Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the chance to read this ARC. I am leaving my honest review voluntarily.

I really should have loved this. As a California bay area-adjacent woman with a Triumph Bonneville and a sarcastic viewpoint on life, I should have loved this story, especially Dawson. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

What I liked about the book:
1. I really liked the idea behind this story. Enemies to lovers is a trope I love, especially if it’s grumpy/sunshine MCs.

2. I liked that there were a handful of characters I could see getting a spin off. Though, I likely would not read them.

3. I liked seeing an interracial relationship represented, though I felt more could have been focused on there, like the hurdles she may face as a black woman that Tully would not face as a white man.

What didn’t do it for me:
1. The writing style was not my favorite. It was very choppy. It had a lot of short sentences and complete thoughts were broken into multiple sentences often. It was pretty bothersome for me.

2. Ok, I hated his nickname for her was “legs”. I’m not against bodily names. In fact, I’ve quite enjoyed the nice, although slightly overused, brown eyed girl reference many of men have used on me. However, I am against bad bodily names: i.e. “hips”, “lips”, “legs”, etc. They do absolutely nothing for me.

3. Tully falls way too fast. It’s like page 20 and he’s saying she’s the one without even having a normal conversation with her first. It’s one thing if I went into this book expecting over the top insta-love, but for it to come out of nowhere was bizarre.

4. Dawson ran so hot and cold all the time that I kept getting whiplash. No wonder Tully didn’t know how to handle her. She was also super judgey of everyone. Like girl, chill tfo.

5. Between his bet and her being pissy at him for taking her job unintentionally, this one was just a little too petty for me. As a whole, this book felt very juvenile.

This was cute but not a favorite of mines. Is usually love enemies to lovers but this just kind of missed the mark.

Thank you @NetGalley and Entangled Publishing LLC for the ARC of Tinkering With Love.

I immediately fell in love with the cover of this book which was what originally influenced me to pick it up.

Sadly, for me, I just could not connect with the story or the characters of Dawson and Tully. I wanted to like them both, and while Tully grew on me, Dawson simply did not. The instalove from Tully's point of view almost felt forced where Dawson simply ran so drastically hot and cold that I could not relate to her on any personal level.

While Tinkering With Love did not hold my attention, I would absolutely give the author another shot with other works to see if I can relate to the story more.

I really liked the idea of this story - girl uproots life to move across the county only to discover the job she was promised was given to the handsome town hero.

On the whole I enjoyed the read, there was some funny banter between Dawson and Tully, and I loved that Tully had his sights right on Dawson from their first meet. Although I'm not sure how believeable the enemies part of it was, I couldn't quite understand how/why Dawson wouldn't just speak to Tully about the issue and found her at times a tad overly dramatic/stubborn for no real reason.

One of my favourite things in the book was Tully's relationships with his friends Linc and Mitchell. It was a bit 'bros' but I really really enjoyed the teasing tongue in cheek banter which made me laugh out loud.

It's a cute quick read that is easy and enjoyable to get through

Thank you NetGallery, and Entangled Publishing, LLC for providing me a copy of this ARC book in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book drew me in with its gorgeous cover! I love that the author dares to be different with the concept of this story. A strong, independent, boss babe curvy woman - with the hometown hero, tatted foul mouthed male lead. Throw in cars, motorcycles and mechanics - wow. Added bonus: it’s an interracial romance. We definitely need more of these on the market.

This is an enemies-to-lovers story as Dawson moves across the country to pursue her dream job. Only… it is given to the hometown hero - Tully. The pair come face to face during a team-building getaway trip (mandatory) that is meant to help with the merger of their companies. Of course she instantly despises him, while he instantly LUSTS AFTER/LOVES her.

He stupidly makes a bet with his friends that he can get Dawson by the end of summer… and of course this blows up in his face. Some of his behavior towards her is a bit bizarre. I won’t spoil this, but I’m interested to see how others will feel about it later on.

