Stubborn as a Mule 

(Sex and Sweet Tea #2)
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Release Date July 2017

Stubborn As A Mule is a sweet, funny return to Whynot, North Carolina, in a feud over an old house. Lowe Mancinkus is mad his family sold a house that had belonged to the family for over a hundred years. It didn’t matter that it was in disrepair and no one lived there; it was family and it was history.

Melinda Rothschild wanted to restore Mainer House to its former glory, but vandalism stops her in her tracks. Bringing the matter to court only ramps up tension between herself and the vandal -- Lowe. After the judge orders Lowe to repair the house in proper order, Melinda and Lowe are forced to find a solution to the feud between them.

I loved watching these two spar as the slow burn between them continued to build. This was not a fast paced romance, despite the short timeline. But the heat that builds messes with both of their thought processes and has them questioning why they fought in the first place.

The pranks between Lowe and Melinda’s best friend, Morrie, also had me completely entertained. Waiting to see how one would one up the other had me turning the pages almost as fast as watching Lowe and Melinda circle each other.

The small town atmosphere once again plays a role in the build between Lowe and Melinda. Gossip runs rampant through the streets of Whynot, often preceding the characters themselves and often causing unintended consequences. I loved the way this town came full circle in their acceptance of Melinda and her plans for Mainer House.

This was entirely entertaining, from start to finish. I expect light and fun from this series, and that is exactly what is delivered. I was able to read the entire book in one day and found myself torn between racing through it and slowing down to savor.

I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review.
“Looking good, Lowe Mancinkus,” I hear a woman call out as I stretch upward to paint the top of the frame around the window. Turning my head to look over my shoulder, I see Lynette Carnes getting ready to walk into Sweet Cakes across the street. She’s our town’s very own Daisy Duke. By that, I mean she struts around in miniscule jean shorts, high heels, and a sleeveless blouse tied off just underneath her very ample chest.
She’s definitely nice to look at, although she doesn’t have much going on above the cleavage.
“Morning, Lynette,” I call back. “Lookin’ good yourself.”
She grins and blows a kiss at me before walking into Larkin’s shop.
The front door opens and Mely steps out onto the porch, carrying a cup of coffee. There’s no doubt in my mind she witnessed that exchange from the other side of the doorway. It’s obvious by the pinched expression she has on her face. Still, she brings the coffee over to me and sets it on the porch rail.
“Thanks, darlin’,” I tell her as I go back to brushing paint over the layer of primer I’d put on a few hours ago. I’d decided to work half a day here at Mainer House, not because I was anxious to get the work done, but because I wanted to be around Melinda Rothschild.
She may not be strutting around in little shorts and a low-cut blouse, but she is most definitely a prettier picture than I’ve ever seen around these parts. She’s wearing a white sundress with a halter top, and her shoulders are lightly tanned with tiny freckles. Her legs are long, bare, and perfectly adorned with nothing more than a pair of simple white sandals. Her silky blonde hair is pulled away from her face at the top of her head and she looks like a breath of fresh air.
Mely leans against the porch rail, crosses her arms low under her breasts, and watches me work for a minute. I wonder if she likes what she sees.
I think so.
There was going to be another kiss last night if Morri hadn’t managed to ruin that little moment. And while I’d never stoop to mention this to Mely, I’m pretty sure he’d been hovering at the top of the stairs, just waiting to ruin it.
“Much better than hot pink,” Mely says as I continue to apply paint to the casing. I have no clue what the hell I was thinking when I painted her house pink. It was an attention getter and since the two people whose attention it got were Mely and Judge Bowe, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out I might have been pulling on her metaphorical pigtails a bit.
“I should have this finished by tomorrow,” I tell her. “Then all will be right again.”
“Odd since it took you a single night to do the damage,” she quips. I don’t look back at her, but I hear the laughter in her voice.
“Well, neon pink isn’t all that easy to cover up,” I tell her with a laugh.
She snickers and I can’t believe she was trying to get me thrown in jail last week. My how the mighty have fallen.
“When in Rome and all that,” Mely says and I turn to look at her from my perch on the ladder. She jerks her chin over her shoulder in the direction of Sweet Cakes. “Is that the standard southern girl uniform?”
Chuckling, I cut my eyes over to Sweet Cakes where sexy Lynette just disappeared into. I’m not about to tell Mely that I have actual carnal knowledge about that southern girl, even if it was back in my younger years.
Looking back to Mely, I take in her stylishly sweet dress that doesn’t reveal much but is still sexy at the same time. Giving her a wink, I say, “There’s nothing standard about you, Melinda Rothschild, so I’m advising you to stay away from that look. I think you’re mighty fine just the way you are.” 

Juliette Poe
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Juliette Poe is the sweet and swoony alter ego of New York Times Best Selling author, Sawyer Bennett. 

A fun-loving southern girl, Juliette knows the allure of sweet tea, small towns, and long summer nights, that some of the best dates end sitting on the front porch swing, and that family is top priority. She brings love in the south to life in her debut series, Sex & Sweet Tea. 

When Juliette isn’t delivering the sweetest kind of romance, she’s teaching her southern belle daughter the fine art of fishing, the importance of wearing Chucks, and the endless possibilities of a vivid imagination.