Clearly, this is a work of romantic fiction. I enjoyed it but I will admit to getting very aggravated with the female protagonist. Maybe I'm just getting too old but at times I wanted to shake her. I know-- there would be no story if there were no conflict but still... I keep thinking about how I would have acted at the protagonist's age. Probably much as she did. And the more mature me would like to shake the younger me right along with the protagonist... So, take that all as you will. 😉 In the end, I did enjoy the book and found myself hoping for a sequel-- the sort of sequel that picks up fairly soon after this story, not the type with a different set of characters who were secondary in this book; I am now invested in this couple and want to know what happens next in their lives.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Hooked On You totally drew me in with that gorgeous cover. I read the description and it sounded like a cute romance - Riley returns to her small town after many years in NYC because her grandmother was injured and needs help with her yarn store. While there, she reconnects with Hayden - the guy she had a crush on in high school.

Unfortunately, the story didn’t work out for me as I hoped. It was a quick read but I felt the romance was lacking - never got those butterfly feelings. I also felt like the pacing was off - extremely slow and then suddenly very rushed at the end. This may be a good fit for someone looking for a very PG rated romance.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance reading copy.

I was drawn to wanting to read Hooked On You by Kathleen Fuller when I realized that it took place in Arkansas. As an Arkansas native, it’s not a setting you see in many books. A bonus was that one of my favorite lake towns (Hot Springs) was mentioned frequently throughout! What fun to get to read things you know in books.

Hooked On You was a fun romance / dramedy and the banter between the characters was quirky and fun. There is a multigenerational cast and seeing the interaction between everyone was realistic southern culture. I also enjoyed the main characters and the blossoming romance between them. The romance was closed door and slow burn so this should appeal to readers looking for a hallmark type story!

My only complaints would be that the story dragged a bit at places. There was also a somewhat random storyline thrown in towards the end of the novel that, while plausible, just seemed to be distracting.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson - Fiction and NetGalley for the digital arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. Hooked On You would be a perfect waterside read for many this summer!

3.5 Stars

In Hooked on You, readers are introduced to Riley, Hayden, and more people from the town of Maple Falls.

Riley doesn’t want to return to the town where she grew up but when her grandmother calls and asks her to come home, she can’t refuse. The first person she meets up with upon her return is Hayden, a guy she had a crush on as a teenager but now wants nothing to do with.

I enjoyed my introduction to Maple Falls—especially Riley’s grandmother and the Bosom Buddy squad. The ladies who came alongside Riley also enhanced the story (and I hope they are where this series continues). And Hayden is a genuinely good guy.

Yet, I was left wanting more from Riley as her character wasn’t fully fleshed out. Yes, we know about her mom and some of the challenges growing up but not given many specifics. There is a scene near the end with her grandmother that is too melodramatic for the character and I would have liked more dimension to Riley’s mother.

Overall, if you enjoy angsty small town romance, this one might be for you.


Disclosure statement: I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book and was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.

Going into "Hooked on You" I was really looking forward to a funny, lighthearted romance, but I got much more. Riley and Hayden together were adorable. I enjoyed the banter, but the conversations they had about opening up about their pasts were my favourite. I wish we had gotten a little more from Riley's past traumas. That could have definitely been flushed out a lot more, because the reactions she has to seeing her mom were traumatic. Overall, I'm still glad I read it.

A pretty good story to start what I hope will be a good series. The story was good and kept me reading but it felt a little dull to me.

This is a cute story with a lot of depth.

Riley has a lot of baggage that she has never really dealt with and when everything unravels for her she doesn’t know how to deal with it.

Hayden is a wonderful hero, patient and kind, just what Riley needs, but doesn’t want.

I will say it wasn’t until the last 25% of this book that I was really “hooked”. But it really was a good read with a cast full of wonderful characters I hope I will get to see more of in the future.


A copy of this book was given to me through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

✨Review✨

Hooked on You by Kathleen Fuller
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“How about we stop analyzing this and just live in the moment. Why don't we just enjoy the time we spend together without worrying about what comes next”
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This was a great start to what is the Maple Falls series. It had some really wonderful supporting characters that made it a great read.

The main character, Riley, had some major issues because of her upbringing. All throughout the book she seemed to be handling things decently, but toward the end when her mom came back, I was compeltely turned off and almost stopped reading because of Riley's overreactions. How the situation was handled really put a sour taste to the last quarter of the book. As a reader, I believe there is a way to present conflict in a story tastefully and although things were resolved, I still felt really bad for how Riley handled the situation with Erma and Hayden for something that was out of either of their control.

