A Love Letter to Whiskey

A Love Letter to Whiskey #1

by Kandi Steiner

This is not your typical love story.


It’s a story of almosts and could-have-beens.
Of friendship that teeters on the edge of something more.
Of passion so intoxicating, it burns.

Jamie and B are two hearts caught in the tangle of bad timing and unspoken words. Their connection defies labels—too deep for friendship, too tangled for love. Over a decade of moments, choices, and missed opportunities, they find themselves drawn together like a moth to a flame, even when the world—and their own mistakes—keep pulling them apart.

Is it obsession? Destiny? Or just self-destruction with a pretty face?

Sometimes, love isn’t about finding the right person—it’s about the moment when everything aligns. 

But what if that moment never comes?

Genres: Romance, Friends To Lovers, Contemporary Romance, New Adult, Contemporary, Second Chance, Slow Burn

378 pages, Paperback

First published October 13, 2016

About the author

Kandi Steiner is a USA Today and #1 Amazon Bestselling Author living in Tennessee. Best known for writing “emotional rollercoaster” stories, she loves bringing flawed characters to life and writing about real, raw romance — in all its forms. No two Kandi Steiner books are the same, and if you’re a lover of angsty, emotional, and inspirational reads, she’s your gal.

An alumna of the University of Central Florida, Kandi graduated with a double major in Creative Writing and Advertising/PR with a minor in Women’s Studies. Her love for writing started at the ripe age of 10, and in 6th grade, she wrote and edited her own newspaper and distributed to her classmates. Eventually, the principal caught on and the newspaper was quickly halted, though Kandi tried fighting for her “freedom of press.”

She took particular interest in writing romance after college, as she has always been a hopeless romantic and found herself bursting at the seams with love stories she was eager to tell.

When Kandi isn’t writing, you can find her reading books of all kinds, planning her next adventure, or pole dancing (yes, you read that right). She enjoys live music, traveling, hiking, yoga, spending quality time with her family (fur babies included) and soaking up the sweetness of life.

CONNECT WITH KANDI:
➜ NEWSLETTER: kandisteiner.com/newsletter
➜ FACEBOOK: facebook.com/kandisteiner
➜ FACEBOOK READER GROUP (Kandiland): facebook.com/groups/kandilandks
➜ INSTAGRAM: Instagram.com/kandisteiner
➜ TIKTOK: tiktok.com/@authorkandisteiner
➜ PINTEREST: pinterest.com/authorkandisteiner
➜ WEBSITE: www.kandisteiner.com
Kandi Steiner may be coming to a city near you! Check out her “events” tab to see all the signings she’s attending in the near future:
➜ www.kandisteiner.com/events

Reviews

[Phuong ✯ · Rating 2 out of 5]

What is worse than one love triangle?
– 4 (!!!!) FOUR love triangles.

There is angst and then there is THIS. I'm mentally exhausted that I needed alcohol to fall asleep, because I couldn't cope with the stress the book put me through. Another great therapy session with my dear friend Gin Tonic 🙏

"All we do is hurt. All we do is destroy, and one of us is always picking up the pieces, trying to move on or forget or not get our hopes up. It's sick. We're toxic."

Warning: ‼️SPOILERS‼️

Like it wasn't enought that the first love triangle was Brecks a.k.a B (h), Jamie (H) and Jenna (h's best friend) in high school. No, after that came love triangle n° 2 in college with B, Jamie and Ethan (B's boyfriend) whom she cheated on. Then B's father died and she ghosted Jamie for 3 years cause she needed to heal and find herself. After a bit of back and forth between B and Jamie after they meet again where B holds Jamie at arms length because she couldn't do the long distance relationship, love tringle n°3 comes to play: B, Jamie and Angel (Jamie's girlfriend). Not Jamie cheating on Angel with B one day before their wedding .. I would say I'm surprised but that would be a lie. On his wedding day, Jamie finds out that Angel cheated on him with some random dude, because she saw a picture of his bachelor party where he had his arms around B and thought that he would cheat on her and instead cheated in him in return (can't say I'm blaming her tbh). B and Jamie have another one night stand after the fall out with Angel and he tells her to wait for him. B flies back to Pittsburg and waits for Jamie call and she waits and waits and waits. The call never comes. She's trying to call Jamie but he never answers the phone and two more years flew by and then we finally reached the end with love triangle n°4. B trying to move on with another guy named Bradley. She's getting married to him and BAAM Jamie shows up at her door with the wedding invitation and again B cheated a-fucking-gain. B regrets that decision the next day and marries Brad anyway (honestly dude deserves better just sayingg). After a short lived marriage (5 months), she ends things with Brad (might be the best thing she did throughout the book..).

bla bla bla B writes a love letter to whiskey (Jamie in case you haven't figured out). the end.

That's literally the end. I'm not even kidding. Then there is the epilogue where we get that they are now married, but that's it. After everything there wasn't even a scene where B and Jamie got together. No cute couple scene. No happy scene when they finally together. Nada. NOTHING. For every step forward, there were 40593 steps backward and then the book just ended.

So many hearts have been broken on the way and then we didn't even get an satisfying ending? Hello I want 4 hours of my life back!!

While I can say that I HATED these characters (Jenna is the exception, the BEST character!), the cheating, all the mistakes they made. A Love Letter to Whiskey made me feel something. Not good feelings. Not great feelings. Not warm fuzzy feelings, but feelings nonetheless. Therefore 2 stars for that.

After reading Kandi Steiner's Becker Brothers series I felt hesitant to pick up another of Miss Steiner's book, because I feel very meh about her writing. While this book is well written, it still didn't work for me. I picked up this book without reading any review and maybe I should have because then I sure as hell wouldn't have read it, but it Kandi's most popular and highest rating book so I thought why not give it a try. I think it's time to say goodbye to KS' books for now.

Watch me coming back in a few months with another KS cheating book because ..

But sometimes, even when we know something is bad for us, we do it anyway. Maybe for the thrill, maybe to cure our curiosity, or maybe just to lie to ourselves a little longer.

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars!

One day, whether you are 14, 28 or 65,

you will stumble upon someone who will start a fire in you that cannot die.

However, the saddest, most awful truth you will ever come to find-

is they are not always with whom we spend our lives.

-Beau Tapilin

The first page of this book gutted me. A Love Letter to Whiskey is not an easy read. It’s the opposite of easy. It’s stressful. It will make you cry, make you feel and have your stomach in knots. It’s easily the most angst-filled book I’ve read this year. I was not expecting this from a Kandi Steiner book. The other two books I read by here were not like this LOL. I have a love/hate relationship with excessive angst and I usually lean more towards the hate side. But this book… This story… As hard as it was to read, I fell in love. Kandi’s words are beyond gorgeous. This book is real, raw and you will devour it.

I saw him first, but it didn’t matter. Because he saw her.

By the first chapter of this book, I was fully invested in the story and in the main character, B. B meets Jamie her junior year of high school. It doesn’t start out as love, but friendship. Jamie and B become the best of friends, but so much more is between them. This story spans a decade. A decade of love, loss, friendship, heartache and emotion.

I was spinning, tipsy, teetering on the edge of being wasted on Whiskey. I’d dreamed of kissing Jamie so many times, but nothing could compare to how it really felt.

As the years pass, mistakes are made. There is miscommunication. There is a lot of stress and misunderstandings. But there is also a lot of love. Desire. I could feel how much these two loved each other, wanted each other, and needed each other. I was addicted to their story. I couldn’t stop reading. No matter how difficult it got, I couldn’t put the book down. Oh those rare books that are impossible to stop reading- they are such a treasure. I must have bit off all my nails while reading. I felt like I needed a drink. This love story was complicated. It was devastating. It was intense. And these two had the absolute worst timing ever.

Jamie is a character I loved from the start. He’s Whiskey. He’s addicting, smooth, and you will get drunk off of him. His nickname suits him. B is one of those characters that was tough. She was likable, then she was frustrating, then I felt for her… lord did I feel for her. Then I went back to being frustrated with her. My emotions were all over the place. One thing she was- REAL. She was a real person. She was not perfect, but by the end, I felt like she had a lot of growth.



I feel like this review has been a lot of rambling and I’m not giving this story the type of review it deserves. It’s because my emotions are all over the place. This story is bittersweet. It’s heart-wrenching and soul shattering. And it absolutely blew me away. It’s a book that you’ll love to hate and hate to love. I feel like no matter how you feel after reading, YOU WILL FEEL. This is a story that will elicit strong feelings from everyone who reads it.

It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book like this, and even longer since I’ve read one that effected me this strongly. Kandi Steiner’s writing is exquisite. This is one of the most beautifully written stories I have ever read. It will make you feel. Not all of those feelings will be pretty, but you will feel. There were so many moments while reading, I felt like I couldn’t breathe. This one really got under my skin and made my heart ache. By the end, I was happy I stuck it out. This is a story of heartache, love and friendship. It’s an epic read and one that I couldn’t give anything less than 5 stars to. Word to the wise, bring some Whiskey along when reading. You’ll need it.

