Tracy Ewens - Brew

Boyd McNaughton is working on balance. He is a father, a brewmaster, and the oldest brother of four. When he’s not running Foghorn Brewery with two of his brothers, his days are packed with carpools, teenage angst, and well-intentioned school moms determined to send him on the perfect blind date. After a simple argument ends with a visit to the emergency room, Boyd discovers the one thing he’s been neglecting—his life.
Ella Walters is working on connection. Having grown up in a less-than-affectionate family of overachievers, she moved to Petaluma for a slower pace and to escape her past. She has friends now instead of accolades, chooses chocolate croissants over super foods, and cherishes the peace that’s replaced the drama. Sure, she occasionally misses the buzz of the San Francisco General Hospital ER, but Ella is learning that navigating a fuller life can be just as exciting.
When Boyd’s son, Mason, seeks out Dr. Ella for “advice” and Boyd stumbles all over her newly healed heart, she finds herself longing for something she never knew existed. But families are messy, and they’ll both need to let go of the past if they want to find a future that’s more than by the book.

Comment: I got interested in this book after reading some positive reviews, especially because one of the protagonists had a son and I was interested in seeing how the author would develop the relationships between everyone.

In this story, doctor Ella Walters is a 36 year old woman who is still overcoming the disappointments of the past, especially when it comes to her parents and sister, and to make her life easier she has moved from the place where everyone knew her to a new city. She has been living in it for two years and one day enters Boyd McNaughton in the ER with a cut in his hand. The two don't share any personal information but his almost teenager son Mason somehow ends up meeting his father there and Ella replies to a question not her business while the two males talk. Mason sees an opportunity to have a female POV since his mother is not in the picture and things go from there in a set of random and not so random chance encounters.

Boyd has taken care of and educated his son alone since the boy's mother never felt like being a mother but for Boyd raising his son is never a task. He does feel lonely sometimes but he still wonders if he would want to take a chance on someone again. 

Can two lonely souls find love together?

This is one of apparently several books loosely connected. It does read quite well as a standalone and I actually had the impression the connection is mostly on the superficial because secondary characters while present never seemed to be that noticeable for the central plot.

This is also the first time I've tried a book by this author so I wasn't expecting anything except being positively surprised. Overall, I think this story was a good one but there's something about the tone or the way it was executed that just didn't captivate me as much as I hoped.

Ella and Boyd are two characters who have baggage. Ella has a bad relationship with her close family and she also had a huge heartbreak over a guy who deceived her.

Boyd is a single dad who doesn't regret his decisions but after years alone fears he is the one to fault in the whole situation and his ex just didn't want a baby with him personally. I think both situations had its drama moments to be explored and the author has managed to explain all the fears and doubts Ella and Boyd have felt in their lives because of those key situations. 

However, no matter how fascinating the psychological side of their experiences and how they affected their behavior and feelings, I just can't let go of the fact both main characters "thought" too much. A lot of the novel is spent on them analyzing their actions and interacting with other characters, as a way to let the reader compare things. But it's not always interesting to follow them as closely but not having them do more funny things or when they do without them being seen from a more negative POV. I'd say that the tone of the book, despite the cute moments here and there, is more low-spirited than uplifting. Even with the HEA.

I liked Mason, the kid that somehow unites the protagonists and I liked he was never put aside for romance scenes or conveniently used only when it had to. He mattered and his presence on the page is quite alive. But he is also a little bit used as an excuse towards the end, to move the plot towards a certain path. It's not a bad thing but when the HEA happens, I just felt gloomy because the three of them are the perfect family portrait except for some things they discuss and which I think would have been avoidable.

The inclusion of brewing beer was interesting although there wasn't that much content on that. Personally I don't mind because beer has no interest whatsoever to me, both as a chemical reaction and as a finished product. I did imagine, though, that it would be an even stronger part of Boyd's life and I feel a little sad it wasn't better used to compose the character or to show us another side of him besides the minimum.

As a romance novel, there are many elements in this book to make it interesting and I liked the whole story, it combined drama and romance well. But like I said, sometimes things are a little too sad for my taste and the dynamics aren't always "charming" to follow. I fear reading another story by the author because now I imagine all books focus on certain details and don't offer a good balance.

Nevertheless, there were many scenes I enjoyed reading about, so I can't say it was that negative...

Grade: 7/10