Donovan Brothers Brewery Series by Victoria Dahl
Good Girls Don’t, Bad Boys Do, Real Men Will
Romance – Steamy, Published Aug, Sept, Oct 2011
Read: November 2011, 384 pp., 384pp., 336 pp.
Series Rating: 4/5
Book 1 Blurb:
With her sun-kissed hair and sparkling green eyes, Tessa Donovan looks more like the girl next door than a businesswoman—or a heartbreaker. Which may explain why Detective Luke Asher barely notices her when he arrives to investigate a break-in at her family’s brewery. He’s got his own problems—starting with the fact that his partner, Simone, is pregnant and everyone thinks he’s the father.
Tessa has her hands full, too. Her brother’s playboy ways may be threatening the business, and the tension could tear her tight-knit family apart. In fact, the only thing that could unite the Donovan boys is seeing a man come after their baby sister. Especially a man like Luke Asher. But Tessa sees past the rumors to the man beneath. He’s not who people think he is—and neither is she.
Book 2 Blurb:
Olivia Bishop is no fun. That’s what her ex-husband said. And that’s what her smart bob and glasses imply. So with her trademark determination, Olivia sets out to remake her life. She’s going to spend time with her girlfriends and not throw it all away for some man. But when an outing with her book club leads her to a brewery taproom, the dark-haired beauty realizes that trouble—in the form of sexy Jamie Donovan—may be too tempting to avoid.
Jamie Donovan doesn’t mean to be bad. Sure, the wild streak in his wicked green eyes has lured the ladies before. Now it’s time to grow up. He’s even ready for a serious romance. But how can that be when Olivia, the only right woman he has ever met, already has him pegged as wrong?
Book 3 Blurb:
It was meant to be a one-night stand. One night of passion. Scorching-hot. Then Beth Cantrell and Eric Donovan were supposed to go their separate ways. That’s the only reason he lied about his name, telling her he was really his wild younger brother. Hiding his identity as the conservative Donovan. The “good one.”
But passion has its own logic, and Eric finds he can’t forget the sable-haired beauty with whom he shared a night of love. When Beth discovers that Eric has lied, however, she knows he can’t be trusted. Her mind tells her to forget the blue-eyed charmer. If only every fiber of her being didn’t burn to call him back.
Thoughts:
Really enjoyed this series. In fact, I read the entire series within days! The series starts out with a short story based around the oldest brother Eric in “Just One Taste” (in the bindup – The Guy Next Door). Eric has always been the responsible older brother who raised his younger brother and sister after their parents died in a tragic car accident. Now that they are all older, they run the family brewery – Donovan Brother Brewery in Boulder, Colorado. Eric is typically the behind the scenes guy – the one who attends the business meetings, not the social booth at the local business convention. With Jamie’s nameplate up, Beth, another local business owner of The White Orchid, just assumes that Eric is the notorious player/bartender Jamie. But when things get hot and heavy out in the hallway, Eric never mentions that he’s not Jamie…
Book 1 focuses on the youngest of the Donovan siblings, Tessa. She is constantly fielding fights between her two big brothers at their brewery. So when the brewery is broken into because her brother Jamie was distracted by a woman, the oldest brother Eric does not let up. Tessa has always felt responsible, since their parents death 13 years earlier, to keep the family together. When Tessa starts becoming more involved with the crime detective Luke Asher, her brothers quickly come together to make sure Tessa doesn’t get hurt.
Book 2 revolves around the crazy, good looking, fun loving middle brother, Jamie. But he’s tired of always being the big “mess up” in the family, so he secretly attends a restaurant business class at the local college. Little does he know he’ll be learning other stuff with the teacher Olivia.
Book 3 circles back around to the oldest, Eric, and he has successfully avoided running into Beth for several months. But when she comes into the bar looking for “Jamie,” she quickly learns that she has been duped. But maybe, just maybe, Eric can find a way to make it up to her…
Overall, I loved that each book focused on one of the siblings, while still following the other siblings’ background stories. They all have to learn how to see each other as adults and find a way to civilly manage the family brewery. And they all find true love along the way – often their partners are their exact opposites, but ultimately the perfect match. If you’re looking for a sweet romance with a lot of heat, make sure to check out Victoria Dahl!
Thanks to netGalley and Harlequin for providing me with a copy of these books in exchange for my honest review.
