Ahhh! I couldn't be more excited about this! I have the biggest book hangover. The friendship, the love, the pining! This is top tier romance right here. Erin Hahn just became an autobuy.

I love these characters and this writing! Second chance romance is probably my favorite and this book was so charming. They have growth and chemistry, which I love to read!

Thank you NetGalley and Erin Hahn!

This book was such a great rom com !
I enjoyed watching the relationship between them continue to grow. !
I would highly recommend
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC .

There are few micro-tropes better than boy obsessed. Especially when we get to read his POV, and friends this is one, among MANY reasons why I am so thrilled to be here today sharing everything I loved about Erin Hahn’s new adult romance, Built to Last! Having never read anything by Hahn previously I had no idea what to expect writing style wise, and my word, she’s going to be a insta-purchase moving forward (and a backlist purchase shortly!).

As always huge thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the advance copy, thoughts below are my own.

Gosh where to even begin? Well rather than make you read a whole bunch of my ramblings I’ll get right to it: I loved it. This is a low-angst second chance romance between two former child-stars, who end up “making it out alive” from the toxicity of the industry, their peers and in some cases their parents.

This book is absolutely about the deep and consuming love Cameron and Shelby have for each other, but it’s also about the love of family (both found, animal, and biological). Which Hahn does a fantastic job both showing and telling.

BUT WHAT REALLY, REALLY, REALLY FREAKING RESONATED IS HOW MUCH THIS STORY IS ABOUT GROWTH, BRAVERY AND THE STRENGTH TO LOVE EACH VERSION OF WHO YOU ARE AND BECOME AS WE GROW UP. EVEN IF THOSE PREVIOUS VERSIONS WERE LESS THAN PERFECT.

Shelby is a freaking QUEEN. And seeing the iterations of her that are less shiny, make who she is in the present really lovely. And to read how Cameron perceives her will straight up melt your heart. I loved watching her be so freaking competent in her workshop, which is refreshing AF (at least for me, who works in a very cis-male dominated field).

And Cameron, boy has been running for so long, that having him stop, take a breather and figure out what staying in one place looks like was so satisfying, along with seeing how talented he was in his own right.

Set against the sturdiness of the midwest, and among a fictionalized HGTV Chip & Joanna style show they are working on, the playfulness, love and partnership so clearly shines between these two.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, yes you got it: I loved this book. But it has easily become a future comfort read, which we could ALL use right now.

Perfect for fans of Olivia Dade, Trish Doller and Jaqueline Snowe, Built To Last will make you laugh, dreamily sigh and maybe give you the swoons. Grab it wherever you get your books, October 18th, 2022.

I am in love. There is nothing else to say. This is one of the best romances I've read in a while and I am so, so, so happy to have read it. I'm still smiling ear to ear at just the thought of this story.

Built to Last follows the story of two estranged childhood best friends/couple who broke up a decade ago and now are meeting each other after 10 years apart from a short meeting 5 years before that ended on a bad note. These two people also happen to be famous child stars who did a show together for the better part of their teens and then said good-bye to the Hollywood life for different reasons. They're back on set now, filming a reality show together, which is being produced by their ex co-star and the third person who formed part of the glorious trio of child actors on their erstwhile show. The three of them have a very complicated history, but this show means something to each of them, and they all end up being thrown together after so long, thanks to this.

What I loved most about the show has to be the leads - Cam and Shelby. They came alive on page right from the word go, and didn't take long to steal your attention. I was rooting for Shelby, extremely hard, just a couple chapters in, and then for Cameron even harder as I read more about him. Their relationship is so natural and easy, so beautiful in it's simplicity. They're both in love with each other, have probably been so from the day they met, but timing had always gotten in the way before. With all this time on their hands now, they start afresh, and fall in love with the adults they've become.

Their relationship was fleshed out so well, and it was such a heartwarming thing to witness. They clearly cared about each other right from the first word of the story, but the layers to it kept unfolding as I read ahead, and made me love them even more.

Both Cam and Shelby had complicated family lives, and I liked how that was explored, how they took to each others' parents, who seemed to fill a void in their lives. I also liked how the resolution of these issues was done.

