I’m the Dixon who left.
Through the good, bad, and worst imaginable, I stayed gone.
When I return home after a decade, I’m not surprised by the cold reception from my family . . . or my brother’s best friend.
Emberly Olsen.
I spent my childhood tormenting her.
Now these days with her feel like the cruelest sort of unintended revenge.
We’ve changed.
She’s changed.
Pure confidence and sensuality, … confidence and sensuality, but her pouty lips and heavy-lidded eyes scream contempt. And word around town? She’s untouchable.
But after sharing a few drinks, her snide comments turn teasing.
Sneers become smiles.
Huffs change to laughs.
Laughs to moans, sweeter than any sound.
Years of animosity ignite into carnal need and passion.
We can blame it on the whiskey.
I have a feeling we’ll try.
But we aren’t that drunk.
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I am new to this author and this is just the second book I have read by her but wow! Cayson and Emberly will break your heart. Cayson’s childhood wasn’t anything like his brother’s and it nearly destroyed him. Emberly hasn’t given her heart to anyone for 10 years because Cayson took it years ago.
I am falling in love with the Dixon’s and want them to find happiness and their way back to being a family. Loved that we got to really know Cayson. It would be nice to visit Amber and hang out at Brewed. I am jumping right into the next book.
A great addition to this series and it explains a lot more to why the family broke apart before. I also want to kill Sawyer in this one. But I loved our main characters!
Oh my word – my heart went out to Cayson, I loved, loved, loved him. So misunderstood, and so blooming stubborn. Both Cayson and Emberly were ridiculed as children, and both have been hiding their feelings for years. Feelings for each other, hatred against each other, and everything in between. When Cayson returns home after 9 years, all those feelings return, nothing it seems has changed. Or has it? These brothers are so mixed up and bitter about life, but I’ll say one thing, I’m loving watching them get brought to their knees by the unsuspecting women that cross their paths. I got totally lost in this audio. Of course the fact that Jason Clarke and Erin Mallon are narrating adds to the enjoyment. I loved it.
This just might be the very best former childhood bully redeemed story I’ve ever read. It’s not that simple (never is), and that’s exactly why it’s so incredibly well done. It’s high on the angst scale but not excessive. It’s totally justified and I am definitely burning my way through the rest of the series. Two thumbs up!
My poor poor Cayson! My broken man who just needed people to listen! Listen and love him.
Y’all this book was full of emotion and heartbreak.
Cayson comes home after 9 years to a family he doesn’t speak to and a girl who thinks he hates her.
Sooooo many secrets. This family is full of them but I think Cayson hurt the most from them.
This story is about moving on from the past and learning how to move forward from what you thought was the truth.
I really liked Emberly in this story. Getting to see her thoughts and feelings showed why she was Sawyers best friend. I liked that she was able to look past it all and give into her heart.
I like the little pieces of the past we were shown because it made the story more understandable and helped with the connection.
How everything went down with Kip was fantastic and I hope we don’t see him again. Jerk.
“I could fall into you and stay there without a care for the world.”
I wish there was a little more at the end of them because I liked them together but still loved this book and already starting the third. Bring on Hunter!
This is book 2 in the Brewed series and is about Cayson Dixon. The brother who left his family and only talked to Sawyer over the last 10 years.
Now he is back and no one wants him around. His family thinks he abandoned them when their father died and Emberly thinks he was her tormentor throughout high school.
As Cayson tries to explain why he left, his brothers and mother find it hard to believe the things he is saying about their father. He knew it was not going to be easy for them to hear what he went through but he has to tell them. He also has to talk to Emberly if she will listen. He picked on her in school because he was in love with her but thought she was in love with his brother Sawyer.
As Cayson and Emberly talk, they learn things that happened wasn’t their fault. With others causing her problems and his father pushing him, all Cayson could do was leave.
Will his family forgive him in the end? Can Emberly accept that Cayson wasn’t her tormentor and caused her all the pain? Will Cayson and Emberly get their happily ever after?
I am loving this series, although this one was as emotional as the first book, it was a different kind of emotional roller coaster ride. I can not wait for the next brother, to see which one gets his HEA.
