Batter of Wits: An Enemies to Lovers Small Town Romance (Love at First Sight Book 2)

Overall Grade: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️“I heard you and I see you and I choose you.”Isn’t this the essence of all relationships? In my writing courses, I ask students about modern-day relationships. One of the first traits they say leads to a meaningful relationship is trust. We talk about “trust” and the truth behind that meaning, and we determine it means that your significant other “sees” your personal truth and accepts you just as you are. To trust means to love a person in their completeness without taking advantage of it. In many romances, this is the gravity of the story. It’s one of the main connections between a fully developed, emotionally connected hero and heroine. When this idea is the message of a romance, as a reader, I lose myself in the evolving relationship because, for this reader, being seen is my catnip.In Karla Sorensen’s Batter of Wits, the newest SmartyPants Romance, this runs at the core of her story: the need to be seen and accepted first. The story follows Grace and Tucker. Grace is a new transplant to Green Valley, Tennessee. She’s ready for a new start, even though she isn’t sure what that looks like. On her way into town, her car breaks down, and Tucker, a local lawyer, comes upon her. For lack of a better description, for Grace, this is “hate at first sight.” Something about Tucker rubs her very wrong. It’s a deep feeling that puzzles her as it feels like a compulsion. Tucker comes to her aid and takes her to her destination, leaving her confused and overwhelmed in her intense feelings for him. Tucker is living a life of complacency. He’s had the same girlfriend since they were seventeen, he works for his family’s law firm, and he’s never left Green Valley. He feels as though he’s living with the world on his shoulders. On meeting Grace, something breaks loose, and he begins to question the life he’s living.Grace is a Buchanan, and the Buchanan family’s mythology involves a love curse. Grace is confused because her initial feelings for Tucker begin to morph into feelings of interest, but it doesn’t follow the pattern of the other love relationships in her family. Then, she finds her distant ancestor’s journal, and she realizes that she might have fallen prey to the family’s curse, just in a different way. Tucker can’t stop thinking about Grace, and she “sees” him in a way that his family and girlfriend haven’t noticed. As these two grow closer, their worlds entwine and become complicated. Is it possible that Grace and Tucker are fated for each other, or is their life in Green Valley a dead end?At the most basic level, there are a clarity and a musicality to Karla Sorensen’s writing. The words and emotions flow across the page and through her story. While the romance isn't always an easy one, there is an ease and a comfort to reading her stories. Time and time again, I crave that ease and grace in her storytelling. She makes writing small-town romance look easy.In contrast to her style lies the difficulty of Tucker and Grace's union. This is seemingly not “love at first sight” until it is. Tucker and Grace are complete in each other, and their moments together are easy as they are "meant to be." In juxtaposition to that ease is the larger difficulty of small-town living. As Grace struggles to find her place, as Tucker struggles to live for himself and not the expectations doled out on him, the struggle seeks to undo their easy coupling. This is an apt contradiction to Sorensen’s ability to convey those difficulties. And it's that tension that draws you deeper into Tucker and Grace's truth.Even more, in my opinion, the beauty of this story lies in the truth of acceptance and finding a place for yourself. It would be easy to wrap my mind up in the Buchanan curse as the focus of Batter of Wits, but that is only the initial catalyst for Tucker and Grace’s coupling. Instead, the depth of this story lies in Tucker recognizing Grace’s truths. With love, this can be difficult, and it can create many of the conflicts within a relationship. Sorensen artfully illustrates this conflict, and she brings a worthy resolution to their conflict that makes your heart bleed a little in all the best ways.I loved Tucker and Grace from the start. My favorite type of romance involves two seemingly different people first fighting against each other and eventually falling for each other. That strife turns the pages of the story for me, as I wait for the eventual revelation of love. And when that happens, that love is typically rich in depth. This is Sorensen’s craftsmanship time and time again. She makes you want to read small-town romance no matter the iteration. Once again, Sorensen takes us to Green Valley and we fall deeply for its characters. Tucker and Grace’s story will find a place in your heart in Batter of Wits, just as it found a place in mine. I simply want more of the Buchanans.

Loved this charming and sexy storyline about a love at first sight family love curse. These two meet and she hates him immediately, that is not what she has been told all these years, but then the love bug bites and she feels it all the way to her heart…other places as well. The problem is that he already has a beautiful girlfriend and they have been dating for years. But after some close proximity will he be bitten by the bug as well? Small town gossip runs rampant and these characters add so much to this great story!

The feeling I get when reading books by this author, is like coming home. They are characters that you would want to meet, be friends with and hang out together. Loads of things resonated with me, the humor and banter and also the family loyalty.Grace and her twin brother Grady have packed up from LA and are heading to Tennessee, Grace driving a day earlier than Grady. As soon as she hits town, the family curse strikes. Tucker was intrigued with this angry girl, which only made Grace more irritated. I’m not sure I’d call it an enemies to lovers since she didn’t hate him for long, and he in no way felt hate towards her, but insta love or connection for sure.There’s a few reasons why their relationship had hurdles, small town gossip and responsibilities, amongst other things, but Grace and Tucker found ways to be together. At this point, I can’t pick a favorite couple in the series. Levi and Joss nor Grace and Tucker - different circumstances but both are amazing books. I love the feel of a small town romance, it’s not pretentious and it’s a more realistic love story. These books aren’t overly angsty, which is not my thing, so I am pleased about that. There’s just enough to give it a sense of authenticity.Up next…is Grady. I have to be honest…I’m a bit unsure about this one…but I have faith in KS to not make it icky. I’m also hoping to find out if Hunter (Levi’s eldest brother) gets his own book too.

4 out of 5 stars because I felt like something was missing from making the characters fully realized. For example Grace is described as looking badass with her boots and tough exterior but a marshmallow on the inside. We never find out why she has this protective personality. Also the talk about a love curse that’s actually Hate at First Sight for the women in the family but it quickly fades to love in the most vague way. I felt like the author spent a lot of time fleshing out the hero’s conflicts but not the heroine’s. That said I still enjoyed the story, the setting, and the characters in the town but it was all just shy of great.

Grace was just outside the border of Green Valley when her car broke down and the guy who came to her rescue was someone she took an instant dislike to. He was tall, handsome and so nice and all she wanted to do was to be snarky and generally not nice even though he was helping her. Tucker had never met anyone like Grace before, she was a whirlwind and it shook him up. After all he was a lawyer, steady, honest and reliable just the same as his father. He had been with his girlfriend for seven years and his life was all planned out.... until it wasnt. Grace made him re evaluate. Grace made him want her and being an honourable man he broke up with his girlfriend because within two days he knew Grace was his future. It was going to be a mess though.

Loved lots in this book and there’s a lot of love going on. Grace and Tucker up the romance factor as the Buchanan family ‘ love curse’ strikes true for Grace. Fun dialogue, lots of feels, some great life advice from the elderly power house Miss Barton , Green Valley gossip and small town craziness makes for an addictive read.Kept me smiling.

This was a cute story. Both Grace and Tucker were likeable . It kind of reminded me of the show Hart of Dixie.I’ll read Grady’s story but maybe not straight away.

The Buchanan curse strikes again but not quite like you expect. Tucker is in a long-standing relationship when he meets Grace and the repercussions of breaking it off are far reaching. Some sweet, funny, sad and steamy moments.