Thanks netgalley for a copy of How Sweet it is.

The title & cover drew me in unfortunately that is all I loved about this book. There were a few highlights that were cute but overall I had a hard time getting through the book. The main characters for me were really hard to like. I also felt the story was slow & I struggled to keep invested in it. Everytime I felt it was getting better, something would happen causing me to roll my eyes & lose interest again.

How Sweet It Is by Dylan Newton is a hilarious and charming story! It has one of the best meet-cutes I’ve read in a long time, although meet-disaster is probably a more accurate description. If you love laugh-out-loud romcoms, you should definitely give this one a read!

It’s about event planner Kate Sweet, also known as the Queen of Happily Ever Afters, and horror writer Drake Matthews, the Knight of Nightmares. Kate is helping a friend by planning the book launch for Drake’s latest novel. But their worlds are turned upside down right from their first meeting.

The writing is fantastic with perfect humor, witty banter, and romance! Kate, Drake, and all the secondary characters are so lovable, and they each have their own vulnerabilities. I especially enjoyed the camaraderie between Drake and his brothers and hope that they get their own books soon!

Bonus: There is an adorably mischievous menace of a dog, who may or may not be responsible for their meet-disaster!

Double Bonus: There is a special treat for historical romance lovers!

This book was aptly named because it was such a sweet romance. The heroine, Kate Sweet, is a successful event planner who has created a name for herself in the wedding industry as the Queen of Happily Ever Afters and giving couples their perfect “awwww” moment. But soon Kate finds herself having to plan the perfect “ahhh!” moment when her best friend, who is an author’s publicist, needs her help planning the perfect spook-tacular Halloween event for a best-selling horror writer’s newest book launch.

Drake Matthews is known as the Knight of Nightmares, his 10th nightmare-inducing horror book is about to launch and has already been picked up for a movie when his publishers decide they want to do a full-out spooky Halloween event at his Victorian home to celebrate. Drake has an almost cult following because of his books with claims of his house being haunted and that he lives the spooky life his books are about...but of course none of that is true and he is just a nice, low-key guy who appreciates his fans and would rather spend time with his family & supporting local veterans (he was a former Marine, along with his brothers).

Kate only knows what she’s seen about Drake online, so their first meeting goes terribly and Drake can’t stand the over-the-top spookily-cliched event Kate has planned. But at the same time, he’s drawn to Kate and is inspired by her for the newest top-secret book project he’s working on. Drake makes a deal with Kate, she can come back to start working on mew plans for the event with his daily approvals if she will also help him on his writing research (which includes trips to mausoleums and Kate acting out scenes for him).

I loved the forced proximity we get in this book and thought Drake was just the sweetest. I loved how awkward he would make things with not knowing what to say/how to act around Kate but knowing how perfectly a hero in his book would act/what they’d say. Their meet cute moment was incredibly chaotic and things not going smoothly just continued with Drake and Kate. Kate was a very “everything happens according to my planner” type of heroine and how her life just got so crazy with nothing going the way she planned once she met Drake was fun. I never understood why they were using Drake’s house for the event and opening his house up to fans when he was clearly not comfortable with how “spooky” the publishers & Kate wanted to make the event, I felt bad for his character with those moments. I also wasn’t a fan of the conflict and horrible people from his past involved in the book towards the end, but I did enjoy the sweet romance (maybe wanted a bit more from that) and some of the funny-romcom bits in this read. There are hints of one of Drake’s brothers possibly getting a romance in the future and I would check it out because I did enjoy Drake and his family.

Thank you to the publisher (Forever) for an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest thoughts & review. How Sweet It Is comes out July 13, 2021.

How Sweet It Is, is the perfect title for this book! I loved the setting, the characters, and the details Dylan Newton put into it. It take me just a bit to get into it but once I did, I loved it! I can't wait to read the next novel by Dylan Newton.

Calling all rom com fans! Stop everything you're doing and mark your calendars for July 13! Or better yet, navigate to your favorite place to buy books and pre-order @authordylannewton debut novel How Sweet It Is! Event planner Kate Sweet has a big wedding get canceled and pushes outside of her comfort zone to do a favor for her best friend: organizing a book launch for the famous (and handsome!) Knight of Nightmares author Drake Matthews. As they work together on a Halloween-themed launch that Drake doesn't even want, sparks begin to fly among the chaos of planning a last minute event! I laughed out loud basically every other page in this book and the character development was thoughtful and perfectly executed. I sped through this delightful story in a day and a half. 5 plus stars! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

One of my book weaknesses is a dual POV and this one is done exceptionally well even being written as a third person narrative. At times there can be a disconnect reading third versus first, but this author seamlessly made it feel as if this was a first person narrative by giving the reader insight into their emotions.

