Member Reviews
This is the 3rd and final book in the Agents Whiskey & Rye Series. We know that there are still secrets that Jamie is keeping from Aiden and in knowing that, it's not too much of a stretch to know that it isn't going to end well once Aiden finds out. Also, we don't know which side of the fence Mel is on as she took off at the end of the last book. When Aiden, and his brother Daniel, find out the truth, all hell breaks loose. Trust has been broken by both couples. Aiden can't stay with Jamie & needs some space to get his head clear & cool off so he asks for a solo mission, which was granted. Little do they know, he is walking right into the lions den. While on assignment, I did miss seeing them together. There was a lot more angst in this one, as it should be when everything comes to light. There is a lot of action, twists and turns as well as seeing their love grow even stronger. I am very happy that they got their HEA after all they have gone through. If you have read the first two books you need to read this one. If you haven't read them, you will need to before picking this one up.
I loved this book, I adored this series. It is one of the best series I have read in a while..and coming from a new author..amazing! I will be following Layla Reyne for her career! Full review will come... still in progress 😆
I am just filled with all the feels right now. This book was a wild, exhilarating ride from start-to-finish. There is romance in this series, and it’s so sweet and heartbreaking, but then there’s the INTRIGUE. I’m not usually one for mysteries. It’s weird, because I do watch an absurd amount of cop dramas and the like. But, somehow that never translated into books for me. Well, to prove me wrong, this Agents Irish and Whiskey series have just sold me on everything I’m not used to reading.
Way back when I read book one in this series, Single Malt, I said that characters seemed to be introduced left and right and I had no idea who was who. So, for anyone else who felt that way? Now would be a fantastic time to go back and re-read the first two books if you’re binging your way through this series right now. I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned this in my previous reviews, but these books are not standalone novels. The stories are very connected. And while the romance itself is pretty HFN, book two, Cask Strength, ended with a jaw-dropping cliffhanger and I’ve been dying to read Barrel Proof ever since.
This book starts off shortly after the ending of Cask Strength. Melissa is suspected of working with the enemy and Aiden and Jamie are in a rush to find her. Everything that started before the events in book one have been building up to this book. Aiden’s FBI partner and his husband dying in a car crash is no accident and the man responsible has plans up his sleeve that takes this story down twist and turns that I never saw coming.
Jamie has kept secrets from Aidan and everything reaches a boiling point. Aidan needs a break and decides to go undercover, finally putting both his law and business degrees to work. However, nothing that happens is ever incidental when it comes to the terrorist Renaud, and he has plans that are much more conniving than I would have expected.
I don’t want to spoil anything, so apologies if this review is super vague. But I will say that a lot of characters are brought back, or mentioned at least, from previous books, while new characters are introduced in this one as well. What surprised me is how much I loved some of the new characters. I would not mind at all if we saw a spin-off with the FBI hacker Lauren, or with AUSA Nic.
As for this series, I love Aidan and Jamie. They absolutely broke my heart in this book, but they still manage to be sexy and almost nauseatingly cute together. I loved the ending. For a few seconds there, I thought I was going to be mad at the ending, but then it ended up being really lovely. So, five stars for this book and I can’t wait to read more of Layla Reyne’s books in the future!
***Thanks to Carina Press for providing me an ARC through NetGalley***
this was a stunning conclusion to the series, a great read!
This has got to be my favorite series this year!
I enjoyed the ever-loving shit out of Irish and Whiskey :)
Honestly, I can not remember having had this much fun with a book, much less a series, in forever. I thought the writing and plotting was amazeballs from start to beginning. And the cast was simply brilliant!!
Welp - I'm still so in love with Jamie. Sigh.
With the previous installment focusing on Jamie and Aiden's relationship, Barrel Proof was filled with action scenes und secrets being unveiled while never losing the romantic spark. Yep, it also had a dash of drama and a very happy ending!!! Purrrfect wrap.
#alltimefavorites.
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Many, many thanks to the publisher who kindly provided a free copy for an honest and impartial review.
I’m going to have the worst book hangover ever from this series. It’s been so long since I’ve enjoyed a book much less an entire series as much as I have this one. I honestly can’t wait to see what Layla Reyne has in store for us book lovers next! I am also seriously hoping my hunch on that is correct.
Anyone who has read my review for Cask Strength will remember me mentioning an endless supply of shoes and them dropping at the craziest moments. Barrel Proof picks up just a few hours after Cask Strength ends. Readers are dropped into an intense moment in a high speed situation and the book never slows or loses any momentum. The stakes are high. Jamie and Aidan have to shut Renuad’s operation down once and for all. Renuad has caused enough problems for Aidan. The havoc he intends to wreck upon the world as a whole is even more troublesome.
Excellent ending wrap up! So many answers to so many questions that have pop up in this series. Irish and Whiskey needed more than the happy for now that they have with Single Malt and Cask Strength. They deserve it. As a reader I found myself wanting then to have everything. Especially Aidan, he’s already lost so much and then to be given a second chance at love with Jamie so many hearts and flowers with the bullets and near death experiences. Perfect ending to an amazing series.
Do not try to read any of the books in Reyne’s Agent’s Irish and Whiskey series as stand-alones. This is one of those series where you need to have comfort food and a box of tissues near as you lock yourself in a room alone for a couple of days. You’re going to want to devour this series in one sitting.
4* Great end to the series, with everything working out for everyone. Details from previous tales matter, beware.
This is the third and final book in the series, it seems, as it ends in the start of a HEA for the leads and their relationship, professional and personal, has changed hugely. I'd love to read more about them, even if they're only side characters in connected tales...and perhaps there might be scope for a connected one...I hope so.
It picks up pretty much immediately where book 2 ends, and it's all immediate action and we find out immediately who can be trusted, though who can't takes a little longer. I liked that there was more than one love story going on in this, and that though the truth came out and Jamie and Aiden weren't in a good place when it did, their love came through and Jamie gave Aiden the time to process, deal and realise what he'd lost, and then come to value what he had found in them.
This is a book that's pretty heavy on the emotions - the leads', a side couple's, family love, friendship, but due to the pace of the tale, it's not heavy on the sex of book 2. That's not a criticism of the tale, but hey, book 2 was hot, lol! and I'd have liked a bit more.
There's quite a lot going on in the background in terms of the police-side of things, and it's done well, with plausibility and with stuff tying in from the previous tales, so it is important to have read those before embarking on this one.
It ends with the leads in a good place, and with suggestions of them ending up in an even better place to come, so yes, it ended in my kind of HEA. I'd love to read more of these guys and hope that the author will make that happen at some point.
ARC courtesy of Carina Press and NetGalley, for my reading pleasure.
Irish & Whiskey . . . . Jayyyyyyyyyyyysus! I would happily read about these two until the end of time. I loved this book. This was a perfect end to their journey and this story. I need to feel the books I read and I could absolutely feel everything that these two go through. This author has now become an auto buy for me, and wow. I am blown away by this series. Loved it.
Barrel Proof is the third book in the Agents Irish and Whiskey series by Layla Reyne. I would not recommend trying to read these books as standalone. There is a continuing plot line throughout all three books, so you need to read them in order to fully understand what is going on. In this last book, everything is wrapped up tight, which I love. I don't like any open ends.
With that said if you love FBI suspense with romance this series is for you.
The characters are great, and it was good to see them again. Overall, however, it just wasn't as good as the first book.