A NOVEL BY K. M. RIVERA
Tangerine Whiskey
Tangerine Whiskey
A literary romance about restraint, grief, loyalty, and what happens when being known becomes more frightening than being alone.
Psychological / literary romance-drama · Paperback & eBook · November 2026
Completed novel • Psychological / literary romance-drama
THE STORY
Some people survive by keeping everyone at a distance.
David built his life on control—clean lines, measured risk, and loyalty that never bends. It made him indispensable at his father’s firm. Until it didn’t.
When his family fractures, David walks away from the only life he's known. What remains is smaller, quieter, and far less certain: a cramped apartment, a responsibility he didn't choose but refuses to abandon, and a future that no longer fits the rules he was raised on.
Then there’s Lyla. She doesn’t ask for explanations. Doesn’t offer comfort in ways he understands. She moves through the world differently—soft where he is rigid, distant where he tries to hold on. What begins as something simple refuses to stay that way.
BECAUSE SOME CHOICES CAN’T BE MEASURED.
AND SOME RISKS DON’T COME WITH A WAY BACK.
Tangerine Whiskey is a story about loyalty, responsibility, and the quiet ways people choose each other—when control is no longer enough.
Content Warnings
This novel contains themes of physical and emotional abuse, childhood abuse, pregnancy, stillbirth and infant loss, grief and bereavement, controlling family dynamics, alcohol use, smoking, and non-graphic sexual content.
A GLIMPSE INSIDE
The first chapter of Tangerine Whiskey is available to read for free.
BEYOND THE PAGES
The moments left untold, the stories seen through different eyes, and the things that never happened.
“Some risks are chosen. Some are forced upon you. The difference is who gets to tell the story after.”
— Tangerine Whiskey
THE CHARACTERS
David & Lyla
Two people who learned very different ways to survive. David trusts control; Lyla trusts warmth. Neither expects the other to become the place where those instincts begin to change.
DAVID
A man who built his life around control, discipline, and anticipating every
possible outcome.
Precise, loyal, and difficult to reach. He has spent years making himself useful to everyone
except himself.
LYLA
A woman who carries warmth and grief in equal measure, and still chooses
to remain open to the world.
Soft without being fragile, she understands that tenderness and grief can exist
in the same room.
AT ITS HEART
Some risks are worth returning to.
Tangerine Whiskey explores control, vulnerability, loyalty, and the tension between self-protection and intimacy. David and Lyla are not trying to fix one another. They are learning what happens when another person begins to see through the defenses that once felt necessary.
THE STORY
A GLIMPSE INSIDE
Some people survive by keeping everyone at a distance.
The first chapter of Tangerine Whiskey is available to read for free.
BEYOND THE PAGES
The moments left untold, the stories seen through different eyes, and the things that never happened.
David built his life on control—clean lines, measured risk, and loyalty that never bends. It made him indispensable at his father’s firm. Until it didn’t.
When his family fractures, David walks away from the only life he's known. What remains is smaller, quieter, and far less certain: a cramped apartment, a responsibility he didn't choose but refuses to abandon, and a future that no longer fits the rules he was raised on.
Then there’s Lyla. She doesn’t ask for explanations. Doesn’t offer comfort in ways he understands. She moves through the world differently—soft where he is rigid, distant where he tries to hold on. What begins as something simple refuses to stay that way.
BECAUSE SOME CHOICES CAN’T BE MEASURED.
AND SOME RISKS DON’T COME WITH A WAY BACK.
Tangerine Whiskey is a story about loyalty, responsibility, and the quiet ways people choose each other—when control is no longer enough.
Content Warnings
This novel contains themes of physical and emotional abuse, childhood abuse, pregnancy, stillbirth and infant loss, grief and bereavement, controlling family dynamics, alcohol use, smoking, and non-graphic sexual content.
THE PLAYLIST
The sound of Tangerine Whiskey
A playlist for the atmosphere of the story.
THE BOOK
A completed novel. Final proofing before publication.
Tangerine Whiskey is a complete and currently being prepared for publication. Updates on release plans, cover reveals, and availability will be shared here as the book moves closer to readers.
Letters from K. M. Rivera
New stories, book news, fragments from the writing desk, and occasional glimpses behind the pages.
THE CHARACTERS
David & Lyla
Two people who learned very different ways to survive. David trusts control; Lyla trusts warmth. Neither expects the other to become the place where those instincts begin to change.
THE BOOK
A completed novel, preparing for publication.
Tangerine Whiskey is complete and currently being prepared for publication. Updates on release plans, cover reveals, and availability will be shared as the book moves closer to readers.
AT ITS HEART
Some risks are worth returning to.
Tangerine Whiskey explores control, vulnerability, loyalty, and the tension between self-protection and intimacy. David and Lyla are not trying to fix one another. They are learning what happens when another person begins to see through the defenses that once felt necessary.
“Some risks are chosen. Some are forced upon you. The difference is who gets to tell the story after.”
— Tangerine Whiskey
DAVID
A man who built his life around control, discipline, and anticipating every
possible outcome.
Precise, loyal, and difficult to reach. He has spent years making himself useful to everyone
except himself.
LYLA
A woman who carries warmth and grief in equal measure, and still chooses
to remain open to the world.
Soft without being fragile, she understands that tenderness and grief can exist
in the same room.
Letters from K. M. Rivera
New stories, book news, fragments from the writing desk, and occasional glimpses behind the pages.
THE PLAYLIST
The sound of Tangerine Whiskey
A playlist for the atmosphere of the story.