SO FUN. The premise of this was impossible to hate- a romance novel about an event planner and a Stephen King-esque (but younger and more handsome) reclusive horror writer? Man, sign me up. This was a delight and I didn't want it to end.

This was a super cute, easy book that was enjoyable to read. It’s one of those books that I liked well enough but it was easy to put down and not totally memorable. There were parts that were a bit cheesy, some parts dragged, and the end felt a bit rushed. Overall it was just good for me.

Kate, an event planner, and Drake, a horror novelist, are set to meet to plan his newest book launch. I knew right away I was in for a fun ride. The book immediately had me laughing and drawn in to these characters lives.

Planning a horror writer's book launch is the last thing that Kate thought she would do but she takes on the challenge head-on... Pretty literally.

Drake is painted to be as horror like as the books he writes. Truth be told, he's a sweet and very shy, but down to earth guy. He also has a secret- to write outside his genre. Kate may be the key to help him do that.

Drake is just the sweetest! He's so humble, he helps veterans, he's a wonderful son and brother. I thought it was sweet how Kate was his muse.

This book was uber cute, funny, darling, and utterly bingeable!

I had time getting into this story. I was not captivated at all by this book. I was unable to finish it due to the lack of enthusiasm I felt toward reading it further.

This was a very light and fun read! I love Kate and Drake’s dynamic, starting with how they met. Instead of having a sleek and professional first meeting (a professional meet-cute, if you will), they instead have a meet-ugly — it’s raining cats and dogs and Kate is offput by Drake’s dog. Kate and Drake grow closer over the series of the book and also really develop on their own — they each have their own expectations and struggles to work through.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Newton’s Debut is very charming and will have you wanting for more. The perfect grumpy sunshine read for Halloween.

This book was one of my favorites of the year. It was a great mix of sweet and steely, feminine and masculine, owing to the multiple perspectives. The characters have one of the best meet cutes ever! You’ve got to read this book to see how wonderful this romance book really is!

How Sweet It is is a very charming story and loved seeing how the two characters interacted, grew, and supported one another. The opposite of a meet cute and so many endearing interactions after they initially met. This is more a journey towards healing individually and self discovery and I did also love the romance and interactions together.

What do you get when you cross a horror author and a mushy event planner? An adorable romcom, that's what! I absolutely love this book! From their first encounter to the very last page, this book made me giggle and swoon at the same time. Awkward characters are the best, and these two have the best encounters!

This book was just ok for me. It was pretty predictable which isn’t a bad thing but I feel like I knew where it was going the entire time, but the way we got there wasn’t super interesting.

This book had potential but yet it was a typically rom-com book. I have read so much romance books in the past years that I am kind of over the typically rom-com books. I want a little more depth between the characters besides their forced proximity trope. Just need a little bit more.

How Sweet It Is was the spooky season read I didn't know I needed.

Set around a Halloween book launch in a small town, this book captured my heart almost instantly with one amazing meet-cute. Kate as the queen of Happy Ever Afters and Drake as the King of Nightmares couldn't come across any different. As the two work together, their attraction builds and builds. I loved watching their relationship grow. In fact, I loved it all. There was not a single part of this book I did not love.

How Sweet It Is has the right amount of sweet, spice, laughs and swoon. Don't miss on this perfect rom-com.

How Sweet It Is by Dylan Newton

The first 10% of the book was great, and I was really enjoying myself! I loved the meet-cute and quirky Kate. But then the pacing got weird for me and I felt like nothing was happening. I got bored. The romance also felt pretty lukewarm to me, I never believed these two even liked each other. I skimmed a lot over the party planning aspects and the long descriptions of decorations. I enjoyed the scene with Kate and Drake locked in the crypt together. But then it dragged again. The conflict was over the top dramatic for me, and then the resolution had everything tied up in a nice little bow very quickly. The entire book was quick, slow, slow, quick, slow. Also, Drake's embarrassment about writing romance put a bad taste in my mouth, Romance gets a bad rap from so many, so to have a romance author make their male author character talk smack about romance just bugged me. We don't need romance authors perpetuating the idea that romance is a lesser genre. I'm just disappointed.