[✦❋Arianna✦❋ · Rating 4 out of 5]

'A Love Letter to Whiskey' was my first Kandi Steiner’s book and certainly won’t my last because let me tell you, this lady can write, really write. Kandi’s newest novel was utterly addictive. I honestly couldn’t put it down for one second. Maybe because of her effortless, wonderful storytelling, or maybe because of all the angst fest that blew me away more and more with each and every chapter. Who knows? But one thing it's sure - I enjoyed the hell put of this book! 'A Love Letter to Whiskey' was intoxicating, consuming and such an emotional roller-coaster. It’s a story that will make you think, but most important, it’s a story that will make you feel so much.

“…the biggest player in the game of life is timing — and you either have that player on your team, or you don’t.”

Breck aka “B” meets Jamie, the boy with whiskey eyes, who will become her ‘Whiskey’ when both of them were in high school. She literally runs into him and from the moment she lays her eyes on him, she knows that he’s different. B and Jamie become friends, their friendship getting complicated over the months and years when certain lines are crossed. Even if their connection grows over the time and even if their feelings for each other become stronger with every single one of their encounters, the timing seems not so kind when it comes to them together as a couple.

“He kissed me like he was losing me, like that kiss was his last chance to keep me, and I didn’t have the heart to tell him that it wasn’t.”

'A Love Letter to Whiskey' was raw, poignant and wonderfully written. Filled with so much angst that I had my stomach in knots the entire time, this powerful story of love, loss and sacrifice was from the beginning so unputdownable. Every single aspect of this story was consuming and every single aspect was exhausting. Not only because the angst was crazy as hell and it almost killed me, but also because the two main characters were SO. DAMN. FRUSTRATING.

Both B and Jamie were well developed, complex characters. Both of them were in some way relatable and both of them had so much depth. B was a very frustrating, infuriating, stubborn heroine. To be honest, I lost count how many times I wanted to throttle her or to scream at her. She was for sure that kind of heroine that many readers will not find very appealing, but here’s the thing – with all her flaws she felt so very real. You will be annoyed with her, sure, but you will also feel for her.

“It’s just not the right time for us…” I shook my head. “It’s never the right time.”

Jamie was a hero I liked from the beginning. I liked the way he was with B, the way he loved her and how much he valued their friendship. These two characters' story was full of ups and downs. Their relationship was fantastically portrayed and as much as I found it to be frustrating and so full of misunderstandings, I loved it. While I didn’t really love these two characters individually, I loved them together. I wanted so badly to start properly communicate with each other, to forget about everything and everyone, to trust their hearts and to finally learn how to be happy TOGETHER.

The love they have for each other was amazing, so strong and passionate. You will feel their connection and their love for each other with each and every chapter as the story unfolds, but you also will feel their hate, their fears, their insecurities.

“He couldn’t get enough of me, and I never wanted to get enough of him. I never wanted to lose that primal need, that possessive desire that always existed between us.”



All in all, 'A Letter to Whiskey' was an enthralling raw, real and honest read, filled with angst and drama that will grip you from the beginning and will leave you for sure an emotional mess.

[Candace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This book. Have you ever read a story that is so heartbreaking and painful, yet you can seem to drag yourself away? You know, the kind where you feel absolutely gutted but cannot stop immersing yourself in the pain. That was this book. It was exquisite torture and I could not get enough of it.

When Breck, aka "B", first meets Jamie, she is immediately smitten. Unfortunately, it is her stunning best friend that catches his eye. While B pines away for him, she is relegated to the role of his girlfriend's best friend. I'm not going to lie, it sucked. That was the first of many heartaches that this book caused.

Luckily for us, Jamie's relationship with B's best friend doesn't end up being a forever thing. His friendship with B ended up being far more long-lasting and durable. These two are a permanent fixture in each other's lives, spanning thousands of miles and years of time, Jamie and B's feelings are a constant.

However, while the two may love each other, they cannot seem to get their acts together. The timing is always off with these two. When she's single, he's not and vice versa. There was so much love between these two, but they caused each other so much pain also. It was heartbreaking.

Unlike most of my friends, I have to admit that I was not immediately a fan of Jamie's. After all, he seemed to be constantly choosing others over B. I just didn't feel that her feelings for him were reciprocated. I thought he was kind of selfish and that B served as his back-up girl. He wanted to have his cake and eat it too. I resented that and thought that B deserved better.

Eventually, Jamie grew on me. Although he still seemed to "replace" B a little to easily for my comfort, I have to say that she definitely contributed to some of the disconnect. Time and time again, I was heartbroken by these two.

In the end, everything does work out for the best. Some things are meant to be and some things have to be sacrificed. What you think you want when you're young may not be what you end up needing as an adult.

If you are looking for an emotional, angst-filled book, this is a fantastic choice. This story broke my heart, only to piece it back together and then break it all over again. I was elated and then devastated. I was a mess, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I loved this story!

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC provided by author in exchange for an honest review



So before I begin my review, I think it would be fitting to write a letter to the author since Kandi Steiner told us a story that was aptly titled: A Love Letter To Whiskey.

Dear Kandi Steiner,

It's 2:30 am and I just spend the last three hours getting lost or in this case drunk on your lyrical and poignant prose. How can this one story consume me? Have me strangely intoxicated? Addicted? It's simple. One taste of your raw words was all it took. It didn't take much because shot after shot of your literary brilliance, you left me feeling numb, high and sated. I wanted to drown in whiskey. I wanted to feel whiskey. I wanted to be vulnerable to whiskey. I wanted to love whiskey. I wanted to hate whiskey but I couldn't because whiskey didn't consume me. It was your words Kandi Steiner that I was addicted to.

“It turned out a Whiskey stain was just as permanent as ink, and I wondered if I would ever truly wash myself clean. Or if I even wanted to.”

This story. These characters. These words. These emotions that you had coursing through my veins was the very essence of why I love to read. This was not a story of perfect characters but instead of flawed individuals who continued to make mistakes after mistakes. Individuals who hurt each other emotionally. So how could I be intoxicated on a story where cheating occurred multiple times? The answer to that is simple. Love is complicated. Love is patient. Love is kind. Love is beauty. Love is truth. And the truth of the matter, love can be selfish. Love can be cruel. Love can be an addiction. Good and bad. It can be toxic. But love can make you feel. And the story of Jamie and B was a story that I will happily drown in over and over again. Why would I torture myself in such a complicated love story? Because love is meant to be consuming and a story that makes you feel every fiber of emotions coursing through your veins is a story worth remembering. And this is one love letter to whiskey where I will savor every last drop.

“My first taste of Whiskey had been nothing. My first shot? Child’s play. I’d been holding back, delicately balancing on the line, afraid of drinking too much —but this was it. I knew it. I felt every inch of the fall from tipsy to drunk. I was completely wasted, and all I wanted was to feel this way forever.”

Sincerely,
~Michelle xo

Emotionally consuming. Intoxicating. Raw. Flawed. And breathtakingly poignant. These are the words that immediately comes to mind as I sit here in write my review for A Love Letter to Whiskey. Kandi Steiner honestly blew me away with this book. In the three hours that I was held hostage, I felt like I was on an emotional roller-coaster going through the motions and the unexpected twist and turns. In all honesty, I needed a drink after reading this book because my heart and emotions were scattered and beating wildly as I drank in every mistake, love, hurt, and loss the hero and heroine experienced.

“Jamie was whiskey, that much I was sure of. I couldn’t deny the way he burned, the way his taste lingered.”



That first taste. Once you had your first drop of love, it's a high and addiction that you can't forget. The buzz that you crave. For Breck, her addiction came in the form of a boy who knocked her world off its axis. The boy she knew who was top shelf material. Yeah he was that drink that was rich, smooth and left a good burn. And that drink was her very own whiskey named Jamie.

“I was spinning, tipsy, teetering on the edge of being wasted on Whiskey. I’d dreamed of kissing Jamie so many times, but nothing could compare to how it really felt —his hands on me, so strong, his mouth skilled and passionate. My legs were weak and he felt it, taking the weight of me in his arms, kissing me like he’d waited his entire life to have the chance.”

Jamie and B's relationship was built on a friendship that was held by truth, love, and an indescribable connection. To sum it up, it was intense. But like any friendship when feelings are involved, lines would get blurred. And the timing of Jamie and B was never right.When she was single, he was in a relationship. When he was ready for her, she wasn’t available. But as much as the timing was never right, their feelings were always there but miscommunication and timing was always their downfall. She wasn’t ready to be fully consumed with whiskey even though she already knew she was drowning in it.



