Heavy Petting by Erin Nicholas

 Thank you to Social Butterfly PR and Erin Nicholas for sending me an ARC of this book!  I am so excited to be a part of the blog tour for this new release - Erin Nicholas is one of my favorite authors.

Below is my honest review of the book, which you can also find, as always, on my Goodreads.  I also reviewed the first book in this series here.

The second book in the Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild series focuses on Fletcher Landry and Jordan Benoit. Best friends since the age of six, Jordan and Fletcher know a lot about each other, and they’ve always been there for each other. Fletcher ends up being Jordan’s knight in shining armor at every turn... and suddenly she needs it more than ever when her boyfriend proposes to the wrong woman in front of a massive crowd.  Through a series of unexpected turns, Jordan does end up married - to Fletcher. Being married to your best friend should be a piece of cake, but Fletcher quickly starts to realize that knight in shining armor is a difficult job to have full time, and together the couple finds that the happily ever after takes a lot of work. 

I LOVE that this book gives us story beyond the wedding. Romances are usually all about the build up and the backstory. And while we get to know Fletcher and Jordan through memories and stories, their romance starts with “I do.”  This book is all about the romance of working for the relationship even (and especially) after the marriage. Happily ever after isn’t the end, and I adore that Erin Nicholas is exploring what happens after the guy gets the girl. 

As usual, the characters are fantastic. Fletcher is part of the wild Louisiana Landry clan, a fictional family it takes absolutely no time to fall in love with. As his forever best friend, Jordan fits right into the group. Together, the two main characters have friendship and tenderness and love and affection and also intensely hot chemistry. We get to read about them exploring, discovering, and transitioning through these emotions, and I think that makes this story really special. 

I do wish there was a bit more ‘action’ on Jordan’s part. Fletcher goes through a lot of growth and has to come to several understandings, but Jordan doesn’t seem to change much about her life. In fact, she’s very casual about going from her ex-boyfriend and ex-life to living with Fletcher back in their hometown doing all the things she’s dreamed of. In terms of growing in a relationship, I picture it happening on both ends, and the only change for Jordan was learning to let Fletcher work through everything.  It all seemed really easy for her as she stepped into her dream life, leaving Fletcher to do the heavy lifting. 

Overall though, it is a cute romance - best friends to lovers is the sweetest thing. The fact that marriage is just the beginning brings a delightful twist to the “boy meets girl and they fall in love” narrative that is typical of romances today. The characters blend so well and I like that it’s not all a honeymoon phase - there are actual valid problems that need to be addressed and they’re all handled in a great way. The writing is fun, the animals are adorable, the family is big, and the romance is sweet - once again Erin Nicholas has delivered something fantastic and even a little “wild.”  

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?

Experience all the feels today!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vck59s

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