Stubborn as a Mule is LIVE!!!
Book Description:
Down in Whynot, NC, there are three things that hold true: 1) life moves just a little bit slower, 2) family means everything, and 3) you don’t mess with history.
When his family decides to sell a home that’s been part of their history for over a century, Lowe Mancinkus is madder than a hornet. To add insult to injury, the woman who purchased it is some fancy pants, city girl looking to fix it up and sell it off. Doesn’t matter that she’s sexy as hell or that just being near her gets his blood racing like never before. That home belongs to his family, or at least it did until she came to town.
Well that just won’t do, now will it?
From the moment that she laid eyes on the historical home in rural North Carolina, Melinda Rothschild knew Mainer House was something special. The perfect escape from life in New York City, Melinda signed the papers and set to work restoring the house to its natural beauty. That is until an angry Lowe showed up on her doorstep one day. With a scowl on his handsome, chiseled face. And a shotgun in his strong, muscular arms.
Is it getting hot in here?
Melinda’s about to get a lesson on life in the south, but Lowe is about to learn a lesson of his own – this city girl doesn’t back down from a fight.
Buy Links:
Our Review:
Reviewed by Donna ~ 4 stars
***ARC received for an honest review***
“I am not, however going to make
this a pleasant experience for Miss Rothschild…I’m not going to make this easy
on her.”
I love Sawyer Bennett and have totally fallen in love with
her alter ego, Juliette Poe. Juliette Poe is the lighter, softer side to Sawyer
Bennett’s writing and with this series has delivered some honest, real, swoon
worthy romances and Stubborn as a Mule is no different. After reading the first
book in this series, Ain’t He Precious, I was already intrigued with Lowe
Mancinkus and knew that his story would undoubtedly be a good one, and it was.
With small town folk, a couple to die for, and a New York drag queen, Juliette
Poe delivered something for everyone, hilarious, a little angst, a gorgeous
romance all delivered with beautiful writing that will keep the reader invested
from the very beginning.
“I mean, what’s not to like about
the kind of man who shuts a woman up with his lips?”
From Ain’t He Precious we knew all about Lowe’s love affair
with the old family residence, Mainer House. Now that the beloved property is
in new hands Lowe is finding it hard to let go of the house and the history
that goes hand in hand with it. Having been sentenced to hours and hours of
labour to rectify the damage he had caused on his one man crusade, it isn’t
long before he finds himself having to spend more and more time with his arch
enemy, the new owner, Melinda Rothschild.
Melinda Rothschild is an extremely wealthy woman, but rather
than the trust fund that her family has given her she loves to make her own
money flipping houses and through her own well established interior design
company. Mainer House is her most recent purchase and most would have been put
off by the less than stellar welcome that she has been given, but Melinda is
made of stronger stuff. Mainer House is more than just a flip though and as
this book progresses I couldn’t help but love Melinda. Melinda is way more than
the society rich girl that everyone assumes she is, she is just a normal woman
trying to do something for herself. Yes, she could be hard headed, but only
when needed and when she thought that someone was doing her wrong. Melinda was
incredibly motivated, was a true and reliable friend and was just simply
adorable.
Lowe was everything I expected and a whole lot more. Lowe
was a hard worker, fiercely loyal and a good ole Southern momma’s boy. What I
loved the most though was that he held his hands up when he realised he had
made a mistake. The more and more time that he spent in Melinda’s company it
was apparent that his first impressions were definitely the wrong ones.
“…I kiss a woman who I am pretty
sure was brought into my life for a reason other than taking something away
from me. I think I’m actually getting a lot more than I lost.”
These two sizzled on the pages, the chemistry was one that
gobbles you up as you become invested in that initial game of push and pull.
There is a fine line between love and hate and with these two their constant
bickering was just the precursor or starter before the main course. The
dialogue and banter as ever was on point and it is this that really injected
that spark into the pages. The dialogue flowed with such honesty that I could
picture myself in the little town of Whynot totally submersed with the
secondary characters, the gossip and all the little businesses that kept this
town thriving.
“I’m only here because Lowe is
here, and I want to see him. End of story. Or beginning.”
Juliette Poe delivers a slow burn, cute, love/hate romance
with fantastic secondary characters, family values, nosey neighbours in a
stunning small town setting. I laughed, I cried, I swooned, everything you
expect in a romance. This one ticked a lot of boxes and was a book I couldn’t
put down once I had started. Loved it!
Excerpt:
The booming sound coming from downstairs causes me to sit straight up on the mattress that is placed in the middle of the master bedroom floor. I’ve yet to get a good night’s sleep because there’s a damn train that runs parallel to the town. It’s just two blocks over from the Mainer House, and it feels the need to blow its whistle around two AM each morning. This isn’t that big of a deal to most of the residents of the small town of Whynot, but to me… it chafes just a little because, well… I love my sleep.
