BOOK & AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: Last Call (Cocktail #2.5) by Alice Clayton

From NEW YORK TIMES & USA TODAY bestselling author Alice Clayton, known for her “deliciously addictive” (The Book Vixen) novels, this Cocktail series novella reunites readers with Caroline and Simon from the wildly successful Wallbanger.

Simon and Caroline are back for another round of baking, banging, and big life changes. Settling in, but never settling down, Caroline has finally struck a balance between the professional and the personal. As one of the top interior designers in San Francisco, she travels all over Northern California between nook time with Simon.

Perpetual globetrotter Simon has cut his frequent flyer miles in half over the last year, preferring to balance his professional and personal life, as well.

The next step in their lives seems preordained—toasts, veils, and the aisle of rose petals. But when an accident on a photo shoot in Southeast Asia brings Caroline the most terrifying phone call she could ever imagine, she has to ask whether “till death do us part” is a more realistic prospect than faces most couples.

It’s been a grand adventure, and Caroline and Simon wouldn’t go out without the best surprise ending ever. One part sexy, one part laughter, a dash of exotic locales, and one pink nightie, mixed with passion, and you’ve got Last Call. Served with a side of Clive.

 

ANGY’S BOOK REVIEW: 5++ STARS

Love me some Wallbanger!!

The funniest things happened to me with this series. Back in 2013, when I read Wallbanger by recommendation of my dear friend Gretchen from the blog About That Story, I just went for it, didn’t check the background of the book or the author, I just read it and I loved it! Till that moment, everything was normal. Of course I was super happy when I knew about the other books of the Cocktail Series, I loved Rustynailed – check my review – because of Simon, I mean Simon my Wallbanger is the best *sigh*, and I loved, loved, loved the two spin offs, Screwdrivered – check my review – and Mai Tai’d Up – check my review -. And… here is the funny thing #1, right after finishing Mai Tai’d Up, I found out that the names of the books were actual cocktail names *palm face* HaHaHa, yeah I know, crazy silly me, but I have an excuse, I know nothing about cocktails and less about their names in English *giggles*. And the funny thing #2 is that when I started reading Last Call, I FOUND OUT THAT THE WHOLE STORY STARTED AS A FANFIC OF TWILIGHT! What?? Really?? I can’t believe it!! I’m so happy about it HaHaHa

“The story of Simon and Caroline began somewhere back in 2009. I was part of this wonderful community of writers and readers and reviewers and all around crazy-town sillies called Twilight Fan Fiction…. And it all started with a teenage girl in a hoodie and a 107-year-old virgin vampire”

There are 4 books/series that I’ve read that started that way and I love them all. I think I should reconsider my #1 book boyfriend and make it Edward Cullen… Well because… Edward Cullen.

“This book is dedicated to Edward Cullen. Because… Edward Cullen.”

Now, let’s talk about Last Call. It takes place one year after Rustynailed. Caroline and Simon are in a very good place in their relationship, in their careers and with their kitty family – 4 cats aren’t so much, right? -. They are happy *grins*. But when things are good, they can be better, right? All their closer friends are settling down, and maybe they are feeling the pressure of it or maybe they really wanna give the next step?

“I would never get tired of looking at Simon Parker in a tuxedo. Especially at the end of an aisle. Not going to lie, it gave me thoughts. Especially when during the ceremony he caught my eye more than once. Sometimes we simply grinned, enjoying the moment with our friends. Sometimes he looked thoughtful, as weddings tend to make everyone think about their future and the past. And once, those sapphire eyes burned into mine, hinting at what he’d rather be doing than standing at an altar. And what he’d rather be doing was me.”

I loved how things went on in this book. Caroline and Simon’s relationship is amazing. I love the way they treat each other. Simon is the most romantic man ever! I love how he reads every expression in Caroline, from her body language to her eyes. And I utterly love their commitment with each other. How much she loves to give him exactly what he wants and how much he loves to accept everything she has to give to him. I love how playful they are and Oh. Lord. They are so amazing in bed! I love the sex scenes written by Alice! They are not explicit, but the way she describes them makes them really hot.

“I said yes, and then he kissed me. I said yes, and then he touched me. I said yes, and then he slipped inside me. I said yes, yes, yes and then he loved me”

This book has all the characters of all the books of Alice Clayton. Viv and Clark from Screwdrivered – I love love love to read more about their HEA, thank you Alice!! -, Chloe and Lucas from Mai Tai’d Up – I loved Chloe’s chats with Lucas’ cousin, Sophia ‘You mean my cousin Lucas… No, I mean my boyfriend Lucas… He’s my cousin… He’s my boyfriend…’  BwaHaHaHa -, Simon and Caroline’s best friends as couples, Sophia and Neil were so funny - The van incident was hilarious – and Mimi and Ryan had a beautiful wedding - With only one wedding dress HaHaHa -. And they were talking about Grace Sheridan and Jack Hamilton from the Redhead Series -, I was so excited!!

“Viv and Clark were there, with Will in attendance as well, cute as a button in a tuxedo onesie. And Chloe and Lucas were there too, in town visiting Sophia and Neil. And get this, Chloe and Clark were cousins. How’s that six degree of Wallbanger?”

Just like in Wallbanger and Rustynailed, the epilogue is from Clive’s POV!! It was awesome and it has one huge surprise!! *grinning like an idiot* I really enjoyed this book. It was awesome and I was laughing out loud most of the time. There was a moment, around 80% of the book, when I was crying my eyes out, but everything was perfect at the end. I totally loved the end of Simon and Caroline’s story.

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: 5 STARS

Heather Smith is a great narrator. She transmits flawlessly the humor and sexyness of Alice Clayton’s books. She has a tone of voice that goes perfectly with Caroline’s personality. Her inflections in the other character’s voices are very subtle, but I could notice the differences between characters in their conversations. The audiobook is short, almost 4 hours, and I enjoyed it from beginning to end.

Alice Clayton is a novelist with an unholy love for her KitchenAid mixer. Making her home in St Louis, she enjoys gardening but not weeding, baking but not cleaning up afterwards, and is trying desperately to get her long time boyfriend to make her an honest woman. Hi sweetie!!

After working for years in the cosmetics industry as a makeup artist, esthetician, and national educator for a major cosmetics company, Alice picked up a pen (read laptop) for the first time at 33 to begin a new career, writer. Combining her love of storytelling with a sense of silly, she was shocked and awed to be nominated for a Goodreads Author award in 2010 for her debut novels, The Redhead Series.

Alice has penned three novels, The Unidentified Redhead,The Redhead Revealed, and coming soon in November 2012, Wallbanger. She thinks you should purchase them immediately. She’s not kidding, not even a little bit. Everyone needs some comedic erotica in their lives. She is hard at work on the third book in The Redhead Series, set to release in Spring of 2013, continuing the saucy and sexual escapades of everyone’s favorite couple, Jack and Grace.

Additionally, Alice loves spending time with her besties on Not Your Mother’s Podcast, make sure you check them out at notyourmotherspodcast.com or over on iTunes. 3 women rushing towards their forties still acting like teenagers. A saucy little mix of sex, love, relationships, pop cultural, celebrity gossip and All Things Jake Ryan.

Alice enjoys pickles, Bloody Mary’s, 8 hours of sleep, and a good pounding.

Finally Alice would also like all her readers and listeners to help her convince Mt. Alice that the only other thing that would make her truly happy is finally bringing home a Bernese Mountain Dog. She is totally serious. And done talking about herself in the third person…