I found myself somewhat disappointed compared to the first book in the series. It was great reconnecting with old characters and seeing their stories evolve, but I struggled to connect with the new MC’s, Lacey and Tessa. Their chemistry felt more like that of platonic friends rather than the friends-to-lovers dynamic I had hoped for.

One aspect I appreciated was that the story spanned a significant period of time, which added depth to the characters and their relationships. However, this elongated timeline made it challenging for the friends-to-lovers transition to spark any real excitement.

The prologue initially confused me, as it didn't seem to align with what I thought the story would be about. As I delved further into the narrative, I realized that it was a mystery within a story, which was an interesting twist. However, this layered approach, with numerous side characters and subplots, became overwhelming. The central love story got somewhat lost in the midst of these intricate events and didn't truly take shape until the end.

In essence, this book felt more like a story about friends of friends rather than the central romance it promised. While it held potential, it unfortunately failed to fully engage me.

Best friends to lovers, small town romance with a vineyard as a backdrop. Delicious in many ways!

I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Tessa has uprooted her life after her ex-wife cheated on her. She left their vineyard in California to strike out on a wine adventure of her own in the small town of Owen Station, Arizona. With her daughter Madison by her side she works hard to make Mujer Fuerte a big success. Her best friend Lace is there for all of it and encourages Tessa to build the life she’s dreamed of.

Lace has a very successful business of her own: an adult toy shop. She has made many mistakes in her life and is glad that newcomer Tessa only met her when she started to finally live an authentic live. That being said, the ghosts of her past faults keep haunting her. Lace has decided to stick to ‘fun and run’ dating. Dating one woman for no more then three months and ending it when things would get serious. With Tessa though, she has build a friendship that has captured her heart and soul.

This is a story of two remarkably strong women, that’s always a plus. Women who have overcome adversities only to rise stronger than ever. The friendship between Lace and Tessa is sweet and hilarious. They are so funny together it made me laugh out loud! The connection they build is very strong and the love between them is palpable. So much so, that it’s hard to believe they haven’t crossed over into romance territory sooner. When they finally do, it’s hot as hell! Ok, what did you expect from an adult toy shop owner 😉

The cast of side characters is strong and especially the relationship between Tessa and her daughter Madison is admirable. One strong woman raising another and they’re now at a point that they support each other. It’s beautiful to witness.
The chosen family they have built with friends and colleagues is everything and the bonds between them all are heartwarming.

Whiskey and Wine is a great example of the friends to lovers trope. Lace and Tessa deserve the best of everything, and after reading it, I’m sure you’ll agree.

A cute and spicy romance with plenty of play.

Tessa started over in Owen Station with her daughter and built up a new innovative winery. Lace started an adult toy store in the renovated Owen Mansion, complete with a ghost. When Lace and Tessa become friends, that's all either of them expects to be. But two years later, they realize feelings run deeper than they thought.

I didn't realize this was book 2 in a series until after I started reading it, and I think I would have appreciated the reappearance of some characters if I had. It was hard to connect with the main characters in this one for me, and I think part of that is because this book takes place over an extended period of time, so it doesn't feel like we get to know them at all until halfway through. I did love the supporting characters, and Tessa's dog is great. The connection to the history of the West is really good to see also. I'd read another by these authors.

Almost five years ago Tessa Williams moved from California wine country with her teenage daughter, Madison, following the end of Tessa's marriage with Olivia due to Olivia's infidelity. Tessa purchased land for a winery in Arizona about ninety minutes outside of Owen Station. Tessa lives in an Airsteam along with Bleu, her dog, on the winery property. Madison has just moved out to start her own life. Over the past couple of years, Tessa and Owen Station business owner, Lace Reynolds have become best friends.

Lace owns Friskey Business, a sex toy shop, recently named the best in Arizona. Due to past relationship history, Lace has a rule never to date some longer than three months which consists of fun and sex. However, over the evolution of their deep friendship, Lace realizes that Tessa means more to her than a best friend. She tries her best to avoid the inevitable between her and Tessa.

There is also a subplot of Elizabeth Owens who lived in Owen Station in the late 1800's to early 1900's. Lace believes that Elizabeth is a ghost who inhabits the building that Lace owns where Frisky Business is located. Elizabeth's relationship with a past town resident plays into Lace and Tessa's story.

