This was a great read!
I absolutely loved both Anneliese and Lachlan. I loved them as individuals and together. I loved how they built their friendship. It was so so sweet. I also liked hearing about the different aspects of Anneliese and Donovan’s relationship throughout the story. It was almost like we were healing with her.

Anneliese and Donovan both want the home Anneliese is staying in. Anneliese has plans for the home and hopes to recoup some of the money she lost. Donovan has completely different plans for the home. Anneliese has to learn of the lies and betrayal from someone she thought she loved while Donovan knows just who the man truly was. Can they help each other and move on from a past that is nothing but pain?

I love both characters and I love the way they help heal each other, and how they find in each other a second chance for love, it's my first book by this author but it definitely won't be the last, overall ⭐️⭐️⭐️

A BONFIRE OF LOVE IN THE BEST WAY

“The bast****d stole my heart and then he stole my life savings.”

Love & Kerosene is a perfect example of the saying: Life is what happens when we’re busy making other plans.

Anneliese is a trusting young woman who's alone and desperate after being swept off her feet in a whirlwind romance only to be saddled with a fixer-upper in a town she barely knows following her fiancé’s untimely death. Turns out their life was a lie, and now she 's faced with the sudden appearance of his surprise brother Lachlan claiming his inheritance of the rundown house with plans to sell it out from under her, after all her savings were squandered on it as an unfinished, bed & breakfast renovation. Not Lachlan’s problem. He just wants the work completed, sell it, and blow town again. Period. But, what did I just say about life and making plans…

This bickering pair finds common ground as roomies while completing the reno, and Lachlan has a change of heart about her and his long-forgotten life plans of the past. The couple was combative, sweet, caring, and sexy. But, life isn’t that easy, even if love enters the equation. There are more surprises and heartbreak in store for sweet Anneliese and wanderlust Lachlan, as more secrets about his dead brother pile up, and then the unthinkable happens and changes everything …

“Hurt people hurt people. Healed people help people.”

Ain’t that the truth? This romance is definitely in Ms. Winter’s wheelhouse and just as engaging as her others. I got so wrapped up in the romance, house renovations, budding love, memories that won’t stay buried, and adorable small-town life that Ms. Renshaw writes so well, that I never saw that impending soul crusher of a plot twist coming. I literally screamed NOOOOOOO at my Kindle, but it was all for the best, fictionally speaking. Just not as expected, but that has nothing to do with the heartwarming romance itself. If you like Ms. Renshaw’s stories, this one will give you her trademark angst, a heap of love, and lots of warm fuzzies. I really enjoyed and would gladly re-read it. Sometimes, life does make lemonade out of lemons and has better plans for us than the ones we only think we can control. Enjoy the clever and insightful word definitions that begin each chapter!

“If my life was a story, you’d be the plot twist.”

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

An enjoyable, well-paced slow-burn romance. I loved both the main characters with their grumpy/sunshine personalities. Annaliese and Lachlan are both slightly damaged but slowly build a friendship that helps them move passed past hurts.

This was a great book with a such a unique plot. Even though Anneliese ends up with her late fiance's brother, it never felt gross or weird. I loved the way this author wrote the characters and slowly built their relationship. I was never bored of the plot as bits of her late fiancé’s actions were slowly revealed throughout the book. Super cute couple, would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun romance read!

Love & Kerosene is a wonderful story about a woman finding new love with her deceased cheating, lying, thief of a fiance's brother. The brother her now deceased fiance had hidden from her, along with the fact he had stolen all of her money. With him dead and their not being married, she had no access tonthe bank account where the fiance has reportedly put her retirement funds she had cashed out to use in remodeling their future home. Here comes Lachlan, the brother who is now the legal owner of that same home she had planned to finish remodeling and selling to get her money back out of it.

Lachlan had no interest in sticking around the house and town where he had grown up and lost so much. A mother of a childhood friend helps convince him to give Anneliese a chance and work with her on the remodel. She wants to sell the house, while he wants nothing more to burn it to the ground. They must learn how to work and live with each other during this remodel. Forced proximity leads to an intimacy that neither Anneliese nor Lachlan expected. Seeing how these two communicate and work out their differences, and seeing growth in both of them, offers the reader that satisfaction that only a truly well-written story can.

I loved the characters, including the side characters, as well as the love story. Highly recommend!

This book was something else. Slow burn but oh so good, the way these two interact is great, she loves to talk and ask all sorts of questions, he is a loner back to get his brothers home and burn it to the ground. Or will he? Need to read to find out and you will not be disappointed. Love it

A very enjoyable slow build romance. Loved getting to know these characters and will definitely recommend and look for more from this author

A Five-star read that will burn your heart up with love. I adore this author, but this one won me over from my slump, and had my emotions running like a tap. Donavon was just the worst and honestly, I am so happy he died, and that feels so wrong, but the more you get to know him, the more you know that its really for the best. Annelise was just the sweetest, and what an amazing job role she has, I could so use her when I get my next puppy!! I have loved so many moments of this story, but the standout moment for me, was the dress up, that was just the best. Apart from the end, that was sublime, I adored this story and can’t wait to hear what we will get next.

Love and Kerosene is a slow burn and predictable romance. It takes a bit to get going and the chemistry was a bit lacking.

