After a nomadic life of growing sustainable food in small, rural communities, Sara is ready for a place to call home. After retiring from the Peace Corps, her parents settled in the Pacific Northwest, and Sara is looking forward to settling down with her parents close by. She’s going to love her new job working with the locals to abolish a food desert in their community. City planner Margaret is tough and ambitious, and when she learns there’s another bid for the site where she hopes to get a tech company that will brings jobs to move in, she’ll stop at nothing to win the bid. That is, until she meets Sara, and Sara gets under her skin. Sparks fly, but who will win the property war, and will their budding relationship survive the fallout?

This book was an okay read for me. Just a cute, simple romance with pretty solid characterization. The stakes weren’t super high, but the characters were likeable. It was a slow burn romance, and I felt like the build up helped move the plot along nicely. I’ve always wanted to join the Peace Corps, so I liked Sara’s character a lot, and of course, having her face off against someone who is the exact opposite makes for some interesting situations.

I’m a bit late on this one, so it’s out in the world now. If you need something easy going and pleasant in between heavier reads, check this one out.

An honest review in thanks of NetGalley. I really liked the humor in this book, I found my self literally laughing out loud during parts. In general this was a very quick and smooth romantic read, the humor and secondary characters made me like this book. Without the humor and secondary characters I more than likely would have lowered this rating to a two. If you are looking for something light and feel good, then you will definitely like this book.

Sadly Erica Abbott has passed away, making this her last book. I have long been a huge fan of her work but unfortunately this is not up to the same standard as her other work. The basic premise is two women set up by their mothers, however, the two are about to face off in their professional lives. One is a city planner, the other has just returned from the Peace Corps: boring government pencil pusher versus wild child, get it? *eye-roll*. There's also a stray dog shoved in there and some terrible jokes.
Avoid.

A nice romance to pass some time with, following the enemies to lovers trope. I felt it had a strong beginning with establishing the characters and their interactions. Towards the end it felt a bit off for me, not really sure why but maybe because things all of sudden happened in a faster pace because of smaller size of the book. The conflict that forced the break-up seemed to bep put into the story because that was what was expected. In short, very promising start but sizzled out for me the further along in the book I got.

*** An ARC was provided by Netgalley in exchange for a honest review ***

My first thought is cute read. This story involves two women passionate about their jobs and making a difference in their local community. Sara makes a difference by encouraging sustainable sources of food through community gardens. Margaret makes a difference by encouraging businesses to build and create jobs for the citizens of the town she loves. This is a light read with low angst and a strong message, don't just talk, do something.

I was sadden to hear that Erica Abbott is no longer with us. I so much enjoyed her four series Alex Ryan and CJ St. Clair stories. One of my favorite series.

Having read and enjoyed Ms Abbotts books. Was really glad I got the chance to read her last work along with Pol Robinson.
Margaret Winters was brought up by a single mother who likes to move around a lot. Because of this she’d never had what most of us would call a real home. But now she’s where she wants to be, in Seattle Washington working for the city as the Director of Neighborhood Development. And now she’s working on moving a new company into the downtown core. She has an assistant Jeremy, who she thinks is trying to sabotage her work hoping to get a promotion for himself. Her neighbor Mrs Stein had at one time told her how her late husband always gave her flowers every Friday so Margaret takes it upon herself to continue the tradition. Now she’s about to meet her match.
Sara Chandler, like Margaret, has lived all over the world following her parents from one project for the Peace Corps to another. But just a few years ago they finally settled down in Washington buying a small farm house. Sara continued working around the globe helping people set up self sustaining community gardens. And she’s about to make that come true for the people in downtown Seattle so she submitted a proposal for acquiring the land to do just that. Problem is it’s the same location that Margaret wants.
Ms Abbott and Ms Robinson have given us a thoroughly enjoyable read. Both characters are well developed along with a supporting cast that makes for a fast, fun read.
ARC via NetGalley/ Bella Books

Sarah and Margaret appear to be exact opposites. One works to get city farming properties to feed the poor and one wants to bring large companies into Seattle. They first meet to try to change when Margaret wants to talk Sarah out of bidding for the property. There next meeting is when their moms arrange blind dates for their daughters, not knowing they have already met. Loved Dusty the dog.
Goodreads

A gentle easy read, it starts well setting up the 'opposites attract' storyline, with the interesting character of Sara daughter of Peace Corps volunteers born and raised in Nepal. Her Opposite is Margaret daughter of a hippy mother who makes inedible goats cheese, Margaret is a corporate power house and so very different to Sara, she does however know all the best places to relax in Seattle. The set up is well explored as is there respective back stories, Margaret is horrid to her staff but then has a change of heart after being with Sara. The book rather fell away for me in the last third and became more unbelievable and I would have liked more of Dusty the rescued dog with a huge personality.