The story line had me hooked, but unfortunately I felt a bit let down by this one. The miscommunications between the pair felt juvenile at times. The hot and cold demeanor of our FMC had me wanting to pull my hair. It was childish and over dramatic at times - which felt like a direct contradiction to the intended strength she was imagined with in this story.

Also - the issue with her mom. I felt that wasn’t a completed storyline. It was rushed and never fully resolved.

Some good - I love the flirting banter between the pair. And that this was a quicker read. I also loved the mechanic/motorcycle storyline that was beautifully wrapped up in the epilogue.

TROPES:
-enemies to lovers
-found family
-insta love
-small town romance
-second chance
-grumpy/sunshine
-curvy female

This one wasn't for me.

I didnt't particularly like the mcs and I also didn't feel any chemistry between them. At 11% of the ebook Tully states "She's it for me." when talking about Dawson, so yes, there really was insta-love, at least from Tully's side.
While I liked that Tully was respectful towards Dawson, I found it really weird when he started feeding her breakfast in one scene. That's not romantic, it's kind of infantilizing. He also nicknames her "Legs". Okay. Not a nickname I'd want.

So in the end this book sounded fun, but I didn't like it.

3/5 stars.. Tinkering with Love is a cute enemies to lovers romcom. Dawson and Tully meet at a team building retreat in the mountains, and while Tully is immediately enthralled with Dawson, Dawson has decided she hates the man who stole her job.

Though I liked the overall premise, I found the lack of communication between Tully and Dawson painful. It was frustrating that Tully took most of the blame for the conflict, when Dawson’s attitudes and poor communication skills were just as problematic as the actual argument. The insta-love thing wasn’t my cup of tea either.

I liked that Dawson was into motorcycles and was determined to achieve her goals despite the obstacles in her way. Some of the side characters were very likeable and definitely added to the story.

There was a moderate amount of spice and it was a nice quick read.

Thank you to Entangled Publishing, LLC and NetGalley for providing this ARC.

Such a cute rom com! Dawson is new to town and finds out the job she that she had waiting was given to the hometown hero, Tully. Of course that makes him enemy number one! Enter in a week of team building when the two businesses they are managing become one big business… as you can guess there’s going to be some tension!

This rom com had some of my favorite tropes:
-guy falls first
-grumpy/sunshine where she’s the grump
-found family
-small town romance

It also has a miscommunication trope that I’m not usually the biggest on but I think was handled really well after the expected fall out! Dawson is such a strong female MC trying to find her way in the world and I was cheering for her the whole way and I could see that even as Tully was getting to know her, he still wanted what was best for her! This is definitely one to pick up is you’re as big of a sucker for a good rom com like I am!

I love the concept of this story. A curvy badass female who loves and wants to work with bikes. And a hometown hero who falls in love at first sight

Dawson has a chip on her shoulder and doesn't like Tully for reason unknown to him since the first meeting. He is not discouraged tho because he is convinced she is the woman for him.

I love a curvy confident woman however, I felt like the conflict was almost a none issue. Dawson was mad at the wrong person throughout this whole book and she ran hot and cold with her anger.

She was overdramatic and a little childish at times in my opinion. I understand her anger but she was directing it hardcore knowingly at the wrong person. she had opportunities to talk it out and get the air clear instead she decided to play the silent treatment and not express herself.

The conflict between Tully and Dawson was hard to believe because it was so juvenile however I have to appreciate Dawson's will to hold strong to her feeling of being right.

her background with her mom was brought up in the beginning and then rushed to completion in the end with us not getting the whole story or the whole resolution.

It is a good story, all in all, will a few items for improvement

Tinkering with Love – 3.75 stars

I was lucky enough to receive this ARC from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review!!

