Free of her overbearing family and their dreams, not hers, Kayla Gallagher is living for herself instead of for her clan's successful restaurant. Step One: finally make her move on Aiden Patrick, the bad-boy son of Gallagher's long-time repairman. Too bad Aidan’s taciturn older brother shows up instead. As the “responsible Patrick,” Liam has always made a conscious choice to do the right thing. He likes fixing things for people—whether it be a broken appliance or a bad situation. Which means he can’t just brush off the quiet Gallagher. Clearly, she needs a shoulder to lean on. But suddenly a shoulder becomes so much more, and Kayla isn’t the quiet little girl she used to be. She’s a vivid, down-for-anything woman showing Liam several sizzling ways to put passion first. As things heat up between them, Liam’s family threatens to come apart for good. The only way Liam can set things right means giving up Kayla. But she’s not about to take no for an answer—or let their chance for something sweeter than desire crash-and burn without a fight.
The book was decent. The plot was not bad. I liked both main characters. I recommend.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

Kayla wanted to separate herself from Gallagher family... (But it wasn’t really described in detail). She wanted start her life again and looking for another job.
Liam Patrick knew how to fix things and he won’t say no to fixing. He helps his father’s business whereas his brother won’t come or bother to help them. He is more responsible one in the family.
To start her new life again, she decided to give a try on dating. When she decided to have a drink with Aiden Patrick, she was worried and thrilled. She always had a crush on Aiden growing up. But Aiden didn’t show up, Liam, his grumpier, stoic older brother shows up. Since she knew both of them from childhood, she decided to have more drink with Liam. She decided it was time for her to try one of the things she didn’t do...
She was drunk and Liam had to take her to his house instead of her house since she won’t reveal her address.. From then on, Kayla sees different side of Liam. She is enjoying herself with Liam and he does as well.
But as their relationship blossoms, Liam’s brother Aidan creates more problems for them.
They have to open up, trust and help each other. But it is not as easy, when his mother and brother gets in the way.

This could be standalone but there were some Kayla’s family dram wasn’t really explained. Kayla tends to be in her head way too much. Both seems to have very dysfunctional family at least Liam’s was described. Nothing really explained about Kayla’s other than his grandmother and father doesn’t approve of her. I was hoping for more back story to make the story more likable.
I would give 3 1/4⭐️ for this book.

Thanks to Netgalley and Kensington Lyrical press for my ARC in exchange for honest review.

I think that some readers may have a problem with Kayla. She’s at a crossroads in her life and she seems to have spent quite a bit of time moping about it instead of actually doing anything constructive. Doesn’t even seem like she’s done any real soul searching. Instead she seems to be waiting for things to come to her and push her where she needs to be. Lucky for her she runs into Liam

Liam has always lost any coolness he might have when he’s around Kayla. As they spends some time together, though, things start to change and their attraction begins to grow. He shows himself to be an awesomely sexy closet alpha that is just looking for the right woman to complete his life. Unfortunately his role as the family fixer may throw their romance a few curve balls.

It’s not easy juggling everything for everyone but Liam has a need to try and it just happens to conflict with Kayla’s issues stemming from her relationship with her own family. I’m not saying that there isn’t a problem with the Patrick family dynamic, just that unfortunately it crosses uncomfortably with the Gallagher’s. It’s not a good situation for either of them but luckily they work through it well and quickly.

I thought the hero made himself the martyr. I liked the story up until the point where the hero was so easily manipulated by his mom and his brother. Then the story went down hill from there. Other readers may like it, but this was not for me.

