Book Review + Giveaway: A Brewed Awakening by Pepper Basham

Welcome to the Takeover + Review Blitz for A Brewed Awakening by Pepper Basham, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

About the Book

Title: A Brewed Awakening
Author: Pepper Basham
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Release Date: May 5, 2026
Genre: Small Town Contemporary Romance

Daphne dreams of Mr. Darcy. Finn serves up pints and rock music. Can opposites attract when a tea shop princess meets her pub-owning rival?

In the charming mountain town of Wisteria, North Carolina, Daphne Austen clings to tradition like cream to a scone. She’s built her life–and her late grandmother’s tearoom, Tea Thyme–around all things English: delicate china, Jane Austen novels, and the comforting predictability of routine. The only thing threatening her perfectly ordered world? The loud, aggravatingly handsome Brit opening a pub next door.

After his ex-wife broke his heart and his business partner nearly destroyed his career, Finn Dashwood packed up his six-year-old daughter and left England behind. He’s looking for a fresh start, and the last thing he needs is a fussy, tea-obsessed neighbor criticizing his every pint and playlist. It doesn’t matter that she’s ridiculously kind (to everyone else) and that his daughter is utterly fascinated by her. Finn’s heart is not open to being broken again.

But disagreements turn into prank wars and then a competition when a high-profile wedding needs a last-minute caterer. The townsfolk are thrilled–Wisteria hasn’t seen this much excitement since the county fair lost a goat.

When the wedding demands both sweet and savory fare, Daphne and Finn are forced to put down their swords and pick up their serving trays. Between burnt pastries, brewing tempers, trending hashtags (#SipsAndSpats, anyone?), and one very adorable little girl, rivalry soon gives way to reluctant friendship–and maybe something that feels suspiciously like chemistry.

Can a tea shop princess and a pub owner with a past mix their lives as seamlessly as clotted cream and jam . . . or will their differences keep them steeped in rivalry forever?

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Daphne Austen is slightly obsessed with all things English. She clings to the traditional in Tea Thyme, the tea shop she inherited from her beloved grandmother. And when she sees a Cabriolet in just the right shade of blue parked outside, she’s so excited, she does everything but lie down on it and lick it. Then she meets the owner of said dream car, one Finn Dashwood – very British, very handsome, and putting in a proper British pub right next to Tea Thyme.

Now, you’d think this might be a match made in heaven, but Daphne and Finn get along about like gasoline and a match. He calls her a tea princess. She finds his rock music coming through the walls annoying. Sparks fly and things heat up, and not just in the kitchen. And they’ve both been hurt by the things life has thrown at them, so neither is willing to even consider the possibility that their animosity toward each other might hide some sweeter feeling.

Oh, this book, y’all! Daphne and Finn are marvelous. Daphne had suffered so much loss, she was scared to change anything. She was hanging on to her memories, the way her grandmother had done things, with both hands, even though it was stifling her own creativity. And Finn and his sweet daughter Lucy had been dealt such a raw deal by Lucy’s mother, I wanted to hug them both.

The secondary characters are also wonderful. Granny D was a scene-stealer, and I just loved how she gleefully meddled in Daphne and Finn’s relationship in the best possible way. I really enjoyed how Basham made use of a townwide social media forum where the townsfolk got to chat. Everyone else in town was shipping Finn and Daphne before they were anywhere near ready to admit their feelings, and the opinions and hashtags were hilarious.

And Lucy, Finn’s daughter, is the sweetest! She, too, has had her share of difficulties in life. But that hasn’t diminished her zest for life or her love for princesses. When Daphne helps Lucy with a health issue late at night, Finn starts to see beyond the things she does that annoy him. And as she sees Finn interacting with his daughter, Daphne starts to wonder if maybe there’s more to him than his playboy attitude might suggest.

Faith is a gentle undercurrent in this story, as it is in Basham’s other books. She never beats the reader over the head with the King James Bible, but Daphne and Finn both realize they can’t handle things alone and turn to God for strength and guidance. It’s such an encouragement to me to read books where faith is portrayed in an everyday-life kind of way. Neither Finn nor Daphne is a holier than thou character. They’re both ordinary people trying to make their way in a challenging world, and they rely on faith to light their path.

The catering competition, the chat forum, the witty (and sometimes snarky, but never mean-spirited!) banter, the slow-burn romance, all these things combine to make A Brewed Awakening another winner of a book for me. It’s in the running for this year’s favorites!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from JustRead Publicity Tours. I was not required to leave a review. All opinions here are mine, and I don’t say nice things about books I don’t actually like.

About the Author

Tour Giveaway

(2) winners will receive a signed copy of A Brewed Awakening, and winners choice of a Literary Beverage Mug or a Storming Castles mug!

Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight May 13, 2026 and lasts through 11:59 PM EST on May 20, 2026. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

Enter Giveaway

Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!