I’ve been assured by the nice lady who runs Sweet Cakes, the bakery right across the street from Mainer House, that I’ll get used to it, but I seriously doubt it. Even the noise of New York City never penetrated my sleep the way a train whistle does, and I get a totally empathetic look from her when I stagger in for some coffee and a cheese Danish each morning.
I think I’ve slipped into a pattern at night where I now anticipate being woken up by that stupid train, so I’m not even able to get into good REM sleep. It’s probably why I shot straight up in bed at the banging that’s going on downstairs, although I can’t quite pinpoint from where it’s coming. A glance at the alarm clock sitting on the floor shows it’s 5:30 AM. It’s still dark outside, and I’m slightly—okay, greatly—confused. I struggle to process since it’s been almost two weeks since I came to Whynot and I’ve not had a decent night’s sleep since then.
Then it penetrates… someone’s at my front door.
Banging.
At 5:30 AM.
Immediate anger flows through my veins, heating me up from within. Without any further consternation, I know it’s Lowe Mancinkus causing all that noise. It must be him because there’s no one else in the entire world who has ever been such a thorn in my side.
Flipping the blanket back, I roll off the mattress and wince as my knees hit the floor. Almost three decades of sleeping on a mattress, box spring, and a frame, and I can’t get used to being only a few inches off the floor. I’ve held off on buying any furniture for the house until the remodeling is complete.
Pushing first to my hands and knees, I manage to lurch upright and stagger out of the bedroom. Down the rotund, sweeping staircase to the main floor. I don’t even bother to look out the leaded glass panels on either side of the heavy wooden door—so convinced I am that it’s Lowe on the other side—that I fling it open without an ounce of worry.
“What in the holy hell are you doing?” I snarl as the breeze generated from the doorway swinging open so fast actually blows my hair back.
Lowe stands there in mid-bang, fist raised high and a diabolical glitter to his eyes. His eyes lock onto mine for just a moment before they drop and casually run down the length of my frame. I look down at myself and cringe as I realize I’m still in my pajamas, which in the sweltering South consists of a cotton tank top and sleep shorts that are really short. My hand falls from the doorknob, and I cross my arms over my chest as Lowe looks back up at me.
And why does he have to be so damned gorgeous? In ordinary circumstances, this man pushes all my girlie buttons. Tall, just enough muscle to be strong but not freakish, and that dark chocolate hair with bright hazel eyes that are every woman’s fantasy. I always have to remind myself he’s a nasty SOB who I wouldn’t give the time of day to… in ordinary circumstances, that is.
“I’m here to start work,” he says casually as he pushes past me into the main foyer.
“It’s five-freaking-thirty in the morning,” I grit out, not moving from the open doorway. I expect him to be walking right back out again.
Instead, he ignores me and moves down a wide hall beside the staircase that goes to the kitchen. With a growl of frustration, I slam the door shut and then stomp off after him. “It’s completely rude to show up here at this hour.”
He doesn’t respond and as I turn the corner into the kitchen, I find him rummaging through the cupboards. “Where’s the coffee?”
“I don’t have any,” I snap at his backside since he hasn’t bothered to give me a second glance since he barged in. “And I don’t like you ignoring me any more than I like you barging into my house.”
“Get some decent clothes on, and I wouldn’t be forced to look through your cupboards for nonexistent coffee,” he replies calmly, moving onto the next cabinet even though I’ve told him I have no coffee.
In fact, I have hardly anything at all here. A mattress, pillow, sheets, and blanket in the bedroom, some orange juice in the fridge, and towels in the master bathroom. Those are the only creature comforts at this point, and they’re enough to get me through the remodeling. I’ve been eating out almost every meal and this is not a hardship as that’s pretty much what I do when I’m back home in New York. One, however, can only eat so many grits and collards, although I’ll take them over fatback and pickled pigs feet any day.
“I would like to remind you…” I say in a voice that comes off far too rancid and nowhere in control. “That this is my house. I can wear whatever I like to bed, with the assumption I won’t have visitors until a decent hour.”
“I’m not a visitor,” he points out, back still to me. “But because you couldn’t take a little joke and had to run crying to Judge Bowe, I now have to work for you. I also have to keep my own business running, which means I have to work early and late. You need to suck it up, buttercup. This is your life for the next few months.”
About the Author:
Juliette Poe is the sweet and swoony alter ego of New York Times Best Selling author, Sawyer Bennett. A fun-loving southern girl, Juliette knows the allure of sweet tea, small towns, and long summer nights, that some of the best dates end sitting on the front porch swing, and that family is top priority. She brings love in the south to life in her debut series, Sex & Sweet Tea. When Juliette isn’t delivering the sweetest kind of romance, she’s teaching her southern belle daughter the fine art of fishing, the importance of wearing Chucks, and the endless possibilities of a vivid imagination.
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