✨ARC Review✨ Only Love Can Hurt Like This is a love story that makes you question "what would you do for love?" Wren is visiting her father in America after her fiance leaves her and meets Anders. His family owns the farm next door and he's in town to try and help his parents and brother.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book is a roller coaster, in a good way. Wren and Anders are both carrying the baggage of the past and working to look forward. They are also both navigating the challenges of being adult children and seeing things through their parents eyes.

The relationship between Wren and Anders is slow burn, for good reason. The book takes you on a journey of Wren's healing from her old relationship, opening herself to her family, and finding what she wants. At the same time, she and Anders are pulled closer together, but he holds back. Anders own past, family complications, and his future are all at play for him.

It's an ARC and I don't want to give anything away, but this book was so good. It will pull at your heart strings and make you angry, but the end was worth it. The cast of characters is interesting with both families, plus people from the past.

If you are looking for a character driven, emotional love story, grab this when it's out on April 25, 2023.

@paige is a new to me author, but I am going to check out her back list. Thank you to @netgalley and @penguin for the advanced copy.

#bookreview #bookstagram #netgalley #onlylovecanhurtlikethis

Great story with lots of twists and turns. Pulls you in from the very beginning. An added benefit, the major setting was Indiana and she highlighted many places that I know. Someone unrelated to Indiana wouldn't notice the references, but people who live in Indy or Bloomington will really enjoy the setting.

Paige Toon is a popular UK author and this book right here is her first traditionally published book in the states! So exciting!

Short Synopsis:
When Wren’s fiancés leaves her, she packs her bags and heads to America to stay with his dad on his farm in Indiana. She reconnects with her half-sister and the two meet the brothers next door.

My Thoughts:
This book had a ton of potential! I loved the overall story and messy complicated romances. To me it felt like 100 pages too long though. There’s several trigger warnings that I wish I knew before going in as well.

Read if You Like:
🌽 Colleen Hoover books
🌽 Midwest romances
🌽 Alcohol
🌽 Pumpkin patches
🌽 Complicated family bonds
🌽 Messy romances

After Wren's fiancée breaks off their engagement, she travels from England to Indiana to spend a few weeks with her Dad in Indiana. She meets Anders, whose family lives next to her Dad's farm. As weeks go by, Wren and Anders spend a lot of time together restoring an Airstream and hanging out with their siblings. Wren finds herself interested in Anders but knows his wife died a few years ago. Yet it seems Anders is hiding a huge secret from Wren. Will they be able to work together? This wasn't only about Wren and Anders but also Wren's relationship with her dad, step-mother and step-sister and how they grow closer over the summer. It also shows how Wren, her step-sister, Anders and his brother all work together to help out their family farms.

If you love a good heartbreaking but oh so good romance- look no further! My heard ached reading this but it never took away from how fabulous it was! New favorite author!

Never read anything by this author. I was suprised how wonderful this book was. It tears at your heart what they go thru. I couldn’t imagine having to see my spouse be kept alive by machines. You can’t move on it’s like ur trapped with a person that’s only alive by machines. I cried a lot with this book. I would recommend this book.

I liked this book so much more than I thought I would. It kinda stole my heart... First of all, Paige Toon made Indiana actually feel charming and vibrant and a fantastic setting for a budding romance. I loved the main character's impressions of the Midwest and a modern farming / agritourist lifestyle. Besides her witty British humor, both she and her love interest had a huge amount of depth and their "slow burn" was so refreshing after so many of the graphic / more sex focused romances today. The only thing I didn't care for was the title but I think it makes sense after reading it. I'll definitely be recommending this book to those who need a good love story to get them out of their reading rut.

Thanks to Putnam for the copy of this ARC!

Wren’s fiancé is in love with someone else. When her relationship falls apart, she goes to her dad’s farm in Indiana go get out of the UK for awhile. There, she meets Anders - he’s got a wall up, but she can’t help but want to get to know him more.

Only Love Can Hurt Like This is a good intro to sad romance. While I expected to be sobbing based on the title, this is more of a “sad and hard circumstances that make love hard to navigate” kind of read where you won’t necessarily be 100% completely destroyed. Paige Toon does a great job of adding lots of subplot to her romance - there are really wonderful family and character background stories in this book as well. I absolutely loved the farm setting, dynamic between family and friends, and the way Wren and Anders got to know each other over the course of the book. There was a twist I didn’t expect and

Read if you:
- like the friends to lovers trope
- are a fan of racing
- love a farm setting for a romance
- want lots of plot with your romance

I know this makes me a terrible human, but I did end up DNF-ing this around 65%. I just wasn't getting anything from this. I tried to make it through all the way--I really did. I was interested by the premise and loved that it takes place in small town Indiana. But I just couldn't vibe with the writing style. I know I can be a real snob when it comes to writing, but this just felt a little stiff and choppy to me. This might have just been another case of "it's me, not you".

Only Love Can Hurt Like This captivated me from the start. The characters are relatable and entrenched in life situations that are painful, devastating, but so real. You can feel Ander's desperation about his choices, and Wren struggles as well. Lovely, engrossing story.

3.75 ⭐️ (rounded up)

I stayed up way too late to finish this novel because I just had to know what happened. Normally, that would be an automatic solid 4⭐️ rating for me. Unfortunately, and this may be because it is an ARC, the storyline was a bit clunky at times (especially toward the end of the book). Ultimately, I was satisfied with how things played out. If you are a fan of slow burn romance and exploring family dynamics, I would recommend picking this up when it comes out in April.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an eARC!