I really liked Hayden and was especially pleased how Hayden's conversation with his dad turned out at the end. His dad's reason for selling the store brought back the sweetness back into the story that I loved.

I look forward to reading more of this series!

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for the opportunity to read and review this book in return for an honest review!
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Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️🌟(3.5)/5

Hooked On You
Maple Falls Romance #1
By Kathleen Fuller

Riley McAllister is living her dream life - at least that is what she is presenting to her followers on social media. So yeah, that may be a bit of an exaggeration. Sure her bank account is inching closer to the red. And she may have to have a second job to support her dream job. But image is everything and online she is lookin' good.

But then she gets "the call" - her grandmother, Mimi, has broken her leg and needs her to come home and help her out. Maple Falls is the last place she ever wanted to return to. Returning home is admitting defeat and that she may have made a mistake - Nope not happening ever! But she's not about to leave Mimi in need. A quick trip should soon set everything right and she can get back to NYC and the perfect world she created for herself even if it isn't real but it is hers.

Hayden Price had finally made it to the major league until an injury sidelined him permanently. Now he's using his baseball skills to coach Maple Falls newest softball team. It's not his dream but he is glad to be home with his family and friends. What he doesn't realize is that Riley's Mimi is about to play matchmaker and he's her choice for Riley. Now she may have ulterior motives but she has Riley's best interests at heart. But you can't force something no matter how much you want to.

Hooked on You is a sweet read. Riley is a broken person (whether or not she knows it) and her grandmother Erma wants more than anything for Riley to see herself for the person she truly is. But Riley has been taught from a young age that she can trust no one and it is the one lesson from her mother that she has taken to heart, that and she doesn't want to be seen as a failure like her mother was.

Maple Falls is the perfect small town. That isn't to say that life is perfect here but if you want to experience small-town living this book will let you do so without having to relocate. Everyone knows everything about you (and if they don't know all the details they can make an educated guess which may or may not be correct) and they are more than willing to make it their business to help you achieve the perfect life. It's not that they're nosy or busybodies, nope it is just that they care! And if they can help you find romance, friendship, and a place to belong they are more than willing to give it a go.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations but that I provide my honest opinion. All thoughts expressed are my own.

This is a sweet first book in a new series by a new-to-me author! (And the book cover is sure gorgeous, isn’t it?)

One of my family members owns a local yarn shop; while I don’t partake in fiber crafts myself, it was still neat to have the connection, learn more about store ownership (of something other than books, which would be my stock of choice!), and appreciate more what goes into this type of endeavor. And softball practice was a hoot, and I loved that Mimi was still going strong with it at 72. Talk about #goals!

I expected more of a faith element in this read; it’s definitely there, but less present than I felt it could have been. Riley in particular has a number of issues (and understandably so); I hope to see her grow in faith throughout the series. It’s great she has Mimi, and we do see quite a progression of allowing others into her life and developing (both romantic and platonic) goals.

Great world building; I especially enjoyed the talk about revamping the town and ways its residents could liven things up again. Looking forward to future releases!

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Hooked On You by Kathleen Fuller is the first A Maple Falls Romance. I have mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed the descriptions of the mixed media art, Maple Falls, and the grandmother’s yarn shop. I loved Erma McAllister, Riley’s grandmother. She is a lively character with a big heart. I hope I am as spirited as Erma when get to be her age. I also enjoyed Erma’s group of friends called the Bosom Buddies. I am not a fan of Riley McAllister with her numerous issues. I found her to be overly dramatic especially later in the book in a scene with Erma. Reading about Riley and her various troubles just made me anxious. I like to become immersed in books (relax and enjoy), but I was unable to with Hooked On You. There is limited character development. We learn more about the main characters as the story progresses in a piecemeal fashion. The story moves at a slower pace until the ending which felt rushed. I also thought the dialogue was awkward (stilted). Personally, I feel that Maple Falls with Erma (as an amateur sleuth) and the Bosom Buddies (helping her investigate the crimes) would make the great basis for a cozy mystery series. Hooked on You was not a good fit for me. I was not able to get into the story. I ended up skimming parts of the book until I reached the end. I suggest you obtain a sample of Hooked On You to see if it is a book that you would enjoy. Different books appeal to different people (that is their beauty). Hooked On You is a lighthearted Christian romance about finding love, family, friendships, and forgiveness.

Hooked on You by Kathleen Fuller

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
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Story Notes

Kathleen Fuller offers readers a sweet story of finding your purpose and the love you're looking for in the last place ever expected - home.

