I traded in my Navy uniform and short hair for tats and a scruffy beard to become a man on the run. Moving from town to town, taking comfort in hot cars and fast women was the only way I could outrun the nightmares.
Then I met her…
Looking like a Southern Belle in a small Texas town, all layered in pretty dresses and perfume, I call her beautiful.
She calls me a perv.
This beauty won’t …
This beauty won’t admit I have something she wants (wink, wink, nudge, nudge), or that I’m the one she’s looking for, but I love that she has something I never knew I needed.
I may be labeled as a jerk, but she’s going to fall in love with me, and I’m going to make her cuss and drink whisky instead of lemonade. Why? Because sometimes beauty comes with a dirty mouth and sometimes your lemonade needs to be spiked.
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I love a good ‘opposites attract’ romance and this book totally delivered. It opened with an intense scene that took place six years previously. It gave us some insight on why Jags is where he is today. Jags has seen too much tragedy as a medic at home and Afghanistan. He is running away from his memories and is hiding behind a smile, and a cocky attitude. But behind all that pain he is a sweet, caring man who misses helping and saving people. Sasha is innocent, naive, loving, and headstrong. She has been told what to do and how to act all her life and has been betrayed by everyone she trusts. She wants to be independent and strong but isn’t sure what that looks like. Jags wants to get little ‘Miss Perfect’ dirty and loves the challenge she presents. She fights the attraction of letting go with sexy, bearded, Jags but not for long. Their banter is witty and their chemistry is explosive. There are some plot twists that add anxiety and turmoil and will keep you turning the pages. I also loved getting to know their best friends Tango, Cali and their adorable daughter Tyler. Greta, better known as Bambi, adds a very heartwarming and emotional element to this story as well. This book has it all, it’s funny, has witty banter, exhilarating events, heartbreak and heartwarming moments and lots of sensual passion. You definitely do not want to miss this.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review for Stephanie’s Book Reports.
Jags is a Navy medic whose seen more in his lifetime than any of us can imagine or understand unless you’ve experienced it yourself. Lost and trying to find himself he roams from place to place trying to out run his nightmares. Then in small town Texas he met Sasha. His polar opposite in every way. She’s the prim and proper southern belle. Can such polar opposites, one with a dirty might and one who blushes when he uses it, ever find their way together in this crazy world?
I’ve read just about everything Shari Ryan has written. I love her books and generally end up at some point with my heart shattered and put back together. She’s good at that. A little to good but I love every second of it. If you’ve read her previous books you know what I am talking about. When you pick up Spiked Lemonade you know right away this book is different from what she usually writes. I fell for Jags in the Prologue. He’s actually quiet dreamy and his mouth just cracked me up. He’s a good guy all tatted up with a beard whose running from things he’s seen and experienced in his past. Then he meets his polar opposite in Sasha. From that point on he’s hooked and knows this is the woman for him. Sasha on the other hand is having none of it. Here is where I got worried. I wanted to like Sasha as much as I liked Jags from the second I met him. I didn’t though and that worried me. A lot. I swear she got on my nerves so bad I wanted to shake her. If you find yourself with this little delima too I strongly strongly recommend not putting the book down and giving up. Your going to miss something absolutely amazing if you do.
Spiked Lemonade is not at all what I expected from the beginning. It turned into something meaningful and quiet frankly beautiful. It’s a story of growth and finding ones self. Of not being what everyone expects you to be but what makes you happy. It’s living your life to the fullest and having no regrets because life is short. Shari Ryan has written a book about this journey with emotions you won’t see coming till your laughing your head off or shedding tears. I’m so glad I didn’t give up on Sasha. It’s not often a character surprises me. Sasha however did.