I'd like to thank Net Galley, publisher and author for the advance copy and the opportunity to read I've Got my Mind Set on Brew by Stephanie Jayne, which comes out April 9.

IGMMSOB is the story of Kat, who lost her job in healthcare, which made her side job (which she needed because of some crippling debt she got into thanks to her ex) at a brewpub called Resistance become her job. To make ends somewhat meet, she also started learning how to brew beers, in the hopes she'd one day be promoted to brewmaster. As she learns more and more about the brewing world, she finds that she really likes it.

The problems start when she and the rest of the staff learn that the owners of Resistance have sold the bar to one of their friends (an investor) in order to get some money for medical bills. The new manager - Ryan, the owner’s son - doesn’t want an unofficially trained brewmaster, so she stays on as waitress, hoping against hope he’ll change his mind. But he doesn’t have a lot of experience, and her knowledge of the world comes in handy.

I enjoyed the book, even though the ending isn’t quite what we’d expect it to be. I don’t know if I really “got” the characters, it didn’t feel like they had a lot of chemistry. My favorite bit was the beer descriptions at the beginning of each chapter, and how Kat would compare each character to one. That was so fun (since I know next to nothing about beers).

Good things first the cover and title instantly captured my interest and I absolutely loved the concept with the beer and how the Kat uses it to describe people. The writing and storyline were great.

I actually liked the beginning of the book too and how the two main characters meet. But this book is marketed as an enemies to lovers which it wasn’t really for me and I sadly felt absolutely no chemistry or romance between the two. It was more business than romance and at the same time they were both really immature and just ignored their differences, to at some point be together!
Also I strongly dislike Ryan. Yes he is the boss but he was super unprofessional, honestly just really annoying and he basically used her. Also he listened to literally no one who worked there and then he somehow needs her help like I’m sorry she tried that from the beginning and you didn’t listen. Honestly she should have just left from the beginning which is why I think the ending fit perfectly and was definitely the right choice!!

Overall it was an alright read for me!!

Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for this e-Arc in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

The story was simplistic but I think the author failed to bring it out in an entertaining way. I felt no real chemistry between Ryan and Kat, and there was way too much miscommunication for one book. Overall, it wasn't too bad but it could've been a whole lot better.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC! This book’s premise had a lot to interest me - craft beer, Chicago, and enemies-to-friends-to-lovers. Unfortunately, it fell a bit flat. I didn’t feel much chemistry between the main characters, and I struggled with seeing Ryan as a real person. There were a lot of characters in the story and they were hard to keep straight - a lot of them didn’t even have actual interactions with the MCs, they were just mentioned by name frequently. The ending wrapped up much too quickly, basically ending their final act fight and securing a happily ever after on the last page. Still, it was a pretty fun and easy read, just not one I’d go back to.

I enjoyed this book! It’s a enemies (although that’s strong) to lovers slow burn. The story was great and kept you wanting to read. And the ending had its twists too! Great character development. Also loved that after the initial kiss there wasn’t the awkward regret/swept under the rug! The tidbits about the kinds of beers at the beginning of each chapter were a nice touch.

Thank you NetGalley and Alcove Press for the opportunity to read an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

To be honest, I have mixed reactions about this book. At first Kat sounded very immature, but she warmed up on me a little later on. Ryan was just ok. I wish I connected more with these characters, but I didn’t. On the other hand, I love the concept of this book. My favorite thing was the beer selections at the beginning of each chapter. If you don’t know much about beer, you may learn a little something reading this.

Lastly, the romance was just okay as well. I also had a love and dislike relationship with the banter in this. Some of it was okay and other times it was just cringy. I do think this might be a cute book for people who like romance and beer.

An enemies to lovers / boss x employee rom-con

Honestly I felt there was a lot left to be desired. The concept was good with the beers etc and the book did start out really cute and nice but the immaturity got to me. Ryan especially yeeeez.

It was an okay read, not the worst or the best.

This was such a fun read! From a fellow beer lover myself, I
loved the setting of the brewery and the descriptions of the
different types of beers. I enjoyed the beginning of each
chapter describing a type of beer and how Kat would assign
a person the type of beer she thought matched their
personality. She continued to do this throughout the book
and I love that.
Kat Malone trusted her ex boyfriend enough to wind up still
paying off his debt years after their breakup. She is now
working as a server at Resistence, the brew pub with her
found family, while she shadows to become a brew master
herself. Her dreams come crashing down when the married
couple who own the pub are forced to sell. In walks Ryan, the
privileged, ex frat daddy who she thinks was handed the
business by his dad, the investor. Ryan and Kat immediately
clash when all this is to him is a chance to prove himself to
his dad, but this is Kat's family and dream on the line. Their
relationship is an enemies to lovers vibe that was funny to
see unfold.
This was a fun, flirty book that I really enjoyed! Thank you to
the author @stephaniejaynebooks, @netgalley and
@alcovepress for the copy of this book. This book will
release in April 2024, so be on the lookout!

First of all, thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I struggled a bit with this book because of how it is marketed, but I’d like to start with the positives first.

