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Let's face it- we read these books because we want a good story of nice people who get a happy ending. McLaughlin has started what appears to be a new series with Charlotte and Dean, who fulfill that mission admirably. Charlotte is a wedding photographer who doesn't want to get married and that Dean runs the venue where he does a lot of her work. Good pairing- and their personalities are pretty well matched too! This is light, entertaining, and easy reading, with a good couple. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC- I'm definitely interested in where the series is going next. It's a cheery one.

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Whiskey and weddings. Not necessarily a good match, but in the case of Charlotte and Dean it proves a winning combination. As card carrying members of the broken hearts club, successful careers have made them unlucky in love. When work brings them together will the pain of the past tear them apart? Sparks fly, hearts break and hope springs eternal in this temptingly charming total eclipse of the heart.

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On the heels of two books that failed to capture my attention, I was delightfully sucked right in to Dean and Charlotte's adorable story. I loved the set-up here. I loved who Charlotte and Dean were to each other. And I fell pretty easily into the effortless, engaging writing.

Unfortunately, the story stumbled a bit for me along the way. I struggled with Dean whose insecurities and self-doubt grated after a while. I would have liked for him to have given more because I felt like Charlotte did the lion's share of giving and the balance felt unequal and frustrating to me. I was also a little disappointed about how they finally took the next step with each other. After all this build-up and back and forth, I felt like it was a cop-out and was even more frustrated that things seemed to stall out in that cop-out for a while.

Maybe I Do is the first in a series and first books can be difficult sometimes. I definitely love all the directions the series could go from here. I love Stag and want to know more about the other men (who, frankly, seemed to have a lot more personality than Dean did). I genuinely enjoyed the writing and I did feel the connection between Charlotte and Dean - I just wanted more for them.

That said, there were some emotional punches that sucked me right back into the story and held me captive until the very end. It was a bit of a bumpy ride, but still one I'm glad I took and I'm definitely interested to see where things go from here.

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Dean Troyer did the walk down the aisle, made the attempt at happily ever after, but it didn't work out, and he decided from that point on that he wasn't repeating that mistake again. After his own bad experience he isn't so keen on weddings, but when you own one of the most perfect venues to host them it makes it a little hard to completely avoid them, they bring in a lot money, money that keeps his dream afloat. With wedding after wedding, he has discovered one little bright spot along the way, a very beautiful and witty photographer, each event they work together the more her learns about her, and the more he would love to explore the sparks that constantly bounce around between them... but she isn't a fling kind of girl, she's more of a forever kind of girl, and that's just not something he wants or needs... or is it?

Wedding after wedding photographer Charlotte Linley finds different ways to flirt with the venues owner Dean Troyer, he is gorgeous, funny, and a mystery that she would love the chance to unfold. But no matter how many hints she drops he doesn't seem to take the bait, so she is beginning to think it is a one sided attraction... then he unexpectedly asks for a favor. Now she is handed a golden opportunity to spend a little more time with the sexy distillery owner see just how one sided the attraction really is...

Maybe I Do is delightful read that will warm the hearts of readers and have them swooning throughout! You do not want to miss out on an opportunity to meet Mr. Troyer, the moment that man waltzes onto the page your certain to fall under his spell, he is effortlessly sexy, charming, and certain to steal your heart! I really enjoyed this one, it is a very well rounded read full of humor, passion, heart, and some serious sexy times that had my toes curling!! I can't wait for the next installment, and the opportunity to meet more of Ms. McLaughlin's endearing characters, I am quite certain I will love them too! Highly recommend this one, it's sure to leave you smiling!!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this title.

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This is a wonderfully written sweet yet romance and I just loved these characters. Both Charlotte and Dean are disillusioned about love, marriage, and happiness. For Dean he has the ex wife to prove it and Charlotte has memories of the wedding that never happened. Yet they both work in places that have them seeing it day after day. Their attraction for each other is obvious but they allow little things to constantly get in their way. When Dean finds himself responsible for planning his sister's wedding, he knows the perfect person to help him is Charlotte. Will spending more time together finally get them past their reservations??

