Thank you, HarperCollins UK- One More Chapter and Catherine Robertson, for gifting me a digital arc copy of Corkscrew You in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Corkscrew You is a light-hearted rom-com that drew me in with the promise of a small-town setting and enemies to lovers battling it out to save a vineyard from shutting down. The writing is cosy, funny, and entertaining, focusing on a plot about the complexities of juggling family, love, and winery business in peril. The plot revolves around a spicy romance between enemies and lovers who have conflicting personalities, Shelby. Still, they both aim to make the Flora Valley a success. If they learn to work together, their relationship and vineyard will blossom.

Catherine Robertson has produced an exciting group of personalities at Flora Valley. The cast of characters is crazy, and I loved how different and unique everyone was. I liked protagonist Shelby, a tough cookie on the outside with plenty of grit, but at her core, she is mush. Struggling with grief, depression, and stress after losing her dad and the fate of his vineyard foisted upon her shoulders to save it from being sold. You can’t help like her. Nathan is a reserved, stoic type with a fear of failure that instantly sparks against Shelby’s quirky vibe. I couldn’t help but love Nathan’s crazy large family – they will all be in trouble at some point, I can tell.

The instant love between Shelby and Nathan was a bit cringy. They possess a striking chemistry that would set them both alight from the start. I enjoyed the tender and sweet moments they had together. I found the on-off miscommunication trope overused and tiresome in Corkscrew You.

An enjoyable, quick read perfect for the summer vibe for a small-town romance with spice and lots of laugh-out-loud moments. The romance might have been a bit insta-lovey dovy for me, but I still found myself drawn into the light rom-com atmosphere and crazy whirlwind plot. I’ll be checking out future books from this series.

Thank you Harper Colins UK, One More Chapter & netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

no. no. no. i wanted to like this book so bad! i really liked the idea of it but i simply could not get into it. it felt very instant love, which i do not enjoy. i also felt the FMC was trying so hard to be *quirky* and *different* but it just did not work..

Corkscrew You: DNF @60%

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

This was a fun romance! I loved the chemistry between the main characters. This book played out almost like a steamy version of a Hallmark Channel movie. This book was a fun and sexy beach read. I really enjoyed this one!


Many Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

********


If you are interested in seeing more of my reviews and other content feel free to connect with me here <3:

https://linktr.ee/bookreviewsbyjules (links to my Instagram, Goodreads, TikTok, Storygraph, My blog and Substack newsletter, etc)

If you are a publisher or author who has questions about my reviews (as well as questions about my stats, reach or engagement), please free to email me. I am also open to requests for book reviews from authors or publishers. Thank you again for taking time to read my review, and I hope you have a wonderful day!

Ok, honestly, I loved this book. I zoomed through this one so fast and could have read it faster if I didn’t have responsibilities 🤣

Shelby takes over the family vineyard after her father passes. Discovering she needs financial assistance, she reaches out for investors. However, her investor insists she works with the sexy but frustrating Nathan. With different ideas about how things work, they have a lot to overcome in the partnership.

There is some spicy scenes that are *chefs kiss*, but if you can’t handle miscommunication in your romances, this might not be for you.

Thank you @netgalley for the opportunity to read this book! Corkscrew You comes out July 5th!

This took me a while to get into but once I did, I found myself enjoying the story. I felt it could have had more banter but I’m a sucker for that lol

I am totally here for a he-falls-first trope, but this one was a bit odd for me. It was a quick read and I was able to get through it on a long-haul flight. Without giving out spoilers, the MMC comes in with a bit of heartbreak over a failed engagement to help revive a struggling family winery. There is so much room and space for some great angsty build-up and enemies-to-lovers sparing as Shelby obviously doesn't want an outsider to come in to tell her how to run her family business. However, I think it missed the mark and a great opportunity. By ~20% into the book, Nate already is already in love with Shelby, and things progress physically awfully fast. I don't need things to drag out forever, but despite the cute storyline, witty quips, and banter, the overall story just left me a bit disappointed. I think there was a lot of potential here, and would love to give other books of Catherine's a go! Thanks so much to Catherine Robertson, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this e-arc.

Coworkers to lovers, this book was a quick easy read. I enjoyed that there was no huge "fight" that often comes with this specific trope. Instead it was rather easy to read, kept the story going and would recommend to anyone!