Riley McAllister has been mostly living her dream life in the bustling art world of New York and is hoping for a breakthrough with her work soon. While everything is not what she had hoped for when she moved here, at least she isn't in pokey little Maple Falls. But her hometown comes calling with the news that her grandmother, the one that raised her, has broken her leg making a spectacular slide into third base. Mimi asks Riley to come home for a time and help her run her yarn shop until she is back on her feet and Riley agrees - all the while hoping that she can finally convince Mimi to sell the shop and find a house with a friend. Her return to Maple Falls is nicer than she hoped for and while Riley has no plans to stay, she tries to be kind to those welcoming her. She makes unexpected friends quickly and has a chance at love with her former crush, Hayden Price. But Hayden has his own problems to work out and Riley still believes that her future is in New York. What will it take to convince her that the purpose, love and home she is really searching for is right where she least expected it - in sweet old Maple Falls. I loved this lovely story about returning home. While some might see it as a bit Hallmark-y, I would definitely say it's more than that. Riley's search for belonging and peace stems from her tumultuous past and that created some very good tension in the story. She has much to be thankful for and many who love her but she's not quite able to see what they see in her. Hayden challenged her to really see what she's got and how much her talents matter. Their romance is really well done with just enough spice to make it fun but plenty of sweet to make it swoony. I will certainly be recommending this story to others in the hope that they will enjoy it as much as I did. I will also be looking forward to reading the next stories in what is sure to be a wonderful series.

I received this temporary complimentary E-book from Thomas Nelson Fiction via NetGalley in order to provide a fair and honest review. I will receive no fiscal compensation for this review and the opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.

Hooked On You is a nice start to a small town series. I liked seeing these two characters, who both crushed on each other in high school, actually have a chance at a real relationship now that they were adults. That being said, Riley did not make anything easy in this story!

It was clear from the beginning that Riley had huge self esteem issues. She felt unworthy of love and expected to get hurt by anyone she got close to, so she kept herself separate emotionally from people. However, Hayden began to break down those walls and Riley began to fall for him.

It was hard watching Riley seemingly sabotage any progress she and Hayden made because of her fear of getting too close. I was happy with the way things wrapped up in this story, however, if this were real life, marriage counseling to help Riley learn how to trust and openly communicate with Hayden would be a necessity.

This book introduced a fun community of characters and I look forward to reading future books in this series.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

After almost a decade of being away from the closest thing she can call a hometown, Riley receives a phone call from her grandmother that she's injured herself sliding into third base. She asks Riley to come home and help her run her yarn shop, While home, she and her high school crush, Hayden decide that the shop along with her Mimi's house need some repairs. And while their at it, all of Maple Falls could use some sprucing up. As these two work together, you can see their friendship forming as well as an attraction between them. I enjoyed reading the organic relationship. It felt neither rushed or dragging. Just natural and blossoming. I wish there had been a little deeper delve into Riley's backstory, but I appreciate that's not always the focus of the story. I think my favorite part was the sweet, close relationship between Riley and Erma, her mimi! It is so precious to read about the closeness that grandmother's and granddaughters can share even into adulthood! I enjoyed my time in Maple Falls and look forward to returning for book two!

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

Hooked on You is the first book in Kathleen Fuller’s new series Maple Falls. Riley McAllister left Maple Falls, planning not to return until she was a successful artist, but when her grandmother breaks her leg sliding into third base (yes, she was playing community softball!), Riley comes home to help.

Hayden Price made it to the Major Leagues before an injury sent him home for good. Now trying to rebuild his life in Maple Falls, including coaching the church softball team, he sees the town with fresh eyes. Like the the girl he once knew in high school, the granddaughter of his assistant coach.

As soon as I read that this story had baseball and a yarn store in it, I knew I would love it. And I did! There are scenes around the community softball practice and scenes where Riley appraises the yarn. For someone who is a yarn aficionado (okay, someone who has a yarn collecting hobby, er, problem), I could totally picture those scenes.

Riley and Hayden are excellent characters, too. They are easy to relate to and love. I especially liked how Hayden’s picture of Riley related to their past. And wow did Riley have a tough past. As much as I wanted Riley and Hayden to get their happily ever after, I didn’t want the story to end. That also means I can’t wait to return to Maple Falls in book two!

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I received a complimentary copy of this book from JustRead Tours. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC guidelines.

