What an adorably fun book! Not only do we have a super cute duo who “definitely don’t have feelings for each other” but the sense of community and support within Blue Ridge was what really won me over. Also, who doesn’t love a threesome meetcute lol

• when tasked with managing her family’s vineyard, zoe is surprised when the temporary vintner replacing her father is the sister of her ex-bff-turned-business-rival, laine. not only is she zoe’s queer awakening, but they also had a surprising one-night-stand the day before laine’s first day. can the two of them put their differences aside to save the winery?
• this book was such a delightful surprise??? i was really rooting for zone & laine, and even though this book had a third-act breakup (*eyeroll*), the ending was very satisfying!
• this was a lot smuttier than i was anticipating, so be aware if that’s not what you’re looking for in a romcom!

I got this as an audio arc on Netgalley and it has since come out. A nice good sapphic romance with a very good storyline. The spice level was so very good. The narrator really brought the mc to life. I loved the side characters. And the goat.

A sweet sapphic romance! This book felt a little long, and like it took a few too many twists, but I enjoyed the characters and the overall arc so much that it didn't bother me much.
I loved the world building in this book - so many amazing side characters and situations, and both main characters had a rich background full of complex baggage. It made for an interesting story, even with tried and true tropes.
This was a pleasure to read!

Zoe Brennan, First Crush

ELC review! This was a cute, sapphic romance. I loved both the narrators and the vineyard setting! This romance started out with a spicy threesome and went from crush to hook up to dislike to lovers. The character arcs were fantastic but I wish we had some side character development. Overall, I enjoyed this one!

Spice scale: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Rating: rounded up to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Read this if you like:
🍇high school crush/sexual awakening
🍷lots of nerdy discussion about wine making
🍇excellent banter
🍷spicy blindfolded threesome scene



Thank you to Dreamscape media and NetGalley for the advanced listener copy of this one!

ALC Review
Zoe Brennan, First Crush by Laura Piper Lee
Narrated by: Lindsey Dorcus

If you are looking for a moderately spicy, small town sapphic romance, this book fits the bill. There is all sorts of family drama, feeling of expectations, meddling side characters, and mutual pining.

The resolution with the main protagonist was lacking. I feel like it was wrapped up so quickly to brush it under the rug. I think it could have been handled differently.

"Zoe Brennan, First Crush" by Laura Piper Lee is a delightful dive into romance, humor, and the complexities of past loves amidst the backdrop of a competitive vineyard setting. Zoe Brennan's struggle to put her family vineyard on the map is entwined with personal growth and rekindled old flames, providing a rich narrative that sparkles as brightly as a well-aged wine. The book's highlight, a blindfolded encounter that turns hilariously awkward when identities are revealed, sets the stage for a story filled with both tension and passion. The chemistry between Zoe and Laine Woods, her first crush and a newly hired vintner, ignites off the pages, blending professional rivalry and sexual tension into a compelling read. This novel is a perfect blend of romance and comedy, making it an ideal selection for anyone looking to lose themselves in a story of love, laughter, and wine.

This was such a delightful story and I am glad we picked it for our upcoming bookclub.

Audiobook/Book Review 🍇🍷

Thank you so much @unionsqandco @dreamscape_media for the gifted copy + audiobook!

Zoe Brennan, First Crush
by Laura Piper Lee
Narrated by Lindsey Dorcus

About the book 👇🏽

When a prestigious wine festival announces it’s coming to town, it kicks off a battle royale among local vineyards vying for the opportunity to host it. Zoe’s in it to win it—being chosen would put Bluebell Vineyards on the map, and she could stick it to the vineyard next door, run by her ex-best friend (now enemy), Rachel. But when Zoe’s father is called home to Italy to care for his sick mother, Bluebell is left without a vintner.

Dejected, Zoe impulsively agrees to a blindfolded threesome with a friend, and excitingly, a stranger. But once the blindfolds come off, Zoe realizes the hot butch that rocked her world isn’t a stranger at all. It’s Laine Woods—Zoe’s first crush, Rachel’s big sister, and, Zoe is horrified to discover, the Napa-trained vintner Zoe’s dad just hired as his replacement.

