Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I think this book is like a love letter to beer. Who knew?

This book was a quick, fun read about family, friends and beer. I know NOTHING about beer!! I don't drink, at all anymore, but even when I did it was never beer that I drank. I didn't understand all the different aspects that went into making beer, drinking beer and even selling it.

That I learned about those things in a cute romance book is a surprise to me for sure. It added to the story for me, to see the growth between the two main characters, Kat & Ryan, and also Resistance.

Reading about family, those we are born with and those we choose was also enlightening for me. I appreciated the care the author put into the familial struggles and giving the characters the room to mature and grow.

The romance in the book was a given but I liked that it didn't happen right away. I think I was more than 50% through the book before there was anything to write home about. The ending was a smidge quicker than I prefer but all in all it was ok.

I would recommend this book.

I really liked the premise of this book, brewery vibes, enemies to lovers, and workplace romance. The brewery aspect added something fresh and modern to the story that made it very intriguing to me. Sadly, I could not connect with the characters and felt like the beer notes at the start of each chapter were disjointed.

Overall, I was hoping for a rom-com and this book seemed to be missing that spark for me.

This one was fun to read it would be even more if I’ve gotten the beer reference but over all? I think it really deserves a read. It’s cute and it discusses a lots of topics I really love and I love the names of each chapters even if I didn’t really got them but it a unique book yall should really check it out!! Thank you to NetGallery the air this and the publisher for this arc.

2.5/5 rounded up.
I had mixed reactions to this book.
First the positives. I loved learning about different types of beer, the brewery scenes, Kat’s love of brewing and all that. As a fan of breweries with a taste for only high ABV sours, it was very interesting to learn what flavor profiles each beer takes on. I love learning about beers and the crafting process.
Kat is a well crafted main character. She’s a people pleaser who got hurt in the past and had a hard time trusting. However, she still goes above and beyond for her work family and friends and puts others before herself and her goals. Watching her grow as a character throughout the book was a joy to read and I loved seeing her get her happily ever after.
Now onto the bad, I wish her happily ever after wasn't with Ryan. Romance books give me appropriate standards for love interests and Ryan does not meet the mark. This was a romance book that I was hoping ended with the love interest and main character moving on and realizing they weren’t best for each other but finding happiness elsewhere. Ryan had a lot of baggage but that’s no excuse for how he treated Kat throughout the book. Him pressuring her to help save Resistance was painful and I felt Kat being used over and over. It didn’t sound like he paid her for any of the extra planning, coordinating and business planning. He just expected her to help because she had a soft spot for the brewery and he was dating her. He just irked me the entire book.
Even his grand gesture at the end felt manipulative and a little too late. It didn’t feel like Ryan grew very much and he still felt very problematic. If Kat was my friend, I’d tell her she could do better.

I was initially attracted to this book based on its title! I'm always into romance books that surround a profession, hobby etc that I don't see very often. And as a big beer girl myself, I was excited!

The introductions to each chapter explaining each type of beer, along with some added fun, were really enjoyable and helped me connect to the protagonist. Even as a beer lover, I couldn't describe each type for you beyond light, dark and hoppy. This was a nice touch.

If this were marketed as the protagonist's witty and heartfelt journey to find herself and become a brewer, I would have said that this book hit its mark. As far as the romance goes, I'm sad to say that I was let down. I didn't find myself rooting for the couple like I had hoped for, and I didn't sense much of a spark between them. Ryan didn't appeal to me in the way I had hoped, even after more of his backstory was revealed. It was almost as if there was too much plot that didn't revolve around the romance, making it feel like a side story. Like I said earlier, this was Kat's story of finding who she is and becoming a brewer, and she happens to fall in love along the way.

3*

This book was fine. It wasn't bad, wasn't good, just... was.

I liked elements of it a lot, I love any story where one of the MC thinks of people as different types of the things they sell (see Chocolat), and I really enjoyed the meet-cute between Ryan and Kat, but overall I felt their relationship wasn't very dynamic and left romantic sparks and fireworks to be desired.

Many thanks to NetGalley and to Alcove Press for the ARC! As a craft brew girlie and a fan of enemies-to-lovers, I was excited to read this book. I thought that this was a well thought out book with a fun writing style. I really enjoyed the storyline and their banter. I wish that there was a ltitle more romance and that the characters were a bit more dynamic.

