I was so excited about reading about this; a plus-size con artist and an Autistic librarian. The character development and pacing of the story were great. I was invested in Harmony and Preston. I wanted to see if they would be able to adapt to one another. I struggled to believe the reason why Harmony was conning a small-town mayor. That part of the story was not believable to me.

This rom-com follows Harmony, a con woman, and Preston, an autistic librarian, in a small-town setting. Harmony arrives in Brookville with plans to pull off a fake music festival to expose the town’s corrupt mayor, who once ruined her father’s life. The catch? The festival needs to take place on land owned by Preston, an introverted librarian who’s also raising his younger autistic sister. Their personalities clash at first, but the banter between them is so fun, and their chemistry grows naturally as the story progresses.
What really stood out was how Preston and Harmony supported each other. Preston appreciated Harmony for who she was and believed in her potential, while Harmony admired Preston’s dedication to his sister and his role in the community. Preston’s character was especially heartwarming—he's shy and grumpy on the surface, but underneath, he’s caring and protective, especially with his sister. Their interactions were sweet, and it was so refreshing to see such a positive portrayal of an autistic character in a romance.
The story has both emotional depth and fun moments that kept me hooked. I really enjoyed how it tackled important themes like inclusivity and book banning while still being an engaging romance. The characters felt real, and you can’t help but root for them to find happiness. Overall, this book was a great read, and I’m excited to see what L.A. Schwartz writes next!

DNF at 14%. I was almost immediately annoyed when I started this book. I love a story with relevant topics and issues but I would like to discover those issues for myself. Someone’s fat shaming? Let me feel that disgust. Racism? Let me get angry. But what I cannot stand is when I read a book and I am told, as if I wouldn’t be able to figure it out for myself, that a situation is wrong. It prevents me from getting lost in the story which takes away all of the enjoyment of reading for me.

I’m sure many will love this book and I love the autism representation. But please please let me get angry on the characters behalf all on my own.

Thank you to Netgalley, Alcove Press, and the author for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

This was cute but there were some problems that made it harder to like than I hoped. Too much labeling for my like.

MY KIND OF TROUBLE is described as a modern, genderbent version of "the music man," about a con woman and the librarian she falls for while on the job. i absolutely loved harmony and preston and seeing them fall for each other had me giggling my feet, twirling my hair, the whole shebang. the banter was absolutely topnotch and seeing preston slowly give in to his feelings for harmony, tearing his walls down and letting her in was incredible. not to mention the small town setting, the autistic rep, preston being guardian to his younger sister... i loved all of it. give me five more books about harmony and preston, please.

read if you like:
- musical references
- polin vibes
- morally grey fmc (ish)

thanks to netgalley and alcove press for the advanced copy!

I love the whole nerdy small town librarian trope! Not a fan of a character being a conwoman but this story is definitely worth the read. I’m a huge sucker for small town romances and of course this one hit the mark!

I had my doubts whether I would like Harmony given I knew she was going to be a con-woman before I started reading. With Preston and the story gives it the humanity to make it a tale worthy of its HEA. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the early copy of this read.

this was such a cute romance! the way their relationship had CLEAR and GOOD communication made me appreciate this book even more :) the pace was a little bit too fast for me, but i still was able to enjoy it! the setting of the small town was so fun to read :)

Thank you to the Publisher and Netgalley for giving me an arc of this book in exchange of an honest review!

A rom-com featuring a con woman FMC and an autistic librarian MMC! This book has the cutest cover and it makes you feel good while you're reading. You will laugh hysterically this is just a good time and I enjoyed the banter between the two characters. The storyline is amazing. I absolutely loved Preston and Harmony together—their chemistry was incredible. The entire story kept me hooked. I especially loved how Preston supported Harmony and appreciated her for who she was and who she was striving to become, just as she did for him. I loved every bit of it!

My kind of trouble by La Schwartz is a rom-com featuring a con woman FMC and an autistic librarian MMC and this was just a good time this has the cutest cover it makes you feel good you're going to laugh hysterically this is just a good time I enjoyed the banter between the two characters I enjoy the storyline this is an amazing incredible book.

Thank you to Alcove Press and LA Schwartz for this ARC.

“My Kind of Trouble” takes an autistic librarian and a plus-sized con-woman, adds some healthy relationship dynamics, and comes out with a sweet and sexy story that truly captures my heart.

This is a retelling of the 1960s movie “The Music Man,” which I instantly picked up on but wasn’t mad about. The small-town atmosphere sucked me in. The adorable relationship between Preston, the town’s “rebel” librarian, and his niece will melt your heart.

And can I stop to talk about the austistic representation in this book? Not only do we get an autistic character, but we also get one who has been forced into masking. It was heartbreaking and heartwarming to read, and I truly felt Schwartz carefully crafted this character to represent so many neurodivergent readers. Preston also taught his niece to OWN her autism and was a vocal advocate for her in a small town that didn’t understand her needs. From yelling at teachers to teaching her about consent, this relationship was honest and beautiful.