I’ve Got My Mind Set On Brew was well written, and very much stuck to the theme of beer. I enjoyed the different descriptions of types of beer at the beginning of the chapters. As someone who doesn’t drink beer at all, I found it very informative.

Kat’s relationship with her mother was handled well, and I was thankful for the way her issues with her family were resolved.

I do not, however, believe this book was a romance. The story focuses on Kat growing and finding herself. The book is extremely plot heavy in this area. Romance, as a genre, has the romantic plot at the forefront, and this book absolutely does not have that.

It was advertised as a slow burn romance, but that plot-line between Kat and Ryan was very much a subplot. I felt like their relationship lacked depth, and I was not committed to them as a couple.

Ryan frequently described how much he needed Kat for the business, and 90% of their conversations revolves around work. Any relationship building moments were glossed over and summarized briefly. This doesn’t just include the very closed door sex scenes, but it felt like their emotional connection was also closed door. Unless it had to do with work, I’d course.

Ryan’s insistence that he needed Kat for the business also felt very toxic. I didn’t like Ryan as a character, and wasn’t convinced that their relationship dynamic was healthy. I also felt that Kat wasn’t fully committed to him. For her, Ryan seemed like a side quest.

This book would have been better marketed with a focus on Kat’s journey to self discovery.

I probably wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone unless they really liked beer or brewing. It’s an enemies to lovers, boss romance that is clean/fade to black.
I enjoyed this story but it definitely centers around beer brewing and the main character not wanting to do anything but work with beer.
This whole story was mainly about keeping secrets as well and not wanting to stand up for yourself.
I was pretty annoyed with Kurt and his misogynistic attitude as well. Kat definitely deserved better and I feel like she should have left sooner.
The MMC and FMC were hot and cold a lot. He would get frustrated with work and be snippy. Then randomly tells her he loves her at a weird time which didn’t work out well.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I think this book is like a love letter to beer. Who knew?

This book was a quick, fun read about family, friends and beer. I know NOTHING about beer!! I don't drink, at all anymore, but even when I did it was never beer that I drank. I didn't understand all the different aspects that went into making beer, drinking beer and even selling it.

That I learned about those things in a cute romance book is a surprise to me for sure. It added to the story for me, to see the growth between the two main characters, Kat & Ryan, and also Resistance.

Reading about family, those we are born with and those we choose was also enlightening for me. I appreciated the care the author put into the familial struggles and giving the characters the room to mature and grow.

The romance in the book was a given but I liked that it didn't happen right away. I think I was more than 50% through the book before there was anything to write home about. The ending was a smidge quicker than I prefer but all in all it was ok.

I would recommend this book.

I really liked the premise of this book, brewery vibes, enemies to lovers, and workplace romance. The brewery aspect added something fresh and modern to the story that made it very intriguing to me. Sadly, I could not connect with the characters and felt like the beer notes at the start of each chapter were disjointed.

Overall, I was hoping for a rom-com and this book seemed to be missing that spark for me.

This one was fun to read it would be even more if I’ve gotten the beer reference but over all? I think it really deserves a read. It’s cute and it discusses a lots of topics I really love and I love the names of each chapters even if I didn’t really got them but it a unique book yall should really check it out!! Thank you to NetGallery the air this and the publisher for this arc.

2.5/5 rounded up.
I had mixed reactions to this book.
First the positives. I loved learning about different types of beer, the brewery scenes, Kat’s love of brewing and all that. As a fan of breweries with a taste for only high ABV sours, it was very interesting to learn what flavor profiles each beer takes on. I love learning about beers and the crafting process.
Kat is a well crafted main character. She’s a people pleaser who got hurt in the past and had a hard time trusting. However, she still goes above and beyond for her work family and friends and puts others before herself and her goals. Watching her grow as a character throughout the book was a joy to read and I loved seeing her get her happily ever after.
Now onto the bad, I wish her happily ever after wasn't with Ryan. Romance books give me appropriate standards for love interests and Ryan does not meet the mark. This was a romance book that I was hoping ended with the love interest and main character moving on and realizing they weren’t best for each other but finding happiness elsewhere. Ryan had a lot of baggage but that’s no excuse for how he treated Kat throughout the book. Him pressuring her to help save Resistance was painful and I felt Kat being used over and over. It didn’t sound like he paid her for any of the extra planning, coordinating and business planning. He just expected her to help because she had a soft spot for the brewery and he was dating her. He just irked me the entire book.
Even his grand gesture at the end felt manipulative and a little too late. It didn’t feel like Ryan grew very much and he still felt very problematic. If Kat was my friend, I’d tell her she could do better.

I was initially attracted to this book based on its title! I'm always into romance books that surround a profession, hobby etc that I don't see very often. And as a big beer girl myself, I was excited!

The introductions to each chapter explaining each type of beer, along with some added fun, were really enjoyable and helped me connect to the protagonist. Even as a beer lover, I couldn't describe each type for you beyond light, dark and hoppy. This was a nice touch.

