Enemies on Tap by Avery Flynn (Sweet Salvation Brewery #1)
Released: July 14, 2014
Contemporary Romance
Entangled Publishing

Reviewed by May

After years away, Miranda Sweet returns to Salvation, Virginia to save her family’s brewery, but her fate is in the hands of her lover-turned-enemy, Logan. What’s a girl to do when the only person who can help her is the man who betrayed her?

Logan Martin can’t believe his luck when the woman who smashed his heart to smithereens walks into his bank asking for his help. What she doesn’t know is that he needs the land her brewery is on–and he’ll do whatever it takes to get it.

I loved the idea of this book – that two people with history and a family feud reunite and find true love. Oh, and the heroine runs Sweet Salvation brewery – how could I go wrong?

Our leading man is eye smexing and wanting the heroine immediately. They are both thinking about how the other one did them wrong all those years ago. Neither wants to admit they are madly in love. Both are.

Sadly, the execution simply isn’t here. I loved the idea of this, but the reality was something much less. There is a lot going on something about a business park and road access and all this – I really didn’t care. I wanted to see a love story and that wasn’t satisfying when Logan is such a little punk he does whatever daddy wants and is so busy kissing investor ass that he can’t man up and go caveman on his lady love. He’s thinking dirty thoughts- but he just doesn’t give me enough action. On the other hand Miranda always seems to have herself in order.

“You, Logan Martin, just donated twelve hundred dollars to the Save the Sweet Salvation Brewery fund.”

He stared at the orange raffle tickets in his hand. They turned blurry, and he blinked several times to bring the world back into focus. “Fuck.”

“Not in this lifetime.” She winked at him. “Enjoy the pie.”

While his brain was still trying to process how in the hell he’d just messed up so wholeheartedly, the rest of him was enjoying the view of her ass and round hips swaying as she strolled across the restaurant to a back booth where Ruby Sue waited for her. He should have been pissed, but all he could do was shake his head with wonder.

Their enemy status seemed really juvenile and didn’t work – it felt more like two people pretending to hate each other in order to avoid jumping each other. The feud and bet and all of that didn’t build my interest – instead it cheapened things and made me question their HEA or ability to stay together.

The other problems with this story included the “villain” elements that didn’t make sense or add anything worthwhile, and the town hating the heroine because of her last name. Both of these story elements are trotted out but not backed up. The idea that nobody in town likes her because her family is despised didn’t make any sense. Why would they all work for her family’s brewery then? What heinous things did her family do? It never added up.

I feel like I should say some nice things – because despite my problems with this story and my dislike of the leading man it wasn’t awful. The heroine and her sisters have an interesting dynamic that I enjoyed. I also really liked Miranda – she was really my kind of heroine if a bit generic.

Overall, if you want a small town romance that is a fast read featuring a hero who can’t think of anything but how much he wants to get the heroine naked and a heroine who would very much like the same – if she wasn’t so busy saving her family business not to mention many jobs including her own – then you might like this.

Grade: C-

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