4 1/2 Stars!

Avery is an engineer and works in a man's world, trying to be one of the boys so she can make partner. Her best friend Kat drags her to New Orleans to get her away from her life for a week. The first night she's there she meets Declan, a brooding rock god with a hard body full of tattoos and a velvet voice that melts her heart. The sparks between them are undeniable, so they agree to have a fling while she's on vacation because he doesn't do relationships ... ever.

I couldn't help but fall in love with Declan ... who wouldn't! He was just so enchanted with Avery that he didn't even realize that he was falling for her ... hard! And I loved the way Avery just gave it back to Declan or anyone who made her mad. But I did have a hard time with some of the phrasing that the author used in describing things and the fact that everything (in the beginning) was about Avery's weight. Also the cover doesn't fit with the book ... the guy doesn't have one tattoo! The twists and turns had me turning the pages well into the night, so that I could finish the book. And the side characters were great ... there has to be stories there. Kat and Jamie - you just know it's more than a fling. And Mattie ... his story is screaming to be told.

I received an early copy courtesy of Random House - Loveswept through NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

I’m not sure I’ll be able to actually articulate my feelings on this one, but I will say that two stars might be too high.

I liked the idea of Avery and Declan. They both have some issues and I did like that they found something in the other. There was some great banter and playfulness, but nothing I was blown away by. The other characters had potential, but I wanted more from all of them.

Plot wise, it was a lot of clichés and tropes. For me, there were a lot of odd word choices, repetitive phrases, and cringe-y sex scenes. I will say that the background of New Orleans was like a love letter to the city and it might have been the best part of the story.

Overall, it could have been something I loved. Sadly, I spent a good portion of the time skimming passages and rolling my eyes.

**Huge thanks to Loveswept for providing the arc free of charge**

What happens when a successful woman in a male dominated industry takes some time off to decompress with her bestie in NOLA? Nothing but fun, laughs, steamy sex, and some drama.

From the the get go, Avery and Declan are two sides of the same coin, but they just don't know it yet. The spark and chemistry is immediate, but can they each overcome their own personal doubts and baggage? This is a steamy read with moments of laughter and moments of tears, but it all comes together when this strong woman embraces what and who she really is, and goes after what she wants for her own happy ending.

When Avery Barrows agreed to go to New Orleans with her friend, Kat, she was looking for some fun…and man did she find it! Her sassy mouth and big chest can sure get her into trouble…

Hottie bad-boy Musician Declan McGinn may have been turned on as much by Avery’s mouth as her body…a body that isn’t “model-like”, but has just the right curves for him.

I loved this fun, hot, sexy storyline and the characters were great! Avery, Declan, Katia, Matt, Jamie, all of them added so perfectly to this book! I liked the conflict and the resolution...and overall just really enjoyed this book and would recommend it!

The only thing that I wasn’t completely on board with was the way Avery was such a rude B, and yet Declan kept coming back to her. I don’t think women need to be that way to a guy, and she was over and over…especially the first time they met. Because of that I am giving it 4 stars.

Moonlight & Whiskey was a great read. Avery and Declan annoyed me at times but I did really love them. I thought they had amazing chemistry and scorching sexy scenes! I loved all the secondary characters!

Okay, this book was fun. It was a nice departure from my heavier reading and even some of the more structured Romances that I’ve been loading my time with lately. Moonlight & Whiskey is an indulgence from beginning to end. You suspend your disbelief for a little while and go crazy with the four letter expletives and just enjoy it. Overall I give it 3.5 Stars…

So here’s what I loved about the book:
+ Damn Tricia Lynne can write sexy scenes. Building tension and lust is definitely strong with this one and may the force be with her ever after. A++ for all-o-that!
+ The band wasn’t some huge international success and being called “The Hottest Rock Band in the World”. I loved that they were good but were more about small clubs and intimate settings. It felt so much more interesting and realistic that way and a break with norm.
+ New Orleans was shining! The author’s descriptions were amazing. You were really immersed in the settings, the sights and sounds and smells. Thanks for being realistic with all of that too! It was more of a realistic romanticizing. Fantastic.

And here’s what I didn’t love all that much:
- The fat girl who’s sneered at by every skinny girl EXCEPT her supermodel best friend, who’s magically the only kind super pretty girl in the world… I’m really sick of that setup. There has to be a way to indicate insecurity without dragging every other woman in the book down as well.
- I’m okay with cursing and even some juvenile quipping between friends, but the use of “balls” was way overused. It just felt unimaginative after a while.
- A lot of the book is based around Avery on vacation and letting loose and finding herself, reconciling both sides of her personality… but vacation is living in a bit of a vacuum, it can’t last, it’s idealized. Even making big changes, there’s a medium that needs to be reached. So I wish the book explored that as well, that the ending had a longer resolution. But hey! Sequel opportunity!

