I voluntarily agreed to read and honestly review this book.
To me this story shows how two people can take what should have been and changing it into what can be. It shows us that with the communication lines being open, speaking truthfully and honestly to each other, you can build the relationship you both want to have. It reminds me of that ages-old adage: Speak from your heart.

This book has all the makings of a really fun rom-com. But I read just 10% of it and found it had a lot of f-words already. When I searched the Kindle copy on the device, I saw the book has over 100 instances of just that strong profanity, so I just decided to cut my losses and stop reading. There was also a scene at the very beginning where a drunk main character gropes the other one.

(NOTE: My site exists to help readers -- adults-- who don't want to read books with a lot of profanity or other strong content. There are thousands of sites that simply review books. Mine is to serve the many readers who are looking for cleaner reads. If I know early in reading that a book won't be clean, I will give it a pass and let my site visitors know. If I don't share the content information I do know about it, then my readers will be going in blind if they hear someone else recommend it. So I do give it a basic rating so they know what the content is: If they are looking for a clean read, this won't be it for them. It has nothing to do with the quality of the writing or how fun the book is, etc. It's just that some readers won't want to come across the content.)

Shelby, a former child star has spent the last ten years trying to overcome her days as a child star. Her mother treated her as a commodity and she was horribly betrayed by her now ex-boyfriend and ex-best girlfriend, both who were and are horribly vapid egomaniacs with zero awareness of anyone other than themselves. Ugh. They cooked up a plan for their own career advancement and cheated on Shelby, humiliated her publicly and lied to make the world believe it was all her fault. After a major public meltdown she left Hollywood and headed home to her dad. She wanted to start anew and let let go of all of the cesspool of truly despicable people associated with it and her former life. She is now back home and working with her dad. Her new creative outlet is finding and giving new life to old furniture. She is a true artisan. That she doesn’t recognize her new passion is a metaphor for her life shows just how in her head she still is. She mostly wants to be forget everything about her Hollywood experience with the exception of Cameron, a former co-star and the first and honestly only true love. Their last time together didn’t pan out the way she thought she wanted it to. He was a true stand up person who wanted to be there for her, but wasn’t willing to be used. When her ex comes calling for she and Cameron to host a reality show about home rehabbing she says yes, only to be able to create a financial cushion for her beloved dad. We all know reality TV is all scripted, but when Lyle the snake (the truly smarmy ex) starts playing games to make them look bad and inept, they work together to not only do a great job, but to in their own way get even and work the situation to their advantage, Lyle, who with his massive ego cannot possibly fathom anyone being smarter than him or liking anyone more than his charming self ultimately gets his and Shelby and Cameron find their way back to each other. It’s a sweet, funny, witty listen that leads to a great HEA. This was a great introduction to this author for me. Looking forward to listening or reading more of her work.

Read as an e-arc, this 2nd chance troupe was an enjoyable read. A Hollywood vibe and mid-west setting of G.R. Michigan. The main characters had a strong development and the secondary characters enriched the story.

Overall, I appreciated the setting and home improvement show background. I wish there was more diversity in the book. Note slow burn romance for those that need to have more heat quickly.

Shelby and Cameron are former child pop stars and each other’s first loves. After years apart, they were hired to film a reality show about flipping houses.

Now they are trying to navigate their lingering feelings, clear up their MANY miscommunications, and figure out if they have a chance to rebuild their love.

While I was frustrated by their lack of communication at times, I did find myself enamored by this romance book.

WOW I loved this book!! I am so glad I got a chance to read it. It is a wonderful romantic, witty and fun read! I look forward to a sequel!

I love the former friends to estranged friends to lovers trope. I also really loved having both POVs for this book. The misscommunications at time were a little annoying though they finally moved past that toward the end. I liked the tv show aspect of this. Home renovations books are really popular this year and I’m really loving that trend!

3.5 stars, rounded up. Built to Last is a sweet, spicy, open door second chance romance. Shelby and Cameron are reunited in Michigan, years after their public time together as teenagers on a tv show ended. They have both been through a lot during their time apart, but when they have a chance to work together again on a home improvement show, sparks fly. Their co-star during their teenage acting years (and Shelby’s ex!) happens to be the show runner for this new show, and he jealously tries to cause trouble, for Shelby in particular. I adored Shelby and Cameron, and how they handled the drama and their feelings for one another. The supporting characters were also well done. This story isn’t very deep and is somewhat predictable as many rom-coms are, but it is laugh out loud funny in parts and is a sweet story.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

I gave this a five out of five stars. I loved the friendships and romantic relationships. This is on my list of favorite books now. I can’t wait to get a physical copy for my collection!

