WOW!!!! I feel like a emotional wreck after finishing Only Love Can Hurt Like This. An emotionally tough, and simultaneously heartwarming read.

In ways, this novel took me a bit to get into. I felt like there was a lot of explaining and not a lot of showing in the beginning of Wren’s story, which felt info-dumpy and put me off for the first 5 chapters (emphasis on the first 5).

However, at no point did I see where this story was truly headed, and that is definitely why it hit me as hard as it did. The character development of each character unfolding as Wren’s relationship with them grew was incredible to read.

Jonas transforming from the quiet, angry boy to the most outspoken and passionate about fighting for her relationship really stood out to me. Even better, Wren’s development was realistic. There was no aha! moment where she solved all of her issues regarding her relationship with Scott. Toon revisited their relationship throughout the novel, picking out different aspects of it that contributed to its ultimate downfall. Because isn’t that what the aftermath of a breakup realistically looks like? You revisit and revisit until you get to a place of peace, and that is exactly what I felt Toon did with Wren.

Finally, this review would not be complete without acknowledging the beautiful relationship that developed between Anders and Wren. That plot twist absolutely shocked me out of my seat in the BEST way. It added depth to both of their personalities, to their relationship, and to the overall tone of the book.

Toon did an incredible and tasteful job of tackling that plot twist in a way that conveyed Anders’s grief without dragging the story’s overall mood down. Only Love Can Hurt Like This walked the ideal line between tragedy and romance, striking a balance that left me happy and lighthearted at its completion, but still moved by its story.

Thank you to Paige Toon and Putnam Books for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review!!

I never read a book from the author before and I did enjoy this one a lot. There was the perfect amount of angst but with characters that reacted maturely and rationally. I liked Wren a lot and I'm glad the book was mostly told from her POV. Although I was invested in the relationship with Anders, I actually really got into her issues with her family too. The twist wasn't my fave, but it did surprise me. I liked Anders more as the book went on, but I was more of a Jonas fan and would've loved a story about him. Will definitely read more from Toon.

Oh. My. I didn’t see that one coming!

This book is devastatingly wonderful. If you’re looking for a book that will break your heart and put it back together in the most captivating way look no further. The plot isn’t what’s going to get you- it’s the complex emotions of the characters, family dynamics and a twist I honestly didn’t see coming that will reel you in and keep you hooked. A mixture of deep emotional moments, good banter, hilarious side characters and farm/small town fun you really feel immersed in the story and urging the characters to move forward. A book of second chances (with love and family), finding your worth and healing broken hearts.

This is my first Paige Toon book but it won’t be my last!

When Wren discovers that her fiancé has feelings for someone else, they amicably decide to go their separate ways. To get some distance, Wren flies to Indiana to see her dad, a man she's not been close to since she moved to England with her mum when their relationship ended. While trying to mend her broken heart she meets Anders, the quiet, serious son of the couple on the neighbouring farm. He's kind, somewhat reserved, and seems sad. The more they get to know each other, Anders' secret slowly reveals itself, and the source of his pain isn't what Wren expected.

I really like Wren. She comes across as open and willing to see the bright side of life. While not everything is going her way she doesn't wallow or whine. She finds a path to happiness that is uniquely her own. I also liked reading about her growing relationship with her half-sister, Bailey. The author did a nice job of showing how Anders and Jonas had their own family dynamics to navigate.

If you like Jojo Moyes' books, you'll like this one.

3 stars.

"Only Love Can Hurt Like This" by Paige Toon is a very slowly-paced, super slow-burning romance without a lot of romance? Does that make any sense? This book is a bit overdone in some places and a bit underdeveloped in others. I really enjoyed the characters in this story, I just wanted more of a spark between main protagonists Wren and Anders. All of the secondary characters (Bailey, Wren's half-sister, and Jonas, Anders' brother) are really well done. In fact, I might read another book about these characters, if Paige Toon writes one! Still, there are parts of their characters that appear to be left on the cutting room floor. Unfortunately, at one point, I asked my husband, "How long should I stick with a book that feels like it's going nowhere?" I obviously stuck with it to get to the meat and potatoes of the story, but the big reveal comes in at 73% into the book! Yeesh! By that time, I was already a little annoyed that it was taking so long to get anywhere. I *liked* the reveal, it just comes so late in the story that I think it hurt my enjoyment of it/shock about it. My heart was not wrenched, my earth was not shattered. I think this is a fine book, and I will read others written by Paige Toon because they come so highly recommended, but this one was pretty basic.

Thank you to NetGalley, Paige Toon, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, and G.P. Putnam's Sons for providing me with an ARC copy of this book! All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for my review.

his is my first book by Toon and I can definitely see why she is dubbed the British CoHo!

