ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 2.25/5

I was very conflicted as to how to rate this, but while I did somewhat enjoy some parts of it, I had some problems as well on an overall level. It's not a bad book, but I couldn't really get into it.

The blurb said it was an enemies-to-lovers book, but I couldn't see how they were enemies at any point in the story. Also, in the blurb, it says that he broke her heart back in high school. However, they barely knew each other aside from in passing from what I remember and all they did was kiss. After that, he left to go to London, but I can't exactly see how that would correlate to her heart being broken.

I also didn't like that scene with Bianca...There might not have explicitly been stuff written about what they did. However, I prefer when there is no scene with anyone else. I'm not expecting them to be saints, but when there's other people in the picture like that, it kind of ruins the vibes. Even Marco, I thought was basically there to make Ashton jealous.

I thought the plot was interesting for the most part, but I did get bored. Though, you could enjoy it, so definitely check it out!!

Thank you to Kat T. Masen, Atria Books, and Netgalley for this arc!! 💕

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for an arc for an honest review. This is an enemies to lovers, best friends older brother, small town romance haha. And I really enjoyed it. The main character is made to help plan her best friend’s wedding with the older brother that she used to have a crush on in high school but he really didn’t treat her great back then. I enjoyed the small town vibes and it was a fun read.

This book was a hard read for me. The characters weren’t likable, the connections were all surface level, and the plot felt very generic.

fun, gorgeously written romance between two characters who play off each other well! it's never the most surprising romance but it's a solid addition to any romcom lover's shelf. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

Thank you, Atria Books | Simon & Schuster Publishing, for providing this Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I don't know guys, this one while it kept my attention, tried to fit too many tropes into a neatly sealed package.... Forbidden love, BFF's older bro, forced proximity, "enemy to lovers" just to name a few...

I saw absolutely no point to the "Billionaire" trope because I felt it did nothing for the story in this - Aston while cocky etc.... did like come off to me as an over the top fancy pants... Not to mention that Eva was a self made business woman (which I appreciated) so like the money aspect didn't really feel like a thing to me - I would not call this a billionaire romance. I will say that I am drawn to an "ahole" persona so I did like Aston and his vulgar banter - I did like that Eva could give the attitude back - I liked their back and forth and the spice scenes were just spicy enough where I did not feel that I had to "fast forward". Tension build up was fun, as were the interruptions... I also didn't feel the enemy part - Eva was just being a bit of a scorned gal (from a HS encounter), I mean I get it but let's not label it "enemy" - scorned to lovers would be better for me here...

Definitely felt like a more cutesy story, especially with the name of the town and the street names, gave things a different vibe than what I thought I should be feeling for that billionaire trope - I think I might just be stuck on the whole 50 shades/Bared to you, when I think about billionaire story lines...

Overall, I liked the story, I liked Kat T. Masen's writing style, I would read other books by this author 100%. Just cool it with the amount of tropes being covered...

Eva Woods loves her life in Cinnamon Springs. She owns a cafe that serves donuts people will line up for. When her best friend Maddy asks her to help with organizing her upcoming wedding she is all in. She just doesn’t realize that means teaming up with Maddy’s brother Aston. He is one of the hottest billionaires in the country but to her he is the guy who broke her heart in high school.

There is a lot of immaturity and animosity between the two. I seldom read “billionaire” romances but at least he wasn’t trying to buy her time. Much is made of the forbidden love trope of not with my sister’s best friend or not with my best friend’s brother. Maddy is a good best friend and l liked her part in the story even though much of it was stressing about her upcoming wedding and showing up at unfortunate times. This was cute enough and has some spice as well. It seemingly is the first in a series and I would read the next book to see who gets a romance. (3.5 Stars)

This is a best friend's brother romance between Eva and Aston. Maddy is Eva's best friend and getting married soon. She asks her brother and Eva to help with planning the wedding.

Aston and Eva have always been attracted to each other but never tested the waters of a relationship until now. The spice is off the charts and so is the drama in this story that will keep you hooked from the first page.

I now want to read the stories of Eva's best friends Billie and Maddy. It was good to catch a glimpse of Will and Amelia from precious books and also a cameo by Lex Edwards.

