{"id":78124,"date":"2025-02-24T08:34:40","date_gmt":"2025-02-24T13:34:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=78124"},"modified":"2025-02-24T08:41:51","modified_gmt":"2025-02-24T13:41:51","slug":"release-arc-review-the-merger-the-brewer-family-5-by-adriana-locke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=78124","title":{"rendered":"Release & ARC Review: The Merger (The Brewer Family, #5) by Adriana Locke"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Merger b<\/strong>y Adriana Locke is live!<\/strong><\/h4>\n

I love this book! A fantastically fun best-friend\u2019s-brother, age gap, no strings, grumpy\/sunshine romance that is flirty and sexy and wildly entertaining.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Amazon<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n

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\r\n <\/div><\/div><\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Blurb<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Crushes are harmless\u2014unless they involve your best friend\u2019s grumpy, off-limits brother.<\/p>\n

Gannon Brewer is the epitome of my type. He\u2019s at least ten years older than me, emotionally unavailable, and highly disagreeable\u2014a walking red flag in a tailored suit. But do I listen to that? No. In fact, when his office plants start dying, I convince myself that I can ignore the pheromones and save the philodendron.<\/p>\n

Now I\u2019m in his office every week, dodging sinful smirks and heated stares, reminding myself to reach for the watering can\u2014not him. But one late-night \u201civy incident\u201d changes everything. Suddenly, we\u2019re sneaking around, indulging in a steamy, forbidden fling that\u2019s supposed to be nothing more than (a lot of) fun.<\/p>\n

After all, he swears he\u2019ll never fall in love. I assure him that I only want one thing, and it\u2019s not his heart. But the closer we get, the more lines we blur, and the harder it becomes to keep our promises \u2026<\/p>\n

Especially when the secret I\u2019m keeping threatens to shatter everything.<\/p>\n

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Add to Goodreads<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Review<\/b><\/h4>\n

4.5 stars!<\/b><\/p>\n

I love this book! A fantastically fun best-friend\u2019s-brother, age gap, no strings, grumpy\/sunshine romance that is flirty and sexy and wildly entertaining.<\/p>\n

This is the fourth book in the Brewer Family<\/i> series, with great character crossover, but you could easily read this one as a standalone.<\/p>\n

Gannon Brewer is the eldest sibling in the family. He is the CEO of the Brewer Group, and managing the family\u2019s vast empire has pretty much become his whole life. He doesn\u2019t socialise, he has no time or any interest in a relationship, and he is known for his cold, business-like manner. Carys is Gannon\u2019s exact opposite. Bright, bubbly and cheerful, she is the best friend of Gannon\u2019s youngest brother, Tate, and she\u2019s absolutely amazing. Sweet, kind and confident, she\u2019s looking to expand her plant care business, and the Brewer Group is just the company she needs to help get it off the ground.<\/p>\n

Gannon and Carys could not be more different, but they have secretly lusted after each other for years. They\u2019ve never done anything about it, have barely even had a conversation, but now Carys is taking care of his plants and all over his building. And Gannon – tall, dark and handsome, all serious, brooding intensity, is just Carys\u2019 type, and she\u2019s determined to push every button she can to make him break.<\/p>\n

OMG, the chemistry between these two is epic! Every interaction between them just crackles with tension, and their banter, teasing and flirting is absolutely shameless!<\/p>\n

