I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH.

I'm even having a hard time trying to find the words to describe how much I enjoyed this. The characters were all amazing and I enjoyed the plot so much. I would read another book with these characters in a heartbeat, even if the story was just about the two of them doing reno on houses.

I also really liked how even though it does follow some normal tropes that it didn't follow one of the major tropes that I see in almost of these types of books. I won't spoil which trope though.

I love a good romance, and lately I've been in my feels, so I was super excited to start Erin Hahn's latest Built to Last.

From the publisher via Goodreads: Shelby Springfield has spent the last ten years trying to overcome her past, sanding it away like she does the rough spots on the vintage furniture finds she makes over. But as a former child star, it’s hard to forget a mediocre pop career, a meltdown widely documented by the paparazzi, and a huge public break with her former co-star Lyle Jessup. It’s also hard to forget her other co-star and childhood sweetheart, Cameron Riggs -- the one who got away.

Anytime Shelby has called, Cameron has come running… And then he runs right off again to chase stories around the world by making documentaries, too scared to admit what he really wants. But when Lyle stirs the pot, getting the two back in the spotlight with a home renovation show, Cameron can't help but come on board.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read. Shelby and Cameron are delightful characters, well-developed and entertaining voices. I loved the premise and the execution of the renovation show and didn't find the tropes to be too over the top or stereotypical. Fun, witty, and a little bit spicy, Built to Last is an immediate add to cart.

Big thanks to St. Martins and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.

Erin Hahn is one of my favourite authors and has been since I picked up her debut novel You'd Be Mine. Her first three novels were YA and were written in a way that I was desperately hoping the characters were real and living lovely lives (and that I could listen to the music that Annie Mathers and Jefferson Coolidge had created!). I was thrilled to have the chance to read her first Adult Romance novel and it didn't let me down.

YES to Reunited Ex-Lovers
It's fairly weird to call Shelby and Cam ex-lovers since they were 17 at the time, but I LOVE this trope because it gives readers a chance to see characters reunite after years apart and try to figure out how (or if) they fit in each other's lives anymore. As we slowly unravel Shelby and Cam's past and see how they learn who each other are in the present, we fall more in love with them and get to see them fall in love with each other. I am here for all of it and thank Hahn did a wonderful job!

Felt Like I Was Watching HGTV (in the best way!)
I'm a huge fan of home reno shows (Home Town and Masters of Flip are so sooting to me), so of course the concept of two people renoing an old home immediately grabbed my attention. Although I know nothing about salvaging historical pieces and refurbishing the, Hahn convinces me that she does and that Shelby does an amazing job with it. Ultimately, this was so much fun to read because it was so easy to visualize this as a tv show.

Great Secondary Characters
Hahn has always done an amazing job creating secondary characters for readers to fall in love with, and Built to Last is no different. From Shelby's friends (who are going to be getting their own books!), to Cam's family and Shelby's ex, these secondary characters feel just as real and important as the main ones. This is important to me because I love reading a book where things feel real; I've never been a fan of books where the focus is solely on the main characters. I need the depth of additional people to care about (or hate, *ahem* Lyle).

Overall, I loved this book! I'm so excited for it to be released on October 18, 2022 and have ​already preordered a personalized copy for myself. Hahn has really shown that she writes great adult novels and I honestly don't know now if I'm more excited for her next YA or her next romance because she keeps stealing my heart!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for sending me an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When two childhood actors reconnect after several years under a pilot contract for a home renovation show, Shelby and Cameron cannot contain their strong emotions for each other. With Shelby’s ex and their mutual ex-costar Lyle heads the production, Lyle has other plans for sabotaging Shelby and Cameron’s so-called relationship. Now that they’re adults though, could this be Shelby and Cameron’s real chance at love? At the same time prove to everyone that there is more to them than meets the eye?

This was a sweet second chance romance with a ton of mutual pining. It made me want to scream, “just be together already!” I understood all the complex feelings and history, but man, Shelby and Cameron were just made for each other so it was inevitable that their paths crossed again. As a fan of Erin Hahn’s YA novels, I did enjoy this one!

I loved the premise of this story and some of the dialogue was very funny. But unfortunately I couldn’t finish the book and had to stop halfway. I couldn’t get attached to the characters and just lost interest in their story. I also felt like the premise with the show/house flip got lost in the characters dragging out their constant rehashing of the past. After a while it got tedious how it felt like they couldn’t move past what happened years back and I couldn’t find a connection with them. I was so disappointed because I love HGTV shows and romances, and this felt like the perfect pairing. I’m sure this story will appeal to a lot of people, but just not me.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC. All opinions are my own.

