Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC copy of this book to read and review. All of these thoughts and comments are my own.

This book was so cute. It’s about a family learning how to cope while grieving loved ones.

Bryce gains custody of her three nieces, June, CiCi, and Addison, after their parents/her brother and sister-in-law die in a car crash. Bryce is trying to navigate life differently now that she’s responsible for three kids while also helping them grieve their parents. During this world wind change, she meets Ryker who is a vet and struggling with PTSD. She isn’t sure if she can juggle becoming a parental figure and a relationship at the same time. Little does she know Ryker is willing to go the extra mile for her and the girls, she just has to give him a chance.

I thought this book was adorable. I loved the plot and I love how it’s centered around mental health (grieving and PTSD). It also even had a little smut which was a nice touch. It was funny, tear jerking, and just all around a good read. Definitely recommend.

4 stars!

Don’t start this book at 9:30 at night and think you will put it down before finishing it.
I absolutely fell in love with this book!
Bryce is such a strong female lead. She is a chef who tragically lost her brother and sister in law in a car accident. After losing her brother she gets custody of his 3 daughters. Not the best thing for a single chef who lives to cook but she loves her nieces.
Ryker is a perfect specimen of a man. He’s a marine, amputee, and all around perfect. He’s dealing with ptsd from the bombing that took his foot. After meeting Bryce and her nieces he falls for each of them and who wouldn’t!?!?
The support of every character in this book for each other was truly amazing. Such a great book. I want to read it again for the first time!!

Ever since How Sweet It Is, I've been looking forward to Ryker's story. I wanted to know what it would be like for the middle brother to find love against all the odds. This book was so cute while also handling some very challenging topics like PTSD, grief after the death of a loved one, and parenting.

I read it the week leading up to Mother's Day, which felt like the perfect time, as it gave such a wonderful depiction of how the term "mother" can be applied in so many unique ways (including mother-like creatures).

There were a few things throughout the story that didn't sit quite right with me, such as the crass jokes between Ryker and his brothers and Ryker and Bryce. Where they could've been funny or banter-y, instead they felt crude and sometimes even leaned towards feeling sexist or transphobic. I understand where the heart of the jokes were coming from, but they missed the mark a bit.

What I did love was the kindness shown by Bryce towards Ryker when he didn't know how to open up with her about his past and the trauma he was still battling on a daily basis. There was such grace and love and it was a really precious thing to see.

I also loved the way the characters from the past two books rallied behind Bryce amidst all of her struggles while "mothering" her three nieces. They say it takes a village to raise children and this book did a great job showing what that camaraderie can look like and how it can positively affect not only the children but the parental figures as well. I especially loved seeing Kate and Imani step in and help in so many ways.

The miscommunication trope was very strong in this book, which was a little bit of a turn-off, especially with the way Bryce goes about handling things (aka jumping to truly wild conclusions). However, I did feel as though the resolution was well done. The end of the book wrapped up everything really nicely and tied it up with a pretty bow (and lots of PattyCakes cupcakes).

Overall, I can't see it being a book I'd eagerly pick up again - unlike the first two, which I absolutely adored - but I did enjoy it and recommend it to those who are looking for something relatively lighthearted, with equal parts emotional depth and goofy encounters. It's a good summertime read.

This book was such a heartwarming and fun read! This was my second book by this author, and I enjoyed both so much. This story follows Bryce, a young chef who unexpectedly becomes the guardian of her three young nieces. When her path crosses Ryker, a veteran in their small town, she’s quickly taken by him.

With both of them having complicated pasts, their path to each other is equally complicated and adorable. This was a relatable and uplifting read that I throughly enjoyed. I’m excited to continue reading more from this author!

Thank you to Forever for my free review copy!

What a lovely story for Bryce and Ryker! I love this trio of books about the Matthews' brothers and I wish that there were more of them! I feel like Bryce and Ryker both balanced each other out and supporting each other as they face their own personal issues. Bryce is forced into the role of "Aunt Mom" when her brother and sister-in-law dies suddenly, leaving behind three daughters. This is a challenge for Bryce and would be for anyone thrust into the role after living the single life as a chef. Ryker is working through his PTSD and I loved the way that Newton wrote him and his struggles. I loved the way Ryker was with the girls and I was rooting for them to make it throughout the entire story. I'm a little partial to this series as it is set in my town and the town where I grew up (Rochester!) so I definitely enjoyed it and I can't wait to see what Newton comes up with next. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

After a tragedy, Bryce finds herself the guardian of her three young nieces and she has to balance her new job with being a caregiver. She meets veteran Ryker in the grocery store and sparks fly from the beginning. However, neither of them is in a place where they are ready to fall in love as they are each only beginning to deal with their individual traumas. But no matter how hard they try, they can’t fight the chemistry between them.

