Review: Tap by Georgia Cates (Lovibond #1)

Note: This ARC was provided by InkSlinger PR in exchange for an honest review.

I think that it's difficult for authors who have well-loved, bestselling series that helped them make a name for themselves to come up with something new--something that will make their readers and fans get up and say, "Yes! She's done it again!" After having read series starter Tap, I'm feeling rather hopeful as far as Georgia Cates and her Lovibond series are concerned. Three brew masters, three women who will steal their hearts, and three stories, and it was Tap that introduced me to the world of Lovibond Brewery and the three owners--Lucas Broussard, Oliver Thorn, and Porter Beckman, and it's looking like this is a world worthy of delving into even further. The first book is about Lucas, aka as Tap or Brou, and Ollie's older sister Lawrence, aka as Law or Wren. Theirs is a deliciously dirty but  satisfyingly sweet modern romance.

Both Lucas and Wren have had experiences that have shaped them into the people they are now, experiences that have formed their views when it comes to love and relationships. Lucas's marriage to his best friend led to one particularly painful and heartbreaking experience and the marriage went on to end in a way that I certainly never expected nor would I have ever envisioned it turning out the way it did. This was a first for me because that kind of post-divorce relationship isn't in any of the books I've ever read (and I'm 42 and a voracious reader, so you can imagine how many books I'm talking about here...unless I'm extremely forgetful and simply forgot...but whatever...). Then there's Wren's and Oliver's terrible childhood at the hands of two people who should never have become nor should ever be called "parents".

Lucas is younger than Wren by two years, and they're opposites in more ways than one, but their pairing is one that brings a feeling of healing to both their battered hearts and spirits, even though it may take longer for one of them to heal over the other. Wren's being Oliver's sister is just one of the issues that these two have to deal with, because trust me when I say that there are more formidable challenges for them to overcome in the story. Everything plays out at a moderate rate, nothing feeling rushed or forced, and the lust that's there from the beginning and the love that grows over time had me swooning. I must also say that Wren's close relationship with her brother Ollie, who has the nickname "Stout", was touching and was one of my favorite things about the book. Tap gets 4.5 stars and I'm looking forward to book two! ♥

Release Date: 11 January 2016

Date Read: 10 January 2016

Learn more about Georgia Cates.

Purchase Tap on Amazon.