Tuesday, April 19, 2022

Parks and Provocation by Juliette Cross [Review]


Parks and Provocation (Green Valley Heroes #2) by Juliette Cross
Format: ebook
Source: provided for review
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: March 19, 2022

Green Valley Heroes
1. Forrest for the Trees
2. Parks and Provocation - Paperback | Kindle
3. Letter Late Than Never
4. Peaches and Dreams
5. Young Buck
6. Package Makes Perfect
7. All Fired Up
8. Wild Goose Chase

Juliette Cross
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):
Lola Landry stares through the window of her locked car with the keys in the ignition and the radio blaring Beck’s “Loser.” While standing there and sweltering in the soupy Tennessee humidity, she wonders how her orderly life had crashed and burned so badly. Then her high school nemesis saunters up in all of his tall, strapping, fireman-to-the-rescue glory, slapping her with the humiliating proof that it can always get worse.

When the uber-confident Jedediah Lawson requests a date in return for popping her lock, a lightbulb goes off. Revenge is sweet. He would make the perfect victim—guest, that is—for her next podcast episode on Kiss and Tell. What shocks her is the casual way he not only agrees to the post-date interview on air, but ends up hijacking her audience and wooing them with his swoony, southern charm. Not even a low score on the date-o-meter can dissuade the man or keep her fans from demanding more of the charismatic Jed.

What’s worse, she secretly wants a second date with this man who is so different from his teenage self. His unwavering patience and dimpled smile erodes her will, until she breaks the Kiss and Tell rules by agreeing to a second…and a third date. It’s a disaster. Not the date. They’re wonderful. The disaster is that she is falling for a man she once dubbed Jockstrap Jed.
Thoughts on Parks and Provocation: It's ALWAYS a treat to head back into Green Valley. The women are full of sass and fire and the men are nicely muscled and bearded.

For this foray into GV, we get to meet Lola and Jed. Friends in high school until they weren't, these two have a few internal issues to work through before they can be all couple-y. Lola needs to readjust her mental picture of Jed, for one thing. I mean, the guy is a hot, built fireman who is genuinely nice and that is NOT the way Lola remembers him. As for Jed, he's getting a second chance with the woman he's been in love with since high school and he's not about to blow it. Which means being upfront about the very thing that caused their rift in the past.

Sure, sure, it takes time for the two of them to (a) recalibrate their mental pictures and (b) work up the courage to spill the truth. Add in that Lola is determined to keep her time in Green Valley in the "it's only temporary" category and Jed is all in from the beginning and you might see where some of their road bumps come from. From Lola's perspective, Jed is tightly woven into both the town and his family and she doesn't see herself staying.

Yeah. Road bumps. Just a few.

A chance encounter, a podcast, dates that just keep getting better and better, heartache, and a whole lot of steamy kisses (you know, once they reach the kissing stage). Like I said, it's always a treat to spend time in Green Valley and Yessssssss. So much yes!



Excerpt

“Fancy meeting you here,” he said when I finally reached him.

“Fancy that,” I sassed back.

I tried monumentally hard to force my eyes to behave, but they were currently mapping the extensive breadth of his chest without my permission. As a matter of fact, they’d found their newest obsession, tracking the descent of a drop of water that looped around his navel and froze midway down his happy trail.

“What brings you here, Cola?”

I jerked my gaze back to his mischievous grin, contemplating ways to torture my best friend.

I was also debating whether leaning forward and licking him would be inappropriate. “Um, learning fire safety?”

His bark of laughter and dimpled smile detonated somewhere inside my chest and melted my insides into warm goo. Which, of course, drew my attention to his beautiful mouth and the fact that he intended to kiss me with that mouth on our next date.

“Let me guess,” he finally said, amusement still prevalent in every word. “Marly?”

“So, I’ve been wondering if stretching her on a rack would be forgiven by local law enforcement. Do you think they’d give me a free pass, considering,” I waved my hand at him and the surrounding scene behind him, “all this?”

“By this, you mean dragging you to watch a dozen firemen strut around without their shirts on?”

“So y’all do know that half of Green Valley’s womenfolk are gawking at you from across the street, right? Only half of which are actual moms of the scouts? If that.”

He nodded and exhaled a sigh, but that wicked smile remained in place. “Chief McClure said it’s a local tradition, and the fine ladies of Green Valley also donate generously to our annual fundraiser, so we just do as we’re told.”

“Basically, this is a Magic Mike show, minus the actual lap dances, where you get your tips at a later time.”

He edged closer, my eyes betraying me once again to dip down along his beautiful body, realizing that delectable drop of water had slipped down into the holy land.

“I’ll give you a lap dance for free if you like, Lola.”

Grab your copy TODAY!
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3gPs7Qq
Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3HY9MN3
Amazon CA: https://amzn.to/3gS5Np9
Amazon AU: https://amzn.to/3gPrNBc
Amazon Print: https://amzn.to/3KiHNIP
Audiobook: Coming Soon!
Goodreads: https://bit.ly/3oWBJ0a


About Juliette Cross
JULIETTE is a multi-published author of paranormal and fantasy romance & the co-host of the podcast, Smart Women Read Romance. As a native of Louisiana, she lives in the heart of Cajun land with her husband, four kids, her labs, Kona and Jeaux, and kitty, Betty. When she isn’t working on her next project, she enjoys binge-watching her favorite shows with her husband and a glass (or two) of red wine.

Find Juliette Cross Online
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