Having already read the first book in the series, I expected this story to be nothing short of amazing, I was disappointed. The author has once again created a story where her characters are more than just two dimensional, with their distinctive and realistic personalities that literally jump off the pages, I see them more as three dimensional and lifelike individuals who are easy to develop an emotional attachment to.

The byplay between TJ and Jen brought so much emotion to their story, not only was their banter clever and entertaining, the overall dialog created a feeling of being a participant in their day to day interactions. The superb cast of characters and diverse situations only had additional more interest to the series, which prompts me to keep a lookout for the next installment, I don't want to miss a moment of what is to come.

This ARC book was complimentary, provided by the Publisher and NetGalley. I am voluntarily providing my honest review.

I definitely like Nicole McLaughlin and her writing style, something about this book didn’t connect with me at all. I am not sure what it is or could be but it comes off as disjointed and not at all likeable. Maybe it was the heroine or maybe it was the hero of the story. I am not sure but the storyline itself had promise= I liked that Jen and TJ would finally connect and get their HEA. I liked that Jen is the shy ,awkard heroine who hasn’t had the best of luck in her life and she is going to get her HEA . I liked that TJ is that person who has always been there for her but…something didn’t connect when it came to this story. I am not sure what it was but overall, the premise had great promise but the characters just didn’t seem to make it for me. I love the author and will definitely read her again but this story wasn’t it for me.

My Rating: 3.5 stars *****
“I received an advanced copy of this book from the author at no cost to me."

Jen always feel inadequate next to TJ. She has secretly loved him since middle school. Fighting with him constantly was a way to shield herself from the man he is since she doesn’t have the self esteem necessary to view herself as TJ does. Her one saving grace is working for him when he life slowly begins to unravel. He will stand by her side since he had been secretly in love with her too. They definitely need to communicate their thoughts to one another instead of the unrequited love they deal with. Great story and how to go after what you want instead of standing at the starting line never to finish the race.

Maybe This Time by Nicole McLaughlin is the second in the Whiskey and Weddings series, also the only book I have read in this series. That did not make a difference at all, I enjoyed this story thoroughly and kept wanting to be reading it, even while I wasn't. My only slight complaint that made me choose four stars, instead of five, was that Jen (one of the main characters) seemed to take so long to get over her nitpicking of TJ (the other main character). That was minor though and I would highly recommend this book!

I loved this book. Such a change for what I've been reading lately. I cried quite a bit, in the end, it was all worth it.

The second in a series and as I stated yesterday this is one of those series where you can read the books out of order because each book centers around a different character, but you may loose a little in the character development from book to book.

This book centers around the main bartender and one of the other owners of the distillery, The Stag. Jen has been a bartender at The Stag and while she lost her other job teaching theater due to a cut of funding she is able to fill in for their receptionist and this brings her to the Stag for many more hours and she has more chances to interact with that crew. TJ is one of the other owners and he has known Jen since high school and there are definite positive and negative feelings between them and has been for awhile, but maybe some interesting circumstances could take this more positive or more negative.

I liked the story/plot in this book a little more than book two, but be warned there was a lot more sexy times in this one compared to the first. I liked the characters and plot more so it didn't affect my reading but again if you try to avoid books with sexy times this may not be the book/series for you. I loved the push and pull in this book so much - these characters had so much history to work through it was so good. It reminded me of a relationship of mine and I won't share the details here, but I always love a book so much more when I have a personal pull to the story and the characters.

I will continue with this series because I love the distillery, the space and the owners. I am waiting for book three to arrive!

Really sweet second chance story! Cute, light read.

The prologue of this book is set in a high school environment, then is forwarded to twelve years later.

Jen comes from a poor family and is not the most popular girl in school because of her fashion choice. This changes when she gets a break in a school musical.

TJ comes from a privileged family, but considers himself to be the black sheep of the family. He works hard to prove himself and is part owner of a distinguished distillery.

TJ and Jen have been at odds with each other all through high school. They had a crush on each other, but this was disguised by acting with contempt towards each other. When Jen loses her job teaching in a theatre, she applies for a job in the distillery, unaware that TJ is a partner in the business. They spend their time rubbing each other the wrong way, but they are only kidding themselves. The attraction is obvious to everyone else.

Jen doesn't think that she is good enough for TJ and he is more or less certain that she dislikes him. Watching her flirt with other men gets on his nerves, until he plucks up the courage to make a move. A crisis leaves Jen stranded, and TJ is only too happy to assist. Their relationship starts to blossom, but their lack of communication sets everything in jeopardy. When Jen gets the chance to realise her dream, she takes it, leaving everything she knows behind. Will TJ let her go or will he try to compromise in order to give them a chance at a life together?

