This was the first Miranda Liasson book that I have read and really did enjoy it.

Tessa and Leo as well as their families have been arch enemies for a long time. Tessa's family runs a French bread bakery next door to Leo's family's Italian restaurant which has been a competition between the 2 for years. Tessa & Leo are the same age and were competitive since high and who would become valedictorian of their class.

Even though Tessa dreamed of becoming a pastry chef and having a different type of bakery, she stayed back to help the family bakery when her father unexpectedly passed away allowing her younger sisters to strike out on their own. Leo left to become successful business person in a big city, but has returned to help his family's restaurant rejuvenate and become a place people want to eat at again before it goes under.

The two concoct a plan to get married so that their families bury the hatchet and they can work together to save both businesses. Once they are back on their feet, they will divorce and go their own ways. As in all good rom-coms, they of course develop feelings and things become more complicated.

Tessa and Leo have great chemistry and their attraction and conflicts come through loud and clear throughout the book making it a fun read. If I had any complaints at all, it would be that the ending was a little too syrupy, but it's definitely something we all could use these days.

A friends/enemies to lovers happy ever after!! Miranda knows how to write great books. Tessa and Leo have always been in competition with each other. From school to their jobs. Throw is a multi generational family feud and secrets. They make a deal to save both of there businesses but can they keep it simply business?
The family loyalty is strong in this book and the characters will have you laughing. This small town love story will leave you with a happy heart.
I received a advance copy for a voluntary honest review.

The Sweetheart Deal is an adorable small town romance. For more than 100 years, Tessa and Leo's families have been feuding, creating a competitiveness within them that dates back to high school. Now years later, they find themselves collaborating to save each of their parents businesses which unleashes long harbored feelings for each other.

I adored the families, the businesses and their many friends throughout the story. This is truly a feel good story that was playful. And, the epilogue is simply fantastic. I look forward to book #2 in the Blossom Glen series.

Thank you Entangled Publishing for the advance reader copy.

Tessa Montgomery, 32, is single and works in her family’s hundred-year-old boulangerie, Bonjour! Bread, in Blossom Bend. She had been engaged to Sam Donovan who works at the candle factory across from her shop, however, he dumped her to date Marcy. When Tessa’s father passed away some time ago, she gave up college to train as a pastry chef to stay and help her mother with the shop. Her mother wants to sell only bread and no pastries. However, Tessa still makes some delicious croissants and other desserts.

Next door to her shop is an Italian restaurant run by the Castorini family. The Montgomery and Castorini families have never gotten along so they tend to ignore one another. But the restaurant is not doing well, so the son, Leo, is back in town to try and build up the business. He stops in and asks Tessa if they can work together where he will serve bread from her shop and hopefully desserts that she can make.

They decide on a marriage of convenience to bring the two families together. Afterward, they can divorce. Combining the two families allows Leo to introduce a new way of cooking that combines fresher and organic items, along with Tessa’s desserts and breads. The idea is a success, but now will Tessa and Leo stay together or divorce?

This is a sweet romance that involves very close families some of whom sacrifice everything for others. The family closeness is nice but I did not like Leo’s father’s high-handed attitude. Stubbornness is a recipe for disaster. In addition, Tessa’s mother’s rule of no pastries being sold was very selfish. Both Leo and Tessa had to walk on egg shells around their parents and that I did not like. But overall, the story is well done and I’m sure readers will enjoy it.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

After high school Tessa put her dreams of becoming a pastry chef on hold so that she could be there for her family and help out at their bakery. With the bakery struggling financially and her dreams even further out of reach she agrees to a marriage of convenience with Leo that is turning out to be anything but convenient.

Leo and Tessa’s family have been involved in a feud that goes back generations however with his family restaurant and her family bakery they decide to join forces. The one thing he hadn’t expected was to develop feelings for her and that is when the fun really begins.

Tessa and Leo have always had feelings for each other but because of their families didn’t think they could be together but desperate times call for desperate measures and it was wonderful to see their heartwarming romance unfold. The performance of the narrator brought out the humor and emotion of the story as well as the personalities of not only Leo and Tessa but their families as well.

The Sweetheart Deal is a wonderful mix of some of my favorite romance themes-enemies to lovers, convenient marriage, and foodies! Tessa and Leo's families have been enemies for decades. Tessa works in her families boulangerie and has been trying to get her mother to agree to expand from strictly bread to other baked goods. Tessa's long ago dream was to go to France and study pastry making but that dream got derailed after her father died and Tessa stepped up to keep the family and the business going. Leo also is back home trying to save his family's Italian restaurant. When it becomes clear that he won't have a chance to do anything new until he is married and settled, he proposes a fake marriage deal to Tessa.
One of the best things about this book was how Ms. Liasson wove all of the various elements together. I always wonder if I will be bored when I read a book with a tried and true theme. No worries with this book! Between the quirky families, Tessa's clueless ex, a long held secret between Leo and Tessa, and then the chemistry between them, this was a fun and interesting read. It's obvious that there was always a little spark between Tessa and Leo and life got in the way. This marriage gives them the opportunity to explore those old feelings but with a little life experience behind them.
This is a great book to sit down, wrapped in a warm blankie, glass of wine or cocoa on the table and just enjoy!

