Batter Up

Bachelors of Buttermilk Falls #1

by Robyn Neeley

She mixes more than flour and sugar into her cake batter, and he’s about to find out if a little bit of magic is to his taste... Bakeshop owner Emma Stevens has a secret — a delicious, slightly unorthodox secret. Each Monday, she mixes up a premonition to share with the bachelors of Buttermilk Falls, and sets one lucky man on the path to true love. When reporter Jason Levine finds himself mixed up in a Las Vegas bachelorette party, he hears the strangest the marriage is happening thanks to magic cake batter. Seriously sceptical, and sick of frauds, Jason journeys to the backwater town of Buttermilk Falls to expose the baker and release the townspeople from her evil clutches. But when Jason meets Emma, tempers flare and sparks fly. Will Jason cling to his logic at the expense of a future, or will he let himself fall under Emma’s spell?

Genres: Romance, Chick Lit, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Fiction, Magic, Fantasy

151 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2014

About the author

Robyn Neeley is an East Coaster who loves to explore new places; watches way more reality TV than she cares to admit; can’t live without Dunkin Donuts coffee and has never met a cookie she didn’t like. If you have a must read romance suggestion or a fabulous cookie recipe, she wants to know. Visit her at www.robynneeley.com.

Reviews

[Jacob Proffitt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, I was looking for something light and easy. And I stuck with it way, way past where I should have abandoned it. I mean, the whole story made exactly zero sense from setup to characters to plot. And that's before you even get to the stupidity of the magic Batter Up night—the weekly event that shows a bachelor the name of his soulmate. Weekly. Every week. You know, 52 times a year. In a small town in upstate New York. In other words, a gimmick that'd last approximately half a summer before exhausting every bachelor in 100 miles who actually wanted to find a soul mate...

I stuck with it in hopes that the characters would eventually gel. And mature a bit while they were at it. Only they don't. It's all zingy electric touch and manufactured jealousy and slut shaming girl fights and making unilateral decisions for each other. I mean, it's hard enough buying a grown woman with any experience of the world who would think publicity could ruin her business (remember that literally everyone in 100 miles already knows about this event) but to have a guy who makes his living using words unable to take the time to use them with the woman he supposedly wants to spend the rest of his life with... Well, that was just the end of my patience with this book. I gave it multiple chances. It blew every one.

I'm sad this didn't work out. But even sadder I didn't stop half a book ago.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Batter Up by Robyn Neeley is the first book of the contemporary romance Bachelors of Buttermilk Falls series. This one is a light hearted romance with a touch of magic with Emma Stevens owning a bakery where she conjures up the name of the local males soul mates. Of course not everyone thinks Emma is on the up and up but when trying to prove her a fraud sparks fly instead. Another quick romance read at a fairly short length so of course it lacks a ton of depth but still a cute story overall.

For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.com/

[✰♊ Angie ♊✰ · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is super light, short and sweet. No explicit content.... just fade to black on the intimacy. Not a lot of depth of character or storyline. And the "magic" aspect is... hmm, odd. But, if you're into this type of book, then look no further.

[Anu · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was actually not bad, despite its corny title. Emma wasn't an asinine idiot, and Jason wasn't an insensitive prick. The story line was as cheesy as the title itself, and I cringed each time I read the words "Buttermilk Falls", but it was kind of cute, but not in an ersatz, overdone manner. Not bad, Ms. Neeley. Not bad at all.

[Leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mistook the book for a cozy mystery and kept waiting for it to start. it wasn't the book or the blurbs fault. I think the book app had it in the cozy mystery section

[Danielle (Danniegurl) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is paranormal lite. The only thing witchy in it is her batter so I wouldn’t completely call this a paranormal romance. I got this book as a freebie from Amazon. And while it’s an ok book I wasn’t blown away. It suffered from the same fantastical predictability as most books in this genre. It was very fluffy, very easy read. On the other hand it did take some time to get into. I just couldn’t get into it, the explanations were annoying sometimes. Plus it’s told in 3rd person POV for all the characters. It also glosses over sex scenes if you want that sort of thing in your books. I just feel meh about the book. I see how they are setting up the next one but I don’t think I’ll be reading it.
Emma wasn’t a likable character at all. She kept jumping to conclusions about Jason, but kept doing it even after her original conclusion was wrong. It’s really annoying how she just jumped to oh he betrayed me without being adult and actually listening to him. She felt like she knew all the facts but she didn’t. I couldn’t really get what drew Jason to Emma aside from some outside force. Other than their magnetic pull I just wasn’t feeling it.

Again the book is ok just suspect belief and don’t think you’re going to get a very deep book. This is a surface romance.

