3.75⭐
I enjoyed Straight, No Chaser as it was sweet, easy to read, had little in the way of angst. As well as being enagaging.
Plus, the romance element drew me in and the two main characters Hailey and Colin were both likable. And I enjoyed the relationship that developed between them. Which had a nice love/hate vibe to it. However, I did find Colins attitude towards Hailey a little irritating at times. And if I'm honest I much preferred the Colin in Ian's story than I did his own.
But I did think it was a good read, and it certainly held my interest. Not to mention there are many likable secondary characters, including Colin's older brother Alec and sister Kenzie.
And I would happily recommend this story to others. Especially to anyone who enjoyed Ian and Sarah's story One More Round.

This is the second story of the McLaughlin siblings, transplants from Scotland and all very protective of each other. Though the book is considered a stand alone, the reader would benefit from reading book one as this one is a follow up to it.
The story centers around Colin McLaughlin, a deputy, and Hailey, a nurse, and the girl that caused a great deal of heartache to sibling Ian and his HS girlfriend, Sarah , ten years before. Though Hailey apologized in book one, there is still a lot of resentment held by Colin.
As the story progresses , we are told why the young Hailey did what she did, and feelings are revealed.
The story is filled with heartbreak, emotional revelations, and family dynamics. A reminder that life is not black and white , but rather different shades of gray, that relationships require honestly and that love can overcome many obstacles.
Though this story is not my favorite to date of the series, it’s still one worthy of your time.
I am looking forward to the next book, Kenzie’s story.
I was gifted this copy by Netgalley. The opinions expressed are solely my own.

So. Freaking. Awesome! I am loving this series with the McLaughlin family. This is Hailey and Colin's story and it's one you don't want to miss.

Years ago Colin McLaughlin may have had a crush on Hailey Alexander. That was before she betrayed his family and almost ruined his brother's life. The rest of his family may have accepted her late explanation and apology but Colin isn't so quick to forgive. So what if there is an intense attraction between himself and Hailey. He's strong enough to resist it. Isn't he???

I highly recommend this one and I can't wait for the next book.

3.5*

Hailey is a nurse with a dark past. Due to some mistakes she had made, she has been discriminated from the McLaughlin family. She ends up going to the bar of the McLaughlin family and all of those past feelings are stirred up.
Colin never wanted to see Hailey again. She ruined his brother’s life, his love life at least. Which is why he is so angry when she walks into his family’s bar.
These two end up revisiting these old feelings for each other while the truth comes to light. But to add to the stress, Hailey’s ex-boyfriend, whom she has a restraining order out against, comes to visit Hailey, willing to use her in any way to get to the McLaughlin’s.

I really enjoyed this book. I wish I had read the first book first, though. I can’t say I lost anything by not reading it but there was one relationship I missed out on because of it.

I had an arc of this so I can’t say whether or not these next issues are in the final copy or not.

There were a lot of consistency issues. Like, the use of the wrong names at certain points. But I hope that was fixed in the finished copy.

That being said, I wish the story itself was spaced out differently. To me, there was a hint of a conflict then continuous hints until about 85% then the conflict became a major part. This book ends at like 97%. It had my heart racing and I was freaking out inside but I wish we could have had more of the conflict hitting throughout the story.

Enjoyed it
What I liked:
The writing style
The characters 
Part of a series: The McLaughlin
Standalone 
HEA 

I look forward to reading the other books in this series.

Straight, No Chaser by Shelli Stevens was a hard book to read through. It did not have the best flow through out the book that I like so it took me a while to finish the story. The story is nice, good characters and a nice setting. So if you like the authors writing style it's a good book for you.

I truly enjoyed this book and the whole series is a worth while read. I like how the characters have a deep background that you have to keep reading to find. At first I thought the deputy was a total jerk but the further you read the better he becomes.

This is the first book by this author that I've read and I was pleasantly surprised. This is the second book in this series by this author. This book can be read as a stand alone read. This story will take you on an unexpected route with some tense and gripping scenes. I absolutely loved the characters, I fell in love with them from the first page. This is a fast paced story. I can't wait to read more in this series and by this author in the future.



