This book is a good fit for readers looking for a heartwarming story about finding love and taking chances, even when it means stepping outside of your comfort zone.

MAYBE THIS TIME - Nicole McLaughlin

#2 in the Whiskey and Weddings romance series

SECOND CHANCE ROMANCE - 3 stars

Plot - 3 stars - After going to high school together, Jen and TJ meet up again when she begins to work at the distillery. The sexual tension between them is obvious, but it takes a while for them to figure it out.

Writing - 3.5 stars - McLaughlin writes an easy-to-read story. The setting is great, with lots of opportunities for romance. My problem with this book is the characters, both flawed (which is fine), but all of them with a negative attitude, which I found unappealing.

Characters - 2 stars - This was my biggest problem with this book. Jen is a totally negative person. I understand where she's coming from--her mother is also very bitter, and Jen has felt a lack of confidence her whole life. She feels that other people are judging her all the time, but in fact, she is the one judging them. In particular, she's formed an opinion about TJ, and he has a hard time changing her mind. Once he does, she's still negative, always assuming the worst. It's a shame because she seems like she could be very nice, but she spends all of her time denigrating herself and the people around her, expecting trouble, therefore finding it. TJ also lacks confidence, which is unusual in a romantic hero. That's fine, but he seems to run hot and cold, which I found disconcerting. Their relationship could have been fun and positive, but instead it just fell flat for me.

Title - 3 stars - This is a second-chance romance, so I guess the title refers to Jen and TJ perhaps getting together now that they're older.

Cover - 3 stars - The cover is beautiful. It fits the format of the other books in this series, but I don't think it fits the theme for this particular book. Various growing plants would have been a much better and more effective choice rather than a wedding bouquet.

Overall - 3 stars - The romance itself and the setting are what saved this book for me. I loved revisiting with characters from the first book in the series, and it was also nice to spend more time at the distillery and stay marginally involved in the business. However, the characters were so full of negativity that it took away from the story. What was also disconcerting that things just magically worked out in order to facilitate the requisite happy ending. I liked the previous book in the series, but this one just didn't work for me. I will, however, continue with the next and finally book to get to know Jake a little better.

This is a sweet second chance romance where the two main protagonists finally manage to develop a romantic relationship after secretly being in love with each other since high school.
TJ is adorable and is the best thing about the book. Jen is a bit prickly and immature. And even though she has a kind heart but she is just not as likeable as TJ. Plus, I couldn't really understand why she hesitated so much with TJ who is much too good for her. There is plenty of drama, job and family issues for the couple to work through before they can finally get their happily ever after.
This is a sweet read and perfect for a relaxing, lazy day.

A prickly heroine and a devoted hero, together they should be perfect for one another, and while I do think they're a good match for one another once they both find themselves individually, there was a disconnect that kept me at a distance from both of them.

Jen had a lot on her plate and her struggle to adult wasn't all due to her at all. Life circumstances seemed to have it out for her. Her attitude was overly negative at times and it tainted all the good she was trying to accomplish. The way she taunted, sniped at, and ignored TJ for too much of the story also bothered me. I can see how a crush on someone who seemed to have everything while you had nothing but spit and pride could make her act out unintentionally because she wanted to hide her feelings...but what she was doing was rarely unintentional. It was just too much. I would have preferred a sassy heroine with a humble streak a mile wide that sometimes vied with her stubbornness. Instead we got a willful little girl who railed at everyone and everything because she couldn't accept help getting out of her rut.

TJ was a bit insecure for me. He was absolutely devoted to Jen once he broke things of with his current g-fri and I admired him for that. Along with his generosity and sweetness I thought he made a great counterpart to Jen. He was also a bit milquetoast in my opinion. Neither great nor horrible, he coasted along somewhere in the middle.

There were bits where everything came together, especially during the heart-baring confessions. Watching them shed their hang-ups in order to be together was really cute sometimes and the end went a long way to making it worth it to read the story in its entirety.

Great easy to read story which warms the heart. Highly recommend to others. Great characters and plot.

RATING: 4 STARS
2018; St. Martin Paperbacks
(Review Not on Blog)

Tough girl, Jen has had a hard life but it has made her the "self-sufficient and free-spirit" woman she is today. She has lost her job and is struggling to help her mother who has cancer. She finds a temporary job at Stag, a distillery that is also a wedding venue. AND, her boss is former classmate, T.J. T.J. has been in love with Jen since they were young and he has kept that secret crush flaming all these years. Both have their walls up so high, how will they see what is front of them?

I really love T.J. and Jen's love story and who they are as characters. I like that we get their backstory, together and separate, that helps explain their apprehension. This book had more layers to it than the last one so I was sucked right in. I started this book right after reading the first.

***I received an eARC from the PUBLISHER via NETGALLEY***

I read this book some time ago and do not remember how I felt during reading it. I would not be able to give it a proper review. I did give this book 5 stars on GoodReads.

Jen and TJ know each other from high school. They have misunderstood each other for a long time. It was an enjoyable read with how they overcame their lack of communication.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the eARC

Nicole McLaughlin's Maybe This Time was a great addition to the Whiskey and Weddings series. I loved everything about this book! I can hardly wait to see what she comes up with next!

This is the second book in the series but the first one I have read. For me, this was an okay read but I think that's because I never really warmed up to Jen I think she is one of the characters that you either love her or hate her she had a massive chip on her shoulder and she just annoyed me at times but then we have TJ he was her complete opposite and so good to and for her he was a complete sweetheart and at times I think she took him for granted.

