i adored this book! to be quite honest, con artists are one of my favourite character types—but i think it was the love interest that really stood out to me. i appreciated his personality and how he was super different from most rom-com leads. although i did find myself not caring much for the plotline outside our two leads, i appreciated that they both had really well-developed arcs and personalities.

Rating:
⭐⭐⭐.75 rounded to 4/5

Steam:
🌶️🌶️/5

Tropes:
-Neurodivergent MMC
-Plus size FMC
-Grumpy/sunshine
-Small town
-Librarian MMC
-Conwoman FMC

Harmony is a conwoman and her latest mark brings her to a small town in California where she plans to finally get revenge on the man who wronged her father, but the last thing she expects is to fall in love with the reserved librarian, Preston.

First, what I enjoyed about this book:
The relationship between Preston and Harmony is so healthy. They have so much open communication (mostly--I mean the main conflict is that he doesn't know she's a conwoman, etc.). There's a lot of mutual respect between the two of them. I also adored Prestons younger sister, Lacey. I think the representation for the both of them was written extremely well and accurately. I enjoyed the inclusion and representation this book sought to bring.

What I didn't love:
It was hard for me to really like Harmony. While I understand her motives, I just never have liked a conman or conwoman character.
Additionally, about 40% in, I could already figure the plot twist and how the book would end. Because of that, trying to finish the book was a bit of the drag because of the predictability for me.

When reading the summary for this book, as a plus size neurodivergent broadway lover, I don't think there could have been a book more targeted at me.

Harmony is a con woman, an ethical one, who only rips off bad wealthy people, she traps them with her charm and lengthy, well thought out schemes and make them pay for it. I like this type of leads, who are ready to fight and bring justice to the world because the people are so rich that they can buy their way out of anything with money, or so they think.
She is trying to get back to the person who stole her father's work and sold it as his own, which destroyed her father. and for that she is playing a fake music concert and asking for investments.
Preston is a librarian in that town, he is a such a sweetheart, he is taking care of his little sister. He is autistic so we see that experience as well. I have read a lot of books with autistic main characters and each one shows me a different side of it.
I love how she is the charming one and he is the shy one, I like to read such role reversals. I loved their dynamics and chemistry.
There are many heavy topics are discussed in this book, I would suggest to check all the trigger warnings before picking it up.
It was a perfect sweet small town romcom.

I loved this boooook it was sexy and funny and so charming, and the character development was sublime. As someone married to an autistic man it felt so real, I definitely cried several times when he talked about how he had to rein himself in about the things he loved for fear of driving people away.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.
This romance is wicked cute and sexy. I loved! the emotional pull of this book. The main pairing is super sweet together and I loved the development of their relationship. This is a lovely, steamy summer read that is definitely uplifting and modern. From family complications to book banning to homophobia, this book does not shy away from tough topics while keeping the romance prominent. However, I haven’t watched/listened to the Music Man, so I can’t give a detailed comparison, but I also did not feel overwhelmed by missing anything.


Preston, the librarian, specifically for Youth Services, is such a powerful lead. Not that he is a brusque, burly man leading an army type. Rather that he is so totally himself, even when he isn’t confident in that, and true to the idea of the character that is delivered. Written by an autistic author, Preston’s disability rings true to me and the particular struggles that show through the narrative. He is not perfect and he knows that. Apologies in this book are honest and true from everyone, which I appreciate as a romance reader. We get sections from his perspective which I enjoyed. And I thought that his and his sister’s disabilities were handled well in the writing and narrative.
Harmony, the conwoman of the novel, is so clearly suffering which drew me from page one. Sure, her manipulation skills are quite lauded and she seems to have done well in her cons. But the pain she still labors under from her childhood drives her and the action. I enjoyed her perspective in the book, though I felt like I got less depth for her than for Preston.


While it is set in somewhat of a small town setting, there is a decent-sized cast of characters with significant roles in the novel. There is not a whole lot of time spent on their storylines, because the focus is meant to be Harmony and Preston. But they were interesting and I would definitely read more stories set in this town with these characters, romances or not. Preston’s sister honestly could have had a little more time to flesh out the depth of Harmony and Preston’s relationship. But it doesn’t feel like depth is fully missing. I loved the very modern elements and the ways in which they were presented. Especially the book banning and library censoring topics. That is a very hot topic that folks on either side feel very strongly about and I thought that element was handled with the appropriate tone and defenses. There are terrible things that happen in small towns and this book has a lot of them mentioned. I did feel that certain details of other situations alluded to were alluded to quite clearly and perhaps unnecessarily. There was so much happening within the ongoing narrative that it didn’t feel like we needed all these horrific details of other crimes clearly stated.


This is a sweet, sad-ish, hopeful romance with a lot of heavy topics. I enjoyed it and would definitely read more from Schwartz, especially set within the same town or with recurring characters.

Appreciated the representation but ultimately the book was not for me, as I didn’t find the writing to have enough personality (which is what I personally look for in romances and what makes them stand out to me).

Loved this one! Great and fun read. Highly recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for my ARC.

This was the most GenZ book I've ever read. It was too woke for its own good.
Most of the book has been geared towards "representation" rather than the actual romance.
At some point, you realize that the author's stand on some matters was more important than the actual romance.
I couldn't form an opinion on both characters since their scenes together were far and few between.
Other people may like it but it was a miss for me.
*I received an ARC of this book through netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

I'm in stuck in the middle with this book. While I loved the plus-size, autism, and LGBTQ+ representation in this book, I really didn't care for the FMC. I get that Harmony is not supposed to be the most likeable character given the fact that she's a con-woman but aside from that I didn't really connect with her either. Preston was amazing and I love everything about him but especially the way he cares for his sister. What a man! I did end up enjoying the story but I have a feeling this one won't be super memorable for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this so so so much! Finally a character I relate to. This was amazing and I’m telling everyone about it!