[Ivy Deluca · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a Hallmark movie romance in book form. It’s safe, it’s sweet, it’s not very deep and definitely predictable. The love scenes are fade to black, and there’s alot that’s told to the reader vs shown. If you’re into a small-town romance with no explicit sex, with that Hallmark movie quality, this could be right up your alley. For me, it was too fluffy for this fluffy bunny.



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[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emma ♥ Jason! This book was so sweet!!! I really enjoyed it! It reminded me one of those romantic movies that you watch while drinking hot chocolate during Christmas. I'm going to read the next book in the series for sure!!!!

P.S. I love the cover!

[Racheli Zusiman · Rating 3 out of 5]

אמה מנהלת את חנות המאפים בעיירה באטרמילק פולז, ובכל שבוע ביום שני היא עורכת "ערב רווקים" שבו היא "קוראת" בבלילת עוגה מיהי המיועדת של רווק מסוים, באמצעות לחש קסמים שירשה מסבתה. ג'ייסון הוא עיתונאי ממיאמי שמגיע לעיירה כדי לחקור את סיפורו של הקסם הזה.
כל הקטע עם לחש הקסמים די מופרך, אבל הספר קליל וחמוד.

[Lisa Filipe · Rating 4 out of 5]

BATTER UP by Robyn Neeley was Simply...Magic!

If you haven't yet read a Romance from Robyn Neeley, you are truly missing out, and If you want to start with one today, pick up the New Release, BATTER UP! The charm of the small town setting of Buttermilk Falls and the touch of magic that goes into helping the town's bachelors find their 'Hearts Desire"...well....it just made me wish I had that power...I love to see people find their soul mate!

Heroine, Emma, was a pip...I loved her! The bantering between her and her "Summer Fling" Jason was hysterical! I found myself laughing and smiling throughout the read.

If you are in the mood for a sugary sweet romance, then BATTER UP is a must read for you!

[Laura..devouring books like crumpets · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

The story centers around Emma and her magical matchmaking batter, it isn't until reporter Jason comes on the scene trying to expose her that things heat up.

Emma comes across to me as a glutton for punishment, not only does she moon over her ex who she admits treated her like crap, but when her and Jason have so many misunderstandings and bad judgement calls i don't get how she could fall in love with him, fall me once shame on you fall me twice shame on me, Jason however from Emma's perspective appears to be sleeping with her arch enemy, is consistently rude to her and trying to expose her business.....

Jason's perspective is a bit more understandable as we see him peel her back and his warring emotions between her and his career.

I felt sorry for Caitlin poor girl cant get a break....

But the story was sweet and feel good a nice quick read

"Was he really having an honest-to-goodness conversation about a town full of bachelors and bachelorettes and magical cake batter? What kind of drugs were they doing in Buttermilk Falls?"

[Moondance · Rating 3 out of 5]

The selected bachelor of Buttermilk Falls stood frozen, waiting for Emma Stevens to deliver the life-changing news.

Emma owns the Sugar Spoon bakery in Buttermilk Falls. The women in her family have a touch of magic and can match eligible bachelors to the woman of their dreams. So far her success rate is 100%. Enter investigative reporter, Jason Levine. his original plan is to expose her and the bakery as a fraud. instead he falls for the lovely baker.

This was a sweet light romance that was the perfect short read. The town sounds delightful and the bakery more so. The characters were well written and felt like friends by the end of the book.

Of course there are the usual ups and downs on the way to true love. Emma's mistrust of Jason is almost proven but he finds a way to overcome.

I would read the next book just to see where Abby's story will take us.

[Jaime Fiction Fangirls · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute

I saw this book on Bookbub and the blurb sold it for me. This is anew-to-me author but I will definitely be picking up more of her books now. This was a cute, well-written story and it helped me out of my book slump. Good pacing and character development. I was drawn I go the world of Buttermilk Falls and I'll be returning ASAP!!

[Debrac2014 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this quirky romance! Cute story line! It was free on Kindle!

[larissasbookclub · Rating 1 out of 5]

unrealistic and cringey.

[Kathryn Soeder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful!

I absolutely loved this book! A wonderful cozy, and romantic story with a happy ending. I would absolutely recommend this!!