Cam and Shelby's friends were amazing and I think I need books for all of them, because I need to know them better! @ god pls make it happen!

This book is absolutely perfect for fans of soap operas - swoony romance, a touch of drama, grand gestures, heart-stopping kisses, and just so, so, so much pining. A DREAM COME TRUE!

Second chance romance is not my favorite trope but I really liked the reality tv aspect that was going on in this and so I wanted to give it a try. It was a little slow in the beginning but it did start to pick up around the 30% mark and I started to really enjoy it. If I am being honest, I didn't like how our FMC acted at some times and I couldn't get passed that but it also didn't keep me from finishing the book either. There is so much good about this book and it definitely outweighs the bad. I believed the love from the two main characters and I enjoyed my time reading it which is the main thing for me. It was missing some things for me and that is why I didn't give it a complete 4 stars, but its 3.5 for sure. I could see myself giving this author another try in the future.

Second chance romance and mutual pining is a chefs kiss pairing. As someone who grew up watching hgtv with my parents, I could see the progression of the home reno and Shelby and Cameron’s relationship play out like it would onscreen. This is such a cute idea for a book and I loved that they were former child stars however, I wish that we got more than a few references back to that time and more insight about cam, Shelby, and Lyle during all the years they were on the show together. It alludes to the fact that Shelby/cam were inseparable but we don’t really get that. This is made up for with the chemistry that is obviously evident between the two and hello the banter??! So good. A cute, easy read that lowkey reminds me of celebrity couples who rebranded and now have home shows.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St.Martin’s press for the ARC!!

Built to Last is a sweet, swoon worth romcom with some heat. Former child stars with an instant attraction, they fail to remain connected as a result of the chaos surrounding their celebrity lives. Despite the disconnect, they can't break free from the spell each had on the other. Que a new reality show that will bring them together one more time, and this may be just what they need to sort out all of those frustrations and make that love connection stick.
Despite a few slow moments and a seemingly rapid conclusion, I enjoyed the book. There was humor, friendship, steam, and conflict resolution - what's not to like about that?
Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy and opportunity to provide an honest review.

This was a super cute story to read. I really liked the main characters. Second chance romances - between two childhood friends, is one of my favorite love stories to read!
The story was quite engaging and I didn’t want to put it down.

Built To Last
⭐️⭐️⭐️.75 (Rounding up to 4 ⭐️)
Genre: Romance / Rom-Com
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 10/18/22
Author: Erin Hahn
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Pages: 336
Goodreads Rating: 4.09

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: Shelby Springfield has spent the last ten years trying to overcome her past, 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. 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. Sparks and sawdust fly as Shelby and Cameron film the pilot for "Homemade" and battle Lyle’s shenanigans at every turn.

My Thoughts: Second chance romance stories are another one of my favorites. I was hoping to see more flashbacks to their childhood sweetheart time, there was a few, but I would have liked to see a little more. The characters were well developed, you could see the growth throughout the story, Shelby and Cameron had good chemistry, there was witty banter, and the supporting characters really sealed up the story. The author’s writing style flowed well, had complexity to it, was creative, and worked well for this story. The author tied in a DYI aspect to it, which will attract more readers. Overall, this was a good read for me and I enjoyed the book. I would recommend this book that will be released later this year. This is the author’s debut book and I cannot wait to see future novels from this author. There is some hints that this supporting characters, Lorelai and Drake may get a spin off novel, which would be amazing.

This was such a cute read and actually got me out of a small reading slump. I read the first chapter and took a break but once I jumped back in, I finished the book in less than a day. Shelby and Cameron are childhood first loves who happened to also be former child stars. Through some miscommunication and a need for growth away from the public eye, the two are separated for years. They’re finally brought together by Shelby’s smarmy ex (unintentionally) and a reality tv show centered around homes. I love the character’s growth and how they acknowledged that miscommunication had done a number on their relationship, Watching their relationship re-blossom was a joy and I loved all the side characters (with the exception of Shelby’s ex best friend and ex)! (Excited for a Lorelai story please!) excited for read more from this author.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

Very enjoyable. I will be adding this author to the list of folks who write straight romances that I will read.

