Hooked on Hailey Edwards...Discovering Bayou Born

As an obsessive reader, Amazon recommendations are both my best and worst friends. When I have nothing to do and some extra money burning in my bank account, there's nothing better than browsing through some new titles. When I have lesson plans to write or essays to grade...not so good.

For weeks on end, I'd been seeing Bayou Born pushed at me. I'll admit...when I first read the synopsis, I was skeptical. A detective with mysterious markings? No idea of her past? The quintessential handsome yet unattainable and over-dominant male? Since I'm pretty familiar with the urban fantasy world, this didn't strike me as something super unique.

I'm not embarrassed to admit that I was totally wrong (but never tell my boyfriend that). I finally gave in and gave Bayou Born a real chance, and I might just be hooked. After learning that BB was the first in the series, meaning I had MONTHS to wait until the next installment, I almost had to grieve.

Lucky for me, Edwards has a wide list of titles to her name, so there's plenty to keep me occupied in the meantime.

FYI Bonus- Edwards has a fan group on facebook where she talks to her readers, shares snippets, and answers questions (when they're not spoiler-filled). I love having the ability to connect with authors, so this is a huge plus in my book.

---

Bayou Born focuses on Luce Boudreaux, a Mississippi cop whose background is both mysterious and fodder for the media in her town. She was found in the swamp when she was seemingly 10 years old and later adopted by one of the officers who found her. Aside from the otherness of being found feral in a swamp, she was born with metallic bindings around her upper body, markings that are strangely resilient, that even reappear after they're removed.

Despite having them all her life, Luce has no idea what they are or even where she came from. Her life is a blank slate that starts with the day she was found. One thing she knows for sure is that every year, on her "birthday," she must be home by midnight to answer a disconnected rotary phone. The mysterious Ezra, whom she knows nothing about, is the only way for her to be cured of the anxiety and pain that grips her in that moment. As far as birthday rituals go, I'll stick with cake and candles, thank you very much.

Luce's life gets more complicated when an ongoing investigation brings a private security firm (staffed by the imposing and mysterious Cole), supergator, and the abduction of someone near and dear to her heart, into her life.

I enjoyed Bayou Born. The information comes in a bit of the "slow burn" format; it's not until about halfway through the book that the reader REALLY starts to get more insight into who and what the members of the security firm are, and just what Luce's true origins are as well. I don't mind the slow reveal of detail. Edwards takes that time to build character and to help the reader learn more about Luce's past as she knows it, and to start building up Luce's own curiosity in the strange group of men (and Portia) who are suddenly important to her.

SPOILERS AHEAD.....

Edwards take on demons was an interesting one. She takes the road less traveled and starts to present the idea that demon may not be synonymous with villain. The coterie (this will make sense once you read the book) each have their own backstories, that start to show the variety of cultures and personalities she is creating in her cast of characters. I liked that she was giving each person his or her own dimension and story, instead of making them all the same type of demon.

There's enough playful flirtation for those who are a fan of romance, or even the possibility of it. We clearly see Cole as a potential romantic entanglement, though his story comes with a lot of baggage. There's also the mysterious Ezra. Edwards gives us the final chapter in his alternate perspective, and it becomes clear that he has no plans to leave Luce's life anytime soon. A clash between the two men seems inevitable, though it's completely possible they know each other, given Luce's own ignorance to her real origins pre-founding.

I'd like to get more information on backstory of Luce's "alter ego," but I'm willing to wait until the second book can throw a few more crumbs to me!