After losing her father, Shelvy Armstrong takes over the family business - running an entire winery. After the loss of her dad, the winery took a big hit in sales. Shelby’s determination keeps the winery afloat, but with the arrival of Nathan Durant, who is hired to help Shelby with turning the winery around.

This book surrounded the topics of grief, illness and mental health issues. This aspect I did like as any book that has mental health representation is doing something right.

The two main characters of this book were my least favourite for a variety of reasons. Let's start with Nathan Durnant… Now the longer this book went on, the more I started to dislike Nate’s character. He was genuinely all over the place, especially with his feelings towards Shelby. I understand his background and that he had a lot going on with his dad refusing treatment for his illness, however that does not give you the right to be a shitty person - there I said it. When they first meet, he doesn’t take well to Shelby. I appreciate he did just have a bad ending to his previous relationship that just happened prior to meeting Shelby. That was a big reason for Nate moving away, I’m assuming to have some form of fresh start. I understand Nate’s hesitancy to form a relationship with Shelby, as they would be mixing business with pleasure, Nate doesn’t want to let Shelby down. Moreover, he doesn’t want to let his guard down again and have his heart broken. I genuinely do feel that Nate struggles with low self esteem issues. His thought process about Shelby really had me thrown, it was such a rollercoaster ride. One minute he hated her then he loved her, then he was trying to stay away from her, to then wanting to be with her forever? I just couldn’t connect with their relationship, the story was far too short to get any real sense of character development. It was always really hard to keep up with, and got to the point it felt a bit repetitive. His dislike towards Cam was just totally unreasonable!! I really did not like the infatuation with Petra, it was quite weird.

Onto Shelby… I am torn with her because I felt like she would let Nate away with a lot. She kind of came across as a bit of a pushover. You can really get a sense of her grief after the loss of her dad, and how important the wine valley means to her. She is willing to put everything on the line for the valley. This shows Shelby’s determination. I loved that Shelby had a strong unit of friends that were there to support her no matter what happened in her life.

The relationship between Shelby and Nate unfortunately didn’t work for me, it felt unrealistic and rushed. I’m sure this whole book takes place in a short two weeks. And I’m sorry, but the spicy scenes felt really immature and a bit icky… (Not including the pie scene).

Side characters such as Ava and Cam, I did like. I liked Ava’s honestly and that she did not beat around the bush. Her character was fiery and she was a persistent character within the story. She seemed to be Nate’s rock in terms of being there during the hard moments in his life. She is strong, but her character seems to be things very close to her chest. I would really enjoy seeing a bit more about her life. This can be said for Cam too, he seems to have a lot to unpack with his character, he definitely gives off those mysterious vibes.

Thank you to Netgalley for this E-ARC!

✨ Publication date: July 5, 2024✨

Corkscrew You is an enemy to lovers, Insta love story by Catherine Robertson. It’s also the first book in the Flora Valley series.

Shelby Armstrong needs help. After her beloved father dies and leaves her their small winery to run, she is desperate to keep it open and thriving. Unfortunately her father wasn’t a great businessman and the financials aren’t fabulous.

In her desperation, Shelby seems out an investor who agrees to pump some much needed money into the business. However, the one caveat is he’s sending his own business manager to oversee the business operations, Nathan Durant.

Nathan comes from a family of overachievers and he’s recently been in France overseeing another successful winery overhaul. Helen knows emotions don’t mix with business but didn’t expect the instant chemistry he felt after meeting Shelby Armstrong.

Will Shelby and Nate be able to see beyond their business arrangement and come together as a couple? Or will their relationship never quite get off the ground?

I thought this book was okay. I liked the writing and it was a quick read. Insta love is probably my least favourite trope and I had a tough time believing the bond between Shelby and Nate in such a short time. There was also quite a few miscommunications and misunderstandings in a short period of time. I would read another book in the series though to see if the characters are a bit more developed. This is a 3 star read for me.

