REVIEW: Intoxicating by Heather Heyford

In Intoxicating (Oregon Wine Country #2) by Heather Heyford, Poppy Springer wants to show everything that she’s more than what was written in her high school yearbook. So she’s studying hard to become a lady sommelier in hopes of being the best she can be at the dream job she’s been offered. However, there’s just one problem – her best friend, Heath. Will she pass up the offer of a lifetime to be with him?

”Aren’t you upset?” Keval blurted. “I can’t believe you just told Cruella de Clarkstone that you already got the sommelier and the modeling jobs. What are you going to do if you don’t past your test?”
So much for zipping it, though Heath. “No one would know anything about this if you had so much as an atom of self control.”

Although I haven’t read the first book of this series, I found this book can easily be read as a stand-alone and right from the beginning, this story was riveting and fast-paced due to what the heroine is going through. She never expected to still be living in her hometown and forced to face the fact that what her high school yearbook said about what she was most likely to do would turn out to be true . And facing her high school nemesis isn’t easy, and I could understand why Poppy would go to such lengths to prove the other woman wrong by telling a couple of untruths.

As for the dialogue, it was intense due to the main characters back stories and everything this couple goes through on their journey to happy ever after. Heath was a really fantastic hero, but there were moments when Poppy frustrated me. She was so stubborn and determined to prove herself, that it was hard for her to listen to reason from her friends when they raised valid concerns. Will she be able to cope with the pressure of her new job? Will she be able to handle living away from her friends and family? However, in saying that, she’s definitely strong, brave and I liked how determined she was to succeed; considering it’s not easy for her, as she has problems with reading and writing.

She threw her hands in the air. “Okay. I won’t quit. But from now on all my practice sessions are going to be private.”
“No. You can’t do that,” said Heath.
“You want me to subject myself to public humiliation again?”
“You have no choice. You have to avenge yourself. Show Cory Anthony and everyone else that you have it in you to fight for what you want.”

While Heath, he was kind, caring and supportive, despite the fact that he doesn’t want Poppy to leave town. He didn’t have the best childhood with his father being an absent parent most of the time and Poppy’s family have always been more of a family to him than his own, so it’s palpable he’s going to miss her a lot if she leaves. But what I liked most about Heath was that he would do anything for Poppy, so she could pursue her dream job. He shows he’s a true friend in every sense, even when it wasn’t easy to give up on the progression of their relationship going from friends to lovers.

Overall, Ms. Heyford has penned a wonderful novel about a heroine fighting for her independence, a hero who will do anything to convince the heroine to give him a shot at happy ever after and a fantastic array of secondary characters that had me smiling with their dialogue towards the end of the story. Do they really think they were the ones to bring Heath and Poppy together? To help them go from friends to lovers as all their friends thought they should be. However, it was the moment that Poppy realized what she really wanted in her life that had me smiling. She had a huge choice to make when it came to being unhappy in her dream job or being happy in the one place where everyone she loves is. I would recommend Intoxicating by Heather Heyford, if you enjoy the friends to lovers trope.

Book Info:

Publication: March 28th, 2017 | Lyrical Shine | Oregon Wine Country #2

The Girl Most Likely
. . . to be a waitress at her hometown café. That’s what Clarkston’s high school yearbook said about Poppy Springer ten years ago and that’s where the beauty queen is today. But that’s about to change now that Poppy has been offered a position as a lady sommelier at a cutting-edge new restaurant. Only Poppy has an embarrassing secret that could keep her from landing her dream job. A secret her high school crush seems determined to help her with . . .

The Man Most Wanted
In high school, Heath Sinclair may have been voted most likely to blow something up, but these days the sexy science prodigy is a self-made success story with his popular microbrewery and chiseled good looks. So why is Clarkston’s most-eligible man so hell-bent on helping Poppy prove that she is more than her reputation? Could it be the enigmatic bachelor has a hankering for the girl who got away?