Heartbreaking and emotional, this book will definitely make you think… and change your mind… then cry because it is just an impossibly sad situation! 🥺

While this was very women’s fiction heavy in the beginning, I highly recommend it to anyone who loves an emotional romance. OH! It’s set in rural Indiana, which is basically rural Illinois… so it felt close to home for me 🌽

Only Love Can Hurt Like This will have you experiencing every emotion. Paige Toon weaves a wonderful story filled with twists and turns. I recommend keeping a tissue box close. I highly recommend 5is book.

I’ve been overdue for a book that absolutely wrecked me and this definitely did it for me 😂 slow to start but so much sobbing before the end of it

Wren’s fiancé left her and she decides to leave her home in England for a vacation to the states to see her dad while she heals her heart. She’s had a strained relationship with her dad, his wife and her half sister since childhood. She ends up meeting the neighbors at the farm next door, Anders and his brother Jonas. Her and Anders have an undeniable connection but they’re both healing and decide to just be friends.

I can’t say more without giving away the whole plot, but this is a sloooowwww burn, small town, it’s super emotional, lots of secrets and plot twists I didn’t expect. Check TWs but be aware of mental illness talks, specially depression and su!cide.

Other than the main love story plot, I loved Wren and her sisters relationship, and the mending relationship with her dad and stepmom and the small town setting with the farms carrying the story along. There is a happy ending too so you’re healed up after the turmoil 🥹

This is the first Paige Toon book I have read, and I was definitely impressed. I'm gonna start with the things I did like. Wren is devastated when her finace reveals that he is in love with someone else. I absolutely adored how this portion of the story played out. It was honest and mature, and while I feel like this kind of behavior does exist in real life, it gets drowned out in novels for more dramatic options.

To deal with this heartbreak, Wren heads to her father's house in Indiana. This was great because I am from Indiana and very familiar with the locations in the story. Not all readers will be, of course, but that was definitely a plus for me! This is where Wren meets Anders... which is where things fell just a little flat for me.

While this storyline is honestly great, and Wren is a likeable enough character (as are most the supporting ones), Anders is boring for so much of the story. Other than being attractive, he's so closed off for so much of the story it felt like it dragged on forever. He definitely came into himself by the end, but I just felt it took so long for the storyline to move forward. Once it did, I really enjoyed it. I don't know if everyone will be taken aback by the secret at the end, but I sure was, and it was heartbreaking. Watching Wren and Anders find their happy ending really ended up being a great story.

Only Love Can Hurt Like this was the slowest of slow burns. Even though it was a slower paced plot, I still felt compelled to continue reading. The main love story between Wren and Anders was sweet but definitely fraught with secrets and emotion. I thought the secondary characters were well fleshed out too especially Jonas. I think the book deals well with complicated feelings of love, grief and heartbreak, but it could definitely be triggering. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley.

Guys. This book got me. Have you ever just loved every single character in a book? 4 main characters essentially and I just adored each of their story lines. This is based on a girl Wren from the UK, staying the summer in Indiana. I am hit or miss with books outside of the US ONLY because the dialect is so different sometimes it really confuses me, but I seriously loved it. While Wren visits her dad, stepmom and half sister in Indiana, her storyline hit so close for me. While she grew up with a hard relationship with her family, feeling like she was replaced, she learns to heal from her childhood issues and from a recent breakup, and finding herself along the way. This storyline had me laughing so often, and crying when she hit too close for me. My first by this author and hopefully not my last. Please check out this book, you won’t regret it.

Everything I enjoy about a CoHo book without all the things I dislike about a CoHo book. This was wonderfully heartbreaking. Lovable but flawed characters, complicated family dynamics, romance, and of course a secret or two to keep things interesting. I was drawn in from the start, but once I hit the halfway mark I couldn’t put it down. Toon didn’t lie… love does hurt, man did this one hurt.

Thank you Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for this ARC.

Paige Toon offers an emotional contemporary novel that searches for happiness while dealing with loss and change.

I liked how Wren came to terms with the narrative she's told herself over the years since her parents' divorce and setting down new roots that will help her to grow as a person and in her career. Her character arc felt quite natural to me. Anders and Jonah are quiet stern types but also adore their family's farm. Both are managing their own issues, though Anders' is quite over the top. There are a lot of characters who get page time, which isn't necessarily a bad thing because I really did enjoy Wren's family, but I wish there'd been more focus on Wren and Anders.

I did find the novel to be overwritten at times and just wanted the plot to move along. There was a sort of repetitive nature in Wren's first person POV that could've been tightened up.

I'd recommend Only Love Can Hurt Like This to those who enjoy an emotionally driven contemporary love story about fighting for those you love (that does have an HEA) but also has a wide focus on family.

