Book Review: The Solid Grounds Coffee Company by Carla Laureano

This is Carla Laureano week. It just worked out that way. Look for her post on the Seriously Write blog tomorrow.

I read the first two books in the Supper Club series by Carla Laureano and looked forward to reading the concluding novel, The Solid Grounds Coffee Company. Mainly, I wanted to read the story of the bad boy, Bryan Shaw. 😉

I thought Ms. Laureano did a wonderful job of portraying Ana Sanchez’s character throughout the series. She’s a “fixer” tasked with repairing the reputations of those who find themselves in a public relations nightmare due to their foolish, bad behavior. She’s smart, well-paid, and a force to be reckoned with…until she’s suspended from her job.

Bryan concerned me a bit at the beginning of the book. I’d had high hopes for him and wasn’t sure how the author would redeem his stupidity or make the romance believable. But the incident provided the impetus to mold him.

Bryan worked hard to prove himself and improve everyone’s opinion of him. He was the type the Fixer would fix, yet she didn’t—not in the way she would a client. It was good to see a deeper, vulnerable side to someone with a reputation as a womanizing ne’er do-well, who took little outside his mountain climbing seriously.

I applauded Bryan’s purpose in starting his coffee company and felt for him in his drive to change. Ana had necessary changes to make, too. Together, they brought out the best in one another.

The spiritual aspect was light in the sense that I would have liked to have seen a literal “come to Jesus” moment with Bryan. Instead, it was portrayed off the page and with a slow return to a childhood faith.

Overall, I recommend the story but would choose The Saturday Night Supper Club as my favorite in the series. The Solid Grounds Coffee Company gets 4.5 stars from me.

Have you read The Solid Grounds Coffee Company? Agree? Disagree?