Everett Monroe can’t keep his eyes off his gorgeous tenant.He’d like to put his hands on her too, but she’s prickly, closed-off, and gives new meaning to the word disgruntled. In other words, she’s his perfect match and he’ll do anything to make her see it too.Willa Hill has finally left her teen runaway past behind and wants a fresh start—alone. Men are nothing but trouble and she’s had enough … she’s had enough man-trouble to last a lifetime.
Too bad her irresistibly sexy, nerdy-hot landlord doesn’t agree.
When their mutual yearning becomes a white-hot fling and passion crosses carefully drawn, albeit one-sided boundaries,
Everett finds himself in love and Willa finds herself in a pickle.
Because, unfortunately, when she returned to Green Valley, her problems came too.
When the past she escaped crashes into the future she finds herself wanting more than anything, will Willa stay in Green Valley?
Or will she run away again?
‘Carpentry and Cocktails’ is a full-length contemporary romance, can be read as a standalone, and is book #5 in the Green Valley Library series, Green Valley World, Penny Reid Book Universe.
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Overall Grade: 1/2
I’m fairly certain once Willa and Everett were introduced in Nora Everly’s Crime and Periodicals that readers were rabid for Willa’s story. Everly does a superb job of building the suspense around her background that, at least, this reader was ready for the second Monroe boys book, Carpentry and Cocktails. And Everly doesn’t disappoint with this story. Not in the least.
Carpentry and Cocktails offers up the burgeoning relationship between Willa, the bartender/server for Genie’s, and Everett, one of the Monroe boys who works for his father’s company, Monroe & Sons. Everett is an accomplished carpenter who has imagined his life-long nerd dream in opening a comic/gaming/role-playing store in Green Valley. He longs for his tenant, Willa (she lives in his basement apartment) from afar. As the days pass, Willa and Everett grow closer and struggle to deny their feelings for each other. However, Willa’s past influences her present as she believes she doesn’t want to fall in love with anyone ever again. Unfortunately, Everett’s kindness, physique, and care of her make denying her interest in him difficult. As a self-professed nerd, Everett endeavors for a relationship, but has been rejected several times before. He believes he can’t fully “be himself” with most women until Willa. She accepts his nerd interests, and he can be true to himself with her. Unfortunately, Willa’s past, her fears, and her insecurities threaten any future with Everett. Is a happy ending possible for these two nerds?
I’ve been reading several ARCs lately where the hero is a grumpy alpha-hole to the ultimate degree. I love the character construction of those heroes because the tension is built so tight that when the hero falls, the heroine brings him to his knees and he falls hard for her. My second favorite type of hero is a “good guy” hero who makes himself a “fool” for a woman. There is something noble in his want and need for her from early in the story. This type of hero must be patient because the heroine will unintentionally force him to work for her affection and love. Generally, this type of hero is the perfect heroic type: compassionate, caring, protective, and insightful. He will wait for her to recognize and accept the depth of his love for her, but his want for her won’t diminish; it will simply grow deeper. I equally adore this type of hero. He’s a lovely break from the emotionally-stunted, mean-spirited alpha-hole hero. And Everett embodies this heroic character. In fact, he will be the reason readers fall for this story. He is all of the traits I’ve outlined above, and he’s necessary for Willa’s journey. Her evolution is the foundation for Everly’s Carpentry and Cocktails, and Everett is the strength of her foundation. While he worries over Willa’s acceptance of his nerd persona, it is tertiary to Willa’s story of acceptance. Everly uses his fear of acceptance to show the gradation of this need as this is a central message of her book.
Like Everett, Willa has strived for acceptance through the want for love. Her past hurts stem from her mother’s inability to accept her daughter and show her unconditional love and her ex-husband’s manipulation. With these scars, Willa’s journey requires her to love herself first before seeking the love and approval of others. Everett recognizes this in her, and he patiently pours into her friendship as a means to aid her growth. It’s this evolution that becomes the power fo Everly’s story. Through Willa, Everly deftly acknowledges that we must find inner peace and love before we can pour our peace and love over another.
Quite honestly, while Willa and Everett consummate their relationship far sooner than I expected for this story, Everly carefully slows them down, crafting a romance that teeters more on the side of slow-burn. There is a sweetness that belies the $exiness of Willa and Everett’s burgeoning romance. The reader revels in the pictures that Everly crafts in her prose. I could see this story unfold easily, but I also wanted to see Everly’s intention behind it so I stalked her Pinterest board for it; it was exactly as I saw it. It takes a keen writer to do this.
I will say that, at times, there was a bit of space between her words. I’ve stated this before in other reviews. I believe there should be a melody or a musicality to writing. There’s a tempo. When that feels like stuttering, it can be distracting. There were moments in the story when the flow of the story felt a bit stilted. As Everly writes more, that feel for words on the page will flow more evenly. Again, this is minute in contrast to the big love between Will and Everett, where every moment is a Pinterest Board picture through Everly’s craftsmanship.
We all seek love. We want to be accepted and “seen.” This is the essential focus of Nora Everly’s Carpentry and Cocktails. It’s clear from the start that Willa’s hurts are our hurts; that people such as Everett can pour love into us to heal past wounds. All we need is to believe in the power of love to find us. Sometimes, it could be someone in our own basement apartment. In true SmartyPants Romance fashion, Nora Everly will charm your hearts out of your chests with Everett and Willa’s moving story of love.
Another swoony, sweet and lovely story from Ms. Everly.
Set in the Smartypants Romance World of Green Valley, we get to read about Willa and Everett.