A really nicely done story and one I couldn't put down. I highly recommend this one.

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2.5 - A man was never going to be her everything...

Nicole Mclaughlin starts her Whiskey and Weddings series with two commitment-phobes who are attracted to each other and not sure what to do about it.

So I am going to keep this review brief, because while I generally enjoy this authors work Maybe I Do didn’t really work for me for several important reasons. Mainly, I found the chemistry between Dean and Charlotte almost non-existent. The lengthy rambling inner monologues on their pasts and personal insecurities, and their feelings on pretty much everything just bogged down the flow of the story in general. Which in itself also took far too long to actually get going with any real development for a large part of the first half, which was surprise because this is something this author usually pitches perfectly.

Unfortunately, I also struggle with irrelevant/over-the-top ex drama in my books, and it comes from both sides in this one, for me it was too much and really didn’t add much to the plot or help with my already waning enjoyment of the story.

I liked Charlotte and Dean separately but they were pretty bland together, even the flirting came across a little stilted, and the constant internal references to their past relationship woes became extremely repetitive.

Great set-up though with the Stag Brewery being the main location for a lot of the book, but I just found everything reminiscent of other romances I have read based around weddings/wedding planning, but for all the wrong reasons. That won’t stop me wanting to read the next book Maybe This Time due for release early 2018, I just hope that it is pared back a bit to reduce the internal rambling and overly lengthy explanations for things I didn’t really need in depth knowledge on, oh and 100% less ex drama would be a great plus as well.

ARC generously provided via Netgalley, in exchange for the above honest review.

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Maybe I Do by Nicole Mclaughlin is the first book in her new Whiskey and Weddings series. Charlotte Linley, our heroine, is a wedding photographer and loves her job. Because she had a bad experience having been left at the altar by her high school boyfriend, Charlotte isn’t really crazy about weddings, but is now considered one of the best photographers; and also has a side job photographing sexy men for Romance Books. 

Dean Troyer, our hero, is one of the owners of The Stag, which produces their own whiskey, has a bar that is popular and it’s the also the most popular wedding venue. Dean at 41 years old considers himself old, and after having divorced his cheating wife, he swears off becoming serious again. Charlotte is at The Stag a lot, since she photographs most of the weddings there. She is friends with Dean and the other two owners, but secretly has a crush on the hot gorgeous sexy Dean. He also enjoys Charlotte’s friendship, and their banter together was fun. What Charlotte doesn’t understand is why Dean does not react to her constant flirting.
This was a fun sweet story that becomes a friend to lovers romance. What makes this story so good is that both Dean and Charlotte were so likeable, and their chemistry together was hot. Even the secondary characters were good, including Charlotte’s ex who returns.

Maybe I Do was an enjoyable romance, with the backdrop of the weddings. The issues that our couple have, plays a big part of the story. Charlotte makes no secret of her interest in Dean, even if he is 12 years older than her. She is gun shy to become serious, as she has not gotten over being left at the altar. When she finally convinces Dean that his age means nothing, their romance heats up and is very sensual. But Dean needs to get past his own issues regarding his previous marriage, some family issues, and to tell Charlotte the truth.

This is my first book by Nicole Mclaughlin and I enjoyed it very much. She created an excellent story line with some wonderful characters. I look forward to the next book in this series.

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This being my first Nicole McLaughlin book and Maybe I Do that first, I loved it. This is the first in a new series – Whiskey and Weddings series. Ms. McLaughlin writes of real problems and real relationships. This series centers around a wedding photographer, Charlotte Linley and Dean Troyer, her long time crush and co-owner of The Stag, a distillery that doubles as a wedding venue at which she photographs weddings. The part that caught me off guard was the difference in their ages. These two have known each other for years, flirted at every opportunity, but let their age difference keep them apart.

