Bringing Down the House by A.R. Casella

We've seen Nicole and gotten glimpses of Damien in earlier books in the series. This fits in the series chronologically, at least I think, a bit before the previously released book because Damien and Nicole were already married and this is the story of them meeting.

Nicole is in HR but she's just a little... off-beat, which can be detrimental in her line of work. But she just accept a new job in a little theater. And the main male actor is HAWT. There is an immediate attraction but the two also cross over when a man Nicole is trailing to prove that he is cheating is also being tailed by Damien. 

As usual in a Casella book, it all goes a little crazy from there but it is a fun ride (as along as you are willing to wildly suspend your disbelief.)

Three and a half stars

This book came out March 10, 2022

Follows Matchmaking Mischief

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Fraudulently Ever After by A.R. Casella, Denise Grover Swank

Zach Littlefield, of the banking Littlefields, needs a date to his brother's engagement party and one night, while extremely drunk, decides to start interviewing women to be his fake date for dinner. 

Tina DiVirgilio needs money. Her third roommate moved out and she and Harry need someone else to move in so they can keep their place. While they both have friends and family who would be happy to help, neither is eager to rush in. Fake-dating Zach will kill two birds with one stone - it will also fulfill the terms of the Bad Luck Club's offshoot. See, she was cursed by an Italian grandmother when she was nineteen. She will be doomed to fulfill romance tropes but never find true love. And so far, that is proving true. Her "Greek Chorus" (three friends trying to help her out) want her to get out there and date someone with as many tropes as possible to try to get over her hurt and prove that the curse isn't real. Zach actually ticks off a number of tropes.

It's an interesting story that's really cute with the zaniness you'd expect from these writers and sets up a number of other possibilities (Tina's ex, the billionaire Rory who is probably going to be paired up with one of Willow's sisters who run a matchmaking agency, Willow, who is moving back to Asheville, the mysterious writer who was on Molly's book retreat who is now moving to Asheville to live with Bear, Zach's sister Kennedy who will have a great love but not any time soon etc. etc.

Tina is Dylan's little sister from Luck of the Draw.

Four stars

Follows Jingle Bell Hell

Followed by Matchmaking Mischief

Related to Luck of the Draw

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Love at First Hate by A.R. Casella

In previous books in the series, we were introduced to the Bad Luck Club. This was for the people who seemed to have more bad luck than good but who were actively working to make a change. Blue, a previous heroine, even graduated. But it seems that one of the members has written a book about the club claiming that she founded it. And new Bad Luck Clubs are popping up all over. But was she really the inspiration?

Molly O'Shea is ready to jump-start her career. She's just lost her job at a dating blog site and is back in Asheville to watch her sister's dogs while her sister is on a babymoon. What else does she have to do? But this reveal about the BLC might get her going in a different direction, more in line with what she wants to do. Too bad that researching the club might ruin what could have been a great relationship with Caleb "Cal" Reynolds. Because picking at the secrets of the club mean picking at the secrets of Cal's past. And he doesn't want those secrets to resurface.

I really liked that Molly came clean with Cal early in the book. I was getting some definite squick from the idea that she might lie to him about why she was getting in touch.

Four stars

This book came out August 12th, 2021

Follows Luck of the Draw (Asheville Brewery series)

Followed by Jingle Bell Hell

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Luck of the Draw by A.R. Casella, Denise Grover Swank

I get that the Casella/Swank books are supposed to be fun, fast, and fluffy books but I wish this book had been a bit longer so that we could see more how Dee and Dylan's relationship builds. Their meet-cute is adorable. Her Bad Luck Club sponsor has told her she needs to break the rules and her friend Sam (also going through a divorce) knows just what to do. There are weddings at a local park almost every weekend; they are going to crash one. One that Dee happens to know the bride and groom but also happens to be attended by Dylan who is bartending/bouncing. The latter because the bride and groom (River and Georgie) have people who might crash and destroy the wedding. They weren't actually expecting Dee and Sam. 

And Dylan certainly wasn't expecting Dee. He is struck by her beauty and is immediately drawn to her.  It seems that Dottie told her that she was right where she needs to be, the same thing Dottie told Dylan a few months ago. The insta-lust is palpable and believable. The longer term is part of what I'm missing. So is a longer discussion on Dylan's transition into a new position. 

Still, an enjoyable book that regular readers of the Asheville Brewing series will enjoy.

