ARC Review: Enemies on Tap by Avery Flynn

I discovered Avery Flynn through her romantic suspense-lite Killer Style series and really like her voice and writing style, so I jumped at the chance to check out her new small-town contemporary Sweet Salvation Brewery series. The enemies-to-lovers (with a side of reunited first love) trope is one I enjoy due to the inherent snark and drama, and ENEMIES ON TAP delivers with Ms. Flynn’s trademark humour, knack for witty repartee, and penchant for spunky, relatable heroines and flawed-but-likeable heroes. Though not particularly innovative, ENEMIES ON TAP is a fun, quick read and an enjoyable start to a series that fans of contemporaries—and especially those who enjoy enemies-to-lovers stories—should check out.

Miranda Sweet has avoided her hometown of Salvation, Virginia, like the plague since fleeing to the big city to escape the stigma of her surname. Albeit one of the founding families of Salvation, the Sweets are considered personae non gratae in the small town and the recipients of much scorn and ridicule due to their generally unorthodox (and mostly unlawful) behaviour. Triplets Miranda, Natalie, and Olivia Sweet grew up trying to be ‘normal’ and fighting against that inherent prejudice without much success… especially in Miranda’s case for making the mistake of falling for Salvation’s Prince Charming—and heir apparent to the upstanding Martin family, Logan—as a teen. Now a successful acquisitions specialist working for a financial firm in the big city, Miranda has returned to Salvation to turn the brewery she and her sisters have inherited from their kooky Uncle Julian (whose motto was “Live Free, Die High”) into a financial success and earn herself that respectable corner office. Her boss from hell has decreed that she must use local funding for the project in an attempt to sabotage her chances of that promotion, so Miranda finds herself needing to ask the Martins—owners of the only bank in town and Hatfields (or Montagues) to her family’s McCoys (or Capulets)—for a loan. But Martin patriarch and avid Sweet hater Larry is no longer the bank president, with his son (and Miranda’s high school love) Logan acting in his stead. Logan has plans to incorporate the brewery’s lot into an industrial park—a project of his own making that doesn’t have his father’s stamp all over it—and so Miranda and Logan again find themselves on opposite sides of a great divide with the town firmly in Logan’s camp and willing to do anything to see Miranda fail. Bets are made. Shenanigans ensue. Sexual tension abounds. A little mystery subplot takes place. Sexytimes in the bank vault are had. A judgmental small town is schooled.

I really liked Miranda and thought Ms. Flynn did an excellent job making her someone who’s suffered undeserved lifelong scorn and bullying simply for having been born into a highly dysfunctional (by conservative standards) but loving family and who’s learnt to deal with and try to overcome the knocks without becoming hopelessly embittered. She’s a class act whenever someone throws her family in her face and perseveres even when the entire town is clearly against her. And who can’t relate to and empathize with her lifelong goal of distancing herself from the unsavoury legacy of her name and prove that she’s not “just another Sweet” from a backwater Virginia town, only to realise that maybe the route to true happiness involves accepting—and embracing—the crazy? Ms. Flynn does a great job writing Miranda’s internal conflict between the life she thinks she wants in the big city and the yearning for the one person she knows she shouldn’t want but can’t help falling head over heels for, whilst still keeping it lighthearted. The little battles between Logan and Miranda were great fun and the banter hilarious, and the love scenes were scorching hot.

Logan was a much harder her for me initially—the man is an absolute wanker, both back in high school and when Miranda first comes back to town. He’s so caught up on the ‘upholding the Martin surname’ bullshit and his family’s—and the town’s—prejudice that it’s hard to feel bad for him for having been shoehorned into being the prince of Salvation against his wishes by his bully of a father (a truly unlikeable fellow). The industrial park he wants to build on the brewery land is the first and only thing that’s truly his own so I can empathize with his desire to see it succeed, but the way he tries to sabotage and undermine Miranda’s efforts to ensure his own success is deplorable. Luckily for him, he realises the error of his ways and how poorly he—and the rest of the town—treat Miranda and the Sweets and redeems himself in a thoroughly swoon-worthy way that had me rooting for him and his HEA with Miranda at the end.

I thoroughly enjoyed ENEMIES ON TAP and look forward to reading the other Sweet triplets’ stories and revisiting Salvation in the (hopefully near) future!

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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ARC Review: Meeting His Match by Katee Robert

I always enjoy matchmaking books and usually enjoy them but Meeting His Match (A Match Me Novel) Katee Robert, although also a matchmaking book, had a very sweet and different quality. Robert’s writing is engaging and the story picks up from page one. She grabbed my attention from the very beginning. Although not portent to the story, I loved the cover and the name of the characters. I thought that both complimented the story.

Addison St. Claire owns a matchmaking company in New York City. She is successful but she feels something missing. When her friend good friend asks her to help with her brother-in-law Caine McNeill who lives in Tennessee, although she is hesitant, she thinks that a quick get- away will get her the break that she needs. Lately, she has been worn out and unfulfilled.

Caine McNeill runs a very successful business in Tennessee. He is a classic workaholic. Although he is very successful he never really wanted to run the family business, especially since he never receives his father’s approval. Caine spends more time in his office then he does at home. He wants to meet a nice woman and get married but work takes up most of his time.