I have loved every book in this series, and this one might be my favorite. I loved Bryce and Ryker as both individuals and as a couple. I loved how they each supported each other - Ryker was amazing with Bryce’s nieces and Bryce was so empathetic when it came to Ryker’s PTSD. Their romance was the perfect balance of emotion, real life, and sweet, funny moments. The side characters were equally endearing. I loved the glimpses of Ryker’s family, especially after getting to know them in the previous two books. Bryce’s nieces added so much fun and sass to the story. They each had such a strong and distinct personality and I loved them. From the hilarious meet cute, all the way to the end, this heartwarming story had me captivated and rooting for the happiest of endings
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Thank you to Forever Publishing and NetGalley for the advance copy. And thank you to Dylan Newton and @ilashreads for hosting the traveling ARC.

“Sure, you’ve had a change of plans. But when you change lanes in a race, you appear to lose ground, when all it takes is being on the low side of the curve to be back on top.”

I was a huge fan of How Sweet it Is and really fell in love with Kate Sweet and Drake Matthews. I struggled a little bit with All Fired Up because I got so invested in Kate/Drake’s story that I really just wanted to read more about them. I think that’s because I read the first two books almost back to back. Now that it’s been a year since the second book I can say that this series is fantastic and the amount of time we got to spend with Kate & Drake and Imani & Zander was perfect while getting to know Bryce and Ryker deeply.

Now I’m sad the series is over but can not wait to see what Dylan Newton writes next!

Fair warning: this book will make you hungry! Bryce is a fantastic chef and the food writing will make you want to eat a lot!

Rating:
4.5 stars

Read if you like:
PTSD and disability rep
Marines
Adoption/guardianship stories
Food writing

Thank you @readforeverpub for a digital ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Simple romance read, nothing too exciting or daring. I liked how the author incorporated some military disabilities with amputation ptsd and service animals.

Overall a decent read

Oh my gosh, this book...you guys. Now, I could go on and on about how this book is everything that I love in a novel. It's all about bettering yourself FOR YOURSELF and not for someone else or because you think someone else wants you to. It's full of actual real-life obstacles and shows them in a real and heartfelt way. There's miscommunication, but not in such a way that you're rolling your eyes and ready to throw the book across the room if they don't just TALK TO EACH OTHER ALREADY.

This book is, in essence, why all romance novels need to be dual POV. You can see the miscommunication but you also see and understand WHY it's happening - which, I have to say, as a reader, I greatly appreciated.

No, I could go on and on about all of that, but what I want to say is this: This book made me feel incredibly seen as a parent. It showed that not every moment is perfect, not everything is going to go your way, and not every parent has their shit together.

And that's okay.

I think this quote really sums up how I feel: "Little Beamer, nobody's born knowing how to parent. And no parent, or parent-like creature, is perfect, Your mother used to say there wasn't a recipe for success as a mom. Like cooking, you've got to stand at the stove everyday and do your best."

And if that doesn't explain parenthood - I don't know what does. So thank you Bryce and Ryker for showing that parenthood (like life and love) is messy, but it's always worth it.

Dylan Newton is so good at balancing the comedy and the serious topics in her romcoms! Change of Plans gives us the final Matthews brother’s love story. Ryker has been out of the marines for a while but it left him without a leg and with ptsd. He’s closed himself off from everyone and was just fine with it til he runs into Bryce and her 3 nieces, who she now has custody of after her brothers death.

This book covers some heavy topics but does so in a way that doesn’t leave you in despair. This book has so much heart and so much joy and laughter in the middle of some serious stuff. For someone who thinks he’s bad with people Ryker sure is a sweetheart with Bryce and her nieces. Goth Bunny had me laughing until I couldn’t breathe 😂 Bryce was so relatable, she was just doing the best she could in a tough situation. And the girls were so lovable, even as they were terrors lol.

I really enjoyed the conclusion to this trilogy!

This was such an adorable and endearing read! I have not yet read the other 2 books featuring Ryker's brothers and will immediately now be going back to read them!

You could feel Bryce and Ryker's chemistry immediately and I loved how the plot line started instantly in the first chapter, the quirkiness of the 3 nieces, Bryce's chaotic life and the tear jerking story of Ryker's PTSD struggles were all so raw and emotional in the best way possible. Life isn't always tidy and wrapped up in a neat little bow, I love the way Dylan Newton exposed the true messiness of life and still managed to wrap it up with a believable happy ending!

