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A review by thebritishbibliophile
Bar Hopping for Singles by Tess Shepherd
5.0
'Not shaken, not stirred, just served up a healthy serving of something smooth, devious and thoroughly enjoyable' -TheBritishBibliophile
Thank you to Tess Shepherd for sending me an ebook Advanced Readers Copy for me to read and leave an honest review as part of her ARC team!
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I'm back with another Tess Shepherd read and this time, it's not a Dungeoness Hollow or a The City of Dreams novel. It's time to dip into a brand new series and the first book in said series, Bar Hopping for Singles in the series of the same name.
Books one and two are standalones in a duology series. For those who may have not come across that phrase before, 'duology' means 'a pair of related novels, plays, or films.'. In this case, it's obviously novels. The books will be related in some way, but will feature a different set of characters (while possibly having a cameo from characters from book one in future novels in the series). Book Two, What I Wouldn't Give is next, but let's focus on that later and instead on book one. Are you ready to bar hop?
Tess has a penchant for anything, everything and all things Los Angeles, so it was of no surprise to me to discover that this novel was also set in the aforementioned city. By no means is this a complaint, because like Tess I have somewhere that I love to write about myself. The pull to a place like how Tess has a deep-rooted love for Los Angeles should, and is, being written about with avid passion. The results of those things speak for themselves in this novel, I can confirm.
As outlined in the blurb, Annie is a thirty-year-old bartender/actress--yes, it's a profession--, with as much career prospect as the aspect of hell freezing over. Impossible. But Annie doesn't now the meaning of the word impossible. Despite all that is most likely to go against her, she keeps going and gets up when knocked down. Impossible isn't in her vocabulary. Besides, every cloud has a silver lining and lucky for Annie, her cloud has two in the form of her best friends, River and Ox (aka, Henry). The three of them are as thick as thieves, and they always have one another's backs regardless of what's going on or how bad things get. And in a city where things at times may get murky, unfair and hard, the three of them are there for each other.
By the power of deduction, we're able to work out from the blurb which of those two best friends will journey down the road of romance with Annie. And our winner is....Ox!
Ox, aka 'Henry', has always been the best friend to Annie--as has River--but deep below the surface, there has always been something more in it that up until now, hasn't come close to being a possibility. Or even an inkling of a possibility. Ox is pulled into Annie's game of 'Bar Hopping for Singles', not unwillingly, but pulled in nonetheless. After asking if she's dating anyone--and the obvious answer of 'no' coming forth--the game is afoot to secure a date for one, or both, of them. In this game they'll be each other's wingman/woman, and Ox is definitely in the game even if it means for reasons unbeknown to Annie. There isn't anything he wouldn't do for her, even if it's River who forgets to do said things now and again, and Ox steps up to the plate in ways that go above and beyond what a best friend normally does.
The road to romance for Annie and Ox is far from smooth, and they do hit a few bumps in said road along the way, but like any romance that's worth the effort, both will learn to ride the bumps and the storms that crash against them as friends, and as a potential couple. Annie and Ox come a long way as characters go in terms of development, and Tess has done a great job in showing that alongside the gradual story development. Their story is not a rushed one, but is more of a delicious slow-burn, much like a good brandy.
I didn't expect to warm to this novel as much as I did not because of anything bad about Tess or her writing (because she's not bad in any way, and her writing is A-grade amazing), but because of the nature of the story. I'm not a massive drinker, and my hangouts are not around the alcohol/bar scene, so I didn't have that relatability there as when I had it reading her Dungeoness Hollow series. BUT! I did. I did warm to it and as a genuinely pleasant surprise to me, I enjoyed every word I read. So much so that I was both rushing to read to get to the end, while trying to slow my roll and savour the story carefully crafted for us. A new series is always hit or miss, especially when it changes tack from what you're used to from an author, especially when you've developed such a deep love and affection for a series as I did the Dungeoness Hollow series. I'm thrilled to have had my own prior judgement of this book proved wrong, and I'm very proud of what Tess has put out there for the world to read when this novel goes live.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this is a book worthy of your shelves/bookcases, and its also worthy of a hearty five-star rating.
