Wednesday, March 27, 2013

[Book Review] Paradise Hops

Title: Paradise Hops
Author: Liz Crowe
Date Published: October 15, 2012
Genre: Erotica, Romance, Adult Fiction
Source: ARC from Publisher
Rating: 3/5

Links:
Goodreads
Amazon


About the Book:

A brutal attack left Lori Brockton convinced she was damaged goods. By the time she emerges from hiding two years later, ready to run her family's famous brewery, she's determined to be independent--never rely on anyone ever again. Nearly a year of working in every corner of Brockton Brewing Company, from warehouse to pub, front office to kitchen, teaches her all she needs to know about the business. Then, she comes face-to-face with masculine perfection in a suit and her world is rocked in more ways than one. Garret Hunter is the new Brockton business manager who takes one look at the beautiful, sad young woman and his entire existence coalesces around winning her heart.

But standing between Garrett and what he believes is his true love, is a six-feet six-inch blond-haired bad boy brewer.
Eli Buchannan is a craft beer rock star, recently hired by Brockton to drag the company into the 21st century. He brings innovation and attitude plus a prima donna ladies’ man reputation. But he's sworn off anything resembling commitment, personal or professional, after getting burned at his last job on both fronts.

Garret Hunter is “The Perfect Man” -- handsome, successful, stable, eager to settle down. Eli Buchannan... is not. Compelling, smoking hot, creative and elusive, he represents everything Lori Brockton should avoid. But just as she makes a difficult choice, a drastic life-changing shift occurs, and nothing is ever the same again.

Review:
A heart-wrenching read for an erotic romance.

The Positive: 

The heroine, Lori Brockton, is convinced that no man would ever want her because she considers herself 'damaged'. Well, she's clearly wrong as she's torn between the perfect man, Garret Hunter, and the devilishly handsome beer brewer, Eli Buchannan.

First off, I'd say that the love triangle was effective as the heroine had chemistry with both Garret and Eli. Personally, I'm leaning more towards Garrett that's why the ending of the book tore my heart out into tiny little pieces.

Story-wise, nothing out of ordinary, but the storytelling was compelling enough for me to finish the book in one sitting.

Also, I appreciate Lori's back story because it gave her character more depth. It shows just how much strength she possessed in her even though she could be portrayed as frail and fragile. While the trauma left by her horrific past was evident, I love the fact that Lori picked up the pieces of herself and became an indispensable worker in her father's brewery.

Oh, and the ending was like a punch in the gut. As a reader, I didn't like the ending, but speaking as a reviewer, it was effective and it really affected much of the audience of the book.

The Negative:

The cheating. Cheating is cheating no matter how you justify it or rationalize it. I didn't like the fact that Lori still went behind Garret's back. It's like she couldn't even make up her mind between the two men. Sure, they're both gorgeous enough to make any woman torn in between them, but that doesn't mean that she should just sleep with both.

Also, the dream sequence. It threw me off and got me confused for a moment. I don't think it was necessary for the story to proceed so I didn't like how it was even in the book.

Overall, I give this book a three out of five rating because I'm pretty sure that readers who give this book a chance would surely feel the punch in the gut I'm talking about when they reach the end of the story.


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