NEW FAVE ADULT ROMCOM!!! OF MY ENTIRE LIFE!!

Harmony and Preston are literally my favorite trope of all time: awkward man in love with a confident woman. I loved all of the rep in this book! A plus-sized female main character, an autistic man raising an autistic daughter (who isn't afraid to say exactly what he needs!) and soft explorations of trauma!

Plus, library smut? And criminal kissing? I'm in love. This book was everything I've ever wanted and needed and I wish there was so much more! Definitely a top read of 2024 for me!

3.5

The story of a conwoman who is trying to revenge her late father’s betrayal but gets caught up in the charm of a small town and especially its curly-haired librarian and starts to wonder if all that scheming is worth it…

Very much appreciated representation of a plus-size fmc and an autistic mmc. The characters were sweet and had some relay cute moments with each other and also the towns-folk. I’m a big fan of young characters in novels and I wish Lacey would‘be had even more page time. However, he con-plot line was quite stressful to me and made it harder for me to fully dive into the story, as for me it felt very unrealistic (fair point though: i’m mostly not reading books to read about entirely realistic things either).

5/5⭐️

A wonderful debut!

This book had my heart. I love the whole "hot girl x nerdy guy" trope and this book served it to me on a silver platter. Also, a librarian MMC? Sign me right up!

Harmony and Preston had the most unlikely yet heart-warming love story. I loved the plot, the characters and the writing.
I was a fan of Harmony and the way her character was written, she is bold, beautiful and slick. Truly an idol. Lacey and Preston were both the sweetest and loved their chemistry.

The plot of this book sets up quickly and you end up rooting for the couple right from the get-go. It was spicy, unapologetic and entertaining.

Over all, a must read!

I loved this! My Kind of Trouble is a clever, heartwarming, and high-stakes gender-swapped reimagining of The Music Man with an autistic male main character and excellent writing. Can't wait for Schwartz's next romance!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

When conwoman Harmony Hale makes her way to small town California for her next con, she doesn’t expect to meet her match. Especially not in a small town librarian who’s becoming more and more attractive by the day…
This book would make a great movie. The con, the festival, the romance, the representation. It would be so good. I loved reading this book, it moved incredibly quickly and was interesting from start to finish. Also seeing a MMC with autism, taking care of a younger sister with autism is completely unheard of but absolutely amazing.
Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for an eARC of this book.

This is an easy 4.5⭐️ for me.
Right from the first page I knew I was going to like both the FMC and the writing in this book. I wasn’t wrong. I can’t help but feel very impressed that this is a debut and not a novel written by an already well established author. That’s how much I liked it.

If you like small town romances, this is for you.
If you like cute and respectful MMCs, this is for you.
If you like healthy relationships, this is for you.
If you like representation in your books, this is for you.
If you like interesting side characters with their own stories and their own things going on, then this is for you.
And if you like couples that are complex and very different from each other, but still manage to put aside their differences and actually complement each other in the sweetest ways… then this is definitely for you.

My only criticism is that the beginning was a little slow. Until like 30% nothing was really happening. But once Preston and Harmony started hitting it off… boy, was I hooked!

Honestly, I couldn’t recommend more 🥰

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 star read for me

Loved the plus-size, autism, and LGBTQ+ representation in this book. It was essentially a retelling of The Music Man. The side characters had depth and there was a spicy library scene (overall not a very spicy book in case you’re not into that), what’s not to like?

Oh Harmony. Oh Preston. Oh babies. Good fat rep, and good autism rep. Although it's not a queer book, the secondary smaller queer subplot was extremely well done too.

I love as a society we are including more fact MCs in our romance novels. Us fat people deserve love too! This was cute, witty, and funny. I cannot wait for everyone else to read this.

This book was fun from cover to cover! Harmony, a fat sort of "robin hood" conwoman (with a secret heart of gold) comes to town to exact revenge on the man who ruined her father's career, and in the process, accidentally falls for the stern librarian who doesn't seem phased by her one bit. Our male lead, Preston, is fighting for inclusion and representation at his small town library and doesn't want to be bothered by this new larger-than-life woman who rolls into town and won't seem to leave him alone, until, that is, that he finds himself drawn to her and unable to get his mind off her!

With secret identities and hidden motives, you know there's an inevitable third-act break up, but this was handled in such a way that didn't frustrate me as a reader, made my heart ache a bit, and challenged both characters to grow, giving us a satisfying character arc for both leads! It was sweet, sexy, and full of heart.

Fat-friendly? Hell yeah! My Kind of Trouble gives us positive fat representation in our female main character and representation of autism spectrum disorder in our male main character (as well as his sister). While I can't speak to the authenticity of the autism representation, I can speak as a fat woman. It was refreshing to have a female main character living in a fat body who is confident, savvy, sexy and secure in her relationship to her body. When I read romance featuring a fat lead, I love when the author shows them as sexy and desirable - not fetishized for their fatness, not desirable *despite* their fatness, but seen as whole and human and body size wasn't a focal point, it simply was. I appreciate books that give us essentially a "fat-normative" society, rather than making fatness a thing to overcome or a thing to fetishize.