Well done, Tess. You deserve this rating & more!
Thank you to Tess Shepherd for sending me an ebook Advanced Readers Copy for me to read and leave an honest review as part of her ARC team!
--------------
I'm back with another Tess Shepherd read and this time, it's not a Dungeoness Hollow or a The City of Dreams novel. It's time to dip into a brand new series and the first book in said series, Bar Hopping for Singles in the series of the same name.
Books one and two are standalones in a duology series. For those who may have not come across that phrase before, 'duology' means 'a pair of related novels, plays, or films.'. In this case, it's obviously novels. The books will be related in some way, but will feature a different set of characters (while possibly having a cameo from characters from book one in future novels in the series). Book Two, What I Wouldn't Give is next, but let's focus on that later and instead on book one. Are you ready to bar hop?
Tess has a penchant for anything, everything and all things Los Angeles, so it was of no surprise to me to discover that this novel was also set in the aforementioned city. By no means is this a complaint, because like Tess I have somewhere that I love to write about myself. The pull to a place like how Tess has a deep-rooted love for Los Angeles should, and is, being written about with avid passion. The results of those things speak for themselves in this novel, I can confirm.
As outlined in the blurb, Annie is a thirty-year-old bartender/actress--yes, it's a profession--, with as much career prospect as the aspect of hell freezing over. Impossible. But Annie doesn't now the meaning of the word impossible. Despite all that is most likely to go against her, she keeps going and gets up when knocked down. Impossible isn't in her vocabulary. Besides, every cloud has a silver lining and lucky for Annie, her cloud has two in the form of her best friends, River and Ox (aka, Henry). The three of them are as thick as thieves, and they always have one another's backs regardless of what's going on or how bad things get. And in a city where things at times may get murky, unfair and hard, the three of them are there for each other.
By the power of deduction, we're able to work out from the blurb which of those two best friends will journey down the road of romance with Annie. And our winner is....Ox!
Ox, aka 'Henry', has always been the best friend to Annie--as has River--but deep below the surface, there has always been something more in it that up until now, hasn't come close to being a possibility. Or even an inkling of a possibility. Ox is pulled into Annie's game of 'Bar Hopping for Singles', not unwillingly, but pulled in nonetheless. After asking if she's dating anyone--and the obvious answer of 'no' coming forth--the game is afoot to secure a date for one, or both, of them. In this game they'll be each other's wingman/woman, and Ox is definitely in the game even if it means for reasons unbeknown to Annie. There isn't anything he wouldn't do for her, even if it's River who forgets to do said things now and again, and Ox steps up to the plate in ways that go above and beyond what a best friend normally does.
The road to romance for Annie and Ox is far from smooth, and they do hit a few bumps in said road along the way, but like any romance that's worth the effort, both will learn to ride the bumps and the storms that crash against them as friends, and as a potential couple. Annie and Ox come a long way as characters go in terms of development, and Tess has done a great job in showing that alongside the gradual story development. Their story is not a rushed one, but is more of a delicious slow-burn, much like a good brandy.
I didn't expect to warm to this novel as much as I did not because of anything bad about Tess or her writing (because she's not bad in any way, and her writing is A-grade amazing), but because of the nature of the story. I'm not a massive drinker, and my hangouts are not around the alcohol/bar scene, so I didn't have that relatability there as when I had it reading her Dungeoness Hollow series. BUT! I did. I did warm to it and as a genuinely pleasant surprise to me, I enjoyed every word I read. So much so that I was both rushing to read to get to the end, while trying to slow my roll and savour the story carefully crafted for us. A new series is always hit or miss, especially when it changes tack from what you're used to from an author, especially when you've developed such a deep love and affection for a series as I did the Dungeoness Hollow series. I'm thrilled to have had my own prior judgement of this book proved wrong, and I'm very proud of what Tess has put out there for the world to read when this novel goes live.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this is a book worthy of your shelves/bookcases, and its also worthy of a hearty five-star rating.
Well done, Tess. You deserve this rating & more!