What an incredibly sweet romance novel! Maybe This Time is the second book in A Whiskey and Weddings series- I didn’t read the first installment and I had no problems jumping in! I immediately found the characters endearing! I loved the premise of Jen and TJ having had secret crushes on each other back in high school and now that fate has brought them together 12 years later, they finally try and make a go of it...but will it work!?!? Nicole McLaughlin did a great job putting depth in this novel and my heartstrings were definitely pulled! Maybe This Time is a 4 star read and I am looking forward to reading more from Nicole in the future!

There was nothing inherently wrong about this book. However, I couldn't finish it. The characters were not relatable and lacked depth and the plot seemed to be a little disorganized.

Maybe This Time by Nicole McLaughlin is sweet contemporary romance. Two young adults with completely different background have always crushed on each other. Turns out, that all this time, they still love one another. But neither one knew what the other was dealing with as they were teens.

TJ comes from a wealthy rich lifestyle. Yet, he's super smart, hardworking, and a gentleman, TJ isn't anything like his other male peers. He has always stuck up for Jen. Harbored a secret crush on her ever since they shared their first school project together. TJ had a mother who still lives with his jerk of a father. A father who sleeps with other men's wives and thinks nothing of it. TJ's mom loves him though. Jen is opposite of him in background and personality.

Jen can be super confident like TJ. Except that when it comes to TJ and his kind, she loses her confidence. Jen sees herself as this woman who still can't control her life, is dirt poor, and can't do anything right. Yet she handles her bar tending well. She can also, handle wedding clients at the Stag for her bosses. TJ is one them. Jen can sing and loves theater. Her personality is wonderful. Colorful at times when she's feeling angry or hurt. But overall, she's a strong independent woman who can do anything. Jen's mom is going through cancer again...and Jen thinks her mom is going through medicine therapy to get well...only she's not.

Maybe This Time is exactly as it presents itself. Maybe, the characters will finally get together forever. And maybe they can find their happiness. Love, work, and family are hardships they both share. Together, they can get through anything, if they let themselves. I laughed and cried while reading this book. Nicole McLaughlin writes well. I fell fast for the characters. Colorful, bright, and what an exciting journey! Overall, I recommend this novel to readers everywhere.

Jen and TJ have known each other since high school and now Jen is bartender for TJ's distillery. From the wrong side of the tracks, Jen is proud to a fault and convinced that all TJ feels for her is disdain. Obviously, she couldn't be further from the truth - TJ has harboured a secret crush on Jen all these years.

This was a sweet romance whose case of insta-love can be forgiven by the fact that the characers have known each other for most of their lives. I struggled to get a clear picture of Jen, who flashes for mega confident to openly vulnerable in a heartbeat, though I loved her sass and sense of humour.

I wasn't wholly convinced by two subplots of Jen's mum (suffering from breast cancer) and TJ's parents (distant and unloving) - again, it was hard to pin down their characters and some of the moments tended towards melodrama.

This was my first time reading this author so obviously I haven't read book #1 in this series.

It might not be a good idea if you want to enjoy this book.
It took me a while to connect with Jen and warm up to her. I felt like I was missing some background informations for the fist 30% of the book.

She was one peculiar woman that's for sure. Good girl ? Bad girl ?A bit of both ? It was just odd, like I couldn't get a clear picture of the character in my head.

Now the story itself was really nice. TJ the hero was charming and sweet yet not a doormat. This particualr "unriquited love story" was well done because both characters had feelings for each other and yet the author didn't turn the book into some insta-love boring mess.

All in all a good story with some nice fuzzy moments and some difficult heart-stinging ones.

Jenna has always loved to sing and act. She was teaching kids at a community center until they ran out of funding and closed down. She works at Stag, a distillery and event hall, she bartends and is the receptionist. Her mother and she never really got along but she’s trying because her mother has cancer. Jenna had a crush on TJ but thought she was too poor and weird for him. TJ has had a crush on Jenna since high school but never said anything. He co owns Stag and comes from a rich, dysfunctional family. When Jenna’s apartment building catches fire, she moves in with TJ, which delights him. But secrets come out and he could lose the woman he loves.
I honestly didn’t think the story would be that good but I loved it. Funny, sexy, and entertaining. Loved the characters and the storyline was easy to understand. Wish I knew about this author before, I would have been reading her all along.

A sweet contemporary romance about getting a second chance on your forever love.
Jen comes from a family struggling to get by, T.J. Comes from a well to do family.
He is afraid she'll eject him as his youth was not as it seemed and she believes he looks down on her.
They work in the same place and eventually figure it out.
Written with bits of angst and humor, this is a must read.
I requested and was granted an ARC from NetGalley.

Physically speaking, Jen was this vibrant burst of color with her clothes and her tattoos. Yet her personality was extremely prickly-especially with TJ. I mean talk about having a chip on the shoulder! Jen had that in spades. Like massive chip. Between mommy issues and berating the one who got away, Jen’s pride and sheer stubbornness got old after awhile. I understood where she was coming from, but it didn’t mean I had to like it. I found myself wanting to yell at her to put her big girl panties on, take some responsibility, and grow up! Preferably before the end of the book..

TJ was Jen’s polar opposite. He was subdued in dress and personality, but his empathy and brains made it easy to like the guy. Once they sort of set their past issues behind them, TJ gave Jen just about everything possible. Sometimes it was material, other times it was just basic emotional support, but when he laid his heart on his sleeve and offered it to her, her response was so..so... ugh. I’ll just say I felt really bad for him.

In the overall scheme of things, TJ and Jen both had serious communication issues and high expectations of each other that were..ummm, I think a bit unreasonable considering the newness of their relationship. In retrospect, I think Jen was way more than TJ could actually handle. Yes, they had physical chemistry, but the emotional aspect wasn’t clicking and gave their “love” an unbalanced feel.

This was a tough book to rate. Individually speaking, I rather enjoyed all the characters, including TJ’s business partners and Jen’s grumpy mom and really wanted to give four stars. However, I wasn’t buying into the attraction between Jen and TJ and that was the whole purpose to the book! The angst between them dragged out too long while the rushed ending wrapped things up with a tidy bow that left me feeling unsatisfied. I’ve read other books by this author and enjoy her writing immensely; unfortunately, this particular story didn’t work for me.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I received an arc from Netgalley. The author has a beautiful way of making you feel like you are in the story. I loved this book and felt the heartache, jealousy, and love portrayed.

Wow, Ty and Jen have seemed to love each other for 15 years but both are too stubborn to admit and give in to love. Ty and Jen come from different sides of the tracks so lots of insecurities play into their relationship.

I am so glad I was able to read this story. I was not able to put it down and read it in one day. When the author can pull you in and make you feel every emotion.... that’s a book you Do Not want to miss.

I received a complimentary arc from netgallery for review.

This is book 2 in the series and features Jen, bartender and receptionist and TJ, the rich owner of the brewery. He and Jen go back to high school. But they have never dated or had sex. Jen has always felt she was way below TJ and well TJ has always had a thing for her.

I LOVED this book. Seriously LOVED. It stands alone and Jen was a character I truly loved. TJ is a pretty great character and has always been waiting for Jen to finally SEE him. And when she does, I loved these two together. He is strong, macho and very protective. Meanwhile Jen has decisions to make about her life.