How in the world is this my first Sarah Grunder Ruiz book? I’m kicking myself for letting Love Lists & Fancy Ships and Luck and Last Resorts sit so patiently on my shelves when I have been clearly missing out on some excellent writing and storytelling. I will be righting this wrong very, very soon.

Raine has been on the road, running from her past and toward her dream of being a musician all over the world. She gets stuck though when her equipment is stolen and she’s running out of time and money. When she walks into The Local and meets Jack, a swoony but closed off Irish hunk, they hit it off with a conversation about her travels and ways she would improve the bar. Jack offers Raine a job on the spot, which is completely out of character for this cat daddy living with OCD. They have 3 months together to reimagine and refresh The Local, just long enough for Raine to save money to get back on the road.

The ADHD (Raine/Jack) and OCD (Jack) representation in this book felt very authentic and specific to these characters, not stereotypical in any way. I want to bundle both of them up and keep them in my pocket forever. My heart strings were pulled tightly and I will not soon forget this story. Last Call at the Local is wistful, lyrical, and poetic. If you are a fan of writing similar to Emily Henry, Chloe Liese and Abby Jimenez, set in a charming small Irish town pub, I highly recommend it.

Thank you Netgalley and Berkeley for providing ARCs to the #JoyfulChaosBookClub.

Last Call at the Local was a great book about love and adventure. I really loved this story and the uniqueness of their situation! 4/5 stars!!

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley for the eARC of Last Call at the Local in exchange for my honest review..

I loved this one a lot! I thought it was really well written and the romance was so heartwarming and believable. I feel like the author took so much time and care with both characters that I really was able to see their relationship grow and bring out the best in each other. It is cozy and sweet while still offering some spice.

I didn’t realize this was part of a series, but I didn’t feel lost by the connection. I think it would be so much fun for people who have read the other books, but if you haven’t you won’t feel like you are behind or missing out from what I understand!

I think this book will resonate with readers as it not only has a tender romance but it also has characters with mental health issues that are dealt with in such a positive manner. I definitely recommend this one!!

“Make art that is useless and silly and important. You deserve every good thing, even when you’re having dark thoughts. You deserve to be happy, even when you aren’t well.”


Last Call at the Local is great example of mental health representation in romance. Racine, a traveling musician with ADHD, and Jack, an Irish pub-owner with ADHD and OCD, are headed in completely different directions. However, when Raine becomes stranded in Jack’s Irish town, and accepts a temporary position at his pub, a deeply meaningful relationship begins to grow. I didn’t go into this book expecting to cry, but here we are!!! I’m looking forward to whatever is next from this author.

Thank you to the publisher for an early copy. All thoughts are my own.

I loved the slower pacing of Raine and Jack’s romance. They both have a lot of baggage and I appreciate how open they were with each other. They were supportive couple goals!

I really appreciated the OCD and ADHD rep. It felt authentic and not stereotyped, and it made me love Jack and Raine even more since they felt like true three dimensional people.

I love a cat dad, so the scenes with Sebastian were so fun! The side characters were really lovely, and I definitely want to go back and read the first two books in this series!

🍺 Last Call at the Local 🍺

"You deserve to be happy. Not later, but right now. You deserve as much happiness as you can get."

Oh this book was an absolute delight! On an adventure busking her way as a street musician in Ireland, Raine has her instruments and livelihood stolen. On a chance encounter with Jack, The Local pub owner, she enters a temporary working arrangement to help breathe life into the pub until she gets back on her feet. The undeniable attraction between Raine and Jack is not a part of the deal. As they work closely together, they learns in the ins and outs of supporting one another - Jack with his intrusive thoughts from OCD and Raine with her ADHD.

I cannot say enough about how wonderful the mental health representation is in this book. Seeing Raine and Jack work with their realities instead of against. How the show up for each other as needed. How the rest of the cast of characters love and support them both as they are. An absolute delight. The chemistry between them is also so heartwarming.

I highly recommend this one if you are looking for:
🍺 An Irish pub adventure
🍺 Coworkers to lovers
🍺 Mental health representation
🍺 A whirlwind travel romance
🍺 A 5 star cat named Sebastian

Thank you to Berkley and Netgalley for this ARC! My opinions are my own. Last Call at the Local is on shelves January 2, 2o24!