With thanks to Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Thank you Netgalley and Bella books for access to this arc.

I tagged the review with “enemies to lovers” but it’s actually more opponents to lovers with a meet-uncute to start things off. Controlled Margaret and Granola Sara are about as opposite as can be but I liked that both women are intelligent, focused, and looking to do good even if in vastly different ways. I could cheer and pull for both of them. After their less than stellar initial encounter, they both act like adults during the blind date their (unknowing) mothers set up between them. I was all set for some snit fits so when they decided to enjoy dinner (since they were hungry and already there) then acted their age, it was a nice surprise.

The arrival of Dusty 2 – the dog – showed how Sara cares directly for those who need help but also how Margaret is willing to do her share for an abandoned animal. The women both see beyond their initial impressions of each other both during the dinner and afterwards while helping a “down on her luck” dog.

Then things kind of drifted a bit as the reason for the conflict between the two gets put aside while they get to know each other better. I enjoyed watching them do this but wasn’t sure I could believe that they wouldn’t at least talk about the building they both wanted. Then there were Sara’s past relationship issues that were sort of trotted out for the moment before then being shoved aside and forgotten.

The final “third act” conflict was actually set up fairly well across the whole story so even though it came from nowhere for the characters, it didn’t seem to from the reader’s POV. Margaret’s relationship with her building mate and Saturday tea drinker, Mrs. Stein, is lovely. Dusty 2, the dog, is sweet and the physical side of Margaret and Sara is hot while the solution to the problem between them sounds realistic. I did enjoy the story but there was just a bit of choppy backstory and I wanted more goats. B-

[Un]Common Ground by Erica Abbott and Pol Robinson is one of those charming romances that we need, if only to escape from the not so nice year (2020) we are living through right now. It is about an unlikely couple who are attracted to each other in spite of their differences. This book has it all. We have a hard-nosed business woman/ice queen who is secretly a romantic at heart, and a young woman whose mission in life is to help people and protect the environment. Add in a business deal that puts the two main characters on opposite sides, two meddlesome, matchmaking mothers, a stray dog with soulful eyes, and a flock of baby goats, and you have the perfect recipe for a lovely, lighthearted and heartwarming novel.

This is a fairly short book, so it is an easy and quick read. The characters are easy to fall in love with, and the setting is absolutely gorgeous and well-described. The story itself will leave you in a happy mood. I know it did for me. If you need a book that will brighten your day, then this is the one for you.

It is with great sadness that I must mention Erica Abbott passed away July 4, 2020, just a few weeks before this novel was published. This is her last literary gift to us, her readers. My thoughts are with her family and friends as they grieve her loss. I know that Ms. Abbott will live on in their hearts just as her words and stories will keep her alive in ours.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bella Books for an honest review.

Cute
As the daughter of Peace Corp volunteers, Sara grew up a nomad in faraway places growing food in remote places and with a strong sense of community. Now her parents live in outside Seattle and she has come home to help run a program that deals with the finding and maintaining of community gardens. They have their eyes on a property that will work perfectly for a lot of people to be able to grow their own food, the only problem is that someone else wants it too. Margaret is ever so happy in her Government job! She loves the rules and regulations and the order…. Not at all like how she grew up. Her latest project is getting the Pacific Rim development up and running. The only problem is one last holdout property that she needs to make the deal complete…a property that a grassroots organization wants for, of all things, community gardens… and they won’t be swayed from that location!

This is a decent read. The cover and the blurb make you think that goats will be big players in this story but truthfully, they only play a minor role, one scene really. Margaret’s mother Carol’s goat milk cheese plays a bigger part than the goats themselves do. This is a simple romance with no real angst, no deep emotions of any kind but that’s ok… there are some laughs and decent characters though. Margaret is a bit of a regimented ice princess at first and Sara is softer but equally determined in her goals. Margaret’s mother is a hoot and a half and there is an adorable dog whose name causes more than a little funny confusion. I liked watching Margaret relax and let her true personality shine through as the women get to know and develop feelings for each other. This is the first thing I have read by either author and, even though Ms Abbott is no longer with us, I am looking forward to reading the books they both have out.

