I had a really great time with this read. I absolutely loved the reverse grumpy sunshine dynamic, and I am a huge fan of all things home renovation. The only reason that I am docking this book one star is because Silas seemed a little *too* perfect. It felt like every time you turned the page he said/did something that made him seem to out of this world perfect. I know that this is a personal thing and that not all readers love overly flawed characters. As a whole I would definitely recommend this book as a fun read to pick up by the pool this summer!

Lucy Score’s “Maggie Moves On” is a sweet and steamy contemporary small town romance that will give you the giggles, the feels, and the swoon all in one. It’s a story about looking around you and seeing if all is well…if the people around you equates to happiness and nothing else matters. “At the end of the day, your quality of life is determined by the people you surround yourself with.”

YouTube renovation celebrity, Maggie Nichols, is in the small town of Kinship, Idaho to do a reno on a Victorian house, which we find out later holds a goldmine of history. She hires a landscaper, Silas Wright - only he’s no ordinary landscaper. Instantly these two connect through a considerable amount of banter and flirting.

While Silas knows he and Maggie are perfect together AND knows he’d go to the ends of the world for her, Maggie continues to self-doubt and thinks of moving on to the next reno. She doesn’t want to need anyone and she’s not keen on the notion of needing anyone else either. And of course this is a struggle when love comes into play.

“Love took on a lot of forms…Sometimes it meant holding tight and planting roots. Other times it meant loving enough to let go.”

But with Silas it proves to be difficult. Silas, at first, comes off as - and I quote - a “possessive egotistical, alpha hero” but as you read on, you get a better glimpse of him through his sister’s eyes: “Silas has this stubborn, overprotective streak. It’s buried deep. But when he gets riled, look out.”

Besides the book being too long for this very slow reader, “Maggie Moves On” was an absolute delight for me. I haven’t even touched on the amazing side characters that you have to find out for yourself. Lucy knows how to develop characters in a way you want to read about them again.

Thanks to Netgalley and Forever Publishing for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Maggie Moves On is a delightful, charming read that takes place in Kinship, Idaho, and Ms. Score did a fabulous job of putting the reader smack dab right in the middle of this small, adorable town. I loved everything about this read – it encompasses every aspect that I adore about small town romances, but this one has a really unique sub-plot (that I’m not going to describe because I don’t want to ruin your enjoyment of it). Silas and Maggie’s slow burn chemistry is off the charts and is obviously the main story line, but there’s the small town comradery among its residents in helping Maggie flip the old dilapidated Campbell House and Maggie’s family secrets and the whole “found” family dynamic that really keeps the reader engaged. I think Kevin and the kittens should get their own spin-off! What adorable fur babies! When I reach the end of a book and feel like I’m saying goodbye to good friends, I know it’s a winner, and I really didn’t want to say goodbye to these characters. Lucy Score certainly knows how to write small town romance and she succeeded with Maggie Moves On. I’m very grateful to have been given the opportunity to read an early copy of this book for NetGalley.

#MaggieMovesOn:

Initial reaction: Lucy Score said this book has enough steam to cook an entire bag of broccoli and give myself a facial. You’ve been warned.

Review: I don’t do instalove, but apparently Lucy Score can change my mind. My gah did I really enjoy this book. Did I find Silas to be a bit too persistent? Yes. Did I find him absolutely charming to really break down Maggie’s walls? Also yes. Maggie was so wonderful and I just adored this book.

What I really liked about this book is that in every romance, there’s a “great misunderstanding” and the characters could have avoided all of the drama with communication. Silas and Maggie didn’t have that. They gave each other space before doing something rash. That’s always been my one quip when it’s so outlandish, so the way this played out was amazing. I want more of THAT. The great misunderstanding did happen, but with a different type of relationship, and I honestly really liked how that played out.

There were little details that I just adored and made this book. I love that the Campbell’s portrait was in the home and she would talk to it like a person. That’s exactly what I would have done. 😂 There’s a bit of a treasure hunt/mystery with the legend of the gold in the town and that was so neat. I liked that aspect of the story as it broke up the romance sections.

