First and foremost thank you to NetGalley and Liz Alden for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Overall: Solid 3.5 - 4 stars, fun read, really enjoyable main couple! 2 🌶️ spice level, on page scenes. #2 in "series", but standalone.

(Spoiler free!) Summary: Dual - POV, small town farm romance with grumpy x sunshine vibes, this short and sweet romance follows our extrovert van-travelling, Molly, and grumpy dairy farmer Alex. Small town chaos ensues, involving the Bedd Family dynamic, an adorably spoiled dog, and a sweet but steamy romance.

Short and sweet opinion: I ate this book UP. For me it is not often that I start and finish a book within 24 - 48 hours, and I did with Butter You Up. This small town, sweet but full of character romance hit the spot for me, especially as Grumpy x Sunshine is consistently one of my favorites. I love the dynamic Alden creates in her writing, the sweet but serious scenarios and the realistic yet funny characters.

In-depth opinion (Small spoilers possible): The characters are lovable and realistic, while having some depth added through backstories or struggles. Alden touches on a lot of heavier topics, from chronic eczema, to military related PTSD, to grief and family struggles. While I love seeing these dynamics on page and the depth they add to the character's histories, I wish Alden could have gone farther into some of them. Much of the book is surface level, and with the rich characters, I wish the pacing had allowed for more in-depth exploration of certain aspects. I love the story as it stands, but wanted more!

This was such a great story. I loved the epistolary format and the characters were wonderful. Will definitely be reading more from Alden!

Really cute romance with a small amount of spice which was mainly in fantasy. The 2 main characters were sweet and suited each other. I enjoyed the twists and the puns made the book!

please note that the trigger warnings and topes/themes may contain spoilers
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
HEA: HEA
POV: dual 1st person POV
spice: a few open-door spicy scenes
TWs: Crohn’s (side character), death of a parent, eczema, PTSD (war injury)
Kinky Content: dirty talk, finger licking good, fingering, oral
standalone: book 2 of The Farm 2 Forking series
final thoughts: Butter You Up has the same easy writing style as other Liz Alden books with a plot that moves at a good pace and didn’t disappoint! I loved the side characters in this story and the silly aspects like the town names and rogue animals.
This is definitely lower spice than other Alden books, but still steamy!
Is there anything swoonier than a tall, grumpy loner who is a secret softie who loves his dog, his best friend, and his employees? Molly was sweet, bubbly, and exactly what Alex needed to come out of his shell and face his past.

read this book if you love
🫡 big MMC
🧑‍🏫 boss/employee
👕 clothes scene
🥵 dirty talk
💬 epistolary
🤠 farmer MMC
🎣 fish out of water
😳 forbidden lovers
🏝️ forced proximity
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 found family
🎁 grand gestures
🧑‍🤝‍🧑 great side characters
😡 grumpy/sunshine
👦 he falls first and hard
🤫 hidden secrets
🛏️ “it’s just a fling”
🔀 opposites attract
😂 romcom
💓 slowburn
🏡 small town
💼 workplace romance

Liz Alden writes my favorite kinds of men!!

I think the storyline of this book is creative and modern, while still being wholesome and sweet. I’m also partial to a romance that’s gonna timeline. Molly has to leave the farm once Vaniel is fixed.

Alex is sweet and awkward and HOT HOT HOT. I just loved this book and would recommend to anyone who loves a baby goat feeding man.

*3.5

This was cute there just wasn't a lot of substance to it. I wanted it to be longer so that I could really get to know the characters. They were cute together but I wanted more.

I received an arc through netgalley.

I have loved all of the author's writing series collabs lately and this was just another super enjoyable installment in the farm 2 forking universe.

The grumpy sunshine aspects in this were so fun and I really enjoyed watching our MCs relationships develop throughout.

This book definitely makes me want to get back into my small town romance era.

I greatly enjoyed this funny romance. Alex and Molly were likable on their own, but even better together, and it was a pleasure exploring their budding romance. The pacing of the book was good, keeping me hooked all the way through. Overall, a wonderful romance. *I received an ARC of this book and this is my voluntary and honest review.

Butter You Up is a grouchy/sunshine story. Molly is travelling around the country in her camper. She is having electrical issues, so she needs to stop somewhere for a repair. That’s how she ends up in Fork Lick. Now she is working for two different farms to make money to pay for the repair. She didn’t realize that she would end up falling in love with the small town and the family she is staying with. Alex runs a local dairy farm. Even though he lives and works in the same town as his entire family, he keeps himself separate from them for a lot of painful reasons. This is the story of two people who need each other.

I’ll keep this simple. This story made me smile. There is a spoiled goat names Baarbara. There is a reckoning between estranged family members. There is a tight knit small town. Plus, lots of good side characters. I enjoyed this story so much. It can be read as a stand-alone story. I will read more from this author in the future.

Butter You Up by Liz Alden is the second in her Farm to Forking series. It is a very cute story which takes place in Fork Lick, New York. It is about two brothers who are at odds, one working the family farm, the other managing the farm down the road, and Molly, who ends up working for both of them. The family farm is struggling under the debt left by Ethan and Alex’s grandfather and so Ethan is branching out from standard farming. Their first big foray is strawberries and so Molly is parking her van on their property in exchange for working the weekend strawberry festivals. But, she needs actual cash to repair the electrical system in the van and so she needs a paying job. Ethel, the matriarch and Ethan’s grandmother, suggests she go down the road to her other grandson, Alex’s farm stand, where he is looking for help. He and his friend, Kit, vet her and Alex hires her. Kit has been doing it, but he’s bored. He gets bored easily. He’s the comic relief in this story. Well, of course, Molly can’t leave well enough alone and she has to redo the farm stand as well as work hard to bring Alex back into the family. As expected, it all blows up in her face, and she leaves.

