Book Review

Guest Review: Feud by Phyllis Bourne

NB: If you’re in the market for a fun contemporary romance, check out this guest review of Feud by Sally Kilpatrick!

Kilpatrick hails from the rural South and still remembers the magic of the Book Mobile. While she’ll read anything from eighteenth century literature to the back of cereal boxes, she has a special place in her heart for romance. That love affair began when she graduated from Nancy Drew to filching her mother’s Harlequins and was solidified with her first Regency, The Duchess and the Devil. After a long college career of reading dead white guys, Nora Roberts reeled her back in with Midnight Bayou. She’s never looked back.

Sometimes I want a romance that will not emotionally eviscerate me. These are the times I turn to Phyllis Bourne’s #BigDumbSexyFun stories.* I mean it’s right there in the hashtag: you’re going to get a story that’s slightly over the top that will make you laugh out loud. Bonus: There will be sexytimes.

Needless to say, I was quite excited about Feud because damned if I can’t always use a laugh and some escapism after reading the news. It didn’t hurt at all that enemies to lovers is one of my favorite tropes. Also, it’s set in Nashville, so yay for Tennessee stories! (Yes, there is a hot chicken reference. Yes, it made me laugh.)

Here’s the sitch, as Kim Possible might say: Justice Lawson thinks he’s about to inherit $250,000 through a weird will stipulation because his nasty neighbor, Old Man Bridges, passed away several months before. Finally, finally a decades old feud has ended, and he, as a representative of the Lawson clan, is the winner. This is excellent news because Justice, a chef, wants to open his own restaurant, but he spent all of his savings on medical care for his grandmother.

There is a catch, however. Alex Bridges is Old Man Bridges’ long lost great niece, newly found by Bridges’ lawyers, and she stands to inherit $300,000 if she can run off Justice and thus win the feud for the Bridges. In order to stake her claim, she’ll be moving into the house next door. At this point in the story, I rubbed my hands together and said, “Let the games begin!”

One reason that I loved this book is because it kept me grinning throughout with shenanigans, and, to my mind, there simply aren’t enough shenanigans these days. He gets cut grass in her hair. She strands him on the roof. There’s treachery through baked goods and strategic orange bikinis.

Even better, Bourne breaks the fourth wall a la Deadpool. This book is alternating first person, and each character spends time defending him or herself to the reader. Not only does the dramatic irony of their denials of attraction and affection add humor, but the admission of bad behavior makes the characters more sympathetic in a story that, in less deft hands, could leave a reader hating everyone. Here’s an example of an early aside from Alex:

I know what you’re thinking: she’s as crazy as the rest of her people. But it’s only crazy when you’re broke. Three hundred thousand dollars is enough to buy my way up to the much better sounding eccentric.

In addition to the having the characters address the readers directly, Bourne wisely has them observe a daily détente. Each morning, the two enemies talk to each other from their respective front porches, giving readers more insight into their vulnerabilities and allowing each character to fall more under the other’s spell. The genius of this particular strategy is that it makes sense: who the heck wants to argue before coffee?

Finally, I love Justice. He’s a manly chef. He loves his grandma. Most importantly, he’s mesmerized by Alex’s confidence as well as her freckles and regrets any actions that might’ve actually hurt her. (When he finds out that his mown grass stunt doesn’t actually cost her the job she wanted, his relief is palpable) It would’ve been easy for his character in particular to veer into asshole territory, but he never does.

A few caveats for readers: This book is in first person, alternating viewpoints, which I like, but others . . . not so much. Also, the broken fourth wall that I find so charming is something others might find annoying. As always, humor is quite subjective, and there are a few scenes that some might find crass. Having been raised on Mel Brooks, this was totally not a problem for me. Finally, the ending came a little quickly with a twist I easily deduced, which is the only reason I give this a B+ instead of an A. Even so, those last few lines are perfect.

As for me personally? It’s the romantic comedy I’ve been desperately seeking while Hollywood insists on giving me Seth Rogen movies instead. I laughed. I did not cry.** It was considerably better than Cats. Upon finishing, I had a chuckle, a contented sigh, and a strengthened faith in happily ever after. It’s a 150-page romp where both hero and heroine play dirty, but you love them anyway, and I can’t ask for more than that.

*If you enjoyed Between a Rock and a Hot Mess ( A | BN ), then you’re going to love this one, too.

** I cry at just about everything, just so you have a touchstone. I needed a Gatorade after Love, Simon, and I ran out of napkins during the opening sequence of Up, mmkay?

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Feud by Phyllis Bourne

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  1. Teresa says:

    Thanks for giving Phyllis Bourne love on the site! I love her books!

  2. SB Sarah says:

    @Teresa: I was so pleased to receive this guest review. Do you recommend any of Bourne’s titles specifically? Which are your favorites?

  3. Sue says:

    YES! Thank you for writing this review. This sounds so FUN but not mean-spirited. I love some good hijinks where things work out in the end. (Oddly though I have a REALLY hard time with Jennifer Crusie and Crusie/Mayer books. Somehow the stakes seem to high? Or they are *too* zany? Anyway sorry didn’t mean to make this comment into navel gazing about my own reading habits.)

  4. Teresa says:

    @SB Sarah: I loved between a Rock and Hot Mess. I mean, LOVED. I read it at the beach and remember my 12-year old asking me why I was crying because I was laughing so hard. Time for a re-read.

  5. kitkat9000 says:

    This book, and some of her others, is available free to KU users, if, like me, Ms Bourne is a new-to-you author. Already downloaded and am hoping it’s as funny as described.

    One question to those who know: while checking Amazon’s listing, I saw where the book was rated highly by those interested in religion, spirituality, Christian books & bibles. Just how religious is Ms Bourne’s writing as I’m not a fan of proselytizing? Thanks!

  6. Maile says:

    Great review Sally! This was excellent escapist fun with great characters. I’m actually not too keen on 1st person POV, but I find it works better for me when the characters break the fourth wall.

    @kitkat9000 – I don’t recall reading any religious or spiritual themes in Feud, so I’m not sure why Amazon lists her books under those categories. I haven’t read any of her other books yet, though!

  7. Ren Benton says:

    @kitkat9000: That’s a “feature” on Amazon that has nothing to do with the book itself. It’s data harvesting about the reviewers. I’ve seen “rated highly by those interested in children’s books” on erotica pages because women who rate erotica also rate books they buy for their toddlers. I encourage everyone to click the “Hell no, this was NOT helpful” button on that section, which does nothing but confuse everyone who sees it, in hopes Amazon will remove the stupid thing.

  8. @kitkat9000–no proselytizing, I promise.

    @Theresa, OMG how I love Between a Rock and a Hot Mess!

    @Sue–not as high stakes as Crusie/Mayer although I do love me some Agnes and the Hit Man

  9. Karen says:

    Hi, this isn’t related to the review, though I did enjoy it, but what does “NB” in the introduction to the review mean? I notice it is always in the guest reviews, and it makes me nuts trying to figure out what it stands for. Yes, I’m weird …

  10. Amanda says:

    @Karen: It’s Latin and stands for “nota bene,” which means “to note.” It’s essentially used when we have an editor’s note before a post.

  11. Karen says:

    Thanks, Amanda! Now I don’t have to strain my brain trying to figure it out

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