100 PROOF takes readers on a bit of an unorthodox journey and one that will push some readers limits.

Vinny and Marley had a rough start.  Their relationship was riddled with addiction and broke apart when Vinny made a choice that wasn’t about what he had with Marley but about himself.  Then we fast-forward several years to discover that the things they didn’t tell each other come back to bit them in a very big way.

Vinny and Marley were a hot mess but things get really messy with them.  Despite chemistry that is still incredibly scorching hot, Marley is torn between the promises she’s made and what she feels for Vinny.  Add to that, Vinny’s hatred towards his step-father and half-brother and you have a combustible mix.

It was hard not to love Vinny.  The more you learned about him, the more you understood his downward spiral and forgave him what he did.  Things had never been easy for Vinny, despite having a very loving mother.  Her cluelessness about what was happening to her son made me want to wrap Vinny in bubble wrap and make him understand someone does love him.

Marley had her own issues and I understood why she made the choices she did.  She was just as hurt by how she left Vinny, but I just couldn’t help wonder if there was another choice she could have made than to jump in bed with the devil.

I enjoyed this book, but Vinny’s mother’s cluelessness when it came to her oldest son did me in and took this down to a 3.5 Cocktail review.

100 Proof, an all-new taboo STANDALONE romance from Shanora Williams is available now!

Excerpt:

Breakfast was supposed to be happening in less than thirty minutes. I couldn’t bail on Vin. He would have taken it personally. I figured filling him in in person would be okay.

I wouldn’t even eat with him. I’d let him know what was going on and tell him he should schedule a flight back home as soon as he wanted to.

I collected my keys and my clutch before I could process my thoughts, but as I climbed into my car and started it up, driving away from our two-story brick home, I realized I wasn’t doing this for Vin’s benefit.

I was doing it for mine.

I wanted to see him again.

I wanted to know what was really going on with him.

I wanted updates on him and Zay. About California, period. I wanted to see if he’d changed at all—or if he was just giving the impression of it to try and win me over again. Not that he could, but he would try.

I knew this was stupid. I should have cancelled, like Lloyd said. By going to meet him—alone—I was asking for something to happen. I was secretly hoping to feel a connection again, but in the heat of the moment, I wasn’t exactly sure what that something was.

I drove with racing thoughts, wondering what I’d say—what I’d do. Do I hug him when I first see him? Do I shake his hand and pretend to be formal? Do I treat him like my future brother-in-law or as my former love?

I had no clue, but, still, I didn’t stop. I kept going until I was pulling into the parking lot of the busy restaurant and parking the car.

I didn’t fully breathe as I climbed out, didn’t stop moving as I walked towards the entrance. I didn’t fill my lungs with air until I saw him standing in the waiting area, wearing a navy blue T-shirt that clung to his firm upper body, dark wash jeans sitting low and snug on his hips, and his hair a beautiful, chaotic mess. The veins bulged on his arms, the very ones I used to have no problem tracing with the tip of my tongue.

My pulse roared.

And then it hit me.

This was exactly what I wanted to feel.

The electricity between us—the fire that could torch anything that stood in its way. I wanted to witness his smoldering eyes drinking me in, like I was the most beautiful woman in the world.

Lloyd had never given me this look. He had never stared for so long, like he would tear my clothes off right where we stood, no matter who was watching.

My throat tightened.

My core clenched.

But I pretended none of it was happening to me as I walked forward to meet him.

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About the Author:

Shanora Williams is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who loves writing about flawed heroes and resilient heroines. She is a believer that love outweighs all, but doesn’t have a problem making her characters fight for their happily ever after.

She currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina and is the mother of two amazing boys, has a fiercely devoted and supportive man, and is a sister to eleven.

When she isn’t writing, she’s spending time with her family, binge reading, or running marathons on Netflix while scarfing down chocolate chip cookies.

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