This book would have been a full 5 stars for me if not for the mis-communication trope in the third act, but that is a personal preference! I would have loved to see just a few more chapters of how Bryce and Ryker seamlessly blended their lives together, after getting so invested in their love story it all wrapped up just a bit too quickly!

Overall this was such an enjoyable rom-com read!!

I love Dylan Newton novels because she has such interesting characters and loosely ties them all together so it is cohesive. I had trouble connecting with the main character, Bryce, which kept prevented me from rating this book higher. That being said it was a very entertaining plot and a happy ending.

Bryce goes from single chef on the rise to a mom like creature of three wild girls in the blink of an eye...and she is not crushing it. Nothing is going right other than her job at Patty Cakes, so when she meets a stunning stranger at the supermarket she knows she cannot add a relationship in the mix. Ryker is dealing with a mix of complex PTSD from his time in the war and his own ghosts but he can't get this disastrous group of girls out of his head.

This third installment of the Matthews brothers was such a delight. No one in this book has their lives together so it is certainly easy to identify with at least one character! Everyone was dealing with very deep and complex trauma issues but there was enough levity and fun between the serious parts to not drag the reader down. I loved Bryce and Ryker's relationship from the start and were cheering them on all along the way, even through the 3rd act misunderstanding/breakup. I love how the whole Matthews family gets involved (because of course they would!) This book is heartwarming and fun while tackling tough issues. Please check trigger warnings before picking this one up, especially if you deal with PTSD or sudden loss and take care of yourself as you read.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Bryce Weatherford has been dealt a major wildcard by life. As she's mourning her brother and sister-in-law after a tragic accident, she is given guardianship of their 3 girls, all under 13. Overnight her life changed from prominent upscale chef to single mom of 3. As she lies on the floor of a grocery store, trying to dislodge her neice from under a shelf, a pirate arrives to rescue her. Well, maybe not so much a pirate as much as Marine veteran amputee, Ryker Matthews. Ryker has built up a wall around himself, rarely leaves his garage where he works as a mechanic. But on this fateful day, he's caring for his neice and finds himself in the store just when Bryce needs the help. She has her hands full of guardianship, and he hasn't let anyone in, including family, in years. Will their attraction be enough to overcome his PTSD and her disaster of a life?

Change of Plans is the third book in this series about the Matthews brother. It's a sweet slow burn about learning to care for yourself under the hardest of circumstances. I related a lot to what Bryce went through, being a single mom myself, and felt Newton took a lot of care and consideration to portray Ryker's trauma from his years in the marines. For me the book was a little slow, and it just didn't click. I think it may be a matter of bad timing. It's a good book, well written, and Ryker gets the story he has deserved. I would recommend this to those who want to see single mom rep, veteran, and ptsd rep.

I've been a big fan of this series so I'm not surprised that this was another 5-star read for me. This author has a way of integrating hilariously humorous scenes in with real-life struggles to create a romance you can't help rooting for.

After a family tragedy, Bryce, a high-end chef, is suddenly the primary caretaker for her three nieces and has to completely rearrange her life to care for them. She's now working at a baker that's owned by the mother of Ryker, the third of the Matthews brothers. She's also living in the apartment above the bakery, accepting whatever opportunities she can to provide a good home for the girls but also have some conveniences and help when possible. But the girls are all dealing with these life changes in their own way and most days Bryce feels like she's just scraping by.

Bryce and Ryker had a hilarious meet-cute (meet-disaster?) at the grocery store where he came to their rescue. They later make the connection that he's the son of her boss and start a timid friendship. Ryker has an amazing way of connecting with Bryce's nieces and diffusing very tense and frustrating situations. But Ryker is dealing with PTSD from his time in the military (an incident that is tied to the reason he has a prosthetic leg) and mostly keeps to himself. He's distanced himself from his mom and his brothers and focuses on his vehicle restoration business. But he can't help himself when Bryce and her nieces are involved.

I think one of the things I enjoy the most about this series is how the characters all feel relatable and realistic due to their vulnerabilities and flaws. It feels like you could jump into this world and become their friends and who doesn't want that?

Any chance there's a long-lost Matthews brother out there somewhere so the author can squeeze out just one more book? :)

I’ve been a big fan of this series so I’m not surprised that Change of Plans was another 5-star read for me. This author just does a great job of integrating hilariously humorous second-hand-embarrassment-inducing scenes naturally with challenging real-life scenarios to just create a romance that you can’t help rooting for.

After a family tragedy, Bryce, a high-end chef, is suddenly the primary caretaker for her three nieces and has to completely rearrange her life to care for them. She’s now working at a bakery that’s owned by the mother of Ryker, the third of the Matthews brothers. She’s also living in the apartment above the bakery, accepting whatever opportunities she can to provide a good home for the girls but also have some conveniences and help when possible. But the girls are all dealing with these life changes in their own way and most days Bryce feels like she’s just scraping by.