Erin Hahn can do no wrong in my opinion! This was her first rom com and I absolutely loved it. It was sweet, hopeful, romantic and dreamy. It was a great second chance romance that shows what happens when time and experiences teaches you what you've had all along. I loved Shelby's strength and Cameron was so great as well. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

I really enjoyed this sweet light hearted romance.

I liked the real honest family dynamics. I loved the character growth! I loved the idea of a house flipping show where these two meet again, as an HGTV fan. I was not a fan of Lyle at all.

Overall, this was a cute, fun lighthearted read.
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Built to Last is a fun rom-com about child stars Shelby Springfield, Cameron Riggs, and Lyle Jessup. Ten years ago their super successful show ended. Cameron took off for college while Shelby was in love with him, and Lyle swooped in to sweep Shelby off her feet. Except Lyle turned out to be a liar and a cheat. Now he’s trying to get the gang back together for a new home improvement reality show. With Cameron and Shelby in front of the camera and Lyle calling the shots, there is always a surprise about to happen. Lyle is still bitter that Shelby has always loved Cameron, and Cameron is always running away afraid to find out what will happen if he stays with Shelby. When they have several months filming and working closely together, it’s hard for Cameron and Shelby to forget the past and the love they have for each other. This was a fun, quick read, and the characters were fun to get to know.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

The romance in this story was ok. Would have liked more about the house restoration. It seemed a little slow and drawn out. No real surprises. Would make a good Hallmark movie.

This was a really fun second chance/childhood sweethearts romance and I loved reading through it! If this is the kind of romance story that you are looking for, this is definitely the one for you! It was so sweet!

I was hoping to get more out of this than Hahn's YA title that I had previously read; however, I had an opposite issue of struggling with the romance in this. Bummer.

I think that this was a cute second chance romance. I think the author does a good job of painting that picture and getting the background story developed to paint the picture for the rest of the book. I feel like this book started off well and then the characters and everything else sort of fell flat. I wasn't as wow-ed or swooning for the two main characters in the beginning. It really felt like puppy love and that just wasn't for me.

The author does do a great job of really making you feel for the characters though. Lyle, definitely felt disgust for him throughout this book. I really felt bad and rooted for Cameron as an individual along with Shelby. You were able to connect with their struggles and enjoyed reading them work through those difficulties.

Shelby and Cameron were the hit of a popular tv show growing up, along with Lyle. Years after the show ended and lyle and shelby break up she calls, the man she loves Cameron who she hasn’t seen in 5 years. Cameron loves her but can’t hurt her he bails on her too, after seeing her become a party girl. 5 years later shelby lives in northern Michigan where she gets call from Lyle asking to do a show with Cameron to rebuild a house. Will this finally be a chance to rekindle the lost friendship or more.

It’s a cute story kinda unrealistic but makes you wonder if maybe there are second chances in life.

Built to Last by Erin Hahn

Well wasn’t this just an adorable read! I loved so many aspects of it. HGTV is one of the channels I like to unwind to sometimes, so the home makeover portions were a blast to read. I would love to flip houses, but I literally have zero skills outside of painting when it comes to that 😆

Childhood sweetheart tropes just make me happy. Especially when they fell apart but came back together and loved each other the whole time. The banter between the characters made me laugh and my heart happy.

I’m definitely a fan of Erin Hahn and will be reading her books in the future for sure!

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the arc in exchange for my honest review! 💙

This was a really enjoyable second-chance romance with a childhood friends to lovers trope. I loved the characters and the storyline. It's a slow burn with some spice!

Thank you OrangeSky Audio, St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin, and NetGalley for giving me access to an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: October 18, 2022

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I was really excited when I saw this cover because I love HGTV and who doesn’t love a second chance at love story. The description sounded like a cute and fun story. I liked the two main characters Shelby and Cameron but I hated Lyle (naturally) and wanted them to fire him or do something instead of how it actually played out.

Cameron, Shelby, and Lyle were all child actors on the same show growing up together. Cameron and Shelby had a romance off camera while Shelby and Lyle had the on screen romance, but when Cameron went off to college Shelby and Lyle started to date. After a messy breakup with Lyle Shelby finally leaves LA. She joins her father and finds her passion in home renovation. Fast Forward to the present, Shelby and Cameron are brought together to do a pilot for a home renovation show. I thought Cameron and Shelby both were ditzy but sweet. They had to be in order to put up with way too much from several nasty characters. I did like Shelby’s best friend and the promise of a possible sequel with her story.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

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