Highly recommended

I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book

Really enjoyed Colin and Hailey's story (maybe more than Ian and Sarah's! 😃)
The story had me hooked, couldn't wait to find out where things would go for these two some good twists too.
The sexual tension was explosive - they've got good banter and hot chemistry !
An enemies to lovers story!
Hating her for a bad decision she made a long time ago, one she hates herself for but one also made thinking about her family first,
Colin takes every opportunity he gets to make snide remarks and reminders of what she did despite him wanting her!
Even after how he makes her feel when he's been rude she cannot deny she wants him. !
I love how the book finishes with an insight of the next one....
I look forward to The next McLoughlin release who Kenzies story but Alecks even more!

Story didn’t keep my interest, did not finish. Thanks for the opportunity to try this author.

Another enjoyable book with the Scottish brothers. Colin had no big lovies for Hailey because of what happened when they were teenagers. That man held one heck of a grudge for many, many years. Hailey had to do what she had do to survive back in the day and she was beating herself up over it for years too. They had a lot of back and forth and finally they found their way. I’m really enjoying this series so far. The next one is about their sister, Kenzie. That looks like it’s going to be a good one.

Given that the couple meets in a pub, that's the only connection of the title to the story. I find it shallow. And then there is my issue on insta-love. Colin hates Hailey but he quickly beds her. There are too much sex scenes, the story lost its content. Hailey's character is complex and it would've been the center of my review but I lost all interest in the entire book. The irrelevant sex scenes was a turn-off.

There is potential in the story, if only it concentrated with the characters instead of sex. I hate that the story went in an insubstantial direction.

I haven't read the first book in the series but once I stumbled across this second one, I wanted to read it. Since I haven't read the first installment, I might have missed out on some part that connected these two books. But I picked up on the missing elements soon.

Overall, the story was really good. I couldn't really sympathize with Hailey at first when I came to know what she had done but once she opens up about her life to Collin, I could see why she had done what had done. There's attraction between the two but Collin couldn't forgive for what she had done but with time as he gets to know her, he forgives him.

This was a sweet romance. Not sugary sweet but yes, mild. I really liked the bantering between Hailey and Collin. The dialogues were creative and the narration flowed smoothly.

Straight, No Chaser is the second book in The McLaughlins series, and while I did enjoy the story, it didn’t have quite the appeal as book one as I struggled to find any compassion for Hailey though I really did try.

I suppose it was due to Hailey’s apparent lack of genuine regret for her sins of the past, which she only admitted under pressure.

However, that said it was an overall satisfying read and wrapped up some things that were hinted at in book one. Let’s see what Ms Stevens has in store next.

Ahh I loved this story. It was compelling and had a lot of interesting things go on. Hailey and Colin are perfect for each other. Hailey wants to make things right but will Colin allow her to? I thought the writer did a solid job of bringing the story to a close with a HEA.

WOW, this is a new to me author, and I love this book!!! I need to check out the first book in this series, and her other books, because this was great!

The tales of the McLaughlin family continue with Colin McLaughlin and Hailey. It is an engaging story about how long held misperceptions and grudges can influence and restrain a possible relationship. Haley was long ago responsible for the heartbreak and devastation of Colin’s twin, Ian. Colin has no forgiveness for the actions of Haley and it is evident in how he represents himself to her. Haley knows what she did was wrong but Colin has no knowledge of her motives and the desperation she had found herself facing. The question is whether Colin can understand and forgive or will he continue to harbor deep seated resentment for Haley. When faced with the truth, can Colin make an informed decision?

For a story that on its way to a HEA, it took a fantastic and unexpected route through some tense and gripping moments that were expertly weaved into Colin and Hallie's journey. With charismatic characters, a smart and quickly moving dialog, I was hooked from the onset.

I've also read the first book in the series, Ian and Sarah's story, and truly look forward to Kenzie and Aleck stories in books three and four.

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

This is the second book in this series. This is Colin's book with love interest Hailey. Colin was angry at Hailey since she set up Ian years ago, and due to that Ian and Sarah had suffered a lot of heartache and Ian missed years of Emily's upbringing. Hailey claims that she regretted what she did, but supposedly it was the only way for her to keep her brother from going to the foster system. Now the author kind of wanted us to have sympathy for Hailey, now don't get me wrong, her life was not easy, but I am sorry I really didn't see her regretting what she did. It took her eleven years to admit what she did, and she only did it because of Emily. I don't get that, it took you 11 years to own up to what you did? No, the McLaughlin's are way better people than me.. However, I still will read the next book, I want to know what happens to Kenzie.