Feud

Feud. Phyllis Bourne. 2018. Red Lipstick Press. 150 pages. [Source: Kindle Unlimited.]

Sometimes you have terrible neighbors you love to hate. The Lawsons and Bridges have been those neighbors for each other for over 100 years. Their feud is so intense that the families established clauses in wills to reward the descendant with the fortitude (or luck) to outlast the opposiing family.

That is how Tate Bridges and Justice Lawson cross each others’ paths. Justice thinks he’s finally got his family’s trust in his grasp since he managed to outlive old man Tate.  Much to his chagrin, a distant neice, Tate Alexandra, shows up in the nick of time to nip his plans in the bud.  What results is a hilarious story about the lengths to which the two will go to ensure their family comes out on top.

Of course, there is a major wrench in their plans — a mutual, if not begruding, attraction to one another.  This tension is what makes the book most enjoyable.  It’s entertaining to see just how far they can push each other in the name of winning a feud caused by a dead mule of all things.

The two characters are relatable, which makes it hard to pick a side in the feud. Alex is trying to get back on her feet after being fired from her Wall Street job. Justice has hopes of taking his Paris-learned cooking skills to New York to open his own restaurant.  They both have big hopes for the money — more than $250,000, so it’s hard not to pine for a mutual win.

This is a spunky, albeit quick, read.  It’s going to provide you with more than a few laughs along the way as you figure out which side of the Lawson-Bridges you lie.