Only Love Can Hurt Like This is a heartbreaking story about love and loss. The characters were relatable and likable and I enjoyed how all of their lives meshed together and they grow together as the story unfolded. There were a few parts that drug on, but for the most part, the story was a quick read and I really enjoyed the journey the author takes the reader on.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the advanced copy of this book.

**I would like to thank NetGalley, G.P. Putnam's Sons/PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, and Paige Toon for an ARC of this book! This will be available on 4/25/23!**

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

To start, you need to go into this book with the correct expectations. Similar to In Five Years, this book was more about healing, self discovery, reconnecting with family, sisterhood, grief, and forgiveness than it was about romance. Romance definitely has its place though, don't worry. (hello slow burn)

Wren grew up in an unconventional family. Her father lives on a farm in Indiana with her step-mom and half sister, Bailey, while Wren has spent most of her life in England with her mom. After her fiancé reveals he is in love with someone else, she decides a trip to the US is just what she needs to lick her wounds and heal her pride.

Anders is the son of the family who owns the farm next door. He lost his wife four years ago and isn't ready to move on. No one can deny the chemistry him and Wren find, but his loyalty to his wife may break them apart.

I read this book in about 24 hours. This was a "stay up wayyyy too late to read only to find your alarm for work is going to go off any minute" type of book. Did I seriously regret the lack of sleep? Yes. Did I regret spending it on this book? No.

I found myself to be invested in the characters. I was rooting for them, sad for them, happy, excited, etc. Basically of the emotions.
I also loved the scenery. Small town farm in the middle of summer. There were fun events, fireflies, swimming in the lake, tiny bars where all the locals hang out. It made you want to climb inside the pages and join them.
This specific quote is just perfect: [ " Goose bumps spring up along my entire arm, racing all the way up my neck and down the other side. And they're not butterflies inside my stomach, they're fireflies, and they've lit up my insides with a warm glow, swooping and whirling." ] This would be so cute either way, but its even more perfect considering the setting.

Now for why I can't give it 5 stars. The ending and epilogue. Spoiler below:
[While I absolutely loved the POV switch, it can't cover up the fact that the ending was way too rushed. It didn't feel developed and was such a disappointment considering how incredible the rest of the book was. I hate it when everything is resolved in the last few pages cause... no its not. There isn't any real or believable resolution when the issues have developed the entire book.
The epilogue was even worse. I already felt off about the ending, but the epilogue was terrible. I almost wish it wasn't there. It didn't provide any closure, it just opened up even more questions. Even the way it was written was so different than the rest of the book. Some of what was in the epilogue should've been developed into the actual book. It seemed like she had written multiple little blurbs for what their future could look like, didn't want to narrow them down, didn't expand on them, and just mashed them together for the epilogue. Just a poor, disappointing ending for an incredibly beautiful story.]

“Only Love Can Hurt Like This” is about a woman, “Wren”, that has to endure the pain of being left by her fiancé for his “true love”. While dealing with the pain she travels to visit family and explores the difficult and unique dynamic she has with her relatives. In the process she meets and makes new friends that help her see her situation in a different light. There are smiles, twists, and emotion in this novel.

It’s been awhile since a book has caused me to shed real tears, but this one did it. I fell in love with the characters and their responses to their situations.

This definitely falls into the romance genre but if you’re looking for smut, this ain’t it. I’m a lover of all genres, and absolutely adored this book. Highly recommend

I think the description and cover of this were better than the reality of it. An ok purchase for libraries with fans of Meet me at the lake

What a sweet story with these two beautiful souls. This is the kind of “romance” I really love. Believable characters who learn how to grasp life and take chances. Well done!

Only Love Can Hurt Like This by Paige Toon was a wonderful romance that had me wondering—why is this my first Paige Toon book??? I loved the author's writing style, and the emotional undertones that had me reaching for my tissues several times. Wren was a character I was definitely rooting for from the very first page. Highly recommend!!

I always love reading stories about women that go back home to reconnect with family. I enjoy the way Toon wrote about the main character’s relationship with their father and step-sister the most.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. Three stars!

I have never read anything by Paige Toon before, but after Only Love Can Hurt Like This I am a major fan! Wow. What a compelling read. This book told a story that was full of love, grief, and hope and will stay with me for a long time. I can't wait to read the rest of Toon's work.

ONLY LOVE CAN HURT LIKE THIS • Paige Toon

Y’all, your girl is a becoming a HUGE Paige Toon fan. The minute I finished recovering from “Someone I Used to Know” I was queuing up this eARC. Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Brief (purposefully vague) Synopsis: When Wren realizes her fiancé is in love with someone else, she thinks her heart will never recover. Wren hopes that spending the summer with her dad and stepfamily on their farm in Indiana will help her to heal. But is more heartbreak waiting for her out in the cornfields of Indiana?

I loved the chemistry between Wren and her love interest but more importantly, I loved watching the growing relationships between Wren and her family. I think the reason I am so impressed with Toon is because she takes these beautiful romance stories and fills them with meaning — not just between the MC and love interest but through every relationship featured in her stories. She also knows how to add a few secrets/twists to add to the tension!

TL;DR: This was a story of healing and love that will leave your heart feeling full.