Storm Goddess Book Reviews & More: VBT Review: You and Tequila by Crystal Donahue

You and Tequila

By: Crystal Donahue

Blurb

One tequila, two tequila, three tequila… Score!

Cassel Bailey's life hasn't exactly turned out how she planned. Between the tragic death of her parents, a brother that practically despises her, and working her way through nursing school alone, she's learned to stay guarded, relying only on herself and her friends for love and support. Over time they’ve become her surrogate family. So when one drunken night at the bar lands her in bed with her close friend, Will Tanner, it threatens to change their otherwise platonic relationship forever. Life as she knows it suddenly begins spinning out of control as she struggles to understand her conflicted emotions.

Guided by her authoritative best friend, Tina, and her quirky next-door neighbor, Rita, Cassel must decide between fighting to keep her friendship with Will alive, or going with Plan B and risking it all for something more.

Just when she thinks she knows what she wants, Cassel is bullied into caring for a patient that, unbeknownst to her, played an important role in her sad past. The stunning secret this person reveals about her former lover, Dane, threatens to open up previously healed wounds and leads Cassel to question not only the career she loves, but where her heart truly lies. Everything she thought she knew about life, love, and promises is shattered like an empty bottle hitting the floor.

One thing is for certain, when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade... when life gives you limes, you grab some salt and a bottle of tequila and learn to take it one shot at a time.

Excerpt

“So tell me everything, Cass. What exactly happened, from start to finish?”

“Well,” I start with a hesitant sigh,“a bunch of us met at The Broken Tap last night to celebrate Will passing the bar exam and being offered a position at the County Attorney’s Office. At some point Kelsey suggested we all do a round of shots in honor of the occasion.”
“Kelsey’s always looking for an excuse to do shots,” interrupts Tina. There’s no love lost between those two and I often have to play referee when they’re in the same vicinity.

Shooting her a dirty look for interjecting, I continue, “Anyway, a few rounds later and everyone’s feeling good, a little too good perhaps. I started teasing Will about having to wear a suit every day, knowing how much he hates them. And he started teasing me about having to give enemas and wipe people’s butts for a living. We were just joking around like usual, but the next thing I know we’re making out in one of the booths in the back.” I stop there, not wanting to admit what comes next.

“So that’s it? You guys just had a drunken make out session at the bar? That isn’t so bad, you can bounce back from that.” Tina shrugs, unimpressed with my sex life yet again.

“Not exactly,” I take another deep breath and continue on, “I suggested we take the show on the road. His place was closer so we ended up there.”
“You suggested it? I see,” Tina smirks. We stare at each other for a few seconds before she finally asks the one thing she’s dying to know, “So, how was it?”

Crossing my arms on the table in front of me, I drop my head and let out a muffled groan. Without looking up, I admit,“Honestly, it was the best sex I’ve ever had.”

Review Rating: 3.5 LIGHTNING BOLTS

Review: Have you ever known one of those friends that you are teetering at the edge of crossing the line with? It's that moment that you wake up and realize you might have just made a mistake...or not?

You and Tequila delves into that situation. Cass is good friends with Will, but one night they cross the line. Now things are not the same. Cass has to deal with the emotions and things she feels after. She's had a pretty rough past and so there are things she has to learn to deal with.

I enjoyed the story, like the characters, and for the most part, it flowed well. It's written in first person, which is fine, but a lot of times there's things in the book that don't have a need there. The story line itself definitely grabbed my attention. I wanted to know how things would be resolved, and loved the dialogue between the characters. You and Tequila kept me intrigued and turning the pages. I look forward to seeing what else the author has in store!

Author Info

Crystal Donahue has been fortunate to live all over the US, including but not limited to Arizona, Hawaii, and Georgia but she currently resides near the Iowa/Illinois border with her tornado obsessed son and their mischievous cat, Brownie. She is a procrastinator of epic proportions, finds humor in almost everything, loves sarcasm and loathes washing dishes.

A 2004 graduate of Western Illinois University, Crystal has held several unique jobs including driving a Zamboni and being a relay operator for the hearing and speech impaired. While working as a claims adjuster she realized life is too short not to do something that makes you happy, so she quit her job to go back to school and study nursing. Between work, school, and raising her son she somehow manages to find time to write too, usually to the detriment of her social life. Fortunately her friends and family rock so it isn’t much of an issue… yet.

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