Better late than never.
It’s the phrase on the tip of everyone’s tongues. For three years, every staff member and regular at Taverne Toulouse has watched Zach and DeeDee edge their way closer to the grand finale of a ‘will they, won’t they’ dance that feels like it’s lasted for decades.
Bets have been placed. Wagers have been drawn. The whole of Montreal’s most famous dive bar is holding its … Montreal’s most famous dive bar is holding its breath. Will the small town boy with a heart of gold finally make a move on the wild, pink-haired bartender he’s been in love with for years, or will the moment pass them by and leave Zach and DeeDee insisting they’re ‘just friends’ yet again?
A rowdy night at the bar gets served with a twist that sends DeeDee spinning—not into Zach’s arms, but straight into his living room. With his dream girl crashing on his couch for a few weeks and brightening his days with spontaneous dance parties and eventful forays into the art of hair dyeing, Zach’s feelings only get stronger, and DeeDee’s follow right behind.
He calms her storms, and she streaks his skies with lightning. They fill each other’s gaps with a symmetry neither of them can ignore, but every step closer only raises the stakes of losing it all.
Late or never. A choice three years in the making. Their final shot to get it right.
One for the Road is part of the Barflies series, a set of standalone romantic comedies that chronicle the lives and loves of the staff at a Montreal dive bar.
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I love the entire Barflies series but the story of Zach and DeeDee is my absolute favorite. I have been chomping at the bit for their story. The author weaved their “will they, won’t they” saga through books 1 and 2 but finally, Zach and DeeDee’s book has arrived!
Zach and DeeDee have chemistry, boy do they have chemistry. Zach has watched DeeDee flirt and date for years without stepping up and vying for her attention. When disaster strikes and DeeDee is out of options, Zach comes to the rescue and she is holed up on his couch.
We learn a lot about DeeDee. She’s wild, the life of the party, outgoing, and always ready for fun. What we discover is that our little party girl has some demons chasing her. The author breaks DeeDee down in such an awesome way. We get to learn about her past but it doesn’t make DeeDee anything less that the woman she is right now. The author created a strong person, one who knows Zach is who she wants but also knows she needs to be happy with herself before she can truly commit to anyone.
Zach, oh my goodness, Zach. What a fantastic character!. Always there for anyone, especially DeeDee, Zach is the boy next door, sweet, charming and the exact opposite of the bad boys DeeDee typically chooses. His strength, compassion, and understanding nature allows him to fall for DeeDee but pull back when she needed space. We also saw Zach grow. He began putting himself first after so many years of putting his own needs and wants to the side.
Both Zach and DeeDee were flawed, required taking hard looks at themselves and who they were and wanted to be. These two were imperfect, but after all the soul-searching, they were perfect for each other. Zach and DeeDee are my favorite pair from the Barflies series and I will be forever grateful the author, Katia Rose, contacted me and requested a review.
at this point, i just know to expect great things from katia rose. i don’t read a lot of romance, but i think i’ve found exactly what i like: anything she writes.
one for the road is a super cute romance about deedee and zach, who have been working together in a bar for a while and everyone else knows they have feelings for each other, but neither of them will admit it.
one thing i really love about these books is that every character is so fleshed out that even if names weren’t included, i could still pick out who is who. it’s one aspect that makes it just so easy to fall in love with every single person and really become invested in their lives. i feel like i personally know zach, deedee, and every other roommate or coworker mentioned.
it was a little difficult for me to get into at first, but that’s just because i was as frustrated as everyone else with the couple’s inability to admit their feelings for each other. once both characters started to come to terms with their emotions, i just couldn’t put it down. katia rose keeps you intrigued with the romance, but gives the characters enough life that that’s not the only part of the plot pushing the story along. they’ve all got personal issues that they’re dealing with, so even without the romance, it’s easy to get drawn in by the promise of something interesting happening next.
another thing i love is the romance itself. the problems that zach and deedee face are conceivable and real, not just stupid and easily solved issues like you see in other romance novels. it’s just one more thing that makes one for the road easy to fall into; you don’t get distracted noticing tropes and getting annoyed by a lack of communication, you just keep reading and hope they figure out a way to get past their (understandable) problems with getting into a relationship.
all of katia rose’s books have a unique spin and still manage to feel real. i absolutely love her writing style and will definitely be reading more of her books in the future.
thanks to the author for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.
One For The Road, the third installment in the Barflies series.
This book is a sweet friend to lovers romance between a wild girl with crazy pink hair and a sweet boy with a sexy beard. I fell in love with the characters and admired the strong friendship that they have. They are so in tune with one another that their love was inevitable. Individually, they are strong and independent, each with their own shortcomings to overcome.
I loved this author’s writing in the past when I binged the Sherbrooke Station series, and I loved it in this book. Her writing style is impeccable and she has a huge talent for storytelling.