“It turned out I was water, he was whiskey, and I couldn’t dilute him —not now that I knew he loved me enough to let me. I needed to be stronger, to be ice the next time I melted with him.”

A Love Letter to Whiskey is an utterly raw gripping addictive read. This book was built on a symphony of raw emotions. Emotions that left you frazzled, confused, hurt, angry, sad, and wildly intoxicated. Steiner did not write an ordinary love story but instead a story that left you savoring every drop of her poetic and stunning prose. To the very last drop, you will want a taste of whiskey. You will want to know and experience a selfish kind of love. An addictive kind of love. And most importantly a love that is honest. Real. Raw. A love that leaves you vulnerable and breathless. And so if you are ready to take a sip and get your first taste of a literary masterpiece then I urge you to get drunk on this book. Take a sip, savor the taste, and enjoy the lasting aftertaste of whiskey or in this case Kandi Steiner's words.

“Even if you must move on, please don’t ever let us go.”


Kandi Steiner

[Angie - Angie's Dreamy Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

EMOTIONALLY EXPLOSIVE!!!!!!!

That is what A Love Letter to Whiskey is. It is an emotionally charged read that is so well written it will blow your mind. Still, weeks after finishing, I cannot put into words what I went through reading this book. Painful, exquisite, soul stealing, raw, turbulent, honest, a guaranteed book hangover. It consumes you. From the first sentence, to the very last word, it's down right intoxicating. I was drunk on feels. I had the book buzz of ALL book buzzes. I couldn't function.

Obsessed.

This book leaves you feeling obsessive. You can't stop thinking about it. You can't stop running scenes through your head. The story is all-consuming. And for this only being my second Kandi Steiner read, I am now hooked on her. I want to read EVERY BOOK she writes. I can't get over it. I can't get over the level of angst and, most importantly, the way this book made me feel.

For those of you who follow me, you know that I am a reader who is addicted to "feelssssss!" I mention them ALL the time. They are important to me. When I look for books to recommend to you, I am desperate to find the ones that pull major emotional responses.

I want the novels that make me feel.
Books that make me fall in love and break my heart at the same time.
I want to look back on the story and SEE IT. Like a movie. A vivid picture.
I want to be able to recall the moments, the emotions, the way the characters looked at each other, the way the heartbreak felt when it happened.
I want to be completely and utterly dominated by the way I felt when I was reading that book.

And I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that A Love Letter to Whiskey IS THAT BOOK. I will remember it, call on it, and recommend it for years and years to come.

It is THAT phenomenal.

And you know... if I could compare the feels in this novel to any one book it would be "Thoughtless." A Love Letter to Whiskey's story is completely it's own, but the emotions it drew out of me were so similar to Thoughtless. The push and pull, the yearning, that deep, aching pain when you are longing for someone... AHHHHHH. Raw! Painful. It really is.

This novel had me aching. It was the sweetest, most delicious torture that demands you listen. I can't describe how lost I was in Whiskey. And I also, can't even express how much Jamie and B owned and destroyed me as a reader. I connect to both of them. And never once did I get angry at these characters. Frustrated, yes. Angry and bitter, no. They were so honest, so raw and real. So authentically flawed. This story was magnificent. I cannot say that enough times.

Also, I went into A Love Letter to Whiskey COMPLETELY BLIND. The only thing I knew before reading was that it was a "timing is never right" story and I had also read the absolute kick ass synopsis. But I stayed away from reviews. I needed to go into the novel without having other peoples thoughts in my head. And I think you need to do the same thing. This story is an EXPERIENCE. It's something that I would HATE to see ruined for you. I want you to hop on the roller coaster ride and live the twists and turns like it is happening to you.

Overall, I would call this a high-angst thrill ride that does not let up. It grips you by the heart and holds on until it owns you completely. It's merciless and real, from start to finish. So well written, so perfectly paced, and brimming with emotion. Really... just an intoxicating tale of two people who can't seem to get on the same page.

I would recommend A Love Letter to Whiskey to EVERYONE. It's a TOP 2016 read for me. In fact, I would put it up there with my TOP 3 reads, Say You'll Stay, Swear on This Life, and The Silent Waters. A Love Letter to Whiskey fits right in there. ALL THE WAY at the top. I wish I could give it more than 5 stars because simply put, it's a masterpiece for angst lovers.

ARC received in exchange for an honest review

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[Dilek VT · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a painfully beautiful book.
Very well-written but very cruelly written…

“It was heaven. It was hell.
It was wrong and right and I wished I’d never started yet I never wanted to stop.
Loving Jamie was the sickest and sweetest oxymoron...
It burned, it seared, it scarred...”

***********************************************

When I say, "cruelly wriiten", here is what I mean:

1. The writer makes an 8- to 10-inch cut in your chest on the very first page. You sure aren’t put to sleep with an anesthetic during this procedure... You are unfortunately wide awake!

The prologue is the first incision made down your chest over your breastbone. With no anesthesia, I said, OK? Don’t forget!

2. When the writer accesses your heart, she enjoys her time with it. She stabs her knife into your heart as many times as I cannot count. You bleed and you bloody feel it.

This goes on until %99 percent of the book… Yeap, I mean it, %99.

3. When the writer is done with you, she stitches all the cuts in your heart one by one, but leave the chest open and goes…
Yes, she goes…
Where?
Maybe for a coffee break?
Hell if I know!

You think the procedure is done, but you are left, cut open on the table until she comes back after “THE END”… Oops, yes, she is back, and you are hopeful that she will sew the first original cut in your chest. Well, she does... she does sew it… but it still hurts like hell. She doesn’t do anything gently.

4. The operation ends… OK? Are you still with me?

Now, she sends you back home without taking care of you in the ICU. Now you are alone at home, trying to heal…

And you take a BOTTLE OF WHISKEY to numb the pain…
Shot after shot…

You fear you are not gonna survive this…
But then, you turn the page over… :)

The doorbell rings and she brings a box of painkillers and tells you it is OK now and you will live, scarred or not…

You get it right, don't forget to turn the page over after it says, "THE END", OK? :)))

***********************************************

Well, if you want to have this procedure, go read the book.



Was it worth it?

I don’t know, ask me when I finish this bottle of whiskey with my pills, then, I will tell.

But if a friend recommended this book to me, she/he would be forever in my "sh*t list", so I definitely am not recommending it to you...

***********************************************

THE PLOT:

4 Love triangles!



Nope, I am not kidding. The hero and heroine find themselves in 4 different love triangles all along the book!

Ok, let me tell you how that happens.

Our main characters are Jamie & Brecks (aka B).



At the beginning of their first encounter, Jamie falls for B's best friend Jenna.

So we have this love triangle: Jenna, Jamie & Brecks.

I won’t go into any more detail… you think of the pain…

***

Then a year and a half later, we have another love triangle, a second one!

This time it is Brecks, her boyfriend Ethan and of course Jamie again…

You imagine the mess, no need to tell this book involves cheating, it definitely does!

***

Then, years later, we have another very nice love triangle!

Brecks, Jamie and his new girlfriend Angel...

***

Then years later, we have a 4th love triangle…

Oh, no, I am not kidding!

This time, it is Jamie, Brecks and her boyfriend Bradley.


***********************************************

As you see, it is never the right time for them.

If you ask me, it is bullshit, they could have made it the right time sooner.



But because they are flawed human beings, they made mistakes…
Very wrong decisions followed one another.
Fate didn’t help either…
Unexpected events hit them hard!
But one thing was constant…
It remained the same….
He was her "whiskey" addiction...
With the way it burns and how strong it is…

"Jamie was whiskey, that much I was sure of. I couldn’t deny the way he burned, the way his taste lingered. Still, no one warned me that once a whiskey girl, always a whiskey girl. But I was figuring it out."



They were each other’s “Whiskey”… An addiction they could never be cured from…

No matter when or where they run into each other, no matter how much time they’ve stayed sober, as soon as one sees the other or touches the other, it is relapse again…

You know, the alcoholics start with one sip. So even after months or years of staying sober, with a small taste, they start to drink again… And they become drunk again.... and again... and again... The high is of course good... euphoric each time, but then the hangover the morning after hurts like hell…

“It turned out a Whiskey stain was just as permanent as ink, and I wondered if I would ever truly wash myself clean. Or if I even wanted to.”

***

“I remind you of whiskey?”
“In every sense of the word”
“We should do a shot!”
“I don’t know, Jamie…”
“Don’t you want a little whiskey on your lips?”

***

"It took too long for me to realize I’d dropped that beautiful bottle of whiskey. Too long to realize I’d broken it. By the time I figured it out, too long turned to too late, and I remembered all-too-well the other way Whiskey can burn."

*********************************************

Well, this is all their story is about: Wrong timing & bad decisions… Their love, lust, desperation, want, need, pain, fear, guilt, regret, loss, anger, resentment… It is all about that, too.

