I enjoyed this emotional, heart wrenching story! I did not see the twist coming (Anders’s secret). This book is a slow burn romance. It was difficult for me to get into it at first, but about halfway through, I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. I loved all the characters, became invested in them, and found myself rooting for them all to get their happily ever afters. If you are a CoHo fan, you will love this author, too!!

Thank you @netgalley and @putnambooks for giving me access to this arc in exchange for an honest review. 💕

Only Love Can Hurt Like This by Paige Toon is Wren's story as she tries to find her way after another unsatisfying relationship. It may have been my mood at the time but I found it difficult to relate to Wren and so the book was less successful for me. That said, there are tons of folks that found this story extremely moving so I'd chalk it up to my specific views.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review. Only Love Can Hurt Like This is available now.

This book was heartbreaking. I was very shocked during many parts of this book, but really enjoyed every minute. I thought Wren and Anders had such a sweet relationship and I loved the farm setting. Jonas was also the sweetest ever and be totally deserves his own book!

This story was a slow burn romance with some complicated relationship baggage attached for not only the main characters, but some supporting ones too. I thought the main character, Wren, was interesting, thoughtful, and intelligent. Her interactions with Anders, his family, and her family members were mature and realistic. She really went out of her way to have a positive impact on those around her. Anders and his brother had complicated histories and it was nice to see them work through those obstacles to find happiness. Anders’ backstory was truly heartbreaking and I felt so sad for him for much of the story.

There was a lot to like about this book and the last quarter of the book was lovely. Unfortunately, having to wait until about 75% into a book for things to start to happen is just too long for me to be fully invested and enjoy the story. The buildup and pacing was just too slow for my liking, and if I’m being honest, I’m not sure if I would have been able to finish it if I had not had access to the audiobook to push me along.

Thank you Putnam Books for the ebook arc copy and PRH audio for access to the audiobook version.

The editors blurb drew me in. Wren is devastated when she discovers her fiance is in love with someone else. Living in a small community means seeing the new couple and it is heartbreaking so she takes a break and heads to the US to visit her dad and his second family hoping to feel the love and escape feeling as if everyone is pitying her. She hasn’t seen them in a while and is in for a lot of unanticipated changes and surprises. What never entered her mind was finding someone to help heal be broken heart or the experience a betrayal by so many people that it would make her fiancé leaving her seem like a whole lot of nothing. I had no expectation of things to be all sunshine and roses for Wren as the would be boring, but it as she’d been through the rinse cycle over and over again, this seemed over the top and somewhat redundant. When she recognizes she’s the only one not in on the truth about someone she has opened her broken heart to only to find out that the collective thought was she would figure it out for herself and that they weren’t lying to her, just not telling her I was done. I found most of the people in this story unkind, unlikable, generally selfish. A lie of omission is still a lie. Then to wrap things up in a short ending rang false and was wholly unsatisfying to me.

Ahh, I love small town Mid-West farm life setting. I have been to Bloomington, Indiana a lot of times and Paige Toon has described this setting to the bone! She also packaged farm life intricately making the readers feel it to the core! From the hardships, weather challenges, long hours, family responsibility passed on from generations and the mental burden that is weighing down on everybody involved, not to add depression despite the beauty of preserving family history.

Both main characters Wren from UK who is spending a summer with her Dad and his family in Bloomington, IN and Anders , one of the brothers from the neighboring farm have previous relationships that they have a hard time getting out of. No one can deny their chemistry specially when they bonded over a vintage Aistream that were working on to bring back to life. Both are successful at their jobs, Wren and architect and Anders a race car engineer who happens to be a born farmer as well. This was a kind of summer love that Taylor Swift songs are talking about! It was so much that you do not mind to lose, and living for the hope of it all! Synopsis was telling about an earth-shattering secret and I was absolutely devastated and heart broken for our main characters when that twist came out! This book has live up to its title! Its builds you up fast, drops you down in a blink of an eye, shatters you to pieces, broken and bruised as you slowly and painstakingly put your heart back together for a hopefully sweet ending.

I love all the characters, I love the setting, I love build up and I love the ending! I want this to book in film, just exactly the way its written! Thank you Penguin Random House for the e-arc via Netgalley and e-audio via PRHAudio for copies in exchange of my honest review! I absolutely adore this story! 4.5 star! Less half a star because it has to end fast and I was not ready!

Loved this story! The characters were well developed and kept me wanting to read more. Is love worth waiting for? even with the pain? Wren has had her heart broken first by her father when she was young when he left her mom for another woman. Then she finds out her fiancé is leaving her for another also. With a broken heart and the need to get away, Wren goes to visit her father's family, finding a relationship with her step sister develop. Partying with Bailey she see two brothers that catch her interest and finds they are neighbors. the story has romance and pain. Highly recommend!

Lovely love story. I don’t usually read romance but this was an engaging story with romance thrown in. Not sappy at all.

Thank you NetGalley! I did enjoy this book and the characters! Definitely did not see that twist coming. I felt all kinds of emotions while reading this book and I definitely won’t forget it!

This book was everything I didn’t know I needed right now.

