I loved the characters and the storyline development of this book. It was absolutely one of my favorites so far and I can't wait to delve in to the next one that this author writes. The storyline was simple, enjoyable, and entertaining.

Byron and Marley got off to a rough start but they can help each other out. She can sign over some of her land and in exchange, he will renovate her broken down, falling apart home. Simple. . . no strings. Nothing is that simple! They both have painful memories in their love life but they might just find that more is being fixed than a broken down house if they leave themselves open to the possibilities.

I liked this story very much. I'm not a fan of descriptive details of sexual encounters but the story was really good. I really loved Byron and his willingness to get the job done and open himself up to more when he saw how wonderful it could be for both him and his daughter. There is so much more to the story than just a romance and I thoroughly enjoyed the "revenge" that Marley got at the end.

I was given an arc copy of this book and I willingly offer my honest review.

Malley Callahan who is a mother and video game developer has now moved to Point Bristol, Maine for a new job. With that, she is wanting a new house for her and her daughter to live in. thinking that she has found that house she shows up on the day that you are to bid on the home thinking that she should be able to purchase it and still have some money left for any work on it.
Contractor Bryon Gallagher has been waiting for 1175 Point Circle drive to come up for bid in order to save his company after he remodels and flips for a huge profit. Figuring what the cost of the house will be at the bid, he also figures no one else in the area will not bid on the home. What he was not expecting was to be grossly out bided by a beautiful woman who actually is buying a money pit. Malley does not believe him and ups the bid in order to win. She does. She also realizes he is right but does not want to admit it, especially when he and his daughter come over the first night to help her and her daughter out. Though she knows he is right she does not admit it for she really has a problem with men being right which is why she is where she is. You will find in the story. What she is really good at is writing code, but when her ex comes back in wanting something from her, he goes after people she cares about. Then people rally around her. Bryon also comes clean early in the story with her about the deal they made for him to work on the house so you are only left with her ex who you understand why she wanted to get away from him. Wanting to always try to do good she finally calls in a huge favor which goes after her ex. Overall, I thought this book to be very good with really good characters.

***Thank you to NetGalley, Soul Mate Publishing and Jenn Hughes. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own.***

If you’re looking for a totally adorable read, then Blueprint for Love, by Jenn Hughes, might just be the book for you. Marley outbids local contractor Byron on a home, not realizing that the house should be condemned. After a little negotiating, they come to a mutually beneficial agreement. Byron will help her fix the place up for a piece of her land. Multiple mishaps have them exploring the spark between them and blending their families into one happy bunch. Everything they’ve built is threatened when the town bully puts Marley between a rock and a hard place.

This story was just adorable. I loved Marley and Bryon. I loved the family they built. I loved Lillian, Marley’s best friend. I admit I’m a sucker for an enemies-to-lovers story, and this one was lots of fun. Marley and Byron both put the other first, which was great. They talked stuff over, tried to do right by their kids. They’re just good people, trying to make lives for their daughters and get over some past mistakes. They showed great growth. Also, it’s super hard to resist a good revenge plot against a bully, and that part of the story was really well done.

The chemistry between the two main characters was palpable and the story flowed at a good pace. However, I found that a few things detracted from the story:
People constantly referred to the bad guy character by first and last name, it felt strange and forced.
The use of nonsensical curse words: "fan-forking-tastic" just made me cringe. Say the word, or don't, but if you're replacing it, the meaning doesn't change so what's point if you're not 5? The reason was explained much later, but I still didn't get it. Isn't easier to not curse by actually not cursing?
The CIA storyline could have been interesting if it had been the central plot, but as a side plot it felt contrived.

So, this is a case of good writing, and a good central story with great main characters getting sidetracked by unnecessary minor elements. I would try this author again.

I enjoyed the slow, steady pace of the romance in this book. A good read.