Favorite Quotes:

… she had to endure a lot of sad headshaking and endless questions about being dumped. Yes, still, even after almost a year. That was the thing about a small town— the first thing you did in your life that was gossip-worthy became the defining trait of your existence.

… this garden is protected by Gnomeland Security

“It’s three in the morning,” Gram said, tying a knot in her blue silk robe. “All of you are alive and breathing, so who’s pregnant?”


My Review:

I reveled in this entertaining and discerningly written tale and felt it was the author’s most poignant of those I’ve read. The storylines and writing tapped all the feels with a keen sensitivity and canny insights into the complications and sacrifices required to maintain family business as well as a peaceful existence in a small town. I adored these characters and how could I not? These are my people as they enjoyed Moscato, rainbow flip-flops, and sallying clever quips at each other like missiles. This new series is off to an excellent start and I am hooked and eager to see what and who this clever wordsmith does with the next installment.

I loved every minute of this small town, enemies-to-lovers romance. All of the characters were wonderful, and Leo was the best! I can't wait for a return visit to Blossom Glen.

This is the first book I've read by Miranda Liaison. It was an excellent read! She wrote well with a great storyline and wonderful characters. I became so invested in the outcome that I didn't want to put the book down. This is a book I'd put in my "read again" pile! I will definitely be looking for more from this author.

*Thank you Netgalley and Entangled Publishing for the ARC of this book. This is my voluntary and honest review.

A romantic enemies to lovers tale about a woman longing to be a pastry chef, and a man who doesn't really want to be a restaurateur.

Tessa and Leo have a checkered history, as do their families. A Montague and Capulet-esque scenario between the two families, Italian style, means that even though there is an attraction between them, nothing can ever come of it. Plus there's the bad high school memories. But when it becomes clear that the only way to keep both family businesses afloat is to make a merger, the only merger that makes sense is...marriage?

Can these two make a relationship believable enough to convince their families, save both businesses, and repair a long standing rift, all without actually falling in love?

The Sweetheart Deal was my second book by Miranda Liasson. I really enjoyed this sweet story, with a fun take on Romeo and Juliet. I enjoyed reading about the characters so much! I look forward to the next book in the series!

This book is “sweet and clean” in that has no harsh cursing and no on page sex. Unlike so many books on the market these days, this one doesn't need those things because Ms. Liasson can write the heck out of a book without copious amounts of sex to fill out the pages and force chemistry between the main characters. Her characters are deep and relatable, the chemistry is palpable yet organic, the plot is fun and well-developed, and her writing style is, as always, in a class of its own. Miranda Liasson writes every book with heart, feeling, and a sense of humor that balances out the seriousness of the bigger topics. She is one of my very few one-click authors because I know that I'm going to get a well-written, heartfelt story that will make me laugh and make me cry, and this book is no exception. I adored both Tessa and Leo, and even their bickering, meddling families were likable, even when they were being pests. I am already looking forward to the next book in this series, because Vivienne and Juliet might be hot messes, but they're absolutely the kind of hot messes I like to read about.

I highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy well-written, well-developed books with characters who make you wish the story would never end.

THE SWEETHEART DEAL is the first book in Miranda Liasson’s “Blossom Glen” series. This is a good book for romance fans who enjoy the “enemies-to-lovers” and “marriage of convenience” tropes. Tessa Montgomery and Leo Castorini are two chefs with a prickly past that dates from their high school days. Since then, there has been no communication since Leo hasn’t been in town and their families have a low key feud. Now Leo’s back to help his family’s flagging restaurant, and he thinks marriage is the key to fixing things for his restaurant and Tessa’s family bakery. It’s a little bit of convoluted thinking, but the ends wind up justifying the means since they find love.

I love stories with a marriage of convenience theme, and this one works. Leo’s reasons for marrying Tessa are to appease his father, thus giving him more creative and financial control of the family business. That Tessa makes amazing baked good just next door that can be used in his restaurant doesn’t hurt either. For Tessa, she wants to help her family financially as well so that she can pursue her own dreams guilt-free. This story has heart, and all the characters are well-written and three-dimensional. For me, however, the character that I resonate more with is Leo. He’s a realistically flawed hero, but he cares about people and he’s charming without being too slick and smarmy. Tessa takes a lot on her shoulders that she doesn’t really have to. I like her, but her insecurities and tendency toward self-sacrifice have her sisters and others saving her from herself on occasion. In that way, Tessa and Leo are a good match and balance each other well. The chemistry between these two characters is what make this book so special. Rather than a grand seduction, Tessa and Leo slowly and unintentionally enchant each other. Sublime.

THE SWEETHEART DEAL is about family, realizing your dreams, and falling in love. I like how Tessa and Leo each had their own support system. Tessa had her sisters acting as her cheerleaders, and Leo had his buddies to offer advice. It was ironic to me how much importance was initially put on the feud between these two families but, in the end, that wasn’t the thing that almost succeeded in tearing this couple apart. Miranda Liasson gives a good balance between the drama and angst, and the magic of falling in love. I look forward to the next book in this series.

