This was such a cute book. I loved Kate and Drake, they were both such likable characters. I loved Kate’s drive and how her career was so important to her, and I loved that Drake was a horror author with a romantic side. The meet cute in this book is so awkward, and I loved it. This book had a lot of predictable rom-com elements, mixed in with some cute unexpected moments. This was a fast fun read that I didn’t want to end. And I so hope there are two more books coming out soon for the other Matthew’s brothers!! I received an ARC on netgalley, and this is my honest review.

I can’t adequately put into words how much I loved this book, but Netgalley provided me an ARC to do just that, so I’ll try my best.

What happens when a sweet, hyper-organized event planner puts together a Halloween book launch for a horror writer known as the Knight of Nightmares? You get a book that’s the perfect blend sweetness and humor with a little spookiness and a lot of swoon.

Event planner Kate seemed to have chaos constantly following her throughout the book, and I found myself laughing out loud several times. I even caught myself saying an, “Oh, Kate” out loud. And the hero, Drake Matthews, had such a warm and protective quality to him, he was like a warm cup of cocoa personified.

This book had me dreaming of sweater weather and pumpkin spice lattes, and the scene descriptions were so beautifully written, I could almost feel the chill in the Fall air as I read Dylan Newton’s words.

If you’re looking for a book that will make you smile, do yourself a favor and read this one. I’m already looking forward to a second read when it gets closer to Fall.

Thanks again to Netgalley for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A laugh out loud romantic comedy that really made my heart happy. The title says it all, how sweet it is! I was giddy reading this story and I would definitely read it again in a heartbeat. It is very well written in my opinion. And I would recommend this to anyone who wants a feel good love story.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book provided to me through NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to the author and publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book!

Dylan Newton’s “How Sweet It Is” creates a slow burn rom-com of wedding event planner Kate Sweet, who likes to give her clients that ‘Aww’ Factor and horror fiction writer Drake Matthews (aka the “Knight of Nightmares”) in a fantastically adorable meet cute that has you wanting to keep turning the pages to see how it will end. Kate and Drake’s meet cute had me laughing out loud, and looking forward to seeing what other shenanigans they would get into. The romance between the two of them seemed to sort of come out of nowhere, as Kate was just working with Drake as his book launch event planner, and then all of the sudden you’ve got people hooking up with little to no courting or really any development to their relationship. Overall, it was an enjoyable book and would recommend it to my romance book loving friends.

Thanks to NetGalley for my gifted copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
How Sweet it is is an adorably “sweet” rom-com that tells the love story of Kate, an extraordinary wedding and event planner, and Drake, the Knight of Nightmares, horror writer. Kate is hired to curate the book launch party for Drakes upcoming book release. This is her chance to win a fancy award that she’s coveted for a long time, and on she things will be a real boost to the next level for her career. One meet cute, hilarious townspeople, and a huge misunderstanding later, read to find out if Kate and Drake have what it takes to write their own HEA.

Kate Sweet, known for her happily ever afters, is a successful event planner who doesn't let a detail pass by. Her mile long spreadsheets prove it. 'While she is famous for her over the top weddings, her best friend has asked her to plan another type of event, the upcoming release of Drake Matthews's new horror novel. Known as the "Knight of Nightmares", Drake is nothing like she expected. While things get off to a shaky start, Drake wins her over, and she reconsiders the lifestyle she has worked so hard to achieve.

How Sweet it Is is LONG for a romance meet-cute novel. There are tons of details which is rather apt, considering Kate's position. They are two very different people who are forced together into a situation neither of them are comfortable with. This is Kate stepping out of her finely tuned niche of weddings and Drake giving up his privacy for the launch party. There is your typical misunderstanding that happens later on in the book. Some of the humor in the book feels contrived and forced, such as when they are locked into a crypt for an hour so Drake can write a part of his new novel. Or the uncomfortable first scene, where everything goes wrong until it becomes a little silly that so many things can happen in a matter of an hour.

While the book takes a long time to get going, it really takes off around the 70% mark, when they leave to attend a writer's conference. There are some definite standout characters; Patty, Drake's mom who wants to set them up and Drake's two brothers, who are hilarious in their ribbing of him.

How Sweet It Is has a refreshingly different setting and background than many of the other books I've read recently — Kate Sweet, an event planner, is planning a book launch for a famous horror author, when they (of course) start to fall for each other. At time it got a bit slow, but I really enjoyed the book and event planning angle! Definitely a nice and light rom com read for the summer!

Rating: 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book will be available July 21, 2021.

Do you like romance stories where the couple starts off with a tragically hilarious meet cute? How about when opposites attract? Are you into event planning? Or organization and spreadsheets? Ok, maybe not the last one. If you like any of those things – then you’ll love this story.