Wow! I absolutely loved this book. This was a fun and sweet romance. The mental health rep of OCD, ADHD and intrusive thoughts was handled sensitively. I loved the setting of an Irish pub, the banter, the chemistry and the cat! Thank you Berkley and Netgalley for my copy.

This is an entertaining contemporary romance and a fun and heartwarming addition to the Love, Lists, & Fancy Ships series. I loved the first two books in the series and was super excited to read this one (even more so when I realized we’d see some beloved characters again!)

Raine and Jack’s friends-to-lovers romance has so much chemistry, and I love their flirty banter. They are so easy to root for, especially as you learn more about them and their pasts. They have both been through a lot, which makes their unconditional support and acceptance of each other that much more special. Raine has never felt like she fit in with her disappointed family, but the wonderful found family she gains at the bar shows her nothing but support.

The mental health and neurodiversity rep in the book is also fantastic. Raine has ADHD, and Jack has OCD, and both have relatable stories and struggles. As much as this is their love story, it’s also about Raine and Jack’s personal journeys, which they go on individually but with each other’s whole-hearted support.

The secondary characters are great too, and I was so excited that Ollie and Nina were in the story. It’s been around five years since the end of their book, so to see what has happened with them and how their lives have progressed since we last saw them is wonderful. It’s always fun to catch up with favorite characters, and their roles in this story are great. There’s also a feline friend that kind of stole the show for me. Any time a dog or cat is part of the story, I instantly fall in love with them, which totally happened with the rambunctious cat Sebastian. Love him!

Overall, I thought this was a sweet, slow-building romance with a little bit of spice and a whole lot of heart. The characters are complex and nuanced, the exploration of neurodiversity is really well done, and the found family is fantastic. Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Books for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

Living with ADHD is American singer-songwriter Raine's shameful stumbling block, having hurled herself from medical school and into being a busker across Europe-- where she gets stuck in Cobh, Ireland, after all her gear is stolen. Her enthusiasm and ideas catches pub-owner Jack's attention. Jack's personal weight is OCD, and together, Raine and Jack find a balance to a sparks-flying relationship. Careful and compassionate representation of these two neurodivergencies and the conscious way in which Raine and Jack navigate their relationship make for a satisfying, low-stakes story.

Travel to: Cobh, Ireland

Every time I pick up one of Sarah Grunder Ruiz's books, I think I won't possibly like it as much as her previous book. And every time, I am pleasantly surprised. She is officially an auto-buy author for me.

Raine is traveling throughout Europe as a busker. When her guitar is stolen, she finds herself stuck in Cobh with no plan and no means of supporting herself. Fortunately, she winds up in The Local pub, owned by Ollie from Luck and Last Resorts and his brother, Jack. After a conversation that puts the cute in meet-cute, Jack ends up offering Raine a job to bring some life to the sleepy pub.

Oh my gosh, there is so much to love about this story. Raine and Jack must both be protected at all costs, and I wanted to just bundle them both up in a weighted blanket and make everything be okay for them. Raine has ADHD and Jack has pretty severe OCD. I don't mean the kind of OCD where you have to have everything on your desk lined up just so. I mean the kind of OCD where you can't have any knives in the house because of the intrusive thoughts telling you that you might stab your entire family. Despite these dark thoughts, Jack gets an A+ in flirty banter (as does Raine).

Watching Raine and Jack navigating their blossoming romance while trying to understand one another's mental health was just beautiful. Raine's ADHD is so perfectly represented (SGR has ADHD) and I felt so... I don't know... validated? from seeing myself in that character and seeing how she learns to accept her quirks (like always being late and always losing a sock). I related so much to her, it felt visceral.

And I'm not a cat person, but I could be a cat person for Princess Ugly aka Floofy Boy aka Sebastian.

And be warned, this book will make you want bagels.

I love this series! The first two books were so good and I loved the yacht life. This was set in Ireland. We have two returning characters Oliver and Nina and this story is about Ollie's brother.

The banter and hilarious conversation was perfect. I repeated so many of them to my husband who also laughed with me.

Jack and Ollie have a bar and through the help of his cat Jack meets Raine. She's a traveling musician who has just hit some hard times.

Both have mental health disorders and understand each other more than they would otherwise.

Loved the conversation over text while they were apart which just kept them together. Not all relationships are “normal” some are just right for that couple. Some jobs take one away for a period of time but it works for them.
Love different types of representations of love that work and neurodivergent is a plus.

