This book hit all the high notes- enemies-to-lovers, a delectable setting (literally!) and a refreshing twist on Romeo and Juliet- with less of the angst! And to check even more boxes, the "we grew up together" trope plays a role!

The chemistry was real between Tessa and Leo. Tessa is struggling after breakup and stuck making bread in her mother’s bakery in her small hometown. It's not her dream gig, but baking is her passion. Leo, her prickly former nemesis, has returned home to help his family's struggling restaurant. Since both businesses need help, and they are side-by-side establishments, Leo proposes a plan to Tessa to combine them. That plan happens to be REAL marriage!

I would recommend this book to HEA-loving friends who'd appreciate a trope-filled, lighthearted, low-angst twist on Romeo and Juliet.

Tessa gave up her dreams to stay home, help with the family business, and help her sisters realize their dreams. With Tessa's broken engagement and need to get out of her hometown she is anxious and ready to go, but she still can't up and leave her family. Until... Leo, their families nemesis, comes up with a brilliant plan to repair their families relationships and set their businesses up to thrive. Only problem is, Leo's idea is insane and they both have a lot to lose in the process. This book is a fun, very easy read that has enough turmoil to keep it interesting.

Loved this one! It’s a clean read and such a fun journey to see how this “plan” will work out. I enjoyed the characters in this story as well as the idea behind it. Super easy read and a great book to submerge yourself into. You will walk away still thinking about this story - and those are the best kind!

This book was a bit of a slow ramp-up for me, but once it got started, it flew by quickly! It is an enemies to lovers, sweet, small-town romance with a Romeo-Juliet vibe in the beginning.

Leo and Tessa have known each other since high school, competed for the same scholarship and their lives followed similar paths. Both lost a parent early in life, and their families owned neighboring businesses but were caught in an endless family feud. Seeking a way to breathe life into both businesses, Leo and Tessa hatch a plan that works almost too well, leaving them with feelings they didn't plan on experiencing.

I loved the family relationships on both sides, they were all so supportive to their family members. Leo went the extra mile, stepping outside his comfort zone in different ways to make a life for Tessa, and it was very sweet. I look forward to the rest of this new Blossom Glen series!

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

About seven years ago, Miranda Liasson perked my attention with This Thing Called Love (Mirror Lake #1). Ever since then, I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book she writes. While reading The Sweetheart Deal (Blossom Glen #1), life kept happening and I would only get to steal away to read a chapter here or there over the span of a few weeks. Each snip-it was as tasty as the treats that Tessa whips up! Just add a cup of jilted love, a dash of family drama, fold in the marriage of convenience with a high school crush, and you’ve got the delectably romantic tale of Tessa and Leo.

This was a cute romance, but nothing too unique. I mostly liked both main characters and their chemistry together. I didn’t love the plot point in the epilogue (no spoilers).
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me access to this eARC for my honest opinion!

Well, it’s a cute book. I will say that. The character’s were relatable and dealt with self doubt, sacrifice, and financial trouble. Tessa is loyal and puts everyone before herself and Leo cares so much about his family. It was difficult to get into the story, but was otherwise an easy read with lots of emotion that pulled at the heartstrings. However, I’m not sure if I can get over the plot point that they HAD to marry each other for this whole thing to work. I know they care for their families opinion, but they are adults. I’m SURE there was a different way. It was just so outrageous to me it made the book a little ridiculous. There were also some odd plot points that didn’t match up (like Tessa’s middle name switching from Elizabeth to Marie). Overall I was entertained and it was a heartwarming story and I would read more in a series. I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy.

The Sweetheart Deal is such a sweet forbidden romance. You are just going to love Tessa and Leo. Two feuding families, two failing businesses and one idea to help. Tessa is a sweetheart, a little stuck in life and wants more than just making bread for her family business. Leo is looking to be home and change things in his family's restaurant. This is a Romeo and Juliet type feeling when it comes to Tessa and Leo's families. I love the chemistry between Tessa and Leo as everything from their past comes out. Tessa and Leo are amazing together as they bring business back to the family businesses. I could not get enough of this one. I cannot wait for more from the Blossom Glen series.

This story is about two competitive people humbled by love when they least expected it. Leo & Tessa's families haven't been friendly for years. The 2 of them scheme to come up with a plan that will benefit both families in the end.

This is a pleasant, entertaining rom-com. I was drawn into the story and the characters after a bit of a slow start and thoroughly enjoyed the storyline as an escape from the heaviness of the past year.

Tessa Montgomery gave up her dream of a scholarship and college to support her mother and sisters after her father’s untimely death. Now she feels trapped in the failing family business, a French boulangerie, that follows tradition and sells bread and only bread. Consequently, Tessa “sneak” bakes after hours to satisfy her longing to be a professional pastry chef.