🍷🍇 My thoughts:

I was not expecting so much steam but I loved it! It’s a light and swoony read/listen you’ll be able to binge over a weekend or in one sitting if that’s your taste. The audiobook narrator did an incredible job with this story and will have you hanging on every word. What I really enjoyed was that we get right into the good stuff… just immediately jumping right into the story that you really don’t have any choice but to be immersed in it. Everyone had their own set of personalities that were realistic, making this story feel cozy because the characters felt familiar. This is the first book I’ve read by Laura Piper Lee and it definitely will not be my last.

Happy reading! 📖🎧🍇🍷

I thought this was just okay. I love the vineyard setting, but other than that it was heavy spice and less plot than I usually like.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ARC.

This book starts off steamy and then mellows into a really fun sapphic rom-com.

Read if you love:
🍇wine /vineyard settings
🍇best friends older sibling
🍇first crush
🍇slow burn
🍇sapphic love

Audio narration by Lindsey Dorcus is great!

Zoe Brennan, First Crush by Laura Piper Lee is a sapphic adult contemporary romance that follows Zoe whose family owns a struggling vineyard, and her ex-best friend's family is their biggest competitor. After Zoe's father leaves to Italy to take care of his mother, Zoe's left alone to take care of the business, until Laine comes to help. And Laine is none other than Zoe's first crush, and her enemy's sister. There's a lot of tension between them and a whole lot of chemistry, and they succumb to their feelings as they have to work together to keep the business running and win the local wine festival. They have a lot of feelings locked deep inside, and have to work through them to overcome their fears and fall in love.

It is a wonderful romance that is quick to read, lighthearted but meaningful, spicy and sweet. I loved the vineyard vibes - it would be a perfect read for the summer - and I loved the angst and pining in the romance. I'd highly recommend it if you'd like to read a sapphic romance that is hot and emotional, and has forced proximity and workplace romance. I also listened to the audiobook, which has an amazing narration, so if you listen to audiobooks, definitely check it out! I will absolutely be reading more books by Laura Piper Lee.

I had the absolute pleasure of listening to this audiobook ARC curtesy of Netgalley and wow, i am so glad i requested this audiobook.

This audiobook is amazing in every. single. way. possible and is everything i LOVE in a story.

The plot follows Zoe Brennan, a struggling vineyard owner who is left to run and manage a vineyard all on her own when her father suddenly has to go to home to Italy to take care of his sick mother.

During this time Lesbian Zoe agrees to a blindfolded threesum with a friend and who she thought was a complete stranger, little does she realise, the stranger is actually Laine Woods, a butch Lesbian who was also Zoe's first ever crush.

Much to Zoe's horror, her dad employs Laines assistance to run the vineyard, and over the course of the story, Zoe and Lane get involved in a wine festival where there is a competition between all the local vineyards to host it.

Over the course of the story, we see Zoe and Laine getting closer and closer, foreshadowing their hot and steamy relationship, and boy, was their relationship hot and steamy.
10/10 for the plot.

As for spice, this book must be one of the most spiciest lesbian story's I've ever read, i absolutely loved every spicy scene in this book.
Spice fans will definitely not be disappointed.
10/10 for the plot.

I also thought the character selection and rep was really good, being a lesbian story it obviously has lesbian rep as well as butch lesbian rep too.
10/10 for Character Selection/Character Rep.

In terms of the audiobook itself, the audiobook is narrated by Lindsey Dorcus who did an amazing job at narrating this story as well as voicing all the different characters, her flow in chapters was perfect and she really painted the picture of each scene especially with her pitch and tone.

All in all, would i recommend this book? Absolutely! There's not a bad thing i can say about this book.
If you are a fellow Lesbian or just Queer like myself, you'll absolutely LOVE this book!

As always, i would like to personally thank Laura Piper Lee, Lindsey Dorcus and ofcourse Dreamscape Media for allowing me the opportunity of listening to this ARC in exchange for a review.
I definitely look forward to reading/listening to more of Laura Piper Lee's works in the future.

Zoe Brennan, the woman you are and how deeply I love you.