The good far outweighed the bad in my opinion, so I am definitely ready for more books exploring theses characters. It definitely set up the opportunity for books about the other characters, fingers crossed. I will definitely be reading more books from Tricia Lynne!

* I recieved a free digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was great. The characters are relatable. The pace of the story was good. Will I reading more books by this author, yes I will. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone.

Avery Barrows is tired of being treated like crap by guys. They cannot accept that she may be a little curvier than most girls and they mostly cannot accept that she is smart and damn good at her job as a mechanical engineer. Needing a break from her real life Avery and her best friend Kat, a retired super model, decide to head to New Orleans for a week of fun.

After checking into their hotel Avery crashes into the best looking guy she has ever seen and lets loose her smart mouth attitude. What she doesn't realize is that this guy, Declan McGinn, is very attracted to her curvy figure and especially her smart mouth. After finally convincing her that he wants to take her to dinner to apologize for running into her, the sparks begin to fly. Things quickly heat up between these two but just as it looks like they will get a perfect happy ending, demons from both of their pasts come haunting back. It will take a huge leap of faith for both Avery and Declan to get to that happy ending, but they do.

I just loved this story. Both of these characters were so fun, as were their friends. Many times I'd find myself just laughing out loud while reading this. This story was also sexy and fun. I was just in New Orleans in October of 2018 so it was fun reliving all the places I had been to. Overall this was a fun, sexy read with great characters and a great first book for a new author. I look forward to reading Kat's story!

While I like a non-standard female role and a bad boy, this one took it to a different level. I can cuss with the best of them and I love some of the new terminology for parts of anatomy, it gave me a chuckle. At times though it was a little much.

I am all for pushing buttons and pushing to face ones fears, these two though seemed at times to do it for sport less than helping each other. The chemistry and passion was not to be missed, and it did burn right off the page. If you love the damaged push pull characters you will love this couple.

Great debut novel. I loved this book and can't wait for more from this author.

This story and these characters grabbed me right from the first page and then I hated to let go when I came to the end of the book. Both Avery and Declan are such strong characters but are working to overcome their own insecurities. You just know that they are meant for each other. You definitely feel their connection. Also great secondary characters who I hope will be getting their own stories told.

First sentence in the book blew me away. Just 5 short words, but sets the story for you perfectly. Loved the book, couldn't read it fast enough. Loved Avery, definitely identified with her - a lot! She had a lot to learn about herself, but once she did, look out Declan! The only thing I wasn't happy about in the story was the somewhat abrupt ending. I was left wanting more, I need to know what Avery does next and what about Kat and Jamie??

This review is based on an ARC from NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher. All opinions are my own.

If this is the author's first romance, and from the checking around I did it seems to be, it is very impressive. In fact, the sassy, bantor, dialogue is funtastict. It is steamy sexy. The main character is an educated woman with contemporary work relatable issues doe some; woman in a man's world. Can't wait for more!

This book got off to a rousing start and maintained that pace throughout the majority of the book. I'll admit that I chuckled out loud on several occasions. There are one or two little editing errors but overall a satisfying read.

Man, these characters were intense, especially at the end. Declan is the hot tattooed singer who literally runs into Avery, a plus sized, engineer who is visiting New Orleans while on vacation with her best friend Kat. I loved the chemistry between all of these characters, especially Declan and Avery. Avery’s sassy, sharped tongued mouth was a huge bonus to this story, loved the fact that she was not the perfect sized woman, and that Declan loved that about her. If anyone has been to NOLA, a lot of the sites that are referenced in the book are very familiar, especially the cemetery, where I have personally been to and seen that exact spot, so it was pretty cool to have that familiarity with the story. The steamy scenes between these two were off the charts hot! Kat and Jamie were a couple that I would love to read about next, and Matthias is going to be another complicated story to read and enjoy. I’ve got to say, there are a lot of very intense scenes that really make you think about the dark side of ones issues in life. It really made you think about what the characters were and had gone through in their pasts, and I really loved that about this story, especially the end, just wow! Very well worth the read, will definitely add this to my paperback library.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC copy of this book

A beautiful book, Moonlight & Whiskey is as much a love story about the city of New Orleans as it is the story of Avery and Declan, two strangers who meet while Avery is vacationing in the city. Tricia Lynne paints a vivid picture for the reader that makes the book very immersive. I loved that the book mostly followed the couple in real time as their relationship grew, showing how much can truly happen in a week. I will admit that it took me a little while to warm up to Avery; her body issues were a pretty major theme throughout the book, but in the first third they were nearly overwhelming. As she started to get over those issues, they took more of a backseat and the book became immensely more enjoyable to me. I didn’t have any trouble warming up to Declan, he was great from the start.

