I'm a huge sucker for forced proximity and I loved how this one played out. I knew the minute he moved in to help remodel that things would get interesting.

I also love a good love after loss book. I felt terrible for her losing her fiance but that feeling didn't last long. I loved how they got to know each other and eventually fell in love.

I definitely wasn't expecting the plot twist at the end but it made the book wrap up work so well.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley. This is my honest review.

This was an interesting story. Anneliese was heartbroken when her fiance died until she found out he had stolen her life savings that she was using to fix up his childhood home. She continues to fix it up until Lachlan shows up (looking remarkably like her fiance) and wants to burn it down. Their relationshp starts out very rocky but then he starts to help her fix it up so they can sell it and she can recoop the money his brother stole. The story had several twists and turns but the ending was perfect.

I got this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

Lachlan is the owner of the old family home and is going to burn it to the ground. Only one thing standing in his way and that is a beautiful, sexy woman. Anneliese Nielsen was his brother's fiance. Donovan, Lachlan's brother died in an auto accident. Anneliese has a whole bunch of money invested in the said house and doesn't want Lachlan to burn it down. They come to a stalemate on the matter and problems arise.

Winter Renshaw is a very good story writer and I always look forward to reading her books. Another 5 star read!

4.5 stars ⭐️. A brilliantly executed, superbly written romance with lovable protagonists who had layers to them.

Heroine Anneliese was such a positive person. Sweet but with a spicy edge and a very good friend. Even after the betrayal of her ex, she picked up herself and moved on. I liked her unique profession too.
Lachlan was a character shrouded in mystery that you can’t help but drawn to. Honest to fault, brash and a vagabond because of his past. I loved him.
Infact both of them had that mysterious aura around them.
The story had that somber undertone from the beginning itself and what a fantastic writing style!
There were many moments where I loved the insightful dialogues because they resonated with me so much.

The obscure words and meanings introduced in the beginning of each chapter was cherry on top. Infact I got many new such words from this book.

Overall a very enjoyable romance with depth, angst and emotion.
Closed door scenes (which was kinda disappointing tbh).

And I ADORED the epilogue…. Sigh.

Recommended.

When Lachlan comes home to settle his brothers affairs after he dies,, he gets more than he bargained for. Anneliese is trying to make the best of the situation she has been left with and is thrown for a loop when her fiancé’s brother, who she didn’t know existed turns up saying he owns her home. They come to a truce and agree to share the house and the work it will take to fix it up, but they both have very different reasons for being there. He wants to destroy the home that he left at 18 after a very unhappy time and she wants to sell it to get back all the money she lost. She is devastated by what she learns about her fiance and he has a lot of unhappy memories of how his father and brother treated him after his mother’s death. It feels like the parts of her fiance she loved were actuality based on Lachlan’s personality, kind, talented.. loving, not Donovan’s. He can’t understand why his brother would have treated this amazing, beautiful, kind soul the way he did. They become close, but it seems like they want such different things. They both need to let go of the past in order to have a future together.

Love and Kerosene
Winter Renshaw, author

I always enjoy Ms. Renshaw's stories and this one was no different. A slow burn novel, this is about two young people who by happenstance own the same home. One legally and the other has soaked all their money into renovating it.

Lachlan can't wait to burn his family home to the ground but his deceased brother's fiancee,' Anneliese wants to keep it, as she'd given Donovan her life's savings to renovate it.

Who will win the battle over the house? Read this enjoyable book. There's lots of pain to filter through, betrayal from an unsuspecting person, angst and romance.

I recommend this novel. I was gifted an advanced reader copy from Netgalley, the author and the publisher in exchange for the review.

Heartbreaking story of love and loss

It's a fact of life that there are just some people who are so toxic to the people in their orbit that their passing cannot be mourned. Lachlan knew his brother well enough to know that he didn't deserve the grief Anneliese was feeling. Not that he'd ever say anything directly, but he didn't have to. Once Donovan is dead, he can no longer protect his secrets and one by one they start to reveal a truth that was harder to bear than his death.

I was completely enthralled with this story from start to finish. There's so much emotional depth, and even though Lachlan and Anneliese are on opposite sides of the issue of what to do with the house, they aren't adversarial about it at all. Their friendship grows slowly, which was simply beautiful to watch.

There is a jaw-dropping secret that is hinted at from the beginning, and once it comes out it's so much worse than anything I was expecting. It makes it so easy to understand why Lachlan feels the way he does.

As a logophile myself, I adored the opening of each chapter with an unusual word and its definition. A vast and inventive vocabulary is a hallmark of an accomplished author, and this author demonstrates an admirable use of language throughout.

