What a lovely story. It gives you hopes for the future even if you are over 40. I totally loved this one. The obstacles main characters had to go through and where it led them.
I love that both had different types of character. In the end they complement each other. ☺

3.5 Stars for a feel good, dare I say, sweet romance by Aurora Rey. This only my second book I’ve read by Rey. I understand this book is part of the ‘universe’ of two of her previous books, “The Last Place You Look” and “Recipe for Love”. I didn’t feel I needed to read the previous books to enjoy this one. But as with these types of series, it’s always nice to revisit “old friends”.

This is a story of baker Amanda Russo, owner of a small bakery. She is expanding into the space next door, enlarging her kitchen and dining area. She has been divorced for a number of years and has two children, a son, 18 year old Cal, who is about to enter college and 20 year old, Daniella, who will be a sophomore in college. I really liked Cal who one minute he was a teenager and the next a mature young man. Daniella felt she knew what was best for her mom but was not necessarily in tune to what her mom wanted.

Amanda hires architect, Fifty-year-old Quinn Sullivan to design the new bakery. I really liked Quinn. She was in a long-term relationship that had ended about a year ago. She has gone on numerous first dates, set up by her sisters, friends and co-workers. Being the person, she is, she couldn’t tell them no more. None had clicked.

I enjoyed this relatively angst free, slow burn romance. There were a few bumps in the road such as with ex’s and meddling children. I plan to go back and read Rey’s previous books in this “series”.

3.7*

Nice read. Its about second chances at love. Both main characters are late 40's. Amanda as 2 children, both college age, an ex-wife who starts to snoop about thinking she as a second chance. Amanda gave up on love and puts all her time into her children and her expanding bakery... until Quinn enters her life. Quinn, an architect, once married, also struggles to find the 'one'. Twice shy is a easy read, as normal Aurora Rey pulls off a slow burn story line. If you've never come across her books before I highly suggest you read her 'Cape End Romance' series.

I was given a ARC copy for an honest review.

I was slow to warm up to Amanda and Quinn, but by the end of the book I was invested in them and rooting for them. The premise of the story was what captivated me in the first place. Having complicated and messy feelings for an ex. Falling for the familiarity of someone who already knows you, loved you even if it's not the best idea. How hard it is to allow yourself to heal and love again after a bad break up. </p>

Seeing Amanda and Quinn navigate divorce, how to handle your ex, your new partner having kinds, was also welcome. It think divorce, sharing custody of kids has become more and more common so it's interesting to see it explored.

I enjoyed the inclusion of Amanda's kids as central to the story. Loved to hate Mel, the ex, and even warmed up to her by the end of the book. Amanda and Quinn were a great couple I was happy to see succeed. The way they resolved their conflict by being honest, vulnerable, having open communication, was great.

There was a wide arrange of side characters, I didn't necessarily connect with a lot of them. But it was nice to see both main characters have a full life outside of the couple. The attempt at racial diversity with a Chinese side character felt a little off. It had barely a couple scenes. If the author wanted to include more diversity, I would have liked to see the character more developed, give it more dimension than just name dropping them. It was even more jarring because none of the other characters (That I remember) are described or made explicitly non-white.

In general I felt like the book started a little slow, while we got to know more of the characters, but once it picked up about one third into the book it became a captivating fast paced read.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

This had a really similar vibe to The Last Place You Look, which is great considering how much I enjoyed that one.
Twice Shy is a low-drama, sweet little romance. I think the crazy ex part was exaggerated in the blurb, because it doesn't become an issue until near the end, and even then it wasn't that dramatic. Consequently, the conflict was not as bad as the characters made it out to be, but I didn't mind too much.
The protagonists are good together, have enough chemistry, but aren't especially memorable. The most enjoyable side characters were Amanda's kids, and I liked the role they played in the story. Can't say much more than that for fear of spoiling.
I would think that this should be more of a December read, even though it doesn't take place during the holidays. It just doesn't fit with the rest of the October line-up. Four stars.

This is a read about moving on after divorce and giving love/relationship a second chance. The story involves several interesting characters. Amanda Russo, owns a successful bakery and is looking to expand. Amanda is divorced and has two college age children. Quinn Sullivan, architect, is hired to design the bakery remodel. Amanda and Quinn are both likeable and it is not hard to cheer for them. Cal, Amanda's son, is such an open and laid back character and really adds a calmness to the story. On the other hand, his sister, Daniella is busy behind the scenes, working to get their parents back together. Then there is Mel the manipulator, Amanda's ex-wife who is separated from her wife Beth who she left Amanda for and now she wants Amanda back. There were also "helpful" friends.