As these two very different people found a connection and unexpected similarities between them, the romance developed naturally. There is a lot to like about Moonlight & Whiskey. I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, and I will definitely check out more of the author’s books in the future.

The synopsis of this one and that cover made me very interested. I requested it months ago and finally got a chance to read it and I was sucked in from the beginning. This was a darker romance than I'm used to reading but I appreciated it. I liked having flawed characters and seeing all the dark and dirty bits of their personalities. Tricia Lynne did an amazing job showing the beauty and darkness and wicked of New Orleans and of a person's soul. She melded the lighter, funnier parts of the story nicely with the darker subjects and insecurities of all the characters involved. Her writing was perfect and lent to this book great. I loved this debut novel by Tricia and I know that I will be reading more by her in the future.

I loved Avery from the very beginning. She had a foul mouth with a quick temper that made that mouth get away from her quickly. She was strong, sexy, sassy, flawed, beautiful, and filled darkness that is explained when reading the book and learning her story. I connected with Avery and understood why she was so defensive before I even knew the details of her backstory. Just hearing her experience with douchebag men made it very clear why she had so many walls put up and did not think she was good enough. I swooned over Declan right away. Give me a man with tattoos and I will take notice. I loved Declan and how deep his character was just like Avery. He had his demons from his past and was flawed, handsome, beautiful, and filled with that same darkness as Avery.

The two of them together was explosive, and so freaking beautiful. Seeing their darkness collide and recceed ever so slowly was amazing to watch. I loved how they opened up to each other and but also tried to keep their walls up to protect themselves. Both of them thought they were not good enough for the other because of their demons not knowing that was why they were perfect for each other. While Avery and Declan were the stars of this novel, the supporting cast held their own too. I loved Matthias more than I thought I would. I want him to get his own story and find his own love. Kat and Jamie were good together too and I liked Shuan and Sadie too. Their group all together melded well together and just worked.

This is one of my top romance reads of this year so far. I did not expect to like it as much as I did but it was an amazing read and I cannot wait to see what Tricia Lynne comes up with next!

A great debut novel by Tricia Lynne. Great characters, some plot issues but a good read.

Avery Barrows and her best friend Kat go on a vacation to New Orleans. As an engineer, Avery has to appear straight-laced and almost non-sexual to compete in the male-centric profession.
Avery has the skills and the experience to be a partner but the boobs which hold her back. So this trip to N.O. is a “let your hair down and go wild” girls vacay. There is an inner Avery who likes to come out now and then who makes up for straight-laced Avery. I didn’t like that this Avery surpassed my usual enjoyable level of snarky heroine and went straight to crude trucker. While our hero liked when feisty Avery came out to play rough, I felt some of it was over the top from feisty to downright bitchy. Playful sniping is enjoyable, but there were a few lines that went overboard and drew blood.

Upon arriving at their hotel, Avery is knocked over by Declan McGinn, a tall, hot tattooed local. Rude Avery makes an appearance but Declan seems to like the fire and he invites her to dinner as an apology. They have a nice dinner and enjoy each others company, but Avery, who is a shapely, plus-sized girl, presumes Declan is just being polite and couldn’t possibly be interested in her. When he tells her that he has to leave because he has a gig, Avery believes she has gotten blown off until she and Kat stumble upon the bar that Declan and his band are playing at.

Once Avery comes to realize that Declan does in fact like her curves, as he said, they embark on lots of hot vacation sex but as the week passes and the time comes to say goodbye, are either of them brave enough to confess their feelings and take a chance?

As a plus-sized heroine, Avery has had the usual baggage of user boyfriends. Some of these men just used Avery to get close to her best friend Kat, who is a former model. I liked how both Declan and Kat worked on boosting Avery’s confidence during the story. Declan had to work hard to make Avery trust that he truly liked her as she was, curves, foul-mouth and all; and Kat as a former model who put on some weight after retiring (like size 6 vs. size 0) works to make Avery understand that she was the “perfect” size but that didn’t make her life perfect. Kat points out to Avery that she has been happier since she stopped being perfect and started enjoying life.

Some spoilers ahead.