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to love this story, but oof - Emma made it so difficult.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Batter Up is an absolutely adorable book. It’s like a mash-up between Never Been Kissed and Practical Magic. I loved the story and the characters the writing style. It made me laugh and made me cry. I want a keep this book forever! I want to shout it out to the roof tops how much I loved this book. Okay so here I go shouting it off the roof top…

Emma Stevens is from a long line of witches, but of course he hates using that word. She does, however, her best to on carrying on the family tradition of Batter Up Night every Monday night. The tradition her Grandmother started selecting one eligible bachelor and finding his true love with the help of the “magic cupcakes”. Everyone assumes it’s the sprinkles she puts in the batter that makes the name magically appear in the batter but that is Emma’s family secret. Her latest bachelor, who is no longer a bachelor because he ran off to Vegas and married his true love; blabbed his big drunkin’ mouth to none other than the reporter Jason Levine. Jason Levine knows a story when he hears one and follows the newlyweds back to Buttermilk Falls, so sure Emma Stevens was pulling the wool over their eyes. Playing at nothing a con job, Jason is caught unaware of the beautiful bakery shop owner. Jason almost blows it when Emma immediately finds out who he is and who he writes for, the fact that he is the sexiest man she has ever seen will not deter her from scaring him way, even when a spoonful of hot sauce tainted cupcake batter doesn’t scare him she is determined to keep him at bay. Jason has other plans. While Emma thinks that Jason is sleeping with her arch nemesis, Jason is doing his best to learn Emma’s secrets and not seduce her into bed. Things go completely out of control when Emma ends up biding five thousand dollars in a bidding war against her nemesis on Jason. Jason convinces Emma go on a date with him only to have it ruined by the appearance of her ex who left her unwary about finding love again. Jason best friend Brandon, also a reporter, shows up and Emma finds out it’s him who is sleeping with her nemesis and now he wants her to work her magic on him so he can hurry up and propose. As always things don’t work out and Emma’s spunky cousin’s name shows up instead. When Emma so in love with Jason and trusting him enough not to print her secrets works her magic on him and sharing her secret so sure her name will appear it doesn’t either. Jason leaves and Emma’s heart is broken. When Jason returns and explains it all is it enough especially when she finds out he has indeed written an article and coming out soon.

A mess of other things happen making this seem like it would be a really good romantic comedy movie.

[Connie N. · Rating 2 out of 5]

#1 in the Bachelors of Buttermilk Falls romance series

First of all, the premise is cute, where a bit of magic helps determine a bachelor's true love. In many cases, it's a nudge for a shy man to ask a girl out, but everyone swears there have been perfect matches made, with no divorces or breakups. Emma has the gift of making these predictions, having the skill handed down from her grandmother and mother. At the Vegas wedding of one of these couples, Jason hears about it and heads to NY to get the full story for his newspaper. He falls for Emma right away, but something keeps coming between them to keep them from finding their happiness together. Now here's the bad part--Emma. Her character is so totally annoying that I had to force myself to finish the story. And that's a shame because the rest of it was light and fun, which is why I gave it a 2-star rating. Emma could have been a nice heroine, but instead she's judgmental, makes snap decisions, and then never lets them go. She once overheard her mother make a prediction, and now Emma has been blindly following her "instructions" for 15 years, when really she was totally wrong about what she heard. And Jason becomes close to her, expresses his feelings for her, but Emma is so closed off that she keeps breaking it off and refusing to deal with him. She's overly dramatic, which makes me think she really just wants attention without having to work at any sort of relationship. I mean, the only reason she "bought" Jason as her summer fling was because she has this obnoxious competition with a high school friend. She brings up more than once that she's still upset about Caitlin pushing her out of cheerleading. I mean, it's from high school, get over it already! And when Jason says anything wrong, she's all over him and refusing to talk or listen to him. I couldn't stand her, and that took all the fun out of the story. I'm tempted to continue with the series to read Abby and Brandon's story, but I don't think I'll be any happier with those characters if Emma is Neeley's idea of a great heroine. No thanks.

[Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

**Review Copy Provided by Author**

So when I first read the description for Batter Up, my mind flew to the movie with Sarah Michelle Geller (of Buffy fame) from a few years ago, where she is a Chef that infuses magic through her love of cooking in her dishes (yeah, I'm a sap, what can I say). And i was sucked into the story that Ms Neeley wrote from the get-go - in fact, I think I read the entire thing in a day and a half metro ride (so about an hour and a half or so) and nearly missed my metro stop because I was so busy reading (thankfully, the next stop also has the line I had to switch to).

I liked how the characters were developed, Emma made me both laugh and cry and i hurt for her because of the cruelty of some people. Jason was the tenacious reporter - wanting to get his story no matter the cost (at the beginning). In fact, character-wise - he kind of reminded me of Richard Gere in Runaway Bride when he goes to the small town to find out the story, and keeps showing up in weird and random places, establishing himself in the community. I loved the interactions between Jason and the townsfolk - how they basically took him under their collective wings. The secondary romances in the story were a nice bonus.

I'll say that my one gripe was that everything seemed to end too quickly - there was the story, the conflict and then the resolution was kinda like a wham bam thank you ma'am - and I wanted a bit more. It almost felt like Emma and Jason were slightly cheated out of their HEA because of how quickly everything was tied up. Maybe an additional chapter, or even an epilogue would have worked but yeah - I just wanted a little bit more.