Molly is an interesting character. Raised by her single father, who has PTSD and a missing limb from Iraq, had always dreamed about traveling to all 48 continental states, but he is not well enough to go so that is what Molly has been doing. She says in close contact as she worries and she wants to keep him abreast of her travels. He turns out to be pivotal in this very different love story. Fun read. Thanks, Liz Alden, for that.

I was invited to read Butter You Up by Author Collective 20. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #AuthorCollectiveTwenty #LizAlden #ButterYouUp

Love me a man in flannel....just saying.

I was laughing so hard while reading parts of this. I loved the farm dog and all the baby goats <3.

This was a really cute and enjoyable read. I had a great time reading this and I would absolutely recommend this!

I can't wait to read more!

A great read, a grumpy and sunshine romance. Loved both characters and wanted everything to work out well for them. Looking forward to reading the rest of this series.

This was a short, cute, fast-paced romance set in farm country in upstate NY. I loved the relationship that grew between Molly, a sunshiny vanlife traveler looking for a place to spend the summer to recharge her batteries and her bank account, and Alex, a quiet, inwardly sweet but surface grumpy dairy farmer whose roots run deep in the community.

While their growing attraction was lovely to read, just as important to the story was the healing of the somewhat fractured relationship between Alex and his grandma and siblings, who collectively own the farm next door. Years ago, as a teen, Alex’s relationship with them fractured after strong words were exchanged between him and his grandfather. Now that his grandfather is gone, it’s time for the family bonds to truly heal, with Molly stepping in to help.

Along with MCs that I loved as a couple, there are also adorable baby goats, calves, and a sweet doggy with her own pink princess bed. I could practically feel summer dripping from the pages of this book. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

Such a fun rom com…loved this book and it’s a great addition to the series. Filled with amazing characters, banter, small town shenanigans and love. I loved Alex and Molly's story and how they snuck around…even though the family knew they were into each other! The entire family is fantastic and add so many laughs and funny situations to the story. Looking forward to the other books in the series! Thank you for allowing me to read this!

This was such a fun read. Plenty of great banter, some LOL moments and fantastic chemistry. I loved grumpy Alex and sunshine Molly. It’s a guaranteed smile for me when the town curmudgeon falls for his opposite. I loved it!

This is book two in the Farm 2 Forking series. This is a fun Rom Com series set on the Bedd Fellows Farm. This was a humorous grumpy/sunshine romance with just the right amount of romance. So much is going on in this book that it keeps you turning the pages. Well-developed story line and characters. It pulled me in from beginning to end and held my attention. Great characters that you fall in love with. I really liked how the author built up the relationship between the two main characters. I was rooting for their happy ending through the whole book. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was such a fun read, it’s sweet, complex and laugh out loud funny. Molly is such a free spirit who gives so much of herself to everyone. Alex is grumpy, dealing with his own business and family drama but the two have a dynamic relationship. Throw in some farm animals and spice and you’ve got Butter You Up.

“What is it about Alex holding that damn goat. What is it about a big, burly guy, beard and flannel and work boots, holding a baby goat that makes my heart go pitter-patter?”

Butter you Up was definitely some fresh air for me. I couldn’t put it down, and it helped me with a slump. This is a short and fast paced read, funny, with adorable characters. I loved Molly at first sight (word), she is so bubbly, adorable and energetic, a little storm who lives in her van, just to honor a promise made to her father, and spreads positivity (and ideas) wherever she goes. I loved the chronic disease (Eczema) too. The farm environment was a welcome change of scenery for me, and brings its fair share of adorable animals –with, because dogs in books are my kryptonite and because I was the proud parent of 3 Australian Shepherds in my life, a special mention to Alex’s dog, Trixie the Mini Aussie. Who says farm says also farmer and Alex, the MMC, is such a great one! Sexy, caring, grumpy, he has everything and his chemistry with Molly is instant… and steamy. They are really a great match, and I love how their relationship builds in a very realistic way.
I absolutely adored their banters, how family mingles without too much intervention, and how the “farm story” wasn’t too much of a caricature like some romcoms can be. All secondary characters, including Vaniel the van, are really well developed. That impressed me a lot, considering that Butter You Up is the second in a series, each book being written by a different author. I’ll definitely read the other books, but it was so fun to see characters who will have their story told by someone else have their story already developed here. I don’t want to spoil but I also loved the book’s resolution. I’ll just say I love how Alex is supportive and understanding.
This was my second book written by Liz Alden and she for sure is becoming a not-to-miss author for me!

Thank you NetGalley and Liz Alden for this ARC. My opinions are my own.

Rate 4.5/5

Alex and his grumpy nature had me wrapped around his finger from the moment he held that baby goat. I felt a kindred spirit with Molly and her love of the Boxcar children series, that I also had a deep appreciation for as a child. The writing was well done and allowed me to fly through the book, fully immersed and enjoying all the laugh out loud and heartbreaking moments fully. If you want a shy cowboy who tries to hide behind his grumpiness and an outgoing girl looking for her next adventure that just might be right in front of her face this is the book for your next read. Grab a glass of strawberry milk and enjoy

Grumpy/Sunshine...

Alex is grumpy, super grumpy. He seems like he's on the spectrum as well.
Molly is sunshine. Super chipper and upbeat.
These unlikely people can't help but like each other.
But the road is bumpy.