Avery’s insecurity over her body was a major blockade to her overall happiness. Dealing with it was a major part of the story. This whole vacation turned from wild weekend into building Avery’s confidence in her figure and accepting herself as she was. We even have one of Declan’s band mates who keeps declaring that he saw Avery first and if he didn’t stop for a shower, she would be with him rather than Declan. So we have two men desperate to put their hands all over Avery’s ample curves. That is why I was disappointed that the author added a conflict of Declan being caught in a compromising position with a skinny fan, and her suddenly believing that Declan couldn’t really like fat Avery. Of course, it wasn’t what it looked like but instead of standing up and confronting them like the newly confident Avery should have, Avery runs away. This is exacerbated by the fact that Avery then puts herself into what looks like a compromising position, now making Declan feel hurt and betrayed. I was a bit angry that Avery didn’t use more of her very impressive brain at this point in the story. The amount of eye-rolling started to hurt. There was enough hurtles to Declan and Avery having a HEA that this felt so trite and simply romance trope B.S.

What started out as fun-vacation sex was building into something more. That is a pretty big hurdle since Declan has a life in New Orleans with his band and the club that he owns. He might have hired a manager for the club, but finding the right magic with another band would not be so easy.
Avery lived in Dallas, and while she didn’t even like her company, she spent a decade gaining the begrudging respect of the partners and was working to gain her own partnership in the firm. Avery’s company had big projects and Avery specialized in sports arenas and those types of large projects. Quitting and uprooting herself to New Orleans to start her own firm or start from the bottom of a new firm, was asking a lot for what might have been a week of hot sex.

Both Avery and Declan had parent issues growing up which screwed with them as adults. Declan’s father drank himself to death after his wife left him, so Declan never wanted to be that attached to a woman. So much so that he announced, was too early in the story, that he didn’t want a relationship. Since Avery wasn’t a new girl in town but a woman on vacation looking for a good time, it seemed a little silly for him to announce at the very beginning that he didn’t do relationships. Avery was just looking to use Declan for hot sex, she wasn’t looking for a ring first. But his declaration stayed in her head while their relationship built. So we have Declan declaring how much he liked Avery, like her curved, like being with her, but she also knew he didn’t do relationships so Avery wasn’t thinking long-term and should I quit my job thoughts, and then Declan is hurt that Avery isn’t thinking about what happens with them after she leaves. Declan also starts to wonder if Avery is too smart for him and we find Declan has some issues of self-worth himself.

For a first publication, I think this was a great story. All the characters here–Declan, Avery, Kat, the band members, and everyone they met in New Orleans–were well presented and even secondary characters were fleshed-out enough to make them feel real. Avery crossed the line a few times from fun and snarky to cruel and bitchy, but not enough to make the reader dislike her. And while Avery and Declan’s declarations of their feelings crossed the line into romance-novel flowery, rather than true life, we can forgive that a bit since Declan was also a song writer.

The romance had a nice build and Avery and Declan had good chemistry. The building of Avery’s self-confidence grew nicely and wasn’t instantaneous. The sex scenes (which were plentiful) where sexy and fun and not awkward or over the top. My only complaint is the ruining of all that great build up with the awkward conflict which screams “publisher guidelines” to me.

I am going to look out for what Tricia Lynne publishes next.

Moonlight and Whiskey has it all. It's a rock star who falls for a girl who doesn't think she is up to his level. She is a big beautiful girl who doesn't see herself as others do. They have a romance but it's rocky. She thinks he cheated, he thinks she cheated. Say roller coaster. But above all of that is a story about two people who love each other and see the best of each other.

So good. Avery and Declan, wow. They both had childhoods that left them scarred. They were able to open up to each other about what happened in their lives. LOVED when Avery figured out how Declan felt about her. I'm hoping the series continues with others in the band.

The book had an inauspicious start, joining the heroine, Avery, as she went for her first Brazilian wax job. And for me it was a harbinger of what was to come. I found the rest of the book equally as crude and distasteful. I simply could not relate to either of the main characters, or any of the secondary characters for that matter. Avery and her best friend, Kay, go on a girls vacation to New Orleans, and while they are there Avery hooks up with a guy she literally runs into at their hotel, Declan. He is somewhat a man of mystery, though we eventually find out that he is lead singer in a local band and quite wealthy from various investments. Avery and Declan decide to embark on an affair during her week-long vacation, though both of them seem drawn to one another in ways they hadn’t expected. Both of them seem to wax poetic at times, which was pretty to read, but just didn’t sound like something a person would say to someone they had just met. I wanted to like this book, I really did. But the way the characters spoke and acted just didn’t appeal to me. It’s a personal thing, and I’m sure there are lots of people who won’t mind it. The writing was good, but I just couldn’t connect with the characters or the situations. The author writes in the acknowledgements, “You take me as I am, foul mouth and all.” She has imbibed her characters with that same foul mouth, and it just isn’t for me.
Note: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.