Cute Romeo and Juliet retelling. I like the setting of a small-town bakery and restaurant. I was expecting a little more conflict between the families to be honest. I loved Tessa's determination and love for her family. She sacrificed when she was younger but was sure to make up for it now that her sisters are older. I was a little worried about the ending for a while, but it all turned out great! Epilogues always make me happy and this one did not disappoint! Overall cute and lighthearted romcom, perfect for February!
I received a copy of this book from Entangled Publishing and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

Pastry chef Tessa Montgomery and chef Leo Castorini devise a plan to get married in order to save their feuding families businesses. The story was captivating and I had a hard time putting down the book until I finished. Blossom Glen was a charming town that I can't wait to visit again in the next book.

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

I found this book very enjoyable. The story is sweet and fun and there is a lot of heart to it. I really liked Tessa and Leo and found them very east to connect with. These two gave me some very solid feels and put a smile on my face. I thought the writing was well done and I found the blend of tropes used entertaining and engaging.

The Sweetheart Deal is a fun, entertaining start to Miranda Liasson's new series!

Tessa and Leo may be planning a fake marriage of convenience, but there are real sparks between them. It isn't long before their feelings change and it was sweet watching them fall for one another.

The story is well paced and kept me interested and engaged. I liked the small town set up and I am looking forward to getting to know more of Blossom Glen's residents!

Charming, funny, witty purely beautiful romance from enemies to fake marriage
This book reminded me a lot of Adriana Trigiani’s Big Stone Gap series. It’s a small-town romance where everyone knows what’s happening to everyone else and they’re not afraid to commiserate or get nosey about it. That’s how we find poor 32yo Tessa Montgomery, recently cheated on by Sam and then dumped. Now he shows up almost daily at her family’s bakery to tell her about his newest girlfriend. Their French bakery is not doing well after 100 years in this small community but Tessa is determined to keep it viable for the family. Will she have to forsake her own dreams of being a pastry chef to do it?
Next door to the bakery is Leo Castorini’s family’s Italian restaurant that has been around a long time too. Leo also 32yo has come home to try to help his father reinvigorate the menu, basically against his father’s desires. Leo was recently from New York where he made a fortune as a financial analyst. Leo and Tessa had always competed in school with both of them vying for a top scholarship. Leo won and got to fulfill his dream whereas Tessa has stayed back in her small-town. (There is a story there.) She feels stagnant until Leo proposes a business proposition. Could it work? Marry for business only? Will that end the Montgomery and Castorini feud?
I loved this book. I really cared about these characters. Some memorable secondary characters: Dee at the breakfast place, Noah, Jack, Lilac and Tessa’s sisters, Juliet and Vivienne as well as Leo’s much younger sister Gia. I hope we get stories about Juliet, Vivienne and Lilac. This was a charming, well-written and edited story of romance from Ms. Liasson. No steamy scenes required. I volunteered to review an ARC of this book through Entangled and NetGalley. If you want to read a sweet story of former frenemies coming to love one another in a hoax marriage, you won’t be disappointed. I did a lot of smiling during my reading...

4⭐️

This is my first read from the author. I've read the blurb and then fell in love with the enemies to lovers, feuding family aspect.

It's not as sexy as I would've wanted... it reminds me of a hallmark movie.

It's light and easy and something you'd want to read after a stressful day.

Such a sweet story about Tessa and Leo. I am a sucker for books that are enemy-turn-love stories. I would highly recommend this story for anyone.

A great enemies to lovers read. The characters are perfectly portrayed and very entertaining in their interactions. The story is so enjoyable that I stayed up into the wee hours reading because I couldn't put it down. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good enemies to lovers romance read.

This was such a fun story to read. The Montgomery and the Castorini families have businesses across the street from each other but there has been a long standing feud between the families passed down through several generations, I liked that Tessa and Leo came up with their Sweetheart Deal to help her family's bakery and his family's restaurant. I really enjoyed the sparring between Leo and Tessa, It made for an interesting story. I also liked their plan of a fake marriage to save the family businesses, The characters pulled me right into the book and made me have hope that everything would work out. I could not put the book down because the author really delved into the characters, their pasts, their hurts, their hopes, and their dreams. I liked that secrets were revealed too. I received an advance copy of this book and I willingly chose to write an honest review.

Tessa Montgomery has one desire and that is to open her own pastry shop, but she is currently stuck helping her grandmother and mother in the families struggling boulangerie. She can not find a way out until one day Leo Castorini shows up at the bakery with a proposition to save not only his families restaurant, but also Tessa’s family bakery. The only problem is the Montgomery and Castorini families have had a feud for decades, and Tessa is not sure Leo’s plan will work. Can Tessa and Leo fool both families with their plan? Can they bring an end to the feuding families by forging a partnership?

What a fabulous start to the new Blossom Glen series written by Miranda Liasson. I fell in love with Tessa, Leo and their families within the first few pages of the book. The main characters are both witty, stubborn, and love their families. The supporting characters in the book add to the story in such a unique way, especially the parents and grandmother. I enjoy the small town family romances so I am excited to see whose story is next in the series. A huge thanks to Miranda Liasson and Entangled Publishing for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This was a fun, and sweet romance to read. Marriage of Convenience is a favorite trope of mine and I love it when those pesky emotions start to get in the way and take over! I loved Leo and Tessa's family and friends. The side stories added depth to Leo and Tessa's story.

