When Wren learns her fiancé is leaving her for his business partner, she decides to take some time out of town visiting her father in the U.S., but her father isn’t the only man she finds herself wanting to spend time with.

The premise of this book had me anxious to start reading. When the MC’s fiancé leaves her in the first chapter, it’s hard not to know what will go on from there. I loved the character development between Wren, her dad and stepmother and half sister. I also loved the setting - small town farmland in USA. It felt very Lovelight Farms (which is a favorite of mine).

The overall plot was pretty good. I definitely wasn’t expecting the bomb that was dropped which added depth to the story but also a bit of frustration. I’d like to think that the situation revealed in the book would be handled a lot differently by people in the real world.

Based on the “Colleen Hoover meets Me Before You” description, I really expected to shed some tears, but honestly this one didn’t hit me in the feels like I hoped it would. Also I’m ready for some books that don’t have the dramatic third-act breakup. It just feels too common in romance books anymore. For these reasons, I dropped my rating to 3 stars. Still an enjoyable read, but I really wanted to sob ok!

A multilayered romance with a bombshell plot twist that you won’t see coming!

The story is laced with complicated family bonds and expectations. It’s funny, emotional, and devastatingly relatable. Toon’s ability to connect the reader to the characters is superb, and you’ll be rooting for them from the very start.

This could absolutely be a comfort read, there’s a feel good aspect to it, despite the moments of palpable tension and past devastation.

I blew through this in 24 hours - it’s the perfect weekend read! Highly recommend!

The title is very appropriate for this intense read.
It will slam your heart into the ground.
I love that the author included farming in southern Indiana, an area and field I am very familiar with.
I loved all the descriptions of the work on the Airstream because although I’m not a camper, I just like the thought of it.
The emotions in the book are all over the place and part of it is just tragic and honestly hard to read about.
The combine scenes were my favorite.
It’s a story worth reading.

I love angst books and this one was no exception. It was perfect in every way. I look forward to another read by this author.

This book was so good!! From the issues of dealing with separation and divorce to the love story itself!! The book started off a little slow until the big secret came out. I could not put the book now. I felt all the pain from both sides. Parts of it were soul crushing. But other parts were so funny.

Only Love Can Hurt Like This is the first book I’ve read by Paige Toon and I already cannot wait to read more of her work. I devoured this story in one sitting.

Wren flees her small English town with a broken heart and a lifelong worth of hurts and insecurities that are exacerbated when she arrives at her Dad and stepmom’s house in America. She has always felt like an outsider within the family her dad created with her stepmom and half sister, when he left her mother. Wren is in Indiana trying to heal her wounds after her fiance confessed to being in love with another woman and is protecting her heart from further damage by keeping an emotional distance from her dad, stepmom, and sister, Bailey.

On a night out with her sister Bailey, Wren meets Anders and his brother Jonas who become quick friends, but her attraction to Anders is immediate. Unfortunately, Anders is also broken-hearted and not looking to start a romance with anyone, anytime soon.

Slowly, Wren starts to lower her walls around her sister and begins to realize that her childhood heartbreak and feelings of abandonment have caused her to act as an outsider with her family, even when they were genuinely trying to show her affection.

Anders has become important to Wren and helps her understand that she does not see herself clearly and that she is worthy of love and admiration from her family. All the while its obvious that they are falling hard for each other, but Anders is quick to retreat as soon as he feels he is getting too close to Wren. It’s frustrating, but their affection for one another never wavers. Eventually, we learn the true extent of Anders’ heartbreak and why it's keeping him from Wren.

Wren and Anders’ story broke my heart and then pieced it back together. I loved every page of their story. I loved watching Wren heal her relationship with her family, I loved watching her grow her relationship with her sister, I loved the friendship she formed with Jonas, I loved watching her heal her broken heart and risk it all with Anders even knowing it would probably devastate her. Also, the epilogue was perfect.

This is my first book by Paige Toon and it definitely won’t be my last!

This was such a heartbreaking and emotional story of broken people who just want to be loved. This story made my heart swell but break at the same time. I loved all of the characters and just couldn’t get enough. I laughed, I cried and I feel like this story will stick with me for awhile.

I loved Wren and watching her grow from an insecure woman to a woman who knows what she wants and what she deserves. Anders is the perfect man for her despite the adversities he is facing.


This book releases April 25th and I highly recommend it! I will definitely be buying myself a copy to add to my collection.

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam Books for this digital ARC, in exchange for a honest review.

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.