Welcome to Ruby's

By: KC Luck

Narrated by: Stephanie Nemeth-Parker

Length: 6 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's Summary

Allie Dawson and her group of friends consider Ruby’s their second home. The bar is where they all go to commiserate over drinks about crappy jobs, wrecked relationships, and life in general. Everyone is family and everyone comes to Ruby’s. Even though her job sucks, Allie’s life appears to be taking an especially good turn when a gorgeous dark-haired stranger comes walking into Ruby’s and sweeps her off her feet. As much as she wants to deny how she feels, the chemistry between them is an 11 on a scale of one to 10. Struggling through a nasty divorce, Vivian Wade is not looking for any more complications in her already crazy life, but when she goes north to Portland to check on business, she sees a blonde woman who takes her breath away. Although a relationship is the last thing she wants, she cannot deny what her body is telling her. When their worlds collide, all starts perfectly, until Allie learns Ruby’s has been sold to an investor. A woman from Los Angeles, named Vivian, who plans to change everything.

Note: This is a full-length, stand-alone lesbian romance novel with a happily-ever-after ending.

©2018 KC Luck (P)2019 KC Luck

Surprising!

I can’t believe I had this book sitting for so long before I actually got to it. I was pleasantly surprised on how much I enjoyed it. I am new to the narrator and was hooked by her sultry voice! The pool sex scene was so hot I’m still thinking about it!! This author is quickly becoming a favorite.

Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows...

Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name

Welcome To Ruby’s was a surprise to me. I wasn’t really sure going into it exactly what the main story line was going to be but I got a lot more than that. The book was cute and made me smile a lot. It covered a lot more than I expected it to including thoughts of self doubt (and self doubt caused by an emotionally abusive partner) along with coming to terms with changing and growing as a person.

KC Luck was able to write a story that was more than just a happily ever after romance. She added in moments of self doubt as mentioned above, along with confusion and the “ex effect” of seeing or hearing about the ex of a person you’re falling for. I don’t know why I wasn’t expecting a deeper story but I’m glad it was there.

The main story revolves around a gay bar The Ruby Slipper. From the way it’s described – it’s a dive bar in Portland where a large group of friends hang out. Think Cheers but gay :). But in all seriousness, it’s one of those bars on the corner that you feel comfortable in. The one where the bartender not only knows your name but knows your family and your story. One of those comfortable places. The main dramatic moment of the story revolves around the new owner and her thoughts on what the bar should be. I won’t go into too much more, but there’s a lot of back and forth and a really satisfying climax to the story revolving around the bar.

I knew going into it that it was a happily ever after story (the synopsis said as much) but there were times that I was a little bit worried. That’s impressive when I’m going into a story “knowing” the ending and still thinking “are we sure that’s going to happen?”

The only complaint I would have was the pacing and inflection of the narration. It wasn’t a terrible performance by any means, I’ve heard enough of those in my time. But there were times where I thought “is the narrator trying to make this drawn out, or was that at the direction of the author or a producer?” As I said, it wasn’t bad, but there was something slightly off about it. The easiest way I’d explain it was at times it felt like there was a period after every word instead of after a full sentence. I think this is something Nemeth-Parker could improve on quickly but I had to mention it here. I don’t usually talk about the speed at which I listen to an audiobook – but this would benefited from being sped up a bit.

Change of scenery and a change of heart

Vivian is coming out of a nasty divorce and decides and change of location would be good for her. Allie is like a breath of fresh air to Vivian. The heat between them is instantaneous. Allie has a way of bringing Vivian to life. She just needs to win over Allie’s friends who are there to protect her. Watch out for the evil ex Becca. I enjoy a good age gap romance.

Good listen!

Like always, a good read by KC. The narration was ok. She has a nice, pleasant voice- but there's no voices to differentiate the characters really. So read well, just not acted well.
I'm looking forward to the next book sequel out soon.

It’s ok

It seemed like some of the chapters were out of order - I had to go back a couple times and re-listen thinking I missed something because the story would just drop and be a complete different setting.

Everyone needs a place to call a second home!

Wow! Loved Loved Loved this book! The storyline was fantastic and the narrator did such a great job bringing it to life. Ver descriptive.

Great listening

The story is sweet and great for spring break and if you are stuck at home because of COVID-19, this should be on your list...
The narration was good but the voice of Stephanie suits more a youth book than an adult book....

Ruby’s

What an awesome book! As always this author sets the scene as if you are actually there. I loved the voice of the narrator. With that narrator and KC Lucks words makes this a book worth buying.

Enjoyable.

I liked Welcome to Ruby's. The story centers around a local bar where "everybody knows your name". Maybe because I am not a drinker and don't go to bars, I couldn't really get into this book. But please one note that should be gleaned from reading or listening to this book. DO NOT stomp or run out the door everytime someone is saying something you are uncomfortable hearing. Also be sure you are actually hearing what the person is saying . NOT the dialogue you have running on your head.