Toxic love might be my favourite

When I first read this way back in March 2018, I didn't know how it would stick with me. 4 years and some change later, after listening to the 5th anniversary edition and hearing/reading segments of Jamie's POV, I've increased the rating for this epic, slow burn angst filled masterpiece. If heartbreak and drama, mixed with the signature Steiner magic is your thing, I implore you to read this famous work. You won't regret it. I never did. I volunteered to listen to a complimentary copy of this. All opinions are my own.

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Loved it!

What a rollercoaster ride I have been on. Have I neglected my work and sleep to finish this book? Yes, I have.

I loved it so much. I know it’s going to be one of those books that I will be thinking about forever. Hands down, the best love story I’ve read.

I cried, is screamed, I was happy, I was sad and then I was heartbroken and angry. Just to be surprised and fulfilled by the ending.

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Love the pain

It took over a year since I first heard about this book for me to finally read it. I knew it would be painful and frustrating but also beautiful and ultimately rewarding. What I didn't anticipate was how those characters were together. They were so raw and honest with each other. Even though they mentioned playing games there was almost no intentional cruelty that can so often be find in similar situations (I won't say similar books because there just are not any). I'm so glad to have read it together with Jamie's perspective. Those final two chapters felt like the greatest gift, the wait worth the pain.

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Incredible

‘ 𝐈𝐟 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫.’

I read the original A Love Letter to Whiskey years ago, and when I tell you it seared me down to my soul, that’s no joke. That burn that B tells you about? I felt it. Steiner’s writing is evocative, and ALLTW is the masterpiece that gave her this forever fan.
But, as with all addictions, I wanted more. I wanted to know Jamie’s side of the story. It felt as though it were crucial.
With this anniversary edition, my need was dated, and Jamie’s perspective was as incredible and heartfelt as the original.
I adored this, in every single possible way.

The narrators brought these well-loved characters to life, and I forgot that I was listening to a book at all. The emotion that they gave in their performance made me feel as though I was a bystander, listening to someone’s great love story.

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one for the angst lovers

I have been meaning to read this book for a long time and when the audio for the 5th anniversary edition came out with the extra content I had to finally get this book ticked off my TBR.

It's an emotional rollercoaster and one most angst lovers will enjoy reading or listening to! This was my first listen to the narrators used for the book and I really enjoyed their performances portraying B and Jamie.

I think the new epilogue really rounds out the story well and is a worthy addition to the novel. I will be relistening to this one again in the future.

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Angsty and well written

This is an angsty coming of age novel showcasing the romantic struggles between B and Jamie. While they were absolutely in love with each other, the realization of the depth of their feelings came during the times with the other was involved with others. Fair warning...If you're like me and cheating is a problem, cheating is involved. But the angst, the love, the need for each other rises to the top.

A lot of their behavior is pretty immature but given the age when these two started their journey together, from high school to college and on, this is kind of expected. If you want a great love story where they stay faithful with each other through the years, this isn't it. This is real, authentic, painful and yet, the love does shine through. I have to admit that the angst got overwhelming after what felt like the thousandth crises that tore them apart. However, it was beautifully written and I recognize that just because it isn't my usual jam, it totally drew out all the emotion.

I lived through this story through the audiobook and I did not read the initial story but rather, the 5th anniversary edition was my first foray into this book. First off, I thought the narration was good. Featuring Hannah Chiclana, Lauren Sweet (the original narrator for the story), Edward Black (The additional parts from Jamie's POV), the narration drew me into the story. Also, the addition of Jamie's POV was excellent- it was a bit repetitive but I prefer knowing what each side is thinking so I was happy that the author updated the story to include this perspective. Overall, I was happy to have experienced this book through this great narration.

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Oh the heartache

ALLTW is one of the reads that completely gutted me the first time I read it and now being able to listen in audio format and also get the added pieces from Jamie’s POV…it was amazing. Like the book I also highly recommend the audible version too!!

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This book has my heart

I read this book on Kindle a year ago and out of the 300 books I've read since then, it's the one I always think about. I decided to listen to the audiobook this time and I still felt every single emotion I felt the first time round, I laughed, cried, felt so frustrated, heartbroken you name it I felt it. I love this book so so much, it's always the one I recommend when asked for book recommendations.

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This read just wasn’t for me!

I didn’t like this story, at all! The only reason it was a DNF for me was because I agreed to listen and review the audio. Steiner is one of my favorite authors but this book killed me and not in a pleasant way.

One of my biggest dislikes within romance books is cheating and that’s basically all this story was. Two selfish people who kept making the exact same mistake over and over again, deceiving and ruining things for everyone in their path. Jamie and Brecks deserved each other because they were both as toxic as they come. I certainly felt bad for B’s back story but other than that, I couldn’t stand either main character.

I wanted the story to redeem itself as the characters grew older... for them to stop self sabotaging. But it never happened. Despite getting older and and hopefully more mature, they stayed immature and selfish. Then the book just ended weirdly with a book written by the heroine. No HEA or even a HFN. The epilogue helped clear up some of the ending but if you don’t read epilogues, you were left hanging!

I didn’t find that I needed Jamie’s POV which was added to this 5th anniversary edition. However, it was insightful.

The narration was okay. I liked the male narrator more than either female.

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Overlong and toxic!

I love angsty books but this?! Ugh! This one left me with a very bad taste!

Not only was it an extremely toxic relationship, there was unnecessary shock drama about B's dad which was completely unrealistic! I also didn’t quite believe the Angel saga. I've never heard about this happening and if it did, I'm sure there would be a furore! Nah! Too far fetched for my liking. In any event, we were left hanging as in so many other situations throughout the book!

I appreciate that the author went to the trouble of writing Jamie's POV and an epilogue, but it was merely a repeat and didn't really add to the story. Less is more. I wish writers would remember this! I much preferred Edward Black's narration and it would simply have been better to incorporate his POV throughout the story.

I know it would have taken extra work, but as it was, I was so bored by the end and frankly didn’t care about either Jamie or B (who was a spoilt and selfish pain in the a**). I just wanted to get to the end of an overlong and repetitive book. Shame!

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