Whiskey and Gumdrops by Jean Oram

From Goodreads:
Mandy Mattson has always believed that what you want isn't what you need. But never in her life has she been more wrong.

As a small town waitress, Mandy has never felt as though she deserves the love of her best friend Frankie. But when she sees an ex-lover marry her rival she realizes her life is adding up to a big fat nothing and realizes she needs to make a change. With every path in her new life leading back to Frankie, will she finally be able to reconcile that the one thing she's always wanted is the very thing she needs?

My Take:
Okay, I have mixed feelings about this one. First, I was so glad to finally find a clean romance that still had some steam to it. So, right there is enough for me to write a positive review. I liked the characters more as the story went on, especially Frankie.

The downside is Mandy sort of drove me nuts. She is so adamantly against Frankie as more than her best friend that it's infuriating. Maybe this is because I married my best friend, and I couldn't relate to her fear of losing that friendship if the romance fizzled. She also can't accept help to save her life. There were also a few typos, but not enough for me to be completely thrown out of the story.

The good thing is that Mandy learned. She finally grew up and learned that it's okay to accept help and that maybe friendship is the best foundation for the best kind of love. In the end, I liked Oram's style enough that I picked up some short stories and book 2 in the Blueberry Springs series. I've always liked moving into a town and hanging out for a while. ;)

I give Whiskey and Gumdrops a solid 4. Thank you for a clean read!

1-5 scale and what it means:
1: I couldn’t even finish it / just plain bad
2: I hope I didn’t pay for this / disappointing
3: I didn’t hate it, but it was still missing something / forgettable but inoffensive
3.5: On the line between good and ok / like, not love
4: Solid mind candy / worth reading
4.5: So very close to perfection! / must read
5: I could not put it down and I’m still thinking about it! / a true treasure
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