The HEA is thorough and the years-later epilogue was very sweet, indeed. If you love romances that will bring you both tears of heartbreak and tears of joy, this is the book for you. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

This was my first Winter Renshaw book, which I read as an ARC through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. The book follows Anneliese and Lachlan, two connected individuals with challenging events in their pasts. It is/includes:
• An element of forbidden romance
• Forced proximity and ‘one bed’
• Dual POV
This was a bit of mixed bag for me. I liked the concept of the story as well as the characters’ back stories (revealed throughout) which were effective for the plot and the characters’ actions. I really liked the addition of a word, with its definition, starting and setting the tone for each chapter. It was a good way of connecting the structure of the book to the plot. The first half of the book, for me, was more successful as the pacing felt right.
However, there were a few things I struggled with. Firstly, the second half of the story felt rushed. Things are revealed and resolved very quickly on multiple occasions. Secondly, I wanted more tension (and thus chemistry) between the main characters.

This book​ was very enjoyable. I loved the plot and also both main characters. Although due to their past and trust issues they fought the attraction that surfaced between them.​

I really loved the word foreplay. Each chapter starts with a new-word explanation. I truly love that, as it was quite unique. ​ I loved the attraction and the immediate interaction of both main characters, although trying to forget the past, they would feel like they have known each other for years.
​The story was very emotional with a great entanglement and HEA.

This book had me hooked from the first few pages. Anneliese is trying to rebuild her life after her dead fiancé left her broken hearted and penniless. She is now trying to keep working on renovating his childhood home, which they had started doing together before he did in a car wreck. When she see someone that looks just like him standing at her door demanding she leave his house she is speechless. She had no idea that her fiancé had a brother nor did she think that she would really get along with him. Lachlan had one plan in mind, to burn this old house to the ground. He had loved his mom with everything he had but when she died his life was never the same. His brother and dad were horrible to him and when he left at 18 he never looked back. Now he is back after finding about his brother passing. Will he be able to get Anneliese to see things his way and let him have the house burned down? I was given an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this was a great read.

"If my life was a story, you'd be the plot twist."

When Anneliese Nielsen first sees Lachlan Byrne, it feels like she just saw a ghost - specifically the ghost of her late fiancé, Donovan. Turns out that he is Donovan's brother - a brother that he never mentioned. Like a lot of other things that Donovan never mentioned. Lachlan has come to claim the family home that Anneliese moved into with Donovan. He wants to burn it down along with all the painful memories it holds, then get the hell out of town again. Anneliese wants to fix it up and recoup all the money she's ploughed into it. When Lachlan makes a proposal that could go either way, she has no choice but to accept it. They didn't bank on getting along. They didn't expect to start relying on one another. And, they definitely didn't plan on falling for each other.

"I know you said this was a bad idea...But you're wrong. Being with you is the only thing that makes sense to me."

This was a lovely story. I enjoyed the way the relationship between Anneliese and Lachlan grew. Their connection, their joy in being with each other, the way they didn't like being apart, and the way they looked forward to coming home to each other. I adored how each chapter started with an unusual word and definition - I found this super fun - and the significance of unusual words in the story. Lachlan's background kinda broke my heart. He deserved so much happiness in his life, and I loved that he found it with Anneliese, who was such a kind person and really deserved someone special in her life, too.

I love Renshaw’s romances and I am always looking forward to her upcoming releases. Love and Kerosene was an enjoyable weekend read but the gorgeous cover deceived me! I thought this would actually have some spicy scenes, but unfortunately it barely had one. I also wish the characters spent more time together, as I just wasn’t convinced by their romance before we got to the epilogue. 3.5 stars

I just get soo hooked on WR stories!!!! Annaliese and Lachlan’s story was a good slow burn, so much feeling and just a page turner for me. I couldn’t wait to find out what happened with these two!! Loved seeing these two fall in love despite the circumstances that was lingering. Definitely recommend this story, it was a breeze to read and I wanted more!

Love and Kerosene was so sad but I loved watching the two main characters heal from their past and the things they experienced. Overall I thought this was a good book and I would recommend it.

“If my life was a story, you’d be the plot twist.”

Love and Kerosene simmers with a delicious slow burn between Lachlan and Anneliese as two broken souls with different views of the world start at odds with one another, find a way to work together, then discover love along the way as they heal from past hurts.

Lachlan was so mysterious, his thoughts an enigma, hiding pain beneath the surface of his carefree exterior. Anneliese suffered betrayals guided by misplaced trust, yet she tried to find the strength to move on from a life that was never meant to be. Lachlan and Anneliese truly saw one another into the depths of their souls and shared such a beautiful connection.

Winter Renshaw took a unique approach in this book, including a bit of suspense as the events played out. I loved how each chapter started with a big beautiful word and its definition as it alluded to the story to follow. A few surprising plot twists combined with a deeper and more somber look at grief created quite the emotional read. But everything came together beautifully in the end and showed how finding the courage to move beyond the grief and pain of the past while recognizing what the truly important things in life are can lead the way to a life even better than imagined.

