Sometimes you fall for Mr. Right. And sometimes for Mr. Right Now… not all Alec is good at. Our unexpected chemistry makes him the perfect rebound guy.
Alec
I should know better than to hook up with my rival’s little sister, but the fiery look in May’s eyes really turns my crank. She needs cheering up, and I’m just the guy for the job.
It’s not like I’ll fall in love. Not even after a string of scorching hot trysts, and the realization that we’re good at the same things: wild nights and familial disappointment. I don’t do love, never have, never will. So this is the perfect arrangement, for both of us.
Nobody would approve, but nobody has to know…
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True North My favorite serie
Love the entire series!
This is my favorite in the series. <3
I just finished this book. I love the way Sarina Bowen draws the reader into each character. You will get lost in this book!
I’m a huge fan of Sarina Bowen’s True North series. It was a warm and heartfelt series about a family operating an apple orchard in Vermont. And it totally makes me want to visit Vermont and be one of those fall foliage tourists. Speakeasy follows the first sister of the Shipley family, May. And I have to include a shot-out for an LGBT heroine since May is bi and just got out of a relationship with a woman. And she’s a recovering alcoholic! Yay, complex characters! The hero, Alec, is the brother of the heroine from the previous book. However, he’s also a bit of a struggling bar owner which I wasn’t the happiest about for a match with a recovering alcoholic. That being said, I did enjoy watching May and Alec’s relationship grow. They both grew up in the same town and knew each other but their relationship goes from kinda friends to a hookup when May needs Alec to act as her date at an event her ex is also attending.
I felt that both May and Alec grew a lot during the course of this book. May coped with her addiction as well as the turns her life had taken. Alec struggled with being seen as a serious businessman and with the problems facing his bar. They both learned that they were more than their past and to create a future together. Sarina Bowen always knocks it out of the park with her True North series and doesn’t shy away from difficult issues. She created complex, believable, and relatable characters in May and Alec and it was a joy to watch them fall in love.
I love all of the characters in this series. Sarina Bowen is one of those authors that I almost always buy because I love her books so much. She makes you care about her characters and what goes on in their lives.
Another exceptional book by Sarina Bowen! I’ll admit to a bit of surprise when I saw this was M/F! I think Alec and May were also taken by surprise at the attraction. 😉 I loved that Alec came out from behind the amusing party boy façade and made himself vulnerable. I loved that May did the same by exposing her true self in regards to her addiction. It was done with class and humor and love. Here’s hoping for more Shipley and/or Rossi books!
“You don’t scare me, May Shipley.”
I can’t express to you how freaking excited I was when it was announced that Sarina Bowen was giving us another True North book! I mean, this series is EVERYTHING and these characters that Ms. Bowen has created are just incredible, relatable, and absolutely UNFORGETTABLE! May and Alec were SO DAMN PERFECT in this book! Their unexpected but undeniable connection drove me absolutely WILD! Our heroine is just an all around BADASS, and can I just tell you that those are my FAVORITE types of heroines! Our hero, the charming and sexy Alec, is just a good guy. That’s all there is to it and that’s exactly what May needs at this point in her life. These two compliment each other so damn well, it was almost impossible to put this book down!
I always fall hard for Sarina’s characters and I crave her brand of storytelling. SPEAKEASY was a wonderful, entertaining, and sexy read that packed an emotional punch with each turn of the page. A rebound tryst turns into an undeniable bond that will change these two for the better. I loved rooting for this couple and I encourage you to pick this book up…hell, pick this entire series up because once you crack it open, there is no stopping the addiction that is Sarina Bowen’s writing!
What a wonderful addition to the series!!!
The review is up at http://desireforlit.com/2018/06/06/speakeasy-true-north-book-5-sarina-bowen/
Myn
Loved this latest instalment of the True north series by Sarina Bowen.
Sarina Bowen writes books that make me FEEL, and this one was no different. Alec was funny and silly, but he was also showed his vulnerability and insecurity. There were a few times he made me want to cry for him. Yet he still managed to be a very strong H for May. I had liked May in previous books in the series and I liked her in her own story as well. The Shipley family is great, as usual. This works as a standalone so you can jump in here if you want to, but the whole series is great and I recommend it.
“Knitting is a lot like sobriety. One painstaking little loop at a time. The whole is more beautiful than the sum of its parts.”
May and Alec’s story starts with a breakup- May’s loud and messy and very public breakup with her live-in girlfriend Daniela. Good thing it happens at Alec’s bar because when May catches Daniela kissing her ex, he is there to literally carry May outside before things get any worse. May never expects Alec, the notorious party boy, to not only get her out of the situation, but to also help her move out and to end up being such a good friend to her. And after planning on only dating women, she also doesn’t expect to be so attracted to him. When they realize they have mind-blowing chemistry and neither one wants anything more than someone to have fun with, they embark on what they intended to be a very secret, friends with very good benefits situation. It’s just supposed to be fun- they’re friendly, they have sex, that’s it.
