You know those authors that you just fall into their books and don’t want to come out and go back to reality? That’s how I have always felt about Meg Benjamin’s work; she has the ability to write small town romances that have you ready to pack your bags and move just so you can be friends with the people who live there. Love On Tap is set in Colorado and is centered on a mostly defunct craft brewery that has one special barrel of beer left and one pub owner willing to do most anything to get it. A sweet, feel good story with a sexy side, Love On Tap gets the Brewing Love Trilogy off to a superb start.

Co-owner of brew-pub, Quaff, Wyatt Montgomery is concerned about declining sales and customers since a new pub opened up down the street and knows he must do something to get more people in the doors. When he gets a lead on a legendary last barrel of beer from a brewer who has gone out of business he knows he’s found something to get people in the doors and create some much needed buzz. What Wyatt doesn’t expect is to find a woman brew master who drives a hard bargain for her last barrel of beer.

Bec Dempsey life was turned upside down when her business partner and lover decided to quit both the business and her. To add insult to injury her other partner, her brother, decided he was done too leaving her holding the bag and dealing with local suppliers whom she still owes money.

I felt for Bec because she’d lost so much and it was easy to see she wasn’t going to trust Wyatt given the last person who came in from out of town screwed her in more ways than one. I admired the fact that she wasn’t going to give up without a fight and while she did use Wyatt to get her hands on much needed supplies he did so willingly hoping that once she started brewing again he would reap the benefits. I’m going to admit that at times all the beer talk made my eyes glaze over, BUT I am not a beer drinker (in fact I can’t even stand the smell of it) and I can see where it would be interesting to people who do enjoy craft beer.

The attraction between Wyatt and Bec was pretty much evident from the start and given he lived two hours from Bec’s hometown; they both knew what they were getting into. While they spent a lot of time together, they didn’t share a whole lot of getting to know you chit chat and I kind of missed that, and so I was surprised by the rush to the “I love you” stage. However, I was so happy for them that I kind of overlooked that and figured they’ll have lots of time to really learn about one another as this series continues.

Thoroughly engaging with intriguing characters and a fantastic small town atmosphere, Meg Benjamin’s Love On Tap was a joy to read.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. While I loved the concept of brewing beer I as being a main point in the story, I thought that the love story moved too slowly for me and did not keep my interest.

This was my first read from Meg Benjamin and it certainly won't be the last. Now I've always been a sucker for books that combine anything brewing with romance being a bit of a beer nerd myself, so I was especially happy when I came across this book and found out the heroine was the actual brew master of the story! Female brewers are few and far between, so that aspect made the story even more exciting and interesting for me.

Love on Tap is a sweet story about a gastro pub owner, Wyatt, in desperate need of something to put his mark on the ever-growing brew pub scene in Colorado before he is run out of business. After a conversation about a lone barrel of the legendary Zoria being for sale, Wyatt sets off on a mission to obtain it before his competition can even catch wind of it.

When he meets the mysterious Bec Dempsey, things go far from smoothly. At first she denies him the sale, but then she changes her mind and decides on a few hoops he'll need to jump through if he stands a chance at obtaining her most prized possession...well, her only one. Unfortunately, her circumstances are such that she is in dire need to sell her Zoria so she can get her brewery back on its feet after her partner disappeared and her brother...well her brother is a whole different set of issues altogether.

With each new task Wyatt is sent on, it becomes clear that Bec has dug a hole for herself with her suppliers that she might not be able to recover from. With his help though, she at least stands a slim chance, but what she wasn't expecting was to fall for him. Love on Tap had the perfect amount of story to steam and the chemistry between Wyatt and Bec was there from the start. I do think they rushed into the "I love you" part a bit too fast given their circumstances, but there were still plenty of cute moments to be had between them. I will admit that some aspects of the story were a tad on the predictable side, but I did overall enjoy the story enough to recommend it.

I love reading new authors. Someone who will open new possibilities for me. And Meg Benjamin just did it for me.

The story was just light and easy to read. Something interesting that’ll make you want to know what’ll happen next, but not too much heart-gripping that a heart could not handle. The story doesn’t have much complication and too many twists. Mostly, the story was pretty much straight forward and not too much drama. I don’t know if that was a good thing, but it was actually just the right amount of emotion for me at this point in my life. Despite the lack of a little more feels to it, the story was pretty much interesting that you’d like to read until the end. A little bump in the story makes it much more interesting. But other than that, the story is smooth sailing and I liked it like that.