Leo's Dad is "It's my way or the highway" and Tessa's mom was "Tradition, nope, nope, nope, TRADITION." Together Leo and Tessa form a plan to help each other's restaurants to succeed, make their dreams come true, and just maybe, they'll find love where they least expected it.

I am voluntarily posting an honest review after reading an advance reader copy of this story.

I'm giving a, rare for me, 5 stars to The Sweetheart Deal. I enjoyed this story so much that I'm gushing. The characters are wonderful, the romance is lovely, and the secondary characters aren't really secondary so much as part of the flip side of it. When you mix romance with food and bread, well I'm all in. I was in no way disappointed. The author is new to me but I'm now on the lookout for more of her stories. This is labeled as Blossom Glen book 1 and I'm looking forward to book 2.

#TheSweetheartDeal #MirandaLiasson #Netgalley #Entangled: Amara #romance

Tessa Montgomery was dumped by her cheating boyfriend who thinks its ok to come into the family bakery for his lunch and advice about life with his new girlfriend. She feels trapped in Blossom Glen, her dream to to go to pastry school to train to become a professional with her own patisserie instead of just baking bread in the family business. She's stuck in a rut and starts to seriously think about Leo Castorini's proposal to bamboozle their warring families with a sham marriage. Fun and entertaining.

The Sweetheart Deal by Miranda Liasson is a sweetheart of a story so it is aptly named. This charming story have two lovely characters whose families have been part of a next door food feud for many years. Solution to ending the feud, have daughter and son of the families marry. I liked how baker Tessa Montgomery and chef Leo Castorini are old enough to know what they are doing with this “business” venture. Of course, family enemies do not necessarily mean that they will stay enemies.

A slow even beginning to a deliciously rich character focused story. While the business part of the plot is interesting it is getting to know Tessa and Leo that makes this story such a wonderful read. As they begin to see each other differently, you start rooting for them to have it all; business and love. If only Romero and Juliet could have ended on a happier note like Leo’s and Tessa’s.

An ARC of the book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley which I voluntarily chose to read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a fun and quick read. I enjoyed the multiple characters and backgrounds. I would enjoy this as a series to expand on some of the other characters.

Tessa has given up a lot for her family and refuses to see her family's business go down without a fight. Meanwhile their neighboring restaurant and mortal enemies seem to be in the same boat but Leo's father seems to be convinced Leo just needs a family of his own. So Leo proposes a deal to Tessa as a marriage arrangement that can help both sides of the family and maybe also bring them together then after go their seperate ways when they ultimately get what they want. What could possibly go wrong?

This was such a fun read. I mean I feel like I've read many different books just like it but this author seemed to make this fun and unique and enjoyable still. It was interesting seeing how different the family dynamics both Tessa and Leo had, they would would nearly anything for their family. Tessa gave up a lot for her family after her father passed and her mother was grieving and she became the pillar of strength almost a mother to her siblings and it was hard to see what she was willing to do which includes giving up her dreams. Then there was Leo trying to be there for his stubborn father but there just wasn't anything getting through to his father. Leo can see things slowly going down and could use some sprucing up and updating and all his father could think was for Leo to make a family of his own. Overall this was a pretty great book, I really enjoyed reading it.

A wonderful start to a new series! I listened to the audiobook in one sitting and loved it from start to finish.

This sweet romance with a modern twist of Romeo and Juliet, will make you smile with it's lovable characters and shenanigans.

Tessa and Leo have always been competitive with one another, so when they agree to a marriage of convenience to try and save their families businesses, the sparks fly in every direction.

With old misunderstandings, family secrets, delightful family members, and second chances - this is a book I'll definitely be making time to read again. I can't wait for more in this series!

3.5 STARS

I am a huge fan of Larson and could not request this advanced copy fast enough. Overall, this was a promising start to a new series and inline with the feel good romance I anticipated. Larson is a master at small town, family centered romances, and this was no exception. Having went in blind, I was pleasantly surprised with the loose retelling of Romeo and Juliet. There was humor but also touching, heartfelt moments. My only complaint was the romance and love scenes were limited and not detailed. I assume this is a publishing issue, but I wanted more in-depth description with Leo and Tessa. I look forward to more from this world.

This is the beginning of a new series that takes place in a small town in Indiana. When Tessa and Leo try to figure out a way to help both of their family businesses survive, they know it won’t be easy as their families have been feuding forever. When Tessa and Leo begin to fall for one another, it will take some give or take to make their romance work. I enjoyed all of the characters in this story and cannot wait for the next book.

This was the first Miranda Liasson book that I have read and really did enjoy it.

Tessa and Leo as well as their families have been arch enemies for a long time. Tessa's family runs a French bread bakery next door to Leo's family's Italian restaurant which has been a competition between the 2 for years. Tessa & Leo are the same age and were competitive since high and who would become valedictorian of their class.

Even though Tessa dreamed of becoming a pastry chef and having a different type of bakery, she stayed back to help the family bakery when her father unexpectedly passed away allowing her younger sisters to strike out on their own. Leo left to become successful business person in a big city, but has returned to help his family's restaurant rejuvenate and become a place people want to eat at again before it goes under.

The two concoct a plan to get married so that their families bury the hatchet and they can work together to save both businesses. Once they are back on their feet, they will divorce and go their own ways. As in all good rom-coms, they of course develop feelings and things become more complicated.

Tessa and Leo have great chemistry and their attraction and conflicts come through loud and clear throughout the book making it a fun read. If I had any complaints at all, it would be that the ending was a little too syrupy, but it's definitely something we all could use these days.