DNF at 10% - the boring details of the first few chapters were too much and I had to stop reading. I didn’t need to know about the main character’s niece not doing her homework and needing braces.

Sarah Hogle is a must read for me now, regardless of the book. This was no different. This looks to be the start of a new series and I am SO here for it.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC of this book. We love to see another florist romance. However, I'm not sure if it was done in the best way. I like second-chance romance, but the magical realism doesn't add much to the book and the dialogue was a bit to robotic and clunky for me.

Having liked other Sarah Hogle books, I wanted to love this. But I DNF after trying for weeks to read it. I'm sure it is the perfect book for some, but it just was not for me.

Thank you the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I am absolutely infatuated with Sarah Hogle’s writing style. I would read her grocery list if she published it and I’d probably be giggling and kicking my feet. I just spent 300+ pages with a perma-grin because I immediately fell in love with Alex and Romina. I don’t even like second chance romance! But I’m pretty sure Sarah Hogle is a witch herself so I’m not even surprised that I enjoyed her version. I need everyone in the world to read this book so I can talk to everyone I meet about it.

I just finished "Old Flames and New Fortunes," and it’s a steamy second-chance romance that’s as magical as a bouquet of enchanted flowers!

While the magical setting and quirky premise were delightful, I felt the plot sometimes got a bit too tangled in misunderstandings. Nonetheless, it’s a fun, heartwarming read with plenty of enchantment and second-chance romance vibes!

Adorable second chance romance! Romina is a witch who runs a little village shop with her sisters. Her talent is in making floral arrangements that also have a little charm for the receiver. She and her good friend/shop owner try to visit his father to ask for a loan and end up in a fake dating arrangement. Enter Romina's ex Alex who is smug and persistent in his attentions to Romina. This book was fun and angsty and included other romance tropes like enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, forced proximity-you name it! I won't name another one since it's a secret that comes out about 60% in. I wanted to live in this little world and visit Romina's shop. Alex was almost too perfect.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for my honest review.

If Sarah Hogle is writing it, I'm reading it - period. I've really enjoyed all of her other books, though this one was not my #1. The trope here is really a second chance romance, which I love.

While I enjoyed this, and will still pick up what Hogle writes, this one fell flat - it had a bit of trouble with pacing and didn't love some of the secrets that were revealed in the book. Will I read it again? Probably. Will it be the first I reach for? Probably not.

Thanks to the Publisher and NetGalley!

When reading something by Sarah Hogle, I do expect some fun magical realism mixed with life lessons and a cute little romance. It definitely delivered on that.
Small town second chance romance, with some spice and fake dating! I wasn’t expecting the first spicy scene at all. Which also kind of translated to I didn’t expect a lot of the 2nd half of the book. I think mostly because the impactful moments weren’t as strong as I would have liked. Also I never had any moments where I connected to the characters.
It was still sweet and magical, easy read for sure!

Thank you NetGalley, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, and the author for this ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion! This is the first novel I've read by Sarah Hogle, and I was NOT disappointed. All of the reviews mentioning how cute her writing style/stories were so accurate! If you enjoy second chance love stories and cozy witch vibes, this is the book for you!

Old Flames and New Fortunes is a magical small-town romance following Romina, a witch, and Alex her former high school boyfriend. When Alex returns to their cozy hometown for his mothers marriage, our main characters find themselves drawn back into each others lives.

I enjoy second chance romances, but I found myself having a hard time connecting to the characters. I loved Romina and her flower powers, and I really enjoyed the setting and quirky characters. But, I found myself having a hard time connecting to Alex- especially after the plot twist is revealed later in the story.

However, Sarah Hogle is an excellent author, and I will be reading all of her future books- even if this story wasn't my favorite!

It took a few chapters to really get the story flowing. I put it down a few times in the beginning but after a while it got better and more engaging. I thought it was cute and the characters were okay. Not my favorite, not my least liked. Just in-between.

I'm a big fan of Sarah Hogle, and if she writes it, I will most likely read it. The main reason I rated this book 4 stars is that I read it...forgot to review it...and can't remember really anything about the book other than I thought it was cute. This tells me that while I enjoyed it, it wasn't a standout novel.

If you enjoy witchy books with a HEA and some hijinks thrown in for good measure, you should 1000% read this book. If you don't enjoy those things...then you should read this book anyway, and maybe you'll change your mind.

I really liked the story, and the protagonist. Moreover, the characters in this book are as vibrant and diverse as the spells they cast. Each character leapt off the page with their own unique charm and complexity. Their relationships and interactions added layers of depth to the story, making every twist and turn all the more engaging.