You know the feeling when you pick up a book from a genre you haven't read before - or read in a long time - and you have zero expectations, but the book exceeds them by a huge margin? That's the exact feeling I consistently experienced throughout reading 'I've Got My Mind Set on Bew'. Enemies-to-lovers? Ambitious, sassy and edgy (bordering on slightly cringe sometimes), cynical and absolutely hilarious FMC and a nervous, romantic, definitely over-sheltered but still determined MMC? Sign me up!
Kat's quirk of associating people with different kinds of beer was unique (and informative!), and her overthinking and elder-sibling trauma were (unfortunately?) very relatable for me. Ryan's past and his family dynamics were explained really well, and I loved his character development by the end of the novel. What I would have liked a bit more of was seeing Joe and Praire interact with the rest of the crew at Resistance after their leave - there were mentions of them thrown in throughout the book, but it was hard to care much about that connection since the only time we heard of them was through Kat recounting the infrequent email. Especially since the plot of the book revolves around a big decision made by the two of them, it would have been nice to see what their reaction to the aftermath of this decision was. I loved how the book ended, and honestly, couldn't have seen it working out any other way.
Coming back to the romance bit - I love it when the main characters in a romance novel are working towards similar goals, or help each other explore their goals and are so supportive, and that's exactly why I loved this book so much. Also, learning about new craft beer didn't hurt - I'm so tempted to try them! Lots of fun, laughs, and slow-burn romance in a setting I haven't read before - you really can't go wrong.

This workplace romance filled with “tension” and “enemies to lovers” vibes just fell flat for me.

Kat and Ryan first meet in the brewery Kat works at, she initially pins this stranger as mysterious and Hot. When Ryan’s investor father buys the Brewpub in order to save the owners who are going through hard times, Kat seems to be Ryan’s best chance at making the business successful.

Kat had worked hard to make this brewery, and everyone in it her home, and dreams of becoming a brewer not just a server. Ryan very quickly seems to take advantage of her loyalty to this Brewery, or at-least that’s how it felt reading the majority of their interactions.

Ryan has never worked a day in his life, simply put this is how it comes across. He’s hot but that’s all there is to him, and he’s desperate to change a local pub into some vibe to fit his own personality. I didn’t get him, he didn’t have motivation despite the book telling me he was motivated to make it work, I just didn’t believe his character.

I overall felt no chemistry between Kat and Ryan at all through this story. The workplace romance vibe almost went too far that there was only this office type interactions you would have with a coworker that you only tolerated, I never felt their tension.

I did enjoy the idea of the story and wanted to feel their relationship develop more romantically. I also felt it was an easy read and the author made good on storytelling in a classic romance way.

Thank you Netgalley and Alcove Press for the ARC for my honest review!

As a craft brew beer fan, the title and cute cover drew my attention. The beer titles and Kat's naming peoples personalities after beers was adorable! I looked forward to each chapters and blurb about beers. One of my favorites was Chapter 12:

COFFEE BEER
Roasted flavor often added to stouts and porter bases and
increasingly found in more styles, like IPAs. Beer or coffee: Why choose?

Kat's journey in the book was a fun read. Kat is an average person just trying to get by, things are looking up until she is hit with 3 life changing events. The biggest being bosses of the brewery she is working at decide to sell. We watch Kat's life plans suddenly change as she realizes things weren't what she thought they were. She begrudgingly works along side Ryan the new manager of the brewery. Ryan comes from money, a different world. Their relationship build into romance is cute. Finding common grounds in their opposite worlds. Working together for the same goal of making Resistance successful. Kat's family relations incredibly relatable, about setting boundaries and speaking our truths. Overall I found this to be a cute, relatable rom com.

🍺 Enemy to lovers

🍺 Opposite Attract

🍺 Rom Com

🍺 Boss / Employee

🍺 Slow Burn

I've Got My Mind Set on Brew by Stephanie Jayne
4.25 ⭐

It was a pretty good read. I liked how each chapter had a beer title with it's description. The plot was pretty good and engaging. However, as the story moved on, I didn't like Ryan much. His and Kat's relationship seemed too entangled with business and most of the time, I felt like he was just using her. But Kat seemed clueless. So, I kinda lost interest when their relationship escalated.

But, I appreciate what followed. Though I still believe their relationship was kinda forced, I liked the ending. The other characters were warm and honest- which was pretty amazing.

