Fresh Brewed by Pamela Ford : A Review

BOOK TITLE: Fresh Brewed

AUTHOR: Pamela Ford

ISBN/ASIN: 978-0990594277

GENRE: Adult Fiction

NUMBER OF PAGES: 260

FORMAT: Digital

SERIES / STANDALONE: The Continental Breakfast Club, Book Two

HOW I GOT THIS BOOK: I thank iRead Book Tours for this review copy.

SUMMARY:

Breanna Mitchell is on her way to a relaxing vacation at the ocean. Maybe she'll even have a beachside fling to help her get over a recent breakup.

But when a tropical storm makes her destination hotel uninhabitable, a chance encounter at continental breakfast delivers a fabulous option—with a catch. She and her friends can stay at a privately-owned, three-story oceanfront home—if she pretends to be the girlfriend of the owner's heartbreaker grandson, Ethan. Since he won't even be there, how hard could it be?

Everything is going swimmingly until Bree drinks too much wine and regales the family with romantic tales about her relationship with Ethan. His adorable brother Adam gets suspicious. His marriage-minded grandma gets engagement fever. The beautiful woman next door gets teary-eyed.

And then, Ethan unexpectedly arrives. Suddenly Bree is about to get everything she's ever wished for—but is it what she really wants?

FIRST IMPRESSION:

I have already read book one from the Continental Breakfast Club series and loved the writing. Therefore, I had some idea of what to look forward to in this book. The title, obviously punny, caught my attention and seemed to fit well. The cover was simple with a good color scheme, closely following the footsteps of the cover of book one from the same series. The summary told me which of the three main characters (from Book 1) were going to be focused on and I sat down to read with pleasant anticipation.

REVIEW:

There is something incredibly comforting about reading the subsequent books of a series you liked. The characters are familiar, the author's writing style (that should have worked enough in the first few books) is likeable and you have a vague idea of how the story might turn out. This might mean that there are certain expectations you have for the series as a whole and the individual book you are currently reading, but if they are met, the whole experience turns happy in an instant and you are left with a pleasant feeling of having visited good friends. After Over Easy, I had grown to like the three lead characters and the subtle humour laced with fun that was the author's writing style. This meant I had little expectations for Fresh Brewed, except maybe sit back and enjoy where the ride took me.

The focus shifts from A to B. Breanna takes over this time from Allie who ruled book one. The setting is a beach in a tropical island where good vacation plans are ruined by a sudden summer storm. When it renders the hotel they were supposed to stay in completely uninhabitable, the friends decide to take up the seemingly generous offer of a new friend - a stay at their place, with a catch. Bree must help out someone in acquiring an inheritance by pretending to be his girlfriend. With the surmise that Ethan, the man who was supposed to be her boyfriend would not be around, Bree takes up Kristin's offer and pretends to be her brother Ethan's girl. Having successfully fooled the parents and the elderly grandmother who would decide on the inheritance, (and who insisted on Ethan 'settling down'), Bree prepares herself for a good vacation. Things turn completely around when Ethan arrives. All of a sudden, Bree does get what she came to the island in search for - a boyfriend. But is that what she wants now? The story follows from there

Much of the story is a continuous series of gaffes. There is a 'comedy of errors' thing going on throughout the book and it is mostly funny because of the author's choice of words and writing style. While both book 1 and 2 follow the ladies' quest to find their perfect matches, each for different reasons, the handling is completely different. Over Easy had a tinge of adventure and suspense with mistaken identities thrown in while Fresh Brewed takes the adrenaline rush on a different, more romantically inclined, route. Though many stories previously had followed the 'it is just acting, what could go wrong?' path to 'everything that could go wrong, does!', this one is funnier and better in many ways.

The book has the perfect script for movies, and when combined with one stupid decision after another, it makes for embarrassing events that turn into good memories. The writing style is endearingly perfect and made me comfortable. The difference in genres of books one and two (should be called sub genre. Romance or mystery, the main theme is still chic lit) shows how the author could manage the different things so well. I liked this book better than book one in some ways, but most probably because I could relate better with and understand the three main women. The additional characters came and went perfectly for the story and the twists (probably planned to surprise) were predictable in the end.

This is the kind of book you would want to sit down to read on a breezy summer afternoon.

WHAT I LIKED:

• The premise of the story - staying true to the series
• The continental breakfast reference
• Writing style interlaced with generous doses of humour.

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER:

• Predictable - but not really complaining.
• If you really nitpick plot elements - they are similar in principle. But the development is where the magic lies.
• Ethan as a character should have got more space and description - if only to give the story some weight.

VERDICT:

Liked this better than book one, and would really go for book three when it arrives!

RATING: 4.3/5

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Pamela Ford is the award-winning author of contemporary and historical romance. She grew up watching old movies, blissfully sighing over the romance; and reading sci-fi and adventure novels, vicariously living the action. The combination probably explains why the books she writes are romantic, happily-ever-afters with plenty of plot - and often lots of laughter.

After graduating from college with a degree in Advertising, Pam merrily set off to earn a living, searching for that perfect career as she became a graphic designer, print buyer, pantyhose sales rep, public relations specialist, copywriter, freelance writer - and finally author. Pam has won numerous awards including the Booksellers Best, the Laurel Wreath, and a gold medal IPPY in the Independent Book Publisher Awards. She is a Kindle Book Awards finalist and a two-time Golden Heart Finalist. She lives in Wisconsin where she is working on her next novel.

EDITIONS AVAILABLE: Paperback, Kindle

PRICE $12.99 for Paperback, $4.01 for Kindle

BOOK LINKS: Amazon