT. Peterson does not hold back on all the craziness that happens in the first few months after having a baby, covering it all from the physical to the emotional. More impressively, she allows herself to be vulnerable here and I can't commend her enough for it. Another thing that's done exceptionally well is how Bel rediscovers her own sexuality with Beau. Any woman who's given birth will tell you that it's hard to feel whole again, much less sexy after the traumatic experience of childbirth. Bel has to rediscover this new version of herself and appreciate everything that has brought her to this moment. 

Beau is right there, encouraging and loving as always so see her through it, though he's also suffering emotionally and physically. Revealing his secret to Bel is one of the scariest things he has to do. They've been each other's rock for the past several years but Beau's condition might put an expiration date on their relationship. It seems too selfish to dump on Bel at this point in time but he can't not include her in one of the most important changes of his life.
  

Southern Seducer is more than I could've wanted. On a personal level it stirred up lots of memories through Peterson's honest and unfiltered shared experience. She gives voice to so many things that I couldn't articulate back then and it means something to see those words describe how I felt then. Even though I'm years removed from that stage in my life, there's still meaning and comfort in being recognized and finding solidarity with other moms. It's also incredibly touching and sincere about pivotal moments in these two friends' lives. It's about being present when needed, finding shelter and comfort in the chaos, and admitting that one needs help to weather the storm. Southern Seducer is a stunner and the romance is typical Jessica Peterson with the more intimate moments being sensational and hot. It's an exciting start to a new series and I am ready for more!

~ Bel 

✴ AUTHOR INTERVIEW ✴ 

I was inspired to reach out to Jessica Peterson after reading Southern Seducer and I'm so thankful that she was able to spare some time to share her thoughts on Bel and Beau. 

You had a baby recently so it’s not surprising that motherhood would feature heavily in Southern Seducer with Annabel being a new mom struggling to find her way through it. It’s astonishingly frank about motherhood. What was it like to put your feelings to paper? 

  

Oh, my, what a great question. It was very cathartic to write Annabel's story! In the early days of motherhood, I wasn't really ready to talk about Postpartum Depression because I was just so in it, you know? I was exhausted, overwhelmed, and not sure how I'd make it out on the other side. So while I couldn't talk about it, I could write about it. Which was in many ways the best kind of therapy. Now that I'm kinda-sorta feeling like myself again, I'm able to come out and share my story. But in many ways, this book saved me during those first nine months of my daughter's life. 

  

Something I like that you did is show that Bel didn’t completely lose her sexuality after having a child but she had to rediscover herself. How fun was it to give her back her agency? 

  

Another great question! Love that you picked up on how much this book is about Bel getting her groove back in lots of ways. It was important to me to show that Bel was still a person, still a woman with "brains and red blood" as she says, after she had a baby. I feel like our society/culture has a tendency to erase mothers as human beings. We're supposed to roll our dreams and desires into our kids. I wanted to reverse that, and show how Annabel is still very much herself, and still very much dedicated to what she wants, and what she needs. Rediscovering herself sexually was part and parcel of that. 

  

You tackle another major issue through Beau’s storyline that in a way parallels Bel’s struggles as well. How did either storyline inform the other for you?  

  

You know, I've wanted to write an ex-NFL hero for a while. When Annabel's storyline came on STRONG after I had my daughter, I started to realize how well Beau's journey would mirror hers. They're both going through some heavy shit, and while I know that makes the book intense in many ways, it also felt real and fresh and emotional. They could relate to each other in a way they never could before, adding a whole new dimension to their decades long friendship. It also gives us a great "why" - why they fall in love after all these years of never crossing that line. 

  

Without giving anything away, what’s your favorite moment in Southern Seducer? 

  

Ooooh girl you know I love me a good kissing scene. So my favorite moment is probably the first time Bel and Beau kiss at the bonfire. It's angsty and hot and poignant, and I loved writing it. In fact, it was the first scene that came to me when I started brainstorming this book. Love it! 

  

Thanks for having me, and happy reading, y'all! 

Connect with Jessica Peterson

Source: Goodreads

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