Friends to lovers can be a hit or miss but in this case it was a hit!
Lace and Tessa had a great dynamic and relationship. Their individual journeys to pursue their goals was beautiful to read as was their love story

Highly recommend

This book took the friends and lovers trope to a whole new level. Throughout the book, Tessa and Lace are in a relationship, but both are too scared to express their feelings. I had a lot of mixed emotions while reading this book. I loved their friendship and how it developed, but it felt like the book focused too much on some parts and needed to be more on others, and it left me with my questions.

Also, the third act breaks up felt weird and childish. It also didn't make sense as to why that was the time they hooked up, and Lace's apology that night sucked! I did, however, love the historical ghost plot and loved that it was incorporated into the ending so well. Overall, the book was cute and fun, but not something that I would pick up again or that is going to stick with me.

*ARC Review

This book has good LGBT rep but dragged a bit. I think vineyard romances might not be for me personally. not bad though

Ich weiß ehrlich gesagt nicht, wie ich dieses Buch bewerten soll, da ich es aufgrund relativ kurzer Ausleihdauer (ohne Verlängerung) nicht lesen konnte.

Setting: Arizona
Rep: sapphic protagonists

DNF @ 28%

There's so much exposition and repetition within these loooong chapters and it feels like it isn't solid as a standalone (no indication on Netgalley that it was part of a series). The dialogue is painfully stilted and unrealistic.

This LGPTQ+ read was really enjoyable. It’s slow burn friends to lover with so much tension and female empowerment.

The tension between the main characters kept me hooked until the very end. The authors did a brilliant job of balancing the romance with other story elements, making it a delightful read. The only thing I have to complain about is the length of the chapters. I prefer shorter chapters to longer ones. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a heartwarming and captivating LGBTQ+ romance.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

This was a fine sapphic romance. There was nothing outstanding or groundbreaking, but it was cute. If you want a sweet story to fill an afternoon, this is it!

For a friends-to-lovers rom-com, this was very sweet, quick and easy read.

I loved almost everything about the first 60% of the book, as the characters were all distinct and well fleshed out, the settings were gorgeous, and I could really imagine everything happening. Unfortunately, the final third of the book incorporated some of the most weirdly manufactured drama I've ever read, and a complete breakdown in communication between the characters, who both went from hot to cold and back again in the space of a couple of chapters, with little to no logical reasoning.

Sadly this let down what was otherwise a really fun read.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC.

i had never read a book by this author, but i will be checking out future publications! the characters were very fleshed out and i loved the plot. a super cozy, cute winter read!

A quick read that I enjoyed very much. I like both main characters and enjoyed the empowering women undertones

Pour a glass of your favourite beverage and settle in for a cozy journey with "Whiskey and Wine." This collaborative effort by Kelly and Tana Fireside is a delightful blend of sweet and spicy, like the perfect drink.

The story unfolds with a charming mix of humour, romance, and Southern flair. The characters are relatable, and the small-town setting adds a warm touch to the narrative. The dual perspectives from the authors create a harmonious balance that keeps the pacing smooth.

As you navigate the pages, you'll immerse yourself in the main character's world, whose chemistry is as smooth as whiskey and rich as red wine. The Fireside duo crafts a feel-good tale with enough drama to keep the plot engaging.

"Whiskey and Wine" is a delightful concoction that caters to fans of heartwarming romances with a touch of Southern charm. So, kick back, relax, and savour this easygoing read – a perfect choice for a lazy weekend.

Thank you so much for the opportunity from the bottom of my heart!

I’m obsessed with this sapphic romance! Characters were well fleshed out and relatable. I loved all the lgbtq+ characters in the town, it was iconic honestly.
Their chemistry was sizzling.

This book was a slow start, but I really enjoyed it once the groundwork was laid. The character development was thorough and well rounded. There was also quite a lot of side character information that helped bring out the most of our two main characters. Lace was complicated and self destructive. Tessa was overburdened and self deprecating. They are a perfect match to balance each other as people and as partners and that is what is developed - this connection that extends beyond the lustful romances. A bond that seeps into your soul. Overall pretty great read!

Loved this book, its the second in an ongoing series. The relationship between Tessa and Lace started out as friends, and became friends with benefits, that morphed into something neither saw coming. This book has suspense, drama, ghost sightings/ hauntings, and more. I won't say too much more about this story, because then I would be giving away spoilers. Just know this is a very interesting, and entertaining read. I would definitely recommend this book to my friends and family and I look forward to the next book in this series.

