What to Read

#TBT Book Recs: Love Your Bartender Day!

I love a good bartender, in fact, I’ve loved an ex-bartender for almost thirty years now. I worked in a bar during my college years and met my husband, a bartender, during that time. Being in good with a bartender is a thing to be cherished, especially when you’re newly twenty-one! Oh, how I fondly remember the days and nights of sitting at the end of the bar, nursing drinks he made me, watching girls flirt with him in hopes of getting free drinks, but knowing he was all mine and would be coming home with me. Heady times and definitely a #ThrowBackThursday idea to embrace.

Bartenders are a special breed. Part therapist, part chemist, all sexy if you catch their eye! Bartenders have to know how to read the room, and the good ones are not just great with their people skills, they also have to work well under pressure. Depending on the type of bar, it can get crazy back behind the counter. Added bonus, my favorite bartender, is the one that taught me how to tie a cherry stem with my tongue and that, my friends, is a life skill that will take you places! Let’s take a stroll down memory lane and look at a couple of my favorite bartender heroes.

Back in 2013, author Ella Frank introduced us to the delectable, sexy, bisexual buttoned-up Logan Mitchell. I thought surely, she couldn’t give us a hotter, more aloof creature than this walking, talking, sexy on a stick Adonis. Well, along came Try, the first book in her Temptation series and the hottest bartender I’ve ever read, Tate Morrison splashed onto our scene. Glory be Tate Morrison, tall drink of curly-haired, motorcycle riding, bartending God-ness, and a perfect foil for cocky Logan. Fresh off of a divorce from his wife of four years, Tate had some baggage, and Logan is not the person he thought he’d ever be attracted to, and yet, there he is, flustering him at every turn. The first three books in this series, Try, Take, and Trust, were some of my most highly anticipated books when they released. Tate’s struggle with coming to terms, understanding, and accepting his sexuality, coupled with Logan’s emotional journey, was expertly paced and detailed. My love for these two characters was honestly my gateway to more LGBTQ books, a controversial statement to some, but it doesn’t make it any less accurate. Their love story is one of my favorite stories in Romancelandia, and Tate Morrison will forever reign as one of my favorite bartenders.

Next up is a book that allows me to take a little creative license in my #TBT to Bartenders territory. Unfixable’s Shane Claymore is Formula One driver turned Innkeeper in Dublin, Ireland. The Inn has a bar, and he tends it sometimes, so I’m granting him sexy bartender status. Take that leap with me, you’ll enjoy the landing.

Shane is not happy, in fact, he’s incredibly grumpy and not at all ready to deal with the likes of American Willa Peet with all of her sarcasm and sass. Willa is in Dublin licking her wounds after a nasty break-up, and Shane is back home trying to sell the family’s Inn so he can get back to his one true love, the only thing that has never let him down, racing. Oil and water turns to piss and vinegar and quickly leads to explosive chemistry that can not be denied. Lordy be, lordy be I can still hear Shane’s heavy brogue calling our heroine Willa Girl in my dreams. I love it when the surly heroes fight the attraction but are ultimately brought to their knees by the love of a smart ass woman. I feel that in my core, maybe because my bartender was surly yet wildly charismatic, and perhaps I’ve carried the mantel of sarcasm a day or two in my life. Unfixable is 260 pages of prime Tessa Bailey dirty talk with an Irish accent, and I am here for it.

On this day of International Bartender Appreciation, I think we should all go out, pick up a conversation with your server, practice your cherry stem tying, and make sure you tip well. Oh, and read some sexy books, they will warm your soul like a bespoke festive cocktail, heavy on the smooth whiskey.

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Donna Soluri

Donna Soluri started in the book world as Scandalicious; now, this almost empty nester is going her own way. A lover of cupcakes, champagne, old-school rap, and Harry Styles she likes to read books with characters closer to her age still romancing and kissing and causing trouble.