Review: Sassy Blonde (Three Chicks Brewery #1)

Sassy Blonde (Three Chicks Brewery #1)

by Stacey Kennedy 

Blurb:

One truck, one off-limits cowboy, one road trip she'll never forget...

Maisie Carter has always been a free spirit. An artist by nature, she has no idea what she's doing as co-owner of Three Chicks Brewery. But she's determined to prove to her older sisters that she can be an asset to their grandfather's beer legacy. The best way to do that? Make the rounds at Colorado's craft brewery festivals and turn Foxy Diva, their top beer, into an award winner. Unfortunately, after more than one "beer mishap," it becomes clear that she's going to need some help.

Hayes Taylor knows he has a chip on his shoulder, but he has no interest in working through his traumatic past. He just wants to work on his horse farm, alone. The last thing he needs in his life is a woman, especially his dead wife's best friend, the sweet-as-pie Maisie Carter. But she's always brought out his protective instincts, and he can hardly say 'no' when she asks for his help...

As the two embark on the festival tour, beer filled days turn into lust filled nights, and neither Maisie nor Hayes can deny their growing attraction. But Hayes knows love leads to heartbreak.... Can Maisie show him that their love is worth the risk?

Themes:  Contemporary

Rating:  4.25 stars

Heat Rating: 

Review:

Sexy and sweet Maisie is mostly bumbling her way through life at this point and it is time for her to prove to her family that she can contribute to their business, but life goes awry for her as usual.  This new series is a loosely connected spinoff series where we get to learn more about the Carter sisters and their new brewery business, whom we met in a past series through a character that owed a bar.  Maisie is the youngest Carter sister and has dreams of opening her own art gallery, but she has always been out of step and felt like the odd woman out in her family.  She lost the sister of her heart in the worst way imaginable when she was murdered a few years before, but she is slowly coming back to life and has to help her sisters make their brewery work if she is going to prove to them she has grown up.  Hayes has become friends with his late wife’s best friend over the last few years while they depended on one another to recover from her death, but despite the changing feelings they both seem to have he can’t go there because he has been keeping a terrible secret from Maisie.  When Maisie needs his help on her road trip in order to make a success of the family brewery, how can he say no to the woman that is slowly beginning to steal his heart, but as their connection becomes deeper and turns physical, the trip is blown to bits and they have to return home and decide if their relationship will withstand being back in their homes town or it was just a fling.  And Hayes has to determine if he can return to his old life and keep Maisie without having to divulge the secret he has kept for years from the woman he is coming to love.  I really enjoyed this story, filled with laughs, friends-to-lovers romance, and family dynamics that could make the head swim, but so well-written that you don’t even realize just how much has gone on in such a short story when it is over.  Maisie is the kind of free spirit with a focus on her art that her trying to make herself into something she isn’t makes her miserable and it is obvious to those she loves and causes more trouble for herself than she ever realized.  Once she finally comes to terms with the best way she can contribute to her family business she truly blossoms and of course the love of her man giving her that confidence is not to be denied.  I loved her verve for life, ability to make those around her smile, and unwillingness to let the darkness of the world hold her down. Hayes on the other hand is stuck in the darkness and the only time he see light is when he is with Maisie, and he won’t let himself come out of that darkness, believing it to be his punishment for past mistakes.  I was sad to see him stuck in the past and fighting his love for Maisie so hard, sometimes to the point he actually hurt her and almost to the point that he broke her heart, but thankfully he came to understand that his darkness would smother her light if her didn’t allow himself to let it go.  I loved seeing him pull himself up and find his way back to life and love despite a few setbacks and finally come to terms with both his past and his future with Maisie. The heat between Hayes and Maisie is palpable every moment they are in contact with one another and let me tell you it is HOTT.  I am dying to read the next story where we will finally get to meet and learn all about the oldest sister and her son’s father, a story bound to be filled with heartache and craziness!  Keep the spice and sass coming, Stacey.

*ebook provided by publisher (via NetGalley) for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review.  No compensation was provided.