Review: "Stirred" (#5) by Tracy Ewens (Chick Lit, Contemporary Romance)

	Stirred (#5) by Tracy Ewens Publisher: Tracy Ewens Series: Love Story Premiere (#1) (affil.) Candidate (#2) (affil.) Taste (#3) (affil.) Review Reserved (#4) (affil.) Review Genre: Chick Lit, Contemporary Romance Publication Date: May 10, 2016 (Affiliate links)
Description from Publisher: If only life were as simple as choosing between shaken or stirred. Sage Jeffries grew up an overachiever. She studied, excelled, and became a mechanical engineer for a firm in San Francisco. Yet much to her family’s surprise, at age thirty, she made a bold move to Los Angeles and became a bartender at The Yard. Now, she spends her time mixing drinks and trying new things. Her life is good, fun . . . except for two teeny tiny challenges—she’s in love with her best friend’s older brother, and her sister bought her a book, Nice to Naughty in Ten Easy Steps, and dares her to master every step. Sage never backs down from a challenge. Garrett Rye is Ryeland Farms. He grew up under his father’s wing and has now taken over operations. Working the fields was nothing compared to the hassle of managing, but keeping the farm running without hiccups is what’s expected. His brother and sister may run The Yard, but Ryeland Farms is the rock of their family. No matter how many changes swirl around him, Garrett intends to keep it that way. It’s New Year’s Eve and Sage, who’s had too much tequila, is realizing it’s easier to read about “naughty” than actually put it into practice. Instead of a wild night, she ends up tucked into Garrett’s truck, spilling her heart. Now, Garrett is finding it impossible to concentrate on keeping things business as usual when the woman he’s only noticed behind the bar suddenly wants to raise the bar. Both stirred and shaken, Sage and Garrett will have to decide whether to keep mixing things up or if they should put their feelings on ice.
My Rating:	Heat Rating:
I received a digital ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.com for an honest, unbiased review. This in no way influenced my review. My opinion is my 100% own. This was really cute! At first, I wasn't sold on Garrett and Sage though. The fact that he hadn't noticed her before and then turned her down sort of gave me pause. But both characters are great and you realize how good they are together by the halfway mark. Something I have appreciated about this series is how normal the issues the couples face are. You don't get melodrama and overreactions, you get real emotions with real reactions. The problems that arise for Sage and Garrett are some that most people have experienced themselves, which makes them that much more relatable. As with previous books in the series, the world Tracy Ewens has created is wonderful. All of the characters have so much heart and you feel as though you are reading about friends. Don't let my references to previous books steer you wrong though - each book really is standalone. Though why you wouldn't want to read them all, I can't imagine! :)