But as they become closer, they both start to feel that this could be something more, only their own insecurities continue to get in the way. Alec thinks May wants their relationship secret because she feels like she’s slumming with a Rossi. He’s got big dreams, but at the end of the day, he’s still just the bar owner barely keeping his business afloat. May doesn’t feel like she can let Alec know her fully because he’s the fun guy and wouldn’t possibly understand, let alone still like her, if she told him about all of her inner demons related to her alcoholism.
The True North series is one of my favorite series and this book just reaffirmed that for me. It really does have everything I look for in a book- compelling and realistic drama, an interesting setting, dynamic main characters, and lovable supporting characters (Grandpa Shipley stole the show!). But I’ll admit, I was nervous and almost hesitant when I saw that the next True North book was about May and… Alec Rossi? I’ve loved May since the very first time she was introduced and have been rooting so hard for her since more of her demons were revealed in Keepsake. I liked that she was dating a woman leading up to now, and I was leery when I saw that she was going to get her own book pairing her with a man. Especially a man I hadn’t really connected to previously. I should have known that Sarina wouldn’t disappoint though. Not only was May’s bisexuality not erased, it was embraced. It was talked about, it was considered, it was a part of her, not just a throw away character trait for the sake of diversity. It was absolutely wonderful to see a well written bisexual character who may end up with a man, but never writes off her sexuality as a “phase” or something else dismissive.
I also love how well Sarina handles May’s alcoholism. Much like how she handled Jude’s drug addiction in Steadfast, it felt raw and honest, not just something written into May’s character profile because it made her more interesting. May has the unfortunate trait of being an easy crier, but she’s also strong and fierce and has a big heart and a hundred other little traits that make her dynamic and intriguing.
And then there’s Alec. I wasn’t sure what to expect of Alec from the bits and pieces we’d seen of him previously. But I quickly fell in love with the person he hid behind his swagger and facade of being “the fun guy”. He’s passionate and honest and not afraid of his feelings, just exactly like the kind of fascinating man I’ve come to expect from Sarina. He too has demons and as much as I love May, I often couldn’t wait for his POV because I wanted to hear all that was going on inside Alec’s brain.
May’s recovery is difficult, Alec’s life isn’t as straightforward as he makes it seem, and their relationship is filled with it’s share of bumps along the way. But all of that just makes Speakeasy fantastic for me. It’s unique and compelling and a beautiful story about two self-proclaimed broken people realizing that everyone has cracks in their armor and you don’t need someone to fix you, you just need someone to love and support you along your own path to recovery.
I was so excited when I learned Sarina was giving us May’s story in Speakeasy. I’ll admit I was also a little unsure about pairing her with Alec because there was so much in the past books about her being into women. But, I had absolutely nothing to worry about. Not only did Sarina do a great job with May’s bisexuality, I also loved how everything came together with Alec. Totally loved this book.
May and Alec were both complicated characters. Their families didn’t get along. Neither of them was looking for a relationship. And, of course, May’s previous relationship was with a woman. She was also in love with her best friend, Lark. Sarina did a great job with May’s apprehension about Alec and about being in another relationship in general. I felt like I really understood May in this book. The same was true for Alec. He was such a goofy playboy previously, it was almost hard to take him seriously at first. I enjoyed getting to spend time in both of their heads as the story moved forward and their friends with benefits situation became more serious.
I enjoyed every little thing about Speakeasy. It was funny and sexy and sweet. Alec was super swoony. May was a great, real heroine. I loved the way their relationship progressed and how everything unfolded with not only the romance, but Alec’s business. It’s another hit from Sarina as far as I’m concerned! I can’t wait to see what’s next.
FAVORITE QUOTES
“Fucking kiss me already,” he whispers. “If you’re going to.”
“I’m your rebound lay. Relationships aren’t my style, and I’m allergic to commitment. So we’ll have exactly the same expectations—some very athletic sex.”
There are some people who think bisexuality is a myth, but I’m here to prove them wrong. I love the feel of a woman’s curves under my hands. But it turns out I still enjoy bumping against Alec’s rock-hard body.
I’ve never had a person before. Maybe this is what all the songs on the radio are about.
