Moonlight and Whiskey blends a contemporary romance with body positivity and self-acceptance themes. While the premise is promising, the execution falls short, marred by a predictable plot.
Despite her confidence, Avery grapples with societal pressures to conform to unrealistic beauty standards. Her journey to self-love and acceptance is a commendable goal, but the narrative often veers into the realm of the mundane, with overly familiar plot devices and character tropes.
The romance between Avery and Declan, the brooding rockstar, lacks the depth and emotional connection necessary to resonate. The physical attraction is palpable, but the emotional intimacy is underdeveloped. The rapid progression of their relationship, from casual encounters to deep love, feels rushed and unconvincing.
While the author attempts to address critical societal issues, the execution often feels heavy-handed. While intended to reflect a particular vernacular, the character narrative ultimately detracts from the narrative and undermines the main characters' connections.
Moreover, the redemption arc of the male protagonist, Declan, is rushed and unconvincing. His transformation from a troubled rockstar to a loving partner seems abrupt and lacks the necessary nuance.
In conclusion, Moonlight and Whiskey is a flawed attempt at a contemporary romance. While the core message of self-love and acceptance is commendable, the execution is marred by a predictable plot, underdeveloped characters, and excessive crassness.

This author was new to me and decided to give this book a try. I received this for a honest review. I had this book for awhile and it took me awhile to read it. It was all right read.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I had thus book in the shelf too long. It was hard to get into at first but I appreciate the story, a little sugar and spice. If you like a hot romance try it out.

I love when authors have the courage to write a female mc who doesn't fit the standard wafer thin mold, having Avery be an mechanical engineer as well, a profession that's mostly male dominate, was awesome! I love that the book takes place for the most part in New Orleans, I've never been there, but I really want to, so I enjoy books that give me a taste of the magic of that city until I can make it there on my own. Avery and Declan have plenty of steam factor, but I'm personally a bit over the "bad boy band member" thing. That being said, I still very much enjoyed this story!

This book stinks of “I’m bot like other girls-ness” but if you have to criticize things “most girls” like to make your protagonist special? Your protagonist just comes across as being a bit of a jerk. There’s nothing wrong with a female character who likes hard rock and straight whiskey but when written as being superior to women who enjoy other things - it’s gross and sexist.

What a fascinating book. I was impressed by the storyline and the characters were all well written and complex. Where there are complex storylines combined with intriguing characters the reader experience is magnified tremendously. To have a book that is well written as well as entertaining is a delight. Reading is about escaping your world and entering another one. The word building was phenomenal in this book. Here I forgot about my own life and was immersed in the world created by the author. I would recommend this book.

Avery is a smart, insecure woman with a foul mouth and sharp tongue. She will lash out and hurt you before you can hurt her. She learned to protect herself the hard way.
Declan is a rocker with abs of steel. He’ll rock your world and leaving you begging for more. His self preservation mechanism honed after watching his parents self destruct.
A chance meeting has both of them fighting like hell to hold on to what they have found and fighting the ghosts of their pasts.

This story was heartbreaking and heartwarming. Everyone has insecurities but we only see them in ourselves. These characters almost lose it all before realizing embracing our true selves is the best gift we can give to ourselves and our partners.

This sat on y bookshelf for way too long for such a fun and hot read. This is the first book I've read from Tricia Lynne and I'm already looking forward to exploring more.

Moonlight & Whiskey is hot, hot, hot with great elements of humor and drama. Each character has some deep demons that need to be exorcised and it makes for some great conflict.

Absolutely loved Avery and Declan's story!!! This story has so much angst and hot, steamy scenes in it. I loved reading about the feelings that both of them try to deny and the hot chemistry that stirs between them; it made this book so full of emotion.

Avery Barrow has always been treated differently because of her weight. She doesn't see herself as the beautiful woman she really is due to years of rejection by men. When she goes to New Orleans for a week vacation with her best friend, Kat, she meets a gorgeous stranger in the hotel lobby. Avery's best defense mechanism is her sharp tongue so she doesn't get hurt. So when Declan McGinn accidentally bumps into her, she immediately rips him a new one. After accepting a date as an apology for tripping her, she thinks he friend-zoned her. But the chemistry between them is off the charts and can't be denied. Until Declan stops cold in the middle of a kiss gone crazy and Avery is humiliated and walks away.

Declan McGinn is the lead singer in a band. He's used to one night stands, but after his kiss with Avery, he puts a stop to it. Because he knows that she has the potential to be more than a one night. He has demons from his youth plaguing him. But he decides later that night to see where this "thing" can go. Now he has to apologize to Avery for hurting her and see if she feels the same way or will she keep hiding behind the walls only he can see past? Can he make her see he's worth the risk.


When outside forces along with, tempers on both sides, combined with Avery's paranoid mind make things harder; where will this couple end up?

A must read!!

Every woman needs to read this and know that it is solely up to us to accept our beauty for what it is and who we are as individuals instead of trying to be the same model as society dictates we should be.

Every bit as steamy as the cover suggests, but also well written and body positive. A real page turner in a world of model thin heroines.