This story was so adorable. Kate Sweet is a small business owner of an event-planning company that plans events like flawless weddings with a special “A ha!” moment for the Bride and when her best friend (a publicist working with a famous horror writer) puts her up to be the event planner for a major book launch – she’s all for it and leveraging it to get a major award in her industry. That writer whose book launch she’s planning is Drake Matthews, who is most commonly known by a moniker of Knight of Nightmares and he’s really not looking forward to the sideshow. He’s a private guy and fighting writing block, and secretly writing a non-horror book. *Gasp* He’s also secretly lovely and does some great things to support his brothers and hometown.

I loved the chemistry between these characters. The sweetness of Drake Matthews. The mom who cares enough about his happiness to try and set him up, and get some business for her bakery. I enjoyed the camaraderie between Drake and his brothers, even though they aren’t a huge part of the story and I hope we see them again in later books.

All in all, this was a sweet story (see what I did there?) and I absolutely recommend this story if you’re looking for a romance story.

Thanks to NetGalley who provided this e-Arc in return for my honest review.
#HowSweetItIs #NetGalley #DylanNewton #GoodreadsReadingChallenge2021 #PopSugarReadingChallenge2021 #Bookstagram #Romancebookstagram

When Kate Sweet, event planner and wedding guru extraordinaire, accepts the challenge of planning a book launch for the Knight of Nightmares (modeled just a smidge on Stephen King), she's trying to prove that her event planning prowess and "AWW" moments extend beyond the bounds of holy matrimony. But if first impressions are any indication, this book launch might be her roughest event yet.

When Drake Matthews walks outside to see what's causing such a stir outside his house, he definitely does not expect to be physically assaulted, let alone by a gorgeous woman. And not so much 'physically assaulted' as used as a human shield from his apparently terrifying shih tzu. Injurious meet-cute aside, Drake has a soft side many don't get to see. Can he trust Kate with his secrets and his heart?

Talk about a beautiful bookish romance! I loved everything about this... I loved the bookish pick up lines and flirting. I adored Drake's family. And Kate, well, she's just the coolest and I want to know her in real life! I get major "Wedding Planner" vibes, except substitute gory horror novel writer for the hunky doctor. I can't wait for this to be released in July!

Thank you to Dylan Newton, Forever Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

<i>Thank you NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the chance to read this digital ARC.</i>

How Sweet It Is by Dylan Newton is a cute character-driven rom-com with a bit of heat. It almost reads like a Hallmark movie, only steamier.

Kate Sweet, an event planner best known for creating "aww"-inspiring moments, agrees to plan a spooktacular Halloween book launch for a bestselling horror writer as a favor to her best friend. The book launch is the perfect shot for Kate to get the coveted EVPLEX award and show her family of surgeons that her career as an event planner is worthwhile. But Kate didn't count on falling for the Knight of Nightmares himself Drake Matthews. Facing severe writer's block, Drake is shocked that his disastrous meet-fail with Kate inspires him to begin writing again and even consider opening his heart back up to love.

Dylan Newton does a great job building the charming small town of Wellsville, NY for readers to escape to while reading her rom-com debut. The various settings, especially the Victorian mansion Drake lives in, come alive with her descriptive writing. I appreciate that Dylan Newton took her time building out backstories for both main characters as well as the secondary characters.

I do feel like the pacing was a bit off. Quite a few scenes felt like they dragged on for too long while others felt a bit rushed (particularly the grovel at the end). I also think the uneven split between Kate's and Drake's POVs might've contributed to the bumpy pacing of the novel.

While I don't feel like Dylan Newton's writing is a match for my reading tastes, I do think she'll gain lots of fans with this opposites attract rom-com.

⭐️⭐️⭐️½

Kate Sweet Is known for her happily-ever-after event planning. She helps brides bring their wedding dreams to life. When her best friend offers her an opportunity to plan a book launch event for a famous horror writer, Kate jumps at the opportunity to plan this huge event. Although Kate knows that the writer, Drake Matthews, is known as the Knight of Nightmares, she believes that he isn’t as scary as the public makes him out to be. From their first meeting, It’s difficult for Kate to get Drake on board with her launch event plans. When he offers to cooperate with her plans in exchange for her help with research for the book he is writing, she happily agrees. Kate has no idea what she’s getting herself into!

This was a really cute, sweet, and amusing story! I thought the juxtaposition between Kate's experience with fairytale magic and Drake's horror writing was really fun. They seem to be opposite in the most obvious ways, but they actually have more in common than you would think. Once Drake is able to let his guard down, he is really sweet and romantic and Kate can’t help but fall for him.

Drake’s brothers are hilarious and they were cracking me up! I’m hoping that they get books of their own.

