Thank you Nicole McLaughlin for the newest story in the Whiskey and Weddings series. I was glad to read about Jake's search for his true love. The friendship between Alex and Jake is fun to read. While they are on the road promoting
the Whiskey they have several adventures as their friendship becomes a romance.

*I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.*

This was a great second chance at love story with a lot of emotions. I loved Alexis and Jake and how Jake was so caring and understanding. I can't wait to read more by this author.

This book pulled me right in. Alexis Parker has had so much tragedy in her young life and yet she remains a strong, loving person trying to take it one day at a time. The struggle she goes through seems so very real. I found her character to be very interesting and I enjoyed watching her grow in the book. The other main character is Jake Cooper. He is forced to reevaluate who he is and he struggles with some self doubt issues. He helps Alex get through a tough year of deployment by being there for Alex through text messages. You will hope their friendship can turn into something stronger as you read the book. I received an advance copy of this book and I willingly chose to write an honest review.

Maybe for You (A Whiskey and Weddings Novel) by Nicole McLaughlin just goes to show what happens on a road trip, will not remain there but will come back on the return trip. Occasionally that is for the best. Fun story about finding a new zest for life and all that it has to offer.

Alexis Parker and Jake Cooperon take a Stag Distillery promotional road trip together. Both have issues, are at a turning point in their lives and have a strong attraction to each other. It was bound to happen. How deep they fall is up for debate. There is drama, humor, and new challenges ahead for these two. Fun, fun, fun.

Nicole McLaughlin has written one of the most emotional romantic stories I've read in a very long time. Alex is a very strong woman, but she's been hit with more grief and loss than most people could handle: the loss of her parents at 13, and most recently the love of her life, her fiancée, Nate, just weeks before their wedding.. She's determined to get through this, so she proceeds with their plans to stay in the military and go to Italy for a year. Jake, her older brother's best friend and business partner, gives her a shoulder to cry on and then messages with her while she's in Italy. She bares her soul and grief to him. He always listens and lets her be wherever she needs to be emotionally. By the time she comes home and leaves the military, he is a trusted confidant and friend. When they start communicating in person, things gradually change between them... The grieving process Alex goes through is so real and palpable and heartbreaking. The steadfast support and understanding that Jake provides is amazing. I had tears in my eyes while trying to read so many times. A wonderful poignant love story that will stay with me for a long time.

I love this author’s books!! And this one might be one of my favorites. I just fell in love with Alexis and Jake! Witnessing her journey of healing and their falling in love on their cross country trip. I love that the author takes us along to be part of the love.
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

Maybe For You by Nicole McLaughlin is a small town romance that started off well, slowed down a bit through the middle, and then little by little recaptured my heart and attention. The two main characters are genuine and honest, so their insecurities, as well as their thoughtfulness is easy to identify with. This is the third book from Ms. McLaughin’s Whiskey and Weddings series, and it can be read as a standalone.

After completing her last deployment in Italy, Alexis Parker is finally home. Since losing her fiance a year ago, she is still having trouble moving on. Luckily, her brother Dean offers her a job at his distillery, which he co-owns with his two best friends. Jake Cooper is in charge of business development, and Alexis joins him on the company's cross country promotional tour. Jake is a playboy, and has no desire to settle down. Spending two-weeks together in a RV brings evolves their meaningful friendship into much more.

This is an engaging and nicely written novel. Alexis and Jake share an amazing bond, and Ms. McLaughlin does a good job of creating sexual tension, longing, and desire. The genuineness and strength of the secondary characters adds an extra believable quality to the story. Overall, this is a solid read.

Complimentary copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.