It would have been good to have more story development and back information about some of the characters I mentioned above. For example, age, ethnicity, and more about who they are. Detail was lacking. In general, this was a low angst romance with entertaining secondary characters.

Tried to read this book. But im more of a person who likes a man and women romance. Maybe someone else will enjoy it

Sometimes it’s really nice to just settle down with a lovely second-chance romance, and let the real world disappear for a while. That’s what I was able to do with Twice Shy by Aurora Rey.

This is a low angst romantic novel about two women in their late forties/early fifties. Amanda is a baker looking to remodel her bakery, and Quinn is an architect hired to do the remodeling. There is chemistry between the two from the moment they meet, but the romance develops slowly in the story. The angst mostly comes from an interfering ex, but also a bit from the college age kids of Amanda. There are also some pretty steamy scenes between Amanda and Quinn as the romance develops, but that is not surprising from this author. Ms. Rey even lets the reader visit with characters from several of her other novels, since they are secondary characters in this tale, and this book is set in the same area as the other novels.

This is an adorable and easy to read love story from an author who is an expert at writing beautiful and low-angst romantic tales. If you need a break from real life and like to read this style of romance, then definitely get this book.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.

Rainbow Reflections: http://rainbowreflections.home.blog/

After reading most of the books put out there by Ms Rey has anyone noticed they seem to have a bit more erotic content in them. Certainly not complaining, just noticing.
Quinn Sullivan was in a relationship that she thought would last. That was until her partner decides she has had enough of Quinn seemingly putting her career ahead of her, so now Quinn was again single. She isn’t looking for another relationship but when she meets Amanda she quickly starts trying to get attention.
Amanda Russo owns and operates the ‘Bake My Day’ turning out the kind of food that keeps her customers coming back. It’s going so good she decides to add floor space giving both her and employees more space while expanding her seating area. Now she’s meeting with Quinn to see what plans she has come up with. Having had a long term relationship that had ended she was open to the idea of perhaps starting dating again. Forget about the fact that she was still having sex with her ex.
A simple story line that Ms Rey has worked into a page turning book. The main characters are both likable while secondary characters are well developed adding some
fun and fast dialogue. All in all a very nice read.
ARC via NetGalley/ Bold Stroke Books

A pretty adorable romance between a laid-back, kind -of-shy architect, and busy baker who's the mother of two. They're both in their late forties, both divorced, Quinn is involved in Amanda's bakery renovation, and their journey to love is sweet, laid-back, realistic, with a few bumps along the road. I really like the premise; Amanda hooks up with her ex wife at the beginning of the book, and the story follows her as she realises what didn't work in her relationship with her ex-wife, and why Quinn might be right for her. It also follows Quinn coming to terms with her own, more recent divorce, and tackling some confidence issues.

I always really love books about older women, and as much as I can love an age-gap, I loved that they were both older, both having had different experiences with being married, coming off of long dry spells, and ultimately fitting so well together. It was pretty low conflict, but I liked the kinds of conflict it DID introduce, with Amanda's ex-wife being determined to get back together, minor stuff with the bakery reno, one of the kids not being entirely cool with Quinn. Speaking of the kids: loved them! Great additions to the story, actually realistically written for teenagers. There were lots of great side-characters actually, and I wouldn't have minded seeing a bit more of some of them. I appreciated some of the casual diversity and the fact that nothing about the plot was... idk, overblown, like it can sometimes get in contemporary romance.

I felt like there was great pacing right up until Quinn and Amanda acknowledged they had romantic feelings for one another? Then it kinda moved a bit too fast for my fast. Abrupt POV-switching, my eternal nemesis, made an appearance.

But otherwise, this was the perfect, fun, light-hearted (and actually pretty steamy) romance. Nothing too surprising about it, but sometimes it's nice to just sit back and absorb a wholesome love story. 3.5 stars.

“Mel is that person. And I know you don’t want to be with her, but she—”

This book is a perfect fit for readers who are looking for a f/f romance where the protagonists are ladies seeking love at later stages of their lives.

With plans to expand her bakery, Amanda was referred to Quinn, an architect whom she took an instant liking to. Both main characters are divorcees who have loved and lost - themselves in their previous marriages. The way that the author wrote about the characters made them easy to love and you can’t help but feel and watch out for them as they rediscover themselves. The saying that when you get older you get wiser did not seem the case for Amanda’s ex, Mel, who was constantly injecting herself between the pair.

