Wren always seems to be on the wrong side of love. Her father left her and her mother when she was a child, prompting a move to England with her mother. As the years go by, relationships never quite gel for her and she goes from heartbreak to heartbreak, never quite feeling like she's ever going to fit in and be truly loved. Visiting her father and his new wife and her half-sister in Indiana one spring, Wren meets a pair of brothers from the farm across the road from her father's modest farm. She is immediately taken by Anders, the quiet, more reserved brother who seems to be friendly enough but is holding back what both he and Wren are beginning to feel for each other. Will this be yet another heartbreak for Wren? Why does Anders act the way he does? What is in his past that he just can't overcome in order to love her?
A romance novel that has an interesting twist. Engaging characters and lovely scenes of farm life in Indiana.

Wow! What a surprise this book was!! A very emotional surprise! My first read by this author & she pulled on all the heart strings!
The feeling of authenticity was overwhelming🙌🏼 I totally fell in love with….Well I fell in love with everyone!🥴🫣 Including Paige Toon. Oh Gahh, she turned me into a whole harlot!🤣

Honestly, so many emotions at play here. I felt the heartache, the longing & despair as if they were my own.
Toon weaved all these moving parts together so well, with a lil shock-nugget that blew my hair back & choked me up.
I’m rambling, I know. But I blame the book! I started & finished yesterday, but I do believe I have a smidge of a hangover, and I can’t blame this one on booze🥴 Just read it!
I’m going on a P Toon shopping trip.
Thanks to NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

I'm not familiar with the novels of Paige Toon - does she(they?) normally write YA romance? This tone of this story felt so wrong - no 29 yr old professional architect would think and act so awkwardly... I did find the Indiana farm land setting interesting. The setting was the best part about this story. I've yet to read any Colleen Hoover novels - if her writing is anything like Toon's, it will be a hard pass for me.

Only Love Can Hurt Like This does a wonderful job of exploring the complexities, disappointments, sorrows and joys of loving others. It delves into both familial and romantic love and shows the grief and pain that infidelity causes all parties involved. It also shows the healing power of acceptance and forgiveness.
Although I enjoyed the story and appreciated the complex theme the author was trying to explore, I found that I wasn’t as deeply moved as I expected to be after hearing so much about this book. It was a good read, just not a great one for me. However, it’s a book I can easily recommend to patrons who enjoy this type of story.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.
#OnlyLoveCanHurtLikeThis #NetGalley

It’s not very often a story can make me ugly cry, but this one achieved that. There’s so much depth to this story and these characters it’s absolutely refreshing. This book hits on so many topics that’s there’s got to be something that everyone can identify with. There is discussion of depression and suicide if that is a trigger for you just be aware, but it’s done in a very tasteful way. Overall this book was just so heartwarming and complex that it makes me want to go read everything else from this author. This one is going to stick with me for a while.

Oh my gosh! Get the tissues. I haven’t read Paige Toon before. I always go in blind. And I loved the slow build up. The keeping her at arm’s length. The twist. The go away, no come here, no go away. I started crying at 75% in and didn’t stop til well after I finished! Great Job!

Wow this story had me captivated from the first page. I read this novel in one sitting and goodness me, was it heart wrenching and beautiful. I loved the romance but the relationships between family was just as Interesting. This is a must read

This was my first Paige Toon book that I picked up to read, and it definitely will not be my last! The writing was absolutely beautiful and super easy to get into! (And that's a huge plus coming from someone who falls into a reading slump if a read was too challenging to follow) And Paige just has this magical way to make you fall for her characters so quickly! Now I'll admit, it's not easy that I am completely suprised by a romance novel these days, even though it is undoubtedly my favorite genre, but this one just had such a different and refreshing feel to me, and I cannot wait to pick this wonderful author back up in the future!

The blurb compared to to meyers and Hoover. And honestly it tracks. I really felt like it was trying way too hard to be like these other others and didn’t develop a voice of it’s own.

I accepted this book for review on a whim, because the promo line essentially says it’s a read-alike for Jojo Moyes and I loved the Me Before You series. Unfortunately this one just didn’t work for me, and it was an ok read but probably not something I’ll think about again.

