I have tried to read this book multiple times. Each time I pick it up, I read a few pages, and when I put it down, I have no desire to pick it back up.

Thank you for the ARC!

This is the first <b>arc</b> I was approved for so I immediately jumped into it. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers. I must admit the main reason I wanted to read it was because of the cover and magical realism element and less because of the premise but it gave everything it needed to give. I will definitely be checking out more from Sarah.

You will fall in love with the entire cast of characters as much as I did. They’re genuinely all so silly, unique, special and a honestly a comfort. Especially Trevor, Romina’s close friend. He’s such a dork, I love him. I would immediately read a book or novella of Trevor and Teyonna because they are so perfect for each other.

Once the main plot kicks in and our mmc is introduced, it’s a breeze. The last 25% or so was mostly just them being a really adorable couple with heartfelt moments. So if you get uninterested once the couple gets together then this isn’t for you, but if you like to read fluff of two people just being in love, definitely recommend.

Very lighthearted, I laughed so much. I’d reread lines and even pages that were just so genuinely hilarious. Cozy vibes the whole time with the town and the shop, cute romance, precious family relationships, and great banter.

There was a slight commentary I appreciated on how people judge or persuade women to either have kids because their life won’t be complete otherwise, or tell them to stay single/not have kids because they tie you down. When it’s no one else’s choice decision.

Love love love the chapter titles being the flower meanings and foreshadowing the chapter. <i>Periwinkle: My heart was mine until we met. Enchanters nightshade: you have bewitched my heart with you charms Mistletoe: I send you my kisses, as many as the stars. Maidenhair: I am utterly yours.</i>

<b>spoilers ahead</b>

Alexander King is a perfect love interest. I was cheesing like a maniac at everything he said and did. He’s cheeky and teasing but has such a genuine heart. I love Romina too. Sometimes female mcs of romance books can be annoying to me but I was rooting for her. I could feel her pain deeply. Her hesitation and fear of being in a relationship again was understandable and she handled everything surprisingly well. Great name choice also, I understand why Alex likes to say it twice lol. They also have pretty good communication (despite the blatant lying in the beginning) and there is no third act breakup.

Can we talk about how each time one of them sees the other, they call it a date and it’s the cutest thing 🫶🏼😭 “We had another one yesterday, did you know?” “Was it good?” “It was fantastic. I drove past while you were collecting your mail. Drive-by date.”

My only dislike is that after he finds out for sure that they were fake dating, they “messed around” in the field. It was so jarring and for some reason made me take a few days break from the book. I can’t figure out a coherent reason as to why I didn’t like it but just know I didn’t. After getting back into it though, I was loving it all over again. The second and only other spice scene was much better. It even started off awkward and silly with interruptions like the music gone wrong, her kneeing him in the groin, her stomach growling. Being much later in the book, it had a lot of tension leading up to it and was more romantic. I would have preferred if that was the only one though.

The THEN chapters make me want to read a high school romance next or watch a kdrama.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Other: 🔮💖🌺💒🕯️
Genre: Contemporary Romance
POV: Single

While fake dating her business partner in an attempt to get a small business loan from his father, Romina Tempest runs into her first (and only?) love, Alex King. Keeping up the ruse becomes difficult when both sides start falling for someone else. But in order to get the loan for their business (and save face in front of their jealous exes), they have to keep up the lie as long as possible.

I'll be totally honest that this book had a ways to climb for me because right off the bat second chance romance is one of my least favorite tropes. On the other hand, I'm putty for a good fake dating romp. I loved this book all the way through the fake dating escapades but the second half of the book almost felt like a completely different story. The pacing (as well as the actually timeline of the novel) slowed waaaay down and I got a little bored waiting for the HEA.

Hogle is a fantastic writer. All her characters have a genuine warmth and I would love to see if the book turns into a series with love stories for Romina's two sisters (as is heavily implied). It was a quick & fun read & I'm happy to return to Moonville, OH if she goes back there.

