{A French Quarter Review} Neutral Grounds by @JiffyKateWrites

Neutral Grounds by Jiffy Kate
on October 10th, 2019
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
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First comes marriage, then comes...love? Divorce? Let’s pretend this never happened ...

They say opposites attract and that couldn’t be truer when it comes to CeCe and Shep. But what happens when the two most anti-marriage people in the French Quarter start enjoying the act?

CeCe

I never planned on getting married. After my dad deserted my family the day before my tenth birthday, and I watched my mother fall to pieces over him, I decided it wasn’t worth the heartache. Then Shepard Rhys-Jones, who ghosted me two years ago, declares he needs to marry someone to claim his inheritance, and I drunkenly offer myself up as his wife.

He was the best I’ve ever had and now, he’s all mine… but only for the next year.

Shep

I never planned on getting married. It was one business transaction I had no desire to close. Yet, here I am… sitting in a bar in New Orleans… seriously considering making CeCe Calhoun my wife. If we can manage to stay married for a year, I’ll be one hundred million dollars richer and finally have the freedom to forge my own path, separate from the Rhys-Jones name.

She’s the only woman I’ve struggled to forget, and she’s finally mine. For now.

Is it possible for this fake marriage to be real?

I received Neutral Grounds for free. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Wow is the first word I can think of to start this review. Jiffy Kate, the pen name of an author duo of Jiff Simpson and Jenny Kate, have found a fan for life. These ladies know how to tickle your funny bone, sweep you off your feet, and make you cry good and ugly tears in the span of a couple hundred pages.

I am walking into this series at book three, but I didn’t feel out of the loop one bit. The ladies made me feel right at home with the Come Again bar, the Blue Bayou Hotel, Neutral Grounds Coffeehouse, and all the characters that come with them. They also showed me a side to a society I don’t know well, The Big Easy. The French Quarter is a dream destination of mine and these ladies gave me a huge taste until I can make it there in reality.

Now, onto the romance! This story revolves around the best friends of a couple hooking up. Shep’s best friend, Maverick, is in love with CeCe’s best friend, Carys. They spend the weekend after they met in complete sexual bliss, then Shep ghosted. Two years later, CeCe’s is on the verge of possibly losing Neutral Grounds and Shep has to get married and stay that way for a year to receive his one hundred million dollar inheritance from his grandfather. One drunken night, CeCe offers to be his bride. In the cold light of day, Shep realizes it would be the perfect plan. He has never seen a loving marriage in the upper echelons of Dallas society where he was born with that metaphorical silver spoon in his mouth. They agree they are insanely attracted to each other and can live somewhat separately while the marriage lasts. One of the most important things the settle on is their monogamy. Sex between them the first go around was amazing, so why wouldn’t it be when they were officially married?

These ladies know how to weave a fantastic love story! When Shep is finally able to identify love, there is no going back for him. CeCe is a bit of a harder sell. She is a genuine caretaker who can’t take help from anyone because she’s rarely received any her entire life. When these two dynamic and complicated characters collide, the sparks fly and the love heals the tiny cracks left from their broken past.

Now it is time for me to read the first two books in the series! Book one is Blue Bayou, Maverick and Carys’s story. Book two is Come Again, Shaw and Avery’s story. These ladies have several stories already published and I’m sure many yet to be. So… What are you waiting for?