WhiskeyintheJar Romance

What is it about a Deirdre Martin book that I get giddy excited just reading the first sentence of the book? The character of Katie and Paul are classic Deirdre Martin, real- with all their flaws and insecurities.

I was a little astonished at how soon Katie gets over her embarrassment and nervousness around Paul; they end up sleeping together on their second date, the first date she ended up throwing up.

Have I mentioned I love the humor Deirdre Martin writes in her books, because I do, I really do. I laughed myself silly when Katie and Paul are busted having an afternoon sleepover by Katie's mom, really great comedic scenes. The situations she puts her characters into could be taken right out of everyday life and the way they react is so normal and real. Well real if every lady had an ex-NHLer drooling after them as is the case in this book.

Oh God, a big thank-you to the character "Snake" for giving one of the best lines I have read in 2009: "Sports ain’t macho unless something dies.” Anyway I like how Martin always pairs hilarious situations with a side storyline which involves a deep emotional real-life problem. In this case Katie's sister is a recovering druggie who is in rehab while her son is staying with their mom and Katie is helping to take care of him. Emotional stuff which somewhat steals the spotlight from the romance storyline of the book, but done so well I didn't really mind.

This book is all about if you can go home again, family dynamics, coming to terms with your past and future, and what you really want out of life. Sometimes the romance aspect of the story takes a backseat, but I didn't mind, well ok I started to mind when the last 30 pages or so had basically no interaction between Katie and Paul. The ending was a bit abrupt and a tad unsatisfactory, give me a little more here Martin! However, I love books which make you feel, think, and question what is important in your own life; this book certainly does all that. The first 90% of the book was really great and even though the last 10% of the book started to drag with its lack of romance, I am still going to make this book a personal keeper.

(My love for the NHL absolutely didn't influence this decision at all, really....ok maybe a little)