You know. It's become a thing for me to read a witchy rom-com in the month of January for no explicable reason at all. And here I find myself yet again predicting it to be the worst book I'll read all year.

This may sound harsh and trust me, I hate stating my feelings so explicitly and so negatively. But if I were the type of person who could just stop and simply not continue, I would have done so at 15%.

I loathed Alex. He outright laughed in a woman's face when told her profession. I mean the profession is flora fortunist so a healthy dose of skepticism is okay but he was such an asshole the entire first half of this book. He presented better names for her cats. He read her private journal despite her protestations to stop. Demanded that she "prove 'she is' magic." Worst of all, he wore a Ohio state cap unironically. And then suddenly he magically (forgive my pun) turned into a charming, fully formed, adult man.

There was too much going on and here we saw every trope in the book: fake dating, second chance romance, forced proximity, miscommunication. There was grinning, and sticking out tongues and winking (ugh). There was a wedding. There were games. There was a car chase. There was a business proposal asking for two grand that was solved by just a florist being a florist? I still do not understand the business and financial relationships between these characters -I do not get it.

There were no healthy boundaries. CDs are not classics. Once the ending was all too obvious, this book had the audacity to drag on and on with the sad attempt to redeem Alex's previous behavior. No, really look how great he is!!! Romina alludes one time to speaking to a therapist which centered on some outdated exposure therapy, but she needed some better advice from the plethora of side characters around her that did nothing but take up space. Romina girl, you don't owe anything to this loser.

I received an e-arc from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book has a lot of really good praise, and I understand why people love it, but alas I did not love it. I did like it and it was a quick, enjoyable read but it didn't quite hit the mark for me. First off, Alex. Ohhhh, Alex. I did not care for him at all. I thought he was petulant and smarmy. I did not feel the love or attraction between Alex and Romina. And what was up with that secret? No, just no. I also thought the "fake dating" with Trevor wasn't fooling anyone, let alone Alex.

Considering that, I did end up liking the ending even if I wasn't in love with the characters. I do wish the story featured the night market and witchy type "magic".

I think many readers will love this one.

Many thanks to NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons and Sarah Hogle for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved You Deserve each other but so far her other books are falling a bit short for me. I couldn’t quite get into the characters and some of their choices to me were odd. Not for me, but I hope others enjoyed it!

Unfortunately I did not really love this book. It felt like the book didn't know what it wanted to be, and I just ended up confused. You are immediately introduced to a ton of characters, which in a rom com story just doesn't work. It took forever before I was able to keep track of all of the characters, and that's because of the large info dump in the first 50 pages. It was unnecessary and didn't allow the story to naturally unfold. I don't dislike second chance romance or fake-dating tropes, however neither was really done well here.

The fake-dating was so poorly executed, and I think that also had to do with Trevor as a character. He was so over the top, he felt like a caricature of a person. I think he was supposed to be comedic relief, but he was just so cringey throughout the entire story. I had first, second and third hand embarrassment just from reading about him. No one on any planet would have believed that Trevor and Romina were fake dating. Then when you meet Alex, the MMC, you don't ever really believe their love. More time is spent flushing out Romina's relationship with Spencer. Who is Spencer you might ask? It doesn't matter, he literally does not matter. They go back and forth a little from when Alex and Romina were in high school, to them as adults and Alex goes from bumbling teenager, to super confident in like one conversation. The he kept this major secret, and when you find out you're supposed to act like it's no big deal. Sorry Alex, not ok!

I thought this was going to be a fun rom com with a witchy theme and it just didn't deliver. The witch theme and the side plot with the magic shop and the night market, were such an afterthought, which was so disappointing. I would have loved if that was explored more and integrated more in to the story. We spent most of the book with with wedding of Alex's mom and Trevor's dad which was so uninteresting.