Ok..I was a bit nervous that Harmony, the bold con-woman, would break Preston’s heart. But instead, Schwartz utterly shocked me by including healthy relationship dynamics in this romance. Harmony finds out Preston is autistic, and her immediate reaction is to research the topic so she can be his advocate and supporter. That’s a total green flag if I’ve ever seen one. She reminded me of Robin Hood, and how she interacted with Preston will make you giddy and happy overall.

Plus, the tension and the spice were perfection.

You NEED to read this book. This book emphasizes healthy communication, emotional intimacy, and advocating for those viewed as “different” in any community. I hope this book gets all the hype and attention it deserves because, honestly, it was so refreshing to read, and I could tell that Schwartz truly poured her heart into crafting “My Kind of Trouble.”

4.5/5

This small town romance debut FAR exceeded my expectations!! I loved that the MMC, Preston Jones is an autistic librarian and guardian to his younger autistic, nonverbal sister. When fat, conwoman Harmony Hale blows into town trying to organize a 'fake' music festival, she can't help being intrigued by the shy, seemingly grumpy Preston. This was a great opposites attract romance with emotional depth and a love letter to all the librarians out there fighting against book banning and censoring!! Great on audio and HIGHLY recommended for fans of authors like Talia Hibbert or Olivia Dade! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review. I look forward to reading what L.A. Schwartz writes next!

My Kind of Trouble by L. A. Schwartz was a fun debut romance!
I absolutely adored this book. The characters were such fun to be around with.,
This is one of those books that feels very realistic but also provides a great escape from reality at the same time.

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

This was an amazing story! I absolutely loved Preston and Harmony together—their chemistry was incredible. The entire story kept me hooked. I especially loved how Preston supported Harmony and appreciated her for who she was and who she was striving to become, just as she did for him. I loved every bit of it!

Spicy, male female, dual point of view, contemporary romance. This is a retelling of The Music Man with the female lead as the conman. It was an interesting premise and the leads had fantastic chemistry. I especially enjoyed the sweet male lead who is my new book boyfriend.

This was fine. I appreciated the gender bending of a beloved musical. HOWEVER, I thought the plot dragged a bit and I was generally unimpressed with the writing. I thought the idea was compelling though.

My Kind of Trouble was a fantastic debut from L.A. Schwartz. This book follows determined Harmony Hale, a vengeful woman destined to avenge the wrongdoings done to her father before his death and anyone else who is wronged by greedy, corrupt people in power. Her next con is in Brookville, a small, wholesome town where the mayor is taking advantage of anyone and everyone with a penny to spare. But this time, Harmony has a personal reason for taking down this corrupt politician. Years ago he stole her father’s work, claiming it was his and ruining her father’s life. Along with her tech savvy friend Alice, Harmony heads to the town meeting to propose a ‘festival’. A made up event meant as a ploy for exposing the wrongdoings. Only problem she has is that the site needed to host this imaginary festival is owned by librarian Preston Jones, an introverted and dedicated man who does his best to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for everyone in his town, including his younger sister that he is raising. There, of course, is a clash of their contrasting personalities which leads to some fun interactions.
I loved this book. Preston and Harmony were fantastic to read. It was heartwarming to see Preston, an autistic man, doing everything in his power to give his autistic sister the most inclusive and enriching upbringing to suit her needs.
Once their romance blossoms, it was actually a surprise to see a new side of Preston.
It was a fantastic plot and the characters were a pleasure to read. You couldn’t help but root for their success and happiness. I will definitely be looking for Schwartz’s next release!

I was fortunate to being an arc reader for this book and I'm super sorry to say that this book wasn't for me.

The premise was very interesting, with a con woman trying to con an evil mayor with a fake festival, but after that it just felt flat. Which was very sad as I was super interested to read this book.

The characters felt very bland, and while we kind of jumped straight into the deep end, after that most of the book was pretty boring. Nothing really happened except so much talk about technicalities of throwing a festival, I started skimming these chapters very early on, because they didn't really bring anything new to the story. The main female character also felt unnecessary annoying and self-centered, and was so unnecessarily mean to her friend from the start. The main romance also felt very much like insta lust and I didn't feel any proper chemistry between the characters.

The book it self was easy to read and some parts were fun. I guessed the ending 40% in, but didn't mind that much as this was a romance book.

2,75 stars, very interesting premise and story, but sadly not for me

3.25/5 stars! I love the cover of this book. I'm a big fan of nerdy librarians, so I was here for Harmony and Preston's story. I really enjoyed Preston. I think everything about his character was well-developed and I felt like I understood his desires and motivations. My issue with this book was Harmony. I just didn't "buy what she was selling." She felt shallow and it made it hard to root for her.


I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

My Kind of Trouble has to be one of the best romance novels I’ve read so far this year.
It has everything people love in a small town romance.
I’ve never read a book with MC’s that can relate with other people, which I loved that L.A. Schwartz definitely wanted to go outside the box and have readers hooked, which is exactly what happened.
My review will be up in the next 30 minutes on my Instagram @melbournereader and will tag the author and the publisher in the post with a link to where people can buy there own copy.