Bottled Up
by Liberty Stowe
Vogel Springs Collection - Book 2
Publisher: RubertBossier
Release Date: July 28, 2026
Reviewed by PJ
One canceled pastry chef.One rising wine maker.
One savory scandal!
Just in time for summer—Steady Now author Liberty Stowe, brings you Bottled Up—an interconnected standalone and book two of the Vogel Springs Collection.
A slow-burn, high-heat, small-town romance where an infamous pastry chef and an international winemaker find themselves bound by one contract and the press they can’t avoid.
It’s been over nine months. I thought they were done with photos of me, at the very least. There’s got to be a more tragic story to print than mine.
I’m not hiding. I’m rebuilding. On my terms.
The headlines scream, World-Renowned Pastry Chef Delilah Mueller Flees Manhattan… but I’ve got one hell of a secret that won’t make it to print.
I’m going back home. To my roots. And they don’t know where home is - until the quiet reset awaiting me in Vogel Springs is interrupted by a swarm of media and everything I’ve been avoiding. Courtesy of world-renowned winemaker, August Montenegro.
What are the odds two planes from different continents would land in the same airport. Seeking the same Texas town. It’s not even on a proper map, and yet they’ve found me… and so has he.
A stranger with crystal pools for eyes that sparkle like the Caribbean under the sun when they meet mine. A man who is standing in the middle of a crowd of press I would do anything to avoid.
If I don’t keep my distance from August Montenegro, I’ll hurt everyone I love… him. I’ll hurt him, too.
PJ's Thoughts:
I've fallen hard for this small Texas town and its residents. With strong elements of community, friendship, complicated family dynamics, snappy banter, and unexpected romance, I was drawn into the lives of August and Delilah, eagerly turning pages from start to finish.
The mystery of why Delilah returned home unfolds organically throughout the story, as does her relationship with August and her eventual healing. Both lead characters have emotional trauma to deal with which provides depth to their characters as well as the journeys they travel.
The secondary characters give additional texture to the overall story, helping to move the plot forward while also injecting humor along with business conflict that morphs into solid friendship. I really enjoyed those friendships, both the ones that originated in childhood along with those that formed during the story. I especially liked the way they all came together to support August, Delilah, and Anderson (a key secondary character) working to outsmart the devious obstacles standing in the way of their business success and personal happy endings.
The details about vineyards and winemaking were especially interesting to me. Stowe did a great job of offering the information naturally through August's actions without making it seem like a lecture or information dump. I felt like I was out there in the vineyard with him, learning the ins and outs right along with the other characters.
Bottled Up is the second book in Liberty Stowe's Vogel Springs Collection. It stands well on its own but for readers who have already read book one, Steady Now (like me), it's also a fun reunion with several characters who featured in the earlier book and have significant roles in book two. It's always enjoyable to catch up with couples a few years down the road from their own happily ever after.
I'm already looking forward to the next Vogel Springs book. I have my eye on two particular secondary characters and have my fingers crossed that it will be their story.