But love is messy, unpredictable, and occasionally loud. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
When Sarina Bowen made us all elated with the news that there will in fact be another book in the True North series, I was elated. I loved the series so far, and I seriously couldn’t wait to read more. I didn’t expect the main female character to be May Shipley. Nor did I expect that there would me main hero, since in the previous books in the series, May was in a relationship with another woman, and she swore off man. So, I realized that this could easily be the book that took me outside my comfort zone. I’m not much of a daredevil when it comes to that, but I am a huge Sarina Bowen fan, so I guessed that I’d enjoy it regardless. And (un)surprisingly, I enjoyed it very much.
This book is intense. It starts with a bang: we meet Alec while he’s helping May make a getaway after seeing her girlfriend cheating at none other place than the bar Alec owns. So, even the beginning, the set up of the story is pretty emotionally charged, and that’s something that doesn’t change throughout the book. May is a character that holds a lot of angst inside of her. She’s a recovering alcoholic, who just caught her ex-girlfriend cheating, and who had a lot of disappointment in love in her twenty seven years. Not only that, she’s also tired of everyone, even her family, expecting her to fall back to her vices at any point and treating her like glass, when she actually needs someone to remind her that she indeed is stronger than that. That’s where Alec comes in! He seems like a laid-back, easygoing character with not that much depth at first glance. However, throughout the book we see that the first impression was the picture of an always-down-for-a-party playboy Alec Rossi was expected to be by the society, and not the one of a successful businessman and amazing friend he was aspiring to be. These are two characters that turn to each other, letting themselves enjoy the wild and powerful sexual attraction they feel towards each other in moments they feel truly wounded, and it is a raw, sensual, scorching relationship. However, that relationship soon becomes a tender friendship in which both May and Alec find comfort. When what they have starts to feel a lot like love, that’s when things get messy.
“But love is messy, unpredictable, and occasionally loud. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
One little thing that could have made this book even more enjoyable for me was if that sexual attraction, and the tentative friendship the MCs had took a bit more time to turn into love they feel for one another. It felt a bit too sudden, but it was just a little speck on the specter of the wild emotions I felt while reading Speakeasy. Sarina Bowen creates such relatable, wounded, and so easily lovable characters, they inevitably make you feel and empathize even when you’d rather not, or think you couldn’t/shouldn’t. And that makesheru one of my favorite authors!
This atypical story definitely took me outside my comfort zone at first, but Sarina Bowen’s incredible writing set over me like a comforting blanket, and let me enjoy this sexy and romantic story in its full glory. It’s agsty, emotionally charged, and then unexpectedly funny at times, and utterly romantic. May and Alec grew into characters I loved, and their story is definitely one for the true fans of True North series: a bit unexpected, a bit angsty, a bit funny, and a whole lot of utterly beautiful and romantic. Recommended!
An alcoholic enters a bar…it sounds like a bad joke, doesn’t it? I mean, why would a recovering alcoholic enter the one place in town that would make her crave the very thing she’s supposed to avoid?
Well, I can tell you that May Shipley walked into the Gin Mill with one clear intention, but when her reason for being there ends up revealing a truth she never saw coming, not only does May have to endure the outcome, but she also has to temper her cravings while entering into a new arrangement with a guy whose feelings of failure match her own and leaves May constantly questioning herself and her actions while attempting to keep her affair with Alec hidden from everyone else but each other.
But the thing about secret relationships or in May and Alec’s case, secret hookups, is that they normally don’t remain secret; there’s always something that causes it to be outed, and because of the baggage that both May and Alec bring into their arrangement as well as the fact that the whole town, including May’s family, have what they believe are ‘clear perceptions’ of who May and Alec are, feelings get hurt, self loathing intensifies, and both May and Alec are left wondering if more can be built out of something that was just supposed to be ‘fun.’
May and Alec definitely make an interesting pairing, not only because of May’s past relationship and feelings for women, but also because both she and Alec do not have very high opinions of themselves, and it’s that idea as well as the townspeople’s stereotypical views of them due to May’s drinking issues and Alec’s manwhorish, life of the party ways that seem to pigeon hole them right from the start.
But here’s the thing, May is more than just a recovering alcoholic…she’s more than the woman who made mistakes and seems to still be paying for them…she’s more than her family gives her credit for, and she more than the failure she views herself as. And what I love about Alec is that he truly sees May, and even better, he understands May, which means that their ‘arrangement’ is built on firmer ground than just a rebound hook-up.
It’s clear that many people don’t seem to trust and/or respect May and Alec, and while that has to be difficult to accept, their focus should be on themselves and finding a way to see past their self-doubt, past their regrets, past the thought that May could relapse and that Alec could be the shallow jokester that everyone has already labeled him as, but that’s not who either of these two characters are and it’s that part of the story that I felt most connected to…that I felt needed to be addressed with May’s family and the judgmental members of their community.
May and Alec struggle…that’s just a part of life, but if they nor those closest to them see the possibilities that can be achieved instead of the mistakes that could continue to be made, they’ll never work past their failures or prove just exactly who they are beyond their mistakes.
