So, this was different from any book I’ve read recently. I picked it up because of this line in the blurb:

From Emma Barry comes a clever romance about a hot veterinarian and a chicken-loving influencer who can’t help but ruffle each other’s feathers.

Did I know what a chicken influencer was before I started to read? No. Do I know now? Why, yes. I also know more about chickens than I ever thought I would.

Chick Magnet begins with the FMC, Nicole Jones, moving to the town where her grandmother grew up to get away from a gaslighting, mentally abusive ex. She meets the MMC, Will Lund, when one of her chickens gets out of her yard. The two don’t exactly mesh well at first, but they do finally coral the chicken back into its safe place.

Will is the town’s grumpy, standoffish vet who has a ton of problems of his own, not the least of which is that his practice is about to go belly up after the hard times of the Covid shutdown. He has no time or inclination to get to know the chicken influencer who has romanticized bird ownership and turned it into what he believes to be a fad. But he’s watched Nic’s videos and can’t help but be a little mesmerized by her charming personality.

I had no idea going in that the plot and conflict on Will’s part would revolve around Covid and the shutdown. I’m not sure I would have picked it up had I known. But it did bring to the spotlight the many small businesses that were affected by the pandemic. Nic on the other hand is an influencer that makes her living posting TikTok videos about chicken ownership and I don’t believe I’ve read a romance with this as the main character’s profession. All of this makes for an original read.

Nic and Will do have a sweet romance. I started wondering at like 25% when Nic would wrangle Will into doing videos with her and if this would be the thing that saved his practice. And I was partly right, which makes for some fun times with the two of them. These two have chemistry and a slow burn getting to know you and falling into bed. Will has to get over this sense of failure that his business is about to close, and Nic has to learn to trust again after the disaster of her previous relationship.

This book does have a small-town vibe with many colorful secondary characters, including the animals both of them care for.

Chick Magnet is a grumpy/sunshine romance that is also an easy, fast read. If you’re looking for something a little different in the contemporary romance genre, this might be for you.

Grade- B

Amazon * Goodreads