CW: mentions of suicide and domestic violence/physical abuse, military related injury resulting in amputation, blood/stitches

How Sweet It Is was a cute and fun romcom, but it also addressed some emotional topics as well. I thought that balance was well done, getting the point across without being overly preachy or in your face. The book features one of the most hilarious (and painful) meet cutes that I've read in a while and I don't think I will look at stilettos the same way ever again.

Read this one if you:
- are a fan of grumps who are ooey gooey cinnamon rolls on the inside
- enjoy tropes like enemies to friends to lovers, forced proximity, and taboo/forbidden
- love meddling (but well intentioned) family members (Patty, Zander, and Ryker were the best!)
- want to laugh out loud
- ever wondered what the inside of a crypt is like, including past and present inhabitants ;)

I really enjoyed the chemistry and build up between Drake and Kate, but I did feel that the OW drama and conflict at the end felt a bit forced. I'm glad it was resolved quickly, but more groveling was definitely needed after that blow up. Overall, an entertaining read and the epilogue gave me my own 'Aww!' moment. I'm hoping more books for the Matthews brothers are in the works!

*I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book*

This romance is endearing, comical and of course “sweet!” When Drake Matthews, Knight of Nightmares horror writer, meets Kate Sweet, Queen of Happily Ever After event planner, all things scary and sugary align in this opposites attract, slow-burn rom-com.

How Sweet It Is is a light-hearted escape, full of sexual tension and entertaining chemistry. Their meet-cute is the best and who doesn’t love an adorable dog bringing two people together.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever for the complimentary copy for an honest review.

This book put a permanent smile on my face. It is cute opposites attract rom-com. A book you did not know you needed in your life! I love reading this type of genre after I read something super that ties my stomach in knots and leaves me completely drained, and this book did not disappoint.
Kate Sweet (just a sweet as her last name says) is a wedding event planner. She is the Queen of Happily Ever After. So, when her best friend Imani comes to her needing help she does not hesitate to jump on board because after all what are friends for? However, this is not the sweet events Kate is used to putting one, she will be doing a book launch for Drake Matthews the King of Nightmares himself. Although this is not her normal, she is bounded and determined to make this the best book launch ever done.
Doing her research online about her client she comes up with these ridiculous ideas of Drake coming out of a coffin and a giant spider hanging from his house. The first meeting did not go how she planned because what she did not realize is there is more to Drake than all the internet research she could do.
Kate is determined that she will win Drake over and immediately comes up with and even better plan that will make things less of a freak show and in the meantime, she gets to spend time with Drake who is secretly working on a historical romance book and used his and Kate’s time together to make scenes come to life!
I really enjoyed this book and the cuteness of the characters. The author did an amazing job with opposite attract romance because Kate and Drake could not be more different. If you want a cute love story with some humor mixed in, then you have found your book!
Thank you to netgalley for providing me with an arc copy with me in exchange with for my honest review.

Kate Sweet is exactly what you would think of when you think of an event planner: punctual, kind, bubbly and over the top on cuteness. However, when she agrees to plan the book launch of famous horror writer Drake Matthews, dubbed the Knight of Nightmares, he doesn't expect to start falling for this mysterious author...

Y'ALL! I was already into the premise of this book as it gives Beach Read vibes and I love me a grumpalicious lead so Drake was right up there for me. And the book was cute and adorable and I loved their chemistry, from the get go. I feel like I've been reading a lot of books where it takes until the halfway point for there to be an ounce of chemistry and this book delivered it early.

However, what I was not expecting was that steam. WHAT! Granted, it happened pretty late in the book but when it happened my mind was blown. Drake was a zaddy, stern brunch daddy, whatever you want to call it. That nasty talk started and I was like WHO IS THIS MAN AND WHERE HAS HE BEEN THIS WHOLE BOOK?!

Highly recommend this cute and unexpectedly steamy read, and my only complaint is that this would've been a legit good Halloween release!

