Addy hit this out of the park and made it in the "Sweet Spot". Cole has a secret and I needed to know what it was! You will too, trust me. Loved Palmer and her cute little boy. Such a beautiful story. A must read!

Single parent romances are one of my favorite tropes. Sadly, this one didn't quite nail it for me.

My biggest gripe is that the chemistry and relationship felt forced. Cole came of as a normal guy and I thought he was an okay love interest. Palmer on the other hand, really made grind my teeth. She came off so bitter and holier than thou.

The third act breakup didn't really make any sense. It felt out of place and just there for the purpose of them breaking up. If that was the case, I'd rather it not be there.

Overall, this wasn't my favorite from this author but I am willing to read more from her.

Such a cute small town, Single mom, Oro Badeball player story! Those tropes are catnip to me, so I really enjoyed this book!

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I've read most of Adriana Locke's books and they never disappoint - the Sweet Spot was a lovely story with a gentle storyline which hooks you in. The characters were great - Palmer is a strong, brave single parent who it's easy to empathise with and like. Cole is a great character and the change in his medical circumstance was an unexpected addition and made you love him that bit more! I'd love to live in the setting of an Adriana Locke novel.
Magical.

Yet again Adriana Locke has written another perfectly put together small town romance.
It was lighthearted and fluffy and the perfect escape from all the dark romance I’ve been reading lately.
Palmer has such a sass that I admired. She puts her son first above all else and is scared of being hurt again.
Cole doesn’t give up and his determination for both Palmer and Ethan eventually wins.
This was a super sweet romance that I enjoyed.

This book was sweet and even a bit funny.
It was also over the top cliche, which usually don't bother me that much.
While she was a struggling single mom, with an incredible son, he was a successful baseball player retiring from the sport and a little lost about his future.

The book was a good distraction until his "illness" were revealed. I specially detest books that use MS as a plot. It's not romantic to give a main character a death sentence and end the story as if he had nothing to worry about.

It's like waiting for a happy ever after just to get a happy for now and a wild imagination of what she will actually endure when his body stars to fail him.

So the author lost me after his revelation, and the book also lost it's beauty. Give him a cancer and let it be cured, but not multiple sclerosis, where there's no hope for the family!
That's not a happy ending.

Palmer is a single mother with a 12 year son, Ethan. She strive to provide stability to him despite her irresponsible ex husband’s lack of interest in their son. Cole is back to town after an injury. He is a professional baseball and with the injury, he know his retirement from the sport is up soon. Given time off from the sport, he is back home visiting his family. It was at a local bar he met Palmer and there was an instant attraction between them which Palmer trying hard to deny it.

This is a small town romance where 2 characters who has entirely different things in their life found love with each other. The characters were very likable and their chemistry is felt from the very beginning till the end. Overall it is a sweet read to me.

*review post scheduled to be published on 30/4/23*

I really wanted to love The Sweet Spot because the premise is cute and it was promoted as sweet and sexy. However it was so much more dramatic and heavy than promised. I liked Palmer and I wanted good things to happen to her but it seemed like no matter what she just had to take more mental and physical load of parenting and relationship. It bothered me a lot and it hurt my feelings and opinion on the book. Cole seems nice but maybe too determined and almost stalkery in the beginning. The town was absolutely charming

This totally hit the spot! (Get it 😉) Cole and Palmer are just so perfect together. They give you so much feels, so much realness, I couldn’t put it down. Ethan too was a bright spot that made this such a heart warming read.

Adriana Locke is one of the best at writing small town, single parent romance and no one can convince me otherwise. It's all there, all of the emotions, the small town quirks, the well meaning but meddling relatives/towns folk, complete perfection. The Sweet Spot is warm and fuzzy with some heartache and plenty of tension, Ethan was hilarious and brought some levity helping to offset some of the sadder moments. Definitely recommend!

Palmer's resistant when a retired baseball player visiting starts a determined, very swoony, pursuit of her. She's got someone who's her priority, her number one priority, her son, and she's been burned in the past, so some guy, hot and sweet though he is, is not about to become part of her life. No way, no how...

Cole has one thing in mind once he lays eyes on Palmer. When this single mom isn't falling for his usual charm, though, he'll need to re-think his plan. Her son is obviously her number one, so Cole will need to accept that, and bond with him, prove to Palmer that he knows they're a packaged deal. His heart is theirs for the taking, they'll just have to reach out and accept it, accept the love he's giving them.

Cole and Palmer are a sweet, low angst couple. The small town vibe, adorable Ethan, swoon worthy, sexy Cole, witty, sassy Palmer, and serious chemistry add up to a signature Adriana romance. I loved it!

AMAZING!!
5 STARS!!!

I'm in love with these characters, the plot and all the history. I need more of Adriana!

What a mature and charming story. Loved the characters and the growth they showed throughout the tale. Ethan was a joy to discover and was written particularly well. This was my first read from this author and won’t be my last!

Thank you for the ARC. It’s a small town romance between a single mum and a retired baseball player. It’s cute but it’s just not it for me. It was hard to read and I guess I wasn’t in the mood for it,

I loved this book and I couldn't put it down once I started it. The chemistry between them was amazing and it was truly a great read.

All the feels with this small town single parent book. I love when one of the main characters is really invested with the kid from the other character. The romance is epic and couldn't get enough. I love all of Adriana's love stories and this one is no different.