This book was written for everyone like me who grew up loving Disney Channel and now watches a lot of HGTV!
Shelby and Cam had an adorable and realistic relationship. It was great to see them struggle through confronting their past, and I felt very connected to them as characters. I normally struggle with Dual POV, since I often don’t think the two characters are distinct enough, but Shelby and Cam felt different and complemented each other very well!
I also loved how the conflict didn’t feel like two adults making bad decisions, instead felt like two people wanting to be together but were just torn by circumstances.

I agree with the other reviewers who struggled with the beginning of this book but unlike those who felt it got better, I felt it fell flat. I didn’t care about the characters, and the dialogue felt forced. It wasn’t for me.

Shelby and Cameron get a second chance!

Shelby Springfield and Cameron Riggs were two former child actor co-stars reuniting when they are asked to do a pilot for a home renovation show in Michigan. Shelby had left for Michigan after a meltdown at the end of her relation with Lyle Jessup to get her life back together to work for her father flipping house and restoring old furniture. But her former boyfriend was going to be the show runner and her first love Cameron Riggs was going to be her co-star.

When I first started reading Built to Last, I thought it would be two former co-stars finally admitting they were in love after all these years but Built to Last is so much better than that. Shelby and Cameron have a lot of chemistry together but will they use the second chance they get while filming the pilot for HomeMade.

Please write Lorelai’s story!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you Net Galley for an ARC of Built to Last by Erin Hahn. I don't know what it was, but this second chance romance fell flat for me. 3 stars.

An interesting premise with a lot of tropes. Former friends/lovers, then strangers, now friends building to lovers. Former child stars, now competitive tv show. Sort of love triangle with her douche ex being part of the show too (but how did he go from being a Grammy singer to a HGTV producer??). It’s a lot going on but pretty easy to follow.

I loved that there was no big drama or fight throughout the book. Just true and sweet and a good read.

4.5 stars rounded up

Shelby and Cameron have history. Co-stars on a tv show as teens, as well as real life best friends and first sweethearts.
Post-Hollywood friends years after their show wraps, whenever Shelby calls, Cameron comes running.
But their individual paths haven’t intersected with enough time to explore their unresolved feelings. Until now.

Shelby and Cameron get the chance to return to tv in a home renovation show together, and it's a dream opportunity, but it's being produced by none other than Lyle, their old co-star and Shelby’s ex-fiance who has an agenda for revenge.

I really loved this one. The banter, the pining, the chemistry, and the supporting characters! The ‘miscommunication’ wasn’t beaten to death, which I liked. And they each had their own life stuff to work out; their individual pasts, insecurities, futures, families, etc that they handled well.

Read if you like:
🪛 Second chance romance or Friends to lovers
🪛 HGTV, home renovation shows
🪛 Steam 🔥🔥/5
🪛 NO third act breakup!

This is Hahn’s debut into adult romance; I can’t wait to see what she does next!

Thanks St Martins Press and NetGalley for the advance e-copy!

An enjoyable read about second chances, love & friendship and overcoming the past. This is a romance mixed with a home renovation. Shelby and Cameron met as children on the set of a TV show in which they costarred. This book has something for everyone - small town setting, love, friendship, second chances, etc. This is an easy, enjoyable read. I breezed right through. Gave me all the feel good vibes!

For fans of rom-coms, celebrity gossip, HGTV, The Honey Don't List.

The only reason I bothered to finish this book was because I received it as an ARC.

My opinions of the characters ranged from "meh" to "ugh." I felt no fondness or connection to any of them. I couldn't even keep the side characters straight. There were too many of them and they made little to no impact on the plot.

There is no development between Shelby and Cameron. Readers are told that they really liked each other as teenagers and then nursed these feelings for a decade despite both of them changing as they grew older. Why were they so hung up on each other?!?! It felt like instalove even though they'd met before. I just couldn't suspend my disbelief to get behind the relationship.

The home renovation reality show didn't play as big of a role in the book as I expected. Even then it was boring to read about.

Overall, I found this book to have lackluster characters, a plot that was both cheesy and unconvincing, and unengaging writing.

I was really looking forward to this one. The blurb had me with talks of HGTV type of shows and I haven’t read many second chance romance books so I wanted to give this one a go!

The book is told from two point-of-views and they come from Shelby and Cameron. I didn’t really like either character. Cameron does a stupid thing in the beginning and it’s really hard to forgive him after that. Shelby makes a lot of choices and I wouldn’t say they are all great. That’s life though. We all have choices to make and some are bad, but why would you decide to do a show when you know that your ex who is a douche canoe will be there every step of the way? I just don’t get it. I guess it makes for an entertaining book, but I was one who didn’t find it all that entertaining.

The romance was okay but there are a lot of communication issues and I wish they would have sat down sooner instead of just hiding the problems.