Many thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was a decent romance. Marley has plans to start a new life with her daughter and buys a fixer upper that needs a lot of fixing. She outbids Byron who had his hopes in turning the place into an investment property. The place starts to break down and Byron offers to help her in exchange for use of her land. The chemistry between them is hot and they eventually feed that fire. I wasn't overly impressed with the story but it was entertaining and ended with a happy ending. What more can you ask for?

A truly fun and romantic read that will have you falling in love with different facets of the characters and rooting for their happily ever after!! Really liked this book and will be looking for more books by this author.

The second book in the A Port Bristol Novel series a well written story that had me smiling at some of the things Byron Gallagher and Marley Callan eg. writing on a freshly painted wall with felt marker! I will be reading the first book in this series. I received a copy of this book through NetGalley and I am voluntarily reviewing.

I wasn't really a fan of this one. The characters were annoying and the plot was so farfetched that it was distracting. There were several things that were hard to swallow. The romance between the characters was great but it got overshadowed by the espionage plot. I would have liked more about the house and the two making it work than what was in the book. That was the part of the blurb that drew me in.

Yes! Joy! A contemporary romance of enemies to lovers who have a genuinely healthy relationship. It's 2019.
We needed this so bad. Marley and Byron had an honesty about them that was so refreshing.

One of the biggest things I scream about when reading romance stories is how everything could go so much smoother if they just flipping communicated like mature adults. But then would there still be suspense and drama to make a novel? Heck yes! I wasn't sure how, to be honest, but Jenn Hughes has figured it out. And it all really revolves around making sure you have a kick-a$$ heroine leading the way.

Marley has one (pretty darn big) thing on her rap sheet - she hacked the CIA as a bored teen and had to give them years of service in exchange for not going to jail. She's also got an ex-husband that's really a piece of work. Byron is running his family contracting business and wants the house next door for development opportunities but of course Marley swoops in first. This has elements of a classic enemies to lovers trope so I am here for it.

I cannot stress enough how happy I am to finally have a contemporary romance novel have brutally honest and straight forward characters. Byron tricked Marley into signing over some of her land for a development opportunity but guilt made him confess like a chapter and a half later rather than delaying it and lying about it and having the drama of this story being Marley exploding about it later. Instead their relationship was healthy and functional. So where did the drama come from? Preston Lavery, a man who is so rich and powerful that he's been pretty much unstoppable until he screwed with everyone Marley held dear. And she's got a favour she can arrange to call in. And boy does she call it in and the drama is incredible and she's so kick-a$$ and amazing when she believes in herself and her friends are with her 100%. I'm just so happy! There's nothing petty or non-nonsensically dramatic or annoying about any characters. You only want Preston and ex-husband to walk off the pier but. You never hate Marley or Byron. It's just so great. So great.

It takes 70% of the novel for you to understand why the f-word is fork or forking and that was driving me absolutely bananas but Marley doesn't swear and so rather than just changing the sentences, there's a lot of weird words in place of swear words that we could have honestly done without. But that is literally my only complaint.

Thank you NetGalley and Soul Mate Publishing LLC for a copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review.

Marley is a computer genius who has accepted a new position running a gaming software company. A newly single mother, she recently moved her daughter to a new town and a once beautiful but now broken-down house. Unfortunately, the best contractor in town is also the person she beat out in a bidding war for her house. Lucky for her, he is also the nicest guy in town.

Byron owns and operates a third-generation building company. His dream for years has been to buy the property that adjoins his and build high-end apartments on the land. Unfortunately, his bubble bursts when the hottest woman he has ever seen wins the bidding war.

As her house falls apart around her, Marley realizes how lucky she is to live next door to the town’s best builder and nicest guy! Byron and Marley also realize pretty quickly that they not only have white hot chemistry, but very real feelings for each other. As they begin to form a family with their two daughters, chaos threatens their future.

Can Marly stop an evil rival software company’s owner from destroying her life and those of the people most important to her?

Did not enjoy this book at all. First off, I did not realize that this was part of a series and it is not a standalone, you need to read the others and I was lost.

I recently finished reading Blueprint for Love by Jenn Hughes from an advance copy. The opinion that follows is my own.