Once they finally decide to take a chance and see where it leads, enter both exes to add a little drama to the mix. Ms. McLaughlin seems to be able to include the heart-break and hurt feelings without it being too simple or too easy, it is just right. She takes Charlotte and Dean through the joy and angst of new relationships. Having both of their exes involved could have kept their romantic journey from making it, but their HEA was well written and a bit surprising. Also, I appreciated the way the sensual side of their relationship was handled with taste, just enough to keep the sex interesting without making it the focus of their relationship.

When Charlotte keeps such a momentous secret for years, you know there must be a lot of hurt still there. There is, also, a lot of strength and courage in that vivacious lady. Dean sounds like a drool-worthy type of guy even at his ‘advanced’ age. Yet, he seems to be the only one who believes he is too over the hill for Charlotte.

The idea of the main setting and main guys being a trio who own a distillery is rather unique for a wedding venue in a romance book – great choice! All three of the gentleman, obviously, are very different.

Thank you Net Galley for sharing this first in the series with me in exchange for an honest review. I am looking forward to the rest of the series and will be looking for previous books by McLaughlin.

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I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for my review. Charlotte Linley is a wedding photographer who is trying to get her photography business off the ground. She forms a business relationship with Dean Troyer, who has a building that is perfect for wedding receptions. They have always flirted with each other, but they both have too much baggage from their past to ever want to try their hands at love again. That all changes when Charlotte starts taking pictures of hot men for romance novel covers. She coerces Dean to pose for a cover and suddenly the reasons why they didn't want relationships are blurred. This was a trendy novel as I have read quite a few about wedding planners recently, but this one had a few twists that made it stand out above the rest.

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3.5 stars

Maybe I Do by Nicole McLaughlin was a sweet, heartfelt read and a nice start to the Whiskey and Weddings series.
The storyline was sweet, entertaining, emotional and kept me turning the pages.
I liked Charlotte and Dean together, and while I could see them having a long and happy life ahead I just wanted a little more chemistry between them.

Overall, Maybe I Do is a nice read, I enjoyed getting to know the characters and I'm looking forward to reading more in the near future.

*Pre-Order*
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*Thank you to the publisher for the advance copy.*

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This was a very enjoyable wedding-themed story, set in a lovely small town and a boutique whiskey distillery, The Stag, with a much-in-demand beautiful wedding venue on the second floor. There seems to be a bit of a theme of whiskey distilleries going on for me at the minute as the last book I read also had one!

The main characters in this book are Charlotte, a wedding photographer, and Dean, one of the owners of The Stag that Charlotte is hired to work at quite a lot with weddings. They have been circling one another for a few years, flirting whenever Charlotte is at The Stag, but she is quite guy-shy and happy to be single and running her own business, and he is also relationship-shy as he is divorced. The only thing that did irritate me a bit was they did go on about the age difference a bit too much and how Dean was 'so old'. For a start-off he was 41, which is hardly 'old'... and Charlotte was 29, so yes there was an age difference, but they were both young, fit professionals with their own businesses and hardly ancient which is how it sounded at times.

Dean's sister, who has just got engaged, decides that she wants her wedding brought forward to only a few months ahead and asks Dean to sort it out for her as she is in the military and deployed overseas at present. So Dean of course asks Charlotte to help and they are thrown together a lot more than usual.

There is a lot of weddings in this book as Charlotte is really busy and unfortunately one of the weddings she promises to photograph is for her ex's brother, so her ex will be at the wedding, and they didn't end on very good terms for a variety of reasons, but the main one because he left her at the altar. But Charlotte decides to be the professional and accept the job which definitely stirs things up for everyone.

This was a very easy-reading, enjoyable book, even though there was a bit of sadness towards the end, and I look forward to reading the rest of the series and seeing how, hopefully, TJ and Jake (the other owners of 'The Stag') have their happy endings.