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

#NetGalley #catherinerobertson #corkscrewyou

Shelby's been managing her father's flailing winery since his death. The only investor she can find to save the winery brings in a new business manager, Nathan, and it's hate at first sight. Shelby worries that Nathan is going to get rid of all the personal touches that makes the winery unique, while Nate's just trying to make it profitable. As time goes on, Shelby and Nate have to learn to trust each other if their winery, and their relationship, is going to survive.

I was hoping for a cute winery romance, in the vein of Tessa Bailey's "A Vine Mess" series. This was a serious case of insta-love, which is never my favorite. Shelby was almost uncomfortably naive, and Nate's separate storyline about his father's illness felt too heavy for such a light romance, though I understood the parallel the author was trying to create with Shelby's experiences. I knew facts about the characters, but never really got a full picture, which didn't make me inclined to really care about Shelby and Nate's relationship. This could easily be a Hallmark movie, short and sweet, and all wrapped up in two hours or less.

Thank you Netgalley and Publishers for the eARC

I'm loving these romance novels, they're all written so well and the plotline play out really well. The characters are likeable and I love the way they interact and the way the storyline is written, it really was an enjoyable read and I'm looking forward to reading the next book.

Corkscrew You was a cute romcom centred around a family winery. It might be the quickest enemies-to-lovers transition I've ever read, but I did enjoy it. Thank you to NetGalley and One More Chapter for the e-ARC.

A fun romance. Shelby Armstrong loves working at Flora Valley Wines but the winery is struggling since her father died and she needs financial help to be able to keep it going.

JP McRae helps out by investing in Flora Valley Wines but insists that Nathan Durant manages the winery and not Shelby. Shelby is not happy, she wants to hate Nathan but is very attracted to him.

Sparks fly as Shelby and Nathan try to sort out Flora Valley Wines. A fun romance about families and friendships. I loved the interactions between Nathan and his family members.

Thank you NetGalley and One More Chapter for a chance to read this E-Book Opinions expressed are completely my own.

In this small-town romance, the author creates complex, quirky characters with a contemporary, spicy romance vibe. The story is well-paced and centres on saving the vineyard. The community comprises many vibrant characters that give the story a uniqueness. It explores family relationships, grief, and loss. I like the characters' vivacity, the conflicted enemies to lovers' romance, and the family dynamics.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

A decent and lighthearted read. However i found the romance between the two characters came out of nowhere and was a bit too out of the blue for me

I enjoyed this lighthearted rom/com, especially with it taking place on a family winery! Just thinking of reading this book while sitting at a winery sounds heavenly!

I loved the friendships, character development, and funny banter! I only wished Shelby had been a little more open minded to changes from the beginning but totally understand she had to be resistant for her to have such dislike for Nate’s role in all of it.

This was a no for me! I wanted to love it - the cover and the title peaked my interest but the book fell short. I found it to be really fast paced and lacking important details. The premise of the book was great. However, it was missing a lot. I couldn’t get through this.

I really liked this book and would recommend it to friends

Thank you for letting me read and review this book on Netgalley

I was looking for a light-hearted rom com, a beach read, mental break, a pallet cleanser. A cute title including a fun pun seemed like a good start. I loved the idea of this book! Daughter takes over the family winery after dad passes away but it's in trouble and in danger of failing. Cue the business dude who steps in to save it. Sounds good right? There was romance. And lust. And sex. A sick, stubborn dad, a stressed-out mom, and a boho hippie mom, and a whole cast of interesting characters, many that I liked. This book had a lot going on and yet it never seemed to come together. Any combination of the abovementioned should make for a good book but somehow it just kept stalling. This book is like a bottle of young wine not finished well. It had potential, there were good parts, but overall, it just didn't work. Now I need a glass of wine.

Unfortunately this book was not for me. I did not enjoy the fact that it felt like insta-love, instead of a thought out romance. I also didn't love how the male character was written as it partially felt rooted in misogyny.

Classic enemy to lovers plot with something to be desired, in my opinion. On paper, I thought I was going to love it, classic Mr. Darcy like plot, girl meets boy and they don't get along, but are forced to work together and sparks fly.. please sign me up! However, I found the writing style to be hard for me to enjoy. There's a lot of unnecessary descriptions that go on and on. There's some spicy scenes, which I am all for, but again, the descriptions were a bit too corny for my taste. Also, the main characters were from not talking to each other almost, to getting together in the space of a page without any connector? I literally went back to see if I had accidentally missed a preamble or something as it made very little sense to me. Overall, I don't think I would read this again or recommend it, unfortunately.

Shelby Armstrong will do anything to save her family's failing winery after her father's passing. Her family just wants to sell it off, but she is desperate to hold onto it, and finds a hail mary investor who had a good relationship with her late father. Only his investments comes with a business manager by the name of Nate Durant. Nate is all business and the bottom line, and does not understand the heart and soul that the winery runs on. They will need to find a way to compromise and work together in order to get the winery earning a profit, and they may even find some more personal compromise along the way.

This was the perfect set up for a swoony Hallmark style romance, and while the idea was there it just did not hit. The romance and chemistry of the characters did not convince or capture me. I found a lot of the dialogue very cringey and the intimate scenes felt the furthest from sexy to me. Overall it just felt like a big miss.

Corkscrew You - Catherine Robertson 🍾🍷

Overall I did enjoy this book, it was a really quick and fun read. I thought the characters were all really great and I loved learning about the wine business and all the many animals. It was very cute and had such small town charm.

I did find that it wasn’t very enemies to lovers and more instant love which was a shame as I was looking forward to more of the rivalry.

Corkscrew you review

Rating: 1/5

I had really high hopes for this book, because the synopsis sounds good, but the execution was so so poor.
The writing was just okay, but not great, I didn’t like the MMC at all, and the storyline moved so so quickly, it was (almost) an insta-love (like 20-25% in) and it was just CRINGY (esp the spice scenes, which what the hell?!??)

Should have DNF’ed to be honest!

*I received an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review*

I DNF. I made it about 20% through and just couldn’t continue. I wasn’t very into the story from the beginning and thought it would grow on me but it didn’t. The characters just weren’t very enjoyable for me. I personally didn’t feel any connection to the situations happening or a personality of a character.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity. I wish it could have been a better outcome.

First I would like to thank HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Could the guy she loves to hate turn out to be her perfect pairing? If Shelby Armstrong wants to keep her late father’s beloved Flora Valley Wines in business, she’ll have to listen to Nathan Durant’s advice. But given the fact that Shelby is all heart and Nate is nothing but tough love, bringing the winery back to life quickly becomes a battle of wills. And yet, Shelby and Nate aren’t incompatible in every way – in fact, an unexpected (and unexpectedly hot) kiss shows Shelby that they’d make a very good team – in the bedroom! But as is always the case when it comes to love and money, things quickly get complicated.

What I Loved:
- Nate's family, I am a sucker for characters from big families who don't let anyone get away with anything and the Durant family is no exception
- Flora Valley Wines, I love that Shelby is willing to do anything to keep her father's business running even if it means giving up control and it is all about personal connection
- Nate and Shelby, these two are the epitome of opposites attract and I enjoy how they don't pull punches around each other and have a quick and HOT connection
- Shelby's friends, the whole town is on Shelby's side and will fight for and with her to ensure she is safe and happy and who doesn't want a group of friends like that

Overall I really did enjoy this book, it was a true enemies to lovers romance and got to the romance part quick...which I didn't mind. If you are looking for an opposites attract, enemies to lovers romance with a great family element and a fun town as the background for this story I would highly recommend this book.

The beginning of the book had me thinking I was going to get an enemy to lover story. Then within a few chapters, it becomes instant love story. I had a feeling that I missed out on something. Not sure what.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.