Matchmaking A Billionaire - ARC Review

Special shout out to the authors, A.R. Casella and Denise Grover Swank, for allowing me on their review team and giving me access to this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Matchmaking a Billionaire

by: A.R. Casella & Denise Grover Swank
(Angela Denise)

My Rating: 4.5 Stars/Would Recommend

Released: April 28, 2022
Genre: Romance

At this point, I will read literally anything A.R. Casella and Denise Grover Swank, now collectively known as Angela Denise, write together. They could continue writing stories for every little side character and I would still read them because they are wonderful!

In Matchmaking a Billionaire, we meet Bryn, Holly's sister (remember Holly?) She's still in Highland Hills trying to make her grandmother's matchmaking business work because let's face it, they are floundering.

When Rory hears about an idea that Bryn and Holly had for an app, he's intrigued and he's the kind of business guy who could help out. There's just one catch -- Nana Mayberry won't let him help unless they get to matchmake him. And it just so happens Bryn is single too. We can all see where this is going, but isn't it the perfect premise?!

I'm excited to see where this new series takes us. 

 

Matchmaking Mischief

Huge thank you to the authors and Laughing Heart Press for the free eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Amazon

Genre? Romance

Series or Standalone? #4 in the Bad Luck Club series

Backlist? No. Published Today! (January 6, 2022)

New to me Author? Absolutely not.

What did I think?

Matchmaking Mischief is the 4th book of the Bad Luck series by these amazing authors. To begin, I absolutely loved the meet-cute that led to Willow and Alex. I can just imagine how annoying they each thought the other was! Though of course, I knew where the two of them were headed and I was completely ready for the journey we would have to take to get there.

This book was one of those where, as much as you love the main characters, the minor background characters are almost just as amazing. I could not stop laughing at all of the poor choices some of them were making!

One thing I really love about this series is that you know there's going to be a Happily Ever After, but it never feels forced or cheesy. The entire time we went from strangers to enemies to friends to lovers, I just got warm feelings as we watched our characters fall more and more in love.

This series is completely worth trying out and they're all quick reads so start at the beginning and go catch up!

Luck of the Draw by A.R. Casella and Denise Grover Swank

  Huge thank you to the authors for the free ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis from Goodreads: 

Life’s not a fairytale for women like me, divorced and creeping up on middle age…until a hot younger man finds my lost shoes.

Crashing weddings is so not my thing. I’d much rather stay home and watch HGTV . . . and ignore the fact that my life is messier than those fixer-upper houses. Because my jerk ex left, and the only thing keeping a roof over my sons’ heads is my crappy telemarketing job.

But then I get a challenge from the Bad Luck Club, the group I joined to turn my luck around: Do something that breaks the rules. One ill-advised confession to my best friend later, I’m strapping on a pair of heels and crashing the wedding of two of the owners of Buchanan Brewery.

The last thing I expect is to meet someone, let alone the sexy younger bartender who calls me out and finds my lost shoes, something straight out of Cinderella. And the very last thing I expect is to fall for him.

It feels like I’m in a dream come true, a fairy tale, but the crap part about dreams is that they have to end.

Or do they?

Genre? Romance (Romantic comedy?)

Backlist? No. This will be published within the next couple weeks, June 2021.

New to me Author? Not at all.

What did I think?

Now that the Buchanan siblings have all shared their story, authors A.R. Casella and Denise Grover Swank could have easily called it the end of the Asheville Brewery series. Instead, we get Luck of the Draw, a continuation of the goings on in Asheville staring a secondary character from the previous novel.

In this one, we get to follow Deeandra (Dee) from the Bad Luck Club. In the middle of a divorce, crappy job, and two boys to raise, Dee answered the ad for Bad Luck Club and hasn't turned back. When her challenge was to "Do something that breaks the rules", she knew she couldn't skip it or she would be out of the club. So, she crashes a wedding. Of course, knowing how these books go, she ends up meeting someone and they really hit it off. But will the secrets tear them apart? Did Dee draw a lucky hand?

