A Love Letter To Whiskey
by
Kandi Steiner
NOW LIVE!!
Blurb:
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.
Purchase Links:
AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU
Excerpt:
The first time I tasted Whiskey, I fell flat on my face.
Literally.
I was drunk from the very first sip, and I guess that should have been my sign to stay away.
Jenna and I were running the trail around the lake near her house, sweat dripping into our eyes from the intense South Florida heat. It was early September, but in South Florida, it might as well have been July. There was no “boots and scarves” season, unless you counted the approximately six weeks in January and February where the temperature dropped below eighty degrees.
As it was, we were battling ninety-plus degrees, me trying to be a show off and prove I could keep up with Jenna’s cheerleading training program. She had finally made the varsity squad, and with that privilege came ridiculous standards she had to uphold. I hated running — absolutely loathed it. I would much rather have been on my surf board that day. But fortunately for Jenna, she had a competitive best friend who never turned down a
3 / 5
challenge. So when she asked me to train with her, I’d agreed eagerly, even knowing I’d have screaming ribs and calves by the end of the day.
I saw him first.
I was just a few steps ahead of Jenna, and I’d been staring down at my hot pink sneakers as they hit the concrete. When I looked up, he was about fifty feet away, and even from that distance I could tell I was in trouble. He seemed sort of average at first — brown hair, lean build, soaked white running shirt — but the closer he got, the more I realized just how edible he was. I noticed the shift in the muscles of his legs as he ran, the way his hair bounced slightly, how he pressed his lips together in concentration as he neared us.
I looked over my shoulder, attempting to waggle my eyebrows at Jenna and give her the secret best friend code for “hot guy up ahead”, but she had stopped to tie her shoes. And when I turned back around, it was too late.
I smacked into him — hard — and fell to the pavement, rolling a bit to soften the fall. He cursed and I groaned, more from embarrassment than pain. I wish I could say I gracefully picked myself up, smiled radiantly, and asked him for his number, but the truth is I lost the ability to do anything the minute I looked up at him.
It was an unfamiliar, warm ache that spread through my chest as I used my hand to shield the sun streaming in behind his silhouette, just how you’d expect the first sip of whiskey to feel. He was bent over, hand outstretched, saying something that wasn’t registering because I had somehow managed to slip my hand into his and just that one touch had set my skin on fire.
Handsome wasn’t the right word to describe him, but it was all I kept thinking as I traced his features. His hair was a sort of mocha color, damp at the roots, falling onto his forehead just slightly. His eyes were wide — almost too round — and a mixture of gold, green, and the deepest brown. I didn’t coin the nickname Whiskey until much later, but it was that moment that I saw it for the first time — those were whiskey eyes. The kind of eyes you get lost in. The kind that drink you in. He had the longest lashes and a firm, square jaw. It was so hard, the edges so clean that I would have sworn he was angry with me if it weren’t for the smile on his face.He was still talking as my eyes fell over his broad chest before snapping back up to his sideways grin.
“Oh my God, are you fucking blind?!” Jenna’s voice snapped me from my haze as she shoved Whiskey out of the way and latched onto my hand, ripping me back to standing position. I’d barely caught my balance before she whipped around to continue her scolding. “How about you brush that long ass hair out of your eyes and watch where you’re going, huh champ?”
Oh no.
I didn’t even have time to call dibs, I couldn’t even think the word, let alone say it, before it was too late. I watched it, in slow motion, as Whiskey fell for my best friend before I even had the chance to say a single word to him.
Jenna was standing tall, arms crossed, one hip popped in her usual fashion as she waited for him to defend himself. This was her protocol — it was one of the reasons we got along. We were both what you’d call “spitfires”, but Jenna had the distinct advantage of being cripplingly gorgeous on top of having an attitude. She flipped her long, wavy blonde ponytail behind her and cocked a brow.
And then he did, too.
His smile grew wider as he met her eyes, and it was the same look I’d watched fall over guy after countless guy. Jenna was a unicorn, and men were enamored by her. As they should have been — she had platinum blonde hair, crystal blue eyes, legs for days and a personality to boot. Now, before you go thinking that I was the insecure best friend - I had it going on, too. I worked hard, I was talented - just not at the things traditional high school boys valued.
But we’ll get to that.
“Hi,” Whiskey finally said, extending his hand to Jenna this time. His eyes were warm, smile inviting — if I had to pick the right word for him, just one, I’d say charming. He just oozed charm. “I’m Jamie.”
“Well, Jamie, maybe you should make an appointment with the eye doctor before you run over another innocent jogger. And you owe Brecks an apology.” She nodded to me then and I cringed at my name, wondering why she felt the need to spill it at all. She always called me B — everyone did — so why did she choose the moment I was face to face with the first boy to ever make my heart accelerate to use my full name?
Jamie was still grinning, eying Jenna, trying to figure her out, but he turned to me after a moment with that same crooked smile. “I’m sorry, I should have been watching where I was going.” He said the words with conviction, but lifted his brows on that last line because he and I both knew who wasn’t paying attention to the trail, and he wasn’t the guilty party.
