Pitcher Perfect (Tap That Brewery #1) by Lee Blair


A busy head brewer meets an equally busy food truck owner with designs on opening a restaurant. Could this be a Pitcher Perfect pairing?

From the blurb:

When a workaholic brewer and a lonely chef team up to win a prestigious food and beer competition, they might find the perfect pairing in each other.

Austin
Me and my friends knew that when we joined forces to open Tap That Brewery, we needed to do more than just make great brews to break into the crowded Oregon beer scene. When we get an opportunity to enter a beer and food pairing competition, I know our best bet is to join forces with Caleb, a.k.a. the cute as hell new food truck chef in town. The brewery keeps me too busy to date, but I can’t ignore his sexy sincerity or disarming smile. Spoiler alert: My feelings are growing faster than the head of foam on a badly poured beer.

Caleb
It’s hard to be a newcomer in a charming small town like Dahlia Springs. I’m determined to live my dream of upgrading my food truck to a restaurant, and I even found the perfect space. But the cantankerous owner is reluctant to trust an outsider. Maybe teaming up with the local queer brewery is just what I need to prove I’m here for the long haul. The problem is, Austin, the adorable brewer who likes chefs about as much as food poisoning, also happens to be the key ingredient to the family I’ve been craving.

Pitcher Perfect is a low angst, steamy, and sweet MM contemporary romance about two men who discover they’re the perfect pairing. It’s the first in the Tap That Brewery series, which features four best friends who co-own a queer brewery together. It’s full of teasing as a love language, found family, more f-bombs than necessary, and a small town you'll wish you could visit. Each book can be read as a standalone, though you may find it most enjoyable to read the series in order. Happily ever afters are guaranteed, and no cliffhangers!


Reds Book Reads Review:

I thought Pitcher Perfect was just amazing. I loved how Austin and Caleb met and then were able to reconnect after their missed opportunity. Austin’s found family and co-owners of the brewery were just so awesome and I can’t wait to find out more about them. I loved Caleb’s family as well and the way he tried to help everyone around him. 

The whole relationship between the two of them was so sweet and caring and they both helped the other to develop and it was just so well done. I loved this book and couldn’t put it down! I can’t wait for the rest of the series now!

Rating: 5 Stars


Heather's Review:

I loved Pitcher Perfect from the meet-cute to the end... it's a fairly low angst read that keeps your attention with sweet characters who are there for each other.  I also really love the Dahlia Springs setting - a queer friendly town that embraces the small town feel and works to build each other up instead of tearing down...

Honestly, I love a good food truck chef and pairing him with the brew master at the queer brewery in town made me enjoy it even more!  This book is full of found family, some second chances and a ton of character growth...  I can't wait to see who falls next at Tap That Brewery because Lee teased out two potential next books...

Rating: 5 Stars


Angel's Review:

I haven't read very many books by Lee, so I didn't really know what to expect. I haven't read too many books featuring a MC who was a brewer, so that was really interesting to me. 

First off, I want to start by saying I absolutely loved the comradery between Austin, Ethan, Dom, and Ty. The bond all of those guys have really shines through the pages of this book; furthermore, you can feel how much they care for one another. Yes, they tease each other mercilessly, but that's just cause they love each other that much. One of my favorite scenes in this book is when they had a team meeting and told Austin that if he was getting run down or burned out that he needed to tell them. Cause they are a team, but they are also family. I thought that scene was really special. 

I really enjoyed how their friendship and bond made you feel that closeness through the pages. It also brought the comedy aspect as well as a really strong found family element. And once Caleb was accepted into their group? He added a whole other dynamic. He fit right in, almost instantly!

I adored the slow burn. This book was pretty low angst, but it definitely had a very slow burn, which I really enjoyed. It gave time for the two MC'S feelings to fully develop and for them to get to know each other more than they did. 

Besides the writing of the characters and background being great, the amount of detail that went into describing not only Austin's job as a brewer, but the detail of describing Caleb's job as well was truly extraordinary. I love reading about a character cooking, so I really adored this book. I'm really glad that was so predominant in this book. Sometimes I feel in other books, a character will say they have a job, but then we never actually get the character doing their job. That didn't happen here. We got full details and thorough explanations of each of their professions. Which I really respect and appreciate. 

As I mentioned, the romance that transpired between Austin and Caleb was a slow burn, but it was so sweet. And honestly, it worked really well for them. I don't think their relationship being rushed would've felt right, or true to them. 

I'm shocked by how many side characters piqued my interest; it's not just Dom, Ethan, and Ty, but also Seth, Parker and now Hayden as well. I hope I get to learn more about those characters as this series progresses. I'm off to dive into book two! 

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Pitcher Perfect is currently available in e-book and paperback and can be read as part of your Kindle Unlimited Subscription

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