Kat Malone has found herself and her passion in brewing beer. After a messy breakup and a childhood of hyper independence, Kat has finally found where she belongs, at Resistance Brewing. That’s all about to change though when the owners of the brewery unexpected have to sell and suddenly the brewery and all its staff are under new management. Management who, it turns out, know nothing about brewing beer. Kat is seeing her dreams of creating and brewing fall away as her future is in the hands of a spoiled rich kid who had the bar handed to him by his dad.

I really wanted to like this book and i really enjoyed all that I learned about craft beer, Other than that though, the romance at the center of the story I just couldn’t get behind, Ryan (the love interest) was a walking red flag to begin with, and I honestly didn’t see how he changed or how the relationship could work after the inevitable 3rd act break up.

In no way was Kat perfect either, however I feel like I at least saw growth in.

Overall, the book had a really great concept, i just felt like the central relationship was inherently unhealthy.

Thank you NetGalley, Alcove Press, and Stephanie Jayne for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for providing the ARC.

I was initially drawn to this book because of the title and the synopsis. A romcom centered around craft beer with a punny title? I'm there.

However, the book itself didn't really resonate with me the way that I would have liked. Kat and Ryan's relationship, to me, read very flat. I didn't enjoy their enemies to lovers start because it felt very immature and it didn't set the stage well for the inevitable switch into romance.

Not a bad book by any means, just needs a bit more work in my opinion.

I should've known I wasn't going to like this based on the cheesy title, but the premise was so good I had to pick it up! Sadly, I was wrong. I did still enjoy the premise of the book -- all the beer stuff was very fun -- but the romance had absolutely no chemistry, and I found that I didn't really care about the characters.

This is the story of two very different people who collide at a craft brewery, Can they find their way past their initial less than positive impressions to work together to save the brewery or are they just too different? Kat has dreams of becoming a brewer and has a passion for the work and the community. Ryan has been given the reins by his wealthy father and doesn't know what he wants other than to make money. The more time they spend together the more they want to be together but are they just too different? Is Kat willing to sacrifice herself to be with Ryan?

My husband and I love going to breweries, so this sounded like it would be right up my alley. I expected a rom-com, and while it had some levity, it wasn't laugh out loud funny and contained some deeper emotional story components. Kat is trying to find her place in the world after a relationship gone totally wrong. Just has she seems to find her footing, another shoe drops, and she needs to reassess her goals. Ryan has his own inner turmoil while outwardly portraying success. These two will have to work through their issues with themselves and each other in order to move forward. The main characters drove me a little crazy but the author pulled the story together to my satisfaction.

I love a good punny title and was excited to read this one... but honestly, I found myself struggling to get into this story as I would have liked to. It was well written and an interesting story line, but I found myself unable to connect with the characters, which is definitely more of a me thing than anything about the book itself. Perhaps it's my lack of knowledge of craft beer or the bar scene (those who ARE into these things are likely to enjoy that aspect of the story), or perhaps I just wasn't in the mood for this one right now. While I'm sitting it aside for now, it was again well written enough that I intend to come back and try again later. I'd also love to read more from the author in the future as well.

**Complimentary copy received for consideration. All opinions are my own.

Overall I liked the story, though I agree with many other reviewers that the romantic elements of the book were far outweighed by everything else going on. I felt Kat has a decent journey of personal growth and self discovery, and Ryan also showed some growth (other people have commented that the MCs seemed immature, and I think this immaturity was at least partially intentional). I would read another book by this author.

It was the clever title that first caught my attention. I’ve Got My Mind Set on Brew is a new enemies-to-lover romcom. Brewer Kat Malone isn’t all that thrilled with Ryan’s, the pub’s new owner, plans for the bar. I liked the setup and enjoyed some of the story, but my only real issue was the romance angle. While there was conflict, I felt there was a distinct lack of chemistry between our leads, which is kind of essential for a romcom. As far as I can tell this was Stephanie Jayne’s first novel, and as such I would say there is more positive than negative here and I’d definitely give her next book a chance. 3.5 stars. I’d like to thank Alcove Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of I’ve Got My Mind Set on Brew.

https://www.amazon.com/review/RFBCXI5DG6E88/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

This was such a fresh plot & I loved reading and knowing about different beer techniques. The quirky chapter beginners were a plus!

Kat & Ryan's relationship leaned more towards the rough edges, with them being either closed-off or butting heads. I genuinely enjoyed the banter so much. When there was bickering, it was with full emotions & nothing petty. When there were moments of connection, it was simple, pure, & heartfelt.

I think a lot of Kat & Ryan's decisions were based on them protecting themselves or not realizing their worth. I was glad how mature & understanding Kat was throughout, even though she was hurt. I loved how Ryan stood up for her & supported her.
Definitely excited to read more from Stephanie!

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A cute little story about a girl, Kat, who loves brewing beer so much she just wants to marry it (“if you love it so much, why don’t you marry it?” You know that childhood joke)… She’s serving at a restaurant and bar where the owners treat everyone like family until one day, a health crisis forces them to sell.

The new owners son, Ryan, takes over and makes too many changes and turns the staff and regulars against him … and goes against the promised training of Kat as a proper brewmaster, hiring an incompetent man instead, because he’s a man. Even though they don’t get along, they still try to do everything to save the bar together, amidst staff and patrons mass-exodus’ing.