“They say timing is everything, and I was beginning to learn that timing was everything but kind to Jamie and me.”

***

“It’s just not the right time for us…” I shook my head. “It’s never the right time.”

***

“I wasn’t sorry the first time I kissed you, even when you weren’t mine, and I’m not sorry I kissed you the other night, even when I wasn’t yours. Because the truth is you’ve always been mine, and I’ll always be yours, and that’s just the way it is.”

***

“But guess what? You wanted me to let you go so badly, and this time, I listened.”

*********************************************

Recommendation:

It is a high angst reading… Very high angst!
It is a torturous hot love story of “two fools”!
It is utterly frustrating!

Do I recommend it?

Well, it's damn good...
It's written very well. Despite all the torture, it is unputdownable. The writer keeps you there, doesn’t let you go…

So if you physically have a weak heart condition, high blood pressure or if you suffer from panic attacks or something like that, well … I'd say “think twice”.

But if you are healthy and happy, then, you may read it if you want some self-inflicted pain... you will survive… eventually!

Don't forget!

On the very last page after you thought it ended… it won’t end!
You will be played not once but twice…
Hang in there and go on reading even if it writes “THE END”...

I said “cruelly written” at the very beginning of my review, right? Don’t forget that!

I would say “happy reading” but it is out of question!!!

Still, I don't regret having read this book… It is a very talented writing which made me feel as if it is all real…

*********************************************

Rating:

For making me feel everything, the talented writing of the book sure deserves "more than 5 stars", but I don't think this much of a drama was necessary, it was really too much, too frustrating.

Also, I never forgot the fact that she was not his first choice, which bothered me all along:

"I saw him first, but it didn’t matter. Because he saw her."

Hence my "-2 points" despite the phenomenal writing.

*********************************************

More QUOTES from the book...

"Handsome wasn’t the right word to describe him, but it was all I kept thinking as I traced his features. His hair was a sort of mocha color, damp at the roots, falling onto his forehead just slightly. His eyes were wide — almost too round — and a mixture of gold, green, and the deepest brown. I didn’t coin the nickname Whiskey until much later, but it was that moment that I saw it for the first time — those were whiskey eyes. The kind of eyes you get lost in. The kind that drink you in."

***

"I saw him first, but it didn’t matter. Because he saw her."

***

"You don’t play fair, Jamie Shaw.”
He moved his straw around, a smirk crawling up on his lips. “You have no idea.”

***

“Remember how you used to say I don’t play fair?”
I cocked a brow. “Yeah…”
His eyes smoldered as he stepped away from me, and I felt the loss of energy instantly. He wet his lips, and my eyes followed the sweep of his tongue. “Just wanted to make sure you didn’t forget.”

***

"I knew it was a bad idea. There wasn’t just a red flag, there was a warning bell and alarms and whistles and neon lights with DON’T DO IT in all capital letters. But sometimes, even when we know something is bad for us, we do it anyway. Maybe for the thrill, maybe to cure our curiosity, or maybe just to lie to ourselves a little longer."

***

"It's crazy how fast the buzz comes back after you’ve been sober for so long. I opened my door and felt tipsy just at the sight of him, eyes blurring and legs shaking. It used to take me at least a shot to get to this point, but my tolerance level had been weakened by distance and time, and just seeing him warmed my blood.

Whiskey stood there, on my doorstep, just like he had one year before. Except this time, there was no rain, no anger, no wedding invitation — it was just us."



"The heat of the sun closed in around us and suddenly the symbolism of where we were clicked into place. A snake path, in a garden. I felt like Eve, and here Jamie was — the juicy red apple — taunting me. Daring me."



“But lines always have been pretty blurry with us, haven’t they.”

***

“Would you be mad if I kissed you right now?”
“Yes,” I lied...
“Then I hope you’ll forgive me later.”

***

"I wanted to pull away, I wanted to lean in closer. I had no fucking idea what I wanted."



P.S. Photos represent "my whiskey" :) !!!

[Just Reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

****5 STARS****

Book Boyfriend Interview with Jamie Shaw. . . https://wp.me/p7ZSCH-3Sw

I really enjoyed this one right here! There were a few things that were pissing me off while I was reading but Kandi Steiner cleared things up in the end. So, all in all it was a fun read. Also, this an interracial love which I love, love, love. I have myself 2 little milkshake babies so I love seeing this represented WELL in books.



The book begins with Brecks and Jamie both in high school. Brecks is a 17 year old junior and Jamie is an 18 year old senior. I’ve been trying to keep an open mind when it comes to high school romance books but I wasn’t very happy with I noticed it. I thought to myself, “I am not in the mood for little boys stories. I wanted a new book boyfriend who is not in high school.” I’m 32 years old and teenagers don’t do it for me, grown men only.

But after a few chapters my life made since again and they were no longer in high school – they went to college. FYI, this book follows them from the time Jamie is 18 years old until he is 30 years old. Insert my happy dance!!!

It is obvious from the beginning that Brecks and Jamie have this crazy and wonderfully odd deep connection. For different reasons they decide they can't be together in high school.



College time….

I didn’t see this one coming….and I'm not going to tell you. You have to read it first.

As time went on I was getting frustrated. You can see from 20 miles away that Jamie and Brecks have a connection but neither one is brave enough to do anything about it. Instead they choose to ignore it and continue on dating other people.

Why would you deny yourself a great love that’s right in front of you?

I don’t get it….

I wanted to shake some sense into them. I wanted to tell them to get the fuck over themselves and be happy together. I was rooting for them. I was just patiently waiting for the author to put them together.

But life isn’t fair and that didn't happen….I was so pissed off with both of them but more so at Brecks. I didn’t understand why they were torturing themselves by not saying, “Fuck it. Let’s do this. Let’s be together. You and me. Forever.” Of something like that.

[Hulya Kara Yuksel · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I was water, he was whiskey, and I couldn’t dilute him — not now that I knew he loved me enough to let me. I needed to be stronger, to be ice the next time I melted with him."



Wow just Wow!!! I LOVED this book so much but I also HATED it too.. This is the most stressful book I ever read... My head hurts, my hands are still shaking and my lips hurts too because I literally bite them hard while I read this damn book... Ugh I'm a complete mess right now... But fuck it, IT WAS SO WORTH ALL THOSE STRESSFUL HOURS!!! This story literally took my breath away... It was really, really amazing. <3 :)

PLEASE, JUST PLEASE READ THIS BOOK ASAP!!! <3

[Shabby -BookBistroBlog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Breck " Just B" And Jamie meet , when in high school. He literally knocks her off her feet and on her ass, right on the pavement. But she watches lamely as Jamie and her Bestie Jenna fall for each other. He has whiskey coloured eyes, golden brown with specks of green, auburn hair....and that's the moment she gets a taste of , what is to follow her full blown addiction to whiskey. !!
Even though it's bad, she still gets closer to him , any chance she gets

Sometimes even when we know something is bad for us, we do it anyway. Maybe for the thrill, maybe to cure our curiosity, or maybe just to lie to ourselves a little longer.
THE THING ABOUT WHISKEY is that the longer it sits in the barrel, the more it cahnges-- it never stops.whiskey aged for two years is different than whiskey aged for ten, and no matter which year you decide to throw in the towel and pour yourself a glass, you can't go wrong. Whiskey at ripe age, young and full of character, is buzz-worthy. But whiskey aged, even just a little bit ? Pure Bliss !

So she let's herself fall in love with him, as years progress , the addiction starts to take root. Right from the first kiss to a clandestine affair , which she tries to slip off as a mistake. But she's already had the taste of him on her tongue.....

turned out the whiskey stain was just as permanent as ink, and I wondered if I would ever truly wash my self clean. I was tipsy, teetering on the edge of being wasted on Whiskey

She tries to pull back because she's with Ethan now. Her heart pulls herself in one direction , while mind in the other

Jamie was Whiskey. Ethan was Rum. But I didn't get drunk off Rum the same way as I did off with Whiskey.
No one warned me, once a Whiskey girl, always a Whiskey girl.
All I knew was that I couldn't enjoy the spicy sweetness of Rum if I was drinking it while staring at a neat glass of Whiskey

So this push and pull continues throughout the college years, till a family emergency separates them . She takes time off to get clarity they go without for three years . By the time she sorts her life, he's matured. And she comes to the painful realisation that their time apart has done nothing to lessen the attraction

In Scotland , you can classify Whiskey as Scotch once it's been aged in Casks for a minimum of Three years. Scotch was much stronger than Whiskey I'd let intoxicated me three years ago


But then again her career choices separates the,. Only after falling into a rut jolts her into facing her priorities in life. Does she want a career or her love . But by then An Angel had soothed his aching heart she had manged to break !

