I’ve officially read my first five star romance of the year! ‘Only Love Can Hurt Like This,’ Paige Toon’s upcoming release was a tearjerker, I’m not going to lie.

Toon’s novel begins when Wren and her fiancé break up. He falls in love with his co-worker and Wren decides to leave England and visit her father in the US to clear her head. Heading to stay with her father, stepmother, and half sister on a farm makes her anxious, but all starts to disappear when she meets Anders her first night there.

I’ll stop with the summary because I don’t want to give too much away. One of my favorite parts of ‘Only Love Can Hurt Like This’ was the family dynamics and seeing how much Wren and Anders care for their families, but realizing that sometimes you have to put yourself first.

This story was a perfect second chance at love tale and now I think I might have to take a visit to Indiana (?) Toon included perfect side characters and great individual character arcs to top off the already perfect love story. I highly recommend ‘Only Love Can Hurt Like This’ to everyone.

Thank you to Netgalley, Putnam, and Paige Toon for this ARC, pub day is April 25!

This is my first Paige Toon read and I will be going back to read all of her other books. This one was amazing, emotional, happy, heartbreaking, all of it.

Wren takes a trip to America to visit her dad after her engagement ends when her fiance falls in love with someone else. What was intended to be a quick two week trip, turns into a life-changing summer. She meets Anders, his brother, and his parents who have a farm next to her dad and step-mom's. This summer allows her to connect with her family in a way she has never done before and gives her the chance to bond with Anders. The problem is, he has a secret that has the potential to shatter her heart.

The characters, the topics, the feelings are all so flawlessly written. For anyone who craves an emotional connection with fictional characters - this book will fill your bucket.

This was an exceptional read. The emotions I felt for the characters of this book were overwhelming. I cried, I laughed, I mourned. The brothers were such astonishingly good men who made your heart melt with compassion and love. The sisters struggling to come to terms with their parents mistakes made my heart wrench. I would definitely recommend this book.


Thank you to the author and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and offer my critique of this book.

This was my first read by Paige Toon and I was not disappointed. Paige can write!! I fell in love with this book and the characters. I am not one to cry in books and I came really close to shedding tears at the end of this. This will give you all the feels. I highly recommend this book if you are looking for a good heartfelt story. Also I can't say enough about the cover of this book. That was the a big reason I wanted to read the book. It just drew me to this book.



Thank you NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for allowing me to read this ARC in advance for my honest opinion.

Only Love Can Hurt Like This felt very much like a Hallmark Movie, but with a bit of a twist. After a breakup, Wren leaves England to go visit with her father and stepmother in Indiana for a couple weeks in the summer. Shortly after getting into town, her and her stepsister go out to a bar and thats when Wren first lays eyes on Anders, who turns out to be from the farming family next door. A friendship blossoms, Wren grows feelings, she extends her stay and there's even a harvest. But Anders can't seem to let go of the wife he lost years ago.
I felt the book started a bit slow but once it picked up steam I enjoyed it. I do like Hallmark movies so even though this felt predictable at times (with the exception of the twist but I won't give spoilers!), I did like the plot. I'd give this a solid 3.5 but will round up to 4.
Thanks to Penguin Group Putnam, NetGalley and the author for access to this arc.

This is first book that I've read by this author. Enjoyable story although predictable at times. The characters all have interesting back stories that gradually come out and will give readers a deep look into their lives. Ander's surprising twist is heart breaking and emotionally drives the story. Loved Bambi! Recommended.

The first half of this book was just ok, but I was interested in the romance developing so I kept going. The twist at the end I did not see coming and was unexpected for a romance and not a thriller. I also loved to the evolution of the characters and the lessons that Wren learned about herself throughout the story. In the end I cried for the last few chapters of the book and epilogue. I fell in love with Wren and Anders and their story. I felt like the epilogue went on forever and most of it could have been included in the actual story. I think these characters will stick with me for a long time.

A beautiful story!

There were so many lessons within this book; it spoke to me in a way. I loved reading about Wren and how she tackled the obstacles within this book. Even the side characters were great! This was a fun read through the sad, funny, and predictable moments. I definitely recommend it!

If you need a good cry, this is the book for you. Tragic, sweet, funny. Absolutely loved it.
Although the epilogue felt very rushed but a nice tied bow is required in this genre.

Only Love Can Hurt Like This by Paige Toon
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Review: I’ve been in a huge slump this entire month. It’s practically April and I’ve read next to nothing. I’ve picked up a few books and ended up putting them back down because I just couldn’t focus. And then this book came along. It’s fantastic!! Getting lost in this story and falling in love with these characters was exactly what I needed to break this slump. It got me excited to read again. This story is warm, funny, romantic, surprisingly deep and even had a little twist I didn’t see coming. I wanted to stay with these characters long after their story was over. I am SO looking forward to diving into Paige Toon’s backlist because the style of writing was just awesome. This book releases on April 25, 2023 and I highly recommend it. I know I’ll be buying a copy to add to my collection because I will 100% be reading again. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

An earth-shattering secret. A life-changing love story. When Wren realizes her fiancé is in love with someone else, she thinks her heart will never recover. On the other side of the world, Anders lost his wife four years ago and is still struggling to move on. Wren hopes that spending the summer with her dad and step-family on their farm in Indiana will help her to heal. There, amid the cornfields and fireflies, she and Anders cross paths and their worlds are turned upside-down again. But Wren doesn't know that Anders is harboring a secret, and if he acts on any feelings he has for Wren it will have serious fall-out for everyone. Walking away would hurt Wren more than she can imagine. But, knowing the truth, how can she possibly stay?