Willa is a broken soul, she has felt like no one was in her corner and she was deserving of her lot in life. She broke away from a poisonous relationship, and after a time, found herself back in Green Valley and the tenant of a yummy landlord Everett.
Everette….wowza, this man is all the good things wrapped in a beautiful package. He is embracing his nerdiness and falling hard for his new tenant. He is a gentleman through and through but never afraid to let his inner alpha out when needed.
This story grabbed me from the get-go and I was sad to see it end. It embodies the perfect blend in a romance, heart, heat, family, a bit of danger and laughter. An absolute 5 star read!
Last year I fell in love with Nora Everly when I read Crime and Periodicals and I am still just as smitten after reading Carpentry and Cocktails!!
Nora makes me happy! First because she writes a relatable story with realistic elements and characters you want to root for and she also layers her secondary characters throughout the story with purpose. But mostly, because she doesn’t just give you a romance journey, she also has her leads grow and mature thru the process. She did an excellent job representing some delicate issues with Willa without taking us down a dark angsty path.
I really enjoyed going into this story already knowing the spark between Willa and Everett from Crime and Periodicals. Their connection was pretty much established already so this story didn’t have to layer that process in but I would be remiss if I didn’t say that if you didn’t read the previous book, then I can see this going more towards an insta story for you. Something to keep in mind if you’re a new reader.
***5 ‘Firefly’ Stars***
I swooned and my heart got all kinds of twitterpated, i also wanted to gut a few people with a spoon, but overall this book had me grinning like a loon, laughing out loud and wanting to hug my kindle because of all the Green Valley goodness going on and wishing I could step into my Kindle and live there.
I adored Willa and Everett.
Willa is all kinds of sweet, sassy and independent with a soft and kind heart that has taken quite a beating and has her closing herself off from the world. I gotta say, I did growl in frustration at how determined she was to be an island, though I did understand why, so it was a lot of fun to watch as she opened up to people and let them in, sometimes without having a choice in the matter and became so much stronger for it.
Everett. Now, I LOVE my alpha AF, broody, asshat males. You know I do, but OMG Everett was everything! He is an alpha male in his own right because the man is protective AF, but when you add in his sweetness and the fact that he owns his geekiness? Well the man is simply lethal.
Their journey to their HEA is all kinds of slow burn goodness with a healthy dose of meddling from those who love them most and I enjoyed every moment of it. Their bantering was on point, the chemistry between them hot and I loved how they loved each other’s quirks. There wasn’t a lot of angsty-ness between them, but the outside drama going definitely kept things interesting because it ended up opening their eyes to who each other truly was and bringing them closer.
This was a fun read and a great addition to the Pennyverse. The main drama of the book was well done and definitely brought more depth to the story. And while there were a few characters I wanted to gut with a spoon, I ended up adoring the majority of them. It was a lot of fun to catch up with Sabrina and Wyatt and their brood. Genie and Patty were awesome and getting to hang out with Barrett and Garrett was a lot of fun. But it was Sadie, Clara and Gracie, along with Ruby, that I NEED more of, so I’m crossing my toes that we’ll get more of them in the future.
~ Copy provided by SBPR & voluntarily reviewed ~
This was a sweet and inspiring love story. I recommend this book, this series, and this author.
Willa is back home in Green Valley trying to start over. Rent a room from Everett was perfect until that man took his shirt off. Her ex Tommy is free and out to get Willa back. Willa needs to find herself.
Everett took one look at Willa and was a goner. Now he just needs to convince her to take a chance on him.
I am loved these two together. Read it!!!
Everett and Willa are the most lovely couple I’ve ever read!! Author Nora Everly’s writing is amazing with all the feels you ever want in a book!!
Will Everett and Willa get their happily after or will Willa’s ex Tommy ruin it all?
Sweet Journey!
Carpentry and Cocktails by Nora Everly is a great continuation of the Smartypants/Penny Reid family. Here we are re-introduced to Willa, who we first met thru Sabrina and Wyatt in Crime and Periodicals. She finds a safe space for her current journey with Everett, a wonderful man who just wants to be there for her. Right from the start you can see that although Everett is all in with this relationship even though he has some self doubt, Willa will have the longer journey by trying to overcome bad decisions from her past that come back. Right from the start you see these two belong together and Ms Everly brings you along on their trip to HEA that is anywhere from direct. Another heartwarming story that you don’t want to miss and makes you hope for more from the author so you will get to learn more about her other characters in the wonderful world of Green Valley
Every word that is written by Nora Everly is moving, touches your heart, and encourages you to become one with the story. I love Willa and Everett and as I began reading, I hoped that they could overcome any obstacles and fall in love.
Willa and Everett are a fun-loving and passionate couple. With his swoon worthy good looks and sexy long hair, Everett makes Willa’s heart beat fast and her imagination run wild. He has given her a safe haven in which to come home to which makes her feel cherished. Everett wants to be with someone who will accept him for who he is, and Willa was his dream come true because she loves his house, his hobbies and his body. Working shirtless around the house has definitely worked to his advantage. The best part of his day was bringing Willa coffee and donuts when she gets up.
As time went on, their feelings for each other grew stronger, and he could see Willa warming up to him and he desperately wanted to gain her trust. Everett knew she had been hurt in the past and he wanted to help her chase away the demons, so she could be the strong and carefree woman he knew she could be. Willa was guarding her heart against more disappointment and was hesitant about expressing her feelings for Everett. She didn’t want to hurt him because his kindness was keeping her safe, and she never wanted to lose that. Everett knew Willa was the one for him and he would wait for her forever because when he envisioned the future, Willa was smiling brightly by his side.