Member Reviews
Super cute, I love the dueling pubs premise. Briggs and Maeve have a sweet but spicy rivalry that translates well from the pub to the bedroom. I adored the advocacy for OCD, panic attacks/anxiety and chronic illnesses. A great read!
Maeve Kaminski is deeply in debt and doesn't know how she's going to pay it off when she learns she's inherited a pub from her estranged father. The only catch, it's located on a remote Irish isle. She arrives at the island, not expecting the quaint village or the quiet, unassuming people who lived their.
Briggs Murphy owns the other pub in the village. Having just been diagnosed with the same heart condition which killed his father. He believes the condition means he'll never be able to have a relationship. Despite that, he can't ignore his feelings for Maeve when she shows up.
Maeve and Briggs seem doomed from the start. Island lore claims the families who own the two pubs are enemies. The island and the village are powered by tourism, and the supposed feud draws the tourists. Maeve is taken off guard by Brigg's first prank on the new owner of the Moorings. But when Maeve one ups Briggs, the feud takes on new life.
I was drawn to this story by the premise and the setting. I'm a sucker for a story set in Ireland or Scotland. And the village is what I picture when I think of a small Irish town. I like the way the town stood with both Maeve and Briggs. And the way everyone leaned into the jokes and the tricks of the feud. Maeve learned to love the people of the village and they came to accept her as one of their own.
I liked the way the relationship between Maeve and Briggs developed. While Briggs seemed to be hit between the eyes from the start, it took Maeve a little longer. As she found her footing as part of the village, she also grew closer to Briggs. Their feelings for each other were apparent. The fact they felt the need to hide the relationship to keep the feud alive added another dimension to the relationship.
This is billed as a YA/teens book by the publisher, so the writing style was a little less complex. I'm far from being a teen, but the writing didn't bother didn't bother me. In fact, I thought it gave me the opportunity to just disappear into the story. I loved the characters, the setting, and the pranks. This was a great book to escape into just for the fun of it.
This is a touching and quirky exploration of fate, love, and self-discovery. Set in a charming small town, the story follows unique characters who each bring their own emotional baggage, making their journeys feel both relatable and heartwarming. The writing style is witty and insightful, blending humor with moments of vulnerability. While the pacing is a little uneven at times, the heart of the story and the growth of the characters make it a compelling read. A perfect pick for anyone who enjoys heartfelt romance with a dash of whimsy
Arc Review:
Overall Rating: 4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice Rating: 2 🔥🔥
Cover Rating: 4 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tropes:
- Spicy
- Contemporary Romance
- Enemies To Lovers
- Secret Relationship x Sneaking Around
- Family Rivalries, Forbidden Love (Romeo and Juliet)
- Pranks and Banter
- From USA To Ireland
- Bad Boy x Clumsy Control Freak Girl
- Small Town Romance
- Lost Parent
- Open Door
- Insta Love
- He Falls First
- Found Family
- HEA
I really enjoyed this book, I wasn’t very sure about it at the start but as I read more I realized how much I liked it. The small town rivalry in Ireland was so much fun. All the banter and pranks going on was a blast. I liked how the story read out the reviews people left about the two bars. I loved Briggs and Maeve along with most of the supporting characters on the island. But this book made me feel all the emotions and I think the author did a good job.
Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the author for letting me an advanced readers copy of this book.
I have mixed feelings about this book. While I didn't mind the writing style, I found it was too quickly paced and the insta love hard to wrap my head around. Both characters were complex and well developed, and the focus was equally on both of them which was nice to read. I found Briggs initially unappealing, as he was portrayed as sexually promiscuous and not interested in anything but that. It was hard to believe he fell instantly in love with Maeve after leading a life like that.
Overall, a solid effort book.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is a really cute and fun quick read. I enjoyed the characters but wish there was more to the process of the "love story". It seemed to move very quickly to me and at times I was wanting more depth. The "pranks" we pretty funny and one of my favorite parts. Overall, it is a great book, and I would recommend others. I'll be looking for future releases from the author as well. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc to review. All opinions are my own,
As a fan of Rebekah's since The Odds of Loving Grover Cleveland, I was incredibly excited to get ahold of this one. I think the topics of grief and love and uncertainty are so well covered. The chemistry between the two mcs is palpable immediately and I love that there was a villain in all of this.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC publication for an honest review.