I really enjoyed this book! I did not expect to like it as much as I did as I'm not big on cars and motorcycles, but I realised that if you read this book, you do not have to like or know about that sort of things. I really enjoyed the main character Dawson, I thought she was badass women and stood her ground when she had a problem, and I was hooked on getting to know her from about two chapters in! Dawson is not your typical girly girl and I really enjoyed that part of the book as I could relate to her in that way! I didn’t like Tully at the start of the book but about 30% through I started to warm up and really like Dawson and Tully together. One part of the book I absolutely loved was Dawson with her friends which was a strong piece of writing showing friendship in an awesome and natural way. I found that I was hooked on the last half of the book and didn’t want to put it down. I would absolutely read the second book in this series and would recommend this book if someone is looking for a quick and easy read.

I will be posting a photo and review on my Bookstagram @readswithlily on the 6th of June and will be tagging Net Galley and Aliyah Burke. I will also be posting my Goodreads review on the books Pub Day.

Tinkering with Love is my first book from author Aliyah Burke and I really enjoyed her writing and that the main characters were interracial!

Tinkering with Love is a great enemies to lovers story. Dawson and Tully meet each other on their team building getaway week trip and for Tully it’s love at first sight. He’s completely smitten with Dawson who’s totally cool and standoffish because Tully got the job that was initially hers. Tully has his ways and slowly but surely woos Dawson who tries to resist but in the end can’t.

I thought this was a very cute book and a fast read. I would recommend it to followers.

*I volunteered to read and review an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are honest and my own*

While reading Tinkering with Love, I had two different opinions about the beginning versus the ending. I really enjoyed the story line, however, the beginning did take me a while to get into to. I loved the banter and the setting, it just took me a little longer to read through. I think that came down to me just not having a lot of understanding of the characters until the second half. As I got into the background of Dawson and Tully, I began to feel truly absorbed into Rocky Falls. I read through the second half a lot faster

Side note: I loved how sweet Tully was with Dawson and that he could keep up with her stubbornness

Tinkering with Love is a great enemies to lovers and interracial romance. Dawson and Tully meet each other on their team building getaway week trip.
For Tully it’s love at first sight. He’s completely smitten with Dawson who’s totally cool and standoffish because Tully got the job that was initially hers. Tully has his ways and slowly but surely woos Dawson who tries to resist but in the end can’t.

Tully is a down to earth good guy. Pining over Dawson and shows her his moves and doesn’t hold back vocally either. He was so much fun. I liked Dawson too. She’s a strong and very independent woman which I really liked. Her being a mechanic was so refreshing.
The conflict was my main issue because it comes off as Tully is the only one at fault when he and Dawson have their falling out. In my opinion their both at fault and it all comes down to communication which I felt Dawson wasn’t very good at. The insta-love from Tully was over the top but the slow building in their relationship was able for me to not focus too much on it.

The side characters were terrific. There was many but especially Tully friends Mitchell and Linc stood out along with Dawson’s female colleagues Maria and Flora.

So despite some issues I still enjoyed it and Tinkering with Love was a good introduction to this new to me author.


*Thank you to Entangled Publishing for providing me with an early ARC*

I really really enjoyed this book! It was super cute! The characters and storyline were pretty brilliant!

I really went into this wanting to love it but quite a bit of the story fell flat for me. The immediate focus on the tension between them was good - until it became one of the only things the story centred on. I felt the lack of time spent with them actually getting ti to know each other or interacting with the world around them left me feeling like the story was rushed and made it feel like insta-love despite the fact that they're meant to dislike each other.

The pace moved along too quickly and the over-arching tension and secrets seemed a bit lacklustre when it all came to be revealed.

Thank you @NetGalley and Entangled Publishing LLC for the ARC of Tinkering With Love.

A very enjoyable rom-com read! The flirting was fantastic. The male MC was forward kind of from the get go of the book which was great. Spice was fantastic. Only criticism is that certain "scenes" could have been developed more. The motorcycle storyline was hot! I really enjoyed the back story of the female MC. Also, the author smashed the epilogue...in a great way!

