Oof, I could not finish this to save my life. I don’t need the writing to be anything amazing for me to enjoy a book but this was a lot for me to overlook.

LOVE, LOVE, LOOOOOOVVVEEE, LOVED IT!!!… Absolutely stunning!!!… I was completely swept away!!…
Give it a go

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Okay, first off. Looks can be deceiving and this was the case for me. The cover, and synopsis sounded right up my street. The story let's it down massively, so much so that I couldn't finish.

The dialog was so cringeworthy, and uncomfortable and just really not fleshed out. It felt very wooden. I didn't feel the characters had any chemistry at all.

DNF at 20%

First off, thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

OUTLIER ALERT!! 🎶It's me🎶!! The synopsis for this book sounded amazing and I was super excited to read it. I mean who doesn't love a grumpy/sunshine and forced proximity?!? Plus the cover is SO adorable!! Unfortunately, it makes me really sad to admit that this one did not work for me at all. Ugh, I kept reading hoping it would get better but that never happened. So what were my issues with the story? The extremely odd and cringy dialogue, unlikeable characters, and the dreadful and constant miscommunication. Honestly, I do not recommend this book.

✨I know many people will love this book so please do not base your decision to read this book solely on my review.✨

*2.5 stars rounded down to 2*

Corkscrew You synopsis:

“If Shelby Armstrong wants to keep her late father’s beloved Flora Valley Wines in business, she’ll have to listen to Nathan Durant’s advice. But given the fact that Shelby is all heart and Nate is nothing but tough love, bringing the winery back to life quickly becomes a battle of wills.

And yet, Shelby and Nate aren’t incompatible in every way – in fact, an unexpected (and unexpectedly hot) kiss shows Shelby that they’d make a very good team – in the bedroom! But as is always the case when it comes to love and money, things quickly get complicated…“

I was immediately hooked from the description of the book and the cover! I thought and was hoping the reading experience would be the same. Unfortunately, I couldn’t resonate with the book nor connect to the characters.

The writing felt clunky and it was the exact example of telling not showing.

While it felt like it would be “enemies-to-lovers,” it felt very insta-love to me, which I’m not a fan of. Sadly, it felt childish and the fmc was just… awkward.

This was a rom-com that just didn’t stick.

I still want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review for an arc copy. Thank you!

If you're a Hallmark girly...you will love this one.
I, for one, struggle with insta love and cheesy plot lines. So this just wasn't my favorite type of trope. However, this was well written and a sweet story.

Overal this book was very cheesy and I felt the romance moved far too quickly to be believable. To be honest I didn’t really enjoy it and didn’t find it flowed very well. Sadly would not recommend.

I stopped reading the book DNF (Did Not Finish) after just 25 pages.

I want to express my gratitude to NetGalley for providing me with the opportunity to read this book in return for my honest feedback. Right from the start, it was evident that the author's writing style and character development did not resonate with me. The narrative felt like a never-ending stream of thoughts without the depth and complexity that I look for in a novel, such as a well-crafted plot, engaging dialogue between characters, and vivid descriptions that propel the story forward.

The author shows promise, but they still have room for improvement and growth.

Let's start with the positives. We've got a cutesy title and cover. We've got a small business wine owner - and in true "Hallmark" fashion we've got the guy who steps in to "save" the winery and of course ruffles the feathers of our main female character.

There was just something about this one that didn't hold my interest. Whether it was the writing style, the insta-love from the main characters, or just the over all plot in general. I didn't find the lead female character to be extremely lovable. I didn't buy into their insta-love (after just a week) - I didn't even buy into the winery being saveable.

2.5 out of 5 stars (you decide whether to round up or down)

Thanks to NetGalley, One More Chapter, and to the author, Catherine Robertson, for providing me with this e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was supremely funny. I had a good laugh at multiple intervals, and Robertson is extremely good at making you interested not only in the plot and the main characters, but also the side characters. Maybe a little too good, as I found myself waiting more and more for the second book in the series, which I was also pleased to have been given an ARC of. Ava, Nate's slightly younger sister, seemed much more poised and mature than her older brother, and Cam stole my heart. I do love a good silent mountain man. As for Shelby and Nate, I am convinced that they will be one of those couples who people will comment about in those Instagram posts that read: "Which book couple do you think definitely broke up after the ending of the book?". I just feel as if the things they kept doing and saying to each other were FAR too awful to consider going back to one another again and again like they did. They were messy, and I'm not sure if that was the whole point of their relationship dynamic, but it certainly came off that way. I am very much looking forward to reading You're So Vine, however, as well as desperately hoping that Ted will get a book, and Braden as well. It seems like Shelby's friends, who were so funny and amazing supporting women, are set up to be Ted and Braden's significant others, but the theme of Nate and his siblings getting their significant others seems like it'd be a weird ploy to neglect the other three siblings in favor of setting up Shelby's friends with the other two men, which would leave me to wonder, which if Nate's siblings would end up with Braden and Ted? Sort of off topic, but this series really does have amazing potential for several more books in it, and as funny and heartfelt as the characters are, I'd be willing to eat any more books this series may have to give right up.

