The overall story was okay. It was like reading decent fan fiction. Some of the dialog felt stilted and not really natural. I felt like a lot of what we learn about the characters was told to us rather than shown but it’s not a very long book and it does what it was supposed to. I was still rooting for the couple, even if the thing that drove them temporarily apart was frustrating. Given both of their previous relationships, it made a bit more sense why they would let that push them apart. Overall, it was a fun and sexy read.

Sexy, Sapphic, Sweet.

What happens when a close minded advertising executive meets and hurting but happy coffee shop owner - its Business of the Heart.

Ignoring the 80's cover, this book is everything you want in an instant love romance. Abby is sweet and funny, Lexi is charming. This book balances funny, sweet, charming and drama (without it being to overboard). This book made me smile a lot. Is it new or ground-breaking - No. But it hits all those romance tropes I love and is really well written from a character standpoint. You get the grand gesture, the nosy elderly neighbour who acts as a voice of reason, miscommunication, MC with high wall, both MC with past relationship trauma that makes the slow to trust and quick to jump to the wrong conclusions, an interfering nefarious outside source of conflict.

Overall a great sapphic romance.

I could not put this book down! It was an amazing sapphic romance novel. The main characters are likable and interesting. The way their love develops is better than i expected. I am looking forward to reading more of claire’s books and recommend you to give this book a chance. Thank you for allowing me to read this here on netgalley.

I thought Business of the Heart was a quick and cute read. Loved the instant attraction between the two main characters is fun and the supporting cast just adds to the story.

I really wanted to like this book, the premis was solid as are the characters, however there is a clear problem with the flow.

Throughout i tried my best to ignore the choppy sentences, the constant repetition of certain words and fraises, as well as the juvenile thought process.

All in all, as stated, the book could be solid and a great read, however for that to be true a good deal of editing and reconfiguration needs to happen.

God I can't explain how much I enjoyed this book. It really had such an amazing cast and it was something that I really needed to get me out of my reading slump.

This is a super cute opposites attract romance. It’s fully of love, fun and friendship. It’s told through dual narration from both Abby and Lexi’s point of view. Both Abby and Lexi have been burned with past relationships and although there are sparks and there’s an undeniable attraction there are issues getting things started.
I loved this book and can’t wait for Forsythe’s next novel. I would recommend this to anyone looking for something light and fun. A great debut from Claire Forsythe.

Thanks NetGalley for sending me a copy of this book for review!

I really enjoyed this book. The main characters are Abby and Lexi. Abby owns a coffee shop and Lexi is a business woman. Abby is fun loving and mild mannered, all the things that Lexi is not. Sparks fly when the two women meet. This is despite all the awful things Abby has heard about Lexi from her assistant. However, Abby is not put off by the terrible things she has heard.
The two women are smitten and begin spending time together. Every thing is going well until a company wants Lexi's firm to represent them. They want to incorporate coffee drinks into their huge business that is going up close to Abby's coffee shop. This would ruin her business.
Things do not go as planned and the relationship is in limbo. Will Lexi finally follow her heart?
I would recommend.
I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

This is a wonderful feel good book. It really is a heartwarmer and is guaranteed to make you smile from ear to ear and feel warm and fuzzy inside.

This book was so sweet, and it was an absolute delight to read it. I've had some bad luck with books recently, so I got into it a bit hesitantly but it turned out there was no need for that - I absolutely loved it!

This book follows two main characters - Abby, a coffee shop owner, and Lexi, a successful business woman. They seem to be polar opposites, Abby is following her dreams and wanting someone to love while Lexi lives for her career and seems completely cold to everyone around her. When Lexi walks into Abby's coffee shop, there is an immediate connection between the two, even if there are some hiccups (like Abby accidentally spilling coffee on Lexi's suit). Both are deciding they don't want to pursue this, but when they strike up a conversation, both are finding it hard to keep their distance.