What could possibly happen when, two completely different worlds collide, between The Queen of Happily Ever After and The Knight of Nightmares 🎃

This is a sweet romcom that takes place in a cute small town. Dylan Newton literally transports you into the story! You can tell that she really did her research as she paints the picture in your mind, of the town and the victorian house! However I must admit the pace was slow and dragged but I really enjoyed the book. It was a very unique storyline.

4.5 stars

This one was soooo overly cute!!!! "Queen of Happily Ever Afters and Knight of Nightmares" meet! Clever and I was ready for a opposites attract romance. I loved the story, the characters, Drakes family. My only gripe is the incident with Kate and Drakes book, I just couldn't handle how careless she was. Although, I can't wait for the next book!

I received this book at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The beginning of this book is so “Hallmark channel movie,” I almost gave up reading. A ridiculous meet-cute followed by one mishap after another. It did get better, and the characters deeper, as the chapters went on, but only after I decided to read it like a fairy tale with a suspension of disbelief.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

A fun and frothy book, this was a perfect book to bring to the beach and just enjoy the ride as Kate and Drake meet and begin their HEA. Some good points about celebrity and assumptions. I would've liked a little less showboating on Drake's part and to have seen a little bit more of his family because their ties seem awesome and a bit more of Kate's family and their eventual acceptance of her career choice. I am hopeful that his two brothers and Kate's bestie, publishing agent Imani, might be some sequel-bait.
Kate Sweet has one goal in life, to win an EVPLEX, a major award given to Event Planners. But, while she has some great renown for her weddings, wedding planner don't usually win. So when her best friend calls with a proposition for Kate to fill in and complete a horror writer's book launch, she's hesitant but decides to take a chance.
However, the first meeting with said publisher goes horribly with a series of events that culminate in Kate being on top of him when Imani walks in... with the director who is optioning Drake's book (but also helped Drake's ex publish a tell-all about him).
Drake is bemused by this woman who comes in and plans the exact wrong kind of event for his book launch. In fact, he fires both her and Imani. But then he realizes that he's being a jerk and rehires her. And then he realizes that she is actually pretty good at her job and that he just needs to slow down and listen because she and he might be creating something pretty grand together.

Four stars
This book comes out July 13th, 2021
ARC kindly provided by Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. The cover, while darling, does not do this book justice. I’m honestly surprised that this is a summer release rather than an October release as most of the story surrounds the Halloween release party for Drake’s next horror novel, but whatever, the book is cute at any time of year.

I adored both Kate and Drake. The way Kate’s brain worked just made me laugh, especially when she would accidentally say her internal thoughts out loud. Usually when book characters do this it is cringe, but the things she accidentally let slip were so relatable. Drake also made me laugh. The irony of a horror writer who faints at the sight of blood was just too funny. I was expecting these two to be a typical sunshine one / grumpy one paring but both of them were sunshine, though Drake’s was hidden behind his dark reputation. I also adored the side characters. Drake’s whole family was absolutely wonderful.

I loved the random bonkers moments that can only be found in a romance novel. Their entire meet-cute with Kate climbing Drake like a tree in order to get away from his dog was adorable and hilarious. The fact that Drake took Kate to a graveyard in order to be locked in a mausoleum for an hour for “research” was just *chef’s kiss*. I love books that don’t take themselves too seriously.

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

(Bookstagram post coming June 21, 2021 after 5 PM MT)

4.5 Stars

This book really surprised me in the best way. The unique premise caught my attention and I spent most of the book smiling and laughing.

Drake’s character had so many swoony moments and traits. Kate is a heroine after my own heart with her love of spreadsheets and having everything planned to perfection.

“There’s my favorite punctuation,” he said, kissing the spot to the left of her lips. “I think you’ll always give me pause, Kate Sweet.”

This debut romantic comedy definitely checked off a ton of boxes for me. I finished this beautiful book in one day. Cannot wait to see what else this author writes!

A rising star event planner and a horror novelist come together to create the most spook-tactual book launch. Horror novel writer, Drake, has been working on a side project that has little to do with horror or Halloween. But with Kate Sweet helping him plan a book launch, he just might use her to help him complete a little more research for his new book and possibly .