The Scottish are the only ones who can technically spell whiskey as “whisky.” They claim more vowels wastes good drinking time, and I wish I could have realized that then, because that’s exactly what I was doing — wasting time.
If I’d known back then about the Angel’s tax, I would have laughed. They say every year a batch of whiskey goes without being bottled, each year it’s aged, four percent of alcohol evaporates — and that’s the Angel’s share.

So she tries to pull herself back together - yet again and focus on herself, her own needs, her own life

I let myself be broken for nearly another month before I started on my own twelve-step program.I I was clean.

So this story is about their on again , off again lust fueled love. They are toxically infused in each others lives. They can't live without and they can't get together. But ironically they won't even allow each other to find peace and happiness either. It just is ......

To some, whiskey is a crutch. It’s a drug, it leads to addiction, it dulls the senses and damages the mind. To others, whiskey is medicine. A shot of bourbon can chase away what ails you, whether it be a sore throat or a broken heart.
Barrel-aged Whiskey and water mixed together, flavors exploding on my tongue with every sip.
We’ve always blamed timing, but the timing has always been right — we just never listened.

The writing is very piercing-hurtingly angsty. It will make you pull your hair out with frustration, you'd want to bitch slap both of them, you'd cry for them, root for them too.

I took away half a star for the lone reason that the story got repetitive after the millionth break up. Even I was hoping that they'd separate .
And being a dark addict , it was really sweet for me. But please go ahead and read this fabulous written ugly cry at times , story.
4.5 stars
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[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Love is the most powerful and real emotion we feel, and I think it’s sort of magical that we can experience some of the greatest loves of all time through books.” B, A Love Letter To Whiskey <- THIS! SO MUCH THIS!

It's taken me 7 hours to read ALLTW, taking three breaks where I had to put down the book because the emotion ran so deep, so strong. During those 3 breaks I found myself ugly crying, taking in big, deep breaths and holding my heart in place, because this book RIPPED ME APART! Kandi yanked out my heart, squeezed it, trampled on my soul and then burnt it. To ash! Sounds awful right? WRONG! That burning, trampled soul is now singing, bathing in the pain it endured and loving it!

From the moment I started reading I too succumbed to the devastating effects of Whiskey and found myself so addicted I COULD NOT let go. From beginning to end I have been launched into one of the fiercest, intense, passionate reading roller coaster rides of my life, climbing the beautiful high, before pummelling into devastation and despair, flying through breathtaking twist and turns, mind numbing speeds and jolting bumps. But you know what the best thing about an all consuming roller coaster is?
When you reach the end, all you want to do is ride it again….
And now all I want to do is go right back to the beginning and ride that emotional coaster AGAIN and AGAIN!

B and Whiskey are IT. You know? Just IT! So hard to explain, to fully capture THEM! Like everything that's wrong about them is actually so right and everything that's right is kinda wrong. Everything they are is perfection but it's also devastation.. They are two incredibly raw, intense, souls that have one hell of a connection but time is NEVER on their side. And that HURTS! But it's a good hurt..honestly, it's one that you need to savour. It's a hurt that you need to let knock you off your feet because that burn, that angst, that delicious heartbreak is magic.

What Kandi has done here is pen a book so full of emotion, so full of connection that when I was reading I could hear the characters talking, I could visualise them, in front of me telling me their story. I could FEEL every high and low. I was a part of it, for 7 hours I lived their world as my own.
I thought when Kandi wrote Weightless that her writing was amazing but in this book, Kandi's writing is other wordly. It's OUTSTANDING.
I hope people GET this book. I hope people read it and fully understand this book, I hope they get B and her mentality, I hope they get her addiction. I hope they understand Jamie, his magnetism and just how AMAZING he is. Yes it's gritty, raw, intense and at times all you may want to do is scream but it's also REAL, BEAUTIFUL, BREATHTAKING.
Oh and Kandi, the epilogue. One of the best epilogues I've ever read! Despite the fact that I cried like a baby AGAIN!

I read A LOT of books. I've read well over the 100 this year so far, and while books touch me and resonate, very few books actually play out my own personal experiences. However when reading this book, reading the story of B and Whiskey, hit so deep that I got the strangest sense of deja vu, because I have a Whiskey, in fact if people are honest, they'll have a Whiskey too. So ALLTW sits as one of those books that immediately changed me. It's one of those books that will leave an imprint so large that, I'll feel the after effects of it FOREVER.

[Kandi Steiner]

NOW AN AMAZON TOP 10 BESTSELLER!

Jamie finally gets to tell his side of the story...
and what happened after.

“I’m not sorry I kissed you,” he clarified, and my eyes found his then. “But I’m sorry I did it when you weren’t mine to kiss.”

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: Is this the same book as the original?
A: YES! And, it also includes a brand new novella (which is really almost a full book because it's a whopping 50,000 words!) written from Jamie's POV. You can relive some of the biggest plot points from his perspective AND find out what happened after the epilogue in B's version.

Q: I haven't read A Love Letter to Whiskey yet... should I read it first?
A: It's the same in this fifth anniversary edition! So, I highly recommend getting the most bang for your buck and grabbing this edition. Then, you can read the original, and the new novella both!

Q: Will you have signed copies available?
A: Yes! They're available on my website at kandisteiner.com/shop

Q: Will it be available forever, or only a limited time?
A: Forever! I absolutely LOVE this novella from Jamie's POV, and I want everyone to be able to read it!

Q: Where can I get the sweatshirt you're wearing in all the promo pictures?
A: From novelgrounds.com!

[Jennifer Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one did me in...



"They say timing is everything, and I was beginning to learn that timing was everything but kind to Jamie and me."

[Megan✦❋Steamy Reads Blog❋✦ · Rating 5 out of 5]

*****5 Stars*****

“He asked for one day but that day never came.”



Wow! What a story. I’m actually still recovering from it. “A Love Letter To Whiskey” was absolutely astounding. I loved it even when I hated it. It was heartbreakingly beautiful and packed full of angst. This story literally had me up all night anticipating what would happen next. This is my first book by Kandi Steiner and what a phenomenal one to start with. I absolutely loved her writing style. I can honestly say that I have never read a story like this one before, so creative.

“But we can’t start here. No, to tell this story right, we need to go back. Back to the beginning. Back to the very first drop.”

“A Love Letter To Whiskey” is a re-telling of the love story that spans over many years between B and Jamie. B first laid eyes on Jamie whilst in high school but at that stage Jamie only had eyes for B’s best friend Jenna. Jenna and Jamie dated while in high school and it was during this time B and Jamie developed a close friendship over their love for the ocean and all things surfing.

B, who had a massive crush on Jamie, never acted on those feelings because she could never do that to her best friend. She was even crushed when Jenna broke up with Jamie as she couldn’t understand how she would want to lose a guy as perfect as Jamie.

When B moved to California for college she did not expect to bump into Jamie. This is where their relationship really develops and the lines of friendship become blurred. B is in a relationship with Jamie’s roommate Ethan, even though she didn’t know who Ethan’s roommate is. This is where they first succumb to their feelings for each other, that is, until some unexpected turns of events tear them apart.

“What goes up, must come down. And oh, how we crashed.”

Throughout this whole story, timing was never on B and Jamie’s side. Something or someone always got in their way. I must admit there were times I wanted to shake some sense into them both. Their relationship while beautiful, was also heartbreaking and a complete emotional roller coaster.

“It took too long for me to realize I’d dropped that beautiful bottle of whiskey. Too long to realize I’d broken it. By the time I figured it out, too long turned to too late, and I remembered all too well the other way Whiskey can burn.”

This is not an easy love story to read. “A Love Letter To Whiskey” made me cry, made me laugh, broke my heart and completely and utterly captivated me from the first page. It’s a love story that spans over many years and the intensity and the passion B and Jamie share is truly inspiring. I could not put this book down, even if I wanted to. I struggled with how B and Jamie would find their way back to each other again. I could not recommend this story enough. If you love powerful love stories with a truck load of angst, you will definitely want to give this book a go. One word comes to mind when I describe this book and that is UNFORGETTABLE.

[EmBibliophile · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars




THEY SAY TIMING IS EVERYTHING, and I was beginning to learn that timing was everything but kind to Jamie and me.

This is such a cruel book.

It gives you hope, then snatch it back from you. Put a satisfied smile on your face, just to punch you in the face later. Gives you what you’ve desperately wanted, then painfully snatch it away from you. It gives you an END, you start pulling your hair painfully, curse out loud, and THEN,....

So yeah, it was such a cruel book.

And that freakin epilogue? I swear I nearly had a heart attack. That was the cruelest thing ever.

It turned out a Whiskey stain was just as permanent as ink, and I wondered if I would ever truly wash myself clean.
Or if I even wanted to.