I really enjoyed reading this story, and I'm so glad I got approved for an arc! I enjoyed both of the main characters, this book does a great job with sunshine x grumpy trope. I was a bit sceptical about it, but I ended up loving it. I really enjoyed the romance between the main characters, there was an instant connection and a lot of chemistry from the start. It did veer slightly to insta-love, but it wasn't to the detriment of the story at all. I liked that both of them put in effort into getting to know each other, and making their relationship work. I really loved that there was next to no miscommunication - as that is something that drives me absolutely insane (you're adults, please talk). Even when Lexi, who is very much afraid of this relationship, tries to run away and just leave things unsaid, Abby does a great job of communicating.

The side characters were a real treat here, I loved all of them (well except for one who I disliked, but she was a well-written character as well). The friendships are written so well here! Abby's friends Jen and Luke are friends to wish for, for sure. And I absolutely loved Lily, both as a character and as a person in Lexi's life. She was so interesting, and she was so sweet to Lexi. She was a great motherly figure and just the best friend Lexi didn't know she needed. She was so supportive and she really cared about both Abby and Lexi.

I would highly recommend this book, it was a sweet and quick read and it's definitely worth it!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Lexi Finn is married to her job. She’s focused, abrupt, demanding, and no nonsense. One morning she decided to fetch her own coffee (for once) and her life would never be the same. Abby Archer, romantic at heart, and owner of said coffee shop never meant for her first official meeting with Lexi Finn to go the way it did. Some choice words followed by a note taped to the bottom of a later coffee cup and these two seemingly opposites were off to the races. This is a super sweet read with really likable mains and supporting characters. In fact, without Jen, Luke, and Lily, this book would have been quite basic. While this book is quite predictable, that didn’t take away from the quick wit and easy banter between all characters. I think this is a stellar first book for this author!

I'll start by saying that you can never go wrong with a sapphic rom-com in my opinion. This was overall a fun, quick read that kept me turning the pages. I love the sunshine character + grump character trope, and this satisfied those cravings! Throw in some tasteful smut, and you've got yourself a solid book! The only issue I had with this book was...the characters being annoying. They spent a lot of time in their own heads, which I guess isn't completely odd for a romcom focused on two main characters, and it would be fine if their own inner ramblings weren't so...annoying at times. They were just highly focused on their inner flaws while also not doing much about them. But, I guess that's the spirit of romcom in the end! Despite the characters minor annoyances, I would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves a fast sapphic read full of the tropes!

This book is very much a romance novel. At some points, it was slightly corny in the way the characters interact as well as the expectations placed on each other during the novel. I believe in lust at first sight but my logical brain won't allow me to believe in the ability to know from one look that you've just seen your OTP. This is a lot of emphasis to place on a new romance either in reality or literature.

The novel is told through dual narration and although this is a great way of seeing how both characters are feeling while reading, there is a lot of internal dialogue in Business of the Heart. I found it distracting how much we were 'told' and at times it felt very much an author's choice rather than the natural way a character would think and express their viewpoint.

I will admit that once the drama developed through the inevitable breakup in the second half of the book occurred I became less engaged. It felt quite contrived and unrealistic, especially in the way neither character communicates with the other during multiple scenarios. There's also big emotions expressed, as well as past situations that are referred to but remain unresolved and although the plot was interesting in a way, I wasn't a big fan of some stylistic choices overall.

A good debut and I hope to see more from Forsythe in the future.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for a copy of this novel. ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

3/5 stars

The novel follows closed-off businesswoman Lexi & coffee shop owner Abby. It's a bit of a "will they/won't they" with some major miscommunication along the way, but both woman have to learn to let their guard down and be vulnerable in their relationship with each other.

I will start off by saying that I LOVED the side characters in this novel! I thought they were all really developed especially Lily, Jen, and Luke and I loved how they all worked together to bring Abby & Lexi closer. However, I thought that Abby and Lexi themselves could've been flushed out a little bit more as the main characters. Additionally, besides their jobs it was a little hard to tell the difference between the two at times because their character arcs were super similar.