I enjoyed learning about Owen Station, the residents, the Mujeres Fuertes winery that Tessa runs, the expansion of a tasting room in Owen Station, Frisky Business, and Tessa and Lace's evolving relationship. 4 stars

I received an ARC from Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review,

I’m a sucker for a good vineyard romance and this had some serious potential, unfortunately it just fell flat and is seriously underdeveloped.
The synopsis and intro by the authors are super cute and wholesome, and I had high hopes with the prologue, I would have liked the rest of the story from the prologue and more of an integration and involvement. As is it is just mentioned a couple of times and then finally thrown in at the end, I love the idea but it just wasn’t executed well.
It’s so sad and heartbreaking, I hate thinking of how life was for women loving women a century ago.

Im not a massive fan of friends to lovers and in all honesty these guys barely even felt like friends, they had no chemistry and were constantly hot and cold and overreacting. It didn’t help that they kind of had more of a long distance friendship going on so for the first half they barely see each other in person.

The main issue I had with this book was just how slow the pace seemed, and how everything was written in a very direct way. It’s difficult to get into a story when the entire thing is just relayed to you rather than building and showing the reader and allowing them to watch it unravel.
Dialogue was also used often to tell the reader the background/information/emotions/history, which was irritating. Nobody in a natural conversation will turn around and say ‘well, you know that I was married to this person and then they cheated on me and then we got a divorce and moved here and me and you became best friends’ etc.

The story and descriptions are quite underdeveloped, there’s a lot that is left unsaid or not laid out clearly which makes it confusing trying to piece the images and story together. A lot the dialogue and emotional moments are just flat and overall the plot, characters and dialogue was very weak. I did not really care about it like anyone except Madison, Mrs Owens and Bleu…
There is also very limited descriptions on scenery or characters, I had no idea what the characters looked like at all, and by the end of the book I still only know minor details.

Even the main setting had me confused on how to picture it, an over a century old mansion with idyllic land and enough room for a separate home for Lace, and then 2 shops on the front of it that would be somehow on the edge of town and modern looking and shop like and accessible? Can’t smoosh both pictures in my head.

If you like fast paced and spicy this will not be your jam, the spice scenes (all two of them) were terrible, awkward and uncomfortable. With the strangest phrases and moments that were about as far from sexy as possible.

Whiskey and Wine is a friends to lovers romance about someone becoming the most important person in your world without you even realizing it.

Lace and Tessa are already friends when the book begins. Set in small town Arizona, Lace owns a sex toy shop and Tessa owns a vineyard. There’s always something special about their friendship, although they both insist they are just friends. Eventually, they realize their relationship is more than that and both must move past their insecurities in order to enjoy their future together.

I enjoyed this book overall. I liked the friends to lovers aspect, as I’ve been in a similar situation, and I liked the characters. There were many sweet as well as some spicy moments. My biggest complaint is just that the pacing is a little erratic. It’s hard to follow how much time is passing, although we’re told that about a year goes by in the first 50% of the book. I also would have liked more time to see them grow into their romantic relationship. The plot follows first their second year of friendship, and then their transition to romance over the course of a few days. Granted, their friendship was not strictly platonic even when neither of them had realized it yet.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

it was great to be back in this town and catch up with a few of the characters from the last book vintage and vogue

lacy reynolds is a successful business woman running her own business called Frisky Business, and its just been voted Best Sex Toy Shop in Arizona, so things are going very well

she also has one dating rule... its a 3 month rule and so far its worked out very well

tessa williams is also a successful business woman running her own vineyard and making her own wine, she also has a daughter

lacy and tessa have become friends very good friends and as tessa moves closer into town and opens up a tasting room right nest to frisky business lacy and tessa are going to be seeing a whole lot more of each other

could sparks be flying.... and not forgetting the ghost who loves frisky business many toys...

'Whiskey & Wine' by Kelly Fireside and Tana Fireside.
A friends to lovers story.
Lace runs a sex toy shop, recently voted the Vest Sex Toy Shop in Arizona. She has big plans for her business. She also has a strict three-month rule for romantic relationships, she doesn't do complicated, she has had enough of that in her life.
Tessa has moved from California to Arizona to escape a cheating ex and launch a new vineyard. She's too busy to find love, when she's not at her vineyard she's battling her neighbour and looking after her dog Bleu and wrangling her sulky daughter.
Lace and Tessa have been friends since they met, everyone but them knows they should be together. Can they figure it out?