The title had me worried because it is a bit sappy, but titles are tricky and when it comes to contemporary romance are often cheesy. I was barely halfway through chapter one when I realized I was worried for nothing.

The romance is cute but not sappy or cheesy. If anything the humor in this book has a bit of a dark edge to it, like Marley herself, and I loved it! I laughed out loud several times! I also love that a guy with the name Byron is the hot bachelor in town. When I hear Byron I don’t think of the golden god he was described to be and that made me love him even more.

This book is quirky, fun, and light. I read it very quickly and enjoyed every moment. I wanted to punch the antagonists in the face. I only have violent reactions to books I enjoy very much.

I also loved the use of “The Good Place” style language. That was forkin’ fun. I mean holy shirt this was a much needed lighthearted story.

Don’t let the title put you off. Read Blueprint for Love. You won’t regret it. So. Much. Fun.

This book was such a cute romance story. What made it different from a lot I have read was the main character, Marley used different words for cursing. She used "forking" instead of "f*cking" and she used "drunk and dork-orderly". I thought this was very unique and cute. This book was well written and kept me engaged the entire time. I hope that you choose to purchase this book! I rate this book 4 stars.

Two and a half stars.

Marley is a divorced single mother. A former hacker and CIA nerd she has come to Port Bristol to start over and work with Sam, her BFF Lilian's husband in his new tech start-up. Byron Gallagher is a single father, he owns his own construction business and is looking to develop a block of apartments on the property next door to fund his daughter's future college dreams. Then Marley buys the property Byron has his eye on and it's all-out war between them - until Byron suggest a compromise that could make them both happy.

On paper this is absolutely my cup of tea, contemporary romantic comedy, opposites attract, nerd and the construction worker. Indeed, I actually enjoyed (most of) the plot. Unfortunately I really did not get Jenn Hughes' 'humour'. A grown woman and mother of a pre-teen should not need to use the word 'fork' instead of the four-letter expletive it sounds like, and certainly not 30 times in one novel! All of the humour was overblown and felt like it was written by a horny 12 year old boy. Don't even get me started on the use of the phrase 'her throbbing go-button' !! None of the characters, except maybe Byron felt real they were all 'characters' with no personal motivations other than furthering the plot.

Overall I felt Jenn Hughes just needed to tone it down a bit, stop repeating the same joke over and over again like a five year old and think about why the secondary characters behave the way they do - Marley's ex-husband is a case in point, he changed his attitude so fast he must have got whiplash - no character integrity.

However, underneath it all was a sweet small-town romance.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I enjoyed reading this book, it had a good back and forth between the main characters and enough of an emotional draw that I felt bad for the characters when they emotionally bottomed out. I did find it odd that there is a scene where the main character is able to walk into an airport, through security, to meet with someone and then leave - without a ticket. Maybe if this was set in the 1990’s, but post 9/11 that does not happen, especially in an airport titled as “international.”

Marley starts out as rather irritating. Her intentions are good - to make a home for her daughter in a small Maine town after a divorce and to help the computer gaming company she’s joined to succeed. So she decides to buy a house that she hasn’t been inside. When Byron shows up also determined to buy that same house, she engages in a bidding war so that she finally wins the house but has used up all her savings. And she still hasn’t seen inside. When she does - she sees what a miserable money trap she just wasted all her money on. Byron keeps helping her and she keeps being nasty to him. He seems much too nice to her. But eventually they make a deal so he can help her renovate the house. And he offers her the apartment over his garage to live in while she’s homeless. He’s just too good to be true. And he makes pancakes for breakfast too. A hunk who is kind and generous and can cook as well as repair anything that goes wrong in the house. He’s the perfect guy!

That would have been enough of a plot but then the second half throws in a mini sort of espionage plot as the evil rich guy who covets Marley’s IT patents starts threatening her. That part of the plot wasn’t all that believable and its resolution was just not credible.

I would have preferred more on the building romance between Marley and Byron and less of the rather silly industrial espionage plotline.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.