Nicole McLaughlin's Maybe for You was such a sweet book about friendship turning in to so much more. I loved watching Alexis and Jake's relationship blossom.

I love the covers of the books in this series, they are as romantic as the stories within. I didn’t expect that the remaining bachelor in the Stag Distillery partners, Jake, would end up with Dean’s baby sister, but was happy to read about Alexis’ HEA. In the first book of the series, Dean and Charlotte’s story, we read about Alexis’ marriage plans, and then the tragic death of her fiancee Nate. Then Alexis decides to continue with the plans she had with Nate and leaves on assignment to Italy for one year. This book starts when she arrives back in the US.

Alexis is still dealing with her bereavement and trying to find her new normal. She has accepted a job with the CIA in Washington DC, but comes to spend a few months in Kansas City with her brother and their group of friends. During her year abroad, she messaged frequently with Jake and they became best friends. Jake gave her the listening ear she needed as she dealt with her feelings of bereavement, and found herself again. She is so happy to be back home and be able to spend time with Dean, his father Joel and especially Jake. She accepts a temporary job as receptionist in the distillery and also assists Jake in his work promoting their product and traveling around to festivals. They get close and eventually their friendship turns into something else.

Alexis sometimes feels survivor’s guilt, she wants to search new horizons in her professional career and she feels that this job with the CIA is what she should do. Jake has a reputation as a ladies man, and has an issue about not being very intelligent. He has somewhat of an inferiority complex and resents any remarks about his lack of acuity. They embark on a fling that is supposed to be temporary but the support they get from each other and the feelings that start to arise, start to change the rules of the game.

This was a great friends to lovers story. I loved how Jake changes from a player to a partner, how he wants to face all their obstacles on the way to establish themselves as a couple. His willingness to face Dean and shoulder all responsibilities is so sweet. He is very considerate of Alex, gives her space when she needs to grieve, is a good sport with Nate’s family, and a great sounding board when Alex needs to revisit her thoughts. Alex is open about her feelings, and communicates very openly with Jake. I liked how she declared an intention every day in her diary, very healthy.

Very well written, great pace, full of warm feelings, consideration and friendliness, this was a feel-good book about family, loss, reunion and overcoming bereavement in a healthy manner. I loved the family times with Jake’s family, Nate’s family, and the Stag group.

Maybe For You by Nicole McLaughlin

3rd in the Whiskey and Weddings series. Can be read as a standalone romance.

This book is an emotionally wringing story starting from the recovery of a lost love to friendship and then new love. Of course, complications in the relationship put added strain on the couple.

Honestly, I didn’t like the drama of it all. Yes, I conceptually understand lose and how devastating it would be. She gives up any career options for a year to exist as a part time receptionist for a family business. To dwell on things? Although her view is to avoid thinking or planning for life.
On the flip side, I fell in love with the hero. He’s not confident in his value to the business but works tirelessly for it. He’s grown tired of the casual flings that occur on the Marketing tours and continues to act and work professionally even when knocked down. And he recognizes those that just want to use him or his firm. He stands by the heroine throughout the storm of her ups and downs and lack of moving forward. Basically he is just a great guy.
In the end the two work out the issues and get their HEA.
Overall, angsty but worth the love story read.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley

Alexis Parker lost her fiancé, Nate, over a year ago. She still struggles day-to-day with missing him. Alexis has just returned from a tour in Italy and is ready to start fresh. She has a few months to spend at home before taking her new job at the CIA, and Alexis plans to make the most of them. When Alexis learns that her brother's company, the Stag Distillery is sending Jake Cooper, on a cross-country promotional tour, Alexis decides to accompany him. It's the least she can do for the guy who's been such a great friend over the last year.

Jake agrees to be on his best behavior around Alexis, but that is going to be a lot harder than he thought. It doesn't help matters that Alexis and he have gotten so close over the last year. Jake tries to resist, but he's halfway in love with Alexis already so he gives into temptation. What will happen when they get back home? Will Alexis move on to her new life, or can Jake convince her to start anew with him?