(4.5 stars)
‘Whiskey and wine’ follows the true trope of friends to lovers story with a focus on female empowerment, which I adored. Lace and Tessa have their own lives, goals and passions and they’ve been there for one another as the best of friends but their feelings begin to run a little deeper. I really appreciated the wit and banter in the way Kelly and Tana Fireside write together, and their individual personalities definitely come through in the MC’s interactions. I haven't read many books with collaborative authors but for me the warmth and love they have for their characters really comes through, with plenty of nods to their debut novel ‘Vintage and Vogue’.
I love the feeling of community and energy comes from the Firesides’ writing style, their books have a natural rhythm and pace and are lovely reads to get lost in. For me the only downside was I felt that the ending was a little rushed but that’s because the rest of the novel does such a beautiful job at setting up their friendship and love for one another. Overall a wonderful second instalment to the Owen Station series and I can’t wait for the next!

This was a really nice Sapphic romance. The characters were real people, with flaws and quirks in their personalities that made them human. The secondary characters around them were fleshed out as well.
Some might say there were too many lgbtq+ characters in the town, but I liked it. I even liked the historical lesbian couple angle too.

This is the second book in the series so it sort of felt like I should have known the characters already. I love the friends to lovers trope but I didn't feel that pinning kind of love or the realization that they had their love right there the whole time. I definitely felt the amazing women empowerment and importance of friendships but not the meant to be feeling I wanted to for the main characters. If I read the first book in the series I would probably read this again to see my reactions then.

I wanted to love Whiskey and Wine so much. Friends to Lovers is not really a trope I’ve been particularly familiar with, but I was very curious about it, particularly having read a lot of Enemies to Lovers stories. Plus, I found myself drawn to the cover of this, and the premise of someone who is generally quite commitment phobic falling in love is something that does always intrigue me.

However, the book really didn’t live up to expectation. It was really difficult to feel much in relation to Lace and Tessa. I adore having characters that I fall in love with, and that I come to care about over the course of a story – but I found that I just didn’t really believe in these two as a pairing. Even their friendship felt quite forced to me; there wasn’t any spark that I felt between them. I think part of the difficulty was that for a lot of the book they are quite separate – Tessa is at her vineyard out of town, and Lace is in Owen Station 90 minutes away. I think this disconnect between them made it really hard to route for their relationship, and to really feel the way in which their relationship was changing and developing.

This could, perhaps, in part be that I do not get on with this particular trope. The characters supposedly having this established friendship prior to the book, and not seeing the early stages of them getting to know each other, could have taken away from my enjoyment. But I really don’t think that is entirely to blame. I think I just couldn’t believe in the two of these characters falling for each other. I don’t think I even particularly believed in them as being friends.

I did much prefer Tessa as a character over Lace. I found her much more interesting and I enjoyed reading about her vineyard, alongside her relationship with her daughter Madison. I wasn’t entirely convinced that the issue with the neighbouring property was needed; it didn’t really seem to add anything to the story, or even have much of a purpose.

I understood Lace much less than I did Tessa. I also found the set up of Frisky Business quite strange and struggled to picture her home and how the shop fit in to it, and then adding the tasting room alongside. It was just quite odd to me. I think perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if things were better developed with Lace. Plus I think sometimes Lace’s reactions felt very strange, and not particularly what you’d expect for a woman of her age.

I found the format of this novel quite off putting while reading as well. The chapters were LONG. Now I’m not a great lover of really short chapters, but here each one seemed to really drag. It was almost a relief to actually realise that I’d finished the current chapter I was reading, and I rarely experience that. I think perhaps if the chapters had been shorter, it may have helped the pacing of the book and made it more engaging.

I also really did not enjoy the ending. It just felt too rushed and too perfect for my liking. Sure this is a romance but it just came so quickly and I don’t think it felt true to Lace’s character at all. Even the epilogue only being six months later also felt very rushed.

I was also hoping we’d get a little bit more of Elizabeth’s story from the prologue and expected in to be interspersed throughout the story – which ended up not being the case which was a real shame. I think it definitely could’ve added something, and maybe broken things up a little as well.

I don’t think that this book was for me and that is a real shame. I don’t think I’ll be reading the first Owen Station book or continuing the series if there are any further ones released.

*I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*