Iris “Jo” Blum is the youngest of the Blum sisters. She lives with her mom, Dottie, and 2 older sisters, Poppy and Daisy, on the family farm in the small town of Lindenbach, Texas, where for many generations they have kept bees, and other farm animals. Loyal Staci Hart readers will delight in the fact that Jo’s best friend, Presley, from Hart’s novel Friends with Benedicts, makes an appearance in this story. Jo is a badass bee farmer. She’s the one everyone calls when they find a bees nest, and Jo comes in and takes care of things without even bothering to wear her bee suit or gloves. Jo has always kept busy on the farm, and due to a curse which she believes causes the women in her family to lose the men they love, she has never allowed herself to get attached to a guy. Jo is a smart, spirited, & strong woman who also happens to be very beautiful.
But now, a tall, dark, rich, and ridiculously handsome city boy has come to Lindenbach with the sole purpose of destroying the Blum farm and many others in the area. Grant Stone has been sent to Lindenbach by his jerk boss, who also happens to unfortunately be his heartless father, Merrick. His job is to convince the farmers to sell land so that their company can get to the shale underneath. Upon arriving in town, Grant gets the Mayor on board, and then addressed the townspeople, spinning a positive and charming outlook for his plan. The Blum sisters see right through his charm, and Jo can’t hold her temper, launching a raw egg at Grant while he is speaking to the crowd, thereby sealing their fate as sworn enemies. Enemies to lovers trope, anyone? Yes, please!
Grant has charm for days, and sooner or later he finds himself enjoying a little game with the beautiful, bullheaded Jo Blum, who he cannot get off of his mind. Even after she threw the egg at him, he can’t shake his attraction to her. Jo is dead set on making him look like a fool and proving that he couldn’t hack the farm life. While she tries to teach him some typical farm chores, ogling his muscles, he proves to be a quick-study, and hilarity ensues. Grant has never felt like he belonged in a family because his mother died just hours after giving birth to him, and he was raised by a father who resented him and never treated him with compassion or love. Grant soon learns that the Blum family makes him feel welcomed and loved, especially Jo.
As Jo and Grant spend more time together, their romance ignites. If you like steam in your romance books, this one will definitely hit the spot! It is very steamy and very well written. Hart knows how to dial up the angst and level up the passion between her characters. But Grant and Jo have a few problems to deal with, before they can live happily ever after. One – Grant still needs Jo to sell the land in order for his own livelihood and to meet the demands of his overbearing father. Two – Grant still has to leave Lindenbach, and neither look forward to the date of his departure. And to make matters worse, Merrick shows up in Lindenbach unannounced, causing quite a stir with Grant and the rest of the Blum family. Can they figure things out, or will the curse cause Jo to lose Grant once and for all?
I LOVED this story so much. I look forward to the next book in this series, Honey Side Up. This romance is opposites attract, enemies to lovers, small town, and full of angst and steamy romance. Trust me, you don’t want to miss it!
Thank you to Staci Hart for the early review copy of this novel in exchange for honest feedback.
Librarian Laura 
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