Tuesday 11 April 2017

✤ Ain't He Precious ✤ Juliette Poe ✤

© Bianca Janeane





• Book #1 in the Sex & Sweet Tea series
11 April 2017
• #2 Stubborn as a Mule will be out 20 July



★★★★★
4.5 Stars

Welcome to Whynot, North Carolina, population 3,872. It has one stoplight, one bar, and the one-and-only Trixie Mancinkus.

Eleven years ago, Trixie graduated Harvard Law, turned down a job offer from one of the most prestigious law firms in Boston, and headed home to Whynot to open her own firm. Not only did she leave behind the big city, but she also left her boyfriend of three years. And just so we’re clear
that would be me.

So what am I doing in Whynot at this very moment? It seems Trixie needs help with a legal case and for some insane reason, she called on me for assistance. I’ve been in town for five minutes, and I’m every bit as out of place as I feel. Trixie is all sweet, southern curves to my tailored suits and high-priced haircuts. It’s a culture clash of north versus south and about the only thing we have in common is our physical attraction to each other.

But I have a new motto since coming to Whynot: When life hands you lemons, all you need is a little sex and sweet tea to make things better.




35 year old Trixie is a lawyer in the tiny little southern town of Whynot.
Her mother's family has lived there for centuries and her parents are still running that old farm.
Her grandpa on her dad's side runs the local bar and her siblings are a vet, a carpenter, a farmer and a bakery owner.
But practicing law in her hometown wasn't always the plan. Trixie went to Harvard, fell in love with Ry, spent three amazing years with him making plans about the future, but then she just left to work in her hometown. Breaking both her and Ryland's heart.
But now, eleven years later, Ry is back. Trixie called him because she badly needs help with a case.
And he came.
But will he stay this time??? His amazing life is back in Boston ....



WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO TRIXIE & TY?
WILL THERE BE A HEA???
READ THE BOOK TO FIND OUT ☺



I really was pleasantly surprised. I was expecting some sweet - slightly lame - romance. No idea why. But that's what I was thinking going in.
And it was a sweet romance. But it was so not lame. It was adorable!
Such a sweet and cute and perfect second chance love story!
Those two never fell out of love during those eleven years!!!!
Even though .. if it was me, I would've come knocking ages ago. How can you love someone for 14 years and just go on living without ever trying to win them back???
Anyway - the way Ry and Trixie finally got back together was really sweet.
Everything is sweet in that town!
Trixie's grandpa is this adorable ex marine who gets his own POV every once in a while - he finally wants his granddaughter settled with the love of her life!
And Trixie's whole family is awesome. There are lots of siblings with interesting stories to tell - for future books in the series. Lowe will be next! He'll be falling for the b**ch who bought the old family house in town! ☺☺

This was a great & precious & moving & perfect southern romance, about the cutest town and its people! I loved it! I just wished it would've been a bit longer!

I had some tiny problems with the writing...as with every Sawyer book. It's Sawyer's and my thing ☺ It's only me who has those problems with her writing. So please don't be worried or just scroll down and don't read the following...
  I have a HUGE AS problem! Sawyer always uses too much of those ☺ You know the AS's I'm talking about? The AS that could be and should be exchanged for a SINCE or BECAUSE ☺ It's a British thing (if it's a thing at all!) and it doesn't have anything to do in an american book by an american author!

I really don't want to insult Sawyer. I love all her books, and maybe nobody ever told her she does that.... Sawyer....please stop doing it. But pfff who am I to tell her what to do, so just forget I said anything! It doesn't stop her books from being great!
Also - even though I knew going in that it was a sweet little romance...I missed the sexiness. It's done like that on purpose of course, but I don't like that fading-to-black thing once we get naked! ☺


AIN'T HE PRECIOUS was such an adorable & sweet second-chance love story! Run to your nearest amazon for your own Ry - this one is MINE - and the whole town btw. is MINE too!!!!





ARC received for an honest review

A new series from Sawyer Bennett/Juliette Poe - let me at it!

Settle in with your ereader and a cup of sweet tea for this cute and sweet second chance romance.

Ain't He Precious kind of reminded me a little of that TV show Hart Of Dixie - I think it is just the small town southern thing there.

Trixie and Ry's story is full of sweet moments - though I had to shake my head at the pair of them, neither of them made a move to contact the other in over a decade?  Pish! I wanted to slam their foreheads together to knock some sense into them!!  But it does give us that will they won't they throughout the book.

I adore Trixie's family, particularly her grandpa Pap.  He plays quite a big part in the story, with his POV occasionally thrown in.  She also has lots of siblings whose stories we will get as the series grows.  I have a feeling that her brother Lowe's story is going to be an interesting one.

This is a sweet, cute, sexy story about a beautiful southern town and the characters that make those towns so adorable.  It is a quick read, and I wish I had more of it, but I am looking forward to the rest of the series.




