Romance Readers Retreat: Review: A Love Letter to Whiskey by Kandi Steiner

*****5 Stars*****

A Love Letter to Whiskey is the kind of book that piles on the angst without apology and leaves the reader gasping for air as they read. It's the kind of book I stayed away from in my early reading career, but eat up like candy now-a-days. I'm not sure what I expected going into this book, but Kandi Steiner took any expectations I had and blew them out of the water. This was painful, stressful, frustrating and so beautifully written that I couldn't put it down once I started to read.

Breck and Jamie can only be described as soulmates and this is their story over the span of many years and many relationships. They began life as the best of friends and, as so often happens when you share your soul with someone that is basically the other half of yourself, lines began to blur. It was obvious as I read how much these two characters loved and wanted each other. It also seemed like it would NEVER EVER HAPPEN. I am not one to shout in reviews, but I can't think of any other way to best illustrate the frustration, fear and lack of confidence I felt for these two people in regards to their relationship.

You may have someone in your life that you care for more than you can describe, but life never seems to work out in your favor. The timing is always off, there is always some other person or commitment, destiny just never smiles on you and them. I have read the story of couples like that before, but never as well done or as articulate as Kandi Steiner managed. Breck and Jamie were irrevocably entwined. They were under each others' skin, inside each others' hearts and an addiction that neither could (or wanted to) shake. I felt a bit like an addict myself when I was finished reading. I was so invested in their story and so uncertain of the outcome, I was literally shaking. This is the first book I've read by Kandi Steinr and if this is an indication of her talent, it will most definitely not be my last. If you love well written angst that will keep you up late reading this is a book you need to have on your night stand.

Reviewed by Rosemary Feil

It’s crazy how fast the buzz comes back after you’ve been sober for so long.

Whiskey stood there, on my doorstep, just like he had one year before. Except this time, there was no rain, no anger, no wedding invitation — it was just us.

It was just him — the old friend, the easy smile, the twisted solace wrapped in a glittering bottle.

It was just me — the alcoholic, pretending like I didn’t want to taste him, realizing too quickly that months of being clean didn’t make me crave him any less.

But we can’t start here.

No, to tell this story right, we need to go back.

Back to the beginning.

Back to the very first drop.

This is my love letter to Whiskey. I only hope he reads it.