I think the romance moved a little too fast for my liking and although I enjoyed the premise of the story I found myself not enjoying the book as much.

This was overall very corny and cheesy, there were some lines that made Me laugh which is why im not giving it 1 star but over all i just dont think it was for me. It felt very bland at times and there were definitely a few times i cringed a little bit, but if youre looking for something not super serious and just a easy quick romance palette cleanser this might be the book for you!

ARC via NetGalley

“A part of me feels I ought to say I don’t deserve you,” he says. “But a way bigger part wants to prove that’s one hundred per cent wrong.”

🍷business partners turned lovers
🍷he needs a rebound
🍷saving family business
🍷losing a parent
🍷third act break up
🍷forced proximity

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The plot captivated me from the start because it reminds me of Hallmark movies. Also, I do love a Grumpy/Sunshine trope.

We had a lot of drama from the start and a bunch of miscommunication through out the entire book. Personally, I don't like it when it happens time after time.
The pacing is absolutely unrealistic, contributing to making the main characters kind of unlikeable, but I recon that the first half was way slower.

Regarding the spicy, I'm not an expert or anything, but it didn't felt well written at all, and since this book is in erotica category, I was expecting a lot more and more developed.

Overall, it was a cute, although, very very fast romance.

sooooo i really liked the plot of this one, but unfortunately, it wasn't executed in the best way. i thought it was super slow in the beginning and really took a lot for me to focus. the writing style was fine, but didn't help keep my focus, and i thought the characters were a little boring. also... who refers to sex as "boink-boink". no. like what is that. but um the cover is cute! unfortunately the book wasn't.

Thanks NetGalley for the advanced copy, this review is all my own opinion.

I enjoyed the premise of this book and ate up the last 40%.

However, there were a few issues that just didn't sit right with me as a reader:
- the pacing is absolutely insane and unrealistic and contributes to making the main characters unlikeable
- the main characters are unlikeable and inconsistent; a woman who won't use real curse words and hasn't done anything sexually in a long while is a sudden sexual goddess? A man who JUST had a wedding called off is in love with another woman after only a couple days of barely interacting with her?
- there are some editorial errors within
- there are phrases sprinkled throughout that are off putting; siblings sitting together like old married couples, talking about his brother listening while they are having sex, and references to things that are a bit incestuous and/or allude to domestic violence

I think some people will enjoy this story but those few things really put me off and made it difficult to push through the book at times.

I was grateful to be sent this book by HarperCollins UK. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Did not finish

Pros
- loved the premise

Cons
- don’t like the writing style, seemed overly casual
- The can’t cuss thing seemed like an attempt to create a quirky character, but it was weird
- A lot of rambling

This may be the first romance I’ve read that I was thinking, “You know what guys, maybe take a beat and think about if dating each other is really the best idea.”

Would you like to read a book about two people with questionable chemistry who almost immediately fall in love? What if I told you the remainder of the book was full of drama that could have easily been mitigated through basic communication?

Nate is an absolute mess who probably needs to take (at least) a year to figure himself out. He just got out of a serious relationship, only to fall ‘in love’ with Shelby after less than a week of knowing her and a handful of surface interactions. Shelby is not in a great place herself, having just lost her father, but at least she knows who she is and what she wants, something that can’t be said for Nate. They don’t communicate well as business partners and they don’t communicate well as a couple. Yikes.

I hate being so harsh, but both the writing and characters felt immature. Parts were clunky and didn’t flow well. The book is set in the US, and the majority of the characters are American, but there are several British English words and phrases used. (‘Blag’ comes to mind off the top of my head.) The real low point, however, was when the phrase ‘road users’ was used instead of the word ‘drivers’.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book. I wish I had enjoyed it more!

I love the cover and the premise of the book! The characters, however, felt like caricatures of real people. Shelby Armstrong seems perfectly quirky and petite while Nate Durant is sophisticated and thinks partially in French phrases. I agree with other reviewers-- it is awfully stream-of-consciousness, so if you're into that, this might be a good fit. I didn't finish this book.