I’m not crying, ok yes I am. What a fantastic read! I was so invested n all of the characters on this novel that even after it was over, I wanted to get together with them for one last BBQ. A great read, a great book. Friendships, families, secrets and love. It’s all in there and in the perfect combinations. Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

First book I’ve read by Paige Toon and to my understanding is that this is her first American novel. The writing was unique and kept me intrigued despite some flaws that I personally didn’t care for.
The setting was something that I loved simply because I knew exactly where she was talking about.

Not to let everyone know where I live but I live in the surrounding area and have been to Bloomington and Indianapolis multiple times. It was very easy for me to picture since I’ve literally been to some of these places. Such a small world that this was a setting of a book! The descriptions she used and how she set up a scene was written beautifully and really made the person feel like they were there.

The pacing of the book, however, was incredibly slow. At times it felt like I was getting nowhere despite me constantly reading. The storyline doesn’t seem to pick up until towards the end of the book and get to the point that you must keep reading because it’s getting interesting. The first part of the book was to get settled, get to know the characters, but it became almost boring at a couple parts because it felt like we were just reading a diary of a day, sometimes. Not to mention, it is an incredibly slow burn romance. I don’t mind slow burn, heck I crave and demand it in most of my books, but holy cow. The slow burn was like an ember of a flame through 90% of the book. Paige Toon created the slow burn, almost too well.

I did love the relationships / friendships between the characters though. The family dynamics took more of a prominent role than the romance did in this book. The complexities of a blended family and family legacies are huge themes in this book. It was interesting to read about a lot of the farm things because it wasn’t something I know much about. It did make you think a bit more about ranching / farming.

Overall, this was a good book. Despite it being slow, it created connection and heartache. At times towards the end of the book, I found myself welling with tears in my eyes and an ache in my chest. To me, that is markings of good writing.

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This was a sweet story with somewhat complicated characters and tensions. Main characters are likeable and believable, and side characters really shine. I'm looking forward to future stories about them. I really liked seeing strong family relationships in this book, as well as the romance elements, I have to admit the "twist" threw me a little, but overall, I think this is a great choice for readers of slightly darker, more complicated romances.

Happy Publication Day!!!! Thanks to Netgalley and Putnam Books for the E-ARC. To say I loved this book is a understatement. This was so much more than the story of Wren and Anders. This is about family relationships and how we hold feelings back that can grow and fester into something hurtful. I cant even put into words everything that this book made me feel I identified so much with Wren and her dynamic with her family but I was Bailey in all of this. I also felt my heart just break for Anders at many different points. I think I just cried the last hour of this book...ok cried is a understatement I was sobbing.

│ 5 ⭐️│

I loved this book. I’m struggling to find the words to adequately explain how much so. In just a few chapters I was hooked and couldn’t put it down. I finished in 24 hrs and I’m going to say I bet this will fall somewhere on my top books of the year.

I went in pretty much blind only knowing it was a contemporary romance. It ended up being so much more than that. It was about relationships, family dynamics and expectations, secrets, processing grief and more. This story was layered, it just kept getting deeper and deeper. So there’s no surprise I spent the last 20% of it sobbing because I was so attached to the characters.

This book really had me gripping my kindle the whole way through because I was never quite sure what was going to happen and I LOVE books that do this.

Short Plot Summary ❌ No Spoilers
Wren lives in the UK and when her engagement is broken, she decides to spend a few weeks in the USA (Indiana specifically) with her Dad. Her Dad and stepmom recently bought a farm and it’s summer so they are preparing for their first crop/fruit picking season. While spending time with her Dad, Stepmom, and step sister she meets the Fredrickson brothers, Jonas and Anders, from the farm next door. Wren tries to process her heartache, reconcile her childhood memories, and grow closer to her father and step sister. Will she be able to with Jonas and Anders next door? The brothers and their family have their own troubles and issues they are working through.

Thank you to @netgalley , @penguinusa , @putnambooks and the author for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒔:
✨Slow Burn
✨Emotional Romance
✨British Heroine
✨Family Dynamics
✨Second Chances

Only Love Can Hurt Like this has so much going on. It is heavy at times with a slow angsty romance.

Between the heavy we also got some comical banter between not only Anders and Wren but also Jonas and Bailey.

It was easy to connect with the characters because each of their struggles were real and many of us have gone through something similar or been close to someone who has.

I really enjoyed this story and would recommend it if you like slow burn second chance romances.

Title: Only Love Can Hurt Like This
Author: Paige Toon
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Five
Review:
"Only Love Can Hurt Like This" by Paige Toon

My Sentiments:

'Only Love Can Hurt Like This' was a good read if the child has gone through a divorce or even with a step-parent, as it was for Wren. The story was inspiring as it went through issues with family, the farm, love, grief, the airstream, twists, turns, and, let's not leave out, the well-developed characters. The story will also give one a 'heartbreaking' story before the end.


Thank you, NetGalley, for eARC in exchange for an honest review.