It was cute but a bit too cliche. I wish that there was more character development and developed dialogue.

I had a hard time with this one. Second chance romances are not my favorite but Alistair and Poppy just didn't feel believable to me. There wasn't much to why they got together in the first place besides cartoon villain mustache twirling schemes and horniness and .....them getting back together wasn't much for me either. There is a lot of telling of their changes but I still don't really get why they're together beyond the chemistry they say they have, and the one that got away.

I think if you were into witchy stuff more, or maybe read the other books first, or if you were into the process of blending teas/brewing beer and kombucha maybe this would be more compelling to you. I just found this to be too much telling and the inner monologue of both characters was repetitive and not for me.

Thanks to netgalley for the arc ✌️

I am a sucker for British romances and this one blends the best of both worlds - two British main characters with a heavy pour of the idyllic setting of Maine.

I love a second-chance romance and this story follows Poppy and Allistair, a divorced couple who must fake it for Allistairs family if Poppy has any hope of recovering the tea recipe that she gave up under false pretenses. One of my favorite parts of contemporary romances are when modern themes are scattered throughout. Moderator of a discord server? Check. Beer, tea, and kombucha brews? Check. I love the witchy theme as well. The chemistry between Poppy and Allistair is instant despite their past. The spice was nice, but what really gave me the feels was the bond between the 3 found sisters. I feel as if it is much easier to describe two people falling in love than it is to describe the complexities of female friendship and Garbera did just that.

Brewing Up a Bad Boy rated a solid 3.5 in my book, rounded-up. Its a feel good, funny romance with just enough spice sprinkled throughout.

Unfortunately, I had to DNF this one. I couldn't get past the first few chapters. I may pick this back up in the future, but for right now, it did not keep my attention.

Title: Brewing Up a Bad Boy
Author: Katherine Garbera
Genre: Romance
Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Sometimes the second sip is sweetest.

In the cozy town of Birch Lake, tea shop owner Poppy Kitchener thought she’d left her mistakes, and her failed marriage, in the past. But when her ex-husband, Alistair Miller, turns up—as charming and irritatingly handsome as ever—those old feelings float to the surface. To top it off, he has a puzzling pretend they’re still married for his cousin’s wedding in exchange for a lucrative business deal with his family.

Easy enough, right? After all, this could be Poppy’s last chance to get closure, grow her business and use Alistair’s knowledge of microbrewing to help her finish that winning recipe for the tea competition.

But even after all this time, he still knows how to make her laugh. And he’s changed in ways that make Poppy wonder about the man he’s become… Can she trust this new Alistair with her heart, or will a second chance brew up disaster?

This was an okay read, but that’s as far as I’m willing to go. At first, Poppy and Alistair’s divorce was in the distant past, then it was 18 months ago. The first half of the book, Poppy wasn’t into anything spiritual, then suddenly she was a diehard practitioner. This needs another round of editing to make it palatable. I enjoyed the tea stuff, but the “As you know, Bob,” discussions of kombucha and brewing felt like I was being waterboarded.

Katherine Garbera is a bestselling author. Brewing Up a Bad Boy is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Harlequin/Afterglow in exchange for an honest review.)

(Review live on 1/28).

Poppy and her ex-husband Alistar have been estranged for many years. He's now back, and he's a changed man...but he still has to prove that to Poppy if he wants to get her back!

I was impressed by the realistic growth made by these characters. Second chance romances don't always hit for me, but this had the perfect blend of heart and tension. I really enjoyed learning about the brewing processes of beer, kombucha, and especially tea. I'm a tea fan, so the ways that tea was incorporated was really refreshing for me! Poppy works in a tea shop alongside her sisters, both of whom have had their own books in this series. It was nice to see Poppy get her happily ever after!

I'd like to thank Harlequin-Romance, Afterglow Books by Harlequin, and Netgalley for the eARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

I read the blurb and was really excited to give this one a go, but it just didn't pull me in as much as I would have liked. It's a lighter read with added spice and witty banter that I typically enjoy and think a lot of readers will enjoy! I just needed more from the book overall, more depth.

second chance romances are always hard but I was intrigued by this one because it felt like there was no way the author could spin a romance out of this, based on what was included in the previous series. but I did find the premise to be interesting and that there were good introspective moments that advanced both of our characters and who they were to get us to the point of rooting for the romance again.

Katherine is one of my fave authors whose stories always make me feel good. Light, spicy and full of banter!

I don’t know if it’s a mood reader thing, but it just doesn’t quite jive with me right now. Love the concept, though, so I’ll update accordingly if the mood strikes and I finish it.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4, based on the premise.