Hell if I know how I feel about it. I’m annoyed. Frustrated. Exhausted. Even angry. My feelings are conflicted. I don’t want to go into details because, seriously, you need to go into it blind. But, This is a book that I wouldn’t wish for my worst enemies.

"What goes up, must come down.
And oh, how we crashed.”

Was Jaime perfect? No (he was close tho)
Was Brecks (aka, B) perfect? No
Did I love them anyway? Hell yes!

*remembering what they made me go through* NO!!

Or maybe Yes?!

So yeah, I’ve got no idea how the hell i feel about them. They’re the most frustrating characters ever. And they freakin messed with my sanity.

It took too long for me to realize I’d dropped that beautiful bottle of whiskey. Too long to realize I’d broken it. By the time I figured it out, too long turned to too late, and I remembered all-too-well the other way Whiskey can burn.

Before you read this book, you need to make sure that you’re emotionally prepared. Seriously! I almost throw it through the window because I couldn’t freakin take it anymore. Like “oh screw that I’m done!” But then like a hopeless addict i came crawling back, picked it up and let it mess with my mind a little more.
It’s full of ANGST, that would let you scream out loud. It’s so raw. The characters are flawed. This book will emotionally drain you. This wasn’t an easy read. It was so freakin stressful. And the writing was so cruelly beautiful. The book is filled with many beautiful quotes. I can’t believe that this is my first Kandi Steiner’s book! Her writing is freakin’ awesome. So addictive. I definitely need to read more of her books. But first, I need to break every whiskey bottle I can find....

It turned out I was water, he was whiskey, and I couldn’t dilute him — not now that I knew he loved me enough to let me. I needed to be stronger, to be ice the next time I melted with him.

Song recommendation:
Drunk in love by Beyonce
She’s got you by Pasty Cline
Don’t let me be misunderstood by Nina Simone

[❥ KAT ❥ Kitty Kats Crazy About Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

TITLE: A Love Letter to Whiskey
AUTHOR: Kandi Steiner
GENRE: CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
CHAPTERS: Prologue | 23 | Epilogue
RELEASE DATE: 13TH October, 2016




A LOVE LETTER TO WHISKEY:

“To tell this story right,
we need to go back. 
Back to the beginning.
Back to the very first drop.
This is my love letter to Whiskey."

I've not read anything by this author previously so I have such a strong feeling of trepidation flowing through my bloodstream going into this as yes I did peek at a few reviews on here, so I know it's going to wreck me, gut me, kill me.

This starts off in the YA genre and I'm guessing as you progress further into it, it moves along. But I shit you not, only a few chapters in and I've been hit with the feels wand and my heart is being squeezed and ripped to shreds by this authors very words.

Running with her best friend Jenna, Brecks aka B whilst not paying attention she literally runs smack dab into a hot looking guy, I saw him first, but it didn't matter. Because he saw her. who she aptly nicknamed whiskey. As per the usual he's enamoured with her best friend ever since and they subsequently start dating. I watched it, in slow motion as Whiskey fell for my best friend before I even had a chance to say a single word to him.



The very first time I tasted whiskey, I fell flat on my face. Literally. I was drunk from the very first sip, and I guess that should've been my sign to stay away.

They seemed like the perfect Barbie and Ken, she was a cheerleader and he was a basketball player. Jaimie was my best friends boyfriend.

“Jenna and Jamie just made sense, and I was happy to be a part of the tricycle.”

When Jenna breaks it off with JaimIe as the year draws to an end, him moving away to start a new school, to B and Jenna becoming seniors. Everything changes.

Months pass when these two don't speak or see each other, then when B arrives at her new Uni the last person she expects to bump into is Jaimie. You would think yes FINALLY these two are going to get their shit together and become an item, B arrives in tow with a boyfriend on her arm.

Slowly B and Jaimie progress back to that easy going friendship we saw them develop in the beginning of the story. BUT As with Whiskey the more you consume it the more those lines become blurred..

Years and years go by, like ships in the night passing each other, a toxic love that nearly destroys them, but a toxic love even though ugly turned out to be so beautiful. Timing was just never on their side, everything came down to time.



The addiction was born on a chilly February night in the soft sand of a private California beach.




There's books that leave you breathless, they consume you, they destroy you, then they rip off that band aid and try and heal you, I feel like I've lived a thousand lives going through the emotional turmoil of this book, piece by piece I get drunk on whiskey, the feeling of free falling, this book pushed and pulled on all my heart strings, racing through the pages wanting to get to the end, hoping to reach that HEA but scared that it's all an illusion.

There's books that make you feel every word that author has agonised over for months and this author has done that for me with this book. I've felt everything she's strived to make me feel, the angst, the heartbreak, the highs and lows, the deception, the hurt and those are to name a few. To say this book put me threw the wringer and then spat me out at the other end broken is an understatement, I felt like a yoyo on a string, high one minute low the next, such a mixture of emotions.

Highly recommend this, loved it, breathed it, inhaled it, lived it.

[Kindle Crack Book Reviews Cheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars/standalone
This book gutted me. What an emotional roller coaster ride. There were times I wanted to kick my Kindle...hard. A Love Letter to Whiskey made me want to do shots of whiskey. Whiskey is one of my top reads of 2016! I have a monumental emotional book hangover. By the way, at 80% into this book I decided I would be rereading it again super soon. IT'S THAT GOOD!

This review appears on www.kindlecrack.net, www.facebook.com/kindlecrack, Goodreads, Amazon, Pinterest, Google+ and Twitter. A review copy of this book was kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh. My. God! This book!

I knew right from the get go that I would love this book. This is my very first Kandi Steiner book (and wont be my last) but very early in I knew this book was special. The writing was special. It had that real easy going style. Not the story itself (ain't nothing easy about the story) but the writing style was so easy, so relatable. I absolutely loved the Whiskey references and how Jamie was B's whiskey, her addiction.

"Whiskey at a ripe age, young and full of character, is buzzworthy. But whiskey aged, even just a lit bit? Pure Bliss"

"Jamie was whiskey, that much I was sure of. I couldn't deny the way he burned, the way his taste lingered. Still, no one warned me that once a whiskey girl, always a whiskey girl. But I was figuring it out"

I think I highlighted like 53 things in this book. I have never highlighted that many things in a book ever.

I started off loving B and Jamie together as friends and potential whatever. Then I hated them together. Then I loved them together. Then I hated them together or not together. Then I loved them. I could do this all night people. That's how much they toyed with my emotions.

The book had me so emotionally tied up in this roller coaster of emotions. The characters are lovable, likable even though flawed, but often I wanted to shake the two of them and knock some sense into them. They frustrated the hell out of me. So much miscommunication. Which I am not gonna lie. I normally hate angst due to miscommunication in books, but you forgive it because the book is so damn good. I couldn't help but wonder how anyone could go that long without communicating. B was gone 3 years and somehow Jamie didn't go find her. Jamie is avoiding B because of a messy divorce and somehow he doesn't find a way to get a message to her so she knows he's working on it. For chripes sake, B has a best friend that you know and dated Jamie, give her a message!

If you want a book that gives you the feels, that will break you a bit and maybe put you back together (although it's pretty fresh I'm not sure I am totally put back together completely), this book is it. I so highly recommend it.

[NMmomof4 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

Overall Opinion: This was actually better than I thought it'd be. I don't have that many "triggers" in books, and I can deal with cheating usually -- so it didn't bother me that we have cheating in this book, but I think it's good to put it out there for those that are bothered by it. This reminded me a lot of the The Avoiding Series Boxset, because these two were just constantly tested (and usually failed) when reunited through the years. I definitely had moments of wanting to shake the h because of her pushing away the H at times, but I also understood her hang-ups and where it all came from. I felt their connection and wanted them to get their act together so much that I was truly disappointed with the ending. I wanted some time with them as an actual couple! We get that they ended up together and are married, but that wasn't enough! Through the years, they only get brief moments of time together and are never an official couple that we experience -- and I think we needed that!. The ending is the main reason for my rating being what it was, because otherwise I really did enjoy this book :)

Brief Summary of the Storyline: This is B and Jamie's story. They meet in high school. Even though they both were instantly attracted, the timing never seems right for the two. After spending more and more time together they become best friends and develop a strong connection, but there is also an underlying attraction that is hard for them to ignore. This is their story over the years, and how they dealt with their strong connection and attraction while trying to balance on that line of friendship.

POV: This was told in B's POV.

Overall Pace of Story: Good until the end. I never skimmed and I thought it flowed well. I did feel like the ending was too abrupt though.

Instalove: No, they take a while in developing stronger feelings.

H rating: 4 stars. Jamie. I liked him. I appreciated his ability to put it all out there for the h.

h rating: 4 stars. B. I liked her. She was just really weak at times when it came to the H and wanting him, and also pushing him away.

