Honestly this book was a struggle for me. I felt like I was missing a lot of backstory particularly with Magnum and his brothers. I was shocked when I looked back to see if I had missed others in the series to find this book was the first. It reads like it should be further on with other stories before it adding context.
I stopped and started it twice because it does have good reviews so I must be missing something that others are seeing. While the characters are great there is just too much missing to have a good flow.

I received an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Brooke and Magnum are funny together and their frienemy relationship in the beginning morphed into something special. This was a face paced book that fun to read. Food puns and monster romance talk didn’t feel cheesy or feel like they could become potentially dated later.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for this arc. I really enjoyed this book, it was an enjoyable read.

This is a good book. The two main characters Brooke and Magnum. Brooke has just moved from Colorado and started to work for Magnum’s family business. There is an instant attraction. They are constantly arguing. It is one of the cases of enemy’s friends. They start dating. They fall in love.

I received a Digital Reader Copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This book had me laughing out loud. This book is a funny contemporary enemies to lovers romance and a misunderstanding or 2. ;) Some of the sayings the author uses are absolutely hysterical! So excited it is book 1 in a series. I think I can guess who will star in book 2 as she really stood out in this book. I definitely recommend this book.

DNF

This dude is supposed to be a partial owner of a company? 💀 He comes across like a whiny toddler who failed business in uni.

This is not attractive for me in a hero unless I purposely want to read about a whiny frat bro. Also the mom called him “darling son” and made me wince. Why. 😭😬

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

3.5 stars
The first word in the book may put some folks off, not me,. I forgot to leave a review. Overall it was a fun read but it took me a couple of times of starting and stopping to finally finish.

Brooke walked in on her ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend having "fun" and without overreacting her pettiness took over she left the apartment with the essentials and moved to Charleston and took a job as a receptionist at TriVolt. At a retirement party for her aunt she meets one of the owners Magnum Hansen and on first site he stoles the tin of cookies she baked for the party, and thus began their back and forth of other throwing insults at each other, reading smutty books together and he trying to convince her to make him her famous Brookies.

This is the first book in the Southern Sparks series and also my first experience reading something by this author. The story was cute and fun and gave me plenty of laughs. The interactions between Magnum and Brooke were witty and entertaining and the chemistry between them was undeniable. Brooke caught her ex cheating on her and decided to move to a new place and start over. Magnum is Brooke's grumpy boss, and is not one for relationships, but he just can't stop thinking about Brooke. It doesn't take long for the hostile tension between them to morph into something more sweet and romantic.
The story had humor and romance and was a very entertaining and enjoyable read. The characters were well-developed and interesting and I enjoyed following their story.
I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

First off, I wanted to say thank you to NetGalley for the ARC, I’m behind the publishing day but I still appreciate the chance to read something new.

This was my first Kat Long book, and won’t be my last.

What I liked- the overall message, the fact that they could make of troupes within a troupe…..troupe-ception if you will, the male main characters come to Jesus meeting with his interests was good, and the smut was primo in my opinion.

What I didn’t like- a few inconsistencies with Magnum, they both were a bit all of the place, as people are in real life, but it came across as hard to tell if it was the writer or the character at some junctures. Clearly not her first novel though. Some limbs were lost or transposed during one scene….it happens in this books from time to time, but after five times through I couldn’t piece one scene together, no biggie.

Overall I would read the next installment in this series, and I see it’s in the works so I hope to have the chance. Thanks to author for this fun little read!

Brooke frustrated the HELL out of me. She was painfully irreverent (and NOT in a funny way), rude, stubborn, and immature I couldn't stand her. She ruined the read for me. I DNFed at like 15%.

This book was written just fine. Not exactly something that held my interest though. I did not enjoy it as I had hoped. But still some may enjoy it. The characters were not bad

Such a great read the MFC is funny sassy and smart she is starting over uuh and the things she cooks/Bakes it starts out slow it’s totally worth it I highly recommend it 10/10

I picked up this book because it had a couple of my usually favorite tropes, enemies to lovers and he falls first. I've been in a reading slump (dragons IYKYK) and I was hoping this would be the book to pull me out of it. Instead, I came close to DNFing it more than once. the MMC wasn't appealing to me at all, I found his attitude from the beginning to be rude and childish. The FMC wasn't much better, and the plot wasn't anything exciting. I can see how this would appeal to some readers, but for me, it was a complete miss. 2.75 stars - it falls between "meh, not worth reading" and "ok, but wouldn't read again" on my scale.

I was provided an ARC copy of this book through Netgalley. My thanks to the publisher and the author for providing it to me.

This was a cute story with likable characters, a quick read. The antagonists and the plot points were just okay, they definitely could’ve been fleshed out more. I enjoyed getting to know Brooke and I wish there had been more information on her family and friends. Why was her mom so on board with Brooke getting back with the cheating boyfriend? Why was Brooke so prepared for the outcome with her mom? I felt there needed to be more history.

I liked the pace of the relationship with Magnum, it felt natural and entertaining. There were some parts where I felt like I had missed a joke or an insult and suddenly both people were apologizing. Those moments were confusing and took me out of the story quickly.

I really didn't understand the drama portion of it. It didn't seem like either party really did anything to the other, nothing happened too them, and there wasn't any betrayal so I was having a difficult time understanding why there were so many apologies. I understand it was an attempt to bring in the trope of everything could be solved with one conversation. I felt there wasn't anything to solve, if anything it became a matter of not listening previously and being inconvenienced.

It was. still funny, the characters were likable individually. The spicy scenes were entertaining. I think there could have been more of a balance between Brooke's past and her new relationship. It felt a little jarring trying to figure out what was going on in her head.

Collide was a fast paced, easy read that was charming and playing. I loved the banter between Brooke and Magnum. Lighter and fluffier than I usually read, but a solid romantic comedy with a heavy dose of hilarity.

This book was fun, light, and easy going. Brooke walks in on her boyfriend and best friend. She packs up and gets a new job covering her sister temporarily while she is on vacation. At first glance, she and her boss brother do not hit it off. Magnum, a charmer, has no clue what to do with Brooke. She is immune to his charms which he now can’t focus on anything else. As they work together, they form friendships or sorts. But family interactions, past relationships, swirl around them as they try to figure out what they both want and who they are. It was a fast-paced book. I like it and will be looking forward to reading more books by this author.

**I received this book from NetGalley and publisher for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Despite Magnum behaving like a child at the beginning I actually really liked his relationship with Brooke and how it developed. I thought it was a good plot and the characters showed growth but I would have liked them both to have a bit more background. Magnum could have been a really deep character if he’d had a bit more backstory. I would have loved to explore the relationship that Brooke and her mum have as well. Other than that it was a good read

I didn't gel with this book and I don't think I can pinpoint why.

It may have been then references to Harry potter (I'm a potterhead and even for me, it got a bit much)

Or it may have been the FMC's refusal to swear and instead use baking terminology.

Either way, something just didn't make me love this. I found myself skipping chunks, eager to get to the end.

Brooke and magnum's banter was funny at times and felt slightly immature in others. I did, however, like brook's feisty spirit and her stubborn streak. It was also a nice change to see the FMC be a active participant in the s3x.

Magnum, he gave me early 2000's Ryan Reynolds and I wasn't too sure if I liked that? His sweet tooth was a nice touch and it really played on the whole 'the way to a man's heart' saying. I also really loved the whole smut book club. It was a lovely addition.

Tropes :
Enemies to lovers
Workplace romance
Golden retriever MMC