The characters are also created reasonably. I mean, given their story, it is understandable that they acted that way. Their personality is as real as it could get. And at least I get to see another book boyfriend that isn’t as damaged. Bec was something altogether. I am not in any way a feminist but it kind of felt nice reading someone who actually defied what the society is actually stereotyping. And it’s really nice that despite all her downfalls, she managed to remain a little more positive than what is expected from someone who actually endured what she had.

I’d give this a 4 star for entertaining me the way it did. It’s also a plus point that it was written in a third person POV. I hardly get to read those these days.

Maybe it was the Zoria but I was totally intoxicated by the main couple in Love on Tap.

Wyatt and Bec both need a break.  They need things to move forward in the right directions for their lives and for their careers.  They just cannot handle any more losses.  It’s this desperation that brings them together.

All Bec has left is one barrel of beer and a lot of gumption to get her business back on track. When Wyatt walks into her new job, he seems like he might be the answer to her problems.  However, Bec was betrayed by someone who on the outside reminds her a lot of Wyatt and it makes her hesitate to trust him.

But it is their chemistry and connection that keeps them coming back for more.  No matter what ridiculous request Bec puts forth, Wyatt is all in.  It was both hilarious and romantic.  I loved these two!!! Seriously – they are captivating and alluring.  They pull you into their lives and there is no place else you want to be.  It’s amazing.

I loved how their plotline unfolded and thought the story moved along at a swift pace.  I was never bored or distracted from Bec and Wyatt.  Once I started Love on Tap, I was all in.  Definitely add this one to your must read pile – you’ll love it too!

My Review – This was a new author for me but it looked like it was an interesting book from the blurb. I was not disappointed -the book was fun ,with great characters and a greater romance . This romance centered around – Bec ( our female brewmaster) and Wyatt ( gastropub owner) . Okay think – Food Network meets the Soaps. A winning combination in my book.   Bec is coming off a bad relationship -trying  to re up her brewery and in walk Wyatt -hot and can Cook whose looking for that right Beer to feature in his restaurant. This beer can save her brewery but he’s going to have to work for it.  Wyatt is hot, determined and falling in love but Bec has been hurt before but hes a man with a mission . And a women to protect and love.  A great set of supporting characters that i hope we will see in future book. So grab a beer and Enjoy !  Lisa  sharing on all social media

A quirky romance that started with both of them trying to get something from the other. Wyatt a brew that will keep his restaurant on the map. Bec the income to get her brewery up and running. What they didn't expect was the attraction they got when they met. 
A fun read that will have Waytt jumping through hoops to get the ingredients of this amazing brew and Bec falling every time he succeeds.
Passion and suspense is what Meg, give us in this read.

This was an interesting story about beers.  And those that make it.  But really, it’s about a betrayal of not only a friend to Bec Dempsey but a friend of her brothers and someone she was dating and her lover.  You see Bec was one of three owners of Antero Brewing.
     There was herself, her brother, Liam, and Colin a trust fund baby.  They were doing good on their way and had just produced a beer generating a lot of buzzes the Zoria, the golden ticket they thought.
     When all of a sudden, Colin pays off the property and half of all the bills and walks away.  Saying nothing.  Leaving close friends in the community holding the bag on some purchases he had made for making more beer.  So, by the time Bec figured out he wasn’t coming back she had a lot of people mad at her then.
     In Denver, at his ‘gastropub’, Quaff, Wyatt Montgomery was going through his own mini crisis.  A new place had gone in down the road along the same lines pulling his customers.  Which of course making him nervous.
     His bartenders said not to worry that place is just a fad and not a good one they will be back.  But he did beer drinkers was his bread and butter.  He was wondering what he could do to bring them back when a customer told him about a myth of a beer called Zoria.  That he had heard of and in fact had tasted just once.  The brewery went under but there might be one barrel left over.  So, if he wanted a coup that would be it.  He asked where he could start he said “Antero.”
     So, Wyatt was off to Antero to find an owner and comes upon someone who knows an owner.  He speaks with her and will let’s just say, “Let the games begin.”
     It wasn’t a fast-paced book at all.  More like slow and lazy but fun and interesting.  The dynamics of the characters and their treats are worth it.  I give this: 4 stars.  Provided by netgalley.com.  Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com.