This has been a nice story although at the beginning it implied something that in the end it has not been. And that has been so because one of the protagonists, Margaret, is quite unpleasant in general, she improves a little in the end, but it has not been enough for my overall feeling towards her to be entirely positive. Sara is not very well defined either, because apparently she is a wanderer in search of the common good and then quickly settles into a fairly comfortable and a bit conservative situation.

Their mothers' matchmaker role has been fun. Also Dusty's several misunderstandings. Perhaps the best of the story, because the two women together have not set the place on fire.

And a final comment. As a huge cheese lover, I have not liked at all the bad treatment of this product throughout history.

The best word I can think of to describe this book is pleasant.

Short of one particular scene which had me howling with laughter for a couple of minutes, I didn’t really experience any emotions whilst reading this, either positive or negative.

The book certainly isn’t terrible, it’s very well written, in an impressively seamless manner considering it’s written by two authors, but it lacks something quite significant - emotion. The main characters have feelings about their pasts, but never really openly express them, and when they do, it just doesn’t land with this particular reader. They also don’t really appear to have strong emotional responses to each other.

The storyline itself is also amiable. There’s barely any angst which isn’t in itself a bad thing, but when there is some, it’s either resolved and swept away quickly, or doesn’t add any fervour to the situation, which left me feeling somewhat disconnected from the MCs and the storyline. I think the character I connected with the most might have been the dog.

I think it’s highly likely others will feel differently to me about this book. It is at its heart a sweet romance, a story of finding home and a perfectly pleasant way to pass a few hours.

I received an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book had me at goat. It's rather silly to have a goat on the cover of the book because it's only a tiny bit of the story, funny bit, but it's a baby goat, so no complaints here!

Sara worked as a Peace Corps volunteer for most of her life. She led a nomadic existence but now she wants to grow some roots of her own. She has always felt like Seattle was her adopted home so when she found a job opportunity in the city she jumped at the chance. Sara will be creating community gardens in the city if she can find some land to do this on. Margaret is the city planner, she is very ambitious and a non-profit seems to be in the way of her latest great plan. Margaret goes to talk to this non-profit only to find this "Granola Girl" Sara there who unsettles her in the best ways.
The goats only come into play with Margaret's mother, she owns a goat farm and makes cheeses.

The book is co-authored and I think it shows, or maybe it only shows because you know it's co-authored. That's not to say it isn't good, it is actually, there seems to be this back and forth between the characters that is hard to describe but it seems to be done by different people. I imagine both authors writing one character and combining the two in this book, it works pretty well.
The story itself was rather easy, opposites attract and all that. I was surprised to find so much humour in it. I had a few laugh out loud moments that made my partner look up in surprise.

This was a lighthearted, low-angst read. I normally would go for something more emotional, but this was on the shorter side and didn't leave room for much more. In fact, that would be my main complaint. The characters were okay. I didn't get too attached to either of them, probably because we didn't have much time to know them beyond the superficial, but I suppose they were likeable enough. Most of the storyline is easygoing with a dash of humour, although I thought a lot of the jokes were signposted in advance and thus less funny. Our relationship-breaker conflict at the end was more irritating than anything, and didn't make sense to me. Neither of the characters had the traumatic backstory to indicate that their conflict was anything other than minor, which meant the character's reaction was overdone. Since I'm too lazy to slap on a spoiler warning, those two vague sentences will have to encapsulate my frustration.
Three and a half stars.

This was ok read.

The MC Sara and Margaret aka Dusty what her mother Carol likes to call her they both are likeable characters even when Margaret is a hardass a work she is determined to have things her way.

Sara and Margaret get off of the wrong foot but when there mothers set them up on a blind date they are shock but decides to not let work ruin their evening and they wind up having ok time getting to know each other. This was ok romance the work situation does comes up again I like that it didn’t have that much angst. Characters were great and the moms were a hoot.


I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

This is nice story. both likable characters. at the beginning I hated Margaret, tho sometimes her rudeness made me laugh. more and more I started to enjoy her.
I don't think I've read anything by the author's before but I liked the writing so far and I might check their other books out there.

thank you for the author and her team for the free copy in exchange of honest opinion