No one does smart, witty banter and sharp dialog like Ms Ewens. I know that with each story I start written by her I will be swept away for the duration.

Each story in the Love Story journey has been unique and compelling, yet Patrick and Aspen's story struck an accord with my expectations of the foundation a true love story would have. Their give and take, strengths and weaknesses all converge to create the middle with which to live with their own love story.

I have immensely enjoyed each story in this series, Smooth definitely goes to the top of the list in stealing my heart and leaving a warmth long after the last page.

This ARC book was complimentary, provided by the Publisher and NetGalley. I am voluntarily providing my honest review.

Another great and witty book from Tracy Ewens, this time focussing on Patrick McNaughton and the brewery's wonder woman Aspen. Great connection between the characters and you really get drawn in to the story.

I really enjoyed this book. On the surface, there is an alpha businessman who has a deep attraction to an employee and is working to win her love. However, Patrick McNaughton isn’t quite as alpha as usual hero business owners are in romance novels. First of all, we meet him in the beginning as he’s panicking about having to fly across the country. Aspen Pane, the business manager of the McNaughton brothers’ craft brewery, is a take charge well-organized woman who has little idea that Patrick has been in love with her since they were kids. Usually, it’s the heroine in romances who has been crushing on the hero, not the other way around.

What I liked is that these two people were so obviously well-matched in character and interests. The romance between them seems to grow organically rather than just being decided by the author that the two lead characters should be in love.

There is a subplot about a quirky venture capitalist whose financial help Patrick would deeply like to access to build their business. I thought that the way this plot would work out is that the venture capitalist would demand that Patrick had a girlfriend and they would have to pretend in one of those phony romances that grows eventually into a real romance. But that is not the way this all worked out and the venture capitalist wasn’t at all as I thought he was going to be. I like being surprised and that was another reason to enjoy this book.

I was given a free ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Patrick and Aspen were amazing!! Patrick is all business, yet he employs Aspen to handle a lot and she does great! She tries to deny feelings. The banter is on point. I loved reading about them navigate their work-life balance.

What I completely adore about this series is the callbacks to characters we’ve previously met as well as the familial bond all the characters have!

While this is the tenth novel in the A Love Story series, it’s only the second set at Foghorn Brewery (the first was Brew). It works perfectly fine as a standalone novel, though. This is a sweet (very) slow-burn romance, with lovely, complex characters, and a friends-to-lovers premise.

Of the three McNaughton brothers who run Foghorn Brewery, Patrick is the business guy. Along with Aspen Pane, the business manager, he takes care of all the marketing and financials for the brewery. Patrick is driven, and he only needs two things in life – for the brewery to do well, and Aspen. He’s been in love with Aspen for as long as he can remember, but has never so much as hinted at it. All that changes when, due to his fear of flying, he mixes alcohol and meds and reveals some of his feelings for her.

“The energy was contagious, and once again, Aspen loved her job. Where else could she work where she had the challenge of budget projections and the best way to adhere beer caps to a giant trophy?”


Aspen, like Patrick, is a workaholic. Ever since her dad left when she was ten, her mom has flitted from one relationship to another, more in love with love than any of her boyfriends. The only consistency she had in life was after they went to live with her grandmother (whom she calls “Grand”), so it should come as no surprise that Aspen’s anchors are her grandmother and work, and she has no time for things like feelings, and especially not for dating.

“His hand at the small of her back, his eyes lit with mischief, and the way he looked at her now that she bothered to pay attention.
Lord, the man knew how to look at a woman. It wasn’t a stare or even a trace of possession. No. Patrick appeared fascinated. It took her breath away.”


Of course, the path to true love doesn’t run smooth. Besides their very valid worries about messing up their business relationship with a romantic one, they have different motivations for their drive. Aspen wants a comfortable, consistent life – she wants to have coffee every Monday with her Grand, and not worry about being able to afford niceties like well-fitting clothes and salon shampoo. A relationship of any kind is just a complication that she doesn’t need. While Patrick seems to be in control and in charge, in reality, he’s deeply vulnerable and feels like he has something to prove. Unfortunately, sometimes the challenges can consume him, to the detriment of everything else, including his relationships with his family and Aspen.

All of this comes to a head when they meet a venture capitalist, Joel Siebold, who might be interested in investing in the brewery. Problem is, he’s as eccentric as they come, and he seems to enjoy having Patrick at his beck and call, asking for such varied things as business plans for a hypothetical music festival to Patrick’s favorite ice cream flavor. Living in the Bay Area, with friends and family who work at startups, Siebold and the whole VC dance felt very familiar. What Patrick can’t seem to realize, however, is that Siebold’s jerking around of him is just a progression of Patrick’s winning-at-all-costs mentality. When he can’t let the deal go, even after it’s obvious to everyone else that nothing will come of it, his ambition comes at the cost of his new relationship with Aspen.