There were also a lot of side stories that didn’t fit in with the plot that had no place in the book. I am assuming Sarah was trying to try to set up future books, but they were all a miss. Like the guy who just goes to their store to hang out, why does he need to be a character? Her sister's daughter, waste of words. Finally, it felt like this author was sitting with a thesaurus in front of her and replacing words. When words like apoplectic, coiffure, diaphanous, ruminate etc are used, there should be a reason. And here it just made the story clunky. Just say the character was angry, or furious. I ruminate instead of I thought... why? I'm sure other people will like this, but I didn't. 2 stars because the cover is cute, and I like the idea of the story. I just wish it had come together for a more enjoyable read.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

NetGalley ARC - Such an interesting and beautiful book. The magic realism element is interesting and the writing is beautiful and detailed and, at times, its own magic. It's a slow story of love with lots of great side characters and some laugh out loud moments. It seems set up for a three part series and I am looking forward to continuing to read. Overall a cozy and beautiful book.

oh man, where to start with this one? sarah hogle is a master at second chance romances and old flames and new fortunes is proof. from its side characters to the magical small town to the romance, hogle perfectly sets up our main characters, alex and romina, to reunite years later and rekindle their relationship.

what i appreciate and deeply love about hogle's writing is just how romantic it is. she includes the smallest of details to really make the relationship/romance believable, which is always a hard thing to nail in second chance romances that happen almost a decade later. on top of that, the banter! the flirting! the flashbacks! are executed so well in OFNF. it had me smiling from ear to ear, giddy to see what would come next.

alex and ro are fantastic characters with so much personality, they are overwhelmingly in love with each other and there's no denying it. years have past, but their feelings haven't. its always been each other and it always will be. i love their love.

hogle's writing is a bit flowery at times, maybe a little too descriptive for some people's taste, but i wouldn't have it any other way. she gets me. OFNF is a new favorite and my first 5 star read of 2024.

thank you putnam's sons for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

A fun book to get me through this long winter! I had read nothing by Hogle before - this makes me want more of her work. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

considering sarah hogle's you deserve each other is one of my favorite romances ever, I swear I recommend it to anyone who will listen, my hopes were high for old flames and new fortunes. no matter the premise, sarah's books are always infused with a touch and whimsy and wonder. her descriptive style painting such a vivid picture. and I am quickly learning that she has a knack for incredibly romantic, tear-inducing dialogue. her men always have me wishing they weren't fictional but happy for the ladies who get to have them.

*big sigh* it's fine...

men written by women, ya know?

ANYWHO — old flames and new fortunes makes for the perfect cozy and tender spring read, highlighting the second chance romance between alex and romina. once madly in love as teenagers, there's too much history to ignore when they finally each other again. in their charming small town, they manage to come back together in a natural way that gave both characters the time to settle into who they are now, rather than the partners they once were. made complete by lovely banter, far more spice than I expected, and a few surprises, ro and alex's love felt pure and intentional, leading to an incredibly satisfying payoff of their journey.

when an author fully commits to their chosen trope, it makes the story so easy to love. that's exactly what sarah hogle did here! she decided this would be a tale of reunited lovers, once torn apart and ran with it. there was tension and justifiable anger balanced out by lovely nostalgia. and though there is lots more I could discuss, I will refrain to avoid a major spoiler. just know that the last handful of chapters were emotional and domestic, the perfect bow on a happy ending years in the making.

thanks to g.p. putnam's sons and sarah hogle for this ARC in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for giving me this eArc.

Wow - I loved this book. Instantly became one of my favorites, I think even above You Deserve Each Other (which is saying a lot because I adore that book). It’s kind of like if Sweet Home Alabama and The Notebook had an even more amazing perfect love child. I wanted to savor reading it while also devouring it as fast as I could.

I loved the relationship between Romina and Alex so. much. I just love a man with gall like that. Him learning her flower language IMMEDIATELY…them using it to subtly communicate…and the PINING. Omg. Delicious. The flash back scenes even had me giggling and kicking my feet. I’m obsessed and craving whatever Sarah Hogle will release next.

I was very hopeful for another Sarah Hogle book with a touch of magic after really enjoying Just Like Magic. Unfortunately, this book didn’t really deliver for me. It was really a 2.5 star book rounded up to 3 stars.