Sadness level: Moderate. I teared up quite a bit (but never ugly cried) once I hit around the 75% mark. I was expecting to cry throughout, but I am happy I didn't.

Push/Pull: Yes They both pursue and push away at times in the relationship at times.

Heat level: Moderate. They have some hot chemistry and scenes, but not so much that it takes away from the story.

Descriptive sex: Yes

Safe sex: Yes. Condoms are used. I don't remember any mention of past practices.

OW/OM drama: Yes Both h and H are with other people during the story that causes drama for both of them.

Sex scene with OW or OM: No

Cheating: Yes Both h and H cheat on their significant others with each other (H once and h twice)

Separation: Yes They have quite a few separations, and both of them have been with other partners during these separations.

Possible Triggers: Yes Cheating and h is the result of a rape (and Dad is present)

Closure: This didn't have nearly enough closure for me. I think this is my biggest complaint about the book. I would (reluctantly) call it a HEA.

How I got it: I got it with my kindle unlimited subscription.

Safety: I'd say that this is probably Not Safe for the safety gals.

- Does have cheating
- Does Not have a descriptive sex scene with OW/OM
- Does have both the H and h pushing away
- Does have a few long separations between the h and H
- Does Not have abuse
Does Not have OTT sad parts
Does have a HEA ending

[Rachel L · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars!

“You know, they say that Bill Wilson asked for whiskey as his dying wish. The man was dying, at the end of the line, and he wanted the one vice he’d been fighting all his life. Even the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous wanted whiskey on his deathbed.”



B is addicted and her drug of choice is whiskey. She's not a literal alcoholic, but the man she loves Jamie aka Whiskey, is a man she finds herself addicted to. B meets Jamie in high school and sees the moment he falls for her best friend. Over the years the two remain friends, with something more simmering in the background. But timing was never their strong point, and the two cannot seem to make it work.

Yet B always comes back to Jamie, like an alcoholic with her drink of choice. Then comes the question, succumb to her addiction, or sober up?



"Even when we know something is bad for us, we do it anyway. Maybe for the thrill, maybe to cure our curiosity, or maybe just to lie to ourselves a little longer.”

So this book basically blew up my entire social media when it came out, and I had to say it worked. I was intrigued. I had never heard of Kandi Steiner, but I found myself wanting to take a chance on a new author because so many people were talking about this book. So I took that chance, and I enjoyed every bit of my journey into the lives of these characters.

Reading this book made me want to sip a glass of whiskey, needing a drink to sooth the angst between the two characters. All of my bookish friends know I am an angst whore always looking for my next hit, and this was the whiskey shot of angsty novels. I loved it! I wouldn't consider this a "love triangle" for those who have heard it is. It's more a novel of bad timing and characters who cannot get past their own issues. This book is very much about the personal journey each character goes through to get to the place they need to be at.

I devoured this book, drank it whole and I want more! Kandi Steiner, I raise my glass to you for this wonderful story. I cannot wait to read more from you as soon as possible.

"That’s what life’s about. It’s about paddling out and fighting the waves until you find the perfect one to ride home on.”

[Brandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars


I don't even know where to start with this one. So much angst. And then some more angst. And just when the light is shinning at the end of the tunnel...you guessed it. MORE ANGST. As much as it drove me crazy...I kind of loved it.



B and Jamie took my emotions on one hell of a ride. Sexual tension, friendship, and crossing lines, and bad timing. These two were a hot mess most of the time. But I couldn't help pulling for them, praying they would get their shit together, because I felt their connection and became way too invested in their relationship. By the time I reached the end, I was exhausted - but it was worth it.

[Kezia Duah]

This book was so wrong yet so good😭. So I’m not going to rate it.

[Christie«SHBBblogger» · Rating 1 out of 5]

*sigh* This is just not for me. I tried, I really did.

[• Lisa • · Rating 5 out of 5]

FIVE WHISKEY AND LOVE STARS.

"I was completely wasted, and all I wanted was to feel this way forever."



Sheer perfection, Kandi Steiner has unequivocally stolen my heart, breath and reading time and I have zero issues, she can take it all. This story was relentless, it chased me until I gave up and then in turn it gave me everything. Kandi Steiner had me at chapter one and now I'm left with all these feelings and I wouldn't have it any other way.

What's it all about?
Believe me there are zero ways to sum up this angsty romance package. But if you were after a sentence that gives you an inkling of what you are about to encounter then it would be this. One girl, one boy, one unimaginable angsty tale of a happy ending that is always out of reach. If you are a die hard angst junky, welcome to your fix and even if that isn't usually your taste, let Steiner make you fall in love.



What did I love?
This is such a powerful love story, but also brutally honest and angsty all in one unapologetic package. Kandi Steiner has impressed me with her fluid, wonderfully poetic story telling. The pages fell away, I was sucked into a fantastic plot that quite frankly knocked my socks off. I loved and hated the characters in equal measure but honestly that only proves further how engaging and well plotted this book actually is. The anticipation of what was to roll out in this book was almost painful, but in the best way possible. Every new event and twist in the plot had my mind racing at what could be the possible outcome for these characters and of course for my tastes this perfectly fitted my angst addiction. I loved everything about this book; the whiskey references, the chapter titles, the unending angst, the kill me now slow burn, everything . This was a novel that I loved to hate and I sure I'll be thinking on these characters for weeks to come.



Final thoughts ...
Unmistakably Kandi Steiner has taken a spot amongst others as a must read author. Her work is so incredibly moving I can't imagine many readers not being touched in some way. I want to bottle up all my feelings and send them first class over the pond to Kandi Steiner so she can open it up and experience first hand exactly how this novel made me feel. And to you the reader, I want you to go and hook yourself up with this book and forever be changed. Enjoy ... kisses.

[Ezi Chinny · Rating 2 out of 5]

The biggest problem I had with this book (besides the terrible narration) is that Jame and Breck NEVER seem to learn from their mistakes. They make bad decision after bad decision from high school well into adulthood. I don't want grown characters doing the same thing they did as 17 year olds. I like stories where there is growth, maturity and a genuine attempt to a decent human being.

When the heroine Breck ("B") stated in first couple of paragraphs that she saw him FIRST, I already knew there was about to be some violations going on. I knew the Girl and Bro Codes would be trashed and they certainly were. It is commonly understood (but not always followed) that a girl or guy shouldn't date or have sex their best friend's ex. But B and Jamie weren't respecters of boundaries and ended up creating too much collateral damage.

17yr old Breck and her best friend where on the beach when they met Jamie. For whatever reason, Jamie chose to pursue and date the best friend. When her best friend breaks up with Jamie, B and Jamie admit their feelings and make a romantic connection. Then they dropped the ball. A couple of years later in college, when B is dating Jamie's roommate, B and Jamie reconnect in secret. They chose to be deceptive instead of being honest to B's boyfriend. Again, we ended up with collateral damage to their "undeniable" connection to each other.

A few years later after college and during their separation, Jamie meets a girl he describes as wonderful. While he maintained a friendly relationship with B, Jamie proposed his girlfriend. When Jamie is about to get married, B finally admits that she still loved Jamie and its clear that both have unfinished business. She comes to his bachelor party and engages in "private, insider jokes" that only Jamie and herself can enjoy. She also goes into his tent during his camping trip and their attraction explodes as they pounced on each other. Do they have to deal with the consequences of their years of indecision and tent betrayal? NOOOO. Because the author gives them an out with a lame plot twist. SMH at Kandi Steiner, thats where you lost me!

Again, the universe gave Jamie and B had an opportunity to embrace their epic love but that didn't happen.

Three years later, B got engaged to be married and here comes Jamie professing his undying love for the umpteenth time. To make a long story short, another heart is broken at the altar of Jamie and B seesaw relationship.
At the end, I didn't have respect for them or their feelings. I am not shipping them or this story.

[moonlight ☾ [semi-hiatus] · Rating 5 out of 5]

reread: july 2021

although i hate the cheating trope, this is one of those situations where the writing worked perfectly imo because of the emotions it brought out in me. yes, there were times when i wished certain characters made different decisions and i got frustrated because of it but, despite everything, i honestly have no doubts when it comes to Jamie and B's romance and these two still managed to have me rooting for them from the moment they met until the epilogue. ♡

***

5 beautiful chaos stars ☆

it felt like i was going through an emotional rollercoaster ride while reading this book. did i hate it? did i love it? IDK. one thing i'm certain of is it made me feel so much. i was rooting for Jamie and B's relationship from the beginning until the end but what i hated was the cheating between their story. not only is it one of my least favorite tropes, but i feel like it could have been prevented if only they (mainly B) had given in sooner so that part frustrated me. i know it's a huge part of the plot but still lol. this book was definitely ... something tho. 😳

[Sateem ó_ò · Rating 1 out of 5]

Extremely unpopular opinion, I know.. But, hey.. to each their own, right?