This was an enjoyable rom com, the two main characters are really likable and you really root for them all the way through the book. I loved the dog Bleu aswell :)
Thankyou to NetGallery UK, the publishers and the authors for letting me read a copy in return for an honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up! This book was a very sweet read. I loved the network of characters the authors built out and the community in Owen Station, it filled out the story in a way that a lot of romance books do not and added a lot of depth. I personally think that was the strongest part of the story.

Even as a skeptic who doesn’t like books with any sort of ghost plot points, I thought the element of the ghost added a sweet history to the plot, and I didn’t mind it.

I was definitely caught off guard by just how quickly things progressed at the end of the novel but I was pleased with the ending. The characters were relatable and likable, and who doesn’t love a story with a dog like Bleu?

Overall, a nice, quick read that I'd recommend. I didn't realize this book was part of a series, and I'll be seeking out the other book!

Thank you for the ARC!

This book follows Tessa, the owner of a local vineyard and tasting room who realizes her close connection to her best friend Lace, the owner of the sex toy shop Frisky Business, may have room to be more. The story takes place in Owen Station , Arizona, and is the second in a series about this little town. I had not realized it was a part of a series, so I don't know if Tessa or Lace were featured in the first book.

I like Tessa. She was strong and funny, and had a great relationship with her daughter Madison, who helped out around the vineyard. Lace was good but her insecurities suddenly became a problem and was explored very quickly and probably could have used a little more time.

The big thing that kept this book from being rated higher is it felt wordy. Too much exposition. There were paragraphs that span the entire length of the page (on my Kindle) and felt like I was being told the characters and history and not being shown it. I think I would have liked Lace more if her growth didn't feel all of the sudden and explained rather than explored.

The romance was cute, and other than being more wordy than I like, it was a nice romance. I do wish the local ghost was a bit more present but all in all, the book was enjoyable. I would recommend this book for fans of contemporary romances.

thankyou so much boldstroke books and net galley for the early copy of this book!

i’m usually a massive lover of massive hater of the friends to lovers trope, it can be so hit and miss for me but this book did it so well!

It really felt like Tessa and Laces friendship always came first and their own personal journeys were fleshed out really wonderfully and them coming together at the end had its naturally complications and didn’t feel forced or rushed to me. The slow burn of this book worked so well for me and had me rooting for Lace and Tessa so much. The family of friends was such a gorgeous addition to an already wonderful book and I would love to see more of this group!

A warm, small-town friends-to-lovers romance set in the same town as the Fireside's novel Vintage & Vogue, though this works equally well as a follow-up or stand-alone.

The friendship between Tessa and Lace carries the book, and while some moments of the "will-they-won't-they" tension of their developing romantic relationship feel a little forced, overall it's a comforting read, especially in terms of watching the women in this small town flourish and support each other.

The other plot elements are hit or miss, depending on your preferences - I enjoyed the Elizabeth Owen storyline, but the whole thing with STUD and the regulations felt like the authors didn't quite know where they wanted to take it or how to resolve it with everything else that was going on.

Overall, it feels like a comfort read - there's a comfort in Tessa and Lace's friendship and support of each other, both of them having found a place and way to belong and prosper, and it's nice watching their relationship blossom, and the other plotlines don't add a lot of tension to ruin that comfort.

Yayyyy! This was fun! The chapters were really long for me personally but the plot was so good that I couldn’t care less. The slow burn thoooo, I lived for it!
Let’s go lesbians!

2.5 stars!

I think this book was fine. It was a cute story. I really liked Tessa and everything she stood for and came from. I loved Madison, I think she was my favorite character throughout the book. Lace was complicated for me, and I believe that was the point of her character. I understand where she was coming from with her mentality, but it was a bit too much for me.

Honestly, I loved the story if you take out the romance. I think the women's empowerment was beautiful! The friendships were great and Mrs. Owens was a fun addition. Overall, a good story and an entertaining read. It just personally wasn't my favorite.

This was a really easy read and overall it was an enjoyable read. I love reading LGBTQIAP+ romance novels.

This is such a sweet, cosy small town romance read! I found the main characters lovely but i think my favourite part was the side characters in the town. I liked the storyline, and the friends to lovers aspect.