I loved the relationship between Alex and Jake in this book. Both characters have had a lot of pain and angst in their lives. Alex lost her fiance in the military. Yes, it pretty much rules her life. It appears a lot of readers have problems with that. My husband was friends with a couple he met overseas while stationed in Kosovo. A couple of years after they married he was killed in Extortion 17. He was the helicopter pilot. I can tell you, that pain and agony does totally take over the lives of the one left behind. Seven years later, a big chunk of the wife's life is still dealing with the loss. Therefore, it was no surprise to me than Alex was still a big mess. Her life, love and expectation for the future were blown to bits.
Jake had his own issues and pain. He certainly didn't feel like his partners were ever going to fully accept him as an equal contributing factor in the business. Especially not after one of them called him out for his actions. As he fights his attraction to Alex, he also finds himself drawn to her more. He's been warned off by her brother (one of his partners), but the feelings between them may just be too much to ignore. He's totally in, but she's determined to take a job out of state and keep him at a distance. Is there any way they can have a future?
I think this was my favorite book of the series. The insecurities of Jake really drew me to him and had me pulling for him the whole way. The compassion I felt for Alex made me determined that she find her HEA--with Jake. A very rewarding read!

Third book in the Whiskey and Weddings series, each book can be read as a stand alone, but as the characters are friends and partners of Stag Distillery, they return.
It is interesting to see the development of the characters, in their struggles and searches, and their encounter of love.

Alexis Parker was introduced since the first book when her marriage was planned by her brother, with the help of a friend (and the two ended up married).
To Alexis's misfortune, a few days before the wedding, her fiancé died in an accident (military).
She has lived her mourning for a year and now has decided it is time to return to live.
So her brother offers a marketing job at the distillery.

Alexis agrees to travel with Jake, one of the partners, on a cross-country promotional tour.
It turns out that Jake was always known - and was proud of it - of being a womanizer.
Throughout the trip, Jake and Alexis agree to have a fling.
But returning home, this fling should pretend never to have happened... except that for Jake it was the awakening of something else.

Now, he would have to convince Alexis that he was a new man and that she deserved a new chance to love.

Regenerated womanizer men always give a great plot.
However, my biggest expectation was in relation to Alexis herself.
Although I liked the character from the first book, there were times I could not connect with her, consequently, I felt distant from the romance between her and Jake.
3,5 stars

I received an Advanced Reader Copy from St. Martin's Paperbacks for my unbiased opinion of the book. I loved this instalment of the Whiskey and Wedding series by Nicole McLaughlin. This book is about Dean's little sister Alexis Parker. She is back from her final tour in Italy for the Army and now is looking to soon start a new job for the CIA. She has kept in contact with Jake one of the owners and Dean's best friend and playboy. Alexis is grateful for the all the support he has given her over the past year from losing Nate in a fatal helicopter crash from a training exercise. When Alexis needs a break from her well-meaning and overbearing brother and Jake is getting ready to head for a two-week sales promotional trip after getting a dress down by his other best friend and co-owner TJ. Alexis asks to tag along. While each other has demons, they are trying to overcome and dealing with the pressures of the job the sparks fly!!! I loved this book and the whole series! I hope it continues with Lauren and John. Keep up the great writing Nicole!

This is a voluntary review of an advanced copy.

I have not read the previous books and didn't not feel that I was missing anything so you could read this very easily as a stand alone book.

Wow, it was hard watching Alex struggle with the death of her fiance when the book begins but just before she leaves on her last deployment, she is comforted by Jake. This leads to them spending time texting back and forth during the year she is in Italy.

It is heartwarming to watch them move from friends to lovers then to finally admitting that they love each other.Surprisingly, it is Alex who has the hardest time wanting to be in another relationship and it takes a surprise pregnancy to help her realize that she could have another chance at a family.

I liked that while Alex turned down her job in D.C., then Jake was willing to move with her after the baby is born. There is a great HEA, and a scary rush for the hospital that turns out well.

Lots of Charlotte & Dean and T.J. & Jen so if you read the previous books, you will enjoy having them in the story.

Description

She’s never had a no-strings fling. He’s never had anything else. But maybe this time will be an exception?

After a year of mourning her fiancé, Alexis Parker has worked hard to rediscover what she wants out of life. Fresh out of the military and back stateside, her brother offers her a marketing job at the Stag Distillery. Ready for a new challenge, Alexis agrees to accompany her new co-worker Jake Cooper on a Stag cross-country promotional tour. He may have an infamous playboy reputation, but Alexis is surprised to find out that there is more to him than meets the eye. And she likes what she sees. . .