Overall though, yay for more sapphic contemporary romance novels!! I've been in the mood read more lesbian adult romance, especially by authors who aren't afraid to say that their characters are lesbians, and so when this book fell into my lap I was so happy!

Runs like the sweetest Hallmark movie. I adore the representation in this, two established women who do not have to deal with the trials and tribulations of coming out. The relationship is as sweet as pie.

4.5 stars
Very fun romance. The dialog is so clever, witty and entertaining you can't put it down. I was so entertained I read it in one day. The main characters of course are fabulous and the side characters are very colorful and likeable. And of course one evil, evil witch.
I would have given it 5 stars...But I thought Lexi should have given Abby a puppy in the end to complete Abby's dream romance. (Just kidding)
It's a real feel good story. Don't miss it.
I was given this ARC in exchange for an honest review

This was a cute love at first sight read with plenty of drama. I was captivated from the start as Abby wants what most people want, a romance like the novels she reads. Throw in a misunderstood ice queen, a coffee shop, and two cute women and I’m hooked.

That being said, I felt that this story had a lot of potential to be great, however, it fell short for me when we arrived at the miscommunication/evil scheme. I felt that the characters could have easily resolved it but it continued on for most of the backend of the story. Even with both characters knowing how sneaky and conniving Vanessa seemed, they still chose to believe her instead of communicating with one another. One thing that I really enjoyed was the side characters and the way that they really added some texture to the story. We could all use a Lily and Jen in our lives.

Business of the Heart is exactly what you might expect: a cheesy WLW romance. I didn't love this as much as I wanted to, and I'm honestly gutted about that. I felt the first chunk of the book was extremely slow and I didn't care for either of the protagonists. I did think it picked up after the first ten chapters or so, but I still didn't really *get* the characters. They felt very one-dimensional and if it weren't for the chapter titles, I'm not sure that I would be able to distinguish between the two of them. I did, however, love the writing style and the supporting characters!

Overall, it was still an enjoyable read and I would still love to read more from the author in the future!

Abby Archer is a small business owner of the little coffee shop of her dreams. Following the ending of her previous relationship, Abby decided to complete her goal with Haze. One of her regulars is the personal assistant of Lexi Finn--an advertising business tycoon with a less than stellar reputation and the belief that she does not need love in her life. When Abby and Lexi lock eyes, both are affected.

Business of the Heart was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed the juxtaposition between the two characters. Abby and Lexi were very lovable in their own ways and it was easy to root for them. Arguably, my favorite part of the book though was a side character: Lily Patterson. Lily is Lexi's elderly neighbor and a driving force between the two women getting together. She was pretty much an in-book representation of me reading it and it was fun to see.

Overall, I think this is a solid 4 stars. I had a little bit of an issue with what I saw as some plot inconsistencies and some pacing issues, but I loved the story. I would absolutely read another book by Claire Forsythe.

**Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank You Netgally for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review!

This book is an f/f romance really nice. The plot is very simple, linear with the genre. In fact, we have on the one hand Abby, who owns a coffee shop, and Lexi, a businesswoman who is judged to be ruthless in her job - a career woman in short. In fact, the two meet and, despite Abby's huge gaff spilling hot coffee on her, it's practically love at first sight, or rather attraction, since then the feeling comes after her. They start chatting, going out and so on. All linear and very nice, just the way I like it. And in fact I liked it, a lot. I was only a little bad for a narrative choice in the end, which I dislike, because it always creates confusion and misunderstanding, but above all because it seemed that the two protagonists, who are two adult women, react as if they were teenagers, that there is nothing wrong with that, but from a romance with adults I expect something more!
For the rest it is a completely captivating story and I had a lot of fun reading it!
Review by Divoratricedilibri2.0 Blog