TEQUILA ROSE BY WILLOW WINTERS

I really wanted to love Tequila Rose, but it fell really flat for me. The book is too rushed for such an angsty plot.

​Rating: ★★
​Release Date: February 23, 2021
Genre: Second Chance | One Night Stand
Series: Tequila Rose #1 (Ends in Cliffhanger)
Pages: 242 pages
Format: eBook. Source: Purchased. 

He tasted like tequila and the fake name I gave him was Rose.

Four years ago, I decided to get over one man, by getting under another. A single night and nothing more.

I found my handsome stranger with a shot glass and charming but devilish smile at the end of the bar. The desire that hit his eyes the second they landed on me ignited a spark inside me, instant and hot. He was perfect and everything I didn’t know I needed. That one night may have ended, but I left with much more than a memory.

Four years later, and with a three-year-old in tow, the man I still dream about is staring at me from across the street in the town I grew up in. I don’t miss the flash of recognition, or the heat in his gaze.

The chemistry is still there, even after all these years.

​I just hope the secrets and regrets don’t destroy our second chance before it’s even begun.

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READ MY BOOK REVIEW

My Rating: 2 stars
Genre Contemporary Romance | Love Triangle(ish)

Review Snapshot : I really wanted to love Tequila Rose, but it fell really flat for me. The book is too rushed for such an angsty plot.

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Tequila Rose is the first book in the Tequila Rose duet by Willow Winters. This book has many tropes and will likely be a winner for many readers, but it fell flat for me. The tropes associated with this one are: second chance, surprise/accidental pregnancy, small town, southern, love triangle romance. Phew, that’s a lot for one small book! Now normally I love all these tropes and find it even better when they are incorporated all in one book like this one. However, this one was way too rushed for me and the tropes that DO exist are really underwritten.

Possible Spoilers Ahead

I’ll briefly go over why I feel the tropes are underwritten 👇👇

• This is a second chance romance . The characters (Magnolia and Brody) had a one-night stand when she was in college and she left immediately without saying goodbye (her life ended up in flames because of a scandal involving her father). 3 years later Brody somehow manages to find her again when he “fatefully” begins opening a bar in her hometown. The second chance obviously comes in here. In addition to this, her high school sweetheart Robert (the one who dumped her right before she slept with Brody) decides he wants her back when he sees she’s starting to date Brody again. This is second chance number 2. Who does she choose? IDK but should find out in the next book. Now, why is this problematic for me? It was too easy. Both men wanting her at the same time is okay and lends itself to the triangle but Brody accidentally ending up in the same small town she lives in and just seeing her across the street? Seems a bit unrealistic to me. I like when my books feel realistic rather than forced.


• The accidental/surprise pregnancy aspect is good and all (I don’t mind the trope when it’s written right), but we don’t see much of her daughter in the book. It’s more like she’s an afterthought rather than the focal point of the story. We’re TOLD about her and see a few glimpses here and there, but she was never a priority in the story.

• The small town/southern romance aspects of the story are sort of the same way. Sure, the scandal turned everyone against Magnolia, but we never SEE IT. It’s as if the author is trying to get us to believe it without proving it to us readers. I was really disappointed with this because these are my FAVORITE tropes.


• I suppose this one COULD be considered a love triangle especially at the end, but there is never a fight for Magnolia (maybe this happens in the conclusion?). I want all the raw angst when it comes to love triangles and I never really felt this was that kind of book.


As you can see, this wasn’t a favorite book of mine and I hesitate to say I even liked it. Perhaps it’s just me being picky? I don’t know but it just didn’t work for me. I probably won’t even read the second one because I saw spoilers in another review in terms of who she chose. Either way, you can experience it yourself if you want to, but I don’t personally recommend it.


𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ⭐⭐

THE TEQUILA ROSE DUET