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I'm not going to lie, I took one look at the cover for Maybe I Do and decided I needed it in my life. I love books that are set around weddings and wedding planning, and this is one of those books that used that setting so well.

Charlotte was a wedding photographer in the book, so we see her at weddings a lot in the book. Actually, 90% of her time is spent at weddings throughout the book which I enjoyed very much. We get to see the lows and highs of weddings, and it was wonderful. I liked Charlotte as a character. I mean, I wouldn't say she was a favorite character or anything, but she was chill, and likable overall. I liked how passionate she was about photography, and I liked that even though she had been jilted on her wedding day, she didn't view weddings negatively. She also shoots book cover photos and I thought that was amazing! I don't think I enjoyed the hero as much as I liked Charlotte, if I'm being honest.

Dean was decent in the beginning, and I thought he had really great qualities that I like to see in a romance hero. I especially loved how devoted he was to his younger sister, Alex. I mean he's a guy who was willing to plan his sister's wedding for her, even though weddings really were not his jam. He also had that quiet intensity to him that I liked. What I didn't like, however, were some of the subtler hints of jealousy and possessiveness he showed occasionally throughout the book. I did enjoy the romance between Charlotte and Dean though. The two of them had been flirting with each other for 3 years every time Charlotte came to shoot a wedding at Dean's distillery, The Stag. It was cute watching them banter, and the will-they-won't-they chemistry was hot. Then came the book cover shoot that turns very sexy, and I was pretty much a goner. The romance in Maybe I Do was also an age-gap romance, but I found that part to be a bit frustrating because Dean brought up the big gap consistently throughout the book, and it was such a non-issue. I felt like he was making a mountain out of a molehill.

Regardless, it didn't take away too much from my enjoyment of the story. I'm really excited to read TJ and Jake's books next. They are the co-owners of Stag with Dean, and I just loved every minute that they were on page. Too bad I have to wait until next year!

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I absolutely loved this book. I was already into the concept, wedding photographer and a brewery owner, and the characteristics of Charlotte and Dean did not disappoint. They are both so well written and are such smart, funny, detailed characters. I loved them. The supporting characters are equally amazing and I cannot wait for more books in this series.

I loved how McLaughlin made me laugh, gasp, cry, and swoon all in the course of the book. There are so many great scenes with great details and events that just made me fall in love with this book. There's no maybe about it, I definitely do recommend this!

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I really enjoyed this book. The flirting started it off with a bang and it just went on from there. Sexy at any age is still sexy. Great characters throughout.

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This wasn't very good - the concept was really cute but the main characters, Charlotte and Dean had no chemistry. It was probably because most of the dialogue in the book happened in their heads. They weren't interacting with each other. They were talking themselves into and out of things in their minds which makes for a pretty boring book. Also, is the author trying to copy Lauren Layne? Whiskey - Just One Night, Sam Compton and wedding photography in the prequel to the Wedding Belles series - From This Day Forward, Leah McHale. Layne does it smarter, funnier and sexier.

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I requested this book from NetGalley to read and review.  This was a different kind of story, both characters have past relations they would prefer to forget and some personal issues. Charlotte is a wedding photographer and very successful at her craft. But she's never getting married again. Five hears ago, she was abandoned by her fiancé on her wedding day, when she was already dressed and at the church. So, no weddings for her, she's now very cynical about the happily ever after. Dean feels the same way. When he and his ex-wife had problems conceiving, she started cheating on him and they had a nasty divorce. The aftermath was so painful he has no desire to repeat the story. Also, his own parents had a nasty divorce which further cemented the no-marriage decision.

Dean, TJ and Jake own the Stag, a whiskey and vodka distillery building, that had beautiful historical features.  The second floor is a perfect wedding venue, so they started to rent it out while their business was still young, to help business until their aged liquors could be sold.  So Charlotte uses it frequently, and whenever Charlotte has a wedding in the Stag venue, Dean makes sure to be the attending owner, just to be with her. They enjoy a very fun, flirty, teasing friendship, where they crave but don't take action.