I look forward to reading more stuff by Ms Neely in the future, since I think she has potential to become well liked in the romance genre. Overall, I gave Batter Up 3.5 stars (round up to 4 on Amazon), a solid contemporary romance, with some magical realism.

[Jonel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel was sweet, funny, and wildly romantic. It was absolutely priceless from premise to conclusion. Neeley develops the town of Buttermilk Falls, its inhabitants, and the Sugar Spoon in such a manner that readers can easily picture themselves there. At the same time, she tells a remarkably heartfelt novel that had me in stitches throughout. Neeley’s seamless storytelling painted this all before me, making it the type of story that I could easily imagine myself into.

Neeley creates the type of characters that walk their way into your heart & never leave. The banter and antagonism between the characters was so lifelike. Neeley’s multifaceted character development let me get up close and personal with them, while at the same time enjoying their story. Emma’s complete and utter belief in what she does & the little rituals surrounding her life may have type casted her somewhat, but at the same time, they made her someone easy to relate to. This was a main character who definitely carried the story forward well. I absolutely fell in love with her. Jason’s slowly changing belief system throughout made him someone who tugged at my heart. He was the perfect combination of sweet & sass, with a dash of that unnameable quality that makes the perfect male lead.

This novel has that touch of something magical that makes it stand out from the rest. Neeley has woven a tale that captured my heart & that I can’t get out of my mind.

Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this work in exchange for an honest review.

[Runell · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was painfully bad. This honestly read like a high school creative writing assignment, and the student has a really good idea, but no idea how to write it well.

This was so cheesy and not the good kind. It had me rolling my eyes so hard I'm surprised I didn't give myself a headache. The characters were dumb and while this wasn't exactly insta-insta love, they fell in love too quick for my taste (and yes, I know it's a short book, but still) and . . . just no.

[Coco.V]

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[Alaina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Batter Up was a pretty easy audiobook to dive into. I was definitely looking into something light, fluffy, and would work for any of the challenges I was in. Which this book did and I was so happy for it.

The romance between Emma and Jason was really cute. I will even admit that they even had their cheesy moments as well. It all put a smile on my face. Yet, the one thing that would've made this a lot better is the characters themselves. I just feel like they made weird decisions and acted weird throughout the book even though they were developing feelings for one another.

Of course, when there's romance there is some sort of drama. In the end, it was okay and wasn't that big or dramatic. After finishing the book, I'm not really sure if I want to dive into the rest of the series just yet but you never know. It might happen.

[Darcy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was cute. I liked the idea that the men in town all came to Emma they were ready for a wife and how she helped them. The town itself sort of had a the feel of the town in Gilmore Girls. Their Summer Fling charity auction was cute and brought Emma all sorts of trouble. It remained to be seen whether that was a good thing or not. I liked how Emma and Jason got to know each other, but hated what caused trouble. I wish that Jason had talked to Emma right away, but understand why he didn't. I did love how things ended, loved that the vision that Emma over heard all those years came true, but not in the way she thought, but in a way that really worked for her.

[Bunnita (Worth Reading It?) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute romance novel that involves cupcakes, yea I'll read that. Buttermilk Falls what cute and corny name for a town. I love that the batter is bewitched to tell the bachelor who his future bride is.

There weren't any real conflict between Emma and Jason. I was ok with it because i really just wanted to know how the spell worked. I am little bummed that it was mentioned tha the spell for single women is Abby's gift.

Anyway cute romance. Total beach read. No cliffhanger but you can tell who the next book in the series is going to focus on.

[Genevieve · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this story. Emma runs the bakery and on Monday night she does Batter Up night where the batter tells the bachelor of the night the name of his true love. A great romance and a wonderful story. I love the characters Emma and Jason plus all the side characters Emma's cousin and Jason's best friend. I can't wait to read the next book in the series.

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hit and a miss.

I wanted to like this book but Emma and Jason felt like they had zero chemistry and there wasn't a lot of lead-up. Felt too saccharine and needed more developmental editing. Too many unresolved motivating plot points for the sake of romance. And the ending didn't gel at all. The side characters seemed to be cardboard and not fleshed out into integral factors as implied.

[Sassafrass · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was cute and a bit quirky. I'm still not sure about the issue with the batter between Jason and Emma was. I wanted a bit more resolution to that part. Anyway, I liked the town and look forward to more books in this series. And all the cupcake talk made me want some!

[Bill & Lanier Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read!

Cute characters & fun storyline. Inspirational story easily interwoven with a cute theme. Enjoyed this book & look forward to more in the series,