ON THE ROCKS (A Swizzle Stick Romance #2) by Georgia Beers
- Publisher: Bold Strokes Books, December 14th 2021
- Genre: Romance
- Format: Ebook (eARC)
- Page Count: 240 pages
- My Rating: ★★★★ (4/5)
Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.
3.5 stars rounding up.
This is the second book I’ve read this month featuring an elementary school teacher main (the other one is Marry Me by Melissa Brayden; my review here), and gosh, why aren’t there more books with frazzled teachers and trouble-making kids?
Vanessa Martini (33) knows what she wants in a woman: not her students’ mom, not under 35 years old. But when she met Grace Chapman (29, bisexual), mother of the headache named Oliver, they connected better than expected. Too good, actually. Could the worst timing of Grace going through divorce while Oliver is in Vanessa’s class turn out to be the best time for them to date?
On the Rocks was so cute and funny! Beers certainly made me crack up multiple times with her clever dialogues and writing. The previous book, Shaken or Stirred (my review), was the first book on the Martini cousins. The overall tone in that one was heavier and more dramatic. On the Rocks is fluffier, especially since there are two adorable fur babies Delilah and Rudy. There are a lot of chance meetings though, but even though I am sometimes bothered by too much coincidence in a plot line, I thought they were really cute in this book.
I enjoyed getting to know more about Vanessa and Grace. Their interactions are fun and sometimes frustrating, and with the story taking place over fall and winter, we get to see a lot of holiday scenes from Thanksgiving to Christmas to the New Year.
One of the heaviest theme of On the Rocks is divorce. Grace is going through it with Michael with Oliver as the collateral damage, and Vanessa’s parents divorced when she was thirteen. I appreciate the storyline about the parents’ parenting style and how family dynamics are affected by the split. While Vanessa’s father and her no longer have much of a relationship, I’m glad to see Grace and Michael working out on the best way to co-parent Oliver.
Some major plot lines did not wrap up as nicely as probably should have. Yes, it is crucial to leave some parts of the story open-ended, but when the reason of the conflict doesn’t get fully addressed, I feel worried for the romance. I was disappointed that we didn’t get to see Vanessa and Grace talk to Oliver about their relationship and it was a little bit suspicious how Michael came around so fast. Also, I am very sad that nice old lady Ava had to die in the epilogue; she could’ve just declared retirement or something.
On the Rocks is a mostly light-hearted romance with adorable pets. While I didn’t feel a lot of chemistry between the main characters, I did root for them to be together. Now, I’m looking forward to the third book on Amelia Martini (48), and it looks like there will be a lot more dog content, too!
content warnings: graphic sex, alcohol (recreational), past cheating, death of a minor character, mention of infertility, divorce
Buddy read with Gabriella! Check out her review here!
I received a digital review copy from Bold Strokes Books via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.
