REVIEW: TEARS & TEQUILA, BY LINDA SCHREYER & JO-ANN LAUTMAN

When Joey Lerner lands in LA, she is on one more stop in a gypsy-like journey, a series of flights from the pain and loss in her life.

She has a temporary place to stay with an old friend, Kat Jenkins, and a job interview at a place called Oasis. Her resume looks like a reflection of her flights along the way, but it is varied enough to land her a job as a handyperson….and then, unexpectedly, Joey is assigned a task of substituting as the grief counselor for a grief group. A gig that turns into something more or less regular. She has become a person who can fix broken things, even as she helps fix broken people.

The owner of the place, Daniel Wyndham, is a gorgeous hunk from Australia, and soon Joey finds herself more and more drawn to him.

But behind the scenes, someone is plotting her own brand of revenge, centering it on Oasis, Daniel, and Joey.

Will Joey realize that her new gig and the new people in her life are just what she needs to help with her own grief? Will she finally find a home, or will someone set on revenge destroy it all before she can settle into this new life?

The characters felt like real people that became a kind of family to Joey, and their stories made Tears and Tequila: A Novel a wonderfully rich tale of how people can work through their grief and find a support system along the way. I loved learning more about them all: Tamara and her daughter Maya; Maggie; Alli; Sam and his newborn Andrew; Dave, who is carrying a huge secret; and even Del, the doctor with a deep problem he is hiding. Best of all was lovely Berta, a mentor to Joey, and a guide in her own grief work. In the end, there were some triumphant moments that made me want to celebrate. A lovely 5 star read.