Bryce and Ryker had a hilarious meet-cute (meet-disaster?) at the grocery store where he came to their rescue. They later make the connection that he’s the son of her boss and start a timid friendship. Ryker has an amazing way of connecting with Bryce’s nieces and diffusing very tense and frustrating situations. But Ryker is dealing with PTSD from his time in the military (an incident that is tied to the reason he has a prosthetic leg) and mostly keeps to himself. He’s distanced himself from his mom and his brothers and focuses on his vehicle restoration business. But he can’t help himself when Bryce and her nieces are involved.

I think one of the things I enjoy the most about this series is how the characters all feel relatable and realistic due to their vulnerabilities and flaws. I appreciated that both main characters had their own journeys for us to follow during this story - Bryce balancing her career and maintaining guardianship and Ryker finding a new way to work through his PTSD.

Any chance there’s a long-lost Matthews brother out there somewhere so the author can squeeze out just one more book? :)

3.5 stars for this book!

📖 Recap:
Bryce is a saucier chef who suddenly has custody of her three nieces under 12 after the death of her brother and sister in law. She moves to a small town in Upstate NY to care for them and takes a job in a small local restaurant. Ryker Matthews just returned from Afghanistan with an amputated leg, trauma, and trying to find his way back in the world. After they meet in a grocery store meet cute (by which I mean a child stuck on a grocery aisle shelf and a PTSD moment), Ryker and Bryce have immediate chemistry. They have baggage and trauma and learning to deal with new priorities. Will that be enough to make it work?

📚 Review:
This is my first Dylan Newton book and I very much enjoyed it! I always fear that military romcom books will portray men to be too controlling or play into the stereotypes of male / female roles in the household. Luckily, I did not find that here. Ryker was sweet, loving, a great friend and helping hand to Bryce, great with the Weatherford girls, and did not get scared of a woman that knows what she wants. Bryce was direct, honest, unafraid, and tough. I loved her character. I also really like that they did not pretend to not like each other or had that lack of communication at the beginning. I wish that would continue throughout, as we see the communication issues on both sides based on their own insecurities (which is the main reason I gave it a lower rating), but all in all if was such a pleasant, quick, fun read!

❤️ Read if you like:
Grumpy / Sunshine
He falls first
Found Family


Many thanks to NetGalley, Forever and the author for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you Netgalley and Dylan Newton for this ARC, I hope I can articulate how much I loved this story ❤️ I could not put it down!

“But that’s life. Sometimes it’s sweet and sugary, like cotton candy, and living is so wonderful it melts in your mouth. But being alive can also have those bitter times - times when you think you’ll never enjoy anything again. You’ve got to get through the bitter bites in order to appreciate the sweet.”

This book was as much an ode to the forever family as it was a romcom. The way Dylan Newton wrote about PTSD, grief, chronic pain, parenting and everything else was amazing. As a mom with a preteen daughter I could feel those eye rolls June was throwing. She did an amazing job of balancing humor, love and realism. It’s such a delightful surprise when I read a book where the main characters are all equally enthralling. The nieces reminded me of the girls from Despicable Me and I loved each one of them. I particularly loved the way Ryker was genuinely invested in the girls wellbeing. The HEA in this one was EVERYTHING!
If you love Lynn Painter and Abby Jimenez you will love this book.

Loved it! So cute. I found that I kept thinking about it when I wasn't able to read it and wishing I had more time to do so! I was very invested in both Bryce and Rykers lives together and apart.

Overall I am sure there is an audience for this book and it will be well liked by those that like a bit chaotic, over the top "humor" in their romance. For me, its just a bit too much "cartoony." Bryce is a chef who has recently taken on the guardianship of her three nieces after her brother and his wife die in a car accident. I usually love these types of "found family" stories, but something just felt off for me. Bryce didn't want the grandparents taking guardianship of the kids, but she wasn't making a full effort either (eg forgetting Easter). She mentions its a bad time to start dating, but then falls fully into having weekend sleepovers with Ryker. I wish either their romance/courtship had gone a bit more slowly, or they had met when Bryce was on a more even footing with the kids. Both Ryker and Bryce have a lot going on personally, and they spend good chunks of the book apart/not even speaking so the romance never feels fully bloomed either. If you like rom-coms with lots of slapstick comedy, with some really dark topics interspersed, you may enjoy this one. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

There's not many books out there that will cover people who are differently abled and I think that this book did an excellent job. I loved to see the inclusivity!