Review: "Whisky Business" by Elliot Fletcher ★★★★★

Review: Whisky Business by Elliot Fletcher

📖 Buddy Read with the lovely Cara ೀ.ᐟ⭒ ☁️♡🪐༘⋆

As a Scottish lass, I LOVED this enemies-to-lovers, grumpy x sunshine, close proximity small town rom-com which had as much steamy moments as there were sentimental! For fans of Alexandra Kiley, B.K. Borison and Tarah DeWitt. 💐
And how can you resist this cover? It’s gorgeous, got the same level of chemistry as the one within and, more importantly, so aesthetically pleasing! 😍

“I want someone to keep me warm… I want… I want to be important to someone.” Her voice broke in the middle. “I want someone to text me every day and ask me what I want for dinner so I can reply ‘no idea.’ I want someone to wonder where I am… I want someone to see me.”
I’d hurt her. I saw that fully now. My cold shoulder and accusations… throwing out mixed signals in an effort to protect myself. Failing to see that she needed protecting too… All of these weeks, I’d seen myself as a blip on her radar. A single star in an endless sky. A glare on the windscreen you put on sunglasses to block out. When to me… she was becoming the whole sun.

[Contains some spoilers]

PLOT SUMMARY
30-year-old April Murphy (Stage name: April Sinclair) is a world-famous actress whose career has gone from all-time high (like she only needs to get an Oscar) to rock bottom. The passing away of her grandfather Kier instils an urge to return to her hometown Kinleith on the Isle of Skye, and take over her family’s whisky distillery business. Most are delighted at her arrival, except for one: enter 32-year-old grumpy and exceedingly tall Malcolm “Mal” Macabe, who she has known since they were teenagers, and who happens to have worked for Kier for years and lives in the home she inherited.

Mal, not the shy teenager he used to be but still prefers his own company to others, has been incredibly disappointed in April: after all, what devoted granddaughter doesn’t even show up to Kier’s funeral? And now she shows up and thinks she can run the place. But he cannot help but be surprised by her dedication to showing up early at the distillery, keen to work and learn. And her millions of followers on the internet is just the sort of thing that they need to restore the whisky business.

The more time they spend together, the more sparks fly. But Mal blows from hot to cold. April has a terrible secret that could ruin things. And Mal feels unworthy of her: April was the one who got away for Mal all those years ago, will she get away again when a career opportunity knocks?

Instinct flared, that one that told me April wasn’t quite as content as she wanted the world to believe. Perhaps she wasn’t as adept at hiding it as she thought she was. Perhaps I noticed because it was the same look reflected back at me in the mirror every morning. Or perhaps I noticed because, deny it as I might, I noticed every little thing about her.

This is told from the first-person past-tense POV of April and Mal.

OVERALL OPINIONS
Ever since this book and its pun of a title caught my eye in the bookshop – and I discovered it was a Scottish romance – I’ve been dying to read it. I mean come onnn, it’s so pretty (yes, I always judge a book by its cover). Glad I’ve got round to it now! Worth the wait. I expected more conflicts and issues and a third-act breakup, so I was very glad none of that happened. Everything tied up beautifully at the end.

Elliot Fletcher’s descriptions of the Isle of Skye were so stunning and amazing for people who haven’t been there – the Scottish atmosphere was accurate! I like that the houses are painted a multitude of colours which makes me believe this is based on Tobermory on the Isle of Mull. She also really captured the essence of a small town by introducing many characters with a variety of quirks and personalities.

The dual POV has been used so effectively here: we first follow April and her encounter with Mal, where he treats April quite coldly and we’re like “whoa, what’s with that guy?”, and then we follow Mal and find out more about April through his perspective. I really liked this gradual reveal about things in this way.

The relationship between April and Mal has to be one of the most healthy dynamics I’ve seen in a while. Their story is such a beautiful aspect. How they meet again is so unexpected it’s hilarious! It’s cute that her contact name on his phone is Princess and his name is Gruffalo on her phone! Not to mention the Twilight book with his name doodled in it by teen April. Aww! And don’t get me started about the way he makes that bench haha. I loved the parallels between them: they both had a crush on each other as teens, have dogs, defend each other during important moments, have insecurities about a facial feature (Mal’s scar from his operation, April’s nose job that was promised to give her more roles), bring out the best in each other. The tension is there, the passion is there and most importantly, the level of maturity is there: they are 30-year-olds and act like it by communicating with each other.