It is all fun and sexy as all get out until the family drama spills over to the budding relationship and things get real.
I jumped into the book two in the series when I saw it on NetGalley and the joy of the cover picture allured me to read the blurb and I was hooked. So I can not tell you if Kayla Gallagher's family troubles and being disowned by the family has been divulged in details in the previous book, but here it was more of a statement of things that happened in the past. Why did she get tired of her family and what went on before she felt the need to walk away and change herself, I still have no idea.
Kayla was at the crossroads, she was looking for direction to go, she was unemployed, broke, and vulnerable - maybe not the best time to start a new relationship. But her life long crush Aiden asks her out, and she is not about to say no. Only, Liam shows up instead of Aiden.
Liam had his own family drama, he just didn't seem to be aware of it. The dysfunctions in Patrick family are plentiful, thus introducing some of the most unpleasant secondary characters around. Liam himself had a need to fix things for everyone around him. He is a kind hearted, protective, and loyal. His feelings for Kayla has been simmering for awhile. He is under immense stress with his family, yet I still find it hard to accept some of the decisions he made.
The chemistry between Liam and Kayla is scorching hot, and the long detailed sex scenes seem to take over the tale at one point. Nothing wrong with that, but I need a bit more emotional development with physical adventures as well. Regardless, I was really enjoying the story - it was fun, entertaining and hot - until the conflict came and I cringed as the protagonists turn into different people leaving me to ask if I know them at all. The decisions and actions taken during the conflict were not equal to the redemption, in my opinion, with anyone. Not with Liam, Aiden, their mom, or even with Kayla. And the epilog proved that not much had changed regarding the family dynamics with the Patrick family. I guess in a way that kept things real and life-like, I just had hoped that Mrs. Patrick would have seen 'the light' a bit more brightly.
Will I read more by this author - absolutely if the opportunity arises. With all the twists in the plot, even with the couple shortcomings (in my opinion) that I ran into, I found the story delightful at times, engaging and compelling at all the time and was invested to finish the book and find out about the destiny of the main characters.
~ Three Spoons with a teaspoon on the side

What a pair. Liam was the co-dependent go to for his entire family, which was annoying by the end of the book. Kayla was pretty self-absorbed. Between the two of them they had great physical chemistry, but by the end had managed to work things out between the two of them emotionally as well. Aidan was an off throw away character to get them together.

So Wrong It Must Be Right, by Nicole Helm, is the first of her books telling the story of the Gallagher family of St. Louis and the beginning of the Gallagher and Ivy series. Dinah Gallagher has her sights set on becoming the chief operating officer of Gallagher's Tap Room. The legacy is that the first born of the first born take the helm. But when her father ran away with her aunt and her uncle took charge the dynamics changed.

Now she has been charged with acquiring the property next door to the tap room, a property that has been turned into an urban farm. The handsome owner of the property, Carter Trask, is not interested in the offers being made for his property. He is tired of being pushed around and has no interest in selling out to the Gallaghers.

For Dinah this acquisition means the difference between achieving her goals and total failure. But when she realizes that the urban farm looks a whole lot like pictures her online romance has posted, she must decide what her true goals are and how to achieve them.

With shades of You've Got Mail, only a whole lot steamier, this is an interesting story of finding what you really want in life and how to garner the strength to achieve it. I did like this book and do recommend it.

I did not realize that So Bad It Must Be Good by Nicole Helm is part of a series, Ivy & Gallagher. In fact, when I requested the book, I thought it was part of another series that she also is releasing. I found it to pretty much stand on its own, even though I still do not understand Kayla’s family being so unsupportive of her decisions.

What I do understand and is so well depicted in Liam and Kayla’s story is the pressures that family can put on the next generation. How it can weigh a soul down, and force them to make decisions that leave them in regrettable situations. As the story progress, Kayla and Liam became individuals in their own right; not just some extension of their family. Good for them, I say. For the rest of us, the book serves as a warning for us not to have the Gallaher or Patrick family mindset. Not sure there is any hope for them anyway.

Review: SO BAD IT MUST BE GOOD by Nicole Helm http://wp.me/p3d0RZ-9vS
Publication Date: August 22, 2017
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Reviewed by: Reading in Pajamas/ Donna
Rated: 4 Stars

I enjoyed this story about two everyday people finding love, despite their family pressures. Liam and Kayla are likeable and their relationship was heartwarming. At one point, I almost put the book down because I was mad at Liam, but I’m glad I kept reading. It’s a sweet and sexy romance.

*Review copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

this was a great and unexpected story. Both of these characters were not looking for each other and yet they were made for each other. I thought his mom was going to ruin it for me but he grew a pair and moved on to love.

