The Gin Lover’s Guide to Dating
by Nina Kaye
When life gives you lemons… add a splash of gin
Two parts sparkling comedy. One dose of romantic tension. Mix well with a second chance, a splash of mystery, and garnish with a twist of fate…
When Liv’s high-flying career goes off the rails, she finds herself working at a glitzy new gin bar to pay the bills. Yes, she’s got a knack for reading the customers, she’s finally got time to have some fun, and she might have just found some real friends – but it’s just until she gets her life back on track, right?
But between humiliating encounters with her old workmates, one very hot bartender, and a lot of soul searching to do, Liv’s life is even more muddled than a Blackberry Bramble…
Can Liv face up to her past, seize her future, and mix her own recipe for happiness?
A hilarious, feel-good romantic comedy for fans of Mhairi McFarlane and Sophie Ranald
My Rating:
Favorite Quotes:
By the time she’s done, I’ve only heard, and taken in, a fraction of what she’s said. But I have developed, in my head, a full technicolour adaptation of how, given the chance, I would inflict the slowest and most painful death possible upon her. This beast needs to be slain.
‘She is clever. With Aaron she is like butter that would not spread.’ ‘You mean melt.’ … ‘She is a real jacket and hype.’ ‘You mean Jekyll and Hyde!’
I don’t have time for men in my life… My rule is to enjoy looking, but not to touch. They never turn out to be as good as the fantasy anyway.
‘So, you are older. This is good. You can teach him. You can be his puma… You know.’ Reyes searches for the explanation. ‘The older woman who takes a young hombre.’ ‘The word you’re looking for is cougar,’ I say flatly.
‘You are not over this hill.’ Reyes swipes her hand through the air, causing me to instinctively duck. ‘You are only thirty-one. This world is still your oyster sauce.’ ‘Oyster,’ I correct her. ‘It’s just oyster.’
My Review:
This was a slowly developing character-driven novel of women’s fiction with random yet frequent sparkles of amusing levity. I initially struggled with this one as I had difficulty working up much empathy for the main character as Liv came off as snobbish and just far too over-served with her own self-importance. Her goals were serious yet she lived a frivolous and shallow life while contemptuous of anything that appeared beneath her desired standing – Liv was not someone whom I would enjoy sharing my air. But I felt her devastation and inner turmoil and understood her issues once her history was revealed.
The secondary characters were an entertaining and interesting collection of likable personalities and the impetus of most of the humorous content with malaprops from an adorable English as a second language speaker. And the character’s surreptitious blog posts were beyond clever with tasty gin pairings that I was eager to replicate and consume. However, I nearly spluttered my Tom Collins at the idea of Liv waking up and discovering her new blog had amassed over twelve thousand subscribers without effort, that and her expectation to make serious coin from said blog. I laughed and laughed…
I stumbled upon a fun addition to my British Isles word list while enjoying this highly fictional account – with stonker, which is something that is large or impressive. I had a stonker of a bill for bar supplies after reading this thirst-inducing missive.
Nina Kaye is a Romantic Comedy author who writes fast-paced, entertaining reads with a deeper edge.
Nina started writing her first novel when she was seventeen (and locked in her room, supposedly studying for her future). It was a short-lived experience that ended as soon as Nina’s exams did, but the dream of writing never left her.
Nina lives in Edinburgh with her husband and much-adored side-kick, James. In addition to writing, Nina enjoys swimming, gin, and karaoke (preferably all enjoyed together in a sunny, seaside destination).