I did like the aspects of home improvement and will pretty much read anything with it, haha. My mother-in-law always has the HGTV station on and it’s hard to not watch it. They are pretty crafty!

Overall, this was okay but just not for me. I think others will enjoy it if they like a bit of drama, second chances, and HGTV!

Built to Last is a contemporary second-chance romance about two former teen stars forced to reconnect for a Fixer Upper-esque reality television pilot while simultaneously fixing their messy history and fighting feelings for each other.

The concept is refreshing and I love it. Most stories that explore former child/teen stars showcase the MC's longing to return to the limelight or juxtapose a miserable present versus a glamorous past, but not here. Both MC's are mostly happy with their current lives - Shelby is a vintage furniture refurbisher living in a small-town and Cam is a vagabond documentarian for National Geographic - and have no desire to go back to their past lives in Hollywood. They're happy, they're thriving, they're not perfect but they're constantly seeking self-improvement. Then their mutual co-star from the hit teen show they starred in, who incidentally had a very messy public break-up with Shelby and was openly jealous of the bond between the MC's, pops up like the little weasel he is and coerces both to star in a home improvement pilot because it'd be *good* television.

Now, the MC's - I LOVE them! I love good character development and it's well-done here. They have demons from their past they've acknowledged and are actively working on. Their chemistry is palpable and genuine, and I love them together. The only thing that made me uncomfortable was reading about their first time together as barely legal eighteen and possibly seventeen year olds. That was a little weird. It wasn't totally explicit, but it was still a little too descriptive for my liking and made the rest of the book feel... weird. Maybe that's just me though.

Despite the full character arcs for the MC's, there was none for the supporting characters. They're only supporting characters, I get it, but they were cliched and more like plot-devices than people. They felt unfinished, as did some of the writing at times, unfortunately, and it made my attention wane, especially towards the end.

The story has good bones and great execution in some areas, but it needs more color in the grey areas.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Pub date: October 18, 2022

It took me awhile to get through this one, but I appreciated that the story was told well and is very sweet. There's nothing bad about a good second chance romance. As far as the plot, it was paced well. I especially appreciated the author left out the mini-breakup before the final resolution and proclamations of love, something most romances don't do. I, personally, hate a final speed bump on the way to a happy ending. As a whole, I found this book to be a good romance with fun aspects like the child stars turned home reno characters.

Former child star Shelby spends her time restoring vintage furniture and trying to forget her past. She had a public meltdown and messy breakup from former co-star Lyle Jessup. She also can't seem to forget about her other co-star Cameron Riggs. Cameron is the one who got away.

Cameron runs all over the world filming stories, but also comes running whenever Shelby needs him. Lyle has a great idea about getting Cameron and Shelby back together on a TV home renovation show. Both Shelby and Cameron agree to be in the show for their own personal reasons. Now that Shelby and Cameron have a second chance at love, they are determined that nothing is getting in their way.

Built to Last is a friends to lovers, second chance, slow burn romance. I've read so many rom-coms this year, but this one is by far my favorite. I love that you get to read both Shelby and Cameron's POVs because they both have the best personalities. There's phenomenal witty banter between Shelby and Cameron and you will find yourself laughing out loud, there's moments where you will just want to knock them upside the head and tell them to get it together already, and there's perfect swoon worthy romantic moments. This story has it all. This book is a breath of fresh air that will have you smiling the whole way through and maybe even make you want to tackle some home reno projects. I really can't wait to read Lorelai's story!

I will admit, I was worried reading the first chapter about tolerating Shelby's character if she was such a disaster and Hollywood princess throughout the whole book. Luckily, I was very, very wrong! I really felt Shelby's growth throughout the novel, and I love that she found a trade she was passionate about.

I loved the sprinkles of humour mixed in, like making fun of suspenders. It added to the emotional roller coaster that this novel takes you, with happiness, sadness, thrill and compassion.

This book really was "built to last" in the heads of its readers - a nice and fresh view on ex-Hollywood child stars, and the reality of how they may end up, both good and bad.

This was my first book by Erin Hahn, and I really enjoyed it! Her writing style is so breezy and fun, and Shelby and Riggs are an ADORABLE couple! I loved the second chance/lovers-to-friends-to lovers again tropes set in a small town but with the "Hollywood" edge. There was so much humor in this one and while it was very low on conflict between the main characters, I didn't even realize that until I finished the book with a huge smile on my face. I'm a big fan of conflict and I didn't even miss it because this book was such a delight to read. If you enjoyed Maggie Moves On by Lucy Score, you'll love this one. I'm looking forward to Lorelai's story next!

Great read! Excellent characters with just enough steam. Really enjoyed the child star turned reality show DIY angle.