Thank you Lyrical Press/Kensington Publishing and Netgalley for approving me for an ARC of Nicole Helm 's So Bad It Must Be Good. I was excite to be approved for this book because I had been hearing alot about Nicole Helm and really wanted to read one of her book. I enjoy this book, but I didn't "LOVE" it! I had a problem with Kayla Gallagher. We found out that she walked away from her family especially her Father and that it was her choice to free herself from them but we never know why. Kayla has had her eye on Aiden Patrick for a while now and she picks his shoulder to cry on. What she gets is "Stick Up up his butt" Liam. Liam is the go to guy in his family. Got a problem, Liam will take care of it. How he was able to deal with them all is beyond Me! Especially his Mother! That women was a "piece of work." The sex scene, Wow! Hot, Hot, Hot and alot of it. I would have liked a little less of the sex and a little more about why Kayla walked away from her family. It was a fast read, being that it was less then 200 pages. I am giving it 3 stars. I am looking forward to reading something else by this author.

I LOVED this story. It's so well-written and is equal parts heart-warming, heart-wrenching, and true. The main characters' voices are so clear and their motivations genuine. It's been a real pleasure. I highly recommend Nicole Helm’s So Bad iIt Must Be Good.

I received an ARC of this book, from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

kayla gallagher has finally freed herself from her overbearing family. that was step one. the problem is that she isn't sure she knows what step two is. when she runs into liam patrick at the farmer's market she had conceived for her family's restaurant she's feeling vulnerable and lost. it had been her idea but her father and grandmother had bulldozed over her dreams to get what they wanted and now she had no part of it.

she's known liam since they were kids, she's crushed on his brother aiden for about that long, and when he shows up and teasingly asks for her number she thinks why not? aiden is flirtatious and funny and easy to be around. spending any amount of time with liam has her feeling wrong. she's antsy and insecure and tongue-tied. and she can't shake the feeling that he's judging her finding her wanting.

but when aiden stands her up and sends liam in his place, she finally sees him in a new light. because the truth is, he doesn't find her wanting. he just doesn't know what to say to the girl he's always been afraid to break. liam has a thing for fixing things. and kayla has never needed his fixing, so he's always been unsure.

in so bad it must be good, kayla and liam realize that those uncomfortable tingles are actually sparks of chemistry and once those sparks are ignited it's like they've finally found safe haven. because before you know it they are in a full-fledged relationship. and while they both have some lifelong patterns of behavior they need to work on, one thing they realize is that they are much better off together than apart. and sure they have to have some epiphanies and whatnot, but at the end of the day, they are perfect for each other. and i loved that.

Although I enjoyed the first book in this series, this book was better. There were so many emotions through this story and it totally broke my heart. As I mentioned in my review of So Wrong It Must Be Right, Kayla was actually my favorite character. I liked her from the start and felt for her and how she was treated by her family.

What I didn’t expect was the treatment Liam gets from his family. Without giving anything away, I must say that things that seemed minor in the beginning really became significant as this story went along. Like Kayla, I was furious with Liam’s family once I realized how deep their dependency went and how shallow their support was. His mother is actually a vile person that I don’t understand in any way, shape, or form. Even after the reader gets a “reason” for her actions.

The chemistry between Liam and Kayla was not just hot, it was warm. As in, lots and lots of warm-fuzzies! I love it and Liam made me feel like I was wrapped in a warm blanket. The way he, more than once, had to turn around from what he was doing to go back and give Kayla a kiss…swoon-worthy.

I like the previous two books I read by Nicole Helm, but now I’m starting to get excited about her books. And I’m beyond happy that I have the next book in the A Mile High Romance series already waiting on my Kindle.

So Bad It Must Be Good by Nicole Helm
Gallagher & Ivy #2

Two people who make one another stronger when together are Kayla Gallagher and Liam Patrick. Sure, Kayla was attracted to Liam’s brother Aiden first but it is Liam who gets her and is there for her in more ways than one. As Kayla explores who she is without her family’s business employing her and Liam makes some huge realizations about himself and his family the two grow as individuals, learn more about themselves and one another and end up caring, loving and being honest with one another as they move toward a future together.

