Moonlight & Whiskey

Tricia Lynne

Mar 2019 · Sold by Loveswept

About this ebook

“Super sexy! Against a sensual New Orleans backdrop, Moonlight & Whiskey follows a woman’s journey toward acceptance of her body and herself.”—Helen Hoang, author of The Kiss Quotient

When life gives you curves, you gotta learn how to rock them.

Successful businesswoman Avery Barrows likes her dips and curves, but she’s sick of the haters telling her that she should be ashamed of her body instead of embracing it. Determined to send them a big f*** you, Avery resolves to cut loose during a girls’ trip, hightailing her quick-mouthed, plus-sized self to New Orleans. So, what’s a smart woman with a little extra gotta do to get laid in this town?

Not much if you ask Declan McGinn, the lead singer of BlackSmith. Tall, dark, and tattooed, with a body made for sin, Declan prefers his women as curvy as his guitars. Avery’s sharp tongue and keen mind makes him want her even more.

As they burn up the sheets, Avery and Declan realize this is no one-night (or even one-week) stand. But for all of her bluster, Avery isn’t sure she can handle any more rejection. Besides, Declan has demons of his own. Now Avery has a choice to make: play it safe, or place her trust in the hands of a man who’s as tempting as the devil himself.

Praise for Moonlight & Whiskey

“This book has it all—emotion, lots of laughs, and a touch of reality we all can relate to. Don’t miss this story.”—USA Today bestselling author Stacey Kennedy

“Avery is the foul-mouthed heroine of my dreams. Tricia Lynne absolutely knocks it out of the park with Moonlight & Whiskey. Her fabulous voice mixed with her super steamy romance makes this an absolute must-read!”—Alexa Martin, author of Intercepted, an Amazon Best Romance of 2018 Pick

“Witty dialogue, steamy sex scenes, and heartfelt talks . . . Lynne has created a world filled with delightful, complex characters and vivid settings. —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“This is just the book I was looking for, and a new author, which I have been craving. The writing is really fantastic! Moonlight & Whiskey gives you angst, humor, sexiness, and resolution. It is a fantastic read. I connected with Avery in a way I have never connected with another leading lady.”—Reading is What I Do (five stars)

“[Lynne's] descriptions are flawless. Her characters, swoon-worthy. I can’t recommend Moonlight & Whiskey highly enough. Definitely mark this as a must-read!”—Maxym M. Martineau (five stars)

This ebook includes an excerpt from another Loveswept title.

Ratings and reviews

***4 Stars*** Not gonna lie, the word Whiskey was the hook and then I saw curves and New Orleans and I knew I had to dive in and I really enjoyed this book. From the first page I was hooked and even though I wanted to reach out and Gibbs smack some of the characters (numerous times) the sweet, swoon worthy and smexy moments more than made up for them and kept me turning the pages until the very end. I loved Avery. She’s sassy, snarky and yet is still searching for who she wants to be. She has all the key components, but she’s unsure of where to go with them. Though she comes across as strong and confident, her body image issues have a way of messing with her head, which held her back in a lot of situations. Declan is all kinds of laid back alpha male. He is a bad boy gentleman with more charisma than he knows what to do with. He has a few demons riding him hard and they tend to hold him back from what he wants most. Declan and Avery’s journey was an enjoyable one. The chemistry between them was obvious from their first collision, but boy did their issues get in their way many, many times. I swear the urge to reach out and shake them was strong as they decided they KNEW what the other wanted or what was best for them...and all of it was decided as they had conversations in their own heads with themselves. It was maddening. But I couldn’t deny that they WERE good together and had the chance to be great for each other if they could only get over themselves. Things of course go south, and it was rough, and though I found what brought them to their senses was actually a great way to do it, I would have liked a little more...grovelling, but all in all I’m happy with how it all worked out for them. This is my first read by the author and it was an enjoyable one. The writing was engaging, pacing good and I think she nailed it on body issues and how they affect our perceptions of ourselves. As for the secondary characters, I really liked Jaime, Matt and Shaun but Kat was definitely my favorite. But I’m hoping that there will be more from this crew, and author in the future! ~ Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley & voluntarily reviewed ~

I picked up this book because I LOVE Rocker romances. There is just something about a bad boy..... any who, I read the blurb and thought, this seems right up my alley! And a newly published author too! I couldn't resist. I love finding new authors to love! But, sadly, it's always a risk. Sometimes, you get a new author that isn't really all that great, or their story doesn't make sense, or they forget they need to proofread. And then other times, you find that jewel in the rough, just waiting to be let loose on the world, to share their amazing talent with readers everywhere. And that is where this book fits in. I absolutely adored this book! From the instant connection between the characters, to the descriptions that are so vivid, I can actually picture the amazingness that is New Orleans. From the steamy love scenes, to the parts that ripped my heart in two, this author put together a book that I could not put down, even if I'd had to. Avery is a woman who knows who she is, but feels she has to hide it. She is a woman in a man's world, trying to get ahead by keeping her head down and working hard. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but she seems to have lost parts of herself in the process. So she takes a girl's trip with her bestie to the Crescent City, hoping to find the part of herself she's hidden away for too long. Declan is a musician with a past that he doesn't talk about, a past that has jaded him to all things relationship. He wasn't looking for her, but he burst into her world and couldn't keep himself away from her. These two.....Lets just say, I was laughing so hard I was crying by the third chapter. They had such an electric connection, but they also challenged each other. This book has the bad boy, the good girl that is letting out her bad girl, and a bit of New Orleans mysticism thrown in for good measure. Declan and Avery made a perfect couple, despite their differences, and their story is one that will stick with me for a long time to come!

This curvy girl romance has some truly funny moments, but while I usually love sassy, take no nonsense female characters, Avery is just not likable. Strong is one thing, and I appreciate that she could and did stand up for herself, but Avery goes past that and straight to insulting and rude more often than not. I think most of what she said was supposed to be funny, but this one could've done with a bit of the less is more school of thought. I did like Declan, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out why he kept going back for more with Avery. He had plenty of demons to deal with, and it just felt like her attitude was one he could get away from. When you spend that much time just wanting him to walk away it doesn't bode well for any kind of hopes about the romance. On a positive note, you can't read this one without the feeling that the author loves New Orleans. The descriptions of the city are vivid and paint a picture that is easy to visualize. That said, the setting turned out to be the best part of this one for me. As this is a debut, and my biggest issue lay with my feelings about Avery, I will check out future works from this author. She does show talent, and I'll be interested to see how her writing develops with future books.

About the author

Tricia Lynne is fluent in both sarcasm and cuss words—a combination that tends to embarrass her husband at corporate functions. A tomboy at heart, she loves hard rock, Irish whiskey, and her Midwestern roots. She’s drawn to strong, flawed heroines, and believes writing isn’t a decision one makes, but a calling one can’t resist. A member of the Romance Writers of America, she lives in Dallas with her husband and their goofy dogs.