OVERALL 4.5 / 5 STARS - How Sweet It Is

4 / 5 STARS - Story Authenticity

4 / 5 STARS - Relatable and Lovable Characters

3 / 5 STARS - Steaminess (One Steamier Scene)

How Sweet It Is features an ambitious event planner, Kate Sweet, attempting to break out of the wedding mold by planning a book release for the Knight of Nightmares himself, Drake Matthews, who hates being the center of attention. But when Kate finds Drake isn’t actually a creature of the night, and Drake finds that the Queen of Happily Ever Afters is more than frivolous buttercream frosting, the pair are drawn closer together, begging the question - will the book release be the end of their chapter, or is this attraction one for the books?

Dylan Newton does a fantastic job setting up the personalities of the characters, and seamlessly switches perspectives with minimal page breaks or jarring stops. The story was meaningful, yet grounded, and had me turning the pages in hopes of more sweet interactions between the main characters.

There were some moments that I felt could have been added to better smooth out some of the later story points. (Ask me for my specific thoughts - I didn't want to add spoilers!!) But all in all, it was a solid, time-driven story that I may or may not have finished in 3 hours.

All in all, How Sweet It Is features themes of overcoming self-doubt as well as romance, and was an absolute treat to read. I will absolutely be recommending this to others. If you enjoyed books like The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez, Roommaid by Sariah Wilson, or The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood, you’ll like this book!

Thank you so much to Forever Publishing, Grand Central Publishing, Dylan Newton, and NetGalley for such a fun read!

Release Date: July 13th 2021

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Event planner Kate Sweet is famous for creating dream weddings. But now she has been roped into planning a horror book launch. Kate is up for the challenge especially when she meets the author, Drake Matthews. Sparks fly as she gets to know him but how can an author and an event planner make it work?

I loved this book! It’s so delightfully romantic and fun. The characters are rich and have such great backstory. The only thing keeping me from a five book review, was the best friend. She just irked me. I would recommend this book ♥️

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

#bookstagram #netgalleyreads #bookrecommendations. #howsweetitis #dylannewton

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy! This story was so SWEET! Kate is such a lovable character in this book and she seems like someone you would just have to be friends with in real life. I loved watching the relationship develop between Kate and Drake throughout the book. I will definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves romances or wants to try something new :)

Event planner Kate Sweet is looking for a big break in her career, and she thinks she may have found it when asked to plan a book launch for horror author Drake Author. How Sweet It Is was my last read of the month, and I think that my experience of reading it suffered a little bit from being burnt out on Halloween reads.

I had no idea that this romance was set around Halloween before I read it! This had probably the most entertaining meet cute that I've read, and my favorite scene set in a crypt. I loved Newton's sense of humor. Overall, though, this wasn't my favorite. I don't think opposites attract is my favorite trope, and I'm just not enough of a Halloween fan to get into those pieces.

How Sweet it Is…it’s the title and it’s exactly how I feel about this book. Such a sweet, romantic story about a successful, smart event planner named Kate Sweet and a handsome, quiet horror writer named Drake Matthews. I loved both of these characters…from their hilarious meeting at the beginning of the story to all the trials and tribulations of planning Drake’s newest book launch.

This romantic comedy will make you laugh out loud, warm your heart, and swoon at the undeniable chemistry between Kate and Drake. As the “Queen of Happily Ever Afters” and the “Knight of Nightmares” work together, lines are crossed, professional relationships are tested, a muse is found, and the most important chapters are written—literally and figuratively. I really enjoyed this book.

A very sweet romantic comedy that is the perfect Halloween read for all the romance readers out there! I enjoyed the laugh out loud meet cute disaster, the witty banter, the overall plot and all the bookish elements. It left me wanting more but with a smile on my face.

This is an "it's me and not the book" kind of situation. Because in the end there was nothing wrong with the book itself, I was just bored out of my mind.
The writing didn't click with me. And in the end I often spaced out, and skimmed/skipped my way through the novel, which is sad because I had such high hopes for it.
But for me, the writing is everything, and if the story/writing doesn't pull me in, there is not much I can do.