Bad Luck Club by Denise Grover Swank and A.R. Casella

 Huge thank you to the authors for the free ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Amazon

Synopsis from Goodreads: 

The fourth book in the USA Today bestselling Asheville Brewing series.

A grumpy man. A recovering people-pleaser. And the secret club that brings them together.

Lee Buchanan is a hot mess.

Turning one’s father in to the feds can do that to a man.

He had nothing to do with his father’s Ponzi scheme, but he’s blacklisted from commercial real estate all the same. Which is how he ends up in Asheville, working at the brewery he inherited with his siblings. He’s salty as hell, and he doesn’t care who knows it.

Until the gorgeous, intriguing Blue Combs issues the most peculiar invitation he’s ever received: Come to the Bad Luck Club. We can help you.

It sounds like a cult or, worse, a group of Mary Sues, but Blue is different from any woman he’s ever met. For better or worse, he’s drawn to her.

Just like she’s drawn to him, even if she has no intention of going all in with another man. She’s been there, done that, twice, and the life she’s built for herself is too important to risk.

What starts as one person’s desire to help another turns into a connection too powerful to be denied—but can two broken people grow together, or will they tear each other apart?

Genre? Contemporary Fiction/Romance

Backlist? No. This book is being published April 5, 2021.

New to me Author? Not at all.

What did I think? 

You would think that these women would eventually run out of plot lines but you would be extremely wrong.

Somehow they just get better and better with each installment of the Asheville Brewery series.

In Bad Luck Club, we finally get to follow sweet, unique, Blue and get a little more background about why she is who she is. We also get to see Lee as he tries to bounce back from what happened in the last book.

Seriously, I could not have asked for a better story to come out of this. These two authors are extremely talented and you can tell they put their whole hearts and souls into each project. I can't wait to get ahold of their new series this summer!

In the meantime, you should definitely catch up on the Asheville Brewery series and grab Bad Luck Club when it comes out later this week! 

September Reading Round-Up

  Here's a look at the books we loved, didn't love, read, rated, or DNF'd this month!

Jay's Reads (10):

  

What I Rated Them:
Takedown Twenty ☕☕☕☕

Top Secret Twenty-One ☕☕☕☕

Tricky Twenty-Two ☕☕☕☕

Turbo Twenty-Three ☕☕☕☕

Hardcore Twenty-Four ☕☕☕☕

Look Alive Twenty-Five ☕☕☕☕

Twisted Twenty-Six ☕☕☕☕

Any Luck at All ☕☕☕☕.25

Lock Every Door ☕☕☕☕

Big Girl Panties ☕☕☕.75

Favorite Read:
That's tough. Probably Lock Every Door.

Least Favorite Read:
Big Girl Panties

DNF?:
None this month! 

Rolling over to next month:

The Beauty in Breaking

The Friend Zone

Al Capone Throws Me a Curve

Never Let You Go

Cleo McDougal Regrets Nothing

Truly Madly Guilty

Meg's Reads (7):

What I Rated Them: 
Know My Name ☕☕☕☕☕

Glow ☕☕☕☕
Love Again ☕☕☕☕
Blind Love ☕☕☕☕
This Love ☕☕☕☕
Reckless Love ☕☕☕☕

Born to Fly ☕☕

Favorite Read: Know My Name by Chanel Miller

Least Favorite Read: A Little Bit Stronger by Sara Evans. I finished it and just absolutely did.not.like.it. Like had a full-on discussion with my Lynn-Mom about how I was going to return it even though I read it all because I just did not like it AT ALL.  

DNF: Nada. 

Carrying Over to Next Month:
Johnny Cash the Life
Our Stop 
Life and Other Inconveniences
Beach Read 

Any Luck At All by Denise Grover Swank and A.R. Casella

  Thank you Denise Grover Swank for my free eARC as part of her review team! All opinions are my own.