Jake promised Alexis’s brother that he’d be an absolute gentleman. Of course, that was before he and Alexis hit the road, and they both agree that what Alexis’s big brother doesn’t know won’t hurt him. The plan: to keep their fling confined to the RV, and everything will go back to normal once they head home. Things progress in ways neither of them could have imagined, and Jake realizes that he and Alexis make a perfect mix. Can he convince her that he’s ready to shake things up and give true love a shot in Maybe for You?

My Thoughts:

I read the first two books in this series and although I am basically a historical romance fan I did enjoy the reads. This one however never really held my attention.

It's just another friends to lovers scenario and was a bit dry. It's like warmed over toast. It just gets hard to digest and is not nearly as appealing as the start of this series was.
I did read it but just basically went through the motions as this book never grabbed my complete attention.
The entire series although linked by some of the characters can be read as standalone titles. This one in fact may be more enjoyable if you had not read the first two books.

I gave this book 3.25 of 5.0 stars for storyline and characterization. These are characters we have previously met in the first two books and a stab at giving them their own story

I received this book as a complimentary digital ARC by invitation from the publisher. This in no way affected my opinion of this title. All thoughts expressed are my own.

Love the characters in this story. They play well off each other and make the story line interesting. I liked the company run by three friends. The Stag. Love it! I think there are some lessons learned and some processing of life that made the story one I wanted to keep reading. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did.
I received this book from NetGalley. My opinion is my own.

This was not really for me. I read the previous book in the series and said that I liked the idea and it had the bones of something good, but I didn't like the execution - and this is the same except that I really don't like one of the plot devices. I'm going to put more about that in spoiler tags. But basically this also has a good premise and nice character set up - a woman whose fiance has died looks to help with rebuilding her life with a fling with a commitmentphobe - it just didn't do it for me.


SPOILERS AHEAD
[My problem with this is that a pregnancy is used as the thing that resolves the conflict. Alexis doesn't actually finish working her way through her grief - she accidentally falls pregnant and that fixes stuff. Babies don't solve problems - babies shouldn't solve problems. I was concerned at the start of the book about how this couple were going to get an HEA given that she is definitely moving away for a dream type job and he is very much tied to the town they're in - and the resolution to that depressed me as well. She ends up not taking the dream job (and not just because of the pregnancy) but still moving away to somewhere different albeit with the hero in tow because he can "work remotely" to be closer to her ex-fiancee's family. For me a romance like this needs to have a resolution where I'm confident that the characters are in a better happier place individually and together than they were at the start and I'm not sure this does that. Also the hero reads the heroine's journal at one point - only briefly - and that is such a violation of privacy that it made me like him less - especially as he was never found out so didn't bear any consequences from it.

Maybe For You by Nicole McLaughlin
Whiskey and Weddings #3

Alexis “Alex” Parker had her future in front of her. She and Nate would spend their last year in the military in Italy as a married couple but…that did not happen. Instead, before the wedding took place Nate died and Alex headed off to Italy alone. During that year while she was in Italy she messaged time and again with her brother’s friend Jake. Jake listened and was there for her and the two became friends. Sure, Jake is known as a playboy who will never settle down but on the other hand Alex is not sure she ever wants to put her heart on the line again either.

When Alex comes home she is met by Jake at the airport, he takes her to see her brother and that is that…right? Well, Alex is a bit bored with time on her hands till her new job begins in a few months so she asks to go on tour with Jake…a tour that will promote the whiskey Stag distillery produces. Many venues will be visited, many people will be met and much time on the road will be spent…time that sees Alexis and Jake talking and sharing and caring in new ways. But, as Alex is leaving and Jake is a playboy what happens on the road stays a secret of the road…right? Well, perhaps not. No matter how careful one is sometimes secrets are exposed in a rather surprising way.

