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Member Reviews

Overall, Brewed with Love serves up the exact tonic it hoped to produce. If you're looking for a fun, comforting, sapphic read, I would highly recommend. Thank you so much to Page and her team for the ARC - I am so grateful and loved it!

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I have a really good feeling that this book is going to get huge and for great reason! Truly one of the best books I've read this year.

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I really enjoyed the character development in this book, and I think that a teen audience will really be engaged by this plot as well!

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Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for sending me this ARC!

SOOO CUTE!! This is so perfect for this time of year, it’s just so cute and cozy AND actually well written (not always an easy combination to find) — It reminds me of TJ klune’s books. It also combines so many genres - action, mystery, romance, coming of age, etc in a way that’s interesting. I liked the books pace too- very fast paced, nothing dragged on for too long or was too short. Overall, highly recommend!

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4.5/5 Stars

This was an adorable love story about two friends reconnecting and coming together to solve a mystery and rebuild the love that they once shared. This story was a cozy warm hug that kept you rooting for our main characters to notice they both felt the same way about one another. 

Sage and Ximena are slammed back together after four years apart when Ximena is hired to help at Bishop Brews, Sage's family apothecary.  Ximena and Sage used to be inseparable, and almost in love before Ximena suddenly ghosted Sage. She's back and now Sage is faced with how heartbroken she actually is over Ximena leaving. Shelly Page does an amazing job developing these characters and showing how you can come together to protect those that you love. 

This book was such a fun read! If you love stories with sapphic witches, magic, and love you should read this! Thank you to the publisher for providing an advance copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Also, I wanted to add that this cover is adorable. 10/10 so cute!!!

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Thank you to NetGalley, Shelly Page, and the publisher for allowing me access to the e-Arc.

4.5 stars

This was such a good YA witchy second chance romance. It was atmospheric with the details of the shop and nature. Sage is having a hard time dealing with heartbreak and the threat of possibly losing her grandmother's shop. She is determined to find out who is threatening them. If you enjoyed the Ex Hex or Wild is the Witch then you will enjoy this book! I highly recommend it!

✨Second chance romance
✨Lesbians
✨Black & queer-owned businesses
✨Witches and wolves

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A cute fairly quick read about teen witch, Sage who is gifted with nature magic and potion making is trying to create a new heartbreak potion to cure her from missing Ximena, her former best friend who she had feelings for. This new potion is going to be very lucrative, and among the excitement someone breaks into the shop owned by Sage’s family and steals the failed potion. Suddenly, one of the teens has complete memory loss, a side effect of ingesting a misbrewed potion. Sage sets out to investigate who broke in and why while her grandmother starts on a counter potion. Along the way, Sage begins to rekindle her romance with Ximena and discovers the magic they use is running out. Will they be able to solve who broke in and create a counter potion in time to save her family’s store before the conglomerate can have their way and move in the area?

Overall it was a cute, fairly fast easy read. I would say this is heavier on the search to find the culprit than it was on romance, but the romance was intertwined throughout. I thought it was enjoyable although predictable. 3.5/5 stars

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I predicted Xinema was a.werewolf or loba.. I loved Sage and Xinema finding their relationship groove again. The intensity of the stakes went in and out, as did the convenience of certain moments. I love small town settings. Thank you to the author and Net Galley for providing this e-arc.

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A very cute book, with the perfect vibes for a witchy romance. I enjoyed this a lot, I loved how the characters relantionship grew and the mystery the found themselved tangled in.

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A sapphic, contemporary fantasy read for (imo) any season of the year!
The mystery and magic in BWL features young love and heartbreak, friendship, and a community that makes for a cozy book I’d reread over and over again.

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The premise and romance were cute. Who doesn’t love sapphic witchy vibes? The characters were interesting and there was good chemistry. Perhaps I fell victim to high expectations because in the end it did fall a little flat for me in the end. Overall I would still recommend it for a cozy fall read.

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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 This book comes out Jan 14th 2025. Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this wonderful opportunity. This was my most anticipated arc of the year. I normally do not like second chance romance but this one surprised me in the best way. The romance between sage and her ex-best friend ximena during the whole investigation of the stolen brew after the shop break in. I loved the vibes of this world/story. In my mind it was giving magical stardew valley small town feels. In the end as they solve the mystery together they rekindle what they had once lost. What a beautiful magical book. Highly recommend.

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A sweet and simple supernatural mystery that I enjoyed as a quick, cute read. I do think it reads more younger YA and wish the characters had been aged similarly - this would've been fantastic with 14/15-year-old main characters, which YA as a genre is sorely lacking, and would've better matched the tone, maturity level of the characters, and plot points of the novel. This would've also helped with the "second chance" aspect of the romance, which I found a little silly - who would still be thinking about one kiss they had in *middle school* that many years later? It had a lot of hallmarks that come with being a debut, especially the expository dialogue and underbaked worldbuilding. But! The characters were fun, the magic cozy, and the mystery easy to follow so I think my younger teen readers will love it. For older teens and adult readers, I recommend the Witches of Thistle Grove series by Lana Harper for more queer witchy goodness.