This one had a bit more steam than I expected and that is always a welcomed surprise for me!

Steam level: 🔥🔥🔥

Thank you NetGalley & Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

These are what romcom dreams are made of! This was adorable and exactly what I was looking for & hoped I would get out of this book.

Kate and Drake were a blast to read about. I loved their interactions, banter, and romance. While the plot of this book wasn't exactly anything new or groundbreaking, it did exactly what it intended to, and it was very entertaining. Romcom fans will love this book.

This was a great debut for Dylan Newton, and I'm looking forward to what this author does next.

ow Sweet It Is has been one of my favorite reads this year.

So uniquely crafted and detailed from beginning to end. I loved the refreshing background of all the characters starting with the cute and awkward thriller author Drake down to Sasha, the adorable Shih Tzu.

This book kept me hooked from beginning to end. A great summer read to give you all the feels and lots of laughs.

I think there was some areas I didn’t like , like the repetitive use of spreadsheets. I want to know what kind of excel this girl has cause apparently they can create EVERYTHING on it. Seriously , it became my new pet peeve how often that word was used to show or describe how organized and good at her job she was.

The ending was all rather rushed and I wished more time had been dedicated to it.

I also felt like for a lot of times we were TOLd how they bonded instead of being shown the bond. I definitely think this book was good but could’ve been GREAT if More time was dedicated to unravel a bit more of these scenes.

"How Sweet It Is" was definitely a great title for this book because the romance between our two main characters was very sweet! I really enjoyed both of our main characters in this book, they were both incredibly likeable. Their "meet cute" was super chaotic! And the story of them getting to know each other as they worked on Drake's book launch was just a fun, light, sweet story. The setting had a nice small town vibe that was really working for me.

My only downside of this book was that I found that the conflict was a little silly (well even sillier than I come to expect from romances). It was based on an assumption from one character about another, but the assumed action would have been wildly out of character so I didn't really like how quickly the situation devolved. And while it got resolved fairly quickly, it didn't really add anything to the plot in my opinion.

I also don't think the comparison to Beach Read is the best comp title. The comparison comes from both books having author main characters who have writer's block and start exploring writing books in different genres to help clear the block. But that's kind of where it ends. The two books have different vibes in that this one is much lighter and Beach Read delves more into some heavier story lines and when I see comp titles I read them as more of "vibe check" comparisons than just trope similarities. Both are good books though

From the first paragraph, I knew this book would be a good one. I immersed myself into the book from the first chapter and I cannot say enough good things about this book! Honestly amazing! The writing is incredible and the plot is just one to die for. I am absolutely obsessed with this book. My favorite part would have to be the character development throughout the book. Character development is something I look forward to and this book did not disappoint.

I really liked the preview section that was offered on Net Galley so I excitedly requested the full book. Unfortunately, I could not get into the story and it was scuh a slog. I am surprised I finished it. Despite its early promise, this book didn't deliver.

Very charming and delightful summer read. Exactly what the Dr ordered for a lazy sunday. Fun characters, fun story and great sense of humor. Loved it!

How sweet it is is the perfect light summer read full of romance and humor. The characters are charming and feel really relatable. It’s your quintessential imperfect romance with embarrassing moments and heart felt romance. Be sure to pick this up when it releases in July.

Thank you to (Forever) Grand Central Publishing for the e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A event planner who is famous for creating the perfect “happily-ever-after moments” is tasked with planning the book launch for a famous horror writer...what could go wrong? Kate Sweet is called to help her best friend plan a bestselling horror writer’s book launch, an event that could help her win the ultimate award for her event planning skills.... except from the first moment she meets Drake Matthews, it is chaos....almost like an absolute nightmare. Drake Matthews is tired of the spotlight and is struggling to write his next book... and his secret book. But when a gorgeous woman literally jumps him, Kate and Matthew find that despite all the mishaps and chaos, they might actually have a connection. This was such a fun read. I loved getting to know Kate and Drake! They were both great characters and seeing them fall in love was adorable. I would definitely recommend this book for anyone looking for a sweet read!

*Thanks Netgalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Thank you to Forever / Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for this advanced free copy of this super sweet book ( pun intended)

I loved this book. I feel like a lot of times when I read a book I favor one character over the other. But for this book I loved both so much. I loved them as a couple.

Again I love that dual narration because we get to see what’s going on in both their heads. You get to see how they are each processing this new relationship.

It was also refreshing to see a guy just want to date a girl. Yeah I guess there was the obstacle that they work together, but they knew that wouldn’t be forever and they were just into each other.

This was @authordylannewton’s debut and I’m sold! I will for sure be reading any other books she puts out! She knows how to write chemistry.

This book comes out July 13th! Do yourself a favor and preorder it!

5/5🌟