Trouble is Brewing
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4.7 • 6 Ratings
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
A whimsical enemies-to-lovers cozy fantasy romance with forced proximity and a sprinkle of magic.
Laoise's life has taken an unexpected turn. With her younger brother's illness back and her family struggling to afford his medicine, she reluctantly accepts a new position at the Steepes' countryside manor. The offer comes with a substantial raise, but there's a catch. She'll be serving Bertram, the man who tried to sabotage her best friend's engagement.
Bertram is bitter about his family exiling him to the countryside for his misdeeds. He's already driven all the other servants off, and his spoiled attitude tests the limits of her patience. What's more, his suspicious behavior around a mysterious locked room convinces her he is back to plotting against her friend. There's trouble a-brewing at Steepe Manor, and she is determined to expose his treachery.
Then a snow storm rolls in, threatening to trap them together for the holidays. Even worse, a letter from home has Laoise fearing the worst for her brother's health. She decides to brave the treacherous weather back to London, but she can't do it without Bertram's help. Along their journey Laoise discovers an inexplicable pull toward him. To infuriating, despicable, handsome Bertram. A man who might understand her fears better than anyone else. But does he truly feel the same way? Or is he just using her for another of his wicked schemes?
This whimsical enemies-to-lovers romance features forced proximity and one bed at the inn. It will appeal to fans of Olivia Atwater and India Holton.
Customer Reviews
Lovely series continuation!
Trouble is Brewing was a lovely installment to the Serendipitea series! I love how Valent has kept the tea-themed, cozy vibes going throughout all three books to this point. The feel of this book is very similar to the previous books in the series -- the dialogue, characters, and the arc of the action fit nicely with the series as a whole.
I loved getting to know Laoise (which, I learned, is pronounced LISH-a, not lOW-ee-z; makes a lot more sense in hindsight!) more. Her fiery personality and stubborness are fabulous. From the very first moment she arrives at the manor, you know she's only chosen to be there because she needs the money for her brother's medicine, and she intends to make it based on love and stubborness alone (really, the only valid reasons for enduring original Bertram). I enjoyed that Bertram got a redemption arc too, and that we get to learn that he's not quite so much the villain as we all initially thought. I do wish that we'd learned more of why he did the things he did and what on earth his thought process was behind his acts in book one. We get much less of an explanation than I'd have liked.
The romance was both lovley and also felt very choppy. I feel like the switch from Laoise not being able to stand Bertram to Laoise being romantically interested in him relies heavily on her learning that he's good in bed. And then after that she started to learn that maybe Bertram had some good qualities. It felt a little forced to me, given that there wasn't more relationship development. I did, however, feel like the ending reflected very well where Laoise and Bertram's relationship would realistically be and it felt believable.
The big "plot twist" that wasn't the romance ended up being not very surprising. I'd guessed it pretty early on in the book, but still enjoyed it! There were plenty of clues and the dots were easy to connect.
One disclaimer I want to include is that this book is a bit spicier than the previous first two books never went beyond kissing; this one has a just stronger than fade-to-black scene. Not much is stated on page and I wouldn't call it explicit, but it did catch me a bit by surprise. Just putting that out there!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.