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Brewed with Love by Shelly Page is an endearing YA second-chance romance. The heart of the book is well intentioned and emits cozy, small-town vibes. The characters are lovable and vibrant. However, some of the characterization felt rushed. At points where I wanted to feel the emotion, I instead felt like I was being told about it, which stopped me from connecting to the characters and romance on a deeper level and at times the plot felt underdeveloped. Overall, though it was a cute read.

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Brewed with Love is an engaging and well-crafted novel that captures the reader's attention from the first page. The author's storytelling is compelling, with a plot that unfolds at a steady pace, keeping you hooked throughout. The characters are well-developed, each with distinct personalities and motivations that add depth to the narrative.

One of the highlights of this book is the vivid and immersive world-building. The author has a knack for creating settings that feel real, whether it's a bustling city, a serene countryside, or a fantastical realm. The descriptive language used paints a clear picture, allowing readers to easily visualize the scenes and feel a part of the story.

The book also explores interesting themes, offering insights that provoke thought without being heavy-handed. There's a good balance between action, dialogue, and introspection, making it a satisfying read for those who enjoy a mix of excitement and reflection.

While the book is highly enjoyable, there are a few minor issues that prevent it from being a full five-star read. Some plot points felt a bit predictable, and there were moments when the pacing could have been tighter. However, these are small quibbles in an otherwise excellent novel.

Overall, this a strong, well-written book that is definitely worth reading. Whether you're a fan of the genre or just looking for a good story, this book is likely to satisfy. Highly recommended!

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I would have loved to have this sapphic ya book when I was a baby queer. It was such a cute story with aspects of magic mystery friendship and family. I wouldn’t really say this is enemies to lovers because the “hate” was definitely one sided. The writing was well balanced being extremely descriptive without being exhausting. I wish there was a little bit more of ximena and the wolves in the community. Overall I enjoyed this queer witchy love story and look forward to reading more from this author.

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"Brewed With Love" has redeemed the cozy fantasy/romantasy genre for me; turns out, all I needed was more sapphics in my fantasies 😇

Everything about this story sucks you in from page 1: a stubborn Virgo named Sage with (what appears to be) VERY valid reasons for the grudge she holds, lush descriptions of plants & plant magic, a alluring potion apothecary set in a cozy little town in Northern California, and a former best friend, Ximena, making an appearance back in the main character's life.

Yet even with all these elements PLUS layered with the added mystery of the apothecary shop break-in, the outcome of which will determine the fate of Sage's family and her coven, the plot never feels overly complex or busy. Everything is layered so beautifully and expertly, allowing space for the mystery to unravel, for Ximena and Sage to reconcile, and for deeper mysteries to be revealed without feeling like each is vying for the spotlight.

Accompanied by a myriad of diverse and lively side characters (my fav being Mercer, and her romance side plot!!!! ahhHHH!), this book becomes impossible to set down, and I truly feel like it healed my reading slump. As someone who's been exclusively reading audiobooks for over 2 months, this was the first non-graphic-novel print book I've finished since June, which speaks volumes to how compelling Shelly Page's writing is.

"Brewed With Love" comes out January 14, 2025, and I cannot wait for everyone else to get their hands on this and fall in love with Sage and Ximena as much as I have!

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I cannot rate this book highly enough. I have very much been in the mood for cozy mysteries this season (bonus points if they're sapphic) and this one really scratched that itch! The stakes were high enough to keep me moving forward in the book, but not high enough to move this out of the cozy fantasy genre.

I will say that there were some plot points that were positioned as "reveals" or "surprising" that I guessed from the outset, but seeing as this falls firmly in the YA camp and I am twenty-five years old, I will chalk that up to a difference of intended audience versus reader. The romance was very sweet, and had just the right level of angst.

I loved the magic system in this book as well as the descriptions of the society, between the founding families and the magical ones. I would love to read another book in this setting, either as a continuation of this plot or focused on some different magical groups within the same universe.

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DNF at 30%

I was looking forward to reading this as soon as I saw that I was approved for it! I could not get into the plot or find the characters very likeable. I did enjoy the cozy atmosphere of the shop and the town, but I don't think this one is for me. I do see how people do enjoy it! It has that cozy atmosphere I mentioned before, and it's a story of friendship and coming of age. Just because it's not for me, doesn't mean it's not for someone else.

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Can I be honest with you? Its just us two here, right? -looks around- Okay. So here it goes.

I really loved this book. Oh my gosh. my main genre is horror. I simply just dip my toes into romance or fantasy. I'm so picky. And this was just so cute and cozy and nice. I loved this so much. I don't have anything negative to say. Thank you so much for the ARC.

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