This is a cute novel about the people behind the novel. The characters are well developed and the supporting characters add some extra comic relief. At times I felt the book was well paced and the author gave good detail and attention to specific parts of the book. Then near the end, when the misunderstanding occurs, everything seemed like time didn’t fit – it was what 24 hours, but it felt like several days.

As I read this novel, it made me think of Emily Henry’s Beach Read or Bromance Book Club books by Lyssa Kay Adams. I kind of hope there are companion books dedicated to Drake’s brothers, Xander and Ryker. I’d like to know more about them.

Thank you Netgalley and Forever for this ARC. An enjoyable rom-com. Could be a possible read for books club.

Horror writer as the hero?

Event planner Kate Sweet is known for planning the perfect moment but agreeing to help her best friend to plan book launch for best-selling horror writer Drake Matthews just might be her downfall. Drake Matthews also known as the Knight of Nightmares has massive writers block trying to write his next book because he wants to write a romance based on his grandparents to get it out of his mind, but he is known for horror not romance.

I loved the interaction between Kate and Drake because it is opposites attract romance between a horror writer who is tired of people thinking everything around him is spooky and an event planner who has lists, lots of them planning everything down to the second.

Now I want the book between Imani and Zander!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a sweet romance. I love how Kate and Drake met. It was hilarious. It certainly had some laugh out loud moments. The banter between Kate and Drake is fun to read. This was a lovely read and I am looking forward to reading more by this author.

This was an adorable romance novel! While I did have a couple qualms with it, it definitely gave me Beach Read vibes, as it was cute and not overly cheesy like some romance novels can be.
I feel like a couple of the lines/things that happened came directly from The Office. For example, there was a line where Kate says she’s not superstitious, but a little-stitious. I’m not sure how intentional this was, and I was wondering if Kate was a huge Office fan, but it’s never brought up.
Another thing that bothered me was a line where Ryker says “Someone should kick that cane out from under Everstone and make him stand on his own perfectly good feet for once in his life.” Even if Everstone doesn’t need a cane at all and just uses it as like an accessory or something, this is very ableist and problematic. I’m hoping this line doesn’t make it to the finished copy.
All in all, the romance was sweet and steamy from the get-go, and I could definitely see this one taking the Booksta world by storm.

I devoured this book! I absolutely loved Drake! I loved Kate’s sexy daydreams and I adored Drakes brothers!!! Haha, yes I am excited hence all the !! This was a very fun, very sweet and sexy romp.

I’m just starting to get my toes wet with this genre in book form and this is one of my favourites so far. I thought their embarrassing predicaments were believable and didn’t seem forced. I loved the premise of this story, the thriller novelist falls for the sweet event planner in the quaint small-town backdrop. While I was reading I kept wondering “okay when’s the conflict coming?” I wasn’t surprised as to what it was but was surprised with how quickly and maturely the main characters dealt with it. There weren’t pages upon pages where you wanted to scream at them to just stop and communicate better. There was a conflict both sides were hurt and both sides came to their resolve reasonably and believably.

I have discovered that I love Rom-Com’s with both character’s POV and find it makes for such a more compelling read. I did however enjoy Drake’s chapters more than Kates. I found his running commentary both fun and interesting. As a character he was far more compelling for me, I found Kate to be too perfect. Yes, she got into crazy situations but as far as character flaws she was a bit too polished for me. Plus I found Drake’s telling of his feelings and his short comings to be super duper hot and romantic. I’d love to give this 5 stars but I just couldn’t warm up to Kate completely and found a few of her decisions to be too quick with little explanation.

On a side note I ADORED Drake’s family especially his brothers and found any scene with his brothers to be absolutely amazing. I would love to see a novel for each brother as they find romance and their “happily ever after.”