 LINKS TO THE BOOK AND AUTHOR 
  
  



♥ EXCERPT ♥

Over lettuce wraps, I let her vent more about her brother but I only let this go on during the appetizer. Once our entrees arrive, I insist we change the subject. She’s not calming down, only getting more worked up, and diversion has always worked best with Trixie.
“Raleigh seems to be a nice town,” I say conversationally in an effort to get her relaxed.
She rolls her eyes at me because as much as I know how to “handle” her when her temper is spiked, she recognizes the fact that I am indeed handling her. Apparently, she finds it adorable. She cuts a piece of her orange chicken and gives in to my attempt to switch the conversation. “It really is. It’s spread out so you don’t have that overwhelming big-city feel, but you have all the luxuries a big city affords like museums, professional sports, fine dining, etcetera.”
“Overwhelming is an interesting choice of words,” I observe. “You didn’t feel that way in Boston, did you?”
I’m surprised when her cheeks turn a bit red. Her voice is reluctant when she admits, “Yeah… it was a bit too much for me.”
My mouth hangs open as I stare at her. How could I not know that? We had made plans to live in Boston, and there was a time when she was completely on board.
“I’m sorry,” she blurts out. “I know what you’re thinking… Why would I have even considered all those plans we’d made if I felt that way?”
“Got to admit… this is a bit surprising to hear.”
Trixie puts her fork down and levels her gaze on me. “Ry… I loved you. And I loved Cambridge. It was small and well… comfortable. It wasn’t small like Whynot, but it reminded me of home a bit. But honestly, I was only considering staying there in Boston because of you. I didn’t like it at all. Too many people. Too much concrete and glass. Too much noise. It’s just not me.”
“You should have said something a lot earlier than you did,” I reprimand her quietly. I can’t help feeling a bit angry over this revelation, because who knows what would have happened had we had some honest discussions about where we wanted to go that could suit both of us.
“Would it have changed anything?” she asks me bluntly. “You were set on Boston. You wanted that job at Hayes Lockamy. You worked your ass off at Harvard and the clerkships to get that job offer. It was everything to you.”
“It wasn’t everything,” I tell her sharply.
“Maybe not,” she retorts. “But it clearly meant more than me. As I recall, I asked you to come to Whynot to practice, and I got a resounding ‘no’ to that offer.”
“You sprung that on me at literally the last minute, Trixie,” I say angrily. “After I’d accepted the job offer at Hayes Lockamy. You didn’t give me any time to process any of it.”
“And you didn’t bother to try to talk me into staying,” she snaps.
“Seriously, Trix,” I say in exasperation. “I’ve been here two days, and I’ve watched you in your element. You were born to live here. This is where you’re supposed to be. Being a small-town lawyer in Whynot surrounded by your close-knit, if not nutty, family is what brings you joy. Are you seriously trying to infer that you would have left all of this to stay in Boston with me if I’d just tried to talk you into staying?”
“No, what I’m saying,” she sneers at me as she leans across the table but I don’t miss the light sheen of tears in her eyes, “is that you and I clearly weren’t meant to be, and we’re both better off for making the choices we did.”
Now that hits me hard, right in the middle of my chest, and I have to resist the urge to rub my knuckles over my breastbone to ease the pain.
Trixie merely pushes up from her chair, grabs her purse, and practically runs out of the restaurant.
“Shit,” I mutter as I stand up. I grab my wallet, take out enough money to cover the meal and tip, and toss it down on the table.
I jet out of the restaurant, scan the area, and see Trixie walking quickly toward her car. I wouldn’t put it past her to jump in it and drive off without me, so I break into a fast trot to catch up with her. My hand latches onto her elbow just as she reaches her car, and I spin her to face me.
“What the hell, Trix?” I ask her with frustration, anger, and a little bit of self-loathing that I let the conversation get so out of hand. I’ve always been the mild-mannered one between the two of us, knowing how to deftly control and sidestep her temper so it doesn’t get the better of her.
Or me.
I brace, expect her to rail and rant some more. Instead, she launches herself right at me, making a tiny hop to throw her arms around my neck. Her mouth comes to mine hard as one of her hands grips into my hair, fisting it tight.
Jesus Christ… stars wink in my vision at the feel of her mouth on mine, so long forgotten and yet completely familiar all at once. I don’t think—just act. My arms band around her tight, hauling her body to mine. I push her back into the side of her car, tilt my head, and I kiss her back with every bit of longing and regret that she seems to be mutually feeling in this moment.


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 USA Today Best-Selling Author, Sawyer Bennett is a snarky southern woman and reformed trial lawyer who decided to finally start putting on paper all of the stories that were floating in her head. She is married to a mobster (well, a market researcher) and they have two big, furry dogs who hog the bed. Sawyer would like to report she doesn't have many weaknesses but can be bribed with a nominal amount of milk chocolate.