As humans, we demanded a beginning and end to make sense of the world around us. But for this, there would be an after, but no end. My love for her was as boundless as the mountain we lay upon. When she left me, my love would remain, burning just as fiercely as it did now.
My final thought before sleep found me—April’s hair still tickling my nose—was an old Burns poem we’d recited at school,

Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi’ the sun;
I will love thee still, my dear,
While the sands o’ life shall run.

Something I particularly liked here was seeing a male main character physically and emotionally insecure about himself. His cleft palate backstory was a really interesting and rare concept to include that allows us to understand why he was so shy as a child, and it is lovely to see his change since. He is also insecure about his height and build, deeming himself to be large and intimidating. Because everyone else in the family is so successful, he believes he is a failure and also sees himself as not being good enough for April. All of which was explored exceptionally well!

<< Positives >>
🠚 Very atmospheric and accurate descriptions of Scotland. I especially loved the mention of Old Man of Storr, and the reference to Robert Burns (as we should).
🠚 Main female character, despite her fame and likelihood of being selfish, is actually very mature, strong and intelligent.
🠚 The cleft palate and mental health representation through Mal.
🠚 The toxic and horrible side of Hollywood is covered through Aaron’s mistreatment of April. Such a great way of addressing this issue.
🠚 I like the “April, May and June” friendship, it’s cute.
🠚 The variety of positions and dynamics (in terms of who was initiating/dominating) for the spice scenes was incredibly refreshing. April recreating one of her movie scenes while it’s playing in the background was quite a cool idea.
🠚 No third-act breakup.
🠚 Significantly drama-free story.

<< Negatives >>
🠚 I like that the chapters have suggested songs but I got initially confused because I thought it was listing the month April first, then the location or something. Not that the character’s name was April.
🠚 The reveal about Kier not having any intention to sell this distillery to him could have been explored much later on and perhaps had more of a significant impact on the story.
🠚 The story’s pacing really picked up at the end, especially the last few chapters and I think it would have benefited from some fleshing out. An interaction with Sydney, for example, was missing.
🠚 Some interactions felt too forced, one example that really stood out to me was the scene where she freaks out about the movie and wants Mal. Though it’s funny that he is so worried about her that he’s on his way, really now! She could’ve just paused the film until Mal got there.
🠚 The spice was on the verge of being too much spice.
🠚 No real shock factors in here as the story was predictable. Could tell the father had Alzheimer’s; knew Jasmin might become an obstacle.
🠚 The Scottish accent, except from the guy at the start of the book, is actually lacking here which can make you think this could be set anywhere really.

CHARACTERS
-ˋˏ ꒰ April꒱ ˎˊ-
↳ The moment I read “I was the living embodiment of the meme of the guy walking in with pizza to find the entire apartment on fire”, I knew I would like her. April wants to be liked and that people-pleasing attitude resonated with me.
🠚 I expected April to be far more of a brat than she was (someone like Piper in It Only Happened One Summer) – in fact, April is actually very self-aware, wise and mature when it comes to understanding people, especially men, and I loved that. I also loved when she decided to be completely honest with Mal.
🠚 “What the hell just happened?” (very big catchphrase)

-ˋˏ ꒰ Mal꒱ ˎˊ-
↳ Repeat after me: it’s always ALWAYS the quiet ones! “Hold onto the headboard” was very Cassian-coded. No because I love how shy he is – but then his confidence just wow! The idea that he takes a photo in his mind of April is so cute! He is just super cute!
🠚 “I was already cursed to a lifetime of cooking far too much pasta for one person” – okay but SAME! Also, Mal calling his dog Boy reminds me so much of Kratos from God of War.
🠚 I had hysterics every time his siblings appeared and the discovery that they intervened to try and bring the two of them together. Looking forward to the rest of the Macabe brothers romances!

