June wants to revitalize her town to save her inn. Clay moves to town and plans to open a bar on Main Street in honor of his best friend from the army. Their visions clash. They argue a lot with heat that spells chemistry. This is a great opposites attract romance in a great small town.

One of the reasons that June's family inn is struggling is that her mom was hit with many medical bills after having a stroke. The description of the medical debt and unending additional bills struck such a nerve with me. I related to June so strongly, and I cried.

This book was much deeper than I expected. It has themes of grief and pain, of struggles and stress. Both June and Clay had mental health struggles, and I would have liked to see those addressed more explicitly with therapy. But the book also had a beautiful romance between two characters I liked and respected. I found myself rooting for both throughout.

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. These opinions are my own.

Jeannie Chin is a new-to-me author and this will not be the last title I read written by her. The well-written words drew me in and I became invested in the characters. Both of the characters are on a journey to learn to trust - not only one another but also the community. The issues referred to in this heartwarming take are PTSD and also the desire to have everything be perfect. I read this story in one sitting as I found it difficult to put down.

Jeannie Chin has written a beautiful, funny, heartwarming novel that touches on a variety of topics which one may not expect to find in a romance novel. She does so with well balanced, well developed characters that bring you right into their town and storyline.

June Wu is a 30-something Chinese-American who lives with her parents and helps them run the families Inn. She is also helping her mom recover from a serious health injury. And June is worried about her families finances after her mom's health crisis. And if things couldn't get more worrisome for June, a stranger has moved in across the street and is opening a bar on main Street. A bar that would likely bother her guests. June might just lose her cool because she cannot control everything.

Clay Hawthorne is a retired soldier and has a bit of a gruff exterior. He comes to Blue Cedar Falls with one goal and he knows it will make people angry. He doesn't care. Clay starts the process of opening a bar on Main Street and every busybody in town seems to want to know his plans. The only person who seems to get under his skin however, is June, the gorgeous, annoying, insightful, perfectionist from across the street.

Will Blue Cedar Falls be a place where Clay can set down roots? Will he find a friend and ally in June or will she lead the charge against his bar. Will June and her perfectionist ways help or hinder her family?

This is a cute small-town opposites attract romance. June Wu helps run her family's B&B and Clay Hawthorne, ex-military, buys a former quilt shop across the street to open a bar. It was a dream of Clay's friend "Bug" who was from this town and died in an ambush in Afghanistan. June is trying to keep her family's B&B afloat in light of fewer bookings and mounting medical bills from her mom's stroke.
I enjoyed the heat of June and Clay and the reality of life in a small town. A cute read.

June Wu, 32, thinks it is up to her to solve all her family’s problems and take care of them, and for that matter, to do the same with everyone else in her life. What would even happen if she let up trying to control everything? But when she meets the sexy owner, Clay Hawthorne, of the new bar across the street from her family’s inn, her life gets upended, as does his.

Clay, also in his 30s, is a veteran carrying both physical and mental scars. He has come to Blue Cedar Falls in North Carolina because that was where his best buddy Bug was from. It was Bug’s dream, before Bug bled out in Clay’s arms in Afghanistan, to open a bar on Main Street, and Clay was determined to see Bug’s dream through.

But most days, as Clay knows, “he wasn’t fit for human company.” He struggled with depression and pain, and had a chip on his shoulder over his bad experiences. He felt angry and lost.

But when he and June meet, there are fireworks. Clay was “freaking gorgeous” with a “chiseled jaw,” “hard muscle” and “hot skin.” June was beautiful; “the pout of her lips heated his blood.” When they finally come together, so to speak, “he crushed his mouth to hers with a dominance and a power that made her burst into flames…”

Everything manages to work out in spite of June’s control-freak nature and Clay’s “grumpy vet” aspect, in a pleasing and entertaining manner.

Evaluation: I’m not a big fan of romances, because of all the overheated unrealistic tropes, but Jeannie Chin is an engaging writer. In fact, I hope she tries something more literary, because she definitely has the talent to do so. Not that romances don’t have appeal, but Chin deserves a wider audience.

Small town in North Carolina, and the newest highway bi-passed the town, and now people are struggling. June is helping to run her family's Inn, and a new business tries to start up across the street. Clay has no idea of the hornets nest he is stirring up. He wants to put in a bar in the artsy area of Main Street. Between his barking at people being nosy, and his construction tools and music blaring people are not happy. A fun and easy summer read, and watching June and Clay get closer and grow into a relationship was nice. Would recommend.

A quirky, cute story with endearing characters.
The story revolves around June as she tries to take on all her family problems single handed. Will she be able to keep her family and the Inn they own safe? She’s always had a problem with sharing personal issues. After awhile she decides she does need help but it takes her a long time to decide this.
A new neighbor, Clay, brings romance into the mix as well as some laugh out loud moments. Though they are so totally different in personalities, June and Clay learn how to work together to get things done.
All in all, a nice, lighthearted read I enjoyed reading.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Inn on Sweetbriar Lane
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Thank you so much to Forever and Netgalley for an arc of The Inn on Sweetbriar Lane by Jeannie Chin.
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This small town opposites attract novel was a fun and quick read. I really enjoyed it!! The writing was wonderful and I loved learning more about these characters. I liked seeing how characters grew to embrace change, realize they need and can accept help. There is also a nice focus on family and found family.
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Will update with Instagram review link when posted

The characters in this book were a pleasure to read. June is barely treading water in a sea of bills that threaten to sink the family inn. Clay, jer next door neighbor, is a major pain, but a nice distraction. Can a casual dalliance turn into something more? June carries the weight of the world but realizes, eventually, to share her burdens. I liked her character development and the creative way the bills get paid. The romance part was decent, Although at times it seems a little forced. This novel embraces change and meeting challenges head on, while realizing some important life lessons along the way.