I received a free copy through the author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.

4.5 stars — Isn’t it amazing how you can find an author that just works for you? Which is not to say that every book is going to be a mega hit for you, but that you can be guaranteed an enjoyable experience at minimum? It was so refreshing to read another Sarina Bowen book and experience some magic that had been missing in my last few reads. I can 100% say that the True North series is my favou...

I received a free copy through the author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.

4.5 stars — Isn’t it amazing how you can find an author that just works for you? Which is not to say that every book is going to be a mega hit for you, but that you can be guaranteed an enjoyable experience at minimum? It was so refreshing to read another Sarina Bowen book and experience some magic that had been missing in my last few reads. I can 100% say that the True North series is my favourite by this author as well. Each story is so unique, but it blends interesting and deep issues with humour and sass. I LOVE that. And Speakeasy was just another great addition.

I ADORED Alec and May. Both individually, but especially together. They both had their own vulnerabilities, and I felt like I truly got to see them work through them. Their love story was a strange one, both in the manner in which their relationship started, and how it progressed. But I believed it all along the way, even as they occasionally frustrated me. They had so much chemistry — both as friends and definitely in the steamy department — that I rooted for them every step of the way. I really loved that their bumps along the road were not typical of so many romance stories.

I truly felt for May and how wrapped up in her own “hot mess” she was… I worried that I wouldn’t connect with her as quickly based on who I saw in previous books, but even as she was the EXACT same girl, seeing inside her head helped. I loved how strong she was, even if she couldn’t see it herself. I loved how determined she was. And she truly cared about others, despite sometimes getting wrapped up in her own head. I really connected with her quickness to cry and vulnerability. I just truly loved her.

Alec was honestly a star for me. He was just so…vibrant and goofy and honest and FREAKING ADORABLE…and yet he hid behind this confident facade, and not many people saw the struggles he faced in how he saw his own worth. I truly loved him. I loved how while he couldn’t always articulate what made May different from other girls, he wasn’t afraid of his feelings…just confused. I loved how passionate he was about his bar and his trade. I loved that he went after that even while believing that he wasn’t smart enough. And I love love LOVED how once he knew about May’s alcoholism, he just jumped right on board trying to be there for her…but in different ways from her family.

As always, the secondary cast was fantastic. As a fan of the series, it was so great to revisit so many characters. But even if I hadn’t met them, I would still love them. And OMG, some of Grandpa’s one-liners totally stole the show. I even appreciated the brief glimpses of a few new secondary characters. Makes you wonder who will show up in future books.

As an aside, I will admit that having never seen In Living Color (or at least not that I can recall), I totally didn’t understand the three snaps reference, even as it amused me. I had to Google that shiznit, and now it comes full circle.

So yeah. After a string of trying out new authors, and not always succeeding, it made this reader’s heart happy to be able to go back to a tried and true favourite and have another success.

When Sarina Bowen made us all elated with the news that there will in fact be another book in the True North series, I was elated. I loved the series so far, and I seriously couldn't wait to read more. I didn't expect the main female character to be May Shipley. Nor did I expect that there would me main hero, since in the previous books in the series, May was in a relationship with another woman, and she swore off man. So, I realized that this could easily be the book that took me outside my ...

When Sarina Bowen made us all elated with the news that there will in fact be another book in the True North series, I was elated. I loved the series so far, and I seriously couldn't wait to read more. I didn't expect the main female character to be May Shipley. Nor did I expect that there would me main hero, since in the previous books in the series, May was in a relationship with another woman, and she swore off man. So, I realized that this could easily be the book that took me outside my comfort zone. I'm not much of a daredevil when it comes to that, but I am a huge Sarina Bowen fan, so I guessed that I'd enjoy it regardless. And (un)surprisingly, I enjoyed it very much.

This book is intense. It starts with a bang: we meet Alec while he's helping May make a getaway after seeing her girlfriend cheating at none other place than the bar Alec owns. So, even the beginning, the set up of the story is pretty emotionally charged, and that's something that doesn't change throughout the book. May is a character that holds a lot of angst inside of her. She's a recovering alcoholic, who just caught her ex-girlfriend cheating, and who had a lot of disappointment in love in her twenty seven years. Not only that, she's also tired of everyone, even her family, expecting her to fall back to her vices at any point and treating her like glass, when she actually needs someone to remind her that she indeed is stronger than that. That's where Alec comes in! He seems like a laid-back, easygoing character with not that much depth at first glance. However, throughout the book we see that the first impression was the picture of an always-down-for-a-party playboy Alec Rossi was expected to be by the society, and not the one of a successful businessman and amazing friend he was aspiring to be. These are two characters that turn to each other, letting themselves enjoy the wild and powerful sexual attraction they feel towards each other in moments they feel truly wounded, and it is a raw, sensual, scorching relationship. However, that relationship soon becomes a tender friendship in which both May and Alec find comfort. When what they have starts to feel a lot like love, that's when things get messy.

"But love is messy, unpredictable, and occasionally loud. And I wouldn't have it any other way."

One little thing that could have made this book even more enjoyable for me was if that sexual attraction, and the tentative friendship the MCs had took a bit more time to turn into love they feel for one another. It felt a bit too sudden, but it was just a little speck on the specter of the wild emotions I felt while reading Speakeasy. Sarina Bowen creates such relatable, wounded, and so easily lovable characters, they inevitably make you feel and empathize even when you'd rather not, or think you couldn't/shouldn't. And that makesheru one of my favorite authors!

This atypical story definitely took me outside my comfort zone at first, but Sarina Bowen's incredible writing set over me like a comforting blanket, and let me enjoy this sexy and romantic story in its full glory. It's agsty, emotionally charged, and then unexpectedly funny at times, and utterly romantic. May and Alec grew into characters I loved, and their story is definitely one for the true fans of True North series: a bit unexpected, a bit angsty, a bit funny, and a whole lot of utterly beautiful and romantic. Recommended!