My go-to genre is historical romance, although I do occasionally enjoy a good contemporary. I have to admit, my mind was blown by new-to-me author Nicole McLaughlin's MAYBE FOR YOU. It may be just the book to get me to read more contemporary. MAYBE FOR YOU is a touching story of love, loss and being fortunate enough to find love a second time. I experienced a myriad of emotions while reading MAYBE FOR YOU, pain, sadness, joy, happiness. It's a real tear-jerker. Alexis has been through so many ups and downs after losing the love of her life. Jake is her true north! He is a friend who is there for her at a time she needs it the most. He gives her a shoulder to cry on, a hand to hold, and gives her space when needed even if it breaks his heart. It was beautiful to see their friendship grow and blossom into love. MAYBE FOR YOU is phenomenal!

Maybe for You is somewhat sad and a happy journey of love, loss and happiness.
Firstly Alexis loses her parents, and then her fiancé. She gets the feeling that she is destined for unlucky in love and has a fear of loosing anyone she does love. Jake is her friend and somehow, they are together and it feels like it could be right. But of course with love, can also come chaos.
This is my first McLaughlin's book and I'm glad I read it. It was a super light read, which made me cry and laugh.
The author has a way of writing the story in a way that draws you in and making you want to keep reading and hoping the best will come in the end. I recommend this romantic tale to all readers.

This novel was filled with a ton of emotion, laughter and romance. I really felt like the characters came to life. The author wrote honest and real people dealing with situations in a way that I was able to really relate to. I got to know Alexis and admire her strength even when she was a puddle of emotions. I got to peer underneath Jake’s playboy veneer at the truly sweet, decent man he was hiding. McLaughlin showed that it sometimes take that special person to crack the paint off the walls we build around ourselves to get at the truth of the person underneath.

As this was my first dive into the world of Whiskey and Weddings, I really enjoyed that, although I haven’t read the first two books in the series, I still felt as if I got a true sense of the former players in the series. I felt as though I didn’t need to have read the other books to connect full to all the characters but at the same time was left feeling a need to look up the previous novels to visit with old friends.

A lot happends in this book but it never seems forced or fluffed up to fill a quota of words or a way to get from one scene to the next. And although there were hot steamy scenes, they were never overly gratuitous or the main focus as a lot of romance can become. I felt like I was reading an intimate love scene showcasing their growing attachment instead of hot sex for the sake of having to include one.

Overall, Maybe for You has made me a fan of Nicole McLaughlin and I look forward to reading more of her work.

Maybe For You is Nicole McLaughlin’s third book in her Whiskey and Weddings series set in Kansas City, Kansas. This story addresses the third distillery owner, Jake Cooper, head of marketing and internet presence. At 32, Jake is well known as a swinging bachelor. His road trips promoting their brand are somewhat notorious, to the point there has been a complaint.

When co-owner Dean Troyer’s sister, a military veteran, returns home for a brief stint before beginning a new CIA position, she readily asks to go with Jake on a marketing mission. What she does not state is that Jake has been her touchstone over the past year since her fiancé, Nate, was killed in the downing of a helicopter. Over that year Jake and Alex wrote regularly through messenger and his calm presence and strong support are what helped Alexis get to the point she is now.

As Alexis volunteers for the marketing trip, her brother swears his friend to protect his younger sister. Making this vow, Jake and Dean may have very different definitions. Because it isn’t long before Jake and Alex become a friends with benefits couple. Alex is gearing up for her new CIA position, not looking for a lifetime commitment, just a pleasant dalliance to help her over a rough spot. Neither are looking for love, but what they find is a new world opening to them.

I have enjoyed everything I have read by Ms. McLaughlin. They are steeped in personal warmth and have threads of current headlines woven throughout. The characters are rich and well drawn. The relationships are deep and true. These stories are intricately stitched together and bring wonderful folks into the reader’s purview. I do recommend this book.

Alexis will take you on an emotional roller coaster. She's lost her parents and her fiance in a helicopter accident. You'll mourn with her and find yourself cheering her on as she tries to find happiness. A marketing tour brings her and Jake, her brother's partner closer. Insecurities and wounded hearts provide plenty of drama and suspense. Well written and engaging. I read a reader copy via Net Galley and voluntarily chose to review.

Alex and Jake became best friends chatting with each other while Alex was on her last deployment.
Now Alex is back in town and has some time off before she starts her new job and offers to go on a promotional tour with Jake.
Though they were sure nothing would happen between them during this tour, being together in a confined space can test anyone. They decide to restrict their fling to just the tour. But will they be able to stick by this decision?
I just loved Jake in this story. The way he supports Alex, first as a friend and then as her lover during all the time was just commendable. He put himself and his needs second for her and her happiness. There were times when I didn’t really like Alex, yes she’s gone though a tough time having lost her fiancé but grief doesn’t mean you be blind to another person. Overall it was a good read about loss, friendship, romance and second chance love.