❄️OCD and ADHD rep

Sarah Grunder Ruiz does it again! Last Call at the Local was absolute perfection!

I was really looking forward to this book because I love anything set in Europe, and this did not disappoint.

It was so great to get a glimpse of Ollie and Nina’s life in Ireland! I also loved all of the side characters.

Jack and Raine were *chef’s kiss* (and Sebastian, obviously). The chemistry between Jack and Raine was palpable and gave me little heart pangs 🥹

I think Sarah did a great job of depicting ADHD and OCD. As someone with OCD, it all just felt very real and close to home. It really made me connect with Jack. That being said, Sarah always does such a good job of making the reader feel like they know the characters in her books.

Last Call at the Local by Sarah Grunder Ruiz gave us another powerful novel. This dual POV for Raine and Jack provided many examples of mental health issues and a better understanding for the reader to empathize. I learned so much from these character's experiences. Read this book and the whole series! I loved all the appearances of Nina and Ollie in this book. I listened to the audiobook from PRHA. Both narrators did a great job.

Thank you, Berkley and PRHA for my complimentary copies for my honest review.

Last Call at the Local was one of my favorite listens/reads of December, 2023.

Raine Hart realized a few years ago that music, particularly song writing, is her passion. She hasn't looked back or cared about her family's expectations of her. Ending up in an Irish pub with a dead phone and lost items, she's got no choice but to return back to Boston.

Jack Dunne is a local past tattoo artist and bar owner of the Local. He's taken care of the bar since his father passed away and needs the pub to spark life. His solution? Hire and bring in Raine Hart to bring her talent and vision in. Everything will be fantastic.

Raine and Jack have both told one another they are strictly friendly coworkers and cannot be anything more. They are sharing ownership (ish) of a cat and managing ADHD/OCD. Nothing more should/can happen. Raine's leaving in a few months and Jack needs to stay put. Yet, they cannot help the simmering tension between them and the close distance.

I had a blast tandem listening/reading Last Call at the Local. As a reader with ADHD, I immediately was highlighting passages and nodding my head "YES" with Sarah's writing. I found myself relating a lot to Raine and learning more about OCD through Jack. These two characters have challenges, yes, but she writes them in a way that make you feel for them and does not shy away from painting a realistic picture. I enjoyed the setting (Irish pub) and could feel myself sitting down for a pint with the crew. While this is apart of a series, you do not necessarily have to read the others in order to understand the plot or other characters. If given the opportunity, listen to this one narrated by Gary Furlong and Karissa Vacker. Both do a FANTASTIC Irish accent and make you feel like you are right there in the moment and along for each conversation.

Thank you Berkley Romance and PRH audio for this earc/alc in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

We loved everything about this book! All of our expectations were met while reading. Our two main characters were so sweet and had perfect chemistry together. We loved the Ireland setting of this story and all the mental health representation. The romance between them really blossomed as the story progresses. We also really enjoyed how they each worked on themselves as individuals and their careers without it being unbelievable! Very well done and excited to read many more from this author in the future!

A fun book perfect for fans of slow burn romances and Ireland!

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It was heartfelt, romantic and charming. I really enjoyed the characters. They felt very real. The romance is sweet and felt realistic.

I loved the setting here. As someone who loves to travel, it was great to be able to visit Ireland (Eve if it’s through a book). I liked the descriptions.

A good book!

"Last Call at the Local" is my first by Sarah Grunder Ruiz, but it most definitely will not be my last. This book had me grinning from ear to ear at the beginning, and clutching my chest at the end. Grunder Ruiz made me feel ALLLLL of the feelings, and I love and hate that she did.

Raine and Jack are exceptional characters. Not knowing anyone with severe ADHD or OCD in my personal life, I wasn't sure what to expect when I started reading this novel. While I know these characters are fictional, they're representative of real humans with real, deep, authentic emotions, and by the end of the story my sympathy and empathy were pouring out of me. Grunder Ruiz wrote what I believe to be an emotional, heartwarming story about people who make accommodations for themselves and their needs and that's a beautiful thing. I think we should all aspire to being more accommodating, to ourselves and to others. The only criticism that I would maybe mention is that Jack's intrusive thoughts could be disturbing for some who weren't expecting them.

I also wish there was more of a description of the tattoo that Raine gets at the end of the novel because I would have loved to visualize it from her perspective. She sees things so differently than others, and I would have liked to lean into that a little more.

