This book absolutely crushed me in the best way. Comparable to Coleen Hoover level of writing, this story was beautiful.

Only Love Can Hurt Like This by Paige Toon is a book about how relationships can indeed hurt and heal. How loss can impact individuals and how people can learn to love again. It's an emotional ride that will leave readers rooting for Wren and Anders.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

I read this one last year and needed some time to think about my review. This is my first Paige Toon read and when I saw that it was being compared to Colleen Hoover I knew I needed to read it. I am a HUGE Hoover fan.
Sadly, I really struggled with this book. I wanted to love it. It had all the makes of a read I usually love but I had a very hard time with the main character, Wren. She was very superficial in my opinion and I could not connect with her. I tried, but I just couldn't. There also weren’t many side characters I really enjoyed either and that really makes or breaks a story for me.
I am still going to give Toon another shot as I just got Five Years From Now and I am pretty excited to read it

Not your typical rom com . This one was much deeper . This book felt more like a slow burn . Their is a surprising twist in this book . You will definitely feel all the feels with this one.

I'm so happy I finally got around to reading this. What an emotional story, that drew me in from the beginning. Even when I thought I knew where the story was going, it sent me for some curves. Just the right amount of emotions and romance. Definitely would like to read more from Paige Toon in the future.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

I had tried this book previously on a few different occasions and I could not get into it, however, I am happy to say that I finally got it to stick and I finished it.

It was not a bad book by any means, but I don't think it resonated with me. There were a few times when I found myself skimming through. While the descriptions and imagery were beautiful, it felt like too much at times and it made me lose focus/interest.

I appreciate how easy the rest of it was to read, and I liked the other characters for the most part. The mystery of Anders's past was super intriguing and ultimately was what kept me reading.

Loved this book! I felt all thr feels during this read. Smiled, laughed, cried, and wish it didn't end. On the hunt for my next Paige Toon book!

3.5 stars.

Wren discovers her fiancé is in love with someone else, and she decides to leave and spend the summer with her father in Indiana. She didn’t keep in touch with him after her parents divorced because he had a new family, and they weren’t very welcoming to her. But over the summer, she gets to know them and they her.

Anders is very standoffish and grumpy. He was still heartbroken over losing his wife four years ago, but he had an undeniable pull toward Wren. He fought it, but he couldn’t hold out forever.

This was different than the whole ‘one MC (usually the FMC) catches their partner cheating’ trope. In this instance, he didn’t try to hide it and was honest about his feelings. Yes, I felt bad for Wren, but she wasn’t all that heartbroken, and I liked that they both agreed that there just wasn’t that spark between them any more.

Most of the story is told from Wren’s POV, but it’s Anders’s POV that brings the emotional pain. The big twist that I wasn’t expecting. I was shocked, and I felt so, so bad for him. He was such a good guy, so kind, caring, and sweet despite his grumpy attitude. He didn’t deserve that treatment from a certain someone.

It took me a while to really get into this story, but once I did, I ended up liking it. These two slightly broken souls found healing and love from not only each other, but the people around them too. This was my first book by Paige Toon, and I look forward to reading more.

Wow, this was heartbreaking and left me with so many mixed feelings. This is 100-% a five star read. I loved every character and didn’t hate anyone.. that never happens. It made me cry more than once.. physical tears -also rare. This book left me with so many questions around some of my core beliefs, and I LOVE books like that. 

I really love emotional reads, and I could tell from the first page that this would be a tearjerker. What I didn't know was that it would bring up some philosophical questions and uncomfortable feelings. I don't want to give any spoilers, but the circumstances surrounding Anders' wife really were so disturbing and that secret was earth shattering. It's so hard to explain why without giving too much information, but the plot line really makes you think deeply about how far "til death do us part" goes. I think that one's feelings about that phrase could definitely impact how they feel about this book. 

