Love on Tap by Meg Benjamin – a Review
Description:
Wyatt Montgomery knows a barrel of legendary Zoria imperial stout will help his Denver gastropub stay on top. The only problem is the brewery that made it is no longer in business. When Wyatt hears the brewmaster has only one barrel left, he won’t stop until it’s his. He doesn’t consider what this mythical barrel might cost him. And he certainly doesn’t anticipate his reaction to the heart-stoppingly beautiful brewmaster he needs to convince to sell him the beer.
When Wyatt rushes into Bec Dempsey’s small-town cooperative offering to buy the last barrel of her precious Zoria, she’s thrown for a loop. She’s been burned by city-slickers before, and she’ll be damned if she’ll let it happen again. But when things start heating up between them, Bec decides to make Wyatt a counteroffer. One she hopes he won’t refuse.
Review:
Love on Tap is A Brewing Love Novel by Meg Benjamin.
Wyatt Montgomery owns a waning gastropub named Quaff in Denver, Colorado. His place combines high end food and craft beers and business has been pretty steady until recently. There is competition in town and he soon realizes that he must come up with some idea to get consumers heading back his way. While contemplating just what to do, someone mentions to him that if he wants to renew his restaurants image and create a stir, he should try to get the legendary last barrel from the Antero Brewing Company of an imperial stout called Zoria. Except no one really knows if it truly does exist or if it is just folklore. Antero Brewing shut down quite awhile ago, but as of late rumors have been flowing that there is one last barrel to be had. If he could get his hands on this beer – he could throw the most amazing beer dinner ever. Set out on a mission to find this last barrel of Zoria, Wyatt has no idea what he is getting himself into., but only hopes that if this barrel does exist he can purchase it and make a name for himself.
Upon arriving in Antero, Wyatt inquires at a local pub on where he may find the owner of the now defunct Antero Brewing. Pointed in the right direction he soon comes face to face with Bec Dempsey. A blue eyed, red headed brew master. Not at all what he was expecting when he set out to find this legendary brew master. And he now must convince her that he would do anything to be able to purchase her last barrel of Zoria. And Bec realizes that selling this last barrel may be the only way to get her brewing company up and running again. But she won’t just give it away to anyone, the person that gets the Zoria is going to have to work for it. And that is exactly what Wyatt does.
Wyatt Montgomery is charming, headstrong and not afraid to work for what he wants. His character was relatable and understanding. I found myself wanting to know just exactly what he was going to do and how he was going to handle each situation. His ability to handle Bec’s stubbornness and unworthiness was perfect. You want him to succeed in getting this barrel of stout so he can do well and beat the competition. But you also want him to break through Bec’s emotional walls and convince her that he isn’t the same as her ex.
Bec Dempsey is a stubborn redhead fireball. She has trust issues and even more issues standing up to her mistakes. But, when Wyatt comes to town to purchase her last barrel of Zoria, she realizes that she can utilize this venture to help her get the brewery back up and running. She was basically left to deal with the fallout from the financial partner that walked away from the brewery, along with the fact that the other co-owner – her brother, Liam – just simply walked away when the money was gone. But Wyatt makes Bec see the error of her ways and helps her repair bridges that she thought she had burned quite awhile ago. Heartwarming and loving – this story is simple and emotional.
I enjoyed all the sub-characters – Carol and Ruth – all except for Liam. I truly wished someone would have punched him. Not only did he walk away from his sister when she needed him the most, it seemed he only wanted to be bothered with her when money came back around. And yes he redeemed himself in the end but I still wasn’t a fan.
The story was quirky and relatable while combining a love for craft beers and romance. Would definitely follow this story on to the next, if for nothing else than to hope for a glimpse into how Wyatt and Bec were doing.
Reviewed by Erin
Copy provided by Publisher