**I listened to the audible version of this story and I am loving the narrators, Erin Mallon and Jason Clarke**
This book captivated me right from the start and never let go. A stunning love story that is powerfully raw, incredibly emotional, breathtakingly romantic and beautifully inspiring. Oh, my heart. This romance not only had all the feels; it brought me to my knees. With an incredibly sexy, fiercely protective, very determined hero and a beautiful, strong and resilient heroine. The connection they share is undeniable. I loved their flirty banter, sarcasm and wicked wit. Their attraction is magnetic and chemistry is not only off-the-charts; it is palpable. Their passion is sizzling and explosive. A beautifully written storyline that is a rollercoaster of emotions. I felt everything the characters experienced. I laughed, cried, felt the joy and every ounce of pain. From the heart-stopping and soul-shattering to the swoon-worthy and breathtaking moments, the emotions radiated from the pages. A story delivered with so much heart and soul that that I fell deeper in love with the characters and this story with each turn of the page. An unforgettable journey that left an indelible mark on my heart and soul. I loved every second and didn’t want it to end. A top read of 2020 and all time! This book is one you need to read!
This book! Read it. Can not wait for the next in the series.
Molly McAdams does so well with wrapping you up in her characters and stories. Whiskey is no exception. From Cayson’s relationship with his family and what he went through in the past to Emberly’s struggle with her feelings for Cayson and how to resolve them with everything she knows, Whiskey is an emotional, tear-jerking roller coaster of a story. I highly recommend it.
5 My Heart Still Hurts Stars!!!
This second book in Ms. McAdams Brewed Series has knocked me on my tush!! I knew there was pain when it came to Cayson but I really had no idea what was driving everyone’s demeanor and attitude about this Dixon brother. But OH MY STARS when we find out what’s behind why Cayson Dixon left Amber, TX the tears started, and I’m pretty much still crying!!
This book is a powerful lesson on what love is and what love is not. How a person is loved, truly dictates who they become as they grow up and mature. There are always motives behind how people treat others and as we delve into the story of Cayson and Emberly and their relationship growing up secrets and hurt feelings are put out into the open. What I loved the most is that Emberly, although she’s always loved this boy then man, refused to back off on how hurt she was and what happened when they were younger still radiates around her heart. I could literally feel her pain coming through the pages.
But the person whose pain affected me most is that of Cayson Dixon. When he returns to Amber after being gone for almost ten years, his hesitancy of being back in his hometown was with very good reason. There’s a battle between all four of the Dixon brothers and their mother which has driven each of them in different ways. Cayson is a man that believes in hard work to get what he wants but there’s also a little boy lurking in his heart and as we delve into flashbacks of him as this little boy and as he grows up, I was literally ripped into pieces. There’s so much that is revealed and more importantly the others in his family don’t know about. You’re probably thinking I’m being very vague about everything, and you’re absolutely correct and with good reason.
What this book comes down to for me, is that Ms. McAdams has given us a story that is compelling in the dynamics of the Dixon family, friendships that are rich and complicated and love that is so very much needed to heal some wounds, but they’re not all healed. There’s so much more to this family and how much they need to overcome. I’m 100% confident that Ms. McAdams will give us more of this healing as we delve into Hunter’s book!
So I’m not gonna lie, Molly McAdams is one of those authors that has the ability to slice and dice my emotions with her amazingly poignant and heart wrenching books. My heart doesn’t stand a chance against her and her magical word wizardry. Pieces y’all, I fall to pieces. Then she comes in like a ninja surgeon and puts me back together again.
Every.Single.Dang.Time.
Cayson Dixon, I mean could we possibly have a more sexy name for our hero?!? That’s a rhetorical question BTW. Because, ladies, HOLY HECK!! Everything about this broody, broken man is sexy. He makes my heart melt, he makes my heart flutter, my heart breaks for him. He basically OWNS my heart. Yup, I’m claiming this misunderstood man.
He’s so much more than what people realize and I can wait for you all to read this book and fall in love with the complexity of this character. To understand the years of secrets and lies buried deep that made him the man he became. The man that’s so much more than the reputation that follows him back home after nine years away working.
Emberly Olsen knew Cayson most of her life leading up through her teenage years. He was her best friend Sawyers older brother and was also her biggest crust turned tormentor. The emotional scars she wears even as an adult from his relentless teasing come boiling to the surface when Cayson shows back up in town after nine years away wanting to make amends oh…and he also wants her.
