Bourbon Breakaway by Sienna Judd

Bourbon Breakaway is the third book in the Starlight Canyon Series by Sienna Judd. She’s a fairly new author and this book is the first one of hers that I’ve read. And let me say it now – she’s got something. If you like hockey romance, brother’s best friend, unrequited love, small-town romances, this book is for you!

**I received a free, advanced copy of this book for reviewing purposes. Thank you to the author, Sienna Judd, and to Grey’s Promotions for including me in this release!**

The Story

Jolie Hunter, or Joey, moves back home after years of living in New York. But she doesn’t quite feel like she’s home until her brother’s best friend, NHL star Ashton Dane, returns home too. Despite their complicated history (he rejected her on her prom night), they have no trouble falling back in to old habits. Their friendship is still just as strong as it was when they last saw each other on Jolie’s prom night.

This is a slightly different take on hockey romances. A lot of books feature rookies, or players not considering retiring. Ashton is immediately introduced as a player that knows his time is limited. When an old injury flares up, he is reminded that he may only have another season or two in him. And he becomes more determined to get his best friend and teammate, Logan (one of Joey’s brothers) his own Stanley Cup win.

Plus, his injury prevents him from traveling on a road trip with the team (a series of away games), and he absolutely seizes the opportunity to spend as much time with Joey as possible.

My Verdict on Bourbon Breakaway

I love hockey romance, so that alone got my interest. Combine that with the unrequited love and brother’s best friend tropes and I’m sold. The Hunter family has such fun dynamics. And Ashton’s family was just as significant to the book. The meddling mothers and over-protective big brothers checked all of the boxes for me.

When Ashton’s ex-wife appears at Joey’s house, I wasn’t shocked per se. But I wasn’t expecting it to escalate the way that it did. Joey is described as being passionate, hot tempered, a ‘volcano.’ At times it seemed like that fiery passion of hers was more of an excuse for immaturity or impulsive actions. At the very least, I expected Chloe to send Ashton a bill for the repairs on her car. Or even Ashton to say something to Joey. But nothing other then a very small mention? Hard to believe. And if Joey was so sure that Chloe was lying or trying to cause problems, she certainly quickly changed her tune when Ashton arrived. I expected much more of a fight from them.

Overall, I give this book 3.5 out of 5 stars. I’m always a pretty tough critic. Getting a 5 star rating from me is not easy. While this book didn’t get 5 stars from me, I still really, really enjoyed it. But more importantly (at least I think so), I know Sienna Judd is an author I’ll continue to follow closely. I’m definitely interested in reading the other 2 books in the series, and the next book that releases in a few months.

Looking for more books to read? Check out my last post, Mine to Keep, by Natasha Madison!