Anyone can plan a party. That's why Kate Sweet specializes in events. She carefully crafts extravagant weddings, meant to wow and make dreams come true. When her best friend, who works for a book publisher, is in desperate need of someone to plan the book launch for famous horror novelist, Drake Matthews, Kate is initially hesitant. After all, she's a happily-ever-after kind of planner, and a scaredy cat when it comes to horror books and films. But she accepts the job--especially as it could lead to her winning a prestigious award. That is, she was well onto the path to that award until there is an... incident.

Drake Matthews has a secret: the Knight of Nightmares is writing a romance novel. Not even his brothers and mom know, even though he's based the story off of family history. What's not a secret? That he's not thrilled about the idea of a big fancy book launch. He's not exactly a people person, and hates that the world sees him as some sort of vampire, a living embodiment of his horror novels. But that also leads to another secret: he can't stand the sight of his own blood. How are these secrets connected, you might ask? In the form of an event planner with a lethal pair of stilettoes.

When these two very different personalities collide, they're both in for a major plot twist in their lives.

A brilliant, hilarious, and heart-felt romantic comedy debut from Newton, "How Sweet It Is" is an absolute delight for a cozy fall read. You'll fall in love with Drake's hometown of Wellsville, Drake's Victorian house, Kate and Drake's banter and the shenanigans they get up to, and a whole lot of cupcake flavors you wish were real. Just an incredibly gorgeous and fun storytelling masterpiece!

Not to sound redundant, but this laugh out loud romcom is just so SWEET! When wedding planner Kate gets the opportunity to plan the Knight of Nightmare’s newest horror book launch, you know it’s going to be fun!

Some highlights:
•Drake is a perfect cinnamon roll hero!
•A fun and hilarious meet cute!
•Slow burn romance
•Wonderful focus and respect for the Marines and Veterans
•Drake’s family was incredible! I’m really hoping there will be books for his brothers coming up!!

Thank you to the publisher for an arc, but unfortunately I didn’t like this one at all.
Did not finish at 20%. I kept trying to get through it but it just wasn’t for me. I didn’t like the characters or the pace of the story.

This book was so sweet and so much fun. I was totally hooked after the first few chapters and Drake and Kate’s meet cute was so hilarious.

This book is told in dual POV which was great because both Drake and Kate are such fantastic characters.

The descriptions in this book were so good. I want to go to this cute little town and I want to tour a spooky Victorian house and I want to fly over Niagara Falls in a helicopter and I want a freaking pumpkin cupcake.

This story takes place during October so if you are wanting some spooky fall vibes this book definitely delivers.

It is definitely a slow burn but it was worth the wait because these two were so soft for each other. And I love that Drake always feels the need to protect Kate and those he cares about from his crazy fans.

I liked that this book surprised me. I thought it was going in a certain direction but it didn’t.

I really enjoyed Drakes brothers Zander and Ryker and I really hope there are books planned for them too.

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and Forever in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4.5/5

How Sweet It Is is a fun rom-com by a debut author, Dylan Newton. It has one of my favorite tropes, grumpy/sunshine opposites attract. It also has one of the funniest meet-cutes. Kate Sweet, an event planner with the title of the Queen of Happy Ever Afters, is hired to plan a book launch for one of the most reclusive horror writers, Drake Matthews, aka the Knight of Nightmares. Despite their very different personalities, they will have to work together to make the book launch successful. Also, Drake struggles with writer's block. Instead of horror, he wants to write a romance based on his grandparents' love story, but he can't find inspiration. After meeting Kate, he discovers that his interactions with her give him the inspiration he was lacking.

Overall, I enjoyed How Sweet It Is. I loved the premise of the book. I liked both Kate and Drake, and their romance was very sweet. I found the middle of the book a little slow, but it didn't take away from my enjoyment. I am looking forward to reading more books from this author.

Pun intended- such a SWEETbook!

Thanks NetGalley for the Arc of How Sweet it is! Dylan Newton mastered a delightful & charming read! I’ll definitely read her next book!

Kate Sweet is a type-A, organized wedding planner. Her best friend recruits her in a pinch to plan a book launch for horror author Drake Matthews. This is the opposite of her normal love-fest events as she’s known as the Queen of Happily Ever Afters. Drake hates the spotlight and the stereotypes. He’s been given the title Knight of Nightmares. Kate has the challenge to win him over, after a chaotic first meeting, and plan a tactful event that could win her a coveted award. Meanwhile Drake is secretly using Kate as inspiration for a romance novel, while trying to be a good sport about the dreaded book launch.

It was almost hard to believe Drake was in his early thirties because he had such charm and poise. I related to Kate tremendously. I love to plan an event, love to be organized and am overcome with worry over mistakes. She also made me want to be an event planner! I loved how different these two were but fate found a way to bring them together. Their story was quirky yet magical. It was honest and authentic. I routed so hard for them that I couldn’t put the book down. It filled my heart with such joy. Absolutely adorable story!

This is such a sweet book (I couldn’t resist). It’s about an event planner who is put in charge of a horror authors book launch. The author thinks the event planner is silly and the event planner is wondering how she will go from planning weddings to a horror book launch, on Halloween none the less.