Nothing like a little adventure, a fun home reno, and a pittie to really swoon me. This steam indeed could have cooked broccoli! I cried happy tears for the ending. This book had high potential for me and it didn’t let down. Thank you so much @forever for the gifted copy. Maggie Moves On is out 6/21!

Thank you to Forever Publishing and Lucy Score for the digital reading copy. Review contains my own thoughts and opinions.

This book was just everything! Romance, mystery, found family (including an “adopted” teen and grumpy grandpa), cute and naughty pets, spicy scenes galore, MCs in their 30s. It’s longer than an average rom-com but every page is worth it!

Lucy Score has written (in my mind) the book of the summer. There’s so much heart and heat - I just loved Maggie Moves On!

Absolutely loved this book especially the mystery story line, the insta love hero, the signs and the band of furry cast members.

Maggie moves on combines my two favorite things: romance novels and house flipping shows! It was fun reading a book that had so many things I love (cough cough fry sauce) and it reminded me of how good Lucy is at doing her cultural research for the area she’s setting her books in! Those little Idaho touches were truly a gem. I’m a hardcore Lucy fan and will read anything she writes. Her writing always fully immerses me to a point where I will read way longer then I had time for. This is one of Lucy’s longer books, I’m someone who enjoys long books due to getting massive book hangovers; however I did feel like it could have been a little more condensed. I was a little disappointed at the lackluster epilogue since typically Lucy gives a substantial flash forward, however I’m hoping she’ll give us a bonus epilogue at some point! For the first time I felt like the tone was a little off with one of her main characters. I’m a sucker for a grumpy lead but Silas came across as more of a a**hole. I kept thinking to myself that if one of my girlfriends were in the situations he put Maggie in I’d be letting them know I was concerned it wasn’t a healthy relationship. Overall I enjoyed reading the book, it just didn’t leave me itching for it to become a series the way her other recent books have.

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

This is a cute romance with a workaholic girlfriend and a small-town boyfriend. The couple flirted from the moment they met and the chemistry was super cute plus the other characters were lovable. I did have a few issues with the writing, however.

I found the "what's a youtube" type comments to be super forced and uncomfortable, given that they were coming from a 37-year-old man and not an octogenarian. It just broke my immersion and this plus a few one-off comments/moments made me cringe beyond the normal funny romance way.

The treasure hunting plot was also a fun addition but ended up feeling too rushed and complicated at the end since we only got into it like halfway through the story and had very few details until the final chapters.

Overall I thought this was a cute romance and I'd read another book by this author but I don't think I'll reread this one or consider it a favorite.

Plot- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Characters- ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Writing- ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Overall 3.75 stars

Lucy Score just keeps giving me all the feels in each and every book. I loved the story the MC and all the supporting cast. She makes me laugh and swoon and just want to read more. Maggie flips houses, has a famous YouTube channel, and has major commitment issues. Her newest flip is her biggest yet and when she hires Silas as a landscaper set gets more than she bargained for. Oh this book is just fabulous.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Maggie Moves On feels like it might be all of my favorite things in one book. As Maggie Moves On opens, Maggie, a house flipper who capitalizes on her craft by sharing the stories of her homes with her nearly 1M YouTube subscribers, is moving on to a new project. She’s just finished an amazing beach house and is now in Western Idaho to rehab a dilapidated showplace that’s over a century old. Enter Silas, the owner of a local landscaping business Maggie’s business partner called for a scope of work and price estimate. I don’t want to say more about the plot other than this is a steamy, open door romance full of colorful language, snark, and a bit of a mystery.

Maggie Moves On is another example of what I’ve loved about Score’s other books that I’ve read, the main characters are layered and complex, slowly revealed as the story unfolds and we meet more of their supporting cast and dig deep into the web of relationships. She writes witty dialogue, real struggles, and pulls the reader into the world of the book. So, yes, I loved reading this book. It has great writing, two complex leads, and the rehabbing of a fantastic old home. It was also full of big feelings for me because of some of the character development – like you know when you’re crying reading a book because of how seen you feel even though it’s not a particularly tear-jerky sort of scene you’re reading? Just me? That’s fine, the point is here are big feels on both the individual and the couple level, and the only thing that makes me sad about this book is that it’s wrapped up with a fairly sizeable bow at the end, leading me to think we’re not likely to get a series spinning off of Maggie Moves On, but a reader can still hope.

