After a gap year, Eva Covington moves into the Austin, Texas, mansion of her much older rock guitarist brother, who is recuperating from injuries sustained during a music video shoot gone wrong. Lor is struggling with a spinal injury and alcoholism, and Eva wants to lend him moral support and keep him away from liquor. But with almost unlimited resources and an imagination to match, Lor doesn’t make it easy. 

Eva meets Alex Marshall when he becomes the unwitting courier delivering contraband to her brother. Sparks fly, but neither one makes a move at first. No one knows that Eva is Lor’s sister or that her mother is a famous supermodel, and she means to keep it that way. A failed kidnapping attempt when she was a child had made hiding her identity a priority. But there’s something about Alex that makes Eva believe she can trust him. 

However, Alex has secrets of his own. Ashamed about an affair with an older woman and getting placed on academic probation, he’s successfully hidden both missteps from his parents. Unfortunately, his former lover doesn’t want to take no for an answer and won’t leave him alone. He’s about to discover how far she’ll go to make him hers again. 

Whiskey on Our Shoes is Texas native Tonya Preece’s debut new adult romance novel, and it is a heartwarming coming-of-age story of first love and learning to trust. The main characters are two very likable and vulnerable people with heavy secrets weighing on their souls. The growing romance is sweet, but as the passion builds, so does the heat.  

Although growing up on tour with her mother and two potential rock star fathers (he could be one of two twins in the band), Eva has led a sheltered life, blinded by the glamour and her mother’s charisma. Only when she realizes her mother’s true nature can she start to grow in her independence.  

Alex was shy and inexperienced with women until the secret affair with the much older Angie. When he discovers she’s married, and he and his family are threatened by her politically powerful husband, he ends the affair, embarrassed by his gullibility and hopeful his parents will never learn of the sordid mess.  

Despite his tragic accident, Lor also brings comedy to the story. However, although his antics to obtain alcohol entertain (a ferret circus), these hijinks underscore the lengths an alcoholic or addict will go to gain their drug of choice. 

The story unfolds in a mix of small-town Texas and the weirdly cosmopolitan venue that is the state’s capital city. Many of Austin’s renowned attributes, such as the art and music scenes, environmental initiatives, Sixth Street entertainment district, and the University of Texas, play important roles in creating a sense of place. The author also prompts some nostalgic memories of college days gone by and dorm life with strange roommates, socks on the door handle, and study groups. 

With its engaging main characters and coming-of-age love story, WHISKEY ON OUR SHOES is perfect for readers of contemporary romance with young adult crossover appeal and for those who enjoy stories set in Austin or about the rich and famous.