“’Aspen is at coffee with her Grand, and I’m going to report the hell out of you during our ten o’clock meeting. Tons of details about the industry. I have graphs and charts.’
‘Christ,’ Boyd said, groaning.
‘No, not Christ. But pivot tables. You know how you love a good pivot table.’”


C’mon, who doesn’t love a good pivot table joke? There’s lots of quirky humor, which is one thing I really loved about the previous book I read by Ms. Ewens. As for cons, the pace, like the romance itself, is slow. There were times when I would’ve liked things to proceed a little faster. Also, the whole Siebold subplot worked a bit too well for me – I knew I was supposed to be annoyed at the guy and Patrick for going along with him, but a couple of times I got so angry that I had to put the book down and walk away.

Overall, though, this book was highly enjoyable, and I’m very much looking forward to the next book, which I’m guessing will star the remaining McNaughton brother, Cade. Recommended for anyone looking for a slow-burn friends-to-lovers romance!

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This book follows on from Brew and continues the story of the McNaughton brothers and their Foghorn Brewery.

Patrick is the face of the brewery and Aspen is the business manager. Even though they have known each other since their school days, they have always kept their relationship professional until a flight to a brewers convention changes things. Patrick has always been attracted to Aspen but was too afraid to make a move. Aspen has grown up seeing her mother's failed relationships, and has decided that love is not for her. Even though she has been attracted to Patrick since their school days, Aspen's fears have prevented her from being brave enough to follow her heart.

Back in the office the heat is rising as they try to keep their relationship just business and deal with a crazy millionaire investor who is making Patrick jump through hoops. Aspen knows this guy is stringing them along but Patrick believes he can close the deal. Just as their relationship seems to be getting on track Aspen makes a business decision which Patrick does not agree with and everything between them blows apart.

I almost gave a cheer when they finally get it together as the waiting was so exhausting! I really love this series because of it's small town flavour and the great line up of supporting characters and I can't wait for the next book

Loved it! Smart, sweet, funny, well written friends to lovers romance. It took them awhile to get there but Patrick & Aspen were great together. I loved Patrick and his quirks. Aspen had a few peculiar ideas about love that I couldn’t get behind but I liked her other qualities especially looking out for Patrick. This is my first story by this author and I loved her writing. I will have to read more stories about Foghorn. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC thanks to NetGalley.

Having met Patrick in Brew, I wasn't really sold on him. He came off as overly confident and a bit of a know it all jerk. But Aspen was a fun self assured girl who could really hold her own with the rest of the boys. I loved her role and how the brothers (with the exception of Trick) treated her like an honorary sister.

In Smooth we get more complex layers for these characters. I loved that Patrick was the one pursing Aspen. He was the first to admit to himself and to Aspen his true feelings. He saw a possibility of a real future with her and didn't go into this expecting a casual fling. You don't see that often enough in romance. It's usually the opposite, the girl falls first and the guy is stubborn about it until the bitter end. I also loved that his stick-up-his-bum attitude was explained. It helped make him more likable. His first impression for me was pretty negative but getting to know him on a deeper level made me do a complete reversal of opinion on him. He's become on of my favorite characters in this series.

It was interesting to read Aspen in that role. After her mom's crappy track record in love, Aspen pretty much embodied the modern independent woman who succeeded on her own merit. She dated, she had a healthy sex life and she didn't confuse sex for love. She exhibited a lot of the same traits that a typical male protagonist has. She was content with her single life and was very goal orientated and career minded. When she and Patrick finally give in to each other, she starts experiencing all these emotions and feelings she usually avoids like the plague, and she panics.

The story had a bit of everything, it was sexy and sweet, funny and serious, exciting and heartwarming. I loved that T.E. kept the McNaughtons the same. A tight knit family that supports each other through the thick and thin. Through the good and the bad. The glimpses we get of Boyd and Ella from the first book were great too. That said I loved the ending! There is no competing with that ending!

I can't wait for Cade's story. Narwhal sweater wearing Sistine and flirty ladies man Cade?! Match made in romance heaven :)

Memorable Moment:
Patrick's secret fearing of flying - Its his vulnerability that finally opens the door to him and Aspen's mutual attraction going that next step forward. Not to mention he was so cute in his panicky misery.

Grand - every scene with her was amazing. I'm sad to see her go (RIP Grand!)