This was a quick, easy, and cute read. Sarah Hogle's books are one of my go-to's when I want a lighter read with an adorable love story. Her characters are always endearing and make me laugh out loud. I know he wasn't one of the main characters, but Trevor was my favorite. He was so goofy and ridiculous, I just couldn't help but adore him. A part of me kind of hoped that he and Romina would wind up together instead though, so there's that. Kind of made it difficult for me to truly jump on board with Alex and Romina, but they eventually won me over.

It's not the best by Hogle, but I still recommend it for romcom lovers who aren't super critical. You can easily get lost in this story if you aren't trying to analyze it too much.

A contemporary, kind-of-witchy, kind-of-magical romance: "Old Flames and New Fortunes" by Sarah Hogle.

I honestly wasn't sure about this at first. Once I got oriented in the world and the way magic worked in this world, I really had a great time.

What set this book apart for me was the way motherhood was explored. Romina has always wanted to be a mother. She was with a man for a long time and she felt like she was a step-mom to his daughter. But when they separated, she never got to see the girl again, which made it hard for her to open up and fall in love again.

There's a lot in here about parents, what it means to date with kids involved, and finding love again. I love a second-chance romance, and I love how there's a fun twist on fake-dating at the start of the story.

Hogle went steamy in this one! I loved it! This is a departure from the closed-door style of her previous books.

I wonder if this will be a series. I would love to get stories on Romina's sisters.

Thank you Penguin Group Putnam and Netgalley for the copy in exchange for my honest review!

You had me at magical flower shop!! The storytelling shines in this book, I found myself totally enchanted with the characters. There's a ton of mystical details and elements that add depth to the narrative while I read.
There's a lot of different themes going on, all of them emotional: we have love, forgiveness, buried feelings resurfacing, and more.

This is a book that leaves a lasting impression!

A paranormal second chance romance story with the opportunity for more books in the series? YES! This story was cute and I enjoyed reading about Romina Tempest's gift of being a flora fortunist, someone who can put together flowers in a magical way to elicit a desired outcome, such as getting someone to propose, or getting someone to leave you alone. I enjoyed reading about Romina's process and how she knows she created an effective arrangement.

Enter Alex King, Romina's first love and someone she's never gotten over. Romina and Alex have an undeniable chemistry; however Romina works with her friend Trevor to pretend they are couple to keep Alex at arm's length. The story was interesting to me and the possibility for two more books in the series, for Luna and Zelda, the other Tempest sisters, makes me happy.

I wish that there was more character development with some of the other characters besides Romina and Alex, and some of the interactions were a little juvenile, but overall, after getting into the story, I did enjoy it and look forward to others in the series.

Format - E ARC ( Netgalley)

Rating- ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Spice- 🌶

Series- N/A

Troupes- Second Chance, small town, urban romance, found family, magical realism, fake dating but with the wrong person.

Representation-

CW-

Sarah Hogle gives us another magically unique story full of wit, banter, and a small town straight out of a hallmark movie and I will never get tired of them.

Alex and Romina were high school sweethearts and after some unfortunate adolescent decisions, they went their separate ways for many years, Now Alex id back in town his mom set to marry the man Romina and her business partners need to save their Magical shop.

Cue the fake dating to make your exes jealous! While Romina fake dates her exes soon to be stepbrother, she can’t help but spend more and more time with Alex, they fall back into old routines and the next thing you know there’s some head to feet hanky panky.

Once they suss out what went wrong in their relationship which is less miscommunication and more just kids being stupid, they have only Romina’s fear of commitment to contend with.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I love the subtle magic of of the whole thing, it’s just woven into the whole thing. This book is also spicer then I remember Sarahs other books being which was a nice surprise!

I hoping this is the first in a series! I need to know more about Romina’s two sisters!

Thank you Sarah Hogle, G.P. Putnam's Sons and Netgalley for the advanced copy my opinions are my own.

In a weird way this almost felt like two different books for me. The first half was kind of chaotic. The fake dating made no sense. There was no reason for them to keep it up as long as they did. The pre-wedding activities were really quirky but not in a fun way. It didn’t make sense why they would be doing such weird stuff (a town scavenger hunt?) for a spur-of-the-moment wedding between two fifty-somethings. Once the wedding happened and the romance started in earnest, it felt more like a standard romance novel (spice level high). I wish the book had been more cohesive and toned down the quirkiness in the beginning but brought some of the magical content into the end, because it seemed like that faded a bit.

It’s set up for a series with romances for the other two sisters, and I would probably continue reading.

Thank you to the publisher - I received a complimentary eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.