In all honesty, I absolutely LOVED this book. Really and truly!

First, I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Because I like to read novels in order - and this being the 3rd book in the series - I actually read the first two books before getting to this one.... I am so glad that I did...

Nicole McLaughlin is an awesome author who is able to write an impressive story with a ton of feeling and real life issues in an easy to follow, no nonsense kind of way. Although this was the 3rd book, it could have been read out of order since each of the three books in this series deal with different characters. However, they are all inter-related so the story never truly stops, just continues form a different point of view and through the eyes of another main character.

All three novels deal with 3 men who are friends and partners in a distillery business. This novel's main characters are Jake and Alexis... I'm in love with them. They each have had a lot of trauma in their lives and throughout the story they each have to deal with their own demons while falling in love with each other. Ultimately, they have to decide if love for each other is worth the difficulties of dealing with their pasts and learning to cope with their insecurities.

I was able to relate to the characters and really felt their happiness and pain as they dealt with their issues. A great and easy read that is well worth your time.

This novel does have adult scenes that are not suitable for under age kids so adults only please.

Enjoy and Happy Reading!

This review is already posted on GoodReads

This is a great story dealing with life after tragedy. Alex(is) lost her fiancée in an accident. She is home briefly before her final deployment & connects with one-off her brother’s business partners, Jake.. She’s deployed for a year in Italy & decides to communicate with Jake through messages online. They become close & have to decide how they’re going to continue when she gets back. I highly recommend reading this book to find out what they decide. The characters are great & the story is entertaining!

Whiskey and Weddings is full of strong characters and great plot lines and book 3 is no exception. Jake is the playboy who doubts his worth due to not having a college education. Alex is a grieving woman who lost her fiancé weeks before their big day. Through that tragedy a friendship blossomed between Alex and Jake.  Totally platonic, the friendship grew over the course of the year she was deployed in Italy, but now she is home and retired from the military.  Jake has come to mean so much to her because he never judges and he always tells her it is ok to feel the way she feels. When he has to take a two week road trip to promote their whiskey, she doesn’t hesitate to go along to help him and to get away from how happy and in love her brother and his fiancé are.  During the trip, sparks do fly and she decides that Jake is the perfect person to have some fun with because she knows he doesn’t want anything long term either. When they return home they try to go back to just being friends, but when a health scare with Alex leads to her discovering that their safe sex wasn’t actually safe, she is at a loss as to what to do, but she doesn’t want a baby or a family or a life in the town she grew up in.  Jake is shocked to find out that he is going to be a dad, and he is pissed that Alex is wanting to deny him the chance to be in his baby’s life. He sets out to prove to her that this isn’t a set back but a gift and a new path for both of them. I enjoyed their story a lot. They were entertaining characters and their story was passionate, emotional, and just plain good. It is a great series, easy to get into and very entertaining.

This is a great heart warming story by a relatively new author to me, I liked the storyline, and found the characters Jake and Alex were likeable and I thought they had really good chemistry. I'm not one to give away the plot as I think you can garner the gist of it from the author's perceptive.
I received a copy from Netgalley and I am voluntarily leaving my own honest opinion

"Maybe for You" by Nicole Laughlin
I loved this story from beginning to end. It was nice to reconnect with the people of 'Stag Distillery' once again... but one does not need to have read the previous stories to thoroughly enjoy this stand-alone novel. Since I do get emotionally involved with the characters in the stories I read... I did enjoy some chuckles and boy did I hit the box of tissues, too. I was gifted an ARC via NetGalley and I most assuredly am glad for the opportunity for an early read and the chance to share my review. I truly did love this story.

A touching tale about a young woman who endured much tragedy in life. She lost her parents and then shortly before their wedding, her fiancé. Alex begins a sexual relationship with one of her brothers business partners hat has unforeseen consequences. Decisions have to be made and ultimately all works out. Out of all the people in the story, I liked the deceased fiances family. They were realistically depicted and very welcoming.