Would I recommend? This is a really cute series. I'm hooked so yes, I would recommend for those that like a small town romance chuck full of family and friends and real connections.

The moment Patrick and Aspen first interacted in Brew (read my review), I wanted their story. I knew there had to be some kind of chemistry between them and I was excited to see how it would play out in Smooth. (You don't need to read Brew first but you should definitely read it at some point.)

It was pretty evident Patrick had more interest in Aspen than she did in him. She's just a kickass lady living her life and she has no time for shenanigans. Come to find out, Patrick has been interested in Aspen since the day he first saw her in junior high but he's never believed he had a shot with her. Cue swooning.

They might have continued on as nothing more than coworkers until a business trip reveals Patrick's extreme fear of flying and Aspen starts to see him in a new light.

This is a slow burn romance. There are false starts and they both have hangups. Aspen doesn't want to be dependent on any man after witnessing the disaster of her mom's love life. Patrick doesn't want to fail at anything and this singlemindedness has him latching onto an albatross at work, as well as not wanting to take a chance on Aspen and being rejected.

I loved how good they are at their jobs and how Patrick wants to get married. I adored Aspen's friendship with Vienna, Bri, Sistine, and Ella. Female friendship is so important and I appreciate the way Ewen centers it in her novels.

Patrick and Aspen work so well together at work but initially neither are sure about starting a relationship. But Patrick has a harder time shutting down his feelings for Aspen and she finds herself thinking more and more about him too. There are mishaps and miscommunications along the way as they each figure out what the other person means to them.

I was here for it. For every longing glance, every question of what might be, every remembrance of the other person's best qualities.

These two know each other so well and I was certain they were right for each other. Of course, there are bumps along the way. I don't want to spoil anything but there is a situation that develops that brought me to literal tears. At another point, I wanted to kill Patrick.

But this is a love story and so we do get a happily ever after the tears and heartbreak. It was super satisfying, as was the epilogue.

I came to care about these characters so much. The way Ewens developed them and allowed them to grow was just fantastic. They were fully realized people, the sort I'd be friends with and I only wish I could walk down to the Tap House after work one day.

This is the last book listed out for this series but I really, really need the author to write a story about Sistine and Cade so I'm hoping that's on the horizon.

I sneaked in this book between other books with a harder spine and warlike attitude and those that induce debates and it felt refreshing. I am not saying this book is the opposite of all those adjectives used in the previous sentence. It has a life of its own, but considering it has a happily ever after it is relegated to the love story genre ( plus it does have that in its title).

There are ways to get that mix exactly right and this story did. The leading couple has all the required shades of an individual: drive,ambition,charm and a little hint of insecurities. We start off this tale with Patrick in sheer terror of what he had to do next and Aspen, his colleague ( as well as something much more than that) and so- called 'wonder woman' helps salvage the situation. Things change between them after that introduction and we get to watch a well written story about good people.Their shared history gives us more insight into drawing a wider picture around them. The author focuses more on the emotional ties than any other descriptions thus making this a very evocative book. I willingly admit I watched the story unfold with tears in my eyes and cheers for the finale (I am a sap for a good story like this one).

Wonderfully written and amazing characters. I loved Patrick and Aspen in this book. Tracy Ewens has a wonderful way with words; she creates amazing books with characters that are real and perfectly imperfect.

I've read Tracy Ewens entire series and have to say that Smooth is one of my favorites. I just loved the story of Patrick and Aspen, both so work focused and particular that they didn't seem to find time for love.

The Foghorn brewery, the brothers and the women that surround them is a setting that pulls me in every time. I love the characters and the family love that runs through all of these books.

If you enjoy a good love story check these out! You will be happy you did. Smooth rocks.

Thanks to the publishers, author and Netgalley for an early copy.

I'm a sucker for a story of childhood friends who find fall in love with each other. I loved that Aspen was a strong, feminist and that Patrick, despite having loved her most of his life, would not grovel for her. And of course we get the wonderful brother dynamics.

Another winner!!! I'm loving this McNaughton family. Easy, fun and enjoyable story. More....please???

The cast of characters in these stories makes this series great. Readers will both fall in love with and relate to them and want to keep reading. Love this series from Ewens

Another enjoyable entry in the McNaughton family series. An easy read about childhood friends that become more. Looking forward to the next entry.

Romance’s are quite often hits or complete misses. This one was very well written. I loved the characters and they’re dialogue was realistic. There was just the right amount of sexual tension to keep the story going and the payoff didn’t come too early in the story. I’ll definitely check out the authors other Romances.