I love Sarina Bowen’s True North series, and it felt like coming home again when I read May and Alec’s story. I’m glad that readers get to catch up with past couples and see what’s new in their lives, and as much as I would have liked to strangle Griff a bit due to how he treats his sister at times in Speakeasy, I still can’t help but love him:)
4.5 Poison Apples
I loved this so much I couldn’t stop reading until I turned the last page.
Speakeasy told the story of May,a recovering alcoholic, and Alec, a bar owner.They seems a weird couple,they definitely sounds like a bad bar joke but I assure you Sarina Bowen did her magic again delivering an emotional,funny and lovely novel.
I adored May and Alec friendship, their chemestry,their funny texts and reading about their journey was the highlight of my week end.
I can’t believe I haven’t read this series before, after reading Speakeasy I want to go back and read the other books. I really enjoyed this story a lot!
The characters were great and the banter was funny.
I just loved Alec and the way he was with everyone!! I also loved May, despite what happens she powers through and with Alec helping, needless to say, not everything goes as planned.
I had to keep reading till I finished and I really liked how it ended but I could have kept on reading so much more!
A really enjoyable easy read that had me captivated!!
As soon as I started this book, I could not put it down.
Author Sarina Bowen just gives 100% when it comes to giving us memorable characters.
As soon as you are introduced to Alec and May, you are sucked into their lives.
Both are complex characters who have issues that they need to solve on their own as well as learning to take from one another.
Loving, gripping and a perfectly balanced romance that was relatable to what us readers deal with in our everyday lives.
I enjoyed this book.
Oh Sarina you have managed to outdo yourself in this book of total deliciousness. She had me completely hooked from page one till the very end. I didn’t want to put it down until I had finished.
I was completely intrigued once I knew this was May Shipley and Alec Rossi’s story as what we had seen from May up until this point was that she liked women. Boy did she meet her perfect match in Alec and even though he wasn’t what she was looking for or expected he was what she needed.
The last place she expected to be, as a recovering alcoholic, was in a bar. She normally avoids them but seeing her girlfriends car in the parking lot she thought she was just pop in and say hi. She never expected to find her lip locked with her ex-girlfriend. Understandably May was upset but thankfully Alex was there to stop her doing something she may regret. He makes the awful, heartbreaking situation slightly bettwe with his sweet and funny nature.
Alec is loving his life owning and running the Gin Mill but he is wanting to expand his business so a relationship doesn’t really feature into this plans. He just never expected to find the perfect girl for him was one that had been in front of him most of his life in the shape of May but he cannot stay away from her. Their relationship quickly progresses to friends, then friends with benefits then to much much more.
Alec is what May really needs, he truly sees her for her and doesn’t treat her like a damaged precious doll like her family does. The chemistry between them is so hot, sparks were flying off my kindle with their passion.
Sarina covers some serious issues in alcoholism and drugs really well. Mixed in with the light hearted fun, humour and serious passion, this book is a the perfect recipe.
I can’t wait to read more from the True North series and I’m hoping the next book is Bimbo’s….sorry I meant Benito’s story
There’s something about the True North series that resonates with me – every book, every time. Perhaps the fact that these are real life people dealing with real life issues. Perhaps that the friendships and family relationships are written so authentically that by this, the fifth book in the series, I actually feel like I’m part of it all. Perhaps it’s just Ms. Bowen’s gift of storytelling in such a way that draws you in, holds you captive, and leaves you – in the end – feeling a little breathlessly jubilant.
In case I haven’t already made it clear – I crazy love the Shipley family. I was so excited for May’s story and the fact that it blended the Shipley and Rossi families just ratcheted up that excitement. As is usually the case in these stories, there are some heavy issues confronted here and I felt like Ms. Bowen did an excellent job of capturing the confusion and conflict that surrounded May and Alec as they worked through their issues. These are two beautifully flawed characters – perfectly wrong for each other on paper – and yet so irresistibly adorable together that it was impossible not to root for them.
I also have a deep appreciation of the way Ms. Bowen threads humor through the more emotional storylines. Between the impossible-not-to-love banter (and um, can we talk for a second about Alec’s sense of humor and the ooey gooey damage it did to my heart? Like, for real. This guy…*giant heart eyeballs*) and the achingly sweet tender moments they share – I spent a lot of time giggling and smiling like a loon. They truly are adorable together and that’s on top of the heated physical chemistry sparking between them the entire time. And I don’t want to undersell that heated chemistry because – hoo boy. *fans self*.
This whole thing – once again – is just a nearly perfect package of engaging storytelling, clever writing, and these genuinely lovable characters who owned my heart immediately. I loved every single minute.