I don’t know how to summarize it any shorter than the publisher synopsis, so I’m not going to repeat that here. I’ll just dive into my review.

Things started off promising. I liked the little touches of magic and the family dynamic between Romina and her sisters and niece. I really enjoyed Trevor’s character. Then we meet Alex, Romina’s first love, back in town for his mother’s wedding to Trevor’s father. I liked the times Trevor and Romina got to make Alex jealous with their fake relationship because I did not like Alex. I thought he was a cocky, overgrown manchild who seemed allergic to having a real conversation. I also felt like he reverted Romina back to her teen years and she behaved immaturely as well. I think it was probably meant to be cute and quirky and humorous, but it didn’t work for me.

Then I got to the twist/reveal/bomb drop at the end of Part One and genuinely considered DNFing the book. I pushed through to see if it served a real purpose in Part Two. To me, it did not. Considering other factors for one of the main characters — I don’t want to say who and spoil anything — the fact that it felt very glossed over in its impact made the whole thing seem like it was dropped in for shock value. It delivered on that, but I didn’t like the way it was handled by the one who held the responsibility.

Sarah Hogle has been hit or miss for me in the past. Despite having high hopes for a hit with this one, sadly it was a miss for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam/G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so different from any romance book I read. It had bit of magic that made me feel like I was reading fantasy but still reading a cute romance story. It was such a unique take on romance. I loved the style. I was drawn into the story from page one. It had everything I needed magic, second chance lovers, fake dating, high school sweethearts. Thanks so much for the copy!

I enjoyed this, but it took some time for it to get moving for me. I'm not sure why I felt like it was so slow to start. Maybe it was the flowers, I'm not sure. I did enjoy the banter in the store with Luna, Ash, Morgan and Trevor. Romina is a likeable character. Alex is a suitable MMC. It just took a bit to get there. Once we get there, the story is worthwhile. I wouldn't have minded an epilogue or a little longer if an ending fleshed out a bit, but Sarah Hogle is a wonderful author who gave us our HEA

I was given this ARC in exchange for my honest review

I am first of all thrilled to read any new Sarah Hogle book and for the most part enjoyed reading this latest. For readers who loved her first novel, <i>You Deserve Each Other</i>, this latest hearkens back in wonderful ways to it more than her subsequent books. The snark as well as a pair of complicated lovers trying to find their way back to each other feel like "classic" Hogle at this point. I do have to say though that I feel fairly conflicted about some narrative choices here that I have difficulty reconciling, which is why my overall score is a little lower than I had hoped.

The novel is split into two distinct segments, and only the latter segment really worked for me. The first half of the novel is a bit of a disorienting experience of trying to figure out a large cast of supporting characters, and then trying to determine what the relationship is between the two main characters. Romina and Alex were high school sweethearts but had a painful breakup for reasons that we don't learn much about for a good part of the book. They accidentally meet at a wedding and Romina is weirdly determined to put up an indifferent front right away by pretending that her best guy friend is actually her boyfriend. She immediately wants to make Alex jealous - after ten years apart and a sudden, unexpected encounter? I just struggled with that go-to response, and even worse, when that response sets off a chain reaction of Alex inexplicably spending over 100 pages trying to figure out if Romina is really dating this guy. For instance, why wouldn't Romina be with another person after a decade of Alex's absence? Why would Alex feel entitled to anger that Romina is with someone new? The farcical set of forced encounters that provides opportunity for Alex to snipe and Romina to bluster just felt strange -- not annoying necessarily, just strange. I just felt like I was thrust into a story that didn't make a lot of sense. But at the heart of the first half is the knowledge that both characters feel hurt about their breakup years ago and unresolved feelings lead to some immature reactions. When we do finally get information on why they broke up though, the reasons feel small and kind of disappointing rather than wonderfully angsty.

The second half follows the plotting of <i>YDEO</i>. Romina and Alex, having put their cards on the table, now have to find their way back to each other. I do think Hogle's writing truly shines in the book's second half. She evokes all kinds of feelings as her characters struggle to reconnect given the depth of their love for each other. I definitely felt teary in more than one scene between them.

