First off, I’m going to start off with a rant about the current trend of contemporary chick lit being marketed as romantic comedy. They are NOT THE SAME THING and I’m getting really annoyed by publishers claiming they are. This is a fun and charming read, and it’s definitely a romance because there’s a Happily Ever After, but it’s not a rom com because it’s quite simply not funny enough. I felt more sorry for Liv than amused by the situations she finds herself in, and so does she; she’s more likely to spend her time in self-reflection trying to give herself a pep talk than laughing at herself. And in all honesty… there’s not much to laugh about in losing your dream corporate job and having to take on bar work in a desperate attempt to make ends meet.
With my little This Is Not A Rom Com rant out of the way, I’m now going to say that this is actually a really good read. I had a great deal of sympathy for Liv from the start as she struggled to recover from a series of nasty blows. Thrown a lifeline by Aaron, a former boss now running a luxury hotel who offers her some part-time bar work until she gets back on her feet, Liv meets some new friends and discovers there’s more to life than climbing the corporate ladder. There are a couple of love interests on the scene, with the interesting twist that one of them is online and she doesn’t find out his real identity until right at the end of the book. As such, if love triangles aren’t your thing, you might want to give this one a miss.
Nina Kaye has created an extremely likeable character in Liv, who comes from a difficult background and clawed her way up by sheer graft. Liv finds it hard to trust and open up to anyone except her best friend Dylan who comes from the same background as her, but makes a new friend in fellow bartender Reyes, a Spanish girl who’s just an utter delight. In a lot of ways this is a story about Liv and Reyes’ growing friendship just as much as Liv’s romantic arc and it’s both realistic and charming. It’s a lovely read, but I’d definitely call it an uplifting contemporary chick lit rather than a rom com. Five stars.
Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this title via Rachel’s Random Resources.
Prize giveaway!
To celebrate this blog tour for The Gin Lover’s Guide to Dating, there seemed no better way than to give away some gin-related goodies! Nina has teamed up with specialist gin producer, Tiger Gin, to offer one lucky winner: a copy of her debut novel (Kindle Edition), a bottle of multi-Gold award winning Tiger Gin, and one copy of The Little Cocktail Box.
To enter, all you need to do is retweet and comment (just once!) on Nina’s pinned tweet on her Twitter page (@NinaKayeAuthor), telling her which blog tour post you have read. Nina will then choose the lucky winner at random after the closing date, which is 6pm (BST) on Thurs 29th April 2020.
This prize draw is only available to UK residents over the age of 18. Full terms and conditions apply - bit.ly/2V6AdJ1. Always drink responsibly.