It actually started off very good, and I was pulled in by Wren’s dilemma with her fiancé breaking things off with her. I liked the writing and description of those moments, and how Wren and he both responded. And I loved the family dynamics playing out, and getting to see how Wren’s family was still working through a lot of stuff from the divorce that happened during her childhood, and how she had to work to change things now as an adult in her 30s. A lot of us can relate lol. I also enjoyed the fleshed out careers of characters and the Indiana locations. I spent some very pivotal times in Bloomington, Indy, etc, and I liked the way the general vibe was captured of the places and the farming.

However, the story transitions were clunky to me and I could get past it when they started happening in the final third of the novel. I know the secret that Ander’s is keeping is supposed to be very shocking and yet sympathetic but it felt unrealistic that Wren wouldn’t have found out sooner if, as Anders and others say, it wasn’t a secret just something personal that didn’t get shared easily. It is probably this that also made it feel a bit like a flimsy way to make the story happen, and why the desperately sad situation felt more like the melodrama of cheap tv than a deeply affecting story I was reading. On top of this, the author suddenly switches to Anders POV/narration at the end and it’s so jarring that coupled with the previous issues I just lost connection completely.

Maybe someday I’ll try another book by this author. But for now, my rating is: “meh”.

I'm sure many people will enjoy this book, but it was not really my kind of story. Will be a nice beach read. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

Such a beautiful novel and just what I was needing! A novel that will break your heart in the best way! Beautiful and unforgettable read!

This was a great read. The story was very character driven which was so well done. The story was a little slow at times but ended up being well worth the time.

This is the first time I have ever read a book by Paige Toon. When an author is said to be of the likes of Colleen Hoover, one must read said book being described as such. This book, while slow at times, was a great read with a heart breaking storyline, but with the ending that everybody wants, much like the said Colleen Hoover's books. Paige Toon, is all about the romance, I've gathered from looking at her previously published book titles and from this book, with 'love' in the titles. I recommend this book to anybody looking for a slow burn, non spicy book, Colleen Hoover-esq book, with a little room for love and a tiny bit of crying.

After a not so heartbreaking breakup, Wren is visiting her father and sister in small town Indiana for a few weeks in the summer, when she crosses paths with Anders and Jonas, two brothers from the neighboring farm. Wren is taken with Anders and soon finds herself spending all of her time with the brothers, but Anders is secretive and may be harboring a secret that will make Wren pull back from their budding romance. Will the secrets keep them apart or will they find a way to be together?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free advanced readers copy of Only Love Can Hurt Like This by Paige Toon, in exchange for my honest review. I look forward to reading Paige's previously published books as well as her future works.

This is a first time author for me and she did not disappoint! It’s an easy feel good love story that captures all the emotions. Her characters come to life and keep you engaged in their lives. Divorce, grief and true love are written with such truth and feeling that make her characters so real. #OnlyLoveCanHurtLikeThis #PaigeToon #NetGalley

Only Love Can Hurt Like This is an exceptional page-turner strengthening the concepts of love, loyalty, honesty, hard-work, faithfulness and eventually peace. The characters are strong and supportive of each other to the point of exhaustion but out of love and respect which is so evident throughout the novel. This is a fantastic read.

Troupe- Small town romance and definitely a slow burn. Wren and Anders two people with so much baggage!! I love the characters: Wren, Anders, Jonas, Bailey. I love the development of the plot and characters was executed great. I love Paige Toon's writing and she never disappoints!!

Only Love Can Hurt Like This, is a heart-wrenching love story. Fans of Colleen Hoover will love this book and the twists and turns it takes. I can’t wait to read more!!!

Summary – After being dealt a crummy hand in life and her recent break up with her fiancé, Wren returns to the states to spend time with her father and escape her troubles. After a drunken night on the town with her half-sister Bailey she runs into neighbor Anders while walking home. After spending the summer on her dads farm and with the neighbors she realizes she has devolved feelings for Anders only he has some major unresolved baggage. During this time on the farm Wren also has time to heal her relationship with her father, step-mom, and half-sister Bailey. Love can hurt but will Wren and Anders work things out?


Pros- I really liked that the characters didn’t seem immature, I also liked how things wrapped up with Anders and Laurie's parents. This started out as an extremely slow burn for me but picked up around 50% and I could not wait to see what happened.

Cons- Started out as a very slow burn

Troupe- Small town romance

TW- Rejection, Cheating

ARC provided by NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam in exchange for honest review.

I have never read anything by Paige Toon before but I will now. This was a delightful read with great characters. It had me captivated right from the start.