Does Mid-life crisis include buying a large, DIY Historical lot, making YouTube videos, and hiring a hot-headed, suave landscaper who believes you're his future wife?

This book had me thinking about it a lot! I couldn’t stop laughing within the first 30 or so pages! The humor fit so well, and I fell head over heels for the lovable fur baby named Kevin! I was honestly enjoying the slow building transformation of the Old Campbell place. Dean, the very smooth, but quirky videographer was my favorite character!

This book wasn’t incredibly memorable to the fact that Silas constantly pushed Maggie into certain circumstances/feelings that had me upset quite a bit. He seemed to want control of a relationship he happened to fall into with her. I enjoyed their consistency of banter, and the relationships made with his family between them.

Overall this was a cheesy rom com, that definitely leaves its roots planted in your mind.


Thank you to @readforever publishers and Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for a review!

This book was an absolute delight from start to finish. It follows Maggie who relocates to Idaho to remodel a Queen Anne mansion for her YouTube channel. She hires flirty landscape architect Silas to assist with the project and the two begin a fling that leads to feelings. While working to restore the house, they learn secret’s about the family who previously owned the house. The pair are surrounded by quirky friends, family members, and animals that all serve to enhance the story.

From literally the first chapter, the book had me enchanted. It was funny and filled with heart in a way that most rom-com’s which they could be. I adored Maggie. She was competent, smart, and knew herself. Silas is the type of guy that in real life I find extremely annoying, but he totally works in a book. I think they are an adorable couple and think they’re perfect for each other. Their banter had me laughing and their chemistry had me swooning. Like I said the side characters all added to the story and kept the pace of the book moving. While the main couple in this book was cis-het and white, the side characters included really sweet LGBTQ and BIPOC representation, which was greatly appreciated, especially for a book set in Idaho (I’m from Utah, I know what it’s like there).

This was my first book my Lucy Score and now I’m going to have to go back and read all her other books. Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Maggie Nichols is a rising YouTube home renovation star about to undertake her biggest project yet. To do so, she will need an incredible landscaper. Silas Wright believes he is the right man for the job, really any job that Maggie would need help with. Silas is smitten upon first sight of Maggie and her run down estate. His dog, Kevin, is as well.
Maggie is a headstrong woman that is making her own path with no interest in slowing down. And she is not going to let anyone dictate how her life should go. I loved how she could dish the sarcasm right back from the very start. Salis is sure Maggie is the missing piece to his almost perfect mixed matched family. And his family is a very interesting bunch. There is also a little bit of a mystery that keeps you reading just to know how everything will end along with the HEA. Lucy did a very good job of highlighting all her writing abilities in her first traditionally published book.
This book is good, it just is missing something I cannot pinpoint for me. Maybe because I never loved HGTV or manual labor. I mean, I have watched my fair share of home renovation shows but I am usually there for the drama rather than the actual reno. So maybe that was my issue? I wanted Dean’s story more than Maggie’s. It is a me thing and will not deter me from reading everything Lucy publishes.

I loved this HGTV-esque house renovation in Idaho. Maggie shares her house flipping adventure on her YouTube channel and her next project is a huge Victorian mansion. Will she fall for the hotlandscaper she hires to help on the project?

First I love anything home reno! The YouTube star aspect is fun and Kevin the dog stole the show! The town is exactly what you want in a small town, Silas's family is the best and the mystery about the house and gold was a fun aspect.

Read this for a great rom-com you don't want to put down!

Maggie flips houses, films the process for her highly successful YouTube channel, and then moves on to the next town and starts the process over again. But she doesn't anticipate Kinship, Idaho and the Old Campbell House earning a place in her heart, and she really doesn't anticipate the hot landscaper, Silas, who immediately makes plans to make Maggie his.

Lucy Score has once again written a book that I couldn't put down for the life of me. Along with a steamy and amazing romance, this book has a chunky pitbull that failed support dog training, hysterical and meddling family members, a best friend/business partner that never fails to entertain, and a mystery surrounding a stage coach robbery with a treasure that was never recovered.