I wasn't sure about this story when I first started reading it, but after the first couple of pages I started to really get into it. This is a great story by an author I have never read before. Looking forward to reading more stories by her.

•Trust 

   After being burnt it's hard to trust againW, however if you want to move forward that's just what you have to do. You'll also have to mend broken fences. Who will win in the end, the brewmaster or the pubmaster? Or is there a chance that just maybe they could both come out on top again? You'll have to read Love On Tap to find out! Grab a beer and enjoy the read.  I voluntarily reviewed an ARC copy of this book via Entangled Publishing through NetGalley for an honest review.  Due to sexual content this novel is recommended for readers 17 and older!

I really liked the brewing aspect of this and the way Bec and Wyatt met and weren't immediately friendly. The tasks she gave him to sell the beer were a fun aspect.

Bec herself was amusing and a bit of a spitfire. Wyatt was an interesting typical city guy in a tourist town. I didn't necessarily feel like I knew them that well though. Hints of their pasts were shared but nothing enough to make an emotional impact.

I didn't care for Liam, Bec's brother. I think he was supposed to be seen as protective but he mostly seemed like a conniving a**hole.

The wrench of Threadgood being really pushy and all that happened there was a bit off for this. He had been around the whole time but still seemed to come out of nowhere. He was a typical villain but why would HE have traveled and gotten his hands dirty? He was described as a trust fund guy who didn't really care and then became a wannabe mobster...

Enjoyable, but something sort of pulled me out of this one.

To guarantee the future sucess of his gastropub, Wyatt needs something different. Something special, something to draw in customers over his competition. The fabled last barrel of Zoria sounds like just the thing to do the trick, if he can get his hands on it.

Bec didn't want to close down her brewery and she'd do just about anything to be able to restart it and earn back her reputation. More than the loss of her dreams, the closing of Antero brewery meant a heart break for Bec and a huge loss of trust.  When Wyatt comes into her small town wanting to buy the last barrel of Zoria, something precious to her, Bec knows she can't allow the past to repeat itself; which means she wonders if she can trust Wyatt or not.

Bec agrees to sell Wyatt the Zoria IF and only if he completes some tasks for her in addition to purchasing the barrel. But what neither Bec or Wyatt expect is to find themselves attracted to one another.  With a few unexpected hiccups along the way Wyatt attempts to do just what Bec asked him to, what she needs him to do.

Love on Tap was a fun story, pulling me in from page one and leaving me hooked, curious to see if Wyatt would succeed and what would come of the amazing chemistry that was clear from their first meeting.  The underlying issues with Bec's brewery and Wyatt's competition add just the right amount of drama to the story.  Wyatt's determination to follow through on Bec's wishes, and his quick thinking at times to get his way was entertaining.  Bec's struggles with her trust issues and how she was working through them as she worked with Wyatt made things interesting.

Love on Tap wasn't your usual love story, which really worked for me. The lovely twist on the usual - a female brewmaster made the story a huge win for me.  That it wasn't completely predictable also worked in the books favor.  This was my first read by Meg Benjamin and I'm curious to see what she'll bring to the book world in the future.

This was a cute read, even though we could fit what I know about beer and brewing into a shotglass....and still have room leftover ;) I really liked the hero, Wyatt, and all the hoops he went through to hold up his end of the bargain with Bec--his dedication to his business, and later on to Bec, really added a lot to my appreciation of him. I thoroughly enjoyed his end solution to their big problems; if I could have given him a high five, I totally would have!

Bec was a bit more problematic--overall I did like her, but the way she spent the year after her brewery failed all but hiding from everyone was frustrating at times. Still, she womaned up midway through and inspired a lot more sympathy toward the end of the book.

The author's note at the end indicates that it's the first in a series--I'm not sure who future characters will be (Bec's brother Liam? Her boss Ruth? That's all I got...) but I'd sign up to give them a read.

Rating: 4 stars / B+

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

Loved this book. My first book from this author. Made me a total fan with this book.

4 Stars!

This was a fun book about two people who fall in love over craft beer—one the struggling owner of a gastropub who needs the holy grail of beers to beef up business and one who hold the key to said holy grail.  