First Catherine Robertson book, but I will definitely be on the lookout for more!

Enemies(ish) to lovers has always been one of my favourite tropes, I think the book just missed the mark. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it, the authors writing style is unique and I wouldn’t mind reading something else from them, perhaps a contemporary romance.

What an adorable cover! I really loved this book and I’m super excited that it is a series, because I can’t wait to read more! I recommend.

This was a difficult story to get through simply in the way that it was written - it progressed so quickly, it was almost whiplash-ish. The characters feel quick and hard, and it was just unrealistic. I loved the premise and the idea behind the plot, but the execution was less than I would have liked. The author also included a LOT of dialogue - instead of telling me... I like to be shown - actions, thoughts, etc. But nonetheless, it's still a book that had some potential - it just fell flat for me. Thanks for the opportunity to read!

I really struggled with this one. Every time I was about to DNF it I pushed myself to keep going and then it was over? Like what actually happened? I paused and waited two days before writing the review hoping inspiration would strike. Anyhow, this is the definition of an airport book. The cover looks cute, you grab it, you read a chapter, and it lives in your bag until you get back from vacation.

The pacing was weird. The characters were half formed, appearing one dimensional and single minded. When the characters got together it was wild. Like the enemies to lovers pipeline was a game of duck duck goose or hate hate love. The FMC has all these hang ups and "quirks" that lack backstory or reasoning. I understand how her winery is going under she doesn't have a handle on anything that's happening and is throwing herself a pity party.

I read this after reading the next novel in the series, accidentally, and so already recognised some of the characters. This, I think, added to the reading rather than taking away from it but I wouldn’t recommend doing it in that order because of spoilers (the second comes a few months later). However, it was great to add some detail to now familiar characters and I did enjoy the plot overall.

Corkscrew You by Catherine Robertson is a delightful gem in the realm of contemporary romance, set to be published in July 2024. This novel masterfully intertwines beloved tropes such as grumpy/sunshine, enemies to lovers, small town romance, and the irresistible "he falls first" scenario. Robertson's skillful storytelling brings the charming small town to life, with characters that are both endearing and relatable. The chemistry between the grumpy, brooding protagonist and the cheerful, optimistic counterpart crackles with tension and undeniable attraction. The evolution from adversaries to lovers is beautifully paced, filled with witty banter, heartfelt moments, and swoon-worthy romance. Corkscrew You is a heartwarming and thoroughly enjoyable read that will leave readers rooting for love and eagerly turning the pages.

* Contemporary Romance
* Enemies to lovers
* Grumpy Sunshine
* He falls fist

Thank-you NetGalley for the ARC

Love the cover ❤️
This author is new to me.
I am intrigued by the description

loved this book, very cute and easy read, would definitely recommend in store and hand sell to romance lovers! thank you so much for letting me read this book early, i really enjoyed it !!

In "Corkscrew You," Shelby is determined to keep her late father’s beloved winery in business, but that means dealing with Nate, who she forms an irrational hatred of somehow even before she knows he exists, by denting his car for parking in a space that she *might* have been told to park in. I think Shelby is meant to be some kind of late-20s modern Anne Shirley, but she comes off as bratty and dangerously incompetent most of the time. Nate is pretentious and cliched, thinking in French and driving (now-dented) Porsches, but he gets over his enemies-to-lovers thing very quickly. After the first 25%, I was skimming to the sex scenes, which are quite spicy and a bit kinky, which I guess is on brand for these two characters. I have another book to review from this author, so here's hoping the next installment in the series will be different.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

I wanted to so deeply love this story, but I ended up not finishing it after two chapters. I think the story would’ve been much cleaner with a 3rd person narrator and the dual POV felt like two never ending streams of thought. It felt poorly edited, and the writing just felt like a 13 year old at best.

Unfortunately I really didn't like this book and therefore I DNFed it at about 30% in. I found the characters to be very annoying and the writing style was very childlike.

Delightful! If you loved the Vine Mess series by Tessa Bailey, you will love this Flora Valley series as well!

I made it to page 20 and i just couldn’t anymore. This isn’t a book in my opinion. It’s the main character rambling on and on about her inner thoughts and there is literally nothing else. Very few dialogue and yeah… it would be a better book if it had actual stuff in it.

***THANK YOU TO NETGALLEY FOR THIS ARC. ALL THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE MY OWN***