I gave this a chance but, I really did not enjoy the MCs, plot of writing style. It didn't help that the plot was driven by my least favorite trope, miscommunication. This book could be very fun for some readers but, it just didn't work for me.

3.5 ⭐️

I liked this book! It was an easy cosy read, nothing too heavy. It was a good second chance romance book! The characters were likeable and I would check out the other books in the series.

Thanks to NetGalley, Harlequin - Romance, Afterglow Books by Harlequin and Katherine Garberafor giving me an ARC of this book!

A second chance romance, which I should have known probably wasn't for me, but in the back of my mind I just had a hard time forgiving Allistair so it never really came together for me.

I am adding a star to my initial review though bc its clearly advertised as a second chance romance and I just didn't look close enough when I started so the whole time I'm muttering to myself like "F this guy!"

The groveling was pretty good though I will say.

Book Review

I was immediately drawn to this book because of its stunning cover—it was so captivating that I eagerly applied for the ARC. However, after making it through about 10%, I found myself struggling to stay engaged. It seems like this book might be better appreciated after reading the first two in the series, which I haven’t done yet.

For now, I’ve decided to DNF, but I’m not ruling out giving it another shot in the future when I’m better prepared to dive into the story.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC!

I honestly only got a couple of chapters in before DNFing this one..... My understanding is that these are supposed to be a series of interconnected standalones but there really wasn't enough context in the first couple of chapters for me to understand enough about these two to want to continue reading.

I enjoyed this book. Great second chance romance. Perfect read for this month. Great ending. Will reread it with the rest of the series!

This just was not for me which I suppose I should have known from the title. I also didn't realize it was a third book in the wicked sisters series which may explain the disconnect/rushing into the plot that I felt when reading it. There wasn't much buildup/slow burn to the romance. The pet names... not for me. I liked the healthy female relationships and the eventual healthy communication. Thanks Harlequin Romance & NetGalley for the ARC!

A fun ending to the series! I liked that a lot of this took place outside of the shop but still incorporated past characters that I grew to love.

“Brewing Up a Bad Boy” is the perfect blend of sweetness, charm, and just the right amount of spice! As the third book in Katherine Garbera's “Wicked Sisters” series, this second-chance romance serves up all the delicious tension and swoon-worthy moments you could ask for.

Poppy, a tea shop owner, and Alistair, a microbrewer, were once married—until heartbreak and betrayal tore them apart. Back then, Alistair was more focused on climbing the corporate ladder in his family’s business than nurturing their relationship, leaving Poppy feeling like she came second. Now, he’s back, determined to prove he's changed and ready to win her heart all over again.

If you love a steamy, angst-filled romance with fiery passion, heartfelt emotions, and a hero who fights for redemption, “Brewing Up a Bad Boy” is an absolute must-read. Poppy and Alistair’s journey will have you hooked from the first page, rooting for them to stir up some love again!

Thank you Katherine Garbera, Netgalley and Afterglow Books by Harlequin Romance for the gifted ebook ARC! All opinions expressed are my own.

Tea shop owner Poppy Kitchener thought she’d left her mistakes, and her failed marriage, in the past. But when her ex-husband, Alistair Miller, turns up—as charming and irritatingly handsome as ever—those old feelings float to the surface...& Poppy realizes that she can open herself back up to him and reconnect, as they are now both in different stages of their lives.
This is an absolute adorable and cute second chance romance. I loved how we not only see growth in Poppy & Allister., but we also see growth with Poppy's sisters & their relationship with one another. There is so much angst and SO much steam in this book. SOOOO MUCH STEAM! I loved the steam too and the added extraness of it all.

Tropes included are:
2️⃣ Second Chance
✨️ Small-town Romance
❌ Fake Dating
✨️ Witchy Vibes
❤️‍🩹 Found Family
🌶️ Spicy

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for a copy of this digital ARC!

⅘ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Brewing Up A Bad Boy
Author: Katherine Garbera
Wicked Sisters #3

Thank you Netgalley and Harlequin Romance for the ARC! This was a super cute read. I have not read the previous books in the series, and it’s fine to read them as standalones. You would know the supporting characters better if you read them in order but I had no issues reading it this way! This was a second chance romance, about a tea shop owner, and a microbrewer and it was so cute. He shows up at her shop asking her to pretend they are still married and attend a wedding with him, and initially she is like.. hell no! She ends up caving, and going with him. She’s not sure if she can trust him and his new ways since he is preaching that he is a changed man. It was definitely a bit insta love and fluff, but oh boy it was super spicy and I was not expecting that! It was a really cute small town romance read and I loved all the references to the tea making and brewing. I bet these would be adorable audiobooks! I like the authors writing style and it made me feel all giddy inside. I will definitely be checking out the other books in this series. 🫖

Poppy and Alistair got hitched when she was just 18, but surprise...he was only in it for her family's top-secret tea recipes. Turns out, buried in the fine print of their marriage was a shady deal with his dad, and the moment Poppy found out, she served him divorce papers faster than a fresh brew steeps. Alistair, trying way too hard to win his father’s approval, soon realizes he’ll never get it...and worse, he threw away the only person who ever genuinely cared about him. Cue a lot of therapy, soul-searching, and a dramatic redemption arc. Now, he’s back, ready to team up with Poppy to take down his dad in the ultimate tea war. Somewhere along the way, Poppy starts seeing that Alistair 2.0 might actually be worth a second sip.
I liked this book. It’s got all the drama, all the growth, and plenty of spice to keep things steaming!

The third book in this series, a second chance romance. Ali and Poppy married young and are now divorced. He is in her new home town so will she give him a chance? I liked how it was told from both points of view.