Rom-Com Check List:
Super hot leading roles: Check
Outlandish & adorable meet-cute: Check
Interesting Love Trope: Check “Queen of Happily Ever After” meet “Knight of Nightmares”
Quick-witted fun banter: Check
Hilarity: Yes, yes and YES! Lots of laugh out loud moments
Cheesy & endearing love confessions: Check
Fun montage-able moments: Check
Sexy love scenes: Check!
Funny quirky sidekicks: Check
Heartbreak &/OR betrayal: Check
Happily Ever After: Sorry No Spoilers
Movie Adaption?: Yes, this would be an amazing movie but is fantastic in written word form as well

Special thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for sharing this digital copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Flirty, fun, and kinda yummy like a fresh cupcake are how I would describe How Sweet It Is and Newton's writing style. I didn't know what to expect, as this was my first Newton novel, but the book starts with an "Ahh" moment and ends much the same! (wink) The characters are truly well-developed, three-dimensional people who work their way into your heart and make it all gooey with their genuine personalities. Their quirks and slight brokenness give them a relatable quality that a lot of authors can't seem to capture. I was also highly impressed with Newton's world-building and how vibrant and full of life her environment became as I continued reading. This is a sweet summer read or a great mug of tea with a blanket on a rainy day read. It won't answer the world's major questions but it will sure put a smile on your face and a warm snuggly in your heart!!

Kate is an event planner who lives for happy-ever-afters and is known for her "aww" moment at weddings. Her best friend also a favor and Kate ends up planning a launch party for a bestselling horror writer. Drake is low-key and doesn't like being in the spotlight, so when Kate enters his life, he doesn't know what to think.

I could not put this down. Kate was an amazing strong and independent character. Drake was BEYOND swoon worthy. This was the perfect mix of comedy and romance.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever Publishing for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Pub Date: July 13

This was such a fun book to read! Drake is a horror writer, but is secretly writing a book for another genre. Kate is an event planner and is hired to plan his book launch. Drake and Kate got off to a rocky start, but with the forced proximity of working together, they began to admire one another. I couldn't wait to see how these two were going to work through their differences. I also loved being able to read about Drake's writing. At times it was like getting a book within a book. Definitely pick this one up when you are in the mood for a sweet rom com with some funny moments thrown in!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I breezed through this book in one sitting and I absolutely adored all of the elements of the story! The characters' meet cute was hilarious and full of tension and chemistry from the get go. The author was able to describe their senses with so much detail, and it made the whole reading experience 10x better.

The development of the characters feelings throughout the book was really well written and honest. I feel like some romances unrealistically depict falling for someone, but in this book, that was not the case! Kate's personality is so lovable and it's really easy to identify with her emotions because she's so relatable! I also found myself admiring her throughout the book; she's a super hard worker and good at what she does, and she's a strong, independent woman and we love to see it!

Drake, the love interest, is just an absolute cutie. He definitely falls under my never-ending list of perfect book boyfriends. He's sweet and kind, understanding and respectful, (ladies I know the bar I'm setting is very, very low just work with me here) and overall I loved how great his chemistry with Kate was and how he worked through his feelings for her.

The whole plot of the book was very interesting and I loved the forced proximity in the sense that they had to see each other every day for working on their projects. Overall, this was a great read and I highly recommend it to romance lovers!

Debut novels are always a fun read. I like to discover a new writer and see what the future of their writing can be like. Dylan Newton did not disappoint with this one. Kate Sweet is an event planner, who generally plans wedding. She has agreed to help out her best friend, by planning a big book launch for a horror author. Drake Matthews is a horror author, who is tired of people thinking that he is odd, because of the genre he writes. He is also trying his hand at writing a romance novel. Their two worlds collide and they work together to get their own "aww" moment that Kate spends time creating for other brides.

This was an adorable and sweet rom-com. Kate and Drake are great, well developed characters, and I felt that Newton did a great job letting me get to know them. I also loved getting to know Drake's siblings and mom. I hope the siblings get their own romance stories in the future!

The romance in this book is not rushed, and very slow burn. I loved how Kate and Drake got to know each other and develop an awesome rapport. I loved the banter between Kate and Drake and found myself laughing out loud more than once.

The only part I struggled with was the quick wrap up with the "villain" of the novel, which knocked it down a star for me. I still would recommend this awesome book to those who love light, fun reads.

I look forward to picking up Dylan Newton's future novels! I received a copy of this from NetGalley and the publisher for an open and honest review. All opinions are 100% mine.