If you like the enemies to lovers trope, great flirting, strong female lead, give this book a read! 4/5

Thank you Netgalley and Entangled Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

First off, the cover is gorgeous! I love the purple and seeing Tully and Dawson, who are both very beautiful people, to look at with a motorcycle in the back! It's perfect for the story inside.

Speaking of the story, I was a little disappointed.

I like Dawson and her personality; that she loves motorcycles. It's something you don't read about often in rom coms so hopefully it'll pop up more in the future. I like Tully and his gruff, his height, and that he has a beard. Again, he is honestly a character that I don't read about often either and I love how different and unexpected these two characters are from the norm.

What I didn't like, but understood in a way, is the whole enemies to lovers trope is dragged out longer than it should have been. Dawson instantly hates Tully for stealing the job she was promised by an owner who passed away suddenly. Because there was not a signed contract or understanding with the new owners, they chose someone they already knew and trusted verses an unknown who moved across country and was given a different job instead in the same company. I get it. I'd be angry too if I was promised a position, moved across the country, and found out I was doing something else entirely. BUT this plot line gets dragged FOREVER until about 90% when you're thinking "Is this ever going to be resolved? Why are you not communicating with Tully about how angry you are and being repetitive about it?" At that point I would have already have moved on, spoken with the owners and/or Tully, or maybe left for a better opportunity. It was an unnecessary plot device that annoyed me. I wanted to root for Dawson and I did at times but the anger over losing the position was repetitive and thought about constantly.

There is an insta-lust/insta-love between Tully and Dawson. Probably more Tully than Dawson since she was frustrated with him the whole time while also being horny. Tully made a bet with his friends that he could get Dawson to like him by the end of summer and OF COURSE this blows up in his face later. Never bet on love or on a person. Now THAT I understand why she got mad at him, when she found out at the 90% mark. Instead of just being mad about the job, she then turned her attention to him making the dumb bet. Tully is a little bit of a weird guy. I do think he is a good boyfriend and I would probably be with him myself... but on day two he's already telling his friends that "she's it - she's the one" and when they finally go on a first date he talks to her about having a litter of kids with her. I do like how Dawson points out how creepy that is to say on a first date.

There were moments of cringe but inbetween the frustrations from Dawson and "She's mine" Tully, there were a couple of good times. I really liked Dawson's relationships with her friends and Mr. Harrellssen. I wish we had more scenes with him and Dawson bonding. I liked the building of the bikes during the camping trip and wish there were more motorcycle moments.

The story was so focused on the steam and sexual tension that everything else felt almost superficial and nonessential. I did like the steam, don't get me wrong, it was hot to read but the story needed more depth. There are a few things that came up that would have been interesting to touch on more but it was there and gone in a flash. Before I could develop a feeling about it, the plot disappeared into feelings about the other.

Overall I know I wrote quite a bit of negatives but I did enjoy the book and thought it was entertaining and a very quick read. The writing was good and the pacing flowed well, the execution just left things to be desired.

I'm curious if there will be a sequel of books in the same town and if so who would be the starring couple.

I will be on the look out for more books by this author in the future.

3.5 stars

I've posted on Goodreads, Netgalley is having a hard time recognizing the ISBN.

Okay first of all, this book’s cover is GORGEOUS-I’m well and truly obsessed with it. This book was cute, but it struggled to get to the point. The enemies to lovers/miscommunication love story at the heart was all sorts of steamy, but a bit too insta-love for my taste. I really enjoyed the main characters-Dawson was all kinds of bad bitch, and Tully is everything you wish in a book boyfriend, but I struggled with their relationship. The lack of communication between the two was BAFFLING. The entire reason for their “feud” in the beginning is never really solved/resolved. Despite really liking the two MCs together, I was left wanting answers and a whole lot more to the story.

I was given an ARC of this book by NetGalley and Entangled Publishing, LLC. All opinions are my own.