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A review by kfriend
Blame It on the Tequila by Fiona Cole
4.0
I’m still marvelling at this angsty but fun new series from Fiona Cole- one so decidedly different from her much beloved Voyeur series, but one with the same amount of heart and sizzle. While the rockstar storyline is perhaps the most hit or miss trope for me, I’ve yet to met a trope that Fiona hasn’t handled with her trademark steamy flair, and the first chapter of this story engrossed me so completely, I became quite ravenous to understand all the feelings and unspoken pains in this second chance romance.
We stay on theme with our vibrant and feisty girl gang- the three best friends who live as hard as they love. This time, our story focuses on the free-spirited but enigmatic Nova- the character who most intrigued me in this group of friends. Like our last story, Nova’s begins under the influence of her drink of choice and in a moment full of complicated emotions. Thrust back into the world of her childhood crush, and ex-stepbrother, Nova is forced to face the unresolved past with now-rockgod Parker, the man whose actions have time and time again destroyed and hurt her. Unexpectedly forced in close quarters for the duration of the band’s tour, it’s time to face the literal and proverbial music. Bring on all the baggage, emotionally-fraught sexual tension, long buried pain, and unresolved feelings- this one gets angsty quickly! And, much heavier than the more frivolously fun series opener.
I enjoyed that Fiona took the central conflict and pushed it back to the intrapersonal here (for the most part- we have some trademark rockstar/famous people drama, too). This is really a story about two people who loved each other but weren’t mature enough yet to make it work. To make the right decisions, to communicate, to own who they are, to understand how to deal with situations and emotions well beyond their emotional maturity. They’ve grown, and know who they are, but now their past is the barrier- and it makes for a really palpable emotional tension and compelling character arcs.
Nova is a very relatable heroine- a woman who has suffered greatly at no fault of her own, but who has emerged as more fully herself. She has a lot of integrity as a character- and she’s equal parts sweet and steel. Parker is super sexy- with that characteristic FC trademark mouth. By the end, I felt that he really worked hard to redeem his past actions, but I do think he could have owned up to them even more. At times he felt incredibly passive, and his paralysis in key moments both past and present frustrated me. Nova’s character growth really shines brightly, his is more of a dull thrum- like he’s evolved but still trying to find steady ground. But, their chemistry is scorching hot- and like all FC books the steamy times are smoking. (but be warned traditional romance lovers, there is a component to their relationship that is more risque/taboo)
The story starts with a really amazingly hooking opener- and the first few chapters were gripping. The pace did slow a bit for me, an experience I had in the last book too-here in part because we are waiting to find out just what happened in the past. The narrative alternates between past and present too- this very brilliantly creates for a richer character chemistry because we see the basis of their connection, but it does slow down the “present” progress of our story at first, and makes this more slower burn than I’m used to from FC. I did get a sense these two could (and should) have fought harder for each other in the past- a non-communication conflict device that sometimes irks me- but the story’s back half makes up for this and sold me. Our girl gang also steals the show- especially feisty Rae, and the glimpse we get into her book sounds like a lot of fun.
While there is a lot of angst and emotions, we end up in a pretty sweet and swoony place. And, I’m just loving the girls in this story. Nova is such a special heroine-she alone makes the story worth the read.
We stay on theme with our vibrant and feisty girl gang- the three best friends who live as hard as they love. This time, our story focuses on the free-spirited but enigmatic Nova- the character who most intrigued me in this group of friends. Like our last story, Nova’s begins under the influence of her drink of choice and in a moment full of complicated emotions. Thrust back into the world of her childhood crush, and ex-stepbrother, Nova is forced to face the unresolved past with now-rockgod Parker, the man whose actions have time and time again destroyed and hurt her. Unexpectedly forced in close quarters for the duration of the band’s tour, it’s time to face the literal and proverbial music. Bring on all the baggage, emotionally-fraught sexual tension, long buried pain, and unresolved feelings- this one gets angsty quickly! And, much heavier than the more frivolously fun series opener.
I enjoyed that Fiona took the central conflict and pushed it back to the intrapersonal here (for the most part- we have some trademark rockstar/famous people drama, too). This is really a story about two people who loved each other but weren’t mature enough yet to make it work. To make the right decisions, to communicate, to own who they are, to understand how to deal with situations and emotions well beyond their emotional maturity. They’ve grown, and know who they are, but now their past is the barrier- and it makes for a really palpable emotional tension and compelling character arcs.
Nova is a very relatable heroine- a woman who has suffered greatly at no fault of her own, but who has emerged as more fully herself. She has a lot of integrity as a character- and she’s equal parts sweet and steel. Parker is super sexy- with that characteristic FC trademark mouth. By the end, I felt that he really worked hard to redeem his past actions, but I do think he could have owned up to them even more. At times he felt incredibly passive, and his paralysis in key moments both past and present frustrated me. Nova’s character growth really shines brightly, his is more of a dull thrum- like he’s evolved but still trying to find steady ground. But, their chemistry is scorching hot- and like all FC books the steamy times are smoking. (but be warned traditional romance lovers, there is a component to their relationship that is more risque/taboo)
The story starts with a really amazingly hooking opener- and the first few chapters were gripping. The pace did slow a bit for me, an experience I had in the last book too-here in part because we are waiting to find out just what happened in the past. The narrative alternates between past and present too- this very brilliantly creates for a richer character chemistry because we see the basis of their connection, but it does slow down the “present” progress of our story at first, and makes this more slower burn than I’m used to from FC. I did get a sense these two could (and should) have fought harder for each other in the past- a non-communication conflict device that sometimes irks me- but the story’s back half makes up for this and sold me. Our girl gang also steals the show- especially feisty Rae, and the glimpse we get into her book sounds like a lot of fun.
While there is a lot of angst and emotions, we end up in a pretty sweet and swoony place. And, I’m just loving the girls in this story. Nova is such a special heroine-she alone makes the story worth the read.