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A review by haletostilinski1
Barrel Proof by Layla Reyne
4.0
4.5 stars rounded down to 4 stars
***ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***
He closed the space between them and framed Aidan’s face in his hands. “I’ll be your partner, Irish, always, badge or not.”
Aidan nuzzled one of the big, warm palms. “Partner, always.”
“Damn straight.” Jamie lowered his hands, spreading them out over his shoulders, pressing gently down.”
Barrel Proof is the final installment in the Agents Irish and Whiskey series, and it is a solid end to a wonderful series.
This one picks up almost immediately after the end of the last one, and shit happens basically right away.
Jamie and Aiden are going after Mel with Daniel, Aiden's brother, and when they get to where Mel is, they get the answer to whether or not Mel is a friend or foe.
And finally, FINALLY, Jamie tells Aiden what he's known for months. Be prepared for pain, but don't worry about it lasting for long. I was actually surprised with how fast it was resolved. I mean, it lingers even after it is resolved, but I wasn't expecting Aiden to forgive Jamie until the near the end of the novel, but it happens before that.
Not that there isn't time of them spent apart, but most of it is skipped over because Aiden goes undercover on his own. I kind of like that we skipped over the weeks of them being separated at the same time I wish we had gotten maybe a chapter of that separation because while I love we got the make up quickly, it also made it feel a tad rushed as well.
Also, the fact that by the end of this book its only been a year and a half since Gabe died didn't feel entirely realistic for someone to have found the "second love of their life." Although who knows, I've never been through that myself, so I could be wrong. Still wish it had been longer than 8 months since Aiden had lost Gabe for his and Jamie's romance to have started.
But aside from that, Aiden and Jamie's relationship was as amazing as ever, and I got excited whenever they were in a scene together, and I still ended up loving where they were by the end of the book, even with how fast they came together.
The plot was good too, and there are surprises (where there shouldn't have been. The bad guys that are revealed in this still surprised me even though I had a feeling since the first book.) as well as suspense. And while the climax was good, I also felt it was a tad anti-climatic at the same time. (Weird to say, with what happens to one of the characters, but what happens with Renaud was not what I was expecting, and I think I was expecting an even bigger fight between them than there was, even though what happened with Renaud did make sense at the same time.)
So I have a half a star off rounded down to 4 because this one didn't feel quite as strong as the first two, but it was still solid, it was still enjoyable and fun to read, and I love Aiden and Jamie together so so much, they make my heart melt, and I'm just so happy these two fools got their happy ending together, because they deserve it.
Now, i dunno if its just me, but I kinda felt there was something there between Cam & Nic (Cam being Jamie's best friend and Nic being the guy Aiden kinda "dated" but-not-really for a while) and would love a series about them. Like, it was super subtle, but I still felt some sparks between these two, mmmkay.
So, yeah, definitely worth finishing out the series, and I don't think anyone who has loved this series so far would hate it or be disappointed, but maybe some might not love it as much as the first two, like I did.
Really good ending, just not an amazing ending, I'll say.
***ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***
He closed the space between them and framed Aidan’s face in his hands. “I’ll be your partner, Irish, always, badge or not.”
Aidan nuzzled one of the big, warm palms. “Partner, always.”
“Damn straight.” Jamie lowered his hands, spreading them out over his shoulders, pressing gently down.”
Barrel Proof is the final installment in the Agents Irish and Whiskey series, and it is a solid end to a wonderful series.
This one picks up almost immediately after the end of the last one, and shit happens basically right away.
Jamie and Aiden are going after Mel with Daniel, Aiden's brother, and when they get to where Mel is, they get the answer to whether or not Mel is a friend or foe.
And finally, FINALLY, Jamie tells Aiden what he's known for months. Be prepared for pain, but don't worry about it lasting for long. I was actually surprised with how fast it was resolved. I mean, it lingers even after it is resolved, but I wasn't expecting Aiden to forgive Jamie until the near the end of the novel, but it happens before that.
Not that there isn't time of them spent apart, but most of it is skipped over because Aiden goes undercover on his own. I kind of like that we skipped over the weeks of them being separated at the same time I wish we had gotten maybe a chapter of that separation because while I love we got the make up quickly, it also made it feel a tad rushed as well.
Also, the fact that by the end of this book its only been a year and a half since Gabe died didn't feel entirely realistic for someone to have found the "second love of their life." Although who knows, I've never been through that myself, so I could be wrong. Still wish it had been longer than 8 months since Aiden had lost Gabe for his and Jamie's romance to have started.
But aside from that, Aiden and Jamie's relationship was as amazing as ever, and I got excited whenever they were in a scene together, and I still ended up loving where they were by the end of the book, even with how fast they came together.
The plot was good too, and there are surprises (where there shouldn't have been. The bad guys that are revealed in this still surprised me even though I had a feeling since the first book.) as well as suspense. And while the climax was good, I also felt it was a tad anti-climatic at the same time. (Weird to say, with what happens to one of the characters, but what happens with Renaud was not what I was expecting, and I think I was expecting an even bigger fight between them than there was, even though what happened with Renaud did make sense at the same time.)
So I have a half a star off rounded down to 4 because this one didn't feel quite as strong as the first two, but it was still solid, it was still enjoyable and fun to read, and I love Aiden and Jamie together so so much, they make my heart melt, and I'm just so happy these two fools got their happy ending together, because they deserve it.
Now, i dunno if its just me, but I kinda felt there was something there between Cam & Nic (Cam being Jamie's best friend and Nic being the guy Aiden kinda "dated" but-not-really for a while) and would love a series about them. Like, it was super subtle, but I still felt some sparks between these two, mmmkay.
So, yeah, definitely worth finishing out the series, and I don't think anyone who has loved this series so far would hate it or be disappointed, but maybe some might not love it as much as the first two, like I did.
Really good ending, just not an amazing ending, I'll say.