Highly recommend 👍🏻

Primarily takes place in a small town, which I love. Eva was a determined, independent, and jaded character. Her friends and family would tease her about her ability to find red flags in any guy, which left her perpetually single. She was determined to guard her heart after it was broken in high school.

With the news of her best friend's upcoming wedding, she throws herself into helping plan the best wedding she can for Maddy. Unfortunately, it comes with the occasional help of her best friend's older brother, Aston. I'll be honest, it took me a while to warm up to Aston. There were a few interactions where he just came across as a jerk. Their father was also a horrible man. Aston did his best to protect Maddy and their mother from most of his father's negativity, often by giving up his own hopes and dreams for his life.

There was definitely chemistry and history between these two. I could feel the fireworks on-page whenever they were allowed to be themselves. In the end, I love a good grovel, and this was one of the best. I would love to read more about this small town.

Thank you to #NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this! It did not disappoint.

Small town romance, best friends older brother, billionaire, forced proximity, second chance, I mean all the tropes!? How could you not love this book and the chemistry, angst and banter between Eva and Aston was so good! Don’t even get me started on the spicey scenes I didn’t even see coming on so spicy with this book giving all the cozy sweet romance vibes!

It was so nice to see Aston’s character development when he realized that his happiness wasn’t worth sacrificing to keep his dad happy and seeing this big playboy male fall essentially fall to his knees to fix his mistakes with her.

The scenes with Houdini were so funny to me and reading his reaction to learning about Houdini was even funnier.

I love this story, I loved the plot, the side stories , the push and pull between the main characters as well as seeing their friendships, the balance between fun and sexy and uplifting and heartbreaking. I was not ready for this book to end and I wish we would have seen what happened in Paris!

I LOVE Kat T. Masen books. I’m so excited to see her starting a new series and I absolutely freaked out when I got the approval email! I cannot wait to read more in this series!

HUGE Thank you to Atria Books, Simon & Schuster Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my opinion!

How to Break My Heart was overall a cute rom-com. But there were just some weird moments with the writing that caused me to have to re-read certain pages. There were times when I was more invested in some of the side-stories instead of the main plot of the whole book. I did enjoy a lot of the tropes in the book such as forced proximity, best friends brother and small town romance.
Thank you Atria Books and Netgalley for the ARC!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5) / 🌶️🌶️🌶️

“40 years since we 1st fornicated!”

“What’s the point of staying on birth control if my sex life is nonexistent.”

“He may be sexy, but his arrogance is not.”

“I wouldn’t say there’s no play.” 😏🥵

“The period sister ship has sailed.” 🩸

“Because I can’t turn up in sweats with your pu$$y smell all over me. Trust me it’s the exact opposite of gross.” 😂😂

Thanks to Simon Audio & Atria for my #gifted copy of 𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗧𝗢 𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗞 𝗠𝗬 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗯𝘆 𝗞𝗔𝗧 𝗧. 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗘𝗡.

This was such a fun audiobook and the Goodreads rating (3.57, you guys…that ain’t even right!) had me perplexed from the jump, it clearly doesn’t do this book justice. I’m so glad I read this one. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I loved it and even more surprised at the spice level in this one based up the cover of the book. I mean, this book title, cover and synopsis screams closed door / sweet romance to me, but it’s def got some heat to it. I mean, check out the quotes I shared.

The chemistry between Eva (Everleigh) Woods & Aston, although it was def hot and cold, was fun to see develop.

When Aston tells her about several rounds 🍆💦in the shower 🥵🔥…I was like ong that is so hot. The sexual tension was palpable. Aston is a bit of a mess…but eventually things work out. #daddyissues

Eva is head strong and independent, she grows a lot throughout this book. Aston also had a lot of personal growth but I took a little while to get to that point in the book. Aston is one of those “I’ll support you in everything” guys but he’s also a “don’t worry about it babe, I gotchu.” Perfect combo.

First off I knew absolutely nothing about this book going into it and I couldn’t be happier with how much I enjoyed it!

