A Sweet—Literally—Little Romance

While this book definitely does have some twists and turns that aren’t necessarily typical in contemporary romance, in the end, the lovely and intriguing characters make it a sweet little modern romance. The hero and the heroine are both decent people, truly good folks, who sometimes get in over their heads even with the best of intentions. Tommy is a great hero, a compassionate sweetheart of a guy. I loved the family aspect of this. Having grown up in a family of five daughters, I tend to love stories that show what happens between grown-up siblings and adult parent-child relationships. This one had all that family action going on. There’s a surprising amount of humor, and there are places where I laughed out loud. But there are also times that tug at the heartstrings just a little bit. I love a romance that can do both, especially when there is such a delightful couple at the core. Oh, and all the baking was a lot of fun, too!

Unrequited Love and Enemies to Lovers… Heck Yeah!

Oh, my gosh, what a delightful contemporary romance! I loved that this book had two popular romance tropes: unrequited love as well as enemies-to-lovers, and the man in question was different in both. The heroine was so relatable. Her pity parties and moments of self-reflection are so believable for a woman who is watching the man she has loved for a long time marry another woman. She is fragile and vulnerable but also at the perfect place in her life to learn more about herself so she can move on. Connor, the hero, has loved her for a long time even though he has kept up the charade that they are enemies. But his actions speak so loudly of his true feelings as he is protective of her even in her moments when she self-sabotages. He’s a great hero. Of course, they are not really enemies; there has definitely been some mild antagonism between them. Not I think that the opposite of love isn’t hate but rather indifference, and these two are far from indifferent to each other even at the beginning. In fact, I would say their chemistry sizzles off the page from the first time we see the two of them together, even if the heroine doesn’t want to admit it. Between these delightful characters and the blending of two romantic tropes, the author has delivered all the feels on the emotional level as well. If you like contemporary romance, this is a hard book to beat.

Getting to Know Characters a Little More Deeply

I am enjoying this series so much for several reasons. First, I do have a personal connection to the town of Petaluma where this fictional Foghorn Brewery is. My dad grew up in Petaluma, and I spent many childhood days there visiting my grandparents and aunts. I think the author has given the reader a good taste of what life is like in this small town that has turned medium-sized city.

I was familiar with the hero and heroine from the previous book in the series, and I was curious to see what the author would do with the hero. I didn’t really like him in the previous book as he seemed to be a bit of a jerk, but it’s amazing what good authors can do when they rehabilitate so-so characters by showing more backstory as well as  providing more depth with the character’s current thoughts, actions, and emotions so we can truly peel back the layers of character. I absolutely adored that this was not one of those one-night-stand kinds of romances, where the hero or heroine (or both!) don’t see their potential for a true relationship. In this one, Patrick has a deeper interest in Aspen right from the start and is looking at the long term; I love that in this book it was the guy who felt that way first. Again, too many contemporary romances especially seem to start the book with the hero being somewhat shallow and not caring about forming deeper relationships. I like Aspen as well; she’s a competent and smart self-made woman. The book has some serious moments… but also some ones that are surprisingly funny and sometimes a little zany. A delightful read, and I am looking forward to the next one in the series.

Sweet, Delightful Double Romance

I’m a sucker for romantic stories that feature older protagonists. Love stories shouldn’t just be about young people. This book has both. The author has set up a fascinating premise. Basically, the two older adults think the two younger adults are rushing into marriage, so they are planning to show the younger people how foolish it is to get married so quickly by patterning it themselves. Everyone in this story is inherently a good person acting with good intentions, even if they’re not well thought out and have not-so-good results. When I write this premise out, it might sound a little ridiculous, but the author manages to pull it off with warmth, caring, gentleness, and a little humor. The father-son relationship between Zander and Matt seems realistic, as does the aunt-niece relationship between Kayla and Whitney. Within the family units, these are people who genuinely love and respect each other; I love it when authors can pull that off in stories about families. Even with Zander and Kayla’s good intentions, things go sideways in a variety of ways. Again, the author has made this completely believable and relatable, showing vulnerabilities and possibilities. The reactions seemed so very human. This is a sweet, lovely double romance that I thoroughly enjoyed getting immersed in.