I love a good second chance romance and liked the added childhood loves who got lost along the way.

What a breath of fresh air to not have some BS contrived conflict in the third act of a romance! This book deserves 5 stars just for that, but there’s so much more to delight in here.

Shelby and Cameron came of age starring in a tween sitcom together. They fell in love, they fell apart, and now they find themselves a decade later, starring in a home renovation show and sparks fly.

This ooey-gooey love story has fun banter, ride-or-die best friends, sweet moments, solid puns, and two main characters with so much homegrown Midwest charm that you can’t even hate them for being so effortlessly good-looking. This book just oozes feel-good vibes.

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review!

First, thank you to NetGalley for the E-ARC! I've loved all of Erin Hahn's YA books, so I was excited to see what her adult romance could be.

I'm usually not interested in a second chance romance, but this was very cute. I liked both of the main characters, Shelby and Cameron, but I wish I they more standing up for themselves against Lyle. I get "it's none of his business", but he's tearing them down and making them look bad, so I think speaing up for themselves is in order. Also, the characters seemed way older than 27-28. With thousands of hours of HGTV watching under my belt, I really enjoyed the behind the scenes of the tv show and the home reno. I'd read a whole sequel about their show taking off.

My only negative: petition to ban any man in a romance book from saying "oh you're so tight" in bed because it's disgusting and I hate it.

Overall this was super cute and I'd definitely recommend it for any fans of romance or house flipping.

I was introduced to the writer, Erin Hahn, by reading “Built to Last” a cute story with plenty of promise.

Shelby and Cameron started together in a popular teen show (think “Boy Meets World”) and became attracted to each other, even though Shelby’s character was paired with the show’s star, Lyle. When the show ends. Cameron moves on to work for National Geographic, while Shelby returned to Michigan and worked with her dad in remodeling homes and restoring antiques.

Lyle, who dumped Shelby when she was in her early twenties, develops a concept for
a home renovation reality TV show. Shelby and Cameron work together restoring antiques, renovating a home, and filming a pilot episode for the series. As they prepare for the pilot, Shelby and Cameron are able to connect with one another again, and see that their chemistry hasn’t gone anywhere.

Like I said, the novel has plenty of potential and the chemistry between Shelby and Cameron was quite realistic. I also love the concept of the story of “whatever happened to” with childhood stars. I wanted the writer to spend a little more time with the characters and their backstories and I thought Lyle, especially, was undeveloped. But for someone looking for a a good escape, I would highly suggest this book.

Three and a half stars.

Thanks go to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to give this novel an early read.

This was a cute contemporary romance. It provided me with the escape I was craving and ended the way I like in my easy, breezy romance reads to end.
The one thing that bothered me was how none of the main characters were every day, ordinary people. It felt a little like I was reading an early 2000 YA romance where all the characters were super rich, super famous, super talented, or all of the above. I’ve never been interested in lifestyles of the rich and famous, so that element of the story didn’t work for me.

But that’s me being fussy. It is a solid romance with good chemistry and conflict development.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
#NetGalley

I loved this book! The home reno element and Shelby and Cam becoming close again with each other and their families through the process was a great story. I squealed at the end with happiness for them both and any romance that can make me squeal is one I'll be recommending!

This book started off good for me but after awhile it slowed down a lot so I lost interest. I did not finish the book. This is a friend's to relationship book which some people may like.

Cute romance about a second chance love. As a home show lover, this one couldn't miss!

Cameron and Shelby were childhood best friends and first loves. Different career paths took them away from each other, but you never forget your first. When Shelby gets an opportunity to showcase her woodworking talents on a new show, she calls Cameron to help and he comes running.

Shelby and Cameron are exactly the joy-filled, sweet romance we all need right now.

This was a fun read, pulled at the heart strings, and you really rooted for the two mains. I wanted them to make it from the start, the back story was fun, and the snake in the grass was easy to see. Loved the premise of her coming into her own and him backing her, this was a fun easy read to just loose yourself in for a time.