Dean has a younger sister, from his mother's second marriage. She's fifteen years younger, and when her parents died, Dean took her in to live with him and his wife.  Later on, Alexis enlisted in the Army and Dean got divorced.  Now his sister, still deployed in the Army, is taking an assignment in Italy and asked Dean to plan her wedding to her boyfriend Nathan.  Instead of asking his ex-wife, who is still close to Alexis, he asked Charlotte to help him in this endeavor.  Charlotte is very happy to spend more time with Dean, so they tackle this assignation with gusto.

Two things about this book: 1) The writing, the author wrote a very well-developed book, with well-developed characters.  Great pace, not too fast, not too slow, and it never dragged, a plus in my camp; 2) I loved Charlotte, she was a generous, kind, talented woman. Apart from wedding photos, she also did cover photos for romance books. Authors would call her to take photos of half-nude yummy hot men for their book covers. This is such a cool extra for a romance novel. And 3) I didn't love Dean. I found him insecure, hesitant, full of complexes.  He failed to act at important moments, and although he apologized, there was no good reason for his actions.  At one point, he exposes that his insecurities arise from being abandoned by his mother, who left his father for a younger man, but I was not convinced.  I think he was insecure, deep down, and he failed.  I felt Charlotte was too forgiving.  Also, he had a thing about being so much older than Charlotte.  Please, he was forty-one years old!  Charlotte was almost thirty, so she wasn't a spry chicken either.  A difference of eleven years at their stage of life was not an important matter and when Dean kept harping on it I wanted to hit him on the head with a hammer.

Apart from my not loving Dean, I did love reading this book because it was so very entertaining.

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The first in a new series, this title follows wedding-photographer Charlotte and Dean, who is one of the three sexy owners of her favorite venue, the Stag Distillery. Charlotte and Dean have flirted for years, but is there actually a chance that they could finally have a real relationship? Both have baggage from previous relationships, but suddenly Dean finds himself in need of someone to help him plan his deployed sister's wedding; it seems like the perfect opportunity. Filled with flirtations and heat, there are also some very deep themes running throughout this story. I very much enjoyed it, and look forward to my next event at the Stag.

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I am a big fan of the author. I really loved her last series and so when I saw this new series I was beyond excited. I really wish I could say I loved it but I did not. It was well written and I really liked the heroine, Charlie but this story ws ruined by Dean the hero in this story. He I did not like at all at least as a romantic lead

Charlie and Dean have known and worked together for 3 years. They flirt a lot but Dean never asks Charlie out and in most of this story Charlie does the chasing, not how I like my books.I like the hero to do the chasing or at least for it to be mutual but this book was very much Charlie doing the chasing and it seemed sometimes she was too desperate. Other times shekinda gets fed up with him and I totalled cheered her on for that.

This is a new series about a distillery/restaaurant/bar called the Stag run by three men, all single. Dean is the oldest and is 41. He is once divorced and his ex still chases him. He has some confidence issues but he likes Charlie even thought she is very young and they have flirted for years.

Enter Alexis, she is 25 and is in the army and in love with Nate. They decide to get marriedbut being as they are on missions, Alexis asks her half brother Dean to plan it. Dean knows nothing about weddings and since he knows Charlie he asks for her help and that is how they become closer in this story.

As I said I loved Charlie, Dean was my issue. He just seemed very wishy washy. Half the timehe was cold to Charlie and yet she still ran after him. I just did not get it.

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The idea of a wedding photographer who hates weddings intrigued me from the get go.

I really enjoyed the banter between Charlotte and Dean. They both have had bad relationship experiences, but both are still sweet and thoughtful people.

The author did a great job making both Charlotte's job as a photographer and Dean's working at the Stag interesting and a big part of the plot. This also allowed their coworkers/friends to infuse a lot of humor into the story.

I am looking forward to the next book in the series!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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