On the Rocks by Kandi Steiner

A Review by Wendy

 4 We Were Meant To Be Stars
* * * *

 Spoiler Free

There are some people who are meant to happen...they cross paths at a time when never in a million years they would think they were destined...but somehow, someway Fate, Life or the Big Kahuna in the sky knows better and brings them back together to work out whatever is necessary to have their HEA.

In On the Rocks by Kandi Steiner, this is exactly what happens.

Ruby Grace Barnett has always known she was meant to make her family happy.As the Mayor's daughter, she was raised to become a politician's wife. Ruby Grace had wanted other things too...but they all got cut short when her college boyfriend proposed out of the blue. He had all the makings of someday running for president and he wanted to get things rolling with the perfect image. Ruby Grace fit that bill and before you could say wait a minute, the ring was on her finger and her mother became wedding planner from hell.

Now Ruby Grace was no longer carefree. She was going to be a wife and even though only 19...she had to act a certain way and make sure everything was perfect. She was doing her fiance duties when she went to the Scooter Whiskey warehouse to purchase the personal blend of whiskey as her groom's wedding gift.

Noah Becker was part of the Scooter Whiskey legacy. His father and the original Scooter built this brand from the barrels up. When the Scooter partner died, their dad was left out and pushed aside. Tragedy happened and the Becker father died leaving the four sons and mother to grieve. They were a solid close-knit family and they all miss their dad every day. All of the sons work at the distillery and Noah is one of the best barrel makers around. He also is easy on the eyes and charming as hell.

When the boss asks Noah to handle the underage purchase of the wedding barrel, Noah agrees to make sure it is done carefully...it is for the Mayor's daughter.

Noah goes out to the lobby to collect Ruby Grace and she is acting like a society woman twice her age...pacing up and down the sidewalk with the cel up against her ear and with sunglasses hiding more than half her face. She turns to see who is there to assist her and has to collect herself when she sees it is Noah. She continues to act uppity and Noah was not going to have it.

He takes her out to where the special barrels are kept and asks her what she is looking for.

Such a simple question and it becomes a very complicated quandary for Ruby Grace because it isn't just what type of flavoring of whiskey that is at stake...This innocent question begs to ask what is Ruby Grace really wanting out of her life and is the "Perfect Politician Husband" truly the right man for her. Noah asks more of Ruby Grace and wants her to see she is of value, more than a prop...and before they both realize it...fate has brought them together to show each other the way to what each of them deserves.

This love story has both of these characters playing friends who should be together. Due to Ruby Grace being engaged, Noah decides he will be the friend Ruby Grace needs. This doesn't deny the feelings he has for her...he just wants to help her see what he knows she deserves in a relationship.

Noah was a wonder and I adored him. Ruby was young and it took a realization of many things for her to see Noah as the man he was.

This could be the beginning of a new series and boy, oh, boy it delivered on everything a first entry needs. So many seeds were planted to cause us to wonder what could be happening in another story about another brother. Can't Wait

A gifted copy was provided by author/publisher for an honest review.
 

About Kandi Steiner

Kandi Steiner is a bestselling author and whiskey connoisseur living in Tampa, FL. Best known for writing “emotional rollercoaster” stories, she loves bringing flawed characters to life and writing about real, raw romance — in all its forms. No two Kandi Steiner books are the same, and if you’re a lover of angsty, emotional, and inspirational reads, she’s your gal.
An alumna of the University of Central Florida, Kandi graduated with a double major in Creative Writing and Advertising/PR with a minor in Women’s Studies. She started writing back in the 4th grade after reading the first Harry Potter installment. In 6th grade, she wrote and edited her own newspaper and distributed to her classmates. Eventually, the principal caught on and the newspaper was quickly halted, though Kandi tried fighting for her “freedom of press.” She took particular interest in writing romance after college, as she has always been a die hard hopeless romantic, and likes to highlight all the challenges of love as well as the triumphs.
When Kandi isn’t writing, you can find her reading books of all kinds, talking with her extremely vocal cat, and spending time with her friends and family. She enjoys live music, traveling, anything heavy in carbs, beach days, movie marathons, craft beer and sweet wine — not necessarily in that order.