This book came out June 13th, 2021

Follows Bad Luck Club

Followed by Love at First Hate (Bad Luck Club series)

Borrowed as ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Bad Luck Club by A.R. Casella

I think I built this book up too much in my own mind so I was sort of disappointed. A lot of the story seems to be building up to another series based on the characters in the Bad Luck Club which meant that there was less time to focus on Blue and Lee. It ended up being an okay book but lost some of the fun earlier books in the series had.
Blue Combs knows from bad luck. She's been attracted to the wrong type of man and finding out her last boyfriend was married was just too much. To help herself, she answered an ad for a club that is supposed to help people clear their bad luck. Basically, they do a series of challenges assigned by a mentor in order to try to change their luck themselves. She can see that her friends' brother, Lee, is in the same sort of situation. She wants to help him, even though he threw up on her shoes in an earlier book.
Lee is definitely ready to change his luck around. He just turned his father in for a giant Ponzi scheme and is considered untouchable by the same people who used to think he had a magic touch. He is feeling brought down to have to work in his family's brewery but meeting Blue might just prove that his luck is changing for the better.

Three stars

Follows Getting Lucky

Followed by Luck of the Draw

This book came out April 8th, 2021

Ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Getting Lucky by A.R. Casella

Was this the greatest love story of all time? Maybe not. But I enjoyed reading about how Maisie (who we know from previous books is in love with one of our previous heroes) and Jack (burned by the relationships (existent or not) with his mother and father) finally figured out that they could be good for each other. For much of the book, Maisie wonders if Jack is just a stand-in for her previous love. He has similar coloring and his background is similarly tragic. Just as she's figuring out that he's not, he starts to wonder the same thing. 

And Jack has other things to worry about. He's finally wrested his sister, Iris, away from their mother but Iris seems continually pissed off that he's moved her from Chicago to Asheville. He's relieved when she finally starts engaging with Maisie at the dog rescue Maisie runs.

Casella has sort of been telegraphing that Maisie's friend Blue and Jack's half-brother Lee would be in the last book and it should be interesting to see since their first meeting involved Lee puking drunkenly on Blue's shoes.

Three and a half stars

Follows Better Luck Next Time

Followed by Bad Luck Club

This book came out January 12th, 2021

Ebook from Kindle Unlimited

Opinions are my own

Better Luck Next Time by A.R. Casella, Denise Grover Swank

 Both Finn and Adalia are at crossroads in their lives. Finn has just sold a business (not a smooth process for many reasons including the fact that he almost lost his best friend because of it.) Adalia has pulled out of art school even though art is her life. Her mentor really did a number on her and now she's not sure she can continue to make art. Well, she's doing it part-time for her family's brewery as their marketing person. And also hiding out in a friend's shed painting but then ripping up her work. It's there that Finn starts to realize that Addy might be hiding secrets. Which is not good because Finn is horrible at keeping secrets. Like, really, really bad. But he realizes that he could use her expertise in getting together a fundraiser art show and maybe while she helps him, he could be helping her as well.

I liked this book better than the first in the series and am waiting with bated breath to see what the next book in the series will be. Hopefully Lee (Addy's brother) will finally get rid of his girlfriend and also get himself out from under his father's thumb.

Three stars
Follows Any Luck at All

Followed by Getting Lucky
This book came out November 17th, 2020
Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own

Any Luck at All by A.R. Casella, Denise Grover Swank

River Reeves' world has come crashing down. First his beloved mentor, Beau, died and now the man that he thought of as his business partner sold their company out from right under him. He's not sure where to go or what to do. But, when Beau's granddaughter offers River a job as a brewmaster in Beau's company, he's hesitant. Georgie is incredibly attractive and he's not sure that he can work with her.
Georgie's world isn't doing much better. She had only just reconnected with her grandfather when the man died. Now she's got a brewery that she co-owns with her siblings. All three of them. Even the one her father never acknowledged. They can all decide to sell but if even one wants to run the now failing brewery, they all have to be in. Her brother and sister immediately decide they want to sell. Her half-brother Jack is ready to go all in. Her only problem is that there is a teeny-tiny clause in the will which means that she is going to be lying by omission to River, a man she is not only getting to know, but to love.
A nice set up for the series. I am not a huge fan of clauses in wills creating the action for a book and this one was compounded by adding to the last Big Misunderstanding. I did like Georgie and Rive and especially liked that much of their relationship was conducted before she actually became his boss.

Three stars
Followed by Better Luck Next Time
This book came out September 22nd
Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited
Opinions are my own