**Voluntarily received an ARC for review**
Katia gets me every freakin’ time!! Every time I read one of her books I think it is my favorite until I read the next. She has such a beautiful way with words and has developed these characters in such a way that we truly get to live in their lives. I was super curious about DeeDee and Zack, and I was so excited they were finally getting their own book. I would never in a million years have guessed that Didi was the person that she was behind closed doors.
Katia has the best ability to write about some truly horrific situations and bring them to light in such a beautiful way. She truly helps you feel like you are not alone in the world in the best way possible. Everyone has their own insecurities and I think so many of us could relate to DeeDee and Zach in this book. I know I definitely did.
These two were explosive. From the moment we see them in the freezer I knew this book was going to be spicy. I loved every second of them together, and I wanted to cry every second that they were apart. They had a storybook type romance, and their insecurities really got in the way. I was really frustrated for both characters, but at the same time I could totally relate and completely understood. I truly got everything I wanted from them, and so much more.
In true Katia style, I was super excited to get to see the entire crew in this book. I loved getting to see more of Renee, Dylan, Monroe, and Roxanne. I especially loved the little tidbit of Cole and his insight on relationships. This book was super special and I cannot wait to see what she brings us next.
We’ve known about Zach’s infatuation with DeeDee since book 1, and I love that we finally get the Zach and DeeDee story!
This one takes you on an emotional journey, as we discover things we never knew about DeeDee, someone who outwardly always appears so happy and carefree, and learn more about Zach, who finally gets a chance at the girl he has wanted for so long.
This story had all the feels, and I loved it so much! Katia is one of those authors who somehow creates these characters and worlds that just draw you in, and you never want the stories to end.
Great addition to the Barflies series!
And the greatness that is Rose’s Barflies series continues!
I fell in love with Zach in book #2, but here we get such a glimpse into the shy little farm boy it made me fall even harder! And add the loud, eccentric but incredibly sweet and sexy DeeDee? Well, if you thought the couples in books 1 and 2 were hot, wait a minute!
I loved the dynamic between these two. The crush Zach has on DeeDee is so adorable, I wanted to leap into the pages and smack Dee for not seeing it sooner! And DeeDee, hard on the outside, but soft on the inside, is the heroine we all need. She perseveres through hardship all the while keeping a smile on her face and shot glass at her hip.
Yet again, Rose infuses her love of Montreal into another segment of the Taverne Toulouse gang. This book is flawless and well crafted, keeping your attention throughout—and that’s not an easy thing to do 3 books in!
Katia Rose has done it again!
First of all I need to say that I am so glad that Katia reached out to me to read her last release Glass Half Full, if it wasn’t for her reaching out I would probably have never read either of these books and I am so glad that I did. Katia knows how to keep you entertained, engaged and wanting more when you read her books. This book was all that and more. Zach is such a good guy. As you know, nice and sweet isn’t my typical first choice for most of the books I like to read Zach is absolutely none of these bad boy things. He is exceptionally kind, awkward, has a sweet demeanor and is charming. As for DeeDee, one of my most favorite heroines, I have been dying to see her get her very deserving HEA! She is real, relatable, outgoing and has such a great personality. Both Zach and DeeDee are so easy to understand and relate to. I found bits and pieces of me in both of them. I had the absolute pleasure of reading this as both a Beta read and as an ARC. It was so easy for me to fall back in love with these two a second time around. I have been in a strange reading rut for the past few weeks and have been very reluctant to pick up any new books and I am so glad that this was one of those books to help bring me out of that. They are both really interesting characters who you want nothing but the best for. There was nothing I wanted more than for these two to finally be together. This book will forever hold a special place in my heart. If you are looking for a sweet friends to lovers, easy to read, some push and pull, and a little spicy then this is the book for you.
I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
One for the Road was the perfect book to finally bring together DeeDee and Zach. I’ve been waiting since book one to see about these two and Katia didn’t disappoint.
One for he Road’s storyline is achingly sweet but also a little hard on the heart. It’s refreshing to see the characters taking care of themselves and not overly obsessed with each other.
Katia also shows how the sweetest and brightest people also are hurting the most. I loved getting to see the real side of DeeDee even all the bad parts. Zach was wonderful of course and their connection was evident from the first page. It was chaotically sexy between these two and fun to read!
4.5/ 5 stars
*arc provided for a voluntary honest review*
Such a great book! Zach and DeeDee are so perfect together! They complement each other superbly. I loved their story so much, I read the entire novel in one day!
Katia Rose writes such fantastic romance. She is always able to create original stories that are easy to follow and hook the reader from the very beginning. Her book, “Your Sound”, was the first of her work that I ever read and I absolutely loved it! Since then I have automatically gotten any new books she releases because I know that they will be amazing. This book absolutely met that expectation and more!
I don’t want to give any “One for the Road” spoilers away, so I’m keeping this review short and sweet… Read Zach and DeeDee’s story! It’s such a perfect weekend read! While you’re at it, go grab the other Barflies books that are available now! This book, as well as the others in this series, are 5 star reads!