On the Rocks by Kandi Steiner

Category: New Adult Romance  
Publication date: 06/11/2019
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Cliffhanger: Kinda

This one was a bit of a mixed bag for me. There were so many things I loved that this SHOULD have been a 5-star book. But then there were just a couple of things that dragged it down for me…

Plot overview:  Engaged good girl, Ruby, meets semi-bad boy, Noah. Sparks fly.  It’s an opposites-attract, friends-to-lovers, younger woman/older man romance. (She’s 19, he’s almost 30)

Noah pretty much carried this whole book for me. He’s a pretty awesome, all-around-sweet-natured, sexy, hard-working hero. And he works with his hands, which is always a plus. But while Noah is a bit of a rascal, I wouldn’t go so far as to call him a real “bad boy,” which to me, is a compliment. I hate “bad boys.” “Bad boys” are usually emotionally stunted jerkwads. Noah’s just a cocky, confident guy. He hasn’t had any real relationships in the past, but that doesn’t make him a commitment-phobe; he just hadn’t met the right woman yet. I loved everything about Noah and would happily add him to my list of book boyfriends who would make the best real-life boyfriends.

Now, Ruby Grace on the other hand...she was a little tougher for me to warm up to. If she’d been any older than nineteen, I would’ve hated her. She was a little bit of a doormat and completely unaware of what she actually wanted in life. She had no idea who she was and needed to spend a good amount of time finding herself before even THINKING about getting married. I let most of her naivety go because she was just a kid. But I MUCH prefer heroines who are actually mature grown-ups.

Then there was Ruby Grace’s cartoonishly awful fiance. He pretty much only existed to create conflict between Noah and Ruby Grace. He had absolutely no dimension to his character whatsoever. I would’ve enjoyed the story a lot more if he had been a better character. Maybe more like Patrick Dempsey’s character in Sweet Home Alabama? 

And finally, the epilogue of this book darn near ruined the whole thing for me.  It was a complete non-ending, as far as I’m concerned. It was not anywhere near a HEA, and it wasn’t even close enough to HFN for my liking. It was just a bummer, really. I was left wondering if these two would actually one day figure everything out and be together—and sadly, I felt like their odds weren’t that great, not because Noah isn’t awesome (he is), but because Ruby Grace is just a kid. 

So, long-story-short, despite the issues I had with it, this was still a well-written story about a great guy finding the love of his life in a completely unexpected place and person. It’s still worth a read for those of you who are willing to overlook an immature heroine and a bummer of a non-ending.       

Does this book contribute to or help crush the romance stigma?
No rehab needed. This one’s clean and sober.

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