Moonshine Kiss (Bootleg Springs, 3)

Oh my lordy, I LOVED Moonshine Kiss. My eyes are blurry and my back is breaking after reading for four hours straight. I haven't had an intense reading frenzy like that in yonky donks but I just couldn't stop. There's something about knowing, or thinking you know, the characters before you even start. Within a few pages, I knew what had scared Bowie off from the love of his life. It was just lucky theirs was "true love" and nobody else would do in the eight years it took for them to come together.

Seriously, this series is magic and Lucy Score and Claire Kingsley definitely have a distinctive voice and I will be purchasing more of their previously published books. For starters, they're bloody funny, but while funny, they also manage to suck the emotions out of the characters too. There were a few times I was sniffling and taking deep breaths to control the tears. I feel like I know these characters and I, like the town of Bootleg Springs, need to see Bowie and Cassidy find their happy ever after together.

The intrigue in this instalment takes a tricky turn when Cassidy's job is on the line because of her connection to the Bodine's. As a small town deputy, she has to remember her badge while also remembering that she's one of them. How do you draw the line? Does the job come first? When family and friends are involved in an enquiry, should you share new info? Hmmm...even I was a little bamboozled as to where the line should be drawn. I would hope our officers of the law have an inbuilt detector that beeps when you're getting too close to the line.

I seriously had mushy, gushy feelings in this one. When Bowie and Cassidy finally connect, my heart was pumping and there was a big goofy grin on my face. Bowie and his words were MAGIC!! I found myself wanting to highlight some of his words and hint at hubby that he could use a bit of magic to get on my good side. Don't tell hubby, but I guess this would be the negative of marrying young...with maturity comes magic words. Hubby is great now, but I was lucky to get more than I love you, I want you...lets hit the sack, back in the olden days. 😉 (If you do see this hubby...LOVE YOU!!!)

Anyways, absolutely LOVED Moonshine Kiss. The only smidge of a negative, I have to wait for more. 😭 But, I am excited as June is definitely someone I have grown to love and her love interest...SO COOL!!!

I still love Jameson most, I think, but Bowie's sureness (is that a word?) was so refreshing. He never wavered, and I love that so, so much. I'm glad there was more movement on the investigation in this book, because the last one had very little. And Cassidy was awesome. I related to her more than I had with Leah Mae in the last book. Definitely 5 stars.

I felt so sad for past Bowie & Cassidy - I understood perfectly what Sheriff Tucker was trying to accomplish when he warned a 23 year old Bowie to give Cassidy space and time, but it still made me angsty. Once Cassidy learns about the warning, she gets mad at both her Dad and Bowie, even if Harlan did have the right idea, he's not so much on expressing what he really means.

So now, while Bowie is ready to march right to the Justice of the Peace, he has to convince Cassidy to give him an actual chance. And it's all complicated because she is trying to do her job while being hamstrung by annoying Detective Connelly, who wouldn't recognize (or admit) that Cassidy had discovered worthwhile clues if they bit him in the butt.

Cassidy has to figure out how to protect her community while serving them as well as her father always has. She also has to figure out how to keep digging into what happened when Callie Kendall disappeared (while not alienating Bowie) - and she has to decide if she can trust Bowie with her heart.

This is book 3 in the Bootleg Springs series and I have to say I think this is my favorite - although it could easily be a tie for first place with Gibson's story.

So very well done, Lucy Score & Claire Kingsley. I'll never get tired of re-reading these.