UGHHH this was so cute and so good and cozy and so emotional!!!! I loved every single bit of this story, from dealing with love and loss and grief and cadence, to the romcom vibe of the town of Honey Creek and all its crazy characters. Yara and Alex were a perfectly crafted couple, and their hate to love relationship was done organically!!! I just really love the writing Cherry does, and the fact that all of her characters of color feel real and palatable, never a stereotype or caricature. And also, it was so refreshing to read a romance book with no third act breakup… just falling in love and dealing with the demons and trauma of their pasts together. I appreciated the fact that both Alex and Yara had visible character development, along with Alex’s development of the town, and I also love that even though he was the grumpy black cat boyfriend, he had character growth without sacrificing that aspect of him. This is my second book read by Cherry, and I cannot wait to dive into more!

So I went to a Christina Lauren event, and Brittainy Cherry was the ~in conversation with~ person. I loved her as a person at that event, so I decided to put some of her books on hold at the library. This is the first I’ve read by her, and I loved it! 
I really like the characters. I saw some other reviewers were struggling with Alex because he’s an asshole in the beginning, and yes he is, but also he’s an asshole in the way that I too have been when you’re having a shitty day/week/month, and you take it out on people who are in there at the wrong time in your life/moment. Of course it’s not healthy/right, but we’re people. Alex and Yara feel like real people because they have flaws but also acknowledge and grow from them. Excited to read the next book. 

This was my first novel I have read by this author. I overall went back and forth on what I wanted my final rating to be for this novel but I think some things were missing. I first would want to let readers know there probably needs to be a trigger warning related to assault by spouse/ex. I think maybe because this is a cartoon cover and a romcom type of book that was left off but it was a consistent theme throughout the entire novel. Also this is a no spice romance book. The things I liked about this book was the story was easy to understand and was a quick read and I enjoyed some of the humor in the book. However, it also read as very cheesy or middle school humor for a lot of the jokes/banter/dialogue, it made me second guess the age of the characters in the book. The main characters I feel were too extreme. MMC was atrocious rude/a jerk for absolutely no reason:not even his trauma accounted for his issues that he needed therapy for. The FMC came off a little fake with her overly sunshine to the MMC grumpy. The tropes/set up of their relationship also felt choppy and a few too many pop culture references for my preference. I think if the author was going for a hallmark movie vibe that is what she she achieved however I was expecting something with a little more depth and a little more overall with pacing/character development. Overall this book hits the mark for a quick and easy hallmark-esk romance book if that’s what you are looking for this is the book for you!

Brittainy Cherry has done it again! This book follows Yara, who owns a dog daycare, and Alex, who is the owner of the new restaurant across the street. Although Yara and Alex have a strong dislike of each other they have to team up to get what they want. 

I loved the characters and the plot. Yara and Alex were so relatable in complete different ways and to watch their story grow throughout was amazing. I'm not going to lie the turn of events and the coming together of community is what everyone loves in a small town! And it was done great! I definitely recommend this book. 

Thank you Brittainy Cherry and Valentine PR for the ARC!