‘A Gin Lover’s Guide To Dating had me in fits of laughter’ NetGalley reviewerWhen life gives you lemons… add a splash of ginTwo 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 … 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
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Readers and reviewers have fallen in love with The Gin Lovers Guide to Dating:
‘a great escapist romance’
‘Be warned – YOU WILL WANT COCKTAILS WHEN READING THIS BOOK!’
‘Very well written and insightful.’
‘This book made me laugh out loud at many occasions and I throughly enjoyed reading it.’
‘an awesomely cute and comical book’
‘a great laugh out loud book’
more
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 understand 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.
First off, I’m going to start off with a rant about the current trend of contemporary chick lit being marketed as romantic comedy. They are NOT THE SAME THING and I’m getting really annoyed by publishers claiming they are. This is a fun and charming read, and it’s definitely a romance because there’s a Happily Ever After, but it’s not a rom com because it’s quite simply not funny enough. I felt more sorry for Liv than amused by the situations she finds herself in, and so does she; she’s more likely to spend her time in self-reflection trying to give herself a pep talk than laughing at herself. And in all honesty… there’s not much to laugh about in losing your dream corporate job and having to take on bar work in a desperate attempt to make ends meet.
With my little This Is Not A Rom Com rant out of the way, I’m now going to say that this is actually a really good read. I had a great deal of sympathy for Liv from the start as she struggled to recover from a series of nasty blows. Thrown a lifeline by Aaron, a former boss now running a luxury hotel who offers her some part-time bar work until she gets back on her feet, Liv meets some new friends and discovers there’s more to life than climbing the corporate ladder. There are a couple of love interests on the scene, with the interesting twist that one of them is online and she doesn’t find out his real identity until right at the end of the book. As such, if love triangles aren’t your thing, you might want to give this one a miss.
Nina Kaye has created an extremely likeable character in Liv, who comes from a difficult background and clawed her way up by sheer graft. Liv finds it hard to trust and open up to anyone except her best friend Dylan who comes from the same background as her, but makes a new friend in fellow bartender Reyes, a Spanish girl who’s just an utter delight. In a lot of ways this is a story about Liv and Reyes’ growing friendship just as much as Liv’s romantic arc and it’s both realistic and charming. It’s a lovely read, but I’d definitely call it an uplifting contemporary chick lit rather than a rom com. Five stars.
Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this title via Rachel’s Random Resources.
This is a hilarious romantic comedy that I read over the course of a day! I loved the main character, Liv, who I connected with right a way when she loses her job and goes on that dreaded job search. The atmosphere was fantastic–set in Edinburgh. Fun, fresh and a splash of gin! Perfect for anyone who likes a starting over story with a twist of lime.
Nina Kaye has a refreshing voice and this is an imaginative take on a romcom. Two parts romance, one part intrigue, one part heart.
With the prevailing theme of ‘finding your own way’, Liv is a heroine to champion. Kaye’s characters are well-drawn, and its a pacy read that I was late to work to finish.
Loved it – highly recommended.