Blog tour: The Gin Lover's Guide to Dating
The Gin Lover's Guide to Dating
by Nina Kaye
4 out of 5Synopsis
When life gives you lemons... add a splash of gin
Two 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 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?
Review
Liv's career and high-flying plans all come crashing down. In the aftermath, she finds her true passion and learns what counts in life.
I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
After a rough childhood, Liv has proved all the doubters wrong. She's cast off all of her old life (with the exception of her best friend Dylan), and now has a high-flying career in PR and Marketing, a swanky flat in Edinburgh (psst: so excited for an UK urban romance set in not-London), and money to burn. Until she doesn't.
Despite pouring her heart and soul into the company she works for, when a merger takes place, her colleagues and 'friends' take the opportunity to oust her and take all the credit.
As this wasn't in her 5 year plan, her savings are non-existent, and she has to take up a bar job, to delay losing her flat.
There is romance, and there is comedy in this book, as you might expect from the cover and description; but the real strengths of the book are the friendships that develop, and Liv's journey to discover what really matters in life.
After working so hard to get away from the estate she grew up on, with an alcoholic mother and abusive father, Liv thinks she's finally won and proven her doubters wrong. I totally understand her feelings of failure when it all falls apart; and how she tries to hide it from her colleagues. It was hard work winning the friends she had in the Marketing circle; and it would be impossible if they knew she had to stoop to bar work, when all her interviews fall through.
It was lovely to see her perspective start to change, as Liv fights to subdue her pride. Then she can really start to build a new life, without judging it solely on success and wealth.
I really related to Liv, growing up in a rough area, fighting to succeed, moving away to chase dreams and, in the end returning to my hometown, because it's the only place I belong.
Liv's friends are a massive influence on her - her real friends, I mean, not the corporate-flakes.
Dylan is the one part of Liv's old life that she can't shake, he tries to keep her grounded when she's hypnotised by her glamorous new life; and eventually tries to get her to connect to her old life.
Reyes is a new friend from the bar, who takes Liv under her wing, determined to make her see there is more to life than success - like Hot Josh and finding love.
These two are an absolute powerhouse, and there was no way Liv could deny their theologies for long.
The budding romance between Liv and her online hombre Graham was kinda sweet, if a little obvious who the mystery man was.
I felt sooo sorry for Josh, he was an absolute sweety and a puppy-dog that was clearly falling for Liv. It annoyed me that, even after months of dating, Liv still considered them as 'casual'.
Their relationship reminded me of the blonde woman off Love is Blind (the Netflix show I might have got a little hooked on), who dates a younger man who is clearly in love with her, and just wants to treat her as a queen; but she has her eye on someone else from the beginning, but she's happy to string along the other dude.
Poor Josh. Just be honest with him already!
Liv does have a habit of self-sabotage. She basically sets herself up for everything that goes wrong in this book, and is surprised when it blows up in her face.
Again, it was frustrating that she didn't take other people's feelings into consideration, in her own personal mission for redemption.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and look forward to reading more of the author's work.
Goodreads
Amazon
Prize giveawayTo enter, all you need to do is retweet and comment (just once!) on Nina’s pinned tweet on her Twitter page (@NinaKayeAuthor), telling her which blog tour post you have read. Nina will then choose the lucky winner at random after the closing date, which is 6pm (BST) on Thurs 29th April 2020.
This prize draw is only available to UK residents over the age of 18. Full terms and conditions apply - bit.ly/2V6AdJ1.
Always drink responsibly.
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