I enjoyed the dynamic between the characters. You can instantly tell they are attracted to each other so it’s a will they or won’t they get together book. It follows a standard comedy romance storyline but it well worth the read. It’s a light book that will pull you in. I found myself imagining the scenes because the writing is so descriptive.

Oh my goodness, I absolutely adored this book! If you're looking for a quick read that will give you all the feels, but is also laugh out loud hilarious, then look no further! How Sweet It Is is the perfect opposites-attract romance, that reminds me of a (slightly) steamier Hallmark movie.

How Sweet It Is follows event planner Kate Sweet who has been convinced by her best friend to plan a release party for a popular horror novelist. Things go a bit awry during her first meeting with Drake Matthews, but after some smoothing over he decides to hire her. Completely unprepared for the spitfire that is Kate, Drake finds her to be an unexpected muse and starts writing a romance novel. As the pair spend more time together, their working relationship turns to friendship, and the chemistry between them grows!

Overall I really enjoyed how cute & sweet this was, no pun intended!

How Sweet It Is - Dylan Newton’s debut novel – is a charmingly sweet with a bit of heat, opposites attract rom-com.

Despite her parents’ constant encouragement to enter the medical field, Kate Sweet is an amazing event (NOT party, thankyouverymuch) planner. She’s always prepared, spreadsheets at the ready as she purposefully strides about in her fierce stilettos. This is why her bestie asks for some last-minute help planning the ultimate book launch for Drake Matthews’, the Knight of Nightmares, latest horror book.

Horror isn’t Kate’s usual vibe of happy and fun events like weddings or bat mitzvahs but she’s game to help out her friend. She’s positive she can win over Drake with her Halloween-themed extravaganza. She doesn’t realize that Drake is intensely private with little interest in having his home turned into a circus freakshow.

Their first meeting is disastrous on all fronts (hello, stitches from stilettos) but Drake feels an instant attraction to Kate. Even better, she’s unknowingly acting as his muse. How will romance change his usual horror and what will his devoted fans think?

Kate is so relatable with her drive and determination to do a great job, giving her clients that special moment they deserve. There’s definite humor when she brings that same drive for perfection to create an event around horror. I don’t think I’d have the moxy to let myself be locked up in a crypt and then get into a coffin.

I understood her need to have her parents stop dismissing her career because it’s not the path they would’ve chosen for her. When a job sounds fun, people don’t always understand that it’s still a lot of hard work.

Drake, with his quiet reserve and sense of privacy, is Kate’s opposite. Hurt in the past, he’s afraid to open up to Kate. Watching him allow himself to get closer to Kate was lovely. And I loved his warm and caring relationship with his family (please let there be books about the brothers!).

Dylan Newton created a lovely sense of place with Drake’s small hometown in autumn. It sounded so cozy and friendly that I’d love to visit. There’s even a ferocious (not really) Shih Tzu companion for extra comedy. Kate and Drake’s relationship was stormy at times, often hilarious, yet underneath it all, tender and caring. And had some serious steam.

Perfect for fans of Farah Heron and Christina Laurens.

A wedding and special events p[anner meets a horror writer as a love story? Yes, please. Thank you to Forever Publishing for the e-galley of How Sweet It Is by Dylan Newton. Kate Sweet is an event planner who is trying her best to show her medical family how legitimate and important her job is - and she believes the way to do that is to win a special events award. She may get her chance when she is offered a job by a friend of hers to organize a special launch event for Drake Matthews, the author of popular horror books with its own cult following. Things are off to a rough and chaotic start from the very moment in which Kate and Drake meet.

It was a fun and enjoyable romance read. It felt like I was always waiting for what latest chaos or disaster Kate would find herself in. Which was a little surprising since she was supposed to be such a great special events planner but things seemed to always go the wrong way - though that may be because of the spark between her and Drake. And of course, being out of her element having to plan a horror book launch when she specialized in weddings and happy ever afters. Overall it was a quick and fun read.

This was so adorable!  Kate & Drake were fantastic characters, and I enjoyed seeing how they worked together for the book launch, and how their relationship grew.  It was cute, funny, and just a little steamy.  I thought it was very easy to read & it left me with a smile on my face - I can't wait to see the next in the series!

Kate Sweet is an event planner who loves to create happily-ever-after moments for her clients' weddings. Her best friend Imani needs help and convinces Kate to take on bestselling horror writer Drake Matthews' Halloween book launch event. Drake Matthews is tired of being known as the Knight of Nightmares, tired of the downsides of fame, and worse, he's suffering from writer's block. He's not prepared to meet Kate Sweet and her chaos.


I found myself flying through this lighthearted book. From the moment Kate and Drake met, hijinks of romantic comedy proportions ensued. I found it really funny that Kate is introduced as someone who plans events down to the minute that moments happen, but was just nothing but chaos once she was supposed to plan the Halloween book launch event. It was fun to see Kate wanting to go all out and Drake trying to reign her in.