Kate is the Queen of Happily Ever Afters, who is determined in her career aspects and unapologetic in her path to achieve them. Drake is the Knight of Nightmares, but he’s nothing like the monsters in his books. He’s quiet, kind, and relishes a quiet night in rather than being in the spotlight.

I was a bit surprised by the level of steam in this book only because the story was very PG-13 in comparison. There was a small disconnect between the characters we knew outside of the bedroom and inside. The shift gave me whiplash and took me a moment to catch up.

This book is the epitome of a feel-good RomCom with tender moments that make you swoon and characters that you root for. Between the laugh out loud moments, to the quiet moments of tenderness that charmed your heart and made you smile. Overall this story was really enjoyable with enough sweetness without it being too overpowering combined with characters that were a joy to read. Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Pub for this ARC

Lovely rom-com about Kate Sweet - a wedding planner - who gets asked by her best friend to organize a book launch. For Drake Matthews no less, a famous horror author. Drake is not impressed by her ideas but finds she is an excellent muse for his work in progress (a romance) and Kate wants a special award, so they decide to work together.

Overall lovely romance. I had a bit of lag in the middle but it soon picked up for a great ending!

What a sweet book! Very funny.
Kate Sweet is an event planner. She ends up planning a book launch for the famous horror writer Drake Matthews. The Knight of Nightmares meets the Queen of Happily Ever After.
Total opposite people meet and have crazy, silly things happen to them.
All of the characters were likable. Loved the fact that the brothers all came from a long line of military family and that included them too.
Hoping Dylan Newton follows this book up with books for Kate’s best friend and the Matthew’s brothers.
Quick easy read that I couldn’t put down!
Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book.

'How Sweet it Is,' by Dylan Newton is just as sweet as it sounds. After hopping around from book to book, and reading a few thrillers, it was nice to read a light, funny novel.

This book has exactly what you would hope for: a meet cute, a hard working woman, funny side characters. I don't necessarily know that this book stood out from other rom-coms I have read lately, but it was still a nice read.

I've heard speculation that there may be spin off books from each of Drake's brothers- I would definitely be interested in following Dylan Newton and reading what comes next.

This book was delightful! Our heroine, Kate, is a cheery, capable, optimist and Drake is a dashing leading man. I loved watching them get to know and admire each other in this opposites attract romantic comedy.

Let me start by saying I LOVED this book. (Is there a stronger word than love I can used here?) I am obsessed with this book? That might be more accurate.

Plot Summary: Kate Sweet is an Event (not party) planner and is known as the Queen of Happily Ever Afters. She is known for planning the perfect wedding where the bride and groom get an "Aww Moment" at the end which they will always remember. When one of her weddings for the falls cancels freeing up her calendar, her best friend Imani (who is a book publisher) convinces her to help plan the book release of one of her clients -- Drake Matthews. Now Drake is a famous horror novelist and known as the Knight of Nightmares. To say the Queen of HEA and the Knight of Nightmares have an interesting first encounter is an understatement. Her attempts to make a good first impression on her new client are thwarted as a series of hilarious events lead her to "scale him like a "koala on a Eucalyptus tree." But that's just the beginning of the antics these two find themselves in. Drake then finds himself inspired to take his writing in a new direction but first they both have to survive this book launch.

Review.: This book was hilarious and the banter was perfection. I couldn't stop reading.. As an uber fan of romcoms this one is the perfect balance of complex characters that you peel away the learn more about as the story progresses, witty, smart banter, and romance. I want to eat Drake Matthews up! I LOVED him. He was sweet and kind, yet damaged and a whole, complex character (with perfectly defined abs). Then there is Kate who was HILARIOUS and also so complex in her own right. From her deadly stilettos to her need for perfection I could picture her as a real person. All of the side characters were wonderful as well and I cannot wait for what will hopefully be lots of additional books about them all.

In short, the only thing I did not like about this book is that it doesn't come out to the public until July so I cannot start immediately buying it and gifting it to friends because I know so many people who will love this one! I cannot wait to read more from Dylan Newton! I hope to get to read everything she writes.

This book was delightful! Kate agrees to help her best friend out and plan the book launch for the latest Drake Matthews book. Drake, nicked named the King of Nightmares (for his scary books) maintains a mysterisous persona; rumors abound about his crreepy house and lifestyle. Kite shows up to his house determined to make a great impression only to have the whole thing end up as a total disaster. She’s sure she is fired but she’s determined to save the account for her friend (his publicist) at least.

The story is funny, charming, swoon worthy- everything you want in a romcom!