Quinn was a delight for me, she was genuine, earnest, respectful and if you ever think that sounds plain, she might just surprise you. Amanda’s close knitted group of friends was also a plus point for me in the story.

I throughly enjoyed the book and would gladly pick up another of the author’s.

I just reviewed Twice Shy by Aurora Rey. #NetGalley

I don't read a lot of romance as it makes me feel sad about my own lack of a love life and while this book was no different in the result at the finish as well as during every beautiful date and steamy sex scene ; I still loved every second of it. The representation was beautiful throughout and every relationship including friends,family and partners is well written. This is one of those books you'll stay up until midnight devouring until your eyes dry out. Many authors will put too many plot twists in a story and muddle it but this is different; each storyline breathes well. Drama ensues but not too much. I loved seeing this romance not just for lesbians but also for older women ; both groups of people are rarely ever seen in romance novels and truly that needs to be changed. I highly recommend this if you need a spark of hope or just a steamy read to get you through the cold winters of your heart.

Twice Shy by Aurora Rey is a fluffy lesbian adult romance that was a quick and easy read! It's one without too much stress which is especially nice if you want something that's reminiscent of a Hallmark channel movie. Except it's lesbians... and they actually have sex... so it's 10x better. The story follows Amanda, a divorced mom of two who owns a bakery and is looking to expand her business. She soon meets Quinn, another divorced middle-aged woman who has little luck finding a spark with any of the women she dates, when she is hired to be Amanda's architect. Aside from some hiccups in the renovations of the bakery and the looming worry of unprofessionalism, there is little in these women's way: except for Amanda's ex-wife and meddling daughter.

The sex scenes were real, they were sexy and there was the right amount of them where it didn't overtake the plot. I loved the butch representation with characters like Quinn and Joss: finding butches in the media is so hard, especially in lesbian romance. Representation is so important and I love how all of Rey's romances feature at least one butch protagonist. Also, the representation of divorced women in their late 40s/early 50s was also great, and not something I've come across in lesbian fiction too often up until this point.

Quinn's shyness was so adorable, and I love how she subverted the stereotype that butches are always dominant; especially in a butchphobic world that demonizes them and claims butches can perpetuate toxic masculinity. With a sweet, patient and communicative butch who I loved, on the other hand you have two characters who just drove me crazy: Mel, Amanda's ex-wife, and Daniella, her 19 year old daughter, are both so immature. Mel is also pretty manipulative and I'm glad to see Amanda wasn't falling for it at all.

How much time was passing throughout the story was a bit confusing, especially because I feel like they and their feelings were progressing so fast for having only been together a month, but I guess that's lesbians for you! I wished there had been more development of the characters' relationship beyond sex and banter; I would've liked to have seen more, deeper conversations between the two of them take place. A lot of their conversations were one just consoling/reassuring the other without much substance and I found them either dry or very surface-level.

The brief mentions of a trans girl character and nonbinary people was great, but I do think there could have been better representation especially in regards to people of colour. The author did not describe any people of colour, which I think is extremely important to name in order for that representation to be explicit. I do wish there had been more descriptions of the characters' appearances in general- especially because I don't have that creative of a mind to imagine them myself!

Overall, if you want an easy and lighthearted lesbian romance, this book is for you!

So. The story of Amanda and Quinn. And Mel.

Technically I think that most readers would probably catergorize Mel as a 'secondary character'. And, yet, I felt like through the whole book she just hung there, above everything. On the one hand it was sort of an interesting thing to read. I mean, it's like in a horror movie (that I don't generally watch), when is the jump scare. You know that it's coming in the movie, but, when is it going to be. It was like, when is Mel gonna jump out and twist the book.

Other than Mel it was a pretty usual sort of lesfic romance. Amanda is finally redoing, enlarging, her bakery, and Quinn is the architect that she hires to do it. As they work together they also get together, slowly, and then not so slowly. But, it's not all smooth sailing, both are divorced (Amanda from Mel, Quinn from someone else), and Amanda has two almost grown kids too.

I really liked how the kids, Cal and Daniella were written, and, the friends/family of both main characters were interestingly written too. And, of course, there was a lot of Aurora Rey universe connections too (they went to Fig, woo!) that were cool. That's always fun.

I liked the book. Although, now I crave that delightful strawberry donut from the beginning. Doh! (and that's saying something, since I'm usually exclusively a Boston Creme or Blueberry filling sort of person).

