The Whiskey Gentleman is the story of two people, Rachel and Harrison, who absolutely do not need each other. He is a soldier with a past he’d rather not speak about, and she is a woman running and almost out of options. They have both experienced loss and learned to rely only on themselves, but fate steps in and messes up those plans. Robin Alden Howard does a good job of fleshing out the main characters but also some of the characters that shaped them, giving the reader a complete picture of the battles they face.

Everyone has a past, but Rachel and Harrison come with heavy baggage that becomes obvious within the first few chapters. The Whiskey Gentleman is about how their paths cross and how reluctant they are to trust one another, to rely on one another, but as they grow closer, it becomes clear that it is the only choice. Trust doesn’t come easily for these two, but it is essential for survival, and Robin Alden Howard’s writing shows us that from the moment they met. She has a unique style of writing that pulls you right into any scene and makes you feel as if you’re inside the page with the characters, which is quite thrilling in this fast-paced, suspense-filled read. This is an engaging, high-stakes mystery that I had a hard time putting down because it felt as if each chapter ended in a way that kept me wanting to know what would happen next.

Themes like bravery, trauma, and emotional survival are often explored at the surface level in popular fiction, but The Whiskey Gentleman, the fourth installment in Robin Alden Howard’s Four Husbands and a Bottle of Trouble series, takes a far deeper, more psychological approach. In it, we first meet one of the two main characters, Harrison, a former soldier with a past etched in trauma and guilt. He attempts to escape his burdens through alcohol and secretly yearns for peace and a chance to make amends. Then we are introduced to Rachel. She’s attempting to rebuild her life despite battling her severe past traumas, internal conflicts, and haunting memories while trying to keep up the appearance of normalcy. Soon her past reemerges, raising questions about unresolved issues and hindering her healing process. Their story unfolds with emotional tension and simmering suspense, all set against the backdrop of grief and the possibility of second chances.

I was initially drawn to The Whiskey Gentleman because of its cover, or more specifically, I homed in on the dog tags there, as I’ve always been drawn to stories involving military men. This story is full of suspense and danger, but the underlying tenderness between Harrison and Rachel stood out to me the most, showing the characters’ strength and vulnerabilities through Robin Alden Howard’s natural style of writing. That emotional tenderness was captured in moments like this: “Harrison pulled me in, crushing me against him. His heartbeat was a wild drum against my ear. He almost lost me. I clung to him. Hard.” I’d absolutely recommend The Whiskey Gentleman to anyone who likes gritty and grounded romance, with characters who carry their scars into the light. The Whiskey Gentleman caught me off guard in the best way. One quote stayed with me: “Not every love has to be forever. Some just have to be true.” To me, that line captures the heart of this book.