While I liked the plot of the book, the characters fell a little short for me.  I get it.  Bec was burned by her former lover, who took off with all her money (and her brother’s), not to mention her heart.  Why should she trust someone else?  She probably shouldn’t, but she was just so stubborn.  She had a way to help herself and her brother and it took her forever to do anything about it.  Wyatt was pretty great, but sometimes he was just meh.  The added element of Wyatt’s biggest business competition was a nice touch.  

I thought this was a good read with good elements and just enough steamy goodness to make an all-around read.  The characters just needed a little something more and this would have been great.

Once again, Meg Benjamin has written a romance that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. I've read most of her books, and she specializes in writing characters that are just genuinely nice and romances that always leave me smiling. This start to a new series is set in Colorado, one of my favorite states, and features beer, which is pretty unusual for a romance, even more so because Bec, the heroine is a brewmaster, a profession which is pretty heavily tilted toward men. Poor Bec made the mistake of trusting her former boyfriend and partner in the business. He was the one with the deep pockets, and when he walked away one day without a backward glance, he not only destroyed her trust in men, he also left her on the hook for a fair amount of money with her suppliers, most of whom were friends and neighbors of hers. She's working at a local business and holding on tight to some fading dreams of reviving her brewing business when Wyatt, the hero comes to town in hopes of buying her final barrel of beer, a near mythical concoction called Zoria, that he hopes to sell in his gastropub. The only problem is that Bec will only sell it if he also performs three favors for her that she hopes will get her back into business.

Wyatt was an nice, easygoing kind of guy who was attracted to Bec as soon as he saw her. Initially he agrees to help her out because he wants to buy her beer, but as he gets to know her, he is more and more attracted to her and starts wanting to hang around in hopes that she'll acknowledge the chemistry between them. If I had any criticism of this book it's that Wyatt didn't really give much thought to the implications of starting something with Bec. He wanted to sleep with her and he wanted to help her, but at the same time he never stopped to think about what that might lead to.

Bec was pretty guarded, not just around him, but around everyone else. She'd been betrayed and hurt and she was so ashamed of what had happened that she cut herself off from her friends and had withdrawn behind a prickly shell. I can see where she might seem a bit unsympathetic, but I totally got where she was coming from. Even though she was just as much a victim as her friends, she blamed herself for their financial losses and was too embarrassed to face them, even though none of them blamed her for it.

There were some other memorable characters in the book. I especially liked Carol, an 11 year-old going on 25, who was the daughter of Bec's boss. That girl will go far in life! Bec's brother, Liam, was also memorable in the sense that he was an ass. I really hope the author is not planning for him to star in a book, because, honestly, she'd have to do a fair amount of work on him to make him into hero material. Whoever the next book is about, I'll be looking forward to reading it.

This is a fascinating novel by new-to-me author Meg Benjamin. The idea of a love story set against the beer brewing industry is a new one for me and a refreshing change...pun intended!

Wyatt Montgomery needs to get his hands on what he believes is the last remaining barrel of Zoria; an aged imperial stout from the now de-funked Antero Brewing. Quaff, the gastropub he manages needs to pull out all the stops to keep up with the new gastropub on the block if they are to maintain their status of top gastropub in Denver. Wyatt heads off to Arturo Brewery determined to secure the Zoria and relieved to discover one barrel is still available for sale. Only, the owner has a rather complicated way of making the barrel available for purchase.

Bec Dempsey is wary when a guy from a pretentiously named gastropub in Denver comes to enquire about the last remaining barrel of Zoria. He seems genuine enough, but so did her ex before he took off and ceased financing their fledgeling business leaving it owing debts. However. Bec desperately wants to get Antero Brewing operational again and hatches an idea on how she can achieve it. Only, will the good looking guy from the big city be willing to pay more than the price of the barrel of Zoria to help her achieve her ambition?

Bec and Wyatt's road to a Happy Ever After is amusing. The pair manages to compliment each other although it is Wyatt who has the more appealing, easy-going personality. His actions help Bec to face up to her responsibilities from the past which has isolated her from important friends and associates. It's a mistake she wants to rectify, but embarrassed by how she dealt with the fall-out when Arturo Brewing closed its doors. Thankfully with help, she makes amends and her sincerity solidifies the believes others have in her...including Wyatt's.