** Special thanks to author Winter Renshaw, Montlake and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. Available October 11, 2022. **

I downloaded this one on a whim and I am so glad that I did because I absolutely loved Lachlan and Anneliese! I wish I had more time to read these last few days because this book hooked me in and I wanted to see how their story ended.

Anneliese is blindsided when her fiance dies and leaves her with no money and a falling apart house they were supposed to be fixing up. When his brother (who she did not know existed) shows up wanting to burn the house down, sparks begin to fly. I loved their relationship and how real these characters felt. I have not read any other books by Winter Renshaw before but I know I will be in the future!

Anneliese is happy in life she has her dream fiancé a beautiful house they’re restoring in his home town but everything suddenly comes crashing down and she’s at a complete lost especially every day discovering the man she was about to marry was not the same man she was or thought she was in love with.

Lachlan comes back to his childhood town after being away in Europe for so many years. He left for a reason and hates the idea of being back. He thinks his new tasks will be simple and he can get back to his life until everything starts unraveling and what he least expects catches him by surprise. Falling in love was not in the cards!

Love the small suspenseful parts and the twist and of course you instantly can’t avoid falling in love with Lachlan.

My heart barely survived this emotional rollercoaster called Love and Kerosene by Winter Renshaw. It was moving, inspiring, poetic and heartaching to the extremes. Lachlan and Anneliese went on an intense trip of forgiveness, redemption and resurrection of souls. The author's words hit my heart hard and fast. A memorable romance in every sense.

What can be worse for Anneliese than being stuck in a small town and a crumbling house after death of a cheating fiance who stole all your money in name of renovating his childhood home? The never-mentioned-before lookalike brother knocking at the door letting her know that he is claiming this house and burning it down. Well, unless she can convince him to finish the renovation and sell the house to recover some of her money. Lachlan unsettles her but she has no other option than accept his help in the work in turn of allowing him to stay at the house. Will it be a new beginning for two broken souls?

Oh my heart! Lachlan is everything dreamy, swoony, brooding, raw and gorgeous you can want from your book boyfriend. He has been running away from an ugly past. Coming back to his home town was just a step to find closure and then leave for forever. He has so many layers and I cannot stop exploring them all. What's better than a broken man becoming whole and finding love? I cannot imagine. Anneliese threw all his plans out of the window. Now this woman just astonished me at every turn. She has a big soft crazy beautiful heart. She loves deep and unconditionally. She let in everyone so easily even after being duped and taken advantage of so many times. She is the exact opposite of Lachlan's closed off heart. They both suffered through heartbreak. Lachlan was just detached and angry and resentful when he reached the town. Anneliese showed him that he can stop his past controlling his future. They started as enemies who were fighting over the future of the house. But slowly they found an easy friendship that was like a balm on the wounds in their hearts. Those moments gave me all warm cozy feels and I smiled for them. And the friendship turned into something more intense, more explosive and more consuming. This was definitely a delicious slow burn with angst intensifying everything. The author managed to capture all messy, raw, devastating but beautiful emotions perfectly through her captivating writing. And I savoured every moment. That ending was brilliantly crafted and I could not think of a better happily ever after for them.


I reviewed an early copy voluntarily through Netgalley and Montlake

What a lovely story of second chances and new beginnings from Ms Renshaw.
I instantly settled into this book, with the easy writing style and really likeable characters I desperately wanted them to connect and find something real together.
A lovely gentle slow burn….quirky Annalese get shocks and surprises from all sides. Her encounters with Lachlan, aren’t without their challenges as they tentatively enter an agreement with the hopes of a mutually beneficial outcome. Little did she know that this nomadic, intelligent and brutally honest guy might just hold the key to all her happiness.
I did find Annaliese a little too forgiving and accepting of people and taking everything at face value. I would have liked more emotion from Lachlan as we learned his reasons for escaping his childhood home. What I did love were their moments of conversation and their shared experiences as they got to know each other.
Endearing characters, great storytelling, intelligent quirks, no real surprises, slightly lacking in heat and romantic chemistry for me….but still a great escape.

When Anneliese's fiancée,Donovan, dies, she finds out he was not the person she thought.
Now she is alone and broke but she is determined to finish restoring Donovan's childhood house, as they had planned. That's is until Donovan's brother, Lachlan, shows up to claim the house.
Until they streak a deal, they decide restoring the house together. And the more time they spend together, the more they connect.
I liked this book a lot. The story, the characters,all of them, and the twists I didn't see coming.
It's my first book by this author but I will read a lot more of her books, for sure.