4.5 really solid stars from Adriana Locke - Cole ended up being the hero that I needed him to be, and Palmer's consistency and character, along with Ethan being the north pointing compass, made this book exactly perfect.

I have liked everything I've ever read by Locke, and this was just a little bit different but precisely swoony in her traditional approach to romance. I was initially a little uninterested in the opening of this book at Fletcher's, where Palmer is visiting her BFF Val, and the two are sort of obnoxiously familiar. When Cole approaches Palmer and admits that he bet his friend $100 that he could get her phone number, and then Palmer gives him a phone number (not hers, but no spoilers here!), I was instantly smitten with Cole. He rolled with all the punches Palmer threw at him (and she threw A LOT). Her previous experiences with men, family, and relationships had put her off romance unless it was headed somewhere serious, and visiting hot shot Cole hit all her checkboxes except the most important one, the one that requires he sticks around.

Cole's immediately smitten with Palmer, and decides to stick around to get to know her better, by volunteering to coach Ethan's baseball team. The more time Cole, Palmer, and Ethan spend together, the more clarify Cole gets about his life after baseball. The swoon truly arrives when the reader gets to see Cole become a steady presence in Palmer and Ethan's life, something they both desperately need. Obviously, it's romance, so there's a break-up and conflict, but Cole's character is so attractive (plus, isn't it swoony to watch a guy who doesn't know what to do next realize that he WANTS TO BE A DAD??? ugh. Hopefully it's not just me that thinks that way!).

This book had so many fun storylines and reflects the reality of small town USA, without the cliches of small town romance - just a community of people who work hard to make their money, buy things locally because they know the families that benefit, and a desire to stay when there are "greener" pastures elsewhere. Furthermore, this story is one of raising emotionally supported and intelligence men, both already grown and ones being raised in the pages. I know Locke took pages from her own life, raising rowdy boys to be self-aware and thoughtful human beings, and I loved how that transferred onto the page. This book also touched on some more serious topics, including some health diagnoses that require both the characters and the reader to understand what LOVE in action looks like, and I love those kinds of books the most.

I loved this book, but something is keeping me from giving it FIVE FULL STARS. That being said, I adored this story and these characters, and it easily gets a 4-star rating from me, likely closer to 4.5 stars if I'm being honest. It's hard to articulate, but I just wanted a little bit more from this story. It was beautiful and almost too perfect? Is that seriously why I'm docking .5 stars? Maybe!

Thank you to NetGalley and Montlake for the advanced copy of this one. These are my honest thoughts.

4.5 Stars
I really enjoyed this one. It had me at single mom and former baseball player. This book definitely delivered on the heart and feels. I even teared up a few times. These characters had me so invested. Plus the cover is beautiful and caught my eye. I loved the banter between Cole and Palmer. With everything that life has thrown at Palmer and her son Ethan they so deserve someone like Cole in their life. I loved the positive male influence Cole is for Ethan. My heart went out to Ethan because his dad is a real piece of work. In turn Cole deserves Palmer and Ethan in his life as long as he doesn't mess up that is. A really good story that you do not want to miss!

Such a cute, feel good read! This will be a win for small town, single parent lovers who appreciate a laidback and easygoing love story with a touch of heartache. I could feel the instant ZAP of attraction between these two, and it immediately had my attention. It reminded me of my favorite of Locke's romances, Tangle, with small town vibes and tension that arises from two people who are perfect for each other in all ways but one - their outlook on relationships. Our heroine has been burned too many times, so she's determined not to fall for a man who openly admits that he can't promise her forever. I loved watching Palmer resist Cole at first, just as much as I loved watching him fall head over heels for Palmer AND her son. The romance between them was all kinds of swoony and sweet, though the laidback feel did drag on occasion. I also thought the unexpected shot of angst towards the end detracted from the vibes, but it went right back to the swoons, so I can't complain too much.

The story follows Palmer, a woman who has put her heart on the line too many times. She's given her all in relationships, only to be strung along by guys who were never going to give her forever. So when she meets an irresistibly sexy and confident retired baseball player who is only in town temporarily, Palmer knows better than to fall for his charms. But the more Palmer resists Cole, the more he finds himself attracted, and it's not long before he reconsiders his plans. Spending time in a small town with Palmer and her 12-year-old son, coaching little league and getting to know the community... it's all pretty great. Unfortunately, there's a reason why Cole never promised forever, and it's all too easy to lose sight of that.

Locke can be hit or miss for me, but I've enjoyed several of her small town romances in the past - I think that's where she really shines. There is such personality in the community setting, a true sense of authenticity about being a mom, and lighthearted vibes that simply worked. The chemistry was also great. It was all working for me, though I do think the length could've been shortened a bit. I also loved that it went in a direction I wasn't expecting from the blurb, with Cole being less of a player and more of a sweetheart who has his reasons for holding back. It's clear throughout the story that he's got a secret - he retired from baseball for a reason - but I was very taken aback when all was revealed. There were some unexpected triggers and a few chapters that weighed things down, though I certainly empathized with the situation. I didn't even mind how instalovey everything was. This ended up being a solid 4-star read for me, and I think it could've been higher if a few things had been tightened up. It definitely gave me a case of the warm and fuzzies, which makes it a win overall.

I am absolutely in love with Adriana Locke. I don't recall ever reading something by her that I haven't enjoyed getting lost in. This book was no different. I am a sucker for a single parent romance but add in a hero that falls head over heels first and it's a perfect situation for me.