Reading The Sweetheart Deal will give you all the feels! Such a heartwarming, beautiful story of two people engaging in a unique spin on a fake marriage to bring their families together..
My emotions pretty much went from laughing out loud to crying while reading Tessa and Leo’s story. What a beautiful group of likeable, endearing characters throughout the story.
Difficult decisions
Loyalty to family
Fear of commitment
Overcoming past challenges
This is a book you definitely need to pick up if you need a beautifully written feel good read.
I am so looking forward to reading more books in the Blossom Glen series!! Like, I want the next book now!
Many thanks to NetGalley, Entangled Publishing, LLC and author, Miranda Liasson, for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

Marriage of convenience plus enemies to lovers? Sign me up!
I loved this story!
These two and their family drama brought plenty of entertainment on the page. I seriously can't wait to read the rest of the series!

The Sweetheart Deal, for me, started off a little bit slow. I wasn't a fan of anyone really at the beginning of the story. Both Tessa and Leo have very selfish parents who would rather see their businesses fail than give paying customers what they actually want, but expect their children to stick around until the business inevitably implodes.
That was my first thought during the first quarter of the story.
Once The Sweetheart Deal became more about the deal and the romance between Tessa & Leo, the story picked up and grabbed my interest. I liked their banter and the way they'd both kind of gotten the wrong impression of one another. It allowed for just the right amount of lack of communication to push the story along, while giving me a reason to root for this couple.
Overall the story was fun and an easy upbeat read.

A sweet twist on Romeo and Juliet. Leo will do anything to save his father's restaurant and Tessa's mom bakery including marrying the arch enemy, Tessa. A marriage of convenience comes into the plans of these polar opposites but soon their hearts will get involved.

This is a must read of a sweet romance with plenty of banter that will have you laughing out loud. Lots of yummy food and the love of family. I highly recommend this book.

"Actually, you're right about that one. I hate when you're right. But you're not right about this...fake marriage. No one will buy it. They know us too well."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, we don't ...like each other, for one. How are we going to coexist when we have to pretend we do?"

Leo Castorini's "brilliant" idea of this fake marriage just might work to save each of their businesses. Tessa feels this is going to blow up but she still goes along with it.

All the negative things she thought of Leo before are slowly fading away. Leo is beginning to see a new side of Tessa as well.

I love a good fake to real relationship story. And this one really is a great one.

I love small town stories with strong characters. Miranda Liasson’s first book in her new Blossom Glen series does not disappoint.

When Tessa Montgomery’s father died, she put her dream of becoming a professional pastry chef on the back burner to help her mother raise her younger sisters and take over her father’s duties in the family bakery.

Leo Castorini left Blossom Glen to attend an ivy league college and never looked back…until the family business, an Italian restaurant, began to struggle. He did not hesitate to leave his successful career in the city to return to Blossom Glen to help his family save the restaurant.

Business has been slow for Tessa’ family’s bakery. The bakery is next door to Castorini’s Italian Restaurant. Leo and Tessa make a deal to work together to save both businesses. They pretend to be married…because, according to the senior Mr. Castorini, “people trust a responsible married man”… so that Leo’s father, who is a bit old-fashioned and set in his ways, will trust him to make changes to the menu and the restaurant in hopes of increasing business. Keeping their deal a secret from both families is no easy task. The Montgomerys and the Castorinis have a long-standing feud. Even though their businesses are in adjacent buildings, they don’t speak to one another. Can Tessa and Leo bring the families together?

I thoroughly enjoyed this sweet, clean small town romance and look forward to the next book in the series.

I received an ARC from Netgalley and the author in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Tessa Montgomery’s fiancé’ left her for someone else a year ago. She’s been the talk of the town ever since, and not in a good way. Helping her mother and grandmother keep their generational boulangerie afloat, Tessa has big dreams of being a pastry chef. Her mother is stubborn and set in her ways, not allowing Tessa any creative freedom. A boulangerie is it and a boulangerie it will stay.

When she’s confronted by newly returned nemesis, Leo Castorini, and he makes an offer she can’t refuse, they travel down a path fit for disaster. Leo and Tessa are the children of a long-standing feud between generations of their family members. On opposing sides, Tessa’s family’s shop and Leo’s family restaurant are on the brink of disaster. Leo’s idea may just be what brings the families together and saves both businesses from financial ruin.

Desperation causes people to act and do things they would never have dreamed of in regular circumstances. Leo’s idea for he and Tessa to get married to get both families to work together may be exactly what is needed. When feelings start to get involved though, that could spell tragedy and make things worse if things don’t work.

The Sweetheart Deal is a cute romance with some anxiety-inducing moments. The author writes with realism and true emotion. I loved Tessa and Leo’s characters. They have a history but in the name of preservation they join forces. Leo and Tessa managed to smooth their past and move forward. I love the things Leo does for Tessa. I found myself rooting for Tessa and Leo even if their circumstances weren’t an ideal reason for marriage. I enjoyed the author’s writing style. The entire book flowed well, and the dialogue was conversational.