The style of writing was great and the storyline was well-crafted. At the beginning of the book I was properly captivated to know more about the main characters. However, I wasn’t able to relate to Kay. Her character was fun, and a force not to be reckoned with, but since I couldn’t find a connection the rest of the story got lost.

I would give this author another chance with a different book. This one sadly wasn’t it for me.

Thank you netgalley and publisher for letting me read this arc!

Overall I enjoyed this book. I really liked Kat’s character, she was very relatable. Down on her luck, feels like she has something good going only to be let down time and time again but in the end it all works out! Ryan, meh, I like/dislike him. He gave me whiplash. He pushed Kat too much into things that weren’t her dream or what she wanted to do and it took something drastic to make him realize that. If you like cutesy romance but also enemies to lovers, beer and some comedy definitely give this book a read!

I loved the premise of this one, but something was missing and I can't quite put my finger on it. That said, I still really enjoyed the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced digital copy.

I’ve Got My Mind Set on Brew is a story about woman named Kat who is a brewer at a brewpub that is struggling to stay afloat. When the owner is forced to sell due to health problems, Kat butts heads with the new owner who doesn’t think she has enough brewing experience for the direction he wants to take the business. This enemies-to-lovers romance is lacking steam, but is full of witty banter. I was rooting for Kat and Ryan as they learned to accept that they needed each other in order to save Resistance Brewing and their futures.

I loved the beer-related chapter titles and the short description of each one. Being a beer lover myself, I thought this was creative and set it apart from other rom-coms. There were a few times I was annoyed with Kat and Ryan’s bickering, but for the most part I enjoyed the slow burn of their relationship. I don’t enjoy a lot of steam, so I was content with how clean this one was. Overall, I loved it and can’t wait to see what Stephanie Jayne writes next!

Thank you Alcove Press for my advanced copy to read and review!

This was tough for me - I thought the synopsis sounded cute (and I love the cover) but it just fell flat all the way around for me! Kat and Ryan both felt like pencil drawings of interesting characters - I got what the author was going for, but I couldn't connect to either of them. This felt like it was much more a workplace story with hints of romance. If you like craft beer, or the brewery business you might really like this one. There is a HEA, but it all feels pretty superficial and shallow, I'm afraid.

Two stars. Thanks to NetGalley and Alcove for the ARC.

Pro: I learned a lot about beer
Con: not enough romance

Overall, this was a straight enemies-to-lovers book. However, the enemies to said lovers felt like it took awhile to get there. I really liked Kat and I really liked Ryan, but I guess I just wasn't as enthralled as I wanted to be for "their love story". The book was well written and overall it was a nice read, but I wouldn't pick this out of a pile of read books to tell my friends unless they LOVED beer.

I do hope the author writes a POV from Jana and Claudette and the Myths and Muses side!

Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Kat is a server with the belief that she is to become a craft brewer at Resistance Brew Pub. At least that was the plan with the owners, but now they are selling the brewery/bar.

Ryan is the new owner and running the show. Kat is trying to remain optimistic but is having a hard time as she and Ryan often butt heads. And this becomes the final straw Kat’s proverbial cap. She already feels like she has been abandoned by all those that she loves, now she is finally putting herself first; even if that means leaving Resistance. I did like this aspect of the novel, watching Kat grow and decide to finally do what’s best for herself and her wellbeing.

Ryan has taken this job as a way to prove himself to his father but he often seems immature and unwilling to stand up for himself, or for Kat. But together they are determined to save this brew pub. So will Ryan and Kat be able to save Resistance, and will Kat finally have the chance at becoming a brewer? You’ll have to one click now, to find out.

Thank you to Netgalley and Alcove Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was a fun read, but it hit heavy at points. The underlying trust issues were written well. Being abandoned (in a sense) by her parents made it relatable for how Kat was feeling towards her personal relationships. I loved hearing her inner monologue. It was heavily geared towards beer (hence, brew in the title!). I do wish we heard from Ryan's point of view more, especially when he spoke with his parents about anything. Overall, it was a nice read, and I love Kat's journey and finding her community.

This was a good one enemies to lovers book. I loved the beer angle and thought it was a great concept for a rom com book. It was a quick read and but a smile on my face after reading some emotional historical fiction books. There was a lot going on at time left and I feel like that muddled the books at times!