It’s a great enemies to lovers, workplace (boss/employee) romance with quite a meet-cute, and grumpy sunshine of sorts. It’s really a lot about the beer - a little too much about the beer really, with everyone she comes across being compared to some kind of beer or other alcoholic beverage… that part was a bit hard to swallow (haha, a pun!). Everything else was very cute and sweet, and it’s a very good storyline that I really enjoyed. Solid 4-star read.

I received an advance copy from NetGalley and Alcove Press, and this is my honest feedback.

Requested this book because I loved the title and the cover. I was expecting a fun romantic story surrounded by beer. I got lots of beer, immature characters, a toxic relationship that ended up as a bit of romance. At the beginning I liked Kat as you start knowing her story but then she becomes obsessed and entitled to be something at her job that she can't be jet. That's not being driven, that crossed a line for me. And Ryan wasn't a better character. It was so hard to enjoy all the beer side of the book, personally it was not entertaining and felt flat. I'd read another book by this author as you can tell she really did her research about crafted beer but maybe the rest needed more attention too. I'm sure her next book will have it all.

I've Got My Mind Set on Brew by Stephanie Jayne was a super cute story.
I enjoyed the writing and thought the characters were fun.
This was a delightful read that held my attention from beginning to end.

Thank You NetGalley and Alcove Press for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and Alcove Press. I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

Genre: Romance
Heat Level: Slow burn

I'm not a beer drinker, but the science behind brewing is fascinating.
The romance came off as a little silly with the nicknames—but that could just be my taste in novels. I did not end up finishing it.

I think the right romance reader who wants a light read will enjoy this one.

Happy reading!

2 stars.

I wanted to read "I've Got My Mind Set on Brew" by Stephanie Jayne because I loved the punny title. That was my first mistake. I found it difficult to connect to this book on multiple levels. First, the characters are not great. I fluctuated between anger and pity at the main female character, Kat. She starts out being so bitter about the owners of her workplace, Resistance Bar, selling the business because one of the owners has cancer. Like???????? She eventually segues into being upset that she wasn't given an opportunity to be a part of the beer-making process by the new owner, Ryan. Sure, he *could* have given her a shot since she was attempting to learn the job before the bar was sold and is clearly passionate about beer to the point where she wants to "marry it," but she also didn't have the proper amount of experience to excel at that position. I wouldn't hire her, either! The chip on her shoulder is supposed to come across as endearing, like she's fighting for what she thinks she deserves, but I found it to be childish, an adult woman throwing what equates to a temper tantrum. She really should have left her job when she saw things were going south. Ryan has his own baggage that he's working through related to his family and his rich upbringing, proving himself, yada yada blah blah blah. He constantly belittles Kat and her value as a worker in the bar and goes back and forth between playing boss and subordinate with her when he's obviously attracted to her. They are never on equal footing and don't see eye to eye on anything in the workplace. It makes this less enemies-to-lovers and more a painfully cringey power imbalance. Look, another man asserting his authority over a woman who works under him. What a shock. That brings me to the romance aspect of this book. I didn't feel any connection between Kat and Ryan whatsoever. In fact, I don't think this book should be classified as a romance at all. It's more about Kat's journey to finding herself and what she wants to do in life with a minor dose of romance. I didn't feel any love between them at all. Plus, the third act is wholly unnecessary and thoroughly predictable. There is no heat, no passion between these characters, and if there was a long-oft check-in with these people, I have no doubt they'd be broken up by now. I didn't even feel any particular connection between Ryan and his friends, either. These characters are so one-note and bland! Finally, this is not a long book, but it moves painfully slowly, and not in an "oooh, yay, a slow-burning story!" kind of way, but in an "it feels like it took me forever to finish this story" way. I did not like this book and do not recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Stephanie Jayne, and Alcove Press for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

This was just kind of boring and not believable. I think that being dual pov might have helped it but I'm not sure. The whole time I just wanted her to leave because she was never going to get the job the wanted/deserved. The two of them were cute but I don't feel like they ever talked about anything that wasn't work.

I received an arc through netgalley.

The title made this a must read for me! I loved going into the craft beer world and found Kat and Ryan to a good pair, even if they both were a bit insufferable. They definitely could work on their communication skills. Kat’s ambition was fabulous to see and I didn’t mind that her love for brewing was a main plot point. I just wanted more from this in terms of romance but it was a quick and enjoyable read.

The writing in this book is fine, but I couldn’t relate to the heroine. DNF.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

I was instantly attracted to the cute title of this book! The story itself is cute too but I was hoping for something a little more. The romance was okay (hard to feel chemistry at times), the characters were okay (not willing to communicate and slightly immature for their age), the ending was just okay (where was the big grand gesture!?). I read a lot of romcoms so maybe my bar is too high and while this one was okay, I can't say I loved it.

Okkk a beer/brewery themed romance! Sign me up! However I’d have liked more hops than was promised. Overall it was perfectly fine!

I see that many of the people commenting on this book liked it because of learning about craft beers. That doesn’t seem like enough of a recommendation when both of the characters are rather unlikeable. Kat seems immature and, well, obnoxious at times. Ryan seems uptight and arrogant, but he’s right that the pub can’t last if it can’t make money. I didn’t feel the romance between the two of them. In fact, they were irritating together.

And maybe I’m just old-fashioned, but once Kat described how she shaved half her head and kept the rest long, I just couldn’t keep her in my imagination as the heroine of the romance. And notice that that isn’t how she’s pictured on the cover of the book.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.