E-galley Review: That Thing You Brew (The Coffee Loft Series) by Kerry Evelyn

I received this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

That Thing You Brew by Kerry Evelyn
Series: The Coffee Loft
Published by Swan Press on March 13, 2023
Genres: Adult Contemporary Romance
Pages: 274
Source: the author
Format: E-galley
My Rating:
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Blurb:

𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙥 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙡𝙙, 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙮 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙧 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙨 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙮 𝙋𝙚𝙣𝙣𝙮 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚…

***

Every Denver Edge fan thinks they know the secret behind my goal-scoring streak. The truth is, it’s not the pre-game toffee coffee from the Bevvie Bar that brings me luck—it’s Penny, the shy harp-playing barista who makes it for me.

But my winning streak is threatened when I learn that the coffee shop may be closing and I could lose her forever. On top of that, I’m hit with the news that if I don’t get married, I’ll lose my inheritance.

Can my favorite barista whip up an inheritance-saving recipe before time runs out?

Time isn’t on my side. With the deadline looming, I’ll have to skate fast to earn her affection, and if I mess up, I could lose everything—my inheritance, my career, and most of all, my heart.

***

𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘴! 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝘽𝙧𝙚𝙬 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘩𝘦-𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴-𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵, 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩, 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴-𝘵𝘰-𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘮-𝘤𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘯𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘥-𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘶𝘱, 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩-𝘰𝘶𝘵-𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴, 𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘈 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘤𝘰𝘮 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴! 

#𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗖𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗧𝗢𝗗𝗔𝗬!

➜tinyurl.com/ThatThingYouBrewAmazon  

𝗔𝗱𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗧𝗕𝗥:

➜tinyurl.com/ThatThingYouBrewGR

My Review

I think this is probably going to be my favorite one in the series so far, especially as I do love a good hockey romance! Overall this was a really sweet romance. One thing I really liked is that any drama seemed real. While this was a somewhat fake romance type of story, in that he needed to get married to save the family castle, it also wasn’t fake, because they both were kind of interested in each other to start with, and while it wasn’t an immediately easy thing to come out and tell the other one how they felt or that they loved them when it came to that, they still showed it and didn’t lie just to save face. What I mean by it seeming real is that I feel like the way they behaved wasn’t drama just for a story’s sake. They didn’t go over the top ignore the other one, deny any possible feelings, etc.

And Xavier was a sweetie. The way he got to know Penny and accepted her the way she was with no hesitation. The way he learned what she liked, knew what she was good at, showed up just to see her play her harp, etc. He was what you’d think of as the perfect guy in that way. And Penny was really such a strong woman, working so hard to do what she wanted, and for the most part, didn’t let what other people thought affect her. Except when it came to her stutter. And so that was something she was working on, something that brought her and Xavier together as the story began.

Because all of these stories are sweet romance, this one was too. I’m used to quite a bit steamier when it comes to my hockey romance, but in a way this was nice too. Even if occasionally it was a little too squeaky clean for me. It almost wasn’t even something you could called closed door, as it sounded as if all they did was kiss. Literally. No mention of anything other than kissing, and hugging, and maybe sniffing hair or smelling their shampoo/body products. One mention of a feeling in her stomach that she’d never had before.

Lots of other people in this world, other hockey players on Xavier’s team of course, other friends of Penny’s, etc. A fun world that I could see more fun stories in!

About the Author

Official Bio

Kerry Evelyn is the author of the Crane’s Cove series, #sweetresortromance set in Coastal Maine, the Palmer City Voltage #sweethockeyromance series, a Guest Author for the Cat’s Paw Cove series, and several short stories that span multiple genres. Kerry received a Bachelor of Science in Education and Sociology from Bridgewater State University in 2000. A native of the Massachusetts SouthCoast, she changed her latitude and now calls the Orlando area home. Kerry loves God, books, cats, traveling, taking selfies, sweet drinks, and escaping into her imagination. You can find her on:

Amazon

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Facebook @KerryEvelynAuthor 

Instagram @KerryEvelynBooks  

Twitter@theKerryEvelyn

Visit KerryEvelyn.com to subscribe to her newsletter and learn more!

Now here’s the real story…

I love love. The idea of it, the feeling of it, the crazy butterfly fluttery reactions to it, the gestures associated with it, and the fact that it can both bring you to your highest highest high and destroy you in an instant.

But that’s life, isn’t it?

Love is powerful. 

So I write about it. 

Naturally, I write romance novels. I didn’t intend to. Oh, no, I was going to write historical women’s fiction because that’s what I read and what my favorite authors wrote. 

I tried. I really did. But women’s fiction can be so darn depressing. 

I needed my characters to have a happily-ever-after. And once again, the fairytale endings of the Disney princesses influenced a BIG life change. (If you’ve just met me, you should know that first BIG life change was moving to Orlando with my cat Duchess when I was 24. I met my husband on the 17th day—it was SO meant to be!) 

Fast forward to me, age 37, stay-at-home part-time homeschool mom, abandoned teaching career, both loving and hating serving my sweet family exclusively. I got it, achieved the ideal—that Cinderella story was MINE—but it was now in reverse. Scrubbing floors, waking up early to prep the day for the people, failing at potty training, housekeeping, and caring for two cats in kidney failuere. 

I had lost my joy.

Every day, I was cleaning up poop.

I hate poop.

God laughed. But he also opened a door. My friend Rebecca dragged me to a conference for moms. Actually, she enticed me with a weekend in a hotel sans kids. I love my kids. I love my husband. But I was overwhelmed (hubby traveled for work, a lot) and I needed a break. I was restless and felt like something was missing. 

That weekend changed the course of my life. I was challenged to remember what I loved to do and always wanted to be. Who God made me to be. 

So I started writing. I wrote almost a full women’s historical fiction novel and got stuck. As I attempted to get unstuck, scenes for a new story kept appearing in my mind. A small idyllic seaside town in Maine. A wounded military hero. A strong woman. A couple helping each other past their greatest pain and finding love in the process.

I canned the historical and wrote the romance. Love on the Edge was published December 5, 2017, one month before my 40th birthday. And it’s been a wild ride ever since!