I can't say enough good things about this book, and about this author.

Thank you to Forever Publishing for providing me with an ARC of this book in return for my honest review.

Like any other Lucy Score book-I was hooked with this one. From the first page. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and I'm fairly certain Lucy can't write a book that I won't read. 

The chemistry between Maggie and Silas was just so refreshing and lovely. Silas knew what he wanted from the very beginning and wasn't there to play games.

Maggie just needed a little push. 

This small town, feel-good, romance was full of quirky characters and the typical Lucy Score happy ending.

Lucy Score strikes again!!! She has quickly become an auto-buy author for me and this book seals the deal even more! Maggie Moves On is a refreshing take on the grumpy x sunshine trope where the female is the grump! Maggie has a difficult past with loss and loneliness and only wants to keep grinding away at her job to stay busy, until she meets the RAY of sunshine that is Silasand quite literally jumps into a new way of enjoying life. I truly felt a part of this small town story and the addition of a little mystery within the plot was the perfect touch to this beautiful read. I can’t wait for everyone to add this to their TBR and rave about it with us.

Thank you to @netgalley and @readforeverpub for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Maggie Moves On is such a cute but steamy romantic comedy between Maggie Nichols, a popular YouTube house flipper, and Silas Wright, the landscaper on her latest project. Add in the underlying mystery element and the wonderful cast of supporting characters and their storylines (Kevin the service dog school dropout steals the show every time!) and this is such a great book. It really reminded me of Abby Jimenez’s Part of Your World. There’s he-falls-first, found family, opposites attract, and grumpy-sunshine. I never thought I’d be a big fan of small town romance but the house and the town in this book have me converted! Plus, the chemistry between Silas and Maggie feels very authentic, even when they’re denying it.

What a FABULOUS book! If you enjoy spicy small-town romances, pick this up immediately! You may also love this book if you enjoy romance stories where the man falls first or if you're a fan of home renovation TV shows.

This is my second read by Lucy Score and I realize there are qualities in both of the books I have read that really make them unique. Below are a few of those characteristics and how they showed up in this book:
1. Small Town Romance. There is something so idyllic about the towns that Lucy Score creates. She showcases their history and makes her reader fall in love with the settings. The backdrop of Kinship was a wonderful place to set this story.

2. Side Stories and Side Characters. This book was more than 400 pages, which gave the author plenty of room to introduce AND develop the side characters and additional storylines. What I've grown to LOVE about Lucy Score is how invested she makes me feel in her secondary characters. Could this book have existed without a few of them? Yeah, probably. But I loved this entire book because of how many additional storylines there were and how they all managed to compliment one another. She shares their stories so warmly and thoroughly that I believe they absolutely add to the book.

3. Something to Uncover. In both of the Lucy Score books I've read, there was something I couldn't name that kept me turning the page. I know there would be a reveal or a twist or an unexpected addition to the story. I knew something was coming, and adding a slight mystery to a romance novel was a fun addition.

Overall, this book is a 5/5 for me and I'll be reading Lucy Score's entire backlist.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for an ARC of this story. It was a joy to read!

I have read Lucy Score's Riley Thorne novel and I completely loved it. So, when I saw she had this new one coming out I was over the moon to read it.

My thoughts? It needs some heavy editing. There are so many long scenes with so many characters that don't really need to be there. The family gathering and the bar /dinner scenes could really be paired down. Especially, the awkward one with the ex girlfriends 19 yr old cousin. Not needed. Additionally, the scene with the ex girlfriend stopping by to tell Maggie she's leaving town doesn't need to be there. It serves no purpose to move the plot along.

Now, for Silas. His character is sliding toward pompous, narcissistic, ass. As someone who has been in an abusive relationship, the way he is written, he screams partner abuse red flags. Way too much narcissism and controlling going on. It doesn't endear him to the reader.

All that said, I loved Maggie's character and the home improvement/fixer upper plot. Honestly, Dean's character saved the book from being a 2 star. I give him a whole star. More focus should have been put on him and Maggie's relationship and how it could support her potential relationship with Silas.