Tequila And Tattoos (Love And Libations Book 4) by Raquel Riley

"It's so hard to say goodbye 😭" Tatted_book_freak is sad that the Love and Libations series is at an end. Tequila and Tattoos is the finale.

From the blurb:

There’s an old Latin phrase - omne trium perfectum – meaning everything that comes in threes is perfect.

Gordy-

We all have choices to make and consequences to suffer. Two decades ago, I chose Shannon. But Shannon didn’t choose me. He chose my family instead. And when he broke my heart, my consequence was an addiction to food. I spent years overcoming my struggles, all while my anger and hurt multiplied. I swore to myself I would never make the same mistake twice, until I met Aries. I fell hard for my best friend. Unfortunately, so had Shannon.

Were the mistakes of my past doomed to repeat themselves?

Shannon-

I chose to have a family, over the love of one man. Their warmth and acceptance were commodities I yearned for my entire life. But nothing comes without cost, and the price I paid to become a Carrick was too high. I lost my best friend, the only man I’d ever loved, and was convinced I’d never have it again. Until Aries.

I vowed never to hurt Gordy again. How was I going to find the strength to walk away from love a second time?

Aries-

My bromance with Gordy had quickly bloomed into a full-fledged romance, while my crush on Shannon had ignited from a spark into a raging inferno. I was in love with two men at the same time. Two men who hated each other. Did I mention they were also cousins? Choosing one was impossible. My only option was to make them see how good the three of us could be together.

Are love and hate really two sides of the same coin?

Tequila And Tattoos is the fourth and final book in the Love And Libations series. This MMM romance features feuding cousins, a piercing fetish, issues with an eating disorder and body dysmorphia, and three guys who couldn’t be more opposite; a hippie tattoo artist, a flirty bar owner, and a grumpy chef.

Tatted_book_freak's Review:

It's always so difficult when a series comes to an end, and we have to say goodbye to our newfound family that we have become so invested with, feeling every emotion along with the character's journey. In true Raquel fashion, though, she delivers a soul-stirring finale and finally receives the answers we so desperately need.  

𝓗𝓮 𝔀𝓪𝓼 𝓰𝓲𝓿𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓪𝔀𝓪𝔂 𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓸𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓹𝓲𝓮𝓬𝓮𝓼 𝓸𝓯 𝓱𝓲𝓶𝓼𝓮𝓵𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓫𝓮𝓵𝓸𝓷𝓰𝓮𝓭 𝓽𝓸 𝓶𝓮—𝓱𝓪𝓭 𝓸𝓷𝓵𝔂 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓫𝓮𝓵𝓸𝓷𝓰𝓮𝓭 𝓽𝓸 𝓶𝓮.

I felt for both Gordy and Shannon, having to make an important, life-altering decision at such a young age, only to later discover nothing would have happened. This is the only area where I was the least bit understanding of Aries's purpose.  

His character just didn’t sit well with me. He seemed naive to a lot, maybe because of his sheltered upbringing or lack of experience in the world. His character reminded me of a trust fund kid or a preacher’s kid.  At least he brought true love back together again. 

𝐻𝒶𝓋𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒶𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝒻𝑜𝒸𝓊𝓈𝑒𝒹 𝑜𝓃 𝓂𝑒 𝒻𝑒𝓁𝓉 𝒻𝑜𝓇𝒷𝒾𝒹𝒹𝑒𝓃—𝓉𝒶𝒷𝑜𝑜. 𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓈𝓃’𝓉 𝓈𝓊𝓅𝓅𝑜𝓈𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝒽𝒾𝓂, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒽𝒶𝒹 𝓃𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓅𝓅𝑒𝒹 𝓂𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑒.

Normally with Raquel‘s writing, I can not wait to get to the smut. With this one, though, because Gordy and Shannon lost so many years together because of a misunderstanding, I was salivating awaiting their forbidden desire to finally explode! And boy did it ever!?!?  The satisfaction delivered to each other was intense and passionate, making the wait more than worth every bit of animosity I held toward Aries’ presence. (very unpopular opinion, I know)  

Cannot wait to see where we go next! Hopefully, there will be lots of cameos again, specifically Hudson and Glitter.

Rating: 5 Stars

Heather's Review:

I've been waiting for Shannon and Gordy to get together - but like many best friends/like family type relationships, they need a catalyst to bring them together... and I absolutely love that Aries was that catalyst and that this story gave us his back story and his unapologetic polyamory stance. 

This book had a slow build, some tension and a whole lot of steam... and the pacing was magic!

It's best read as the final book of the series, but if you're just interested in reading a MMM story, it can be read standalone.

Rating: 5 Stars

Sheena's Review:

This is the final book in the Love and Libations series, and it is best read as part of the series, even though it's a brand new throuple's story, the characters do appear in the other books woven through. This is an MMM story and initially I wasn't sure how it would all work out as Shannon and Gordy have spent the last 20 years not exactly hating each other, but being distant and hostile to each other and in Shannon's case, almost bullying Gordy every time he sees him. I couldn't warm to Shannon, no matter how much I tried. I loved Gordy and Aries though, and Gordy in particular deserves everything good that happens to him.

Shannon is so awful to Gordy all the way through, even in flashbacks he cuts Gordy out and proceeds to make his life a misery, then blames Gordy for it all. I did not like how he made sure to ask Aries out in front of Gordy, knowing full well Gordy liked Aries too. It was a terrible thing to do. I did like Aries and Shannon together, though, and Aries was good for him. I also loved the development of Aries and Gordy's relationship, how they were best friends and, then more, they were so sweet together and I loved it. Shannon did come round in the end, but only when forced to and it was good to see him and Gordy finally find something together with Aries as the catalyst and these three do work well together as a triad, it felt balanced and equal which is what I look for from an MMM story.

All in all, I did enjoy this, and it's a fitting end to a series that I have enjoyed very much.

Rating: 4 Stars

Tequila and Tattoos is available to buy as an ebook, paperback, or to read with Kindle Unlimited subscription.