Thanks for the arc!!

This is the third WICKed Sisters book I've read, and I'm pleasantly surprised this is the best of the series.

I love a reformed bad boy and an independent woman who doesn't take any crap. Alistair and Poppy evolve into better people after their divorce. Ali betrayed Poppy stealing her family's legacy because of his need for approval from his family. When he asked her to go to his cousin's wedding and pretend to be married, Poppy doesn't trust him- and rightly so. Their attraction is still there, so they become friends with benefits. Ali shows Poppy how much he has changed from a narcissistic player to a man she can rely on.

I enjoyed the friendship group with Liberty and Merle and Sera and Wes. Sera and Libby are Poppy's cheerleaders and vice versa. It takes some time, but they accept him, except Poppy's father.

I wasn't a fan of all the brewing and tea talk, but it was Poppy and Ali's lifeline. I enjoyed this series with Liberty, Poppy, and Sera finding love with their own magic.

🎀2nd chance romance
💗adult fic
🎀mental health/therapy-H
💗magic/witches
🎀divorce/separation
💗fake marriage
🎀open door

📅 Release Date - 01/21/25 | Read 12/20/24

🙏🏾A huge thanks to NetGalley, Afterglow | Harlequin Romance, and Katherine Garbera for the advanced digital copy- all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rating: 4/5 ⭐
Spice: 4/5 🌶️

Cute romance. Will likely be popular for fans of contemporary romance. Love the second chance romance here!

Its a Romeo Juliet kinda story if Romeo were to take advantage of Juliet. None the less it was a cute read and nice to see a second chance wasn't wasted!

I didn’t realize this was book three at first and wondered why the cast of characters was a bit overwhelming at first. Likely, these were all people from the other books. That aside, this was a cute read. Poppy is a nice tea shop owner, and her ex-husband, Alistair, requires her assistance. He wants her to attend a wedding with him in exchange for a potential business deal. It seems like he worked a lot on himself after their failed marriage, and ended up a better version of himself for their second chance.

This is an entertaining, fun read. Alistair and Poppy are interesting, intriguing, relatable, complex, wounded, entertaining characters. I enjoyed spending time with these two. I loved Alistair’s growth and how it continues throughout the course of the story. The secondary characters added to the fabric of the story and my enjoyment. I would recommend reading the books in series order for better enjoyment. I read this book as a stand alone and while I was still able to enjoy it, I felt like I was missing information, and you could tell there were previous books.

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

I did not realize this was the third in a series but it didn’t affect the reading because I really had no issues following along, that was a huge bonus. This was overall cute and quick read with some funny banter.

This was a quick and funny read about a divorced couple and finding their way back to one another.

I love their chemistry between them and the banter was amazing. I laughed so much. I did not realize this was the third in a series and I had no issues following along. I cannot wait to read the previous books.

Rating - 4/5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Date Read - September 10, 2024
Publication Date - January 21, 2025

*I received an E-ARC of this book for free in exchange for an honest review* - Thank you @katherinegarbera, @harlequinbooks and @netgalley!

Brewing Up a Bad Boy is the third book in an interconnected series with the second book being my favourite! I found that this one feels different from the previous books, with more Summer vibes instead of only focusing on Fall and spooky season. I appreciated the growth and healing we were able to see in both main characters and of course, I love a good groveling. This is the perfect book to read with a fun little drink. It was cool to learn so much about the kombucha making process, I didn’t know anything about it before reading this book!

If you like second chance romances with a fake marriage, spice and therapy rep, you may like Brewing Up a Bad Boy!

Get excited to read Brewing Up a Bad Boy, available January 21! 🎉

*Please check trigger warnings*

This is a cute little Rom-com with Hallmarky vibes. I did appreciate that there was no third act break up.. Poppy definitely could have used more therapy and I hope Ali still attends while he def was okay he def needs to maintain a close relationship with his therapist. Poppy did however hold onto the pass a little to strongly for her repeated claims of wanting a fresh start with Ali. Ali however genial seemed to want a fresh start and realized that his past actions would be that easy to forgot. Overall towards the end when Poppy apologized it did seem like they would be super cute and have their happily ever after.

A story of second chances, Brewing is a cozy story of how two people comeback together for mutual benefit and to get it right again. Loved this story and how it moved through the motions. It touched on trust, habits, and evolutionizing as a couple.



Tropes:
Enemies to Lovers
Grumpy
Second Chances
Newly Single
Cozy/Small town vibes