It's a Brewtiful Day by H.M. Shander: Book Review

 **ARC received for consideration. All opinions are my own. 

The Book

When sparks fly faster than espresso shots, will Sage weather the storm of her feelings for Elliot, or will she need a latte of courage to stir things up?

Every day, Sage wanders into the Coffee Loft armed with romance books and orders her favourite perk me up. But it’s not the caffeine that sets her heart racing—it’s Elliot, the barista she’s harboured a crush on for months. He’s as sweet as a maple twist macchiato and as heavenly as the pastry to go with it. He’s also laid back, the total opposite to her take-charge attitude.

When a fierce storm strands them together, her carefully constructed facade unravels faster than a poorly bound paperback. Deathly terrified of thunder and lightning, Sage needs to do the unthinkable—ask Elliot for help and allow herself to take refuge in his warmth and kindness.

Between coffee beans and candlelight, further cracks in Sage’s armour appear. As the night deepens and their budding romance blooms, so does her apprehension about where this will lead, since love always ends in heartache.

Surviving the night together is one thing, but these new developing emotions? They scare her as much as the raging storm.

This sweet, forced proximity romance set in the heart of the Rocky Mountains contains high levels of emotion, a latte coffee and bookish puns, and is percolating with lots of tender, swoony moments.

The Author

USA TODAY bestselling author H.M. Shander is a star-gazing, romantic at heart who once attended Space Camp and wanted to pilot the space shuttle, not just any STS – specifically Columbia (and it's loss was deeply upsetting). However, the only shuttle she operates in her real world is the #momtaxi; a speedy electric car that transports her two kids to school, work, and whatever sporting events they are involved in. When she’s not commandeering Elektra, you can find the elementary school librarian surrounded by classes of children as she reads the best storybooks in multiple voices and tries desperately to remember each of the 700+ student names to make them feel special.

After she’s tucked her endearing kids into bed and kissed her trophy husband goodnight, she moonlights as a contemporary romance novelist; the writer of sassy heroines and sweet, swoon-worthy 'cinnamon-roll' type heroes who find love in the darkest of places.

She knows and speaks four languages (two exceptionally well); English, French, some American Sign Language, and Sarcasm, some of which serve her well within her variety of real world jobs (in no particular order) as Wife, Mother, Birth Doula, Teacher, and Librarian (and countless others). Despite how busy her life can be, there is always time to watch the sun rise, try to catch a rainbow, wish on stars, and listen to the robins sing.

She can be reached at hmshander@gmail.com, followed on Goodreads, and would love to read your comments about her novels.

Book Review

It's a Brewtiful Day is part of The Coffee Loft: Fall Collection. This is a multi-author series with each book featuring a Coffee Loft shop but can all be enjoyed as standalones or in any order. 

This was such a sweet addition to The Coffee Loft series! Sage may love reading romance, but in real life, she's had bad luck with men in her past. So, while she harbors a crush on the cute barista (Elliot) at her favorite Coffee Loft store, she doesn't think anything will come of it... until the two are stuck together during a horrible store and she finds herself letting her guard down. As someone who has a very intense phobia of storms just like Sage, I could 100% relate to the anxiety she was dealing with throughout the story. More than that though, it made me love how Elliot stepped in to take care of her in that fear without judgement. He was such a sweetheart, and I couldn't help but love him for her. They had such a sweet chemistry between them that I adored--- though both were certainly far from perfect! The story might have taken place primarily in just one night--- but what an eventful night it was bringing these two together as it did. Throw in some meddling family and wonderful coffee puns and there was so much to enjoy about this sweet romance. 

It's a Brewtiful Day is a closed-door romance with kisses only and one minor swear. 


You can purchase your copy here: https://amzn.to/4eLksPy