Title: Maybe This Time
Series: Whiskey and Weddings Book #2
Stand Alone Title: yes
Author: Nicole McLaughlin
Genre: Romance, Contemporary
Blurb: Jen Mackenzie has been knocked down more than a few times, but she always gets up and makes sure she has the last word. It’s the reason she now considers herself equal parts self-sufficient and free-spirit. But since losing her job and trying to help her mother beat cancer, real life―and her occasional careless choices―have begun to catch up with her. Her one saving grace: The Stag, a boutique distillery that has become Kansas City’s go-to wedding venue. The only catch: One of the owners, TJ Laughlin, happens to be the one man who somehow manages to make Jen feel inadequate.
TJ has secretly had a thing for Jen since high school. Now, as her new boss, it’s a daily struggle between revealing his feelings and wringing her beautiful neck. Only one thing is for certain: he can’t stand idly by and watch the woman he cares for struggle. She may be convinced that accepting TJ’s help is a weakness. But all he sees in Jen is beauty and strength, inside and out. As things finally heat up between them, can TJ find a way to convince Jen that love is about give and take―and having it all, together?
Favorite quote(s)/excerpt(s): “I have no problem with casual sex. None. I’ve been known to have it myself from time to time. So, get it out of your head that I’m judging you….or being a misogynist…or whatever else you’ve convinced yourself of.”
“Fine. I won’t. But you could tell me why you’re acting like a jerk.”
He stared at her for a moment and then leaned a bit closer. “Maybe I don’t like it…..” He hung on that last word as if about to regret everything that may come after it. She waited with bated breath, their eyes locked. “When a man comes onto a woman I want for myself.”
Thoughts: This was my first book by Nicole McLaughlin, and I have to say that contemporary romance doesn’t get any better than this! I thoroughly enjoyed Jen and TJ’s story, and I find myself wanting to backtrack and read book one, Maybe I Do, with Charlotte and Dean’s story. I’ve always been a sucker for the ‘secret crush’ romances, and love when the characters can’t hide their feelings for each other anymore. The author also manages to throw in a dose of realism for our characters which help lend a believability to the romance. Thoroughly enjoyable!
Rating: A
