Southern Comfort is the second installment of the Compass Brother's series which was preceded by Northern Exposure. This is Seth's story, the brother having swapped one ranch for another by moving from his family home in Wyoming to Texas. Jody, his boss's daughter, has relentlessly pursued Seth since she was a girl. Just when Seth decides she's finally old enough to claim as his own, she returns to the ranch after finishing college to announce her engagement to another man. Jody has agreed to a marriage of convenience to help a friend, but quickly realizes fighting Seth and their mutual attraction is futile. There are sassy arguments, juicy displays of dominance and believable conflicts between hero and heroine that make the novel work. Seth and Jody's story is at times sweet, occasionally hot & spicy and has the HEA you expect from a romance novel.
Having read Northern Exposure, I appreciated the way Carr and Rylon repeated scenes from the first novel from Seth's perspective. It helped establish not only the timeline but also Seth as a unique character. With that said, this installment is lacking the emotional and sexual edge of its predecessor which may leave you, as it did me, disappointed. Where `Northern' was chock-full of powerful emotion, evoking laughter and tears during certain scenes while seamlessly pushing the erotic envelope (explicitly) in others, this book came across as more of a sweet, typical romance in comparison. There is some erotica but it is minimal and deviates from what you might consider typical of either author. It's a good read, worth your time and money, just not what I expected after the first in the series.
I hope the remaining two installments bring back the emotional punch and ragged edge that, while not palatable to all, made these authors and this series in particular stand out with a unique style.
