Love at the Local Bar

Raine is a touring musician who makes her residing by taking part in at road corners and parks, in pubs and beneath monuments. She gave up holding down a “real” job, and now she travels throughout Europe wherever she needs, not having to fret that her ADHD will get her fired. But when her beloved guitar is stolen in Cobh, Ireland, Raine is going through the very actual prospect of getting to return residence to Boston, defeated. Until she lands in a pub known as The Local and meets a highly regarded tattooed man named Jack. When she confesses that The Local is quite missing in character, Jack reveals that he owns it…after which presents her a job. As Raine is tasked with making The Local a vacation spot, Jack can’t assist however fall in love along with her, at the same time as he worries that his OCD may get in the manner of a contented ending.

I had by no means learn a Sarah Grunder Ruiz romance earlier than, and this one is a companion to her earlier novels (Luck and Last Resorts; Love, Lists, and Many Ships), however you don’t have to have learn these with a purpose to take pleasure in this one. I actually beloved the fantastic banter between Raine and Jack, which kicks off at the very starting and doesn’t let up. This is a improbable romance about falling in love whereas mentally unwell and neurodivergent, and it’s additionally an important instance of a romance the place the love pursuits have nice chemistry, are tremendous into one another, and don’t have a giant, extravagant miscommunication or exterior pressure preserving them aside…which I believe is definitely harder to tug off, however Ruiz does precisely that. Raine has ADHD, which she fears makes her annoying and unreliable, particularly as she generally struggles with time administration and doesn’t wish to let Jack down. Jack has OCD, and whereas he’s been in remedy in the previous, he’s battling intrusive ideas that make taking an opportunity on love scary, and he feels as a result of he’s unable to do the issues that he used to do—notably, work as a tattoo artist and journey.

As the story unfolds and Raine works at reworking the bar into a spot that locals and vacationers will love, she has to grapple with the thought of placing down roots whereas additionally fearing that she’ll disappoint Jack, and Jack worries that his OCD will maintain them each again. But as they work by means of their fears and skewed perceptions, their love solely grows, and so they notice that the solely factor standing in the manner of giving it a shot is themselves. As an added bonus, the setting felt heat and alluring, a lot in order that I’m a bit unhappy that The Local isn’t a spot I can go to IRL, and there’s a very, very cute cat character that I adored. This is perhaps my first Ruiz romance, nevertheless it received’t be my final!