At first I couldn’t understand Wren's actions after finding out the secret that Anders was keeping. I think it was the bravest thing to fight for her and for Anders to try to give him the new life he deserves - I just think she shouldn’t have let it go so far.. she had to know he would feel so guilty right? I actually had mentally prepared myself for a completely different ending because it seemed as though it was headed in that direction, and I think the story would have been that much more powerful. The ending also felt pretty rushed. 

Overall, I would definitely recommend it. This one would be GREAT for book clubs because there are so many good talking points.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this arc.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

What an emotional roller coaster!
Wren’s life is turned upside down when she finds out her fiancé is in love with someone else. She hopes to heal her broken heart by spending the summer with her Dad and stepmother on their farm in Indiana.
Wren meets Anders, a neighbor, who lost his wife 4 years ago.
While they are both struggling to heal they find comfort in each other. This had such a shocking revelation!!! My jaw dropped!! This was definitely a slow burn but so good!! I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more of Paige Toon as this was my first book I’ve read by her.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this eARC in exchange for my honest review

Thank you to publisher, author, and NetGalley for giving me an advance copy of this book!

Paige Toon is one of my auto buy and read author, so this was another amazing book written by her. The story is captivating and awesome as always. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of Only Love Can Hurt Like This by Paige Toon.

This was my first book by Paige Toon and definitely won't be my last. I really loved this and will be thinking about it for a while. The characters were likeable and the reading pace was good. I enjoyed that the book encompassed more than just Wrens breakup.

Thank you PENGUIN GROUP Putnam and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Only Love Can Hurt Like This took me on such an emotional ride, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. There are a ton of intricacies and interrelationships here that keep the book interesting without weighing the reader down. Not to mention that the author approaches a unique and painful situation with a lot of grace. I really enjoyed this and look forward to more from Toon.

Wren has come to visit her dad, and step mother in America from England after her own wedding is called off.
For a couple of weeks in the summer she intends to forget her woes and give herself a fresh start upon her return.
But she finds herself falling for a neighboring farming family's son, Anders. Standoffish after the loss of his wife, she Wren thinks there is no chance he will return her affections, but maybe?
This started off a sweet, summer romance and turned into a sad, slightly choppy tragic love story.
Wren and Anders were the only characters given any sort of depth, and even that felt minimal. Their focus seemed to be primarily on how they were feeling towards one another... but I never quite understood why? Other than a few quips and awkward interactions there didn't seem to be a lot of relationship building between the,
The scenes between Wren and her sister had more depth.
The side characters, sibling other family were not very well fleshed out.
Overall, a bit disappointing.

A life changing love story with an HEA.

Wren lives in England and breaks up with her fiance. In order to help her heal she goes to see her dad in America. While spending the summer with her dad in Indiana she crosses paths with Anders. However, Anders has a deep secret that will hurt Wren.

This was predictible in parts of the book. Wren was a flat imature character. I had a hard time liking her and becoming interested in her. She was phony. Anders was a good guy but didn't have the backbone to deal with his "secret". Wren's stepmother was unlikeable. The story dragged us down a path about Wren's half-sister that she wants to have an affair with Anders brother . Not sure what this had to really do with the story. It made it feel choppy. Also, the epilogue was too long and to much repetition.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

I really enjoyed this book. The title truly describes what this book is about and how love just really hurts sometimes. I found myself heartbroken several times throughout this book and then I cried because there were such sweet moments. I definitely look forward to more from this author.

Not my typical romance book I’d be drawn to reading, but I really enjoyed the story.

Wren and Zander’s were great main characters to follow, who brought a different type of pain/hurt to the story they were both working through. With that, they created a wonderful friendship between one another and helped each other in ways they didn’t expect.

Overall, enjoyed the the setting of the story and the little twist at the end.

I was lucky to receive an advance copy of Only Love Can Hurt Like This by Paige Toon from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review and opinion. WOW this is one heckuva read! You will feel all the emotions in this one. My only comment is you need to clear your night as this book will captivate you and keep you up way late into the night.