I've Got My Mind Set on Brew is a romcom between the FMC and craft beer. There is a romance between the FMC and MMC but that relationship comes off as flat and there really isn't any chemistry between the two characters. If you're looking for an enemies to lovers romcom, this isn't for you. If you enjoy the craft beer scene, you'll enjoy Kat's love for beer and the descriptions of beer that are at the beginning of every chapter.

This book was a pleasant find for me. It appears it's a new author too, so that's always extra fun!

This book was quirky in the best ways. I loved all the beer facts to start the chapters off. I loved the banter between the two leads.

Overall, I'd call this one a win :)

This was a fantastic romance I liked the plot and the characters were a lot of fun. Very much recommend this book.

This book is about a woman who is passionate about her found community and her love of craft beer. She connects with people around her in a way she doesn't even realise herself.
Although labelled as romance, I found this book to be more of a empowering journey for Kat instead of romance. I thoroughly enjoyed the detailed references to each beer type and how Kat actively connects a persons personality to beer. It shows her passion.
Kat is a woman who has alot going on and although she comes across as a bit of a hot mess in the beginning her journey of self discovery and confidence was empowering.
In saying this, I didn't get the romance vibe from this book. The implied chemistry between Kat and Ryan felt more business like than romance driven. It was definetely a story of both characters journey of self worth and I enjoyed it.

An interesting beer centered romance. I enjoyed getting to know the various characters. The main couple had dysfunctional family relationships. Their growth was good to see. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary.

I really enjoyed this read. The love story wasn't too over the top, but just enough to keep you invested. As a craft brew beer fan, the title and cute cover drew my attention. The beer titles and Kat's naming peoples personalities after beers was adorable!

I’ve Got My Mind Set On Brew is a workplace romance, (very loosely) enemies to lovers story that follows Kat, a server at Resistance bar who is working her way up to becoming a brewer. When her bosses suddenly sell the bar to Ryan and his dad, everything changes for Kat and the plan she had set.

I really enjoyed this book from beginning to end and it was almost a 5 star read for me but the ending seemed kinda abrupt. Without giving spoilers, the book seemed to be finished at around 93% and then it did a 180 and completely changed where it was at the last minute. It felt almost rushed and unrealistic how the plot changed at the last moment.

I really liked Kats story and her growth throughout the book navigating her workplace aspirations and her real life struggles. I also loved how almost every chapter introduced a new beer type that corresponded to the events that happened in that coming chapter. Ryan was a likable character but it felt like he would take one step forward and two steps back throughout this entire book.

Since this was an ARC, there were a few minor typos, but nothing of concern there. One example, their first time texting had a few lines where the name of the person texting came after the line was already said.

Overall I would recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun to read novel. We meet an aspiring craft beer brewer, Kat, who is a hardworking and nurturing person. The brewpub she's working at for a few years gets sold and the new manager, Ryan, seems to have his own plans for the locally loved Resistance - plans that don't align with the brewpub that Kat has been working at and loves so much. Cue the disagreements and dislike.

IGMMSOB is a lighthearted novel that was easy to read. I liked seeing Kat's character growth. Her journey to finding what she really needs for herself was written well. Her love for beer was fun to read, and all those beer descriptions were intriguing. However, this was said to be an enemies-to-lovers novel, but that was a bit lacking. The romance element wasn't too high, but I still liked reading the book. The business student in me enjoyed the business talk as well.

For an enemies to lovers rom-com, this romance just had a little to much emphasis on the ‘dislike’ part of enemies. While is was mostly rooted in misunderstanding and assumptions on the FMC’s part, it overshadowed the couple’s later connection for me.

However, the unique premise focusing on a microbrewery, detailing the brewing experience, and describing the fun types of beer was different and fun for me as a reader. I also do enjoy the forced proximity that a workplace boss/employee romance affords.

Overall, this was fun, but fell short as ending up as a romance standout so far in 2024 releases.
I appreciate the opportunity to read and review this advanced digital copy.

Meh… this book really missed the mark for me. The premise was so promising but I felt very annoyed by these characters and the way they acted. 🙃

Kat is aspiring to be a master craft brewer after being down on her luck.  After her bosses, who are more like family, decide to sell, she clashes with her knew boss on how the brewpub should continue. 

I was interested in the book because my husband and I love visiting breweries and trying out craft beer.  That was the most interesting part of this book.  The main characters are not very likable. Kat is EXTREMELY judgemental despite making a mess of her own life.  Ryan seems clueless and has no idea how to interact with people, although he is a boss figure.  He comes across as an immature child that Kat has to raise.  They really didn't have any chemistry, and I found myself just reading for the information on beer and brewing (which I did enjoy and found interesting).  If you're not into craft brews, I wouldn't even attempt this one.  I was really let down since I wanted to like this one.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

In this enemies-to-lovers romance, Kat's found family and job are threatened when her former bosses sell their beloved brewery. Despite a disasterously bad first impression with her new boss, Ryan, the two must work together to save the brewery and to fufill their dreams.

This story is cute and rather niche. Each chapter begins with the description of a type of beer, which was very neat and fits perfectly with the theme. I learned some things!