Hooked on You is the first book in the new Maple Falls series, and it was a great start for the series. It was a new-to-me author and I found it to be a fun small-town clean romance. The pacing was perfect, and the storyline was developed. The characters were wonderful especially the Bosom Buddies “BB.” The BB were a group of elderly women who had been friends forever and who liked to meddle a little in others’ lives.
Riley McAllister’s mother had never been reliable and finally, when Riley was twelve years old, she moved in with her grandmother Mimi. During high school, Riley tried to blend in and not get noticed because she did not want to answer questions about her earlier life. She tended to be a loner but still noticed Hayden in high school. She left Maple Falls for New York to pursue her career as an artist. She had not returned to Maple Falls until the day her Mimi calls and asks Riley to come home and help her since she broke her leg.
Hayden Price worked his entire life to make it to the pro-baseball league but ends up injuring his pitching arm during his first league game. He returns to Maple Falls to help with the family’s store. He hopes to rejuvenate the town to draw more people to the stores on Main Street. Hayden feels somewhat responsible for Mimi breaking her leg. He was glad to pick Riley up from the airport because he had always noticed her in high school but was too busy with baseball to ever do anything about it.
Riley and Hayden both feel the chemistry between them but staying in Maple Falls is not Riley’s plan. She plans on staying long enough to help her grandmother and then return to New York. It was great to see Riley open up and let Hayden in because she tended to keep everyone at a distance.
This was a sweet and clean romance with some humor and wonderful friendships. I loved meeting the other characters and look forward to seeing them in future books.

Riley has to rush home to take care of her grandmother who has broken her leg. Of course, the one person to pick her up at the airport is the last person she'd want to see. What is her high school crush and the most famous person in Maple Falls doing at the airport? Enter the matchmaking group of her grandmother and her friends. Small towns and old wounds are tough to deal with after 10 years.
Lost of the past has to be rehashed in the sweet romantic story about coming home to small town America.

Hooked on You by Kathleen Fuller is a sweet, slower paced, small town romance. The cover was the first thing that drew me to this book. In the blurb it describes this story as a “lighthearted romantic comedy” which I’m always in the mood for.

Unfortunately, I struggled to connect with Riley. She was a bit too dramatic at times and even though she liked Hayden, when she was with him, it seemed like she was always trying to get away from him. Hayden was my favorite character, but I struggled to see why he was so drawn to Riley.

I enjoyed the small town feel and I really enjoyed Riley’s grandma, Erma, and her friends. If you enjoy small town romance, this might be the story for you!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

This is a sweet yet drama-filled "coming home" story about a young woman who traded small town life for the Big Apple in an effort to not only further her art career but also to escape the dark shadow of her mother. Riley loved living with her feisty grandmother, Mimi, but small town gossip about her drug-addict mother left her feeling vulnerable and with some serious trust issues. When Mimi breaks her leg during a softball game, though, Riley is forced to come home to help care for her... and possibly show everyone that she is nothing like her mother. Hayden, the local baseball star whose career ended too soon, is happy to be home despite the circumstances. He's always loved small town life and can't wait to help his father run their family hardware store. But when he runs into Riley, whom he went to high school with, he realizes he wants his priorities to include Riley, too, if only she would open up to him a bit. Riley's ready to take on Mimi's rehabilitation - and not just for Mimi's physical health but also for her home and fledgling knitting store - but is she also ready to take on love? Is she ready to finally open up to someone else and learn to trust again?

Thoughts:If you're looking for a multi-faceted PG-13 romance, this one's for you! What it's lacking in your typical lust-filled romance it makes up for in character depth and storyline drama. This is more love story than actual romance, but there's still plenty of chemistry between the two main characters. And each has a significant amount of character development throughout the story, with some serious topics such as drug addiction, child abandonment, adoption, and depression, all coming to the surface. While I wasn't necessarily swooning over this couple, I liked both main characters and found myself empathizing with both as they figured out how to navigate their own difficulties and how they could grow together.

Riley McAllister heads to Maple Falls, Arkansas to help her Mimi. It has been nine years since she came back. She wanted to come back to her hometown an accomplished artist. But New York City was a tough place to make a living as an artist. Things have changed in this small town she used to call home. She finds herself wanting to help get things back in order now that her Mimi was down for the count.

Hayden Price is back at Maple Falls, Arkansas to pick up the pieces of his life. An injury had shattered his dreams of being a professional athlete. Now he’s back to help in the family business. He’s had a year of healing and is ready to start another chapter in his life. But when he comes home, he finds out things have changed. Changes he never would have suspected.

Mimi is part of a baseball team, and she asks Riley to fill in for her as she recovers. Hayden is head of the team. Both feel awkward around the other. Hayden was very popular in school; Riley thought she was invisible. She finds out differently. Both are trying to figure out the next steps to take in their lives.

Mimi and her friends try to play matchmaker until they realize they aren’t good at it and agree to let nature run it’s course.

This was a sweet, charming story with characters I enjoyed. It makes for an entertaining summer read!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have received a complimentary copy of this book by the publisher through NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Nora St. Laurent
TBCN Where Book Fun Begins!
The Book Club Network blog www.bookfun.org