Josh and Tori’s over-the-top instalove meeting followed by a year long celibate separation is the stuff of legends – at least in small town Autre, Louisiana where Josh is from and where the love stories are always over-the-top crazy. This first book in the Boys of the Bayou series has the perfect blend of funny, sweet, happy, and fan your face steamy with only a small bit of angst. Amanda Stribling and Neil Thorne as the narrators are perfection, they add even more depth and richness to a phenomenal story. Josh is a bartender in New Orleans and a swamp boat tour guide who met Tori last year. Tori lives in Iowa where she is a vet. Last year they spent 6 hours with each other in a bar over 2 days, they were fully clothed, only shared 4 kisses, did not share contact info, and agreed to meet back in one year at the same bar if they were both still interested. This is where the story begins, they both are still interested, neither one has thought of anyone else in the year they’ve been apart, and they both try to meet up as promised. Tori is back in New Orleans to meet Josh but also to be in her best friend’s wedding, he’s the groom. The bride is not Tori’s biggest fan. The story is filled with loud, larger than life characters and situations, a few misunderstandings, cute animals, and so much love. Tori and Josh just need to overcome a few obstacles, let go of some insecurities, and embrace their crazy together in order to get to their HEA and what a fun joyful ride it is. Sprinkled throughout this beautifully paced story of Josh and Tori’s HEA, there are also a number of secondary characters that we are introduced to. Rather than being confusing, overwhelming or detracting from the main love story, these characters are central to the unfurling of Josh and Tori’s dance of love and passion and to the crazy that is Autre, Louisiana. We learn enough about who the secondary characters are along with just enough of their stories so that they’re fully developed characters in their own right. With My Best Friend’s Mardi Gras Wedding, Erin Nicholas once again proves she’s a fantastic storyteller and the queen at bringing to life imaginary towns full of wonderful characters where we all wished we could live.