FAV QUOTES
• “Mal isn’t happy to see anyone, you have to worm your way into that man’s life until he doesn’t know how to live without you. Just go and talk to him, knock until he realises you’re not going away.”
• Like any good meddlesome family, as soon as my brother left, my sister appeared. Blonde hair swaying around her chin as she hopped down from her Land Rover. *What did a guy have to do to sulk in peace?* I could already feel a headache coming on.
• Her full pink lips tipped at the corners, revealing a dangerous, beguiling little grin. I filed it away for future examination.
• That voice. When I ignored the words that came with it, that voice did things to me. Delicious things. He should narrate the smutty audiobooks I loved to listen to. It would be like having a sexier James McAvoy whisper in your ear. And James McAvoy was exceedingly hot.
• She always looked this way, like a semi-pulsing live wire lived beneath her skin. Every job I set her she completed with enthusiasm—even the horrible ones. She asked insightful questions and never seemed bored at the technical details that would have others checking out. I couldn’t decide if it was fake, she was an award-winning actress after all. Her excitement always felt a little too much for me to handle because deep down, I craved it. I wanted it to be real.
• she looked at me and beamed. The smile was full and unrestrained. *Click.* It was like the flash of a camera behind my eyelids, my mind immortalising every detail of that moment. I could swear my heart fucking stopped. And when it restarted, that next thump in my chest had her name on it.
• I didn’t know what to make of this Malcolm. How to act. It was like trying to dance to your favourite song and being unable to catch the beat.
• What had started as brief glances was beginning to feel like a game now, both of us watching while the other wasn’t looking. Each time, we tiptoed a little closer to the line. I didn’t know what waited on the other side of it, if anything. And I was desperate to know.
• “I’ve discovered that buying books and reading books are two completely different things.”
• Men often had that way of dismissing me, like I was too stupid, too vapid to bring anything of worth to the table. Reducing me to nothing more than a pretty arm piece. Having Malcolm pull the same tired shit left me seething. I pushed it down and raised my chin, holding my nerve.
• His eyes were storm clouds, boring straight into mine. It was as unnerving as it was electrifying, probably because it didn’t happen often. When he looked at you, he looked. I felt like he could see right beneath my skin, to every insecurity I tried so hard to hide from the world.
• My gaze snagged on the puzzle I’d spent countless hours on the night before. My first emotion when she’d spotted it was acute humiliation. Not many single men in their thirties spent their evenings building puzzles with their dog... And then, with that sunshine way of hers, she’d flipped the feeling on its head and a vision of the two of us on a lazy Sunday came to the forefront. The fireplace crackling, April in my lap, dressed in nothing but one of my T-shirts as we slotted puzzle pieces into place.
• “Women aren’t as complicated as men like to make out. We don’t need you to walk across hot coals when all we’re looking for is a sincere apology. That’s always the part that gets missed out.”
• Not even thirty seconds later my phone pinged and my heart leapt with it. Over the past few days I’d begun to associate the sound with April. Every time, my heart reacted the same.
• My eyes fell shut and my head rolled back, landing snuggly between the muscles of his chest. We fit. We fit just right.
• That hand slid to my jaw, thumb landing at the corner of my lips as he titled my head back to look at him. His eyes bore into mine and my next breath went absolutely nowhere. He’d never looked at me like that before. So fully, like he wanted me to know I had all of his attention.
• That was one of my favourite things about him. He didn’t talk to *talk*, didn’t say the first thing that came to mind like most men I knew. If you asked him a question, he thought it through, gave it the time it deserved. You might not like the answer you received, but you’d know it was the truth.
• She was more beautiful than every star in the sky.
• His shirtsleeves were rolled up to his elbows and I studied the flex of muscle and thick veins. What was it about forearms that made them the epitome of the female gaze?
• She tasted of everything good, whisky and sunshine and Christmas morning. It was a kiss that fogged windscreens, the sticky heat penetrating the thick stone walls, driving us higher.
• This man. This sexy, shy, dichotomy of a man. How I wanted him.
• “How does he look at me?” | “Like… you’re a revelation.”
• “There wasn’t a day or a moment when you finally worked your way beneath my skin, you were already there… every time I saw you, you buried yourself a little deeper. You were inevitable, princess. Holding back my feelings was like trying to hold back the tide.”
• a tear rolled down my cheek and fell to the ground, like a wish to the land that I might somehow get to keep her.
• The truth will set you free. In this instance, the truth felt more like a hidden knife.
• “You *need* to leave and I won’t ever try to hold you back. But how about this… when you go, what if I just keep on loving you. For the rest of my life. Would that be okay?” I had no words. His declaration had carved its way inside my chest and stolen everything I’d been dying to tell him all these weeks.