This is a friends to lovers genre story with HEA for the couple that left me wondering if the two ever do marry but even if they don’t they end up together and seem to have a good relationship once Alex is willing to open her heart to love again. It felt realistic and possible and true for the most part although I am not sure how close one would be to the family of one’s deceased fiancé in the long run.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4.5 Stars

This was a book I wanted to read after really enjoying the first 2 Whiskey and Wedding books and while this one was good, it didn’t have the oomph of the previous stories for me.
Alex and Jake are characters that we have met previously, but the author does a good job of capturing their back story here so the reader doesn’t feel lost.
I loved that this was a friends to lovers story and the slow build up, but my struggle was with how Alex was portrayed after she and Jake became involved.
I felt like she went from a woman regaining her footing after tragedy to a whiny little girl. I understand that the emotional upheaval is part of her character journey, but it really sent mixed messages for me and made it hard to embrace her as fully as I would have liked.
There is also a moment at the end of the book that I feel exploited Alex’s phobias to add tension that wasn’t really needed.
This was a decent conclusion to the series. It is a stand-alone work, but the backstory and involved secondary cast make reading the books in order worth the effort.

Another great story in the Whiskey and Weddings series. It is Jake's turn to find his true love. Alex is getting over the loss of the love of her life. It has been over a year since Nate has died and now Alex is coming home. During that year she was gone she because BFF with Jake through messenger. When she returns they pick up as BFF though just not talking as much. Jake needs to go on the road and promote the Whiskey so Alex decides to come along for the ride. During all this time she is very much still heartbroken with losing Nate. As these things go they start to develop feelings for each other in a romantic way. Though Alex is majorly conflicted with this and not wanting to be with anyone else but Nate. At one point I really want to tell Alex to get over it but then I was like who knows how I would be if I lost the love of my life. You will root for Jake in this book and man does he have the patience of a saint. I won't say anymore as I don't want to spoil anything that happens near the end.


*I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.*

Boy, the name of this book is very apropos. I have not read the two previous books of this series so I can say with certainty that this is a standalone, but there was enough info given, that I felt that i could grasp the previous books and how they related to this one. Loved Jake as a reformed womanizer, and actually liked him much better than Alex. I liked and understood her through the first half of this book, but frankly 3/4 of the way through I just wanted her to get out of her head. She took forever to get with the program which I thought was ridiculous. This was a fun read, it was very enjoyable, and other than Alex being awfully slow to get it together, I can recommend this book.

Alexis is slowly recovering from the death of her fiancé. She has recently left the military and is planning on a new job with the CIA. Jake has been there for her during this tragic time. Their friendship has thrived but can it survive through a relationship.

I love that Alexis and Jake are friends first. She relies on his strength and their relationship just grows from there, even though Alexis is not sure she can love again. It terrifies her! But, Jake is there to help her find her way. I adore Jake’s strength. He makes Alexis feel safe and protected. And when they finally get together….the pages SIZZLE!

I found myself smiling through many parts of this story. I love Jake’s kindness and thoughtfulness. You can certainly tell he loves her. It just oozes off the pages. Alexis is smart, but she tends not to see what is right before her eyes. So, she can be a little frustrating in places. Considering she just lost her fiancé, this is warranted.

This is a sweet, kind love story. It hits you in all the right places!

I received this novel from Netgalley for a honest review.

This series keeps getting better. Alex lost her fiance shortly before their wedding. She goes away on a mission, while texting with Jake, her brother's business partner. A year later, she comes home and plans on taking a job, but sometimes life changes and throws a curveball. Jake had felt uneasy with his life for awhile, he doesn't think his business partners take him seriously and feels out of place now that his friends have significant others.
Needing something to do, Alex offers to go on the road with Jake. When they can't fight the attraction any longer, sparks ignite. The only problem: she plans on leaving town soon and neither one wants a relationship. Our don't they?
Just when Alex starts thinking that things are going to be okay, life knocks her down again. Will Jake help her through her troubled times or will he walk away? When life throws him a curveball will he stand up at fall down? Huts support of Alex and how understanding he was was remarkable. I love this series and hope there is more.