I liked how Kate and Drake's personality traits were shown to be double-edged swords - showing both the positives and negatives of qualities like Kate's stubbornness and Drake's perceptive nature. I also enjoyed seeing how Kate and Drake's perceptions of people around them combined with their own history would affect the way they'd behave - the way that they'd form assumptions about each other but had a pretty healthy communication rather than sit with the assumptions was refreshing to read. I appreciated that the final culminating conflict was not due to a misunderstanding (the issue was correctly communicated to the character in question), but the character actually needed some of the supporting characters they trust to speak some sense into them. That seems to be much more realistic in terms of conflicts of this nature and how they'd get resolved in the real world. It was interesting that the reveal at the end from Kate's parents came off as a reveal to Kate, as I interpreted their request correctly from the very beginning, but I can understand how sometimes it might be easier to avoid the topic of subjects that you don't want to broach with your parents rather than push back. I also loved all the supporting characters, who were vibrant and didn't hesitate to tell the main characters their opinions.


I love the grumpy x sunshine trope, and it was especially fun to see how Kate's sunshine personality becomes Drake's muse as the story progresses. When I write, I imagine the scenes playing out (sometimes while doing other important things in real life), so it was fun to see that in common with Drake. The romance build-up, from just casual details they would notice of each other up until the "awww" moments, was fun to watch.

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for the ARC.

Cute describes this book. Both characters are really sweet and have interesting backstories which help keep the book interesting. I found their chemistry lacking at times and it didn't give me the excitement of the relationship buildup that I look for in romance. I really loved the idea of the happy party planner and the horror writer. I think it might have helped to have a little more disagreement between the two initially. I would definitely be excited to read another book from this author in the future.

This is a gem of a romcom ! I absolutely loved it so much I basically finished it in one day. The story is perfection with humor, endearing side characters and the main characters are likeable and relatable. I honestly can not believe this is a debut book for the author. I can not wait to read her next work. Sign me up for summer 2022.

Also I have to say the steam between Kate and Matthew …. Yes very nice !

This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Man oh man was this cute! Kate Sweet is an EVENT planner who is out to win an award to finally validate to her surgeon family, that her career matters. Drake Matthews is an award winning horror author who needs an event planner for his new book launch. From the second these two meet, chaos ensues in the most adorable and hilarious way. I loved this story, it was cute and adorable and sweet and I couldn’t get enough. I loved the willingness of both characters to put in the effort to help the other with their dreams. The one negative I have with this book was Drakes constant self deprecating thoughts. He was always so down on himself thinking he wasn’t good enough and our heroine was always having to reassure him. I wish we had seen some growth with that in the end. But I truly loved this story, and I loved his grand gesture in the end, it was so thoughtful and creative. Ugh I hope we get more books following the Matthews brothers because Zander and Imani would be fire.

ARC FROM NETGALLEY IN EXCHANGE OF AN HONEST REVIEW this book was…. idk i expected something different. for once i couldn’t care less about kate and drake’s job so i would have preferred if the book was more romance centred at some points. the end was sweet but it didn’t slap me like i need na books to do. for last WHY THAT THIRD PERSON NARRATION that bug me off trough all the book. first person is right here use that grammar.

Coming from a family of doctors, Kate Sweet has a different niche. She is an extremely poised wedding planner, and she loves her job. With eyes on a prestigious award, Kate jumps on an opportunity to plan a book launch event for the Knight of Nightmares, Drake Matthews. With a goal of his own (to write a romance inspired by his grandparents’ own love story), he sees Kate as his muse, including scenes from real-life interactions with her. Work together for mutual gain? Sure, why not?

What an adorable rom-com debut! Newton narrated a fun read, packed with humor, swoon, and chemistry. A bit of slow build, but the entertaining scenes she sprinkled throughout Drake and Kate’s story added character and contributed to their romantic development. The supporting characters, especially Drake’s mom and bothers, we’re great, too. I also couldn’t help but play Love Me Like You Do by Ellie Goulding in my head during one scene.

DNF p. 34

It's not the book, it's me. I'm not in the right frame of mind for romcom hijinks. This already feels over the top and that in combination with a heroine who can't tell her parents to get off her back for her career choices (boundaries are your friend, Kate!) means this isn't likely to be a good fit for me.

Content notes: toxic parents, secondary character's mother died in a house fire (past), reference to mentor dying of cancer

I can't even put into words how much I adore How Sweet It Is. I was rooting so hard for both Kate and Drake through this entire book, even when (especially when?) Kate manages to flub up over and over again. For someone who lives life by a series of spreadsheets and checklists, Kate sure gets herself into a lot of scrapes once Drake enters the picture!

There are so many things I want to gush about in this book (the vicious attack dog! the costume! the heels! the aww (or ahh!) moments!) but I don't want to take a single moment of the magic away. So just trust me - this book is great, go read it right now.

How Sweet It Is was such a delightful read! It features a really fun meet-cute, and I think I'm especially partial to books where the MMC is an author. So, yeah, I get why this would be recommended for fans of Beach Read! I just had a really good time with this book and would definitely re-read it in the future!