Going into Love and Kerosene, I expected a dark romance for some reason but I walked away reading something completely different. Anneliese just lost her fiancee. She's grieving but she also realizes there's a lot that she didn't know about Donovan. Lachlan, her brother in law, comes back into the picture as he inherits the home Anneliese and Donovan were living in. The pair are the definition of enemies and strike a deal to renovate the home and from their relationship develops.

Anneliese and Lachlan had great chemistry. I loved their scenes together and the constant banter between the two. This book had all the ingredients for success: small town romance, enemies to lovers, and forced proximity. I was not expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did and I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome.

I have fallen in love with these characters, the story is exciting and captivating! This book got me suffering from a lack of sleep but I am not complaining.

5 stars
The HEA I crave.
I started reading this book with completely expecting it to have many dark themes. Oh how wonderfully I was wrong. It was sweet, wholesome, eloquent and so so perfect.
When I first read the book description, the thought of Anneliese and Lachlan meeting in the middle seemed impossible. They were just so different. Somehow, the author made it happen. And it was breathtaking to read it unfold. Like so many small-town romances, it was wholesome. I caught myself smiling so many times throughout the cute moments in the book.
Anneliese is one of the people that I would love to meet if I ever get a chance. She's so full of life, despite everything life threw at her. Lachlan is probably my idea of an ideal man. He's honest to the point of being brutal, a great storyteller (because everyone needs bedtime stories don't they?) and a generally good person. The best part about the characters? The chemistry and the COMMUNICATION. I can't stress enough how I loved the way they handled their issues. Kudos to the author!
Thank you Netgalley and Montlake for the ARC for an honest review.

Received and reviewed an advanced copy of Love and Kerosene by Winter Rensbaw. Thanks to NetGalley & Montlake for this ARC. All views are my own

♥️ ⛽️

This is a slow burn romance and I’ll admit it took me awhile to get into the story but once it got going, I was sucked in. I also loved the interesting words and their definitions at the beginning of each chapter that kind of alluded to what was going to happen or a feature of a character. Anneliese and Lachlan will have you smiling, laughing, screaming (at them) & crying in all the best ways. Lach can tell me stories anytime 😉

Annaleise has recently lost her fiancé Donovan, but has found she didn’t really know him at all, given what’s she’s discovered in the months following his death. He was a seasoned con man and has dwindled her out if her life savings, leaving what she thought was their home to his brother Lachlan (by default). Lachlan has been disconnected from his family for year, and upon inheriting the house wants to burn it to the ground.

This is an enemies to lovers romance. Both Annaleise and Lachlan are dealing the spectre of Donovan in their lives. It’s tough going particularly for Annaleise, who altogether seems mild tempered, and trusting to the point of naïveté. Lachlan isn’t a typical bad-boy, and there’s a lot to like about him in core of this.

Its a change from some of the formulaic romances out there, and the epilogue is pretty awesome.

3.75 stars

This is one of those books, I think will stay with you for a while after you put it down.

Our two main characters were both very likeable. Anneliese was sweet and very loving while Lachlan had this hard exterior. It also contained some of my favourite tropes, small town romance, roommates to lovers.

Anneliese left the big city to move to her fiancé's small hometown to help him fix up his childhood home. Lots of twists and turns and poor Anneliese is left devastated, and picking up the pieces of her life, while still trying to fix the house.
When Lachlan entered the picture the chemistry was immediate and I just loved how the two bantered, the tension building up was amazing and kept me hooked throughout the book. I loved how they just clicked, and Lachlan's development and growth, going from a grumbling outsider to a sweetheart.

The story was engaging and kept me wanting to continue the book rather than actually work or sleep. It had just the right amount of drama and character development to keep me hooked.
My only complaint would be that the ending did feel a little sudden and rushed, but other than that this was a great read, and I would definitely get a copy for myself. I mean did you see that cover? It is beautiful.

I have a feeling this is going to be on a lot of people's lists soon.


*Thank you Netgalley for this copy, provided for an honest review*

Donovan and Anneliese are grieving for different reasons, but due to the connection of a childhood home, they are put in positions to heal together. As they work their way through housing renovations little by little the stress/worry/anger they carry starts to seep out. Luckily, they have one another.

I enjoyed this book!! I love adding a good spicy romance to my TBR. Love and Kerosene did not disappoint- Reeling from the death of her fiancé, Anneliese is blindsided by learning that not only is her fiancé not who she thought he was but also he has been harboring more than one secret. Donovan has returned home for one reason, and one reason only: to burn down his childhood home. Annaliese and Donovan are not a typical match made in heaven, but they are able to offer each other aspects of love they have both been searching for their whole lives.

This would be a great book for folks interested in #BookTok light romance reads.

I finished the book in mere hours and I liked both Lachlan and Anneliese. Lachlan was kind of a brute in the beginning but started to soften up when he got to know Anneliese. My heart truly broke for Anneliese because of all the lies and deception she learned about gradually. She was genuinely a warm, kind and nice person who didn't deserve to feel so much hurt. Luckily Lachlan came along and she finally realised that he's kind the kind of man that was the right fit for her because no matter Lachlan had other plans for the house, he never took advantage of his upper hand and instead was ready to give back all the money that Anneliese had put into it's renovation. Overall, it was a short, fast paced and simple small town romance with a dash of slowburn and a super cute couple who were perfectly paired together!

Thankyou Netgalley & Montlake for providing me the ARC of this book.

Wow, I absolutely loved this book. Lachlan is not the typical “bad boy “ from other books. But he’s definitely swoon worthy!!