A little childhood mishearing causing loads of snark poke for the guy from the girl. I actually found the 3rd book now interesting then this one.

This is a voluntary review and I do not get paid for this review.

The first chapter of Maybe This Time opens with Jen and TJ in high school and all I could think was: I wish Nicole McLaughlin would write a YA story because she nailed the YA voice and reactions so very well. But that holds true for her adult voices as well.

While this is only the third work of McLaughlin’s I’ve read, I am already a fan of her true-to-life characters and refreshing way of dealing with conflicts and issues. She isn’t afraid to tackle some heavy-duty topics in her romances, and she does so without becoming heavy-handed. In the case of Maybe This Time, Jen’s mother has breast cancer, and Jen herself has money issues, which she is barely able to deal with.

Jen, in high school, was a theater kid, but of the goth variety and from the wrong side of the tracks. TJ was a rich nerd, but not an insufferable one. All grown up, they haven’t changed too much. Jen is tattooed and unique; TJ is successful and hard-working. And, they still secretly like each other.

Secret is probably the big word for this novel, because Jen and TJ don’t really communicate. They never have, and it’s this lack of communication that keeps them apart.

Jen can be a prickly character, especially in the opening chapters, but I found that I really liked her mainly because she seemed real. She didn’t apologize for her bitchiness, but I could understand where it came from. While I also liked TJ, he never felt as completely fleshed out as Jen. Unfortunately I couldn’t always understand why he liked Jen as much as he did, since she gave him very little reason to.

I suspect that Jen’s character could be off-putting for those who like perfect heroines. I don’t tend to because I don’t identify with them in any way. Maybe that’s why I gravitate towards McLaughlin’s heroines who definitely have issues.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Through my association as a book blogger with NetGalley, I often have the opportunity to learn about books by authors that I've already heard about or by authors whose other books I've read in the past.  Today's post is by an author with whom I've had the opportunity to read and review a prior book - and today's book is Maybe This Time by Nicole McLaughlin.

The story is about Jen MacKenzie and TJ. Jen lives in a bad apartment, is drowning in debt and has no college education. She's juggling two part time jobs and trying to make ends meet.  She works as a bartender/receptionist for The Stag, which is a bar co-owned by TJ and their two other friends, Dean and Jake. 

TJ seems like the perfect guy too! He's got a huge home, rich parents, he owns his own business so everything looks great on the outside. Unfortunately, what TJ sees about his life is that he has a father who steps out of his marriage, his mother is an alcoholic, and in all honesty, TJ feels like he will never measure up to his siblings.

If you want to read a contemporary romance that feels close to a real-life story, I'd recommend Maybe This Time for you. Even though this book is part of a series, you can read it as a standalone. Each book in this series is about a different couple but the characters are the same.

I received an advanced readers digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to provide a positive review!! Thank you NetGalley!

I had a hard time with this book. Jen is such an awful main character she has this attitude that the world owes me something and it is just not a good loook for her. I can't stand the fact that she was so awful to TJ back in the day and then when he cuts her a break she still treats him so poorly. TJ needed to cut his losses and run the other direction from her brand of crazy.

This is the first book by Nichole McLaughlin that I have read. I likes this book and the characters. This book is about Jen and Tj. They have know each other since highschool and are now working together. Jen thinks that while she was always kind of poor and TJ was wealthy that he never really liked her. All the while TJ was infatuated with Jen. TJ thought she didn't like him because of her aloofness toward. You basic misunderstanding of high school kids. The difference is they are grown ups now and both still think that the other one doesn't like them. Which is wrong, they both care deeply for the other one.

This is a great book with two people finding their selves and each other along with growth of themselves. This is a dual POV book with, romance and sexy parts. I can't wait for the next book in this series.

I received an honest review for a free copy.

This was a new author for me, and I thought that the story was amazing. It was full of drama and emotion. The characters had some heavy emotional baggage going on that they had to overcome, but the story also had a nice blend of humor and romance too. I felt very emotional at certain parts of the book which made the story even better. I could hardly wait to see if the hero and heroine got their HEA.

Very well written with colorful and complex characters this is a book that you will not want to miss. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Another awesome book by Nicole McLaughlin
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Nicole McLaughlin has become a new favorite author. This book feels believable, has great characters and is not afraid of delving into messy emotional baggage. All round a great book.

I have voluntarily posted a review consisting of my honest opinions. I received this product for free from Netgalley.

I am glad that Jen Mackenzie and TJ Laughlin were finally able to work past their past and decide to take a chance on each other. This was a fun story and I'm looking forward to another installment in the Whiskey and Wedding novels.

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for an ARC; all opinions are my own.

I have chosen not to complete or review this title.

As always, I appreciate the opportunity.

Laura

This is one of those stories where the boy T.J. had a crush on Jen in high school but because they both ran with different people neither the too should go on a date. Now years later and Jen is now working for T.J. because her mother is sick and her community theater job was closed down. She happens to be knocking out the wedding planning at the Kanas City venue where now they are actually thinking of turning customers away because they are so booked. Also she has been doing a better job than the person before her who she just took over for maternity leave. T.J. must come up with some plane to take her out and share his feelings with her before she runs out of town like she did after high school. Not wanting or thinking that she is good enough for him she is doing everything to avoid him for she liked him also in high school, but was used to people looking down at her and she thinks that he was one of those. Now he must show her his true feelings and when he does hopefully she will stop running. A good story with good characters.