[warhawke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Type: Standalone
POV: First Person - Female
Rating:




Brecks (B) Kennedy was an addict. From the first taste she had, she was hooked on the exquisite taste of Jamie Shaw. She grasped on to it for a long time because the lingering taste was worth it - not counting the pain and heartbreaks that came with it.



I wasn't sure what this book is about but I saw reviews mentioning angst, and that's what pulled me in. I thought it's about addiction and it is but not the kind I thought - which is better.

I knew what he wanted, what he needed in life — but I also knew I couldn’t be that for him. Not yet, at least.

B started as someone I like. But very quickly my feelings for her shifted. Her actions were frustrating and there were a lot of time I wanted to bitch slap her face haha!

"So if I can’t have you at your worst, and I can’t have you at your best, then when do I get you, B? When does the timing line up for you to stop fighting what we have between us and just let me in?”

My love for Jamie never wavered. He was charming and patient. He was not without fault but I forgave him for his situation. His confidence was attractive but his vulnerability was what melted my heart.

“Isn’t okay. We’re toxic, Jamie. All we do is hurt each other, hurt the ones who love us, hurt ourselves.”

As mentioned this book was full of angst. It's ever present, constantly simmering and sometimes boiled over here and there. I had chest pain in the two days I read it but since I'm an emotional pain whore, it was a beautiful torture lol!



A Love Letter To Whisky is a journey of two people growing up and owning up to their heart's desires. It would appeal to readers who like going through emotions.

Note:
I like that it ended without fanfare but I also wish it ended differently :p


For more reviews/reveals/giveaways visit:

[Karima chermiti · Rating 1 out of 5]

“But sometimes, even when we know something is bad for us, we do it anyway. Maybe for the thrill, maybe to cure our curiosity, or maybe just to lie to ourselves a little longer.”

Or maybe because you’re assholes who doesn’t know what loyalty is even if it hit them in the face. God, I hate this book.

It’s been a very long time since I hated a book with a fiery passion like I feel for this one. I hated everything about it from the story to the writing and the characters and the nasty shitty romance they got going between them. The whole book left a bad taste in my mouth and I just want to scrub my mind clean.

There is a fine line between too much drama and the right amount of angst and this author doesn’t know how to walk it. The story felt so over the top till it become ridiculous and repetitive. It lacked beauty and passion and it was missing the feelings and the emotions of this genre. I’m sorry but the romance was dreadful and ugly and everything around it didn’t make any sense.

The two main characters are too dislikable; I just couldn’t stand them. They are lazy, stupid, deluded, disloyal and simply cheating scumbags who don’t make any effort to make their relationship work but happily to cheat on their partners with each other because I guess they are the worst people you could ever date. I mean the female main character cheated on every single guy she dated through the whole book and the male character didn’t do any better. I mean despicable. I don’t know why authors think it’s a good idea to romanticize cheating but for me it just makes me sick.

What a miserable read this book turned out to be , I mean there is no finesse to this romance and there is no nuances. Too much drama doesn’t equal emotions and the angst if not written well can become something annoying and insufferable. When the characters keep making selfish and unreasonable things that not only hurt them but also hurt the people around them without any convincing reasons to back them, the story will suffer and the romance will feel fake and fabricated. I mean they don’t make the minimum effort to stay in touch when they’re both single but the minute one of them is in a relationship, they’re all over each over. I just don’t get it, I’m really baffled by this story, it’s just too ridiculous for me to take it seriously.

It just wasn’t a great feeling being with these characters, I didn’t feel any love, I wasn’t smitten and I hated the way they were with each other. I dreaded their scenes together and I didn’t want them to end up a couple but they did , I guess at the end they do deserve each other, don’t they.

A Love Letter to Whiskey is torture and agony ; I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone in this entire planet; That’s how much I think it’s unworthy

************************************

So I’m participating in N.E.W.T.s, a monthly-long magical readathon who is Harry-potter Themed. Basically, You have to pick a Wizarding Career to follow and then You have to get all the grades that will allow you to have that career.

So for me, I’ve chosen to become an Auror which means that I have to get :

O in defense against the dark Arts [Done]

A : A book that’s black under the dust jacket :Nocturna by Maya Motayne : 4 Stars
E : First book that you just now remembered from your TBR : Lock Every Door by Riley Sager : 3 Stars
O : Read a book written by an English author or set in England : Tin Man by Sarah Winman : 4 Stars

E in charms [Done]

A : Read a book that you think has a gorgeous cover : Wilder Girls by Rory Power : 2 Stars
E : Read a comic/ graphic novel /manga ( or a book under 150 pages ) : And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman : 4 Stars

E in potions

A : Read your friend's favorite book : We Are Okay by Nina LaCour : 4 stars
E : read a book with a cover in your Hogwarts house color : Beneath Cruel Fathoms by Anela Deen

A in herbology

A : Listen to an audiobook : A Love Letter to Whiskey by Kandi Steiner

A in Transfiguration

A : Read a book with LGBTQ+ representation : Top Secret by Sarina Bowen

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

And seven years later...
Hands down, my biggest re-read regret to date. 💔
3.5 stars

Original review:



*****5 Stars for all the hell it put me through.*****

It is funny how a story can pull me totally in, as if what is happening there is my own business, when in fact, it is not. I am only the reader.

I am pointing this out because I’ve read stories that I am totally engrossed by, yet they keep me on my seat, contained and hypnotised, like watching a movie. Open mouth and all, *drooling*. Some were brilliant, 5* reads.

And then there are the others, where I cross an invisible line and stop being a reader to become a character.
I think and think and I cannot find why or what triggers this magic portal open to me. Normally, when it happens, I put myself in the heroine’s shoes.

This time, I couldn’t.

From the start, I knew it would be a difficult read. I just didn’t realise how much. Before I even reached the middle it escalated for an extra#hard#extra# difficult #ohnoshit level.
I heard when the ring of the alarm bell went on, telling me to get the hell out of the story, but my instincts were deaf.
Don’t take me wrong, I wanted to read it. I just didn’t want to get involved in that freaking horrible mess. I would rather watch it like a movie.

The heroine:


“B” was her name. Geezzzz… I swear I’ve tried to keep it cool but I failed miserably.
B did a number on me!


I shouted at her so many times I lost count of it. She had happiness at her fingertips, MORE.THAN.ONCE. What was she waiting for?! It was like she had a self-punishment button pressed on all the bloody time!

For the life of me, I can’t believe I would have made so many mistakes over and over and over, again. Who wants to be a person who is constantly digging a hole to bury herself? Not me. I became her bestie instead, for my sake!

Up to about 65% of the story, I was only blaming B for this whole fucking mess. Her inability to see what was right in front of her nose was making me lose my marbles. Because come on... Jamie



I screamed at her: Jamie is your other half!!! Jamie is your soul mate. Jamie IS IT!!!! She didn’t listen. I guess that portal only works in one way.
65% was also the mark where Jamie got on my nerves. He did the unthinkable. I know I have no right, he was moving on, but how could he?!?! How can a person consider starting a life with someone, being in love with somebody else?

Oh.the.feels.


There wasn’t a single moment in the story I could breathe normally. It was a hold-your-breath forever kind of story. I felt drained at the end. In fact, the author should pay me a few therapy sessions to bring me back to my placid normal state of mind and put my heart at peace again.

The truth is: the whole book was a building up for a train wreck to happen. I thought it couldn’t get worse, but from there on, about +- 65% it was a “oh shit" “no shit” after another.
AT 90% I was choking on my emotions and aching. I felt with both MC’s all the shitty things that were there: guilt, regret, love, lust, desperation, want, need, pain, fear and loss.


My bestie, B, had once more, a chance to make it right. Did she?
Ask me.
No, she didn’t.


I know, I know… I feel the same.


Let’s just get rid of the body.

I am trying to make it funny here, but it wasn’t funny in the story. The story hurts, it was like poking an open wound with a stick.
One year spanned a few pages and around 92% in the story, B and Jamie are faces to face again. Both are broken by too many mistakes. Some ogling… small talk…. and Jamie finally asks:
“ARE YOU HAPPY?” That sentence broke something inside of me. That was the moment this reader couldn’t hold back the tears.

I know I am being vague. And tragic. But it got to me
I know my review won’t help anyone but I needed to get this off my chest.
GR = free online therapy. Besides, I don’t want to spoil this for anyone.
Now, I need some time to get my shit together because although the end was not bad, this story is still raw and hurting.

“I think sometimes life I think this story is about embracing what hurts because pain is one of the most vivid emotions we can feel. Pain reminds us that we are alive, and I’ll always appreciate that stinging reminder.”

What is it in a story that makes you hurt and yet you want to shelve it as a precious book?

This gem is available on Kindle Unlimited ATM.

This review has been posted on DirtyBooksObsession