#Book #Review ~ Glass Half Full (Barflies #2) by Katia Rose ~ #Contemporary #Romance @KatiaRoseAuthor

Book Details:

Print Length: 315 pages
Publication Date: January 8, 2020
ASIN: B082NY26DY

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3admUgK

About the Book:

You win some, you lose some.

Back at home with half a college degree after the fiasco of the century sent her packing, it’s safe to say that Renee Nyobé is losing some. She’s a hot mess, and not the cute kind. No, if hot messes had categories, hers would be ‘littering the stairs of the metro station with your sweaty underwear because you were too busy rushing to the job interview you’re already late for to zip up your yoga bag.’

A job—any job—is just what she needs to get her life back on track, and it might as well be at Montreal’s most famous dive bar, Taverne Toulouse.

Dylan Trottard is winning some. As Taverne Toulouse’s new manager, he’s got one rule for himself: don’t screw up. Following that rule gets a lot harder when the woman he’s spent the past three years trying to forget starts working behind the bar.

They were never supposed to want each other, and they sure as hell aren’t supposed to want each other now. She’s the girl that got away before he even had her, and he’s the guy she didn’t think would ever give her a second glance.

Now they can’t keep their eyes off one another, and the stakes are even higher than before. There’s a lot to lose, but as the pull between them gets harder and harder to ignore, Renee and Dylan start asking how much winning is worth.

Glass Half Full is the second book in Katia Rose's Barflies series. A standalone book, we still get glimpses of characters from book 1. Dylan is now manager of the newly remodeled Taverne Toulouse, a Montreal dive bar. He is doing the best he can but finds that his past is always interrupting his present. This is especially the case when Renee Nyobé comes looking for a job at the bar. 

Renee Nyobé is just starting to get her life back in order after a trip abroad to attend school ended badly. To assist in the process, Renee has finally reached a point where she feels obtaining employment will help. She walks into a dive bar in Montreal for an interview and comes face-to-face with the guy who stole her heart a few years ago. 

The don't want to want each other but as the days pass, both Renee and Dylan realize that the pull between them is so much more than superficial. They realize how important the other was before and increasingly more now. Starting a relationship is risky for many reasons and when the bad part of Dylan's past rears its ugly head, Dylan may just decide to end everything before it's even had a chance to begin.

This book is so emotional. I teared up in several places. As a person who suffers from anxiety (but not to the degree of Renee's character), I empathized and sympathized with the feelings, thoughts, and mannerisms that go along with anxiety. I also felt Dylan's pain as he tried to come to terms with his past and how he felt like he wasn't good enough for Renee. 

The author did such an excellent job with descriptions and emotions in this book. I enjoyed the smooth, descriptive narrative. Glass Half Full is written with true feelings and real emotion. I loved Dylan and Renee's story as much as Monroe and Julien's from book 1. There is a lot of very important self-discovery for both Renee and Dylan separately and together. Glass Half Full is a must read for lovers of contemporary romances.

I was provided a copy of this book to read.

My Rating:

#Book #Review ~ The Bar Next Door (Barflies #1) by Katia Rose ~ #Contemporary #Romance @KatiaRoseAuthor

Book Details:

Print Length: 303 pages
Publication Date: August 22, 2019
ASIN: B07WL8B4VL

Amazon: https://amzn.to/387Oqu8

About the Book:

Sometimes you take the shot, and sometimes the shot takes you.

As the manager of Montreal’s most infamous dive bar, Monroe—and it’s just Monroe, thank you very much—is used to serving up her signature pearls of wisdom alongside an array of shots, pints, and pitchers. In fact, she thrives on it. Taverne Toulouse is a mighty ship, and she its fearless captain, trusted by patrons and bar staff alike to steer them through choppy waters.

If only she’d been given a little warning before a full-on tsunami swept in next door.

Julien Valois’ wining and dining empire is making waves. The next item on his agenda is opening a trendy lounge right next to Monroe’s beloved Taverne Toulouse—one that’s meant to run the dive bar out of business so he can buy up that property too.

His plans did not include falling for a five-foot-nothing brunette with an impressive vocabulary and an even more impressive ability to manhandle drunk frat boys twice her size.

They’re rivals in every sense of the word, but when Monroe and Julien are in a room together, the battle lines fade away. Their defenses lower, their hearts get louder than their heads, and the burn between them goes down like just the right shot—intense, intoxicating, and able to sweep their priorities away with a single taste.

Until reality decides to slap up a big ‘For Sale’ sign and force them remember those priorities all too clearly.

The Bar Next Door is a terrific first book in Katia Rose's Barflies series. Monroe is the manager of Taverne Toulouse, a dive bar in Montreal. Not in the greatest area, Taverne Toulouse has seen a descent in customers. Things go from bad to worse when Monroe discovers the space next door has been purchased and ultimately will be turned into a wine bar sure to bring customers but not to Taverne Toulouse. In fact, Monroe fears the customers she does have will choose the nice, new trendy bar over the dingy, dark dive bar. Things become more complicated when she meets new the proprietor.

Monroe is a strong female character who lives and breathes Taverne Toulouse and all the employees. She doesn't want to see the bar closed or sold, which would leave all of her employees jobless. As the time frame shortens between now and when the new bar will open, Monroe devises several plans to keep the bar open and out of the hands of the competition. Falling for the competition was never part of the plan.

Julien Valois is a successful young entrepreneur. He owns several restaurants and bars in the area and plans to add his trendy wine lounge to his list of successes. Julien's plan involves outright buying out the dive bar next door or biding his time and running the place out of business. Plans change when the manager of the dive bar wiggles her way into his heart. As he thinks over the importance of Taverne Toulouse to Monroe, an opportunity arises and his jumping for it may just change the courses of his and Monroe's lives forever.

The author did such an excellent job with descriptions and emotions in this book. I enjoyed the smooth, descriptive narrative. The Bar Next Door is written with feelings and real emotion. I loved Monroe and Julien's story. There is a lot of self-discovery for both Monroe and Julien separately and together. They may be competitors at first but they meld into each other as the book progresses. The Bar Next Door is a must read for lovers of contemporary romances.

This is the first book I've read by Katia Rose and it certainly will not be the last...Not by a long shot.

I was provided a copy of this book to review.

My Rating: