a good way to start off the 2025 reading year, with a cozy low stakes witchy book. the relationship and growth between Sage and Ximenia was definitely my favorite part of the story; I caught on to some of the plot twists pretty early in the story - I called Ximenia being a werewolf almost immediately -, but the mystery was still fun to read about.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the e-arc!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children’s for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

After being ghosted by her best friend and first crush Ximena, Sage Bishop, a teen plant witch, makes it her mission to brew a heartache tonic to erase her romantic feelings. One day, someone breaks into her family’s apothecary and steals the tonic Sage has been experimenting on, using it to wipe a local girl’s memory. Sage and the apothecary’s new hire - none other than Ximena - must work together to find the culprit.

I DNF’d this at 45%. I hate giving up on ARCs, especially ones with plots as promising as this one, but I felt as if the writing was rather juvenile and the characters were thinly sketched. There isn’t much actual conflict between Sage and Ximena despite their past and Sage’s supposed heartbreak. The minor characters were so, for lack of a better term, minor that I could tell the answer to the mystery wouldn’t be satisfying. It definitely reads as an author’s first book - there’s promise but it also leaves much to be desired.

I’ve been on a sapphic witches kick when it comes to my reading and I think if I was a tween I would probably enjoy this! As it stands, I felt underwhelmed and wasn’t compelled enough to finish it.

Magic, witches and potions! Plus add in some mystery, count me in.

Brewed with Love follows the story of Sage, a seventeen year old set to take over the family’s apothecary, Bishop Brews and Ximena, Sage’s ex-best friend, as they work together to investigate who broke in the apothecary and stole the tonic Sage created.

I really enjoyed this story. It gave off cozy, sweet vibes and I love the magic and witchy vibes throughout. Following their path from ex friends, to friends, to love, plus trying to solve the mystery was a lot of fun.

The story is a YA Sapphic romance with a bit of mystery.

I enjoyed this story. It was a fun and adventurous read. I think I would have liked it with older characters better, but overall I enjoyed it.

I've been waiting for this book for so long, I've been seeing Shelly at LA events all through last year - and the book was amazing! The mystery plot was woven in really well with the MC's character development as well as her reconnection with her ex bestie, and every plot twist was executed perfectly!

-- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

4.5. this was so fun and i loved Sage and Ximena so much.

separately: the author thanks her dog in the acknowledgements which didn’t affect my rating but does make me more likely to read whatever she puts out next!

This cozy, sapphic fantasy mystery is perfect for a day inside reading.

Sage Bishop helps run her family apothecary with her grandmother and their new hire- Sage's ex-best friend and ex-crush, Ximena. When a potion is stolen on Ximena's first shift that ends up wiping the memories of a local teen, everyone is a suspect. Sage begins her own investigation to prevent her apothecary from being shut down, but it turns out the theft is not the only mystery surrounding their Hemwood home. Can Ximena be trusted? And can Sage prevent her heart being broken a second time?

"Brewed with Love" features a sweet romance and cozy mystery. With endearing characters, this book makes a great addition to fantasy readers' shelves. Would recommend.

This is a really fun and cute romance. I thought the mystery element was well utilized as a device to get the characters together and while it was interesting and I enjoyed seeing more of the town through the investigation, it was also a bit predictable. That said the magic system and characters were so well written it was so interesting seeing how the towns history and magic effected the dynamics between the characters. The romance was sweet and fun and felt very age and situationally appropriate. Overall this is a great romance and my only complaint would be wanting the mystery to be a bit more complex.

I really enjoyed this author's writing. I haven't read anything by them before, but I really got into the story and the pacing of it. The characters were well developed and lovable.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
I’ve enjoyed all the books I’ve read from Joy Revolution so far, so I was optimistic going into Brewed with Love, even if, as a contemporary fantasy, it was less likely to work for me. And sadly, while there were things I enjoyed, this book ended up letting me down.
One of the issues I often have with contemporary fantasy is the world building, but I actually didn’t mind that aspect here. The detail into the different types of witches and the types of magical practices was a lot of fun, and the little interstitial brew recipes add a both texture to the magic system and a dash of humor in places.
The major characters, while not super captivating, are also decent. Sage is set to take over her family’s apothecary Bishop Brews one day, and she’s working to invent a tonic to cure heartbreak that will also contribute to the apothecary’s legacy. Ximena, meanwhile, is a new hire at Bishop Brews, as well as being Sage’s former friend who ghosted her. The proximity, plus them working together to solve a mystery, was a great basis for them to reconnect and for romance to grow. They were generally easy to like and root for throughout.
But I think where the book let me down was how “cozy” it was. It’s simultaneously the advertised cozy romantasy, plus it’s also a cozy mystery, my ultimate literary nemesis. While this was hinted at in the blurb, I wasn’t truly convinced that the stakes were all that high. In theory, I guess they are, because of Sage’s connection to Bishop Brews and it’s being threatened, but between that and the clues being rather obvious, it just didn’t feel very compelling, especially when the romance, while not the most exciting, was still much more interesting than this.
While this book was a bit of a mixed bag, I’m not surprised at this result, given my hyper-specific tastes. But that means I’m not the right reader for this book. However, if you tend to enjoy all things cozy, from mystery to (contemporary) fantasy, and you also are looking for a witchy romance, I recommend checking this out to see if it works better for you.

Brewed with Love is a lovely cozy fantasy with the perfect amount of romance! This is a cute, fun, and mysterious book.