This book was an absolute delight. I loved every moment. From opening with a bang (I did request this because I heard it had a sapphic threesome and that scene did not disappoint) to the very end, I was enthralled and entertained. Also, I have never laughed so hard as I have during one specific scene in this book.

I love when I can predict the reason for past conflict, and I was about 50% correct about why Zoe's friendship with Laine's sister ended. I think that the conflict between Zoe and Rachel was drawn out and I wish there had been a bit of a better reason for all the animosity, because Rachel was simply unreedeemable, I fear.

The narrator did a phenomenal job with this story and truly brought every character to life. I felt like I was a part of the group.

I’m giving five stars because I absolutely loved everything about this story, although the narration on the audiobook was absolutely abysmal. I am glad I was able to read digital copy as well, because the narration would have made this story (which is truly lovely! So funny, so emotional, such great characters!) completely intolerable.

This one didn't catch my attention - it was a pretty straightforward romcom, with LOTS of spice and little plot.

“That’s what people want to hear. The romance.” Yeah, I did want to hear romance, but despite great work done by the audiobook narrator, I couldn't. I didn't feel any chemistry between them, except for lust in the first few spicy scenes.

Still, I wanted it to be a bit more detailed and deep story that focuses on two characters. I hoped it would be more about feelings and internal problems instead of bunch external problems and obstacles on top of internal. It was a bunch of events without a lot of self-reflection and bonding between the characters.

We also got of a big net of characters which are plastic and have two lines in the book and no personality. There were quite a few big events that required a lot of characters, but apart from those events, most of them do not exist in main character's life and do not participate in it.

Zoe is egotistical and ignorant, and at the end I hated her. She took a lot but gave nothing. Not to any characters, and definitely not to me.

Thank NetGalley, the publisher, the author and the audiobook narrator for providing me with audiobook

I love a good ole sapphic love story. This book was super cute and had some very steamy scenes. And yes, it did all get tied up with a big fat bow at the end, but that didn’t bother me too much. Highly recommend for a fun read with not much at stake.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an audiobook arc in exchange for an honest review.

What could go wrong (or right😉) with your ex bff’s older sister/your first real crush/world renowned winemaker coming back to your small town to moonlight as a winemaker at you family’s vineyard for months while your winemaker dad goes to his home country for an extended stay to look after your aging Nonna?!

This book was the best mix of funny, heartfelt, and warm, fuzzy, and spicy feelings in true @laurapiperlee fashion! Another absolutely wonderful 5 star read!

Thank you to the publisher for the review alc of this book!

Zoe Brennan, First Crush is the perfect follow-up to Hannah Tate, Beyond Repair. It has the same amount of swoon and heart that Hannah Tate had, but with the horniness scale ramped up to 1,000. Both of these books have been some of my favorite discoveries of the year. Laura Piper Lee's writing is magic and I can't wait to read more from her.

Zoe and Lane have such great chemistry. The "yes boss" really did it for me. I liked that their relationship built into something so tender after an interesting start (the surprise threesome in chapter two lol).

Highly recommend.

3.5* rounded up.

I normally don't care much for contemporary romance books - they all have the same language, the same voice, and while this one definitely doesn't have it's own identity, I still enjoyed it regardless. I liked all the interpersonal interactions the FMC has with everyone, whether it be her childhood crush turned romantic interest, to her father, to her friends and colleagues. This book commits the crime of The Gay Best Friend, but thankfully he's not as offensively over nor overused, so he doesn't grind on my gears too much.

Zoe is your typical FMC in these kinds of books, but I appreciate her mix of feisty and grounded, reasonable and unreasonable. She feels like a late 20's woman who lost her mother at a young age. I found her incredibly relatable. Lane, on the other hand, I found lacking as a RI at the beginning, but she grew on me in the end. I found their relationship believable and sweet.

The narrator had a natural voice for this kind of story, and did a wonderful job giving each character their own weight. Overall, I enjoyed this one a lot more than I thought I would. Maybe because I went in with such low expectations, I'm shocked that I liked this story as much as I did.

Thank you NetGalley & Dreamscape Media for a copy of the audiobook!