Overall, the story is missing a spark. Not the spicy kind of spark (although there is very little spice in this romance). Kat is difficult to connect to as the main character. Her deep-seated passion for being a brewmaster is not fully fleshed out and is somewhat disconnected from the rest of the story. She is occasionably relatable with her quirky behavior and financial struggles, but there is something missing here.

3/5 stars

I've Got My Mind Set on Brew is a book that is perfect for beer lovers. it's clear the author did a lot of research into the brewing process and beer! Many chapters are named after beers with little blurbs about them and the characters spend a lot of time discussing relevant topics to the craft brewing community. Kat the female main character is quirky, unique, and alternative which I liked. It's nice to see a female love interest that is a little more on the punk/rock side and I also liked how vulnerable she was regarding credit card debt which is a topic you don't often see discussed in romance books. While I think this book has a lot going for it for beer lovers I think overall the romance fell a little flat and lacked chemistry for me.

3 1/2 elevated to 4.

First time reading this author. I enjoyed the story and how the main characters meet.

Kat and Ryan don't start out on the best of terms and finding out he's her new boss doesn't help either. They clash several times, eventually coming to a truce to work together to save the pub. But it's not all the way they want.

It was very interesting to read about beers and the brewing process, and the secondary characters really added to the story.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

Just not for me! It wasn’t the worst rom com, but also wasn’t the best. I didn’t feel particularly connected to either character. I did appreciate the inclusion of chronic illness, which is rare in a romcom.

I’ve Got My Mind Set on Brew’s protagonist is Kat, a twenty-something craft beer brewer living in Chicago. She’s hardworking, stubborn, a little jaded, and totally passionate—about beer. Not her new boss, Ryan…right?!

It just can’t be. Ryan has privileged rich boy energy, which immediately gives Kat the ick. She’s had to work so hard her whole life and is still pinching pennies, and here Ryan thinks he can run the brewery, Resistance, with no experience. She becomes so focused on proving herself to him while trying to save the business. Resistance is everything she’s known and loved—all she’s had, really—since the messy breakup with her ex-boyfriend.

The two become business partners, working together towards the same goal of improving Resistance. I love an enemies-to-lovers trope, and that’s what we’ve got right here. Plus, a little bit of brewing and drinking of good beer. It’s clear the author did TONS of research in regards to brewing because the level of detail in this book is just incredible.

However, the chemistry was lacking! There could have been so much more romance and I felt like there was little interest between the two. Side note: I would have also loved to read more detailed setting descriptions outside of the brewpub while giving nod to Chicago points of interest.

LOVED Kat’s journey and her glow-up towards the end of the novel. All in all, this was a fun, easy read but it was disappointing. My biggest issue was the romance as I’m sure other readers will be looking for that too.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Unfortunately I did not love this book and struggled a lot to finish it. I could not really get interested in the brew process and a lot of the book is very descriptive for that, however if you are a craft beer enthusiast then you will enjoy and appreciate the research that has gone into this book. While I admired Kat’s determination to succeed, I found her and Ryan both a little immature and entitled but there journey to romance was not dull. It is a slow burn, enemies to lover type romance and for some people they will adore this book.
Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.

My ardent love of craft beer and the punny title drew me to this story that is heavily centred around a small craft brewery.

The book started off well and I enjoyed the small brewery setting and the descriptions of different kinds of beer at the beginning of each chapter. The book is touted as a RomCom but despite a few tropes (enemies to lovers, workplace romance), I wouldn't call this book a RomCom. It was more of Kat's journey of self-discovery with a toxic relationship that morphs into a romance.

Despite the strong start, I soon lost interest and a lot of that had to do with the contrived animosity and later the 'InstaLove, all-tell-no-show' romance that followed. I didn't feel invested in the story or believe the chemistry between the couple and those factors contributed to my lackluster reading experience (which lasted 3 weeks!).

I liked Kat initially because of her drive and passion to make the brewery succeed. But her sense of entitlement to get a job she's helped with a few times but isn't accredited for was immature. Ryan was also immature, obnoxious, and toxic in how he tried to manipulate Kat. And yes, we know his saving grace is that he's hot because we are reminded many times.

I LOVED that this book centres around craft beer and the culture and community surrounding it, but the romance element and character development went over like a Pabst Blue Ribbon lager amongst seasoned beer lovin' mug clubbers in a local craft brewery.

Disclaimer: My thanks to Alcove Press for the complimentary digital copy of this book which was provided in exchange for my honest review.

I don’t drink beer but my husband does and I’ve been to a few breweries so I wanted to give this book a shot. I also liked the cover! It was a cute love story. I love Ryan and Kats relationship!
I also enjoyed reading the descriptions of the different beers! This is not a book of normally go for but I like to change it up once in a while. I also enjoyed the writing in this book. I’m looking forward to reading more books by Stephanie. Thank you, NetGalley, Stephanie and Alcove Press for the ARC!

I really liked this book, it was different than anything else I've read which was a breath of fresh air. I will be recommending this to my friends, and auto buy this author!