Posted on  20/08/2024 13:42:59

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you Cynthia - this was one hell of a ride!!

Voodoo and superstitions, a witch and a vampire, a Demon MC called Saint and, I kid you not folks, a very grumpy gator!
Top it all off with a nice murder mystery and there you go: a fast-paced, funny and intriguing read that is bound to have you hooked from the very first pages.

This is my first book by Cynthia Rayne and it will definitely not be the last! I decided to give it a try because the blurb promised something different than the average bad boy biker story. And I wasn't disappointed.

Chloe, a level headed young girl who has just finished college returns to her hometown Bayou Noir, after her grand-mère was murdered and is set on finding the killer. But Bayou Noir is not like any other town. Because in Bayou Noir voodoo, supernatural and superstitions are right at home!

And I'll tell you this folks, I loved the setting! The world is so vivid and the characters so alive!! Cynthia does a fabulous job in drawing us a perfect picture. The dialogues flow so easy and you can practically hear that southern accent! It makes you want to go and move there just because it is so great!

I loved Chloe's interactions with the town's people, especially Mamie, her grandmother's best friend. Taking into account the fact that Chloe doesn’t believe in 'the crazy supernatural stuff', that Bayou Noir is bursting with, her settling into her new home is funny and endearing.
From the way she reacts to being expected somewhere because the Tarot cards warned of her coming:

"Speaking of getting settled. I need to ask you for a favor."
"I know." Nettie waved a dismissive hand.
"How?"
She smiled mischievously. "The tarot cards told me you'd be stoppin' by."
Riiighht.

To the way she freaks out when confronted with the town's own grumpy gator:

"I can't come to work."
"Why?" Nettie asked.
"I'm sorry. Didn't you hear me? There's a gator on the porch."
"Don't worry, he don't mean ya no harm. Just give him wide berth and sneak past him."
...
"Go to the closet."
I dutifully went. "Alright"
"Grab yourself a broom."
"I got it."
"Now shoo him away. He'll scoot on back to the swamp..."

"Oh helllll no. Screw that."

She became one of those characters that you'll remember fondly even after the book is long finished. Because she seems so very real!!

And then we have the bikers and Saint! It is refreshing that these guys aren't your average good boys posing as a bad ass biker. These guys are the real deal. Smugglers, womanizers and bad-ass outlaws. These are the kind of guys who would scrawl on their club's walls
"It does my heart good to see you in a box of wood."

These are the kind of guys who pay tribute to Papa Legba

(Papa Legba posters by Amelia Sales on redbubble)

with "Cigars every week since he was supposedly fond of them"

and Kalfou

(Met Kalfou a lwa in Haitian Vodou on Pinterest)

with "rum infused with gunpowder so he'd leave them the fuck alone."

Saint... Our Saint is everything but a saint! And even his brothers pull his leg at times because:
"Damn, you're like a town bicycle, everybody's had a ride." He just has to nail everything that moves! He fits right in with the Bayou Noir setting.

So.. great characters and a fabulous the setting! Top that off with a mystery that is by no means predictable and a touch of awesome supernatural and there you go! The perfect recipe for a great read that will grab you from the very first page and won't let you set it down till the very end!

The only reason I'm not rating this a 5 is the insta love/lust between Chloe and Saint. That didn't sit quite well with me, but then I'm more of a 'take-it-slow and make-him-work-for-it' kind of girl. And if that's not you and you don't mind it, this will be a guaranteed 5 star read for you!

I highly recommend it to all those of you in search for something different and original! It's a great read!

Check out this book and more of Cynthia Rayne on www.cynthiarayne.com