Amazon

Synopsis from Goodreads: The first book in a new rom com series by Denise Grover Swank, the author of the New York Times bestselling Wedding Pact series, and A.R. Casella.

Georgie Buchanan doesn’t know the first thing about running a brewery—she doesn’t even like beer—so she’s thrown when her grandfather leaves his business to her and her three siblings. Selling Buchanan Brewery would be the prudent approach, and while Georgie is, first and foremost, a businesswoman, keeping it might be her best chance of connecting with her half-brother, Jack. But she quickly learns that what she thought was a fixer-upper is a money pit, the employees are all eccentric to the extreme, and her inheritance comes with a shocking catch. Her one hope for success lies with River Reeves, the handsome brewmaster who learned at her grandfather’s feet...if she can avoid falling for him.

After learning his best friend and boss is selling the brewery they built together to a soulless corporation, River quits on the spot, only for Georgie Buchanan to offer him a job the very same night. Helping her turn Buchanan Brewery around is his dream job, the perfect homage to the man who taught him everything and helped give him roots. There’s one problem: his new boss is his dream woman, and she’s not the type to mix business and pleasure. Balancing a new job, a new puppy, and a growing infatuation with his boss, River knows something has to give.

If Georgie has any luck at all, she’ll be able to turn Buchanan Brewery around without losing her mind or her heart. But as River helps her weather everything from her uncle’s possessed cat to a séance, she realizes she might be wishing for the wrong kind of luck.

Genre? Romantic Comedy

Backlist? No. This was just published September 22, 2020.

New to me Author? Absolutely Not.

What did I think? This was such a cute romantic comedy and I can't wait for the series to continue!

I've been spending time working my way through Denise Grover Swank's immense backlist of books and I'm so used to writing reviews like "I don't normally read this genre..." and having her make me fall in love with things like paranormal romance. I had almost forgotten she can also write romantic comedy! But it was SO GOOD.

I absolutely adored the character of Georgie. Her struggle to try to figure out how the heck to run a brewery, as well as her situation with River is both comical and completely relatable. In fact, all of the characters are pretty relatable. I mean, we all have a crazy aunt, am I right?! (Maybe I AM the crazy aunt??)

Also, pink crystals. That's all I can say without giving it away but, if you know you know.

The Confetti Pact - ARC Review

Thank you to the author for the ARC of this story in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

The Confetti Pact by Lilly Bartlett

Synopsis from Goodreads: Nelly Roberts needs a fiancé – fast!

When she’s left in the lurch with not just a wedding but also the country’s biggest magazine feature on the line, social media star, Nelly, has no choice but to substitute one groom for another. Luckily, Rafael Moreno Cortes needs a visa, so they make a deal: act the perfect couple for as long as it takes to get them both what they want. The catch? Absolutely nobody can know the truth.

With the magazine following their every move, Nelly’s ex re-emerges with a change of heart just as her pretend feelings for Rafael start to be anything but pretend. What could possibly go wrong?

Genre? Romantic Comedy

Release Date? February 12, 2020 

New to me Author? Yes!

So, what did I think? 

This book was super cute. We start off by meeting Nelly, an influencer who has her entire wedding planned out and ready for Instagram. The only problem is that her fiancé has decided that he needs some space. Wait, how's that going to look to all her fans?!

In walks Rafael, an attractive man who needs a visa so he can stay in the country. The easiest solution? Get married to a citizen. Check-mate! Together the two of them hatch a plan to get married so Rafael can stay in the country and Nelly can have her social media-worthy wedding. As long as nobody finds out, it's fine. Right?

Things seem to be going well, until her ex comes back on the scene. Does Nelly want to go back to the original plan of marrying him or is she starting to feel real things for Rafael?

This book was a fun, light-hearted read. It definitely reminded me of something Sophie Kinsella would write - and that was before I knew she blurbed it! It was a 4 star read for me and I would totally recommend it to anyone who wants a fun story to go in between their more serious reads.