What more could you want besides a steamy story set in New Orleans and a strong woman who is learning to love herself and accept who she is! I loved reading this novel and actually had a lot of fun reading the story and getting to know the characters more.

DNF

I had a hard time getting into this book due to not being able to connect with the characters, so I will not be reviewing this title at the moment. Thank you for the opportunity to read the title early.

You have Avery a thirty-year-old female engineer trying to make partner at her firm. Highly unlikely but she keeps dreaming. Oh yeah, and working her ass off cleanup all the men’s messes on top of doing her own work. In fact, this vacation she is finally going on with her college best friend will be a working one.

Katia, ex-model and now the photographer is not happy she can’t say no or won’t say no as Kat likes to say. Kat is somewhat royalty in New Orleans where they are going on this trip. So, this trip is all on her say. Avery is prepared to be excited. But she knows that even though Kat’s not living the life of a model and she eats and is much happier she still outweighs her in boobs alone.

Both love the other for who they are flaws and all no matter what. Avery just had a hard time being Kat’s DUFF (designated ugly fat friend) all through college. And all though they have code on how to handle the guys now doesn’t hurt any less being the one the guys hit up for info on her. Or asked out to get info or so you would put in a good word for them.

Killing Avery’s spirit worse than her father did. Then add her last ex-and you have a huge disaster for destruction. Who really wants that? So, she is not back on the saddle so to speak. 😉

Then she gets bumped into by Declan and her whole world is turned upside down by this sexy tattooed demigod. And when he can’t seem to take his eyes off her lips her rack even after she gave him a dressing down for not watching where he was going, she knew there was chemistry. Then he asks her out though that’s too fast.

Kat says yes for her though. See how the romance begins and all the humor and heartache in between go. This is intense and fast-paced. Wires get crossed when fear of relationships get talked about.

I give this: 5++++ stars. Provided by net

This is a steamy amazing read!! Avery and Declan are such an amazing couple and really compliment each other. Avery has been looked over alot in her life and Declan is the perfect man for her. This is set in NOLA where Avery and her best friend Kat take a vacation. This is a true love story with great characters.

Hotness! I love every minute of it. When you first read the book you think you have it all figured out but I was wrong. This book is different in a very good way.

Tricia Lynn’s debut novel really impressed me. Moonlight & Whiskey was interesting, I enjoyed the story line and really found myself rooting for both Avery and Declan.

When I read the first chapter, I was crying because I was laughing so hard. I honestly thought that I was going to be reading a hysterical RomCom. Then, things got real when Avery made it to New Orleans and the real story started. And, she got me, I was enthralled. I couldn’t wait to see where everything was leading. We knew about Avery’s insecurity but we needed to learn what drove Declan. As everything unfolded and Avery’s insecurities got the best of her, Declan tried his hardest but couldn’t convince her that he would be there for her despite his past.

I was heartbroken for both of them because I understood. How? Tricia Lynn made me understand. Her characters were well defined and the feelings that she wrote were real. You could tell that this story came from her heart. I was impressed with how the story was told and the way she mixed humor with the more serious aspects of what they were both dealing with. She also wrote some amazing minor characters too that brought the story together. From Declan’s band brothers to Avery’s best friend Kat, I was either laughing or cringing. And, the ending. Yea, just wow.

So, welcome to the publishing world Tricia Lynn. I am really looking forward to more from you.

Fast paced, great one liners, funny and endearing characters. I really enjoyed this one! This was the first I’ve read from Tricia Lynne but it won’t be the last.

I was intrigued by this book because I am always drawn to books with themes about overweight and body acceptance as these are issues I am intimately familiar with. So I wasn't quite prepared for how raw this book would be. What do I mean by raw? This story is told from the perspective of the overweight heroine in the first person. The guts she lacks when dealing with members of the opposite sex—and her entire experience of men shows them to be at times cruel and unkind because of her size—is not lacking in her forthright assessments and actions and crude language. I had signed up for this book at a review site that doesn't give previews, so I was flying blind choosing it based on the blurb alone. Frankly, I am somewhat appalled at the level of swearing, crude language, and just plain icky thoughts and actions that this book is full of. I had a hard time getting through it, and I actually found myself wondering if young women these days actually talk to each other like this and think this way. I, for one, hope they do not. While I was sympathetic to the heroine’s weight issue and problems with men because of it, I just couldn't see her as a completely sympathetic character; she was just too brassy and crude, and I thought her mind and mouth were always in the gutter. Also, I didn't like reading some details of her experiences. I know in writing there is a big push to show, rather than tell, but I don't really want to see the heroine’s anus hair mentioned in a book I'm reading just for an escape or guilty pleasure! Yes, this does happen!

I felt bored with this book. It was good, but it wasn't great! Maybe it's that romance is typically all that I read and I need to find a new genre for a bit before I read more romance, but to me, there wasn't anything spectacular in this book. Nothing made this book stand out in front of other romance novels that I read. Full of the same annoying banter that seems to be in all the romance novels out there, I felt there wasn't any originality to this book.