Brewing up a Bad Boy by Katherine Garbera is a cozy story about Poppy who owns a tea shop and is a witch. Her ex, Alistair, turns up back in her life as he asks her to go to a family wedding with him, as he has a complicated relationship with his family and hasn’t told them of their divorce. Poppy agrees to go I exchange for a lucrative deal with his family. However, as they spend more time together and learn how they’ve grown and changed since the divorce, will they get a second chance at love?

This was a cute, cozy read. At times, I felt the characters could have been more developed, but I was drawn into their story and invested in the outcome.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for access to an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Wicked Sisters #3

Rating: 3.75/5

Spice: 3

Primary Genre: Contemporary Romance

Plot: 4/5

Blurb: A tea shop owner good girl and a reformed microbrewer bad boy reunite in this wonderfully wicked love story.

Sometimes the second sip is sweetest.

In the cozy town of Birch Lake, tea shop owner Poppy Kitchener thought she’d left her mistakes, and her failed marriage, in the past. But when her ex-husband, Alistair Miller, turns up—as charming and irritatingly handsome as ever—those old feelings float to the surface. To top it off, he has a puzzling pretend they’re still married for his cousin’s wedding in exchange for a lucrative business deal with his family.

Easy enough, right? After all, this could be Poppy’s last chance to get closure, grow her business and use Alistair’s knowledge of microbrewing to help her finish that winning recipe for the tea competition.

But even after all this time, he still knows how to make her laugh. And he’s changed in ways that make Poppy wonder about the man he’s become… Can she trust this new Alistair with her heart, or will a second chance brew up disaster?

From showing up to glowing up, the characters in Afterglow Books are on the path to leading their best lives and finding sizzling romance along the way. Don’t miss any of these other fun titles…

WiCKed Sisters series

Book 1: The Bookbinder's Guide to Love
Book 2: How to Charm a Nerd
Book 3: Brewing Up a Bad Boy

The Good:

* There’s some cute moon magic elements/witchy magic vibes happening. I love a witchy romance. This book is pretty light on it but I enjoyed that it was in there.

* The found family element is very strong in this book, a part of the storyline basically. It’s sweet to watch it unfold.

* Katherine Garbera dares to ask the question, is a second chance romance worth is after divorce? This isn’t an overly done romance topic, I haven’t come across it yet and she did it well. It was emotional without being too sad and lighthearted without making it seem like the MCs weren’t taking it seriously.

The Meh:

* The hesitation and lack of communication of the MC’s started to tick me off at a certain point. That was all, no huge complaints.

Bottom Line:

This is a very cute second chance at love after divorce story. The FMC is a little bit witchy. She and her love interest brew stuff and talk about the brewing flavors of tea, beer and hard kombucha. This is the 3rd in the series and based off of this book, I think I’d like the first 2! I’m planning to check them out very soon.

Brewing Up a Bad Boy is the third and final book in Katherine Garbera’s WiCKed Sisters series from Afterglow Books by Harlequin. This is a standalone read with characters and couples from the previous books appearing often.

Brewing Up a Bad Boy is a second chance, fake marriage romance that I found deeper than I ever expected. Ten years ago, Poppy Kitchener and Alistair “Ali” Miller married for all the right and wrong reasons. At the time, nineteen-year-old Poppy was madly in love with the popular, charismatic, wealthy bad boy Alistair. She wanted to be the perfect wife and daughter-in-law, even if it meant sacrificing on her part. Alistair desperately wanted to win the favor of his father and sought out Poppy for her family’s tea recipe, which his family had been trying to get for centuries.

The couple had a whirlwind romance but things were far from perfect. Alistair’s family took possession of Poppy’s family tea recipe and removed her family’s name. Alistair became hyperfocused on his family’s tea business and finally being accepted by his father. The result was a short-lived marriage that lasted way longer on paper. While I haven’t read the previous books, from what I gather, events in those books ultimately lead Alistair to seek out Poppy in America to right the wrongs of the past and attempt to reconcile as a couple.

Second-chance romances are nothing new. What makes Brewing Up a Bad Boy unique to me is the realism. Poppy and Ali both still have lingering feelings of hurt and anger. Some of this is directed within, but most at the other. Ali isn’t my typical romance hero. He has anger issues, which for me are a turn-off, but he truly has worked to control and better himself, which shows in his thoughts and actions. It should be noted that none of his physical or verbal anger is towards Poppy.

I think fans of this series will really love this book. Neither Ali nor Poppy truly owned my heart, but I do see their appeal. Their chemistry is undeniable. Their in-depth conversations were real and you can definitely see their growth. They are a perfectly imperfect couple.

~ Favorite Quotes ~

“Nothing worth having was easy to get.”

“Don’t settle for less than you deserve.”

“Prince Charming pretty much does nothing to save Cinderella. She does it all herself.”

I had a hard time getting into this book. It might be the mood I am currently experiencing. As I have written with other reviews, I am a major mood reader.. I may give this book another shot when I am in the mood for a romance.

Brewing Up a Bad Boy I book three in the Wicked Sisters Series by Katherine Garbera.
This was a fun romance!
A cute story! I’m always down for a sweet and spicy romance with some witchy vibes.

Out now! I really wanted to like this, but it just wasn’t for me. The storyline was fine and the characters are likable. However, something about the writing was tripping me up basically at each transition break/ symbol on page (the POV shift), causing me to reread sections.
This is book 3 of the WiCKed Sisters series, which is comprised of interconnected standalone books. I read this book as a true standalone and am new to the author. All opinions are my own.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced ebook.

This was an entertaining, well-written book. It was steamy, fun, sweet and kept me reading. I enjoyed this and will look for more books by this author.