If this were marketed as the protagonist's witty and heartfelt journey to find herself and become a brewer, I would have said that this book hit its mark. As far as the romance goes, I'm sad to say that I was let down. I didn't find myself rooting for the couple like I had hoped for, and I didn't sense much of a spark between them. Ryan didn't appeal to me in the way I had hoped, even after more of his backstory was revealed. It was almost as if there was too much plot that didn't revolve around the romance, making it feel like a side story. Like I said earlier, this was Kat's story of finding who she is and becoming a brewer, and she happens to fall in love along the way.

3*

This book was fine. It wasn't bad, wasn't good, just... was.

I liked elements of it a lot, I love any story where one of the MC thinks of people as different types of the things they sell (see Chocolat), and I really enjoyed the meet-cute between Ryan and Kat, but overall I felt their relationship wasn't very dynamic and left romantic sparks and fireworks to be desired.

Many thanks to NetGalley and to Alcove Press for the ARC! As a craft brew girlie and a fan of enemies-to-lovers, I was excited to read this book. I thought that this was a well thought out book with a fun writing style. I really enjoyed the storyline and their banter. I wish that there was a ltitle more romance and that the characters were a bit more dynamic.

You know the feeling when you pick up a book from a genre you haven't read before - or read in a long time - and you have zero expectations, but the book exceeds them by a huge margin? That's the exact feeling I consistently experienced throughout reading 'I've Got My Mind Set on Bew'. Enemies-to-lovers? Ambitious, sassy and edgy (bordering on slightly cringe sometimes), cynical and absolutely hilarious FMC and a nervous, romantic, definitely over-sheltered but still determined MMC? Sign me up!
Kat's quirk of associating people with different kinds of beer was unique (and informative!), and her overthinking and elder-sibling trauma were (unfortunately?) very relatable for me. Ryan's past and his family dynamics were explained really well, and I loved his character development by the end of the novel. What I would have liked a bit more of was seeing Joe and Praire interact with the rest of the crew at Resistance after their leave - there were mentions of them thrown in throughout the book, but it was hard to care much about that connection since the only time we heard of them was through Kat recounting the infrequent email. Especially since the plot of the book revolves around a big decision made by the two of them, it would have been nice to see what their reaction to the aftermath of this decision was. I loved how the book ended, and honestly, couldn't have seen it working out any other way.
Coming back to the romance bit - I love it when the main characters in a romance novel are working towards similar goals, or help each other explore their goals and are so supportive, and that's exactly why I loved this book so much. Also, learning about new craft beer didn't hurt - I'm so tempted to try them! Lots of fun, laughs, and slow-burn romance in a setting I haven't read before - you really can't go wrong.

This workplace romance filled with “tension” and “enemies to lovers” vibes just fell flat for me.

Kat and Ryan first meet in the brewery Kat works at, she initially pins this stranger as mysterious and Hot. When Ryan’s investor father buys the Brewpub in order to save the owners who are going through hard times, Kat seems to be Ryan’s best chance at making the business successful.

Kat had worked hard to make this brewery, and everyone in it her home, and dreams of becoming a brewer not just a server. Ryan very quickly seems to take advantage of her loyalty to this Brewery, or at-least that’s how it felt reading the majority of their interactions.

Ryan has never worked a day in his life, simply put this is how it comes across. He’s hot but that’s all there is to him, and he’s desperate to change a local pub into some vibe to fit his own personality. I didn’t get him, he didn’t have motivation despite the book telling me he was motivated to make it work, I just didn’t believe his character.

I overall felt no chemistry between Kat and Ryan at all through this story. The workplace romance vibe almost went too far that there was only this office type interactions you would have with a coworker that you only tolerated, I never felt their tension.

I did enjoy the idea of the story and wanted to feel their relationship develop more romantically. I also felt it was an easy read and the author made good on storytelling in a classic romance way.

Thank you Netgalley and Alcove Press for the ARC for my honest review!

As a craft brew beer fan, the title and cute cover drew my attention. The beer titles and Kat's naming peoples personalities after beers was adorable! I looked forward to each chapters and blurb about beers. One of my favorites was Chapter 12:

COFFEE BEER
Roasted flavor often added to stouts and porter bases and
increasingly found in more styles, like IPAs. Beer or coffee: Why choose?

Kat's journey in the book was a fun read. Kat is an average person just trying to get by, things are looking up until she is hit with 3 life changing events. The biggest being bosses of the brewery she is working at decide to sell. We watch Kat's life plans suddenly change as she realizes things weren't what she thought they were. She begrudgingly works along side Ryan the new manager of the brewery. Ryan comes from money, a different world. Their relationship build into romance is cute. Finding common grounds in their opposite worlds. Working together for the same goal of making Resistance successful. Kat's family relations incredibly relatable, about setting boundaries and speaking our truths. Overall I found this to be a cute, relatable rom com.

🍺 Enemy to lovers

🍺 Opposite Attract

🍺 Rom Com

🍺 Boss / Employee

🍺 Slow Burn