Series: MacGregor Brothers Brewing Company, #1
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐✨
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Release Date: December 7th, 2021
There’s only one man I want a future with — my grouchy friends with benefits, Nolan. But he’s adamant about keeping things casual.
All that changes when one night we get careless, and those pink lines show up on the pregnancy test months later.
Nolan wants to do right by me. He wants to give me what I’ve been searching for, but I’m pretty sure he’s only doing it out of obligation. It’s not like the bearded brewmaster loves me like I love him.
Accidentally in Love is a small-town accidental pregnant holiday romance featuring a burly bearded brewmaster and an hopeless romantic high school english teacher.
I’m always so wary of surprise pregnancies and how they’ll be handled by the two characters when thrust into that situation, but I was pleasantly surprised by how it all worked out.
Avery and Nolan have been friends with benefits for close to two years and that’s all they’ve ever allowed each other to be. In their small town, Nolan and his brother run a brewery while Avery teaches at the school and their lives are normal and uncomplicated for the most part. While their friends with benefits arrangement stays, Avery’s been using apps to meet and date people, but every single one of them turns into a dud because men always believe that they know what’s best––lose some weight, smile some more, wear more makeup, etc––and she’s tired of dealing with them and their nonsense. So after a particularly rough date, she goes home with Nolan and they have wild, passionate sex like they always do. Except, they also make a baby that night.
I loved Nolan. I liked the grump that he is and how passionate he is about his business. I liked seeing how he’s grumpy with everyone but Avery, but also how responsible and generous he is with almost everyone in his life. As the brewmaster at the brewery, Nolan’s focus is very clear and he wants to produce the best kinds of beer that people will enjoy and will keep funnelling money into the business. He’s also a really good guy who’s been burned once before and doesn’t want to go down that path again. Except, Nolan’s been harbouring feelings for Avery since the day they met and he’s been holding onto those feelings for so long. And I really enjoyed watching him come to life around her throughout the book. Avery was a little hard to like, not at first anyway. She’s a fun and gorgeous woman, she’s good at her job, she’s generous with her time and will literally drop everything for anyone who needs her, especially her sister, Gemma. While relatable, I found Avery’s dislike of herself and constant need to compare herself to other women a little frustrating. Those scenes where she puts herself down and looks at herself negatively were a little hard to enjoy. Even though Nolan is good at reminding her of how amazing she is, Avery doesn’t believe it and that was a little tough to get past.
Their relationship is complicated, to put it simply. I did appreciate the fact that Nolan steps up the moment Avery tells him she’s pregnant. He doesn’t even think twice, he offers to support her and be there for her every step of the way, even though Avery is unsure if he’s being serious about it. They obviously know each other’s feelings towards relationships and everything that goes with it, so I understood Avery’s uncertainty about that. While their relationship does happen gradually and they go from being friends with benefits to being so much more, there were a lot of times when it felt like they weren’t communicating which only added to the complication that much more.
Accidentally In Love is a completely different and refreshing take on the ‘surprise pregnancy’ trope, which definitely worked in my favour. It’s a quick and light read, with relatable characters, a small town and a lot of beer.
Thanks to Danica Flynn for generously providing me with an advance copy. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
anna reads here 