In the wake of a canceled engagement, Wren finds herself boarding a plane to the States to spend the summer with her father and his family. She doesn’t plan to stay long in the small Indiana farm town, but when she meets rugged and reserved Anders, she begins to imagine settling down and planting roots. When a secret from Anders’ past is revealed, Wren is left questioning everything.

Heart-breaking, tender, and real, this love story is a must for fans of Colleen Hoover and would be the perfect accessory for a day at the beach. I enjoyed the slow, steady relationship building between Wren and Anders. It felt genuine, which was refreshing. And the cast of secondary characters were like a breath of fresh air. I especially enjoyed Bailey and Jonas.

Thank you to NetGalley, Putnam Books, and Paige Toon for an advance ebook. I can’t wait to read other books by this author.

I really liked Wren and Anders and the small-town Indiana setting, but the twist in this one ick-ed me out a little. I can see why CoHo fans might love it, though.

Thanks to Putnam for the copy to review.

I LOVED this book. The friendships and family dynamics that are portrayed in this book are very accurate to real life. The twist in this book did have me SOBBING. I felt myself caring so much for Anders and Wren, and I can’t even imagine going through what they went through. The ending to this book covered all aspects and didn’t leave anything out!

Only Love can Hurt Like This is such an emotional read. Following Wren, an architect who is working in the UK, as she visits her family in the US who she is not very close with, Wren finds herself both creating familial and platonic relationships. Enter Anders, the mysterious neighbors son who from the outside looks like he is doing everything to keep his family together but inside is dealing with his own demons.
I loved how layered this story is with themes of familial bonds, grief, love, and acceptance. The beginning was maybe a tad slow but once the stage was set and the action started I could not get enough. Would definitely recommend for anyone looking for a slow-burn, complicated romance.
TW: death, cheating, depression, grief

I’m giving this one 3.5 stars, which for me is solidly in between “liked it” and “loved it”. This one is a beautiful and memorable story, but we don’t get there until the end of the book (at least for me). That’s the reason we’re not at 4 stars, because I can’t say I loved it completely. But 3.5 stars is a good rating for me!

This is a book that will tug at your heartstrings. I especially enjoyed the family dynamics that Wren learns to navigate, and how she overcomes her own insecurities to reach out and let her family in. I wish I had neighbors like Jonas and Anders! Their friendship was so endearing and now I want to have friends who have their own farm.

This book is a drama with a slow build, and it took me a while to feel hooked. But that’s the nature of this story, and I completely get it. But I wish I was captivated a little sooner. But that’s just me!

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam Books for the copy in exchange for my honest review!

I was severely disappointed by the lack of heartbreak in the story. Reading the blurb and the title in itself gave me the impression that this book would have a depressing tragedy. The revelation, however, made me think 'Oh, okay', and just move on. I'm not against it if you'd like to give the book a go, but I'd recommend you keep your expectations low.

One thing that stands out about Paige Toon’s novels is the amazing character development. Her characters all come with a deep history, with hopes and dreams. You instantly connect with them. This book was true to that. You have a woman reeling from heartache and trying to forge a new path, and a man who seems broken but you’re not sure why. This was a beautiful book and I loved reading it.

I went into this thinking it was another sweet romance but heads up, it will wreck you.

Wren is heartbroken and has lost her inspiration as an architect in London. She decides to visit her dad in America for a holiday. However, unresolved feelings from childhood make her feel like an outsider with him and his other family.

She begins to bond with her younger half-sister and together they meet local brothers, Jonas and Anders. As they work on a project together, Wren and Anders are becoming more than friends until a secret comes to light that changes everything. It is impossible situation with no foreseeable good outcome.

I gave Only Love Can Hurt Like This ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. I read it in one sitting. I do think Casey needed a better storyline or to just be cut out of the book. However, the story was so good and having a blended family, I saw
Wren's insecurity and I liked that there was some resolution there. I wanted so bad to see Anders happy! The last 1/4 of the book completely wrecked me. Stick with it though. The author does a remarkable job finishing strong!

Thank you @putnambooks and @netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I had to start this one twice to really get into it, but I think that was my fault at trying to start it when I was too busy. Once I was in, I was hooked.

I really appreciated that it was clear that the epilogue was a couple years later. I liked that things didn't happen all within a single year.

Something I disliked was the "will they/won't they" of Bailey and Jonas. It wasn't super clear that it was going to stay platonic and I disliked thinking that Bailey was going to be written to be a cheater.

Overall, I really enjoyed this and I liked watching the struggle of Wren and Anders as they both knew they loved each other but felt they couldn't pursue it.

emotionally and beautifully written! and so so moving! I really enjoyed this it reminded me of a hallmark or lifetime movie in the best possible way.

𝙄 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙤 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙩 𝙨𝙤 𝙙𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙩 𝙚𝙭𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚.


this is my first book from paige toon and it was the title that drew me in.

quite enjoyable! but i really wish we got a dual pov, not just ander’s pov at the end; it would’ve given more understanding of who he is and his own thoughts.

the plot twist was interesting and it was tough seeing wren and anders trying to fight their feelings for each other.


thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc!