SUMMER LIES & BOURBON EYES by EMERIE HART

On paper, we make no sense: I like plans, she’s pure chaos. I was instructed in etiquette, she doesn’t believe in wearing a bra. I cut my dad out of my life for cheating on my mom, and she’s going to be his stepdaughter.
So why can’t I stay away from her?
To be fair, if I’d known she was my almost stepsister the night I saw her at a party off campus, I would’ve walked the other direction. But I didn’t, which is how we ended up making out in an alley behind 7-Eleven with my hands under her top.
But I definitely knew before I pinned her against my car and got her off in broad daylight. That one’s on me.
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Evander Owens is meant to wingman his roommate, not get sidetracked by the gorgeous woman with bourbon eyes. For Anaya Melnik, celebrating her twenty-first birthday by kissing a hot stranger is the perfect present. One short night together leaves them both greedy for more, until they discover their off campus connection. Not only are their parents together, but their relationship is the reason Evander cut contact with his dad. Loyal to his mother, Evander vows to stay away from Anaya—which might’ve been possible if their roommates weren’t dating.

To avoid disrupting their new family dynamic, Anaya denies having already met Evander. She definitely doesn’t mention that he kisses her breathless at every opportunity. But as lies stack up over the summer, Evander and Anaya aren’t the only ones keeping secrets, and the truth threatens to break the family ties they both cling to.

A dual pov, spicy, college romance with an unreliable narrator, teasing banter, found family, complicated family dynamics, an almost stepbrother relationship, light brat/tamer play, exploration of sensuality, and falling headlong into their first, intoxicating love.

This is book 1 of An Intoxicating Love, a series of interconnected standalones.

CW: Mentions of infidelity (not between the main characters) excessive drinking, narcissistic parent, parent to child DV (slap) Parental nonacceptance of queer children (not the main characters)