I hope whoever reads this book falls a little bit in love with music, with wanderlust, with Ireland, with chaotically beautiful musicians, and emotional boys who fall first.

Read if you like:
🇮🇪 Books Set in Ireland
🍻 Pub Settings
🎶 Buskers
🥃 Workplace Romances
🔀 Opposites Attract
🧠 FMC with ADHD
🧠 MMC with OCD

This book! I absolutely adore Sarah’s writing and will continue to read whatever she writes as her writing and settings always captivate me! Also, any book set in Ireland is basically an auto-read for me so this one was set to be a winner from the start!

I absolutely adored the messy vibes of the book with Raine struggling with self-confidence issues as she runs from her problems and fears with a nomadic life busking in new cities after dropping out of medical school and running as fast as she could away from her home in America until her guitar is stolen forcing her to stay in one place for a bit and to figure out another way to make money to buy new equipment or admit defeat and go home.

When Jack offers her a job and a free place to stay their immediate connection and banter gave me all the warm and fuzzies! I loved that with this unconventional workplace romance that it was a slow burn- especially with these two characters with significant disabilities as we explore the impact of Raine’s ADHD and Jack’s OCD and intrusive thoughts that come with it.

I felt like the disability rep and messy characters were done so well and love how by the end, they weren’t changing for love, but embracing love in a way that works for them.

All in all, this was another well done romance by Sarah Grunder Ruiz and I truly can’t wait to read whatever she writes next (hopefully Claire’s story!) and thank you to Berkley Romance for my ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This book is absolutely phenomenal.

Sarah's ability to do the research and capture the truth behind mental health in a way most aren't ready to discuss even in 2023 leaves me speechless.

I have been waiting for this book for awhile, but I know Sarah was waiting to give it to us until she was sure it was right — and after reading it, I'm truly glad she took the time she needed for it.

This book stars Raine, a nomadic busker who enjoys living life to the fullest, is unable to sit still due to her ADHD and preference for traveling, and wishes more people understood mental health and stopped trying to put her and her unique process in a box. And then there's Jack, who we briefly meet in Luck & Last Resorts as Ollie's younger brother. Jack, who struggles with both ADHD and a severe case of OCD, feels as though everything he does, says, and thinks is wrong and that no one could truly love him or understand him because of it.

Sarah did a phenomenal job of incorporating these mental health conditions into her book without them taking over. They added to the story the same way they add to the characters, because people (and characters) are not "less than" for the conditions they may have.

I love how Sarah depicted these characters, how she showed the depths and difficult truths of these conditions, and how she gave her characters a chance to live WITH these conditions rather than in spite of them. We should all learn to embrace our imperfections from Sarah's books. I know it's something I'll be working on.

Tropes:
- mental health rep
- Ireland setting
- musician
- artist MMC
- forced proximity
- friends to lovers
- boss/employee
- found family

🍻🎶🍻
Book Review
4🌟🌟🌟🌟
📚94/100
📖Last Call at the Local
💚Genre: Romance
✍️Sarah Grunder Ruiz
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📝Synopsis 📝
Ms. Raine Hart, a beautiful red headed busker yet a hot mess with ADHD lands at a pub one night after getting mugged. Little does she know that she’s about to get a like changing job offer by Jack the Irish hottie with OCD.
🍀🇮🇪🍀🇮🇪🍀🇮🇪🍀🇮🇪🍀

💭My Thoughts 💭
I couldn’t put this one down for the life of me!!! The writing still is amazing and Raine, Jack, and Sebastian had me head over heels. As a person who has both ADHD & OCD it’s so heartwarming to read a book with characters that I can relate to. Jack’s OCD is very different though, but I just loved how I can relate, learn from, and empathize with them both. But Raine, omg she’s my girl 😆 She’s a hot mess and so am I, so I was able to understand her thoughts and decisions so much.
This book pulled every string of my heart and mended them back beautifully at the end. Their relationship and chemistry was just perfect, and I just couldn’t stop gushing on how they complemented each other. All the characters well written and the story flowed so beautifully.
Read if you’d enjoy a raw and honest slow burn, with instalove, and forced proximity at the work place.
✨I would have loved to have read more at the end or epilogue about Clara, Ro, and the others.

✨Thank you @netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

📌Publication Date:
January 02, 2024
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