The writing was easy to read, descriptive, and fit the story perfectly. I loved the characters so much, especially Sage and Ximena! I think their development throughout the book was very realistic. It was lovely to read. The plot was interesting and executed very well! I liked the mystery aspect and enjoyed predicting how things would go!

Overall, Brewed with Love is a fun and intriguing read! Thank you Netgalley and publishers for the ARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own!

Three things I love: sapphics, witchy books and cozy vibes. This book had them all! I absolutely can't wait to read more from this author. Thanks to NetGalley and Joy Revolution for the advance copy!

I really liked the overall concept of the story, but I felt like the history of the town and how exactly the magic works was a bit underdeveloped. Especially when you add werewolves into the mix without giving much background or information as to how and where they exist and why the town is so afraid of them. Therefore I would have liked more information geared around Ximena and her family, given we don’t ever get her point of view and have to rely on the information Sage gives us, which isn’t a lot, probably because she herself doesn’t know a lot. I also think Ximena’s whole transformation and storyline was a bit too similar to Jacob from Twilight if I am being honest. The pacing was difficult to go along with at times, sometimes things were incredibly slow, and other times there were too many suspects and subplots going on that if felt too rushed. Another pet peeve I had was having to wait until chapter 21 just for them to kiss… The slowburn was just too slow in my opinion so I would have loved for them to realize their feelings sooner, but that is just a personal preference.

I admired Sage alot for her dedication to her roots and keeping her family business afloat. I definitely got the message that small businesses are very important to the community and oftentimes big corporations have ill intentions and are often super greedy without taking the people and community into consideration. Ximena took longer for me to like because she spent so much time hiding her real feelings and keeping secrets from Sage, but I am glad they were able to compromise and make it work in the end. Ximena and Sage did have good banter and chemistry for a YA romance. I would absolutely love to read a spinoff of Mercer and Poppy, as I really grew to love them, especially towards the end. The side characters were good, a bit surface level, but still worked well with the main characters. I do wonder why all of the adults seemed absolutely clueless during this whole investigation…Overall, I enjoyed the plot, small town magic element, and praise for small business, but I think the story and characters could have benefited from more depth, complexity, and romance intertwined.

This was such a cute and cozy fantasy. Although it’s YA, it felt PG enough that it also seems appropriate for younger readers as well. The world building was fabulous, and the mysteries—though pretty predictable—were fun.

However, I do wish Sage had been a little voicier, had more chemistry with Ximena, and that the other characters had been a tad more distinctive from each other.

Highly recommended to anyone who loves witchy reads and cozy fantasy.

I received an advanced copy from the publisher and am voluntarily leaving this review.

This seemed like an ideal book however I had high expectations that ran flat. Throughout the story, I became a bit bored, couldn't invest my time to finish the book. Maybe if I was more open to this certain satire I would've enjoyed it much more. In all honesty, I did not like this satire as much. I prefer fantasy romance or comedic stories.

this book had the perfect autumn vibes which i loved. i enjoyed the characters but sometimes they acted so immaturely and it really threw me off. i think this book was made for younger audiences but it still had its fun moments!

thank you netgalley for the e-arc!

This was a fun sapphic read that I enjoyed but didn’t really love. I thought the book read more on the younger YA than older YA. Sometimes the characters felt more immature than being high school seniors. At times there were comments from the main characters about how they were “so young” in their relationship and I had to laugh cause it meant they were talking about being in middle school.

The wolf mystery was pretty easy to guess right off the bat but the break-in mystery was a little more difficult to figure out.

Enjoyable read but would recommend to those that enjoy a younger YA vibe. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this ARC. All opinions are my own.

DNF at 20%. This had fun and engaging writing, but unfortunately was a bit more on the younger side of YA than I anticipated. The side characters and magic system were really interesting, but the main characters were a bit too immature and the mystery was obvious as well.

This novel absolutely falls into the category of cozy fantasy! Even more, it's sapphic! A win on all fronts - love this book!

"Brewed with Love" by Shelly Page is a delightful and cozy novel that expertly blends romance with the comforting allure of a small-town café. The story follows the journey of its protagonist, who finds solace and a fresh sense of purpose in her family-owned coffee shop. Page’s writing is warm and inviting, much like the setting she creates, and her portrayal of the close-knit community adds a layer of charm to the narrative. The romantic storyline, while sweet, is grounded in genuine emotional growth, and readers will likely find themselves rooting for the protagonist as she navigates both love and self-discovery.

Despite its many strengths, the novel occasionally falls into the trap of predictability. The romance, while enjoyable, follows a well-trodden path, and some readers may find the plot too familiar. The character development, particularly of the romantic leads, can also feel a bit shallow at times. While their chemistry is evident, the depth of their relationship could have been explored with a bit more nuance. Additionally, the pacing of the story can sometimes be uneven, with the central conflict taking a backseat to the more leisurely moments in the café, which, though pleasant, may cause the narrative to lose momentum.

Nevertheless, "Brewed with Love" is an engaging and heartwarming read that will likely appeal to fans of feel-good romance and small-town charm. Shelly Page’s talent for creating a cozy atmosphere and relatable characters ensures that the novel remains an enjoyable experience, even if it doesn't venture far beyond the conventions of the genre. Perfect for readers seeking a lighthearted and comforting escape, this book offers a satisfying blend of love, community, and the magic of coffee.