I like the main concept of the story and the "opposite attracts" element. TJ and Jen are good together when they put their doubts aside and go with their feelings. I wasn't keen on all the "dancing around" and behaving like teenagers instead of two adults in their thirties. Otherwise, it's a lighthearted romance which ends on a good note despite all the trials and tribulations.

I was kindly issued with an eARC and the views expressed are my personal opinion.

Jen Mackenzie needs a good turn and in her old friend (and New Boss) TJ she may have just found it.

How often do we hear “Don’t judge a book by its cover”? But the thing is, a cover does give you an idea what the tone of a book is going to be. Going by the cover of this book, I got something way different than what I was expecting. In fact, I started reading this book on a plane over a month ago and just couldn’t get into it. But after the initial awkward flashback chapter, things picked up and my interest was sustained.

Jen and TJ have known each other - and harbored mutual secret crushes - since high school. Now in their early 30s, TJ is part owner of The Stag, an up-and-coming distillery/wedding venue, and Jen is his employee. They have a rather combative, “I love to hate you”-type relationship, and it seems everyone around them knows how they truly feel about each other. But neither of them has ever been willing to make a first move...

Jen is prickly. Has a big chip on her shoulder. At first, she’s a character that is hard to like - especially the way she comes off at the start of the book, when she’s in high school. But once you learn what her life growing up was like, and see all she’s dealing with now, you realize she keeps people at a distance to keep from getting hurt. TJ Laughlin is the one guy she’s always liked but didn’t think she’d ever get because they come from two different worlds.

TJ has always been able to see past the facade Jen puts up for everyone else. Despite having a terrible example of marriage and parenthood in his own family, he still pictures himself getting married and having children - and with each passing day, he’s more and more determined to have Jen be the one he does that with.

Damn, she was a pain in the ass. But he was still intent on making her his pain in the ass.

Once TJ finally gets the nerve to make a move, it’s all systems go, full steam ahead as far as he’s concerned. Jen is a little harder to convince. Having overheard TJ make some less-than-flattering comments about her in high school, she has a hard time believing TJ would ever want her, even though deep down there’s nothing she wants more.

She wasn’t stupid, and couldn’t deny the fact that she got a lot of male attention, although it wasn’t always the kind she desired. Or at the very least, the kind that involved commitment. Which was fine, she’d never been looking for that. But sometimes a woman wanted to know that she was worth more than a good time if she did want that.

I had to hand it to TJ. Reeling Jen in was tricky. He just wanted to take care of her, and she seldom made it easy on him. Jen plays it off as being a strong and independent woman, but at the heart of her attitude is a woman who just needs to be loved unconditionally. And TJ is willing to be that man. It was often hard to understand why he was willing to be, but I loved watching his love and patience win Jen over.

Not sure if I’ll have a chance anytime soon to go back and read the first book in the Whiskey and Weddings series, but I’ll definitely keep an eye out for book number three! Nicole McLaughlin is a solid writer, and an author I will definitely be reading more of.

* thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review

While this is a story in a series, this book is a good stand alone story. Author Nicole McLaughlin opens her storyline with a scene of a young girl attending high school introducing the reader with background information for the present day story to be told. The story continues with Jen Mackenzie dealing with issues that come with everyday life. She has lost a job she loved. She is dealing with a mother who has cancer. She has a part time job working as a bartender in a bar owned by three men, one of whom she had a teenage crush on. The opportunity for her to do more work at the bar gives her an opportunity to get ahead financially but means she has to deal with T J Laughlin on a daily basis. There's still something between the two and romance is an issue. Jen can't figure out if T J likes her and if she can like him back. The interaction between the two is what fuels the interesting details that keep the story moving along quite nicely. Issues are dealt with and the storyline comes to a satisfactory ending with no loose ends to leave the reader with questions about what happens next.

I voluntarily read an advanced review copy of this book

This is the first book that I have read by Nicole McLaughlin and I was pleasantly surprised. This book took me on an emotional roller coaster that left me laughing...crying and smiling like a fool. I loved the ups and downs of Jen and TJ's relationship and was drawn in by the fact this was not a cookie cutter romance. There was heartache and the perfect amount of drama and romance.

Very good job McLaughlin, cant wait to see what else you have in store!

Thanks to author Nicole McLaughlin, publisher St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an eARC of MAYBE THIS TIME ( WHISKEY AND WEDDINGS #2 ) in exchange for an honest review.

Jen tries to live as a free spirit and steer clear of close relationships. TJ, her boss has had a crush on Jen since high school. Jen is initially unaware of TJ's feelings for her, and tries to ignore and hide her feelings for him by 'smart talking' and flirting with other guys.
Will TJ tell Jen about his feelings for her?
Will Jen let TJ know her true feelings?
Does Jen know what she really wants?
What does Jen find out during the house fire?
After the fire, do circumstances change for the better? Or are things worse than before?
Read the book to find out!

