Maybe This Time by Nicole McLaughlin – a Review
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Description:
Jen Mackenzie has been knocked down more than a few times, but she always gets up and makes sure she has the last word. It’s the reason she now considers herself equal parts self-sufficient and free-spirit. But since losing her job and trying to help her mother beat cancer, real life―and her occasional careless choices―have begun to catch up with her. Her one saving grace: The Stag, a boutique distillery that has become Kansas City’s go-to wedding venue. The only catch: One of the owners, TJ Laughlin, happens to be the one man who somehow manages to make Jen feel inadequate.
TJ has secretly had a thing for Jen since high school. Now, as her new boss, it’s a daily struggle between revealing his feelings and wringing her beautiful neck. Only one thing is for certain: he can’t stand idly by and watch the woman he cares for struggle. She may be convinced that accepting TJ’s help is a weakness. But all he sees in Jen is beauty and strength, inside and out. As things finally heat up between them, can TJ find a way to convince Jen that love is about give and take―and having it all, together?
Review:
Maybe This Time by Nicole McLaughlin is the 2nd book in her wonderful Whiskey and Weddings series. I really enjoyed the first book, and after finishing this one, I loved it equally as well.
Jen Mackenzie, our heroine, is a tough and independent young lady, who barely makes ends meet. She works at the Stag (whiskey distillery) as a bartender, and also fills in to help with bookkeeping and phones. The distillery has plenty of room to rent out space for weddings, etc. Jen lost her fun job as a lead singer in a local theater that closed down. At the Stag, the three young owners like Jen and want her to stay, even when the girl on maternity leave comes back.
TJ Laughlin is one of the owners, and has always had a secret crush in her back in their school days. Jen comes from the wrong side, always poor, and even now she finically has it hard, since she is trying to take care of her mother, who is undergoing chemo for cancer treatments. Mother and daughter give each other a hard time. TJ comes from money, and he doesn’t care where Jen is from. He tries to be nice, but her independence and hiding her own secret feelings for TJ makes her always reply sarcastically. She doesn’t believe that TJ would even look at her, and her behavior with s him is defensive
They both had their own family issues. TJ did not have a good relationship with his father, who was not a nice man. Jen also did not get along with her mother, but now she tries to help, but her mother is hard and giving up on life. Despite their personal issues, they both are hard workers, and respect each other.
What follows is a slow built romance between two people who have known each other all their lives; each with different backgrounds and both unable to see what was right in front of them. I really enjoyed a TJ and Jen finally act on their feelings. TJ was such a sweet & great guy; I loved him from the start. Jen was fun and sassy, but s bit stubborn being unable to believe that TJ would really be interested in her.
Nicole McLaughlin did a beautiful job bringing both of them together; so well done, as I loved every moment. The secondary characters were also great, especially Dean & Charlotte (previous book heroes). Maybe This Time was a fun, sexy, entertaining romance that also had some serious issues with families. Whiskey and Weddings is a enjoyable and fun series that you should be reading. I suggest you start with the first book, Maybe I Do.
Reviewed by Barb
Copy provided by Publisher