I liked this book and liked the chemistry between the couple. I sometimes wanted to shake Liam for not seeing what was happening with his family BUT otherwise enjoyed this second in the Gallagher & Ivy series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington-Lyrical Shine for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4 Stars

Awesome read. These two characters were so motivated by their families it was nice to see them break loose and live life for themselves. Kayla Gallagher has had it with her overbearing family and walked away. Finally living life on her terms she decides to have a little fun and Aidan Patrick seems like the perfect candidate. Too bad he blew her off and sent his grumpy brother Liam in his place. Liam, always the fixer, can't just let Aidan stand up this woman so he goes to meet her instead. What starts out as providing a shoulder to lean quickly turns into so much more as these two really get to know each other.

A great story with some very interesting and well developed characters that will grab a piece of your heart. I definitely recommend this one.

Loved seeing this under appreciated pair find their happy ending, Kayla was so sweet and poor Liam was always being treated as the doormat for his brother it was great to see them realize that together they had something great.

I hadn't read the previous book in the series but that didn't impact my enjoyment. I wasn't a big fan of either character at first but as they opened up to each other and revealed more of their personalities I found myself falling for them. This ended up being a really sweet romance and I liked how unsure the hero was , as compared to typical romance heroes. I also felt the conflict between the two of them made a lot of sense. I'm looking forward to reading more by this author

Wrong guy. Wrong situation. Might be right.

Free of her overbearing family and their dreams, not hers, Kayla Gallagher is living for herself instead of for her clan's successful restaurant. Step One: finally make her move on Aiden Patrick, the bad-boy son of Gallagher's long-time repairman. Too bad Aidan’s taciturn older brother shows up instead . . .

As the “responsible Patrick,” Liam has always made a conscious choice to do the right thing. He likes fixing things for people—whether it be a broken appliance or a bad situation. Which means he can’t just brush off the quiet Gallagher. Clearly, she needs a shoulder to lean on. But suddenly a shoulder becomes so much more, and Kayla isn’t the quiet little girl she used to be. She’s a vivid, down-for-anything woman showing Liam several sizzling ways to put passion first . . .

As things heat up between them, Liam’s family threatens to come apart for good. The only way Liam can set things right means giving up Kayla. But she’s not about to take no for an answer—or let their chance for something sweeter than desire crash-and burn without a fight.

Kayla has always worked for her family but she decided she’d been treated badly one too many times and quit. Unfortunately she’d not really done anything since then. She sees her old crush Aiden Patrick one day and he’s excited to see her. Aiden asks Kayla out but when it comes time for the date Aiden isn’t around – is supposedly dealing with something – and asks his stoic brother, Liam, to go tell Kayla that he can’t make it.

Liam heads to the bar and ends up talking to Kayla (who’s pissed about Aiden) and even though they don’t touch each other that night they eventually start a relationship. They’re so good together but Aiden is pissed at his brother for taking “his girl” and complains to mommy – who asks Liam to give Kayla up to keep the peace in the family. Liam has to decide if he will go with his family’s wishes or stay with the woman he loves.

This was a pretty cute book. It seemed to be a pretty fast read as Liam and Kayla get together and things move along at a pretty fast clip. I liked Liam and Kayla together so reading their romance was a treat.

I hated the way that Liam’s family treated him – mostly his mother and brother. Kayla hated it too and it was really the only thing they got into arguments about. When Liam’s mom asks Liam to give her up because of Aiden, I was madder than a hornet! What mother does that? Ugh!

Anyway, the romance was cute and I liked the characters in the story. It was a pleasant read and I definitely liked it better than book one in this series.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

This will post as a guest review on Book Binge.
www.bookbinge.com

4☆
What I liked:
The writing style
Liam and Kayla
Part of a series: Gallagher and Ivy
Standalone
HEA

I look forward to reading more from Nicole Helm.

I will post the link to my review on Amazon when the book goes live.