This was a difficult book for me to get into. First, Jen’s mother was battling breast cancer, and, since I am familiar with this situation, it was difficult for me to take and get into. Also, I did not particularly like Jen or TJ. Jen had a chip on her shoulder, and TJ liked to moan and groan, feeling the victim. Their romance, was okay, though not spectacular. Jen worked in the local distillery TJ owned with his friends. She had dreams of becoming the next big starlet, but that never seemed to be materializing, so thus her job at the distillery. Both Jen and TJ had been in school together, though Jen never did think TJ (or many others) really accepted her. She really took her mother’s frustrations and bad habits to heart. Jen had been into TJ from high school, and never did anticipate TJ would ever care for her that way.

This book was okay, though not great. There was lots of angst and under-the-surface anger and resentment in both main characters. The author did a good job of bringing that out, which I do not think she really indented to do. I am sure she intended Jen to come across as strong and feisty. Also, I am not sure the romance was done quite as well, as it left me a bit flat. In fact, I thought the romance kind of came up rather quickly, with little build-up or anticipation. I have not read the other book in the series, but that was not a problem, as this was a good stand-alone book. This is a good book for someone looking for a quick romance or who has read and enjoyed the author’s other works. I received this from NetGalley to read and review.

TJ has had a crush on Jen since high school & vice versa. However they come from very different backgrounds & a relationship seemed out of the question.

Fast forward to the present & Jen is now working for TJ & they are both still pining for each other. A series of events throw them together & suddenly they start to realise they may have wasted a lot of years for nothing. But the secrets they are both keeping threaten to destroy everything.

I really enjoyed this book even though I haven't read the first book in the series. I will definitely be looking out for more from this author

This is the second book in a series and my first time reading this author but I don’t feel like I missed anything that might’ve changed my reading experience had I read the first one. We’ll find out thought because after finishing this story, I’m definitely going back to read the first.

I enjoyed this story a lot. Mostly I just really liked TJ. He was a real sweetheart and I loved how he openly loved and cared for Jen, even when she couldn’t, or wouldn’t, see it.

I love a good romance where the hero and heroine have been pining for each other for a while but have both been too stubborn or oblivious to take the plunge, but not so much that they haven’t dated other people or lived in the meantime.

Jen and TJ’s relationship is plagued with communication problems. Not miscommunication but rather a lack of communication at all. I found this aspect of the story very realistic and wanted to see how they navigated their way through it. I think they both handled it in a mature, calm way which would seem ideal, however, I was hoping for a little more emotion from them both. Go figure that I would actually be hoping for a little more drama before their story wrapped up.

Overall this was a really enjoyable story and I liked the author’s writing and character building. I will definitely be reading more from her in the future.

3.5 stars

Maybe This Time by Nicole McLaughlin is a well written and enjoyable read.
I found the storyline held my attention all throughout the book and while it took a little time for me to warm to Jen I did enjoy watching her and TJ come together.
This was one of those reads that will frustrate you at times but if you stick it out you will feel happy to have read it.
Overall a heartwarming read and a good addition to the Whiskey and Weddings Series.

*A big thank you to the publisher via Netgalley for the advance copy.*

The blurb for this story had me suitably intrigued and I really looked forward to reading it. Unfortunately, I really couldn't connect with the 'heroine'. Yes, she's had lots of problems, knock backs and bad luck but she somehow came over as someone who thought life owed her for all of this, so she needed to do little to help herself. I much prefer the people who strive to overcome their past, without being negative about everyone and everything else. I've read other books by this author and enjoyed them. I'll still give her works another chance but definitely hope they are more positive than this one!

I throughly enjoyed Maybe This Time. It is such a good book. Loved the plot Nd characters. The author is new to me and I enjoyed her writing. I recommend to readers who enjoy a good romance.

Things have been going down for Jen and shes doing the best that she can with the circumstance that shes been dealt. Even with all her problem and her mother going through trial cancer treatment she refuses to let it get her down and will try do do what ever she can. The one thing that remained really good for her is working at The Stag even if she has to deal with TJ Laughlin who seems to have everything just figured out. Meanwhile TJ has had a thing for Jen for so long and has been watching Jen struggle she refuse let him help her out.

I can honestly say that I really enjoyed this book. There was romance and plenty of drama. I loved that Jen was such a strong character and she really tried doing what she can and even continued to be nice to her mother even if she was a crappy one. I loved seeing how protective TJ was and seeing him try to help out when he could and how he was able to be there and lift Jens spirits when things were looking tough. Overall this was a pretty good book I really enjoyed it.