Love & Libations
Grab the Tissues and Be Ready to Swoon
I’m dispelling the myth that you can ‘only read holiday novellas around the time the holiday in the story takes place’ right now. Especially if it’s one of Patricia D Eddy’s holiday novellas. Because, yes, there’s a theme and situations in the books that center on a holiday, but the stories told go far beyond that narrow sentiment.
After reading Eddy’s Mistletoe & Mochas holiday novella (part of her Holidays and Heroes series), I was eager to jump into the other two books. Time and work created a bit of a delay in getting to Love & Libations, but February rolled around with a reminder, and it was certainly worth pulling up on my tbr and immersing myself in, even after Valentine’s Day. This book hit hard, my friends. It is an emotional rollercoaster with a beautiful heart, and it left me wondering yet again how amazing Eddy is at pulling so much detail together in less than 200 pages.
Love & Libations is a deep and intense story of healing and learning to love. It’s about finding a place of true comfort with the person who helps you see your worth. And it’s not an easy journey for either of the main characters. Along the way they each experience true recovery from the hurt, tragedy, and loss they’ve experienced. They help each other discover the strength behind their pain, and rekindle their ability to love through the pain of their pasts. Both Garrett and Lilah endure so much, eventually understanding that the beauty in imperfections and scars ultimately make a person who they are. Watching each of them rebuild their lives and find someone to love is truly inspirational.
Eddy creates such vivid and well-developed characters I often forget they’re not “real.” But her author’s note is a stark reminder that many works of fiction spring from origins that are all too real. Lilah is not only a likable and sympathetic character, she has an emotional draw that called to some very visceral levels of my soul. And Garrett is so much more than a typical swoony romance hero, with a powerful backstory and a solid emotional investment in his and Lilah’s lives. Their story is one that will stick with me for a long time. And yes, I will definitely be revisiting this one often, and not just on Valentine’s Day.