Although I tend to not like the misconception trope, this time it worked and I didn’t mind it! I really enjoyed the way the backstory is told. It made it easier to understand the miscommunication since it was detailed in the beginning instead of being sprinkled in as flashbacks.

Eva and Aston were written incredibly well. The banter and spice were so good and honestly this book could have been longer and I still would have eaten it up!

Based on this cover I was expecting something different. I thought both characters were a little immature. The story was pretty predictable and the only surprise was towards the end. This book was pretty spicy too. I don’t mind some spice but really less is more.

Eva Woods, owner of a successful café in idyllic Cinnamon Springs, is asked by her best friend, Maddy, to help plan her wedding. This would not be a problem except for the fact that her co-planner is the bride’s wealthy brother, Ashton, who broke her heart in high school. Determined to put her feelings aside and keep everything business like, Eva sets out to make Maddy’s dreams come true and keep things professional with Ashton. Soon, the sparks fly, but can she risk her heart a second time?
Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

Truly obsessed with this book! Unpopular opinion I don’t love billionaire romance but the way Kat T Masen writes her male characters you can’t help to fall in love with them.

Maddy and Aston share one steamy kiss back in high school but Aston puts distance between them because he knows he is leaving and Maddy is scared to lose her BEST FRIEND. Fast forward her bestie is now getting married and Maddy and Aston have to help plan the wedding together. 😏🔥

Chapter 14, 16 and 22 😏🥵😘
This book was so well written and I experienced so many emotions throughout reading. I binged this in 24 hours.

If you are looking for a cozy fall binge read add to your TBR!

Kat T Masen is an auto read author for me. She is the reason I started and kept reading when I first picked up the Chasing Love series and completed all of the books in 2023.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria for this advanced reader copy.

If you are looking for a small town romance where the FMC falls in love with her best friend’s brother, who she had a crush on as a teen until he kissed her then ditched her so she hates him, but now he’s a billionaire in NYC and she owns a donut shop in their hometown and they are forced to work together to plan his sister’s wedding, this is the book for you!

I had such a fun time reading this book. It was light and easy with plenty of angst and heat mixed in as well! Eva is such a strong-headed FMC. She knows what she wants and what she doesn’t. She puts everything she has into her cafe and the people around her, including her best friend who she drops nearly everything for to help plan her wedding last minute.

Meanwhile Aston is arrogant and hard on the outside, working for his father and preparing to take over the company that his father doesn’t want to let go of control over. But really, he will do anything for his sister and is such a softie when it comes to her. These two together have so much pent up resentment and chemistry, it’s palpable every time they interact. I loved watching the tension build until it exploded!

I love books where the main characters have to work together on a mutual third person’s happiness. Planning a wedding together and being forced to interact delights me to no end.

I read this as a mix of audio and physical, and the dual narration was fantastic! I love getting both POVs and seeing how they were driving each other crazy. I definitely recommend on audio as well if you enjoy those!

As a warning to all my Jess girlies - the FMC is a Logan fan, so you’ll have to forgive her for that error in judgement.

Thank you to NetGalley for approving me for this ARC in exchange for my review. Unfortunately, this book was not a good fit for me. While I enjoy romance, I typically look for stories with a stronger plot that can balance the sweetness with depth and emotional impact. My emotions never fully aligned with the story, and I often felt more frustration than connection.

Although the main character had some endearing moments, I found the female lead difficult to relate to, and her portrayal ultimately diminished my enjoyment of the book. I recognize that other readers may appreciate this dynamic and connect with the characters in ways I did not, but for me, the story fell short.

This book just okay to me. It was slow at the beginning but I really loved the last 15% of it. It felt like I was reading a young adult book instead of an adult book most of the time.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f contemporary romance
-best friend's brother
-childhood crush
-the one that got away
-this is just a hookup
-forbidden romance
-small town romance

This was fun with old school romance vibes

I enjoyed this enemies to lovers romance. I thought Aston was a good alpha male and loved that we get to see his softer side when he falls in love. One of my favorite things is to see is an alpha male's soft spot for the woman he loves. I thought Madelina was pretty annoying and shallow and not the best of friends, but she brought Everleigh and Aston into each other's lives. Overall, a good romance that flowed well and me reading it quickly.