She is one of the only people who know a little bits and pieces about why he may have left town in the first place, but just like him she’s stayed silent for all these years. How will she continue to resist giving her heart the one man who she has always wanted more than anything but now that he’s in front of her she can’t help but remember all that he’s done?
What I loved about this book was that this book had it all. This book was LIFE! It had heat, passion and banter for days. It had super sexy tension, angst, frustration and family issues galore. Holy cow I wanted to chuck my kindle across the room. MORE THAN ONCE!
I love that this book is about forgiveness and healing. It’s about finding support to help you overcome a tragedy from your past and about owning your crap and taking responsibility for the hurts you caused. But most of all it’s about the beauty of inevitable love. Because Love can conquer almost anything.
*I voluntarily reviewed an advanced complimentary copy of this book!
My Cr8zysockbookblock blog wrap up for this book!
– I love Molly McAdams. Her writing is always emotionally gripping and riveting. I know that with any book of hers I read I am going to get hit all up in my feelings. She never fails to deliver such well rounded works of literary art that I know I’m gonna get something that’s full of witty banter, heat, emotions and everything I could possibly want and more. Her books never fail to stay with me long after I finish the last page. I have some (that shall remain nameless) I’m still feeling years later.
-There is nothing hotter than two people that try like hades to resist each other, then finally giving in. Except maybe a big ol pan of biscuits and gravy…Nope Cayson and Emberly are hotter than biscuits and gravy! So this southern girl must be saying that’s really Freakin hawt!!
Cliffhanger Warning-No Cliffhanger! This was super emotional, I cried so many times because I loved these characters and felt right along with them, but I am so happy with how this ended and I am so excited with the set up we get for the next brothers book! #HappyEnding!
If you thought you loved Sawyer, wait until you meet Cayson! I loved this book! You will too if you like small town romances with sexy, manly heroes and strong, feisty heroines. The storyline is so beautifully crafted. So many broken pieces put back together with love and forgiveness. I adored Cayson and Emberly. I really enjoyed their back story and how they fought to move forward and leave the past behind them. I’ve really come to love this family. Each with their own story of heartbreak. These Dixon boys are everything! I can’t wait to read more about Hunter. I really hope his story is next!
Review by Lys
It’s not often that I read a book that is as stunningly beautiful as Whiskey. I was so wrapped up in the story that I could not put this book down until I finished and then I just sat there and thought about what I had read.
Cayson Dixon broke my heart. I wanted to lash out at those who had hurt this beautiful soul. I could feel his pain through the pages and just wanted him to feel at peace. The love that he had for Emberly had me holding smiling through my tears.
Emberly was just as broken as Cayson. I was rooting for her to be able to open herself up fully to Cayson.
These two together were everything. I felt every emotion that they felt and my heart broke over and over again for them.
This book made my heart hurt in a good way and brought me to my “knees”. I rarely read a book that moves me as much as Emberly and Cayson’s story. It was both heartbreaking and heartwarming. It showcases the power of love and forgiveness, making peace with the past, and opening yourself up to the future. 5 stars is not high enough stars for this book. It is that good!! Everyone should read this amazing book!!!
Loving this series! After the first book, I was eager to get my hands on the next installment after the crazy journey this family has been on. I was so into this book I found myself wanting to smack and/or shake characters though my e-reader! After running away from home, done with putting up with the abuse he experienced, Cayson is finally returning home almost a decade later with much to explain. Always feeling a pull and connection to his brother’s best friend, Emberly, he finds himself finally giving them the chance they deserved. Emberly was desperately in love with her best friend’s older brother, but also hated him because of the taunting he caused her throughout childhood. When he returns home, she’s both thrilled and upset, but as she gets to know Cayson as an adult, combined with finding out what really happened all those years ago, everyone’s in for an eye-opening experience. My heart truly broke for Cayson, and continued throughout the entirety of the book. If anyone’s asking – I’m team Cayson all the way. I was so happy this couple got their HEA and can’t wait for the next installment in this series!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
Let me just throw my heart at Molly McAdams’s feet, and pray she will piece it back together again by the end of each book. This was a very emotional read, my heart just ached, and then I found myself getting angry. I wanted to wrap Cayson up in my arms and protect him. LOL! I have a feeling many people will be able to or know someone that can relate to Cayson. This was a beautifully written story.