While the premise sounded interesting, I was expecting more of a ROM-COM love story with some deeper family issues running through the storyline. There were some fleeting moments matching that thought, but there just wasn't enough character growth even though I enjoyed the family rival /enemies to lovers angle. I just didn't buy our couple's relationship as love when it felt simple like lust....
2.5/3 stars
I liked this romance! I am a sucker for anything set in Ireland and appreciated the familiar tropes. This was a great read!
Drop what you're doing and read this book IMMEDIATELY! I read this as prep for my trip to Ireland and it was lovely (iykyk). Curl up with some hot cocoa by a fire and dig in (and then book a flight to Ireland asap) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read another one of Rebekah Cranes books. I have read a bunch of her other work and always enjoyed them. I enjoy a book with a rivalry such as was represented in this book. Can't wait for more of her work to come out!
Cute story with just enough supporting characters. This was not as predictable as I thought it might be! At times the story felt like it skipped in places where more detail would have been better, but overall a great story.
Loved the cover! The story was cute. Maeve finds out her bio dad has died and he left her an inheritance, In Ireland. She of course has to go and learns she is now the proud new owner of a pub in a rivalry with another pub - owned by Briggs. They keep the rivalry going until until it becomes clear their feelings outweigh the supposed animosity. I thought the pranks were funny. The emotion heartfelt. The story a little under-developed but still so enjoyable.
Maeve Kaminski didn't ask for the biological father she never knew to leave her a pub when he passed away. She's come to a small Irish island to meet with his solicitor and leave as quickly and quietly as she arrived. That's it. Maeve has a life--albeit a stressful one--in Chicago: an apartment, a best friend, loving parents...and a mountain of debt her ex-boyfriend ran up in her name. Add in that her father's family is in a lifelong feud with another prominent family in the area. The worst part? Her pub is in a war with their pub for who is the best local watering hole.
Determined not to fall for the town, the antics, or charming pub owner Briggs Murphy, Maeve nevertheless finds herself doing just that. LAST CALL FOR LOVE was absolutely charming! I couldn't wait to read another few pages and I even took my time with this book because I was enjoying it and didn't want it to end! That just doesn't happen with every book you read.
Between all the wonderful supporting characters and the budding romance between Maeve and Briggs, I was hooked and hard. Careful Maeve and slightly-rakish Briggs were clearly meant to be--anyone and everyone could see it. I loved watching them struggle, just as much as I enjoyed seeing Maeve find her place in the town amongst everyone's daily life. Waiting for Maeve and Briggs to get it right was a little bit of torture. Gah! I just wanted to push them together, gently mind you. They were both such wonderful characters. I loved watching Maeve slowly loosen up and Briggs start to put his heart on the line.
Really cute, easy to read book. I loved loved the Irish setting. I liked it had enemies to lovers vibe. Definitely a feel good read
Last Call for Love was a fun and quick read. I enjoyed the dual POV and descriptions of the Irish setting, which Rebekah Crane does well. I wasn’t completely sold on the romance between the two main characters, though I liked their prank war and potato rivalry. I’m not sure this should be considered a YA novel.
This is the first book I have read by the author. I was drawn to this book on Netgalley by the description. I have always been drawn to books set in Ireland.
Overall I liked this book and will probably explore other titles by this author. I could empathize with Maeve and her predicament with the stolen identity. Isn’t it terrible that people must go through that. Shame on Spencer.
Surprisingly, I was drawn more to the stories of the secondary characters like Hugh, Aoife, Barb, Linda, et al, then I did about the relationship between Maeve and Briggs. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy that part of the story, but I felt more drawn to their backstories and found myself wanting more.
I was also drawn to the Maeve/Liam story. It was a journey that I enjoyed traveling with Maeve, although it was heartbreaking.
Overall, it was a nice enjoyable story for me. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.
Good enemies to lovers story that is easy to read, plus I liked everything the protagonist has to live and go through during the story.
3 stars
I liked certain elements in this book, like the fake hate and the "pranks," and Maeve was a wonderful fmc, and it was a delight to follow her journey, but the mmc? He was a bit smarmy, especially at the beginning, with him sleeping with his clients. I didn't like that.
Still, this was a fun read that kept me entertained from start to finish.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I really loved this book. It was such a great book!