The plot is highly original and kept me entertained and turning the pages as I became engrossed with the protagonists and the beer brewing industry. Meg Benjamin gives a wonderful insight into how small micro breweries operated and it's always a huge bonus when reading a novel if I gain a little knowledge along the way. This balances perfectly with the likeable protagonists and complimentary supporting characters. My small criticism is the narrative's pace; it plods along in places giving me a feeling of predictability. However, the author has a wonderful knack of delivering the unexpected, so the reading experience is definitely like riding a roller-coaster.

Love On Tap is a solid start in the Brewing Love series and I'm curious to know what the author comes up with next.

3.5 stars

***arc generously received courtesy of Entangled Publishing via NetGalley***

Love on Tap by Meg Benjamin is the first book from her brand new trilogy, Brewing Love. The creative cover and the book blurb is what drew me into this original romance. This book can be read as a standalone.

Love on Tap is about brewmaster and cheese-maker Bec Demepsey, and gastropub owner Wyatt Montgomery. Due to circumstances beyond her control, Bec had to close down her family's brewery. She still owns the building's contents, and one barrel of Zoria, a very special blend of stout. Bec has dreams of reopening, but her financial situation and the fact that she still owes some of her suppliers money, has put a major damper on her future plans.

Due to a ruthless competitor, Wyatt's profits are dropping, and he knows that a beer dinner featuring Zoria, will provide the influx of cash that he needs to remain in the black. So he shows up on Bec's doorstop with an offer to purchase the exclusive beer blend. Bec needs the money, but she also wants the ingredients to make new beer. So she agrees to sell Wyatt the Zoria, as long as he agrees to get her the ingredients she requires as well. Bec's conditions to sell, bring them closer together and overtime they fall in love.

This was just an okay read for me. The plot got off to a slow start and never seemed to pick up speed until the last couple of chapters. The characters were likable, but they lacked depth and intensity.

Complimentary copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.

THE STORY:

You know that feeling you get when you see characters in a TV show eating something, and suddenly you are craving it like nobody's business? This happened to me with this book. I'm dying for some beer. I'll probably be running out to the store later, but first, I'll tell you about this book.

Love on Tap brings two characters together from opposite sides of the supply chain. Wyatt Montgomery needs a spectacular beer to reinvigorate his struggling gastropub in Denver, and Bec Dempsey needs some capital to fuel her craft brewery after her ex took off with the funds and her heart. After Wyatt hears some whispering about a so-called legendary brew called Zoria, he packs up and heads to the town of Antero to find it.

Once he meets up with Bec, she sends him on this bizarre quest that has him tracking down the items needed to create a new barrel of beer, and all of the suppliers in turn send him on other errands. It begins to feel a bit like a video game racked with side quests. There's even an evil villain by the name of Threadgood, who has slicked-back greasy hair and acts like a mafia don, who also wants to lay his hands on this legendary brew.

During the events of the quest, Bec and Wyatt begin to spend a lot of time together, and one thing leads to another... Of course, since Bec feels like mixing business and pleasure is a recipe for disaster, she keeps her emotional distance. Or does she?

TECHNICAL ELEMENTS:

The plot was fine, if mediocre. I didn't expect the direct sabotage to the Zoria from Threadgood, and honestly, it didn't make much sense. His character was too mustache-twirly to be believable; he wasn't a well-rounded character at all. But neither were Bec and Wyatt, for that matter. They were cardboard cut-outs, and there was a lot of "telling" rather than showing. This book uses a lot of italic asides, in order to have some sort of weird back and forth in the minds of the characters, as if they were arguing with themselves. ("Did he really think that? No, he didn't.")

One thing that puzzled me a little was Colin. He's the financial backer that took off. I fully expected him to return, maybe full of regrets, throwing a wrench between the couple before they could arrive at their HEA. But no, he's mentioned, but never appears. It felt a bit like Chekhov's ex-lover, he was given a lot of weight in the beginning of the story, but it never pays off in a real way.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

The most vibrant thing about the book was the craft brewing aspect, which was just enough detail to get a sense of it without being overwhelming. The romance wasn't entirely convincing, and I had a hard time buying into it. I felt like Wyatt came on really strong, almost pushing Bec into a relationship she clearly didn't want. But if you're in the mood to read about falling in love over beer making, then this is probably a good bet, as long as you don't think too much about it.