When Addison barges into his office he knows that his life is about to change. He is instantly attracted to Addison and she him but Addison has very high walls around her. Once Caine realizes that the woman he wants is right in front of him he does not want to waste any time with the potential dates that Addison has planned.

I loved Caine and Addison. Caine was a handsome, successful and force to be reckon with! He was determined to win Addison over and even though she kept pushing him away he realized that she was worth fighting for. I really liked Addison too, I thought she was a great heroine. She did not let Caine intimidate her and she knew how to stand her ground. My one little hang-up was her hang-up. Without giving too much away, the reason that she didn’t want a relationship with Caine seemed like a weak excuse. I read this book in one sitting. I couldn’t wait to see how Caine and Addison found their happily ever after. I really enjoyed and highly recommend this book!

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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Guest Post with Author Sophie Barnes and Giveaway

Meet Sophie Barnes, author of The Danger in Tempting an Earl.

Born in Denmark, Sophie has spent her youth traveling with her parents to wonderful places all around the world. She’s lived in five different countries, on three different continents, and speaks Danish, English, French, Spanish and Romanian.

She has studied design in Paris and New York and has a bachelor’s degree from Parson’s School of design, but most impressive of all – she’s been married to the same man three times, in three different countries and in three different dresses.

While living in Africa, Sophie turned to her lifelong passion – writing.

When she’s not busy, dreaming up her next romance novel, Sophie enjoys spending time with her family, swimming, cooking, gardening, watching romantic comedies and, of course, reading. She currently lives on the East Coast.

Places to find Sophie:

| Site | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads |

Interview with Author Katee Robert and Giveaway

Meet Katee Robert, author of Meeting His Match.

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Katee Robert, learned to tell stories at her grandpa’s knee. Her favorites then were the rather epic adventures of The Three Bears, but at age twelve she discovered romance novels and never looked back. Though she dabbled in writing, life got in the way, as it often does, and she spent a few years traveling, living in both Philadelphia and Germany. In between traveling and raising her two wee ones, she had the crazy idea that she’d like to write a book and try to get published.

Places to find Katee:

| Site | Facebook | Twitter |

ARC Review: Point of Redemption by Stacey Lynn

Point of Redemption is the second book in the Nordic Lords MC series by Stacey Lynn, but this book can be read as a standalone. I would suggest reading these in order though as the overall story continues from book to book and you really get to see how things progress with not only the couples, but the club in general. It isn't necessary though and you can still understand everything you need to in order to enjoy this book without having read Point of Return. I will admit that after reading the first book in this series I was really looking forward to Ryker's story, but I was a bit worried after I had some issues with the first one. This book was much better in my opinion though than the first book and I really ended up enjoying the story.

When his brother Daemon calls needing his help, Ryker heads back home after being gone for five years. Ryker hasn't seen his brother or the town they grew up in since the night everything went bad for them. Ryker has spent the last five years distancing himself from the club and dealing with the guilt from what happened that night, but he never forgot the girl that he loved even if she betrayed him. Upon arriving back in town, Ryker finds out that Faith has been living in a hell of her own since he left and has been forced into a life with the enemy. Ryker sets out to rescue Faith while helping his brother and the club out. When things take a turn for the worst, Ryker must balance his commitments back in New Orleans while also dealing with everything in Jasper Bay. Can Ryker get Faith back and show her that they can still have the life they dreamed of together even if they are different than they used to be? Or will there have been too much damage done to move forward together?

I liked Ryker a lot in Point of Return, and I loved him even more in this book. He was a really great guy and he took care of those that he cared about. I liked that he was an alpha that wanted to protect and claim his girl, but he wasn't a jerk or overly controlling. Ryker had a ton of guilt from not only what had happened with his father, but also with his friend in New Orleans. I felt so bad for him, and it was good to see him start to heal and realize that he wasn't to blame for everything that had happened. I also liked Faith a lot. I felt like we didn't really get to know much about her in Point of Return, so it was really nice to learn more about her. She had been through a lot as well, and despite everything that she had been through she was so strong. She sacrificed so much of herself for her mom when her mom didn't deserve any of it. It really showed how great she was and that she was really loyal. I liked that Faith was able to see that Ryker had made mistakes in the past, but that she understood what had happened and didn't blame him. Ryker and Faith had a lot of chemistry and attraction, but they also had such a strong emotional connection that time and distance hadn't changed. You could really see the love between them and I was glad that they were able to move forward after everything that could have come between them.

Overall, I thought that this book was really good. In my opinion this book was a lot better than the first book, and I felt like the story was really true to the characters in this one. I thought that Ryker and Faith belonged together, and it was good to see them find their way back to each other. I felt like there were a few times in this story that were a bit slow though, and I kept waiting for things to pick up. But I thought that the relationship between Ryker and Faith was really well done and kept my my interest even through the slower parts. I am liking this series, and I am really curious about what will happen next after the ending of this book. I thought that the ending did a great job of setting up interest for one of the characters that we met in this story, and I can't wait to get to know her better. I would recommend this series to fans of MC romance books, and I think that a lot of NA fans will really enjoy these stories. I can't wait to read the next book in the series, and I look forward to reading more from Stacey Lynn in the future.

**ARC Provided by Between the Sheets Promotions**

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