MY FREAKING HEART! Ugh looking for a romance book that will pull at your emotions? This one IS IT! This was my first Paige Toon book and I will definitely be going back to read her backlist. For such a closed door slow burn of a book, I was so hooked and emotional. This was the perfect balance of corny romance beautiful love story. I stayed up well past my bedtime to finish it. Thats how you know it's a good read. I loved Wren's bonding with her step family. The small farm town was such a cute quaint setting. Anders was such a broody hero. I was here for the push and pull of it all. The plot twist I did. not see coming. It was a little dramatic and unrealistic, but it didn't bother me that much. If anything.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review. This book releases 4/25.

A big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the early review copy, all thoughts are my own.

I have heard of this author before but have not read her work until this book, and I was pleasantly surprised! Excellent writing, and I enjoyed the story. The main female character did annoy me a few times, but I ended up really liking it. 4 stars!

Wren’s love journey is not straight as she travels to America to heal her heart after a broken engagement. Her time there is spent building relationships with her father, step mother, and half-sister Bailey. She also tries hard not to fall for the neighbor’s son Anders who has a complicated past. Paige Toon’s title is appropriate as Wren and Anders navigate their way through getting to know one another and try to avoid the obvious.

This slow burn romance kept me interested and provided plot twists to the end. I appreciated the details in the novel and how Paige Toon developed characters. Thank you NetGalley and Putnam books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Emotionally evocative, this novel drew me in and seamlessly pulled an array of emotions out of me!!! Loss, heartbreak, love - this novel had it all, and then some! I especially loved the deep character development Paige thoughtfully constructed! Bravo!

I was kind of excited to read this book so I didn't wait for April or before its pub date to get it started. However, halfway through the book, I started doubting whether I should continue or not.

The first two or three chapters held my attention. However, after that, halfway through, I started questioning whether I should continue to read or not and weather it was still worth it. I gave it a chance but at 60%, I started skimming until the last page.

I found the story repetitive, just kept going around in circles, very slow and some parts just dragged on and on. Oh I know it's meant to be a slow burn, but it's too slow. I was waiting for some feelings to surface between Wren and Anders, but I didn't feel any spark or connection at all even when they admitted being in love with each other. I felt that it was a little bit forced. I found the main characters boring. In fact, I think Jonas was more interesting and the hint of spark with Bailey which was weird because Bailey is married.

Then, the plot twist... the revelation. I don't think it worked for me for some reasons I cannot tell because I don't want to spoil. I think that the story is beautiful, but the delivery could have been better. It has a lot of potentials, but it's just not for me. So go ahead, read this book and you might like it better than I did!

Thanks to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

only negative thing i have to say is that i wish it was longer. i loved all of the characters, but adored wren and anders. i appreciate, in a way, that their relationship is complicated for reasons. You got me with the tears. i also felt like i was living on a farm in small town indiana, which is cool. i’ve never been. man, i loved this. wish i could go back to hours ago and read it for the first time. just an addictive read that i finished in one night.

thanks to NetGalley and publishers for this ARC!

My heart was all in for every moment, every heartbeat, every glance, every tear, every smile, every emotion that swirled through the pages of this book. Each of the characters—Wren, Anders, Bailey, Jonas, and also their parents—were complex characters with many layers making them who they were, what they, felt, and how they reacted to all the highs and lows of this book. This is a love story that will tug at your heart, but this is also a story of family, of all the deep and complicated feelings provoked by those we love the most. Wren and Anders and their story will stay with me for a long time.

Review in progress and to come.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review

Romance novels can be hit or miss for me and this one HIT. Wow 🙌🏼 This follows a woman who feels a little lost when her husband leaves her for another woman. She has to find herself and her passions when life doesn’t go as planned. The romance is beautiful and heart-wrenching. There is a twist towards the end where I was torn on which direction I wanted the story to take but the ending was perfect.

❤️What I LOVED:
This book felt like a huge advocacy effort for mental health. It models validation and acceptance for when others are struggling. There are a lot of men in this book who are exploring their emotions and finding ways to talk about it. It’s still so common for depression and grief to be swept under the rug and this book was a beautiful encouragement to let yourself FEEL.

Thank you so much for honoring me with reading and reviewing this one.

This story is absolute perfection. It is described as being “in the spirit of Colleen Hoover and Jojo Moyes’s Me Before You.” It made me feel every emotion and truly made me think about all of the different forms that love comes in at different points in our lives. It is a truly beautiful read.