Analyn Sanchez can handle the long hours and arrogant clients that come with her job as a crisis management associate at Denver’s largest publicity firm. The high-powered job, expensive condo, and designer wardrobe are all part of her plan to prove to her family that her life choices haven’t been in vain. But when she’s asked to cover up a client’s misdeeds with serious moral and legal … ramifications, she can no longer sacrifice her conscience for her career . . . and the cost is no less than her job.Ever since a devastating climbing accident in South America eight months ago, and a bad decision that dried up his sponsorships, professional rock climber Bryan Shaw has found himself at similar loose ends. When the opportunity to buy a coffee farm in Colombia arises, he jumps on it–only to discover his wandering ways have left him utterly unprepared to run a business.When Bryan returns home and offers Ana a role in his company as a solution to both their problems, she’s desperate enough to consider working with the far-too-flippant and far-too-handsome climber, even though he’s the polar opposite of her type A nature. As they delve deeper into the business, however, she begins to suspect there’s much more to Bryan than she’s given him credit for . . . and that sometimes the best plans are the ones you never see coming.
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A satisfying end to the Supper Club series, The Solid Grounds Coffee Company was everything I expected it to be, if not more.
Ana and Bryan’s relationship develops organically throughout the story, as both carry the weight of a troubled past, working to overcome their own damaged image of who they are, and what they’re worth. I’m a sucker for the “you’re enough” message as it is, but what I loved about this story was how Ana and Bryan never hesitated to reinforce that message to each other–they were just slow to accept it for themselves. It made the story more true-to-life for me: how often do we see the beauty, strength, and overall value of another, all-the-while missing that truth in ourselves? It’s easier to help someone else face their demons than it is to acknowledge your own, am I right?
That’s what good fiction is all about!
And when it comes to the art of writing, I think Laureano is an author worth the one-click purchase. She has a beautiful cadence to her words, well-developed character arcs, and after reading this series, you’d think she were an expert in high-end cuisine, baking, climbing, and coffee-roasting for all the precise attention to detail she delivers in each of her stories.
If you’re hungry for a sweet romance with a beautiful, empowering message, I highly recommend The Solid Grounds Coffee Company.
The Solid Grounds Coffee Company is a lovely conclusion to Carla Laureano’s Supper Club series. I’ve enjoyed all of the books in the series, but this one is perhaps my favorite. This story focuses on Analyn Sanchez and Bryan Shaw. Ana’s been in all the books, and Bryan was introduced in Brunch at Bittersweet Café. He’s known as a player and the prologue doesn’t paint a favorable picture of him. But, his redemption and transformation was beautiful. I could feel the struggle he had to be a better person. Ana had her own transformation, which this workaholic character definitely needed. Ana’s character shows how we can so focus on career and status that we miss out on what’s truly important. Maybe what made this so enjoyable for me was how much I could identify with her need to achieve. The romance between Ana and Bryan had a sweet, slow build, and their banter was delightful. Of course, it was great to see Rachel, Alex, Melody, and Justin again, even though we must say goodbye to them all. I think you’ll be satisfied with how Laureano wraps up the series, and you’ll definitely fall in love with Bryan Shaw. I received an ARC for review purposes, but I’ve pre-ordered the paperback
**I read a complimentary, extended sample of seven chapters provided by the author. This review is my opinion.**
What a phenomenal beginning full of action and adventure. The first two books in the trilogy were five-star and I anticipate the same from Solid Grounds. Carla Laureano crafts intriguing, realistic stories of characters who reveal struggles common to many. The endings are well-worth your investment.
I greatly look forward to the publishing date for Solid Grounds to complete this novel.
‘In all the years he’d read about the Prodigal Son in the Bible, he’d never really cast himself in that role.’
Carla Laureano finishes up her series with this novel, which is Bryan and Ana’s story. Bryan Shaw is a rock climber who turns to another living after a life altering incident on a mountain. Bryan buys a coffee farm and returns to Denver to set up another aspect of the business, but he has no business acumen. Ana Sanchez, who he has known for two years and has been secretly attracted to, does have loads of business acumen. Ana has just been put on leave as a crisis management publicist and agrees to help Bryan out.
I have read and own all Carla Laureano’s books and have read most of them twice and some three times, so I was in eager anticipation of this one. The other two in the series were awesome, so I had very high hopes for this one. Laureano has proven herself to this reader many times over. She writes convincingly of real emotions in her books and her characters bloom on the pages of her novels.
The story itself was good. I am not much of a coffee drinker, but I was fascinated by all that went into making good coffee! The author goes into great detail about the coffee bean business and I was quite surprised at the depth of the industry. And, as usual, I enjoyed the food! Rachel and Melody are quite amazing cooks, as we learned from the first two books, and I think I might have drooled a little bit during the reading.
I enjoyed meeting Bryan and Ana as secondary characters, but sadly, for me, they didn’t live up to my expectations. Bryan did for the most part. He truly had turned his life around and I felt his heart in the pages of the book. But Ana gave me a hard time. She just never seemed real to me.
She came across as pretentious and cold almost the entire novel, even seeming hard and uncaring. She did redeem herself a bit at the ending, but by then, I had lost hope that she would come around. I just felt no real connect with this character, but the book as a whole was quite good.
My thanks to Tyndale House Publishing for an ARC of this book. The opinions stated here are entirely my own.
Really enjoyed this sweet, multi-layered story!