Leo Castorini, disillusioned with his financial career in NYC, returns home to help his widowed father resuscitate the family restaurant, located next door to the bakery. Frustrated by his father’s stubborn refusal to update the menu and expand the dining room, Leo comes up with the plan to restore both establishments…he and Tessa should marry and together they can save the family businesses. It would be a “business arrangement” (a Sweetheart Deal) and, after 6 months when they achieved success, they would amicably divorce.

There’re only a few obstacles. First, Leo and Tessa have been competitive since high school and had a bad break-up after one date. Second, the families are sworn enemies based on a feud that began generations ago. And finally, there are no guarantees that the marriage will convince the respective parents to change their minds about the needed improvements for the businesses to succeed.

While the outcome is predictable, I found the characters – both the protagonists and the supporting “cast” – engaging and relatable. The faux marriage provided a vehicle for amusing banter between Leo and Tessa. Overall this was a fun read.

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and will be posted on Amazon upon publication.

Very good book on the age old feuding families story but with a twist. Delightful characters whom you want to see succeed. Enjoyed this book a lot and would like To Read another from this author

Small-town, enemies-to-lovers romance. She’s part of the French family that owns a boulangerie that’s not doing well. He’s part of the Italian family that owns the restaurant next door that’s also not doing well. . A years-long feud keeps the families from speaking. Nevertheless, the couple decides to marry as a business arrangement so they can update both businesses and make them profitable. As they work together, the couple falls in love for real, all the while dealing with a host of meddling family members. The book was well-written and was enhanced with all her French and his Italian family members. Four stars for this well-written, light-hearted enjoyable read.

I loved this book. Such a sweet, fun romance.
Tessa and Leo have grown up together in the same small town. Their families have been feuding for generations, and with their businesses next door to each other, it makes for interesting moments. When Leo suggests that him and Tessa marry so they can combine forces to save their families' business, no one is more surprised than Tessa herself. But what starts as a business plan, soon turns into a marriage with feelings and emotions. Can they work through all the family drama to find their own happily, ever, after?
Great characters, fun banter, and enjoyable plot.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I received this book as an ARC and this is my review. This is a fun, breezy story with humor and interesting, flawed characters. I always enjoy a light-hearted rom com and this one satisfies with a long-standing rivalry and a competitive couple. I recommend this book to readers who enjoy the humor and complications characters create with well-meaning actions with less than perfect results.

Ah the fake romance and marriage! Tess and Leo have been rivals, as have their families, for years. Now adults she's running the bakery and he's come home to Blossom Glen to work at his family restaurant. Neither of them are achieving their dreams. His desire to make changes (and modernize) is stymied by his father, who sees him as still being a child. So of course he comes up with the idea that he and Tess should marry. Readers of the genre know that friendship will turn to true love. It's sweet but it's also in a lot of ways, totally silly. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Despite the tropes, I kept reading this for the characters.

I loved the location and the cover for this story. What a perfect book to kick off the new year! Two people, Leo and Tess, marry to save both their respective family businesses. Of course they fall for each other, but a lot of history and present problems have to be faced. I loved Leo and his vette! Tess sacrificed too much and needed to see her own potential. Crusty parents who refuse to change added spice to the mix. TH ending was sigh worthy. Don’t miss out on this book!

The Sweetheart deal is a cute story about Tessa and Leo and the long standing feud between their respective families. With their businesses failing, Leo proposes that he and Tessa join forces in matrimony to save their businesses and turn them around. Tessa agrees and the two set out on their plan.

I enjoyed reading this book. It's got some cute moments, some funny moments and I thought the main characters had believable mental obstacles to overcome except sometimes I just felt like knocking their heads together. It's an easy read and I quite liked the way the story ended.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is set in Indiana, where I live. I would read other books from this author

This is the first book by this author and it was a nicely written romance. Tessa has given up so much from the best of her family and now the bakery is going down the tubes. Leo her rival from high school returns back to the home town, after going to school on the scholarship that Tessa competed against him in high school and a successful career in New York, to assist in reinvigorating the family Italian business. The two rivals decide to enter an agreement to assist in making both businesses successful again and end up getting much more than they bargained for in the deal. The characters are likable and the story is a bit predictable but it was a nice easy romance. The book flowed well and interactions between the main characters and the supporting characters was well done. I would recommend as a quick easy romance read.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC.

A fun, sweet, clean romance. Feel good story.
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There are some books that you know are going to be awesome as soon as you start reading them. The vibe and feel you get from the writing style and storytelling abilities of the author really set the tone. That was clearly evident in this book.

I am not sure how to categorize this book. On one hand it could be a second chance romance. On another it can be classified as an enemies to lovers romance. Whatever you decide, it is going to be a story you will fall for, just like I did.

The characterization was perfect. The two main characters played off each other perfectly. I loved the fact that they were a bit older and this was not an angst filled story that stressed me out.

Playful, fun, with a small bit of angst along the edges to keep us on our toes, The Sweetheart Deal turned out to be a sweetheart of a read that made me happy and left me smiling! Loved the epilogue too! That’s how to end a story!