\u201cShe wanted to know if I was going on payroll as an employee or a subcontractor. I also don\u2019t know how many days a week you want me to come.\u201d
\n\u201cHow many days would you like to <\/i>come Miss Johnson?\u201d
\nA blast of heat curls in my stomach. \u201cIn a perfect world, I\u2019d <\/i>come every day.\u201d
\nHe licks his bottom lip, grinning coyly.
\n\u201cI could even come multiple times if that\u2019s what you wanted.\u201d My skin\u2019s tingling as he undresses me with his eyes.
\n\u2026 \u201cIn this perfect world you speak of,\u201d he says, his voice low and thick, \u201cI\u2019d have you coming every day.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I love the build-up of sexual tension between these two. They each give as good as they get, and they\u2019re outrageously forward and it\u2019s so fun to watch. I loved seeing Carys slowly break Gannon\u2019s resolve – even with his cold, brusque exterior and simmering intensity, we are soon seeing eyebrow raises, lip twitches and sexy smirks, and Carys\u2019 playful nature soon reveals a more playful, caring side of Gannon. Neither of them wants a relationship, but they can\u2019t resist the pull to each other, so they agree to a secret no-strings arrangement that is wildly hot, and full of playfulness, and it\u2019s about to rock both of their worlds.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sure that she has the power to make a mess of my life if I let her. I\u2019m also pretty damn sure I\u2019d consider it, given the chance.<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s easy and natural, and full of heat, and they find themselves easily slipping into something that neither of them anticipated. I loved watching them together, seeing them support and be there for each other and watching them grow close and embracing the growing connection between them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is what it looks like when someone fights for you,\u201d I say. \u201cI know that might be new to you but get used to it.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The emotion comes, and they don\u2019t fight it, they just let it happen. It\u2019s functional and mature, there\u2019s no third-act break up, and it was an absolute delight watching these two fall so hard for each other, deal with what comes their way, and find their HEA.<\/p>\n

This woman owns me \u2026 Carys Johnson went from being my little brother\u2019s best friend to quickly becoming my entire world. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We get to see a fair bit of the Brewer crew, which I loved. Tate steals the scene every time he appears on the page, and I\u2019m so looking forward to seeing him meet his match in the next book.<\/p>\n

This is such an enjoyable read \u2013 easy, fun, sweet and sexy, and I absolutely loved it.<\/p>\n

4.5 stars!<\/p>\n

An Advanced Reader Copy was generously provided by the author for an honest review.<\/i><\/p>\n

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The Brewer Family<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\" \u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\" \u00a0 \"\" \u00a0\"\"<\/h4>\n

The Proposal (#1)<\/strong> (Renn & Blakely)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

The Arrangement (#2)<\/strong> (Jason & Chloe)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

The Invitation (#3)<\/strong> (Ripley & Georgia)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

The Merger (#4)\u00a0<\/strong>(Gannon & Carys)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

The Situation (#5)<\/strong> (Tate & Aurora)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Meet Adriana<\/b><\/h4>\n

\"\"USA Today and Amazon Charts Bestselling author, Adriana Locke, writes contemporary romances about the two things she knows best\u2014big families and small towns. Her stories are about ordinary people finding extraordinary love with the perfect combination of heart, heat, and humor.<\/p>\n

She loves connecting with readers, fall weather, football, reading alpha heroes, everything pumpkin, and pretending to garden.<\/p>\n

Hailing from a tiny town in the Midwest, Adriana spends her free time with her high school sweetheart (who she married over twenty years ago) and their four sons (who truly are her best work). Her kitchen may be a perpetual disaster, and if all else fails, there is always pizza.<\/p>\n

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Website\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Goodreads\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Amazon\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Facebook\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Facebook Group<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Instagram\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 \u00a0TikTok\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bookbub<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Pinterest\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0 \u00a0Youtube\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0 \u00a0Verve<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  The Merger by Adriana Locke is live! I love this book! A fantastically fun best-friend\u2019s-brother, age gap, no strings, grumpy\/sunshine romance that is flirty and sexy and wildly entertaining.   Amazon   Blurb Crushes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":77788,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":4.5,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[443,9,29],"tags":[763,59,1520,48],"class_list":["post-78124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-brotherbest-friend","category-romance","category-steamy","tag-adriana-locke","tag-arc","tag-brewer-family","tag-review"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Merger-ecover-copy-1.jpg?fit=200%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-kk4","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=78124"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78124\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/77788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=78124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=78124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=78124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}