I am not hugely fond of second-chance romances because the reasons for the initial break in the past are likely still there in the present. Here, the reasons are so paltry that I didn't fear the couple's reunion. I do believe that Romina and Alex are going to be a terrific couple. But, the slightness of the plotting early in the book felt too shallow to support the reunion at the end in ways that would make this book an exceptional romance.

I am a HUGE Sarah hogle fan. The first three books of hers I each gave 5 stars. This one isn't going to get 5, but I still enjoyed the book. There were a couple of things that bothered me.
1) the first chapter is an info dump. An honestly boring info dump. You learn that she has magic, but later learn that she stumbled into it when other life choices didn’t work out. For such a big, interesting thing to learn right off the bat about a character, it has incredibly small actual relevance to the rest of the book.
2) she, and all of her sisters, consider themselves witches. Again, other than the fact they run a candle/ magical fauna shop and live in a town that's tourist appeal is witchery... there's nothing to really go with this.
3) I love the 2 main characters, and Trevor. They were super enjoyable and the banter between Alex and Romina and Trevor and Romina is absolutely great. Honestly as soon as Alex was involved, I was set. I'm not a big fan of flashbacks but his were the sweetest, which is what I normally love about Sarah's books. Her male characters are just fantastic. I will way though, I wish there were a few more. It felt off, having (I believe it was 2?) small flashbacks and that's it.
I still devoured the book, but it could have been 5 star worthy from sweetness alone if I didn't feel so disjointed from the rest that just seemed out of place.

A warm witchy book that felt like I was being wrapped in a hug. Sweet, fun, quirky, and steamy, this books just had it all!

Sarah Hogle just became a new favourite author.

This book was incredible. The chemistry, the characters, the story. It was so good. I can’t wait for people to get their hands on this!

If my significant other doesn’t answer the phone when I call “You Again.” I don’t want it… 😂🩷

I LOVED Sarah’s other two books Twice Shy and You Deserve Each Other so I automatically added this one to my TBR and it did not disappoint! Sarah KNOWS how to write snark/witty banter and it’s my favorite! I cackled the whole book!

In Old Flames and New Fortunes you meet Romina, her sisters, friends and her ex…Alex. Romina and her sisters own a cute little witchy shop in Moonville. Romina has struck out in love and on a whim, her and her bestie Trevor fall into a fake dating situation. She hasn’t gotten over her ex from high school and suddenly finds herself face to face with him after years of being apart…

Side note: I LOVE TREVOR! He is so hilariously funny and full of himself and you just can’t help but to love him. Would love to see more of him and his girl in a follow up book maybe? 🩷

Romina is fun, witty and loves her family. I really enjoyed her as the main character. You see a little bit of yourself in her as she second guessed herself and her decision making.

Alex is SUPER unlovable at first and incredibly cocky. I found myself loathing him as one of the MCs but he did come around. It hated the fact that he was appalled at her deceit when they were young…all while hiding a HUGE secret. I won’t spoil that but I gasped. lol

I also understand that not every detail can be given on a silver platter, but details about their breakup and her parents don’t come out until later in the book and I just kept feeling like I missed something along the way until they popped up.

I don’t know if the magical element is going to be new with her writing but it’s not my favorite. As I said before, I LOVED her other two standalone books. I DNFed her Christmas book and magic was in this one as well. It’s not horrible….but the charactors, friendship, families, their life, the cute town, their store, the snark, the drama can really stand on its own. The magic just seems secondary and a little unnecessary and confusing. I wish we had gotten a little more of the sisters. I enjoyed their dynamic. I LOVED the scene of them rolling up at Alex’s house in their minivan and just running amuck and running away. 🩷😂

It does have some language and some spice. While the spice isn’t constant or all throughout, there are two spicy scenes. 2 out of 5 pearls clutched. 😂

Overall I gave it 4 stars. It was charming, funny and so cute!

Thank you NetGalley & Penguin Group Putnam for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!