“It’s fine,” I murmured, because for some reason I was still having a difficult time finding my voice. Jamie tilted his head just a fraction, his eyes hard on me this time, and I felt naked beneath his gaze. I’d never had anyone look at me that way — completely zeroed in. It was unnerving and exhilarating, too.
But before I could latch onto the feeling, he turned back to Jenna, their eyes meeting as slow smiles spread on both of their faces. I’d seen it a million times, but this was the first time I felt sick watching it happen.
I saw him first, but it didn’t matter.
Because he saw her.
*--My Review--*
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"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."
My fucking heart.
Throughout this whole book, whilst i spent 3 hours of the day getting thoroughly drunk off Whiskey my heart was being held in a vice like grip. The whole book, those characters jsut refusing to let it go until it has drained every single emotion out of it. My emotions all over the place, my sanity ripped to shreds. How can one book consume me so much? Have me completely wasted of just a few words? One taste of Whiskey had me hooked, addicted. One shot led to me being an alcoholic, craving every word written. The flawless, awe-inspiring work left me numb with a fuzzy feeling in my head and heart.
I loved Whiskey, I hated it, I didn't just drown in Whiskey. No. I drowned in every single letter, every word and chapter that Kandi wrote. Like Whiskey her words were addicting. So let me make a confession....
I'm Natalie and i'm addicted to Kandi Steiners words.
It turned out a Whiskey stain was just as permanent as ink, and i wondered if i would ever truly was myself clean. Or if i even wanted to
If i had to conclude this book in one word it'd be Everything. The story, those characters, the emotions i felt are just everything. The love in this book was so beautifully toxic, it shows everything that love truly is. Selfish. Complicated. Kind. Cruel and overall an addiction. Jamie and B's love story is one of addiction. A love so fierce yet so destructible. So complicated it had them drowning more times than they could count. Hurting not only themselves but so many people around them. They made so many mistakes, they weren't perfect not in the slightest yet their love never faltered. It never died down or fizzled out and why? because love is meant to be consuming, and so strong that it has you struggling to breathe. Oh boy did i struggle to breathe once i finished, my ribs felt like they were slowly being crushed underneath the weight of their love. My heart ached yet it was so warm and a book that can make me feel so much is a book i want to cherish forever. A Love Letter To Whiskey is just that, a story where like the drink itself i want to savour every last drop.
I feel like im rambling as i try and review this book, i feel like no words i write can possibly do it justice. Did it intoxicate me? Yes. Consume me? Absolutely. It was a book so intense, so raw that it absolutely BLEW MY MIND! The characters locked me inside their world, refusing to let me take a breath. My nerves were shot to bits after i'd finished, my emotions were scattered and in all honesty once i was done i opened a bottle of Jack Daniels and had a glass (It was 3pm, dont judge). I drank it the way i drank in this story, slowly and tasting every bit of it.
Jamie was Whiskey, that much i was sure of. I couldn't deny the way he burned, the way his taste lingered
Once you have one taste of the love in this book, it becomes an addiction. One you're not so sure you want to kick. A feeling you crave, the kind of feeling you want to keep all to yourself. For B her addiction was in the form of a boy, who literally knocked her off her feet. Jamie Shaw, a boy who little did she know would become her very own Whiskey.
Jamie and B were best friends, a friendship built on the solid foundation of truth, love and an intense connection neither of them could deny. Lines that were blurred when they shouldn't have been. Timing is a bastard, as you find out for Jamie and B it just wasn't on their side. One always ready for the other when the other wasn't available. No matter what the timing though their feelings stayed the same, their love stronger than any other. A love that had them so drunk on the possibility of stolen kisses and soft touches that they didn't see the world around them, but B wasn't ready to be fully consumed by her Whiskey addiction even though she'd been hooked for so many years already.
It turned out i was water, he was whiskey, and i couldn't dilute him. Not now that i knew he loved me enough to let me. I needed to be stronger, to be ice the next time i melted with him
There is no doubt that A love letter to whiskey is a captivating, raw and fucking addictive read. This story has so many emotions hidden inside. The kind that left me breathless, hurting and smiling so hard at the same time. It isn't a typical love story, no. It's something so much more intense, something that makes you laugh, cry, leaves you frazzled and confused as you try and figure out what you've just been through. Savour every last drop, because once you taste the whiskey you'll be left wanting more. More of the love that is so selfishly real, raw but most importantly the love that is honest. That knows now bounds, one that leaves you so intoxicated you can't help but be addicted to it.
"Would you be mad if i kissed you right now?"
"Yes"
"Then i hope you'll forgive me later."
This is the first book i've read by Kandi and it's my favourite this year. So much more than i expected. So go ahead, trust your heart. Take a sip, savour every last drop and let yourself breath in Kandi Steiners words and let yourself become addicted to whiskey.
5* Whiskey tasting stars.
Author Bio:
Kandi Steiner is a Creative Writing and Advertising/Public Relations graduate from the University of Central Florida living in Tampa with her husband. Kandi works full time as a social media specialist, but also works part time as a Zumba fitness instructor and blackjack dealer.
Kandi 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 (like most girls brought up on Disney movies).
When Kandi isn’t working or 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 beach days, movie marathons, live music, craft beer and sweet wine – not necessarily in that order.
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