I was given this ARC by Netgalley on behalf of Bold Strokes Books

First I want to say thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for sending this book to me early in exchange for review.

This romance was like a hallmark movie except it was gay and diverse, so in my opinion better. There was plenty of LGBTQ rep as well as some racial diversity. I also noticed an emphasis on consent which I appreciated.

My biggest criticism would be that the book started out very tame with closed door/fade to black scenes but at the halfway mark suddenly became hot and heavy and pretty explicit which left me feeling like I had whiplash. There were also quite a few side characters which could get confusing at times trying to remember who everyone was especially in larger scenes.

Overall it was a beautiful romance and the characters and their stories were easy to get invested in. It was a fun read and definitely gets a place on my shelf!

I was given a copy of the story in exchange for an honest review.

This is a very relatable story two mature women finding each while navigating careers, family, college age children and sexes.

Quinn is a divorced architect who'd well meaning g sister sets up multiple blind dates.

Amanda is a divorced mother of two and the owner of a thriving bakery.

Quinn and Amanda meet when Amanda decides to expand her business space.

A relationship develops, unexpectedly from there.

Life's complications bring unwanted drama - busy body siblings, misguided exes and children not ready to let go of the dream to reunite a family.

Totally believable personalities and situations - a good read!

This has been a romance with middle-aged protagonists, Amanda is in her forties and has two teenage children and an ex-wife. Quinn is in her fifties. For starters, Amanda has a lot more stuff than Quinn and most of them are hindrances. Quinn has a past, but it doesn't seem to have left her too emotionally charged.

I've never had that maternal instinct and I'm not going to have it anymore, but after reading books like this I'm glad it was that way for me. Because I don't know what I could have done with a selfish teenager, I don't even want to imagine it. And with this I do not want to spoil it, but it is quite common that when in a romance one of the protagonists has an ex and has children, things can end in a bit of a mess.

If it hadn't been for Quinn, this book would have been too much for me and I probably wouldn't have finished it. But there is Quinn. That sometimes seems to want to disappear from the spotlight but she resists and has patience. In the end, she is mature, much more mature than Amanda, thankfully.

So with its ups and downs, this story has been enjoyable and I am glad I was able to overcome the annoyances along its way and have finished it.

When Amanda decides to expand her bakery (Bake My Day), she hires Quinn as the architect to help with the expansion. As Amanda and Quinn spend more time together working on the project, their attraction is undeniable. But with Amanda's ex trying to win Amanda back, will it be possible for Amanda and Quinn to pursue a relationship?
I enjoyed both characters. It was good to see both Amanda & Quinn realize that it was best to leave the past behind and commit to giving the future a chance. Very well done!

Entertaining read by a BSB veteran author that satisfies the butch-femme lovers of romance. However, the surprise of the book isn’t necessarily our couple, but the sparkling dialogue of family and friends surrounding the couple. A wonderful book for a cozy afternoon.

This was my first book by Rey and I have to say I really enjoyed it. It’s over a four star but not quite a five star. I had no idea this book included characters from other Rey books, so I think that speaks as to the ability to read this book as a standalone and still enjoy it - but I’m definitely going to want to read The Last Place You Look and Built to Last now.

I really enjoyed the premise. Amanda is a bakery owner looking to expand her bakery into the shop unit next door. She hires Quinn, an architect, to help her make her vision a reality. It’s clear from their very first meeting that they have chemistry and the storyline revolves around their getting together. It’s a cute, sweet romance, with a satisfying HEA.

I liked both MCs a lot. I enjoyed the scenes of Amanda both at work and being a mother to two teenagers. I thought the balance of her life was expressed really well. I thought it was a shame that her ex had such a big part in the book and it actually caused me a bit of anxiety because I was really enjoying the relationship between Amanda and Quinn and hated the interjections of Mel - but I could understand why it was done this way as I’m sure there are many divorced couples where one or the other person wants to get back together.

I thought Quinn was great, and I really enjoyed her getting to know Amanda’s kids. As someone who has been the person inserted into a ready made family with older children, I thought the way Rey dealt with Quinn’s introduction into the family was done really well. I also enjoyed how the teenage characters were written, especially when it involved discussions on gender and the like.

All in all this book had me smiling a lot and I’d highly recommend it. It doesn’t stray wildly from the traditional romance tropes but it does bring some much needed levity and openness into the mix. I’d happily recommend to any wlw romance fans and I’m looking forward to exploring more Rey.