Welcome back to the Stag. The business has grown and the boys are older and moving on with their lives all except Jake. He is free and single and that has started to hurt their road shows can he prove to them that he has grown up? Now that Alex is back home after been away for the last year and she seems to be on the mend. So when she suggests going with Jake on the road they all hope that it will be good for her. Alex has tried so hard to be strong but it is still a struggle to move forward every day and she knows that she has to start living her life again after losing her fiancée Nathan. They were never expecting to fall for each other and everything is too complicated and things become strained by the time they get home. Alex knows that she has to move on as she wants a new life and Jake isn't going to be a part of it but things change and her & Jake will need to make some hard decisions is Alex strong enough to allow him in? Will Jake be able to step up and give Alex the happiness that she deserves? A great read with a good ending. The characters have all grown from the beginning and they all deserve happiness but it doesn't come easily to them. Glad to see that John is still around and hopefully one day he will find someone to complete his life. i was lucky enough to receive a copy via Netgalley and the publishing house in exchange for my honest review.

The last book in the Whiskey and Weddings series delivers. This is Alex and Jake's story and it has all of the feels. They grow close while she's serving her year long deployment in Italy after her fiance dies in a training accident.. When she returns to Kansas she's determined to move away and start a new life but fate has other plans for her. After a road trip for the distillery Jake and Alex grow even closer. Will she stay and give their relationship a chance?

This is the first book I have read by Nicole McLaughlin and I am now a fan! This is the third book in a series but it worked as a stand-alone.

I enjoyed the story of Alex and Jake. Jake is Alex's brother's best friend as well as business partner and not looking for a serious relationship. Alex is mourning the loss of her fiance and not looking for love. And yet, they get together and it works.

While I found this story to be somewhat predictable, I think Nicole's emotional descriptions were beautifully written.


I was given an ARC for an honest review.

After a year of mourning her fiancé, Alexis Parker has worked hard to rediscover what she wants out of life. Fresh out of the military and back stateside, her brother offers her a marketing job at the Stag Distillery. Ready for a new challenge, Alexis agrees to accompany her new co-worker Jake Cooper on a Stag cross-country promotional tour. He may have an infamous playboy reputation, but Alexis is surprised to find out that there is more to him than meets the eye. And she likes what she sees. . .

Jake promised Alexis’s brother that he’d be an absolute gentleman. Of course, that was before he and Alexis hit the road, and they both agree that what Alexis’s big brother doesn’t know won’t hurt him. The plan: to keep their fling confined to the RV, and everything will go back to normal once they head home. Things progress in ways neither of them could have imagined, and Jake realizes that he and Alexis make a perfect mix. Can he convince her that he’s ready to shake things up and give true love a shot in Maybe for You?

With her latest novel, Maybe for You (Whiskey and Weddings #3), author Nicole McLaughlin has done it again. I have read many of her books, although none of her series necessarily in order, but they are all great standalones with smooth, believable storylines and plots, and well-developed characters that you can’t help but love.

Alexis Parker has just lost her fiancé and is now trying to find meaning in life, a life that will be nothing like the one she had planned. She spends a little time at her brother’s distillery and connects as a friend with one of his partners, Jake Cooperon. Then the story moves forward a year. This is a perfect plot device. A year seems like a long time except for this story we don’t care about all the details of Alex’s final military assignment, we just know that a year is long enough after losing her finance Nathan to maybe move on. Nathan’s memory will always be precious and treasured but it’s okay to keep those memories while making new ones. And now we wonder if some of those new memories might be with Jake. Jake was Alex’s best friend while she was gone the past year. They kept in touch via email and social media and she poured out her heart to him. It felt safe because they were “just friends.” Now she’s back and she wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize that friendship, even though she does feel a strong attraction to Jake that she hadn’t realized was there. Jake also values their friendship and would never hurt Alex, but he’s starting to feel little vibes as well. They partner on a Stag Distillery cross-country promotional tour and the fun begins. Jake has a reputation as a playboy that he is trying to shake. Alex has never been one for one-night stands. But can they resist? And what exactly would that mean? Are they ready for more than a fling?

This is a sweet, sweet story that I did not want to end. Alex is afraid of losing more people in her life that she loves and resists becoming close. Jake has always felt that he disappointed those he cared about, didn’t measure up, and has held back. But their tender feelings for one another are so obvious you want to just push them together and say “There!” The plot moves along smoothly with some fun and exciting twists and turns and a very pleasant surprise at the end.

I was provided a copy of Maybe for You from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it and all of Nicole McLaughlin’s books.