Loved this book. I read it all. My first from this author. I really liked Drake and Kate. It was funny and just plain good. Must read for me. I stayed up late to finish it. Must read.

Sweet, indeed! I am so hoping this will become a series. I need more! This book was absolutely charming.

I'm always on the hunt for good contemporaries and romance stories to read in between my thrillers, and I knew that I wanted to read How Sweet It Is as soon as I read the blurb. The promise of having a writer as one of the main characters and an 'opposites attract' trope all wrapped up in a romantic comedy sounded like a perfect match... And it definitely turned out to be everything I hoped it would be and more. I literally read How Sweet It Is in one sitting, unable to stop myself from turning those pages as this was exactly the dose of uplifting and fun romance I was craving.

I always enjoy a bookish element in my stories, and I just love how big of a role bookish elements play in this book. Not only do we have a writer as one of the main characters and love interest, but we also have the whole book launch organization as well as the development (and even some chapter bites) of the 'secret' project he is working on. The whole plot is built around this book launch, and I liked how everything was developed... And the so-called secret writing project really gave the story more dimension.

Key in this type of stories are the characters, and I have to say that I was able to warm up to both Kate and Drake immediately. There might have been some cliches involved, but I personally didn't mind as they were just so likeable and I really liked their chemistry together. Their development was a delight to follow, and they were the perfect stars for this romantic comedy. I didn't even mind the steamy scenes that much when they finally arrived, which is basically a miracle! How Sweet It Is is mostly slowburn romance though and not that steamy as a whole if you cut out a certain 'hotspot'. All in all 95% my kind of romance! Another bonus: most of the secondary characters were lovely as well, and we even have a dog playing a minor role in the story too.

In short, if you are looking for an engaging and uplifting romantic comedy with a bookish element and easy to like characters, I can highly recommend How Sweet It Is. As the title already suggests, the story is very sweet indeed and oh so fun to read!

This is exactly the type of romance I was craving! It's such a sweet opposite attract story with great characters and plot. Event planner Kate Sweet is known for her fairytale weddings, and her latest client is not expecting a pretty event. In fact, her latest client Drake Matthews is an author known for his scary horror books, and Kate is the event planner for his latest book launch! When their first meeting is a bit chaotic, the two have to figure out a way to make this event work for both of them...and maybe more?

This book is exactly that so sweet! I enjoyed every second of this book. Thank you for opportunity to read it early

I don't get it. Did Kate's words not go through her mother's head or something? Ohh! The way Kate and Drake first met was really hilarious.😂 But I did find repetition of some things which kinda annoyed me. Damn, Zander and Ryker were something else. Loved them. It was really sweet as well as heartbreaking when one of Drake's fan, Judy was telling him how his books made a big impact in her life. For the better. Also, I would've loved a bit of family moments. Anyway, this book was an okay read for me.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read an egalley!

I'm scrolling through all the amazing, fantastic reviews on here and feel like the odd one out. I knew it would be a cute, fluffy romance, but I was tricked by the blurb's comparison to Beach Read. Beach Read manages to be a sweet romance without being a cringey cheese-fest, which is not something that How Sweet It Is was able to do.

I hate being overly critical to a new book butttttt, I was asked for my honest opinion and here it is. I just didn't like any of the characters. They felt like caricatures, and I didn't connect with a single one. The "meet cute" was absolutely ridiculous, and the dialogue in general was....uh....something.

The miscommunication trope remains my absolute LEAST favorite. :(

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Warning: mentions suicide and domestic violence briefly

Overall, this book was good. Personally, I didn’t care for the drawn out descriptions of his “nightmare writing” career. The book felt like it took a while to really get to the point of the story. I still don’t understand much why they had her stab him with her shoe at the beginning? It just felt kind of weird to say the least! Either way, the overall book got a “good” rating from me because it wasn’t great or bad, but just good. I’ve heard some other reviewers say that they liked it a lot more, so don’t let this scare you away from reading it!

Things I liked: Kate’s job and her ambition, their connection towards the end.

Things I didn’t like: the beginning when she first met Drake, The city council members attitudes, and the talk about his “nightmare” novels.

Official publish date: July 13, 2021

Synopsis:
Kate Sweet is well-known for creating happily-ever-afters. When her friend sets her up to plan Drake Matthew’s, a famous horror author, she decides to take on the challenge. However, Kate and Drake don’t necessarily get off on the right foot. Kate tries to convince Drake to take his writing career in another direction, but he isn’t quite sure what he wants to do. Soon enough, both of them start realizing that there may be a connection between them after all. Will Drake take her advice and shift his career direction? You’ll have to read to find out!