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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
Wren and Anders have both been through hard times and both feel stuck. Family plays a big part in both their lives and secrets abound. Now they just both have to figure out that communication will be key to moving forward through the twists and turns in life.
Slow burn but a great story! I bought this book on a slight whim after reading the description and then seeing that not only are we both Paige but she also published it on my birthday lol felt like fate!
3.5. It was back and forth for me. One minute I was loving it the next I wasn’t. The whole dead/not dead wife thing was odd. Her fiancé leaving her was no where near the same type of pain as losing a spouse.
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Easy read in a day type of book
This book follows Wren, a woman who was recently left by her fiancé for his assistant. In efforts to recover from her grief, she takes a trip to America, to Indiana, more specifically... to visit her dad, stepmom and half-sister. Wren has a lot of baggage to sort through. Not only what happened between her and Scott, her ex. But also, from her childhood. Wren meets Anders, older brother to Jonas and residents at a neighboring farm up the way. While poking around her dad's peach orchard (Which struct me as a weird crop to grow in Indiana... Georgia maybe. But the climate in Indiana isn't suited for a consistent yearly harvest- But I digress) She finds a vintage Airstream trailer and decides to start rehabbing it. Eventually Bailey, her half-sister, Jonas and Anders help and it creates a bond between the four. Eventually you grow to learn that Anders and his family are keeping a secret. Wren finds out about this secret after realizing that she's fallen for Anders. But can she live with his secret?
I enjoyed all of the side characters in this book Bailey was likable although her husband Casey made no sense. I get that for the plot Bailey and Jonas couldn't hook up- but I didn't get the chemistry between Bailey and Casey.
For me, there were some continuity issues. You can tell by the way the American's were written that the author is not from USA. I get Wren using terms/slang for the UK but there were times that Anders would say something, or Jonas would, and I thought to myself, no one in America would say it like that.
Furthermore, this book took me FOREVER to get through. I read 8 other books in between starting and finishing this one. It is SLOW MOVING. But here's the real thing, the first bit of the story was fine. The last 100 pages were better. Everything in between was a miss for me. Too much repetition, too much unneeded content? Did we ever find out Why Jonas was acting up in the beginning? Maybe I don't know because I skimmed from like ch20 through when Anders and Wren went to Indy.
I understand that this is a very character motivated book, however I feel like a lot of the realizations that Wren needed to get through could have come so much quicker.
Overall, I think this book is good for some people. It wasn't for me. If you like JoJo Moyes or some of CoHo's stuff you might like this.... It just fell flat for me.
I enjoyed all of the side characters in this book Bailey was likable although her husband Casey made no sense. I get that for the plot Bailey and Jonas couldn't hook up- but I didn't get the chemistry between Bailey and Casey.
For me, there were some continuity issues. You can tell by the way the American's were written that the author is not from USA. I get Wren using terms/slang for the UK but there were times that Anders would say something, or Jonas would, and I thought to myself, no one in America would say it like that.
Furthermore, this book took me FOREVER to get through. I read 8 other books in between starting and finishing this one. It is SLOW MOVING. But here's the real thing, the first bit of the story was fine. The last 100 pages were better. Everything in between was a miss for me. Too much repetition, too much unneeded content? Did we ever find out Why Jonas was acting up in the beginning? Maybe I don't know because I skimmed from like ch20 through when Anders and Wren went to Indy.
I understand that this is a very character motivated book, however I feel like a lot of the realizations that Wren needed to get through could have come so much quicker.
Overall, I think this book is good for some people. It wasn't for me. If you like JoJo Moyes or some of CoHo's stuff you might like this.... It just fell flat for me.
4.25/5⭐️
I enjoyed this one, maybe not greatly but a solid good.
Wren, a 32-year-old architect in the UK, flies to her dad’s in small town Indiana for some healing time following a breakup with her fiancé. She meets brothers Anders and Jonas from a neighboring farm and along with her half-sister Bailey, begins to foster friendships with them. As she begins to develop deeper feelings for Anders, she learns a devastating secret that could change everything.
This story touches on several things. There are misunderstandings and feelings of not belonging to your parent’s new family, growing relationships on limited time together, living up to a parent’s expectations, maneuvering through a minefield of emotions when a heartbreaking situation is revealed, etc.
I liked the characters here, especially the way the brotherly bond was portrayed (I almost ended up liking Jonas’ character more than the lead Anders’), however I was totally thrown by the secret (75% in) and actually surprised by the character that it centers around and a bit perturbed at its not being disclosed sooner. Also I felt that character’s subsequent guilt/emotional breakdown was too overdone and out of character for them. But the wrap up was lovely and left lots of warm fuzzies with it.
An enjoyable story with a few peeves.
My thanks to the author, NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for providing the free early arc of Only Love Can Hurt Like This for review. The opinions are strictly my own.
I enjoyed this one, maybe not greatly but a solid good.
Wren, a 32-year-old architect in the UK, flies to her dad’s in small town Indiana for some healing time following a breakup with her fiancé. She meets brothers Anders and Jonas from a neighboring farm and along with her half-sister Bailey, begins to foster friendships with them. As she begins to develop deeper feelings for Anders, she learns a devastating secret that could change everything.
This story touches on several things. There are misunderstandings and feelings of not belonging to your parent’s new family, growing relationships on limited time together, living up to a parent’s expectations, maneuvering through a minefield of emotions when a heartbreaking situation is revealed, etc.
I liked the characters here, especially the way the brotherly bond was portrayed (I almost ended up liking Jonas’ character more than the lead Anders’), however I was totally thrown by the secret (75% in) and actually surprised by the character that it centers around and a bit perturbed at its not being disclosed sooner. Also I felt that character’s subsequent guilt/emotional breakdown was too overdone and out of character for them. But the wrap up was lovely and left lots of warm fuzzies with it.
An enjoyable story with a few peeves.
My thanks to the author, NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for providing the free early arc of Only Love Can Hurt Like This for review. The opinions are strictly my own.
Audiobook was great and race engineers are apparently super sexy. Who knew? Really enjoyed it.
medium-paced
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wren is heartbroken when she finds out her fiancé is in love with someone else. She decides to spend the summer with her dad and step mom/step sister on a farm in the US. She meets her neighbor’s son Anders who has been spending more time on the farm to keep an eye out on his brother. Anders is still grieving from losing his wife four years ago and doesn’t plan on letting her go anytime soon. Both Wren and Anders start to develop feelings for each other and are forced to decide whether they will act on those feelings. Will they open their hearts up to each other?
This book sucked me in right away. I was so invested in everyone’s storyline and wanted everyone to have their happy ending. It’s unusual for me to love every character in a story but I did in this book. I feel like every character was struggling with a problem and it was amazing to see how they overcame them. The build up of Anders and Wren’s relationship was 100% worth the wait. I will now be adding more books from Paige Toon to my TBR!
This book sucked me in right away. I was so invested in everyone’s storyline and wanted everyone to have their happy ending. It’s unusual for me to love every character in a story but I did in this book. I feel like every character was struggling with a problem and it was amazing to see how they overcame them. The build up of Anders and Wren’s relationship was 100% worth the wait. I will now be adding more books from Paige Toon to my TBR!