I am a Sarah Hogle devotee for life! I don't know how she manages to make everything she writes so unique and readable, but OLD FLAMES AND NEW FORTUNES was no exception. I love that Sarah's books are realistic and resonate, while still being whimsical and funny. I couldn't put this book down!

OFANF is a swoony second chance romance about magical florist Romina, the struggling small town magic shop that she owns with her sisters, and her unexpected reunion with first (and big) love, Alex. With a dash of fake dating and the lush folklore of the language of flowers, this book feels like a cozy cottage-core fairytale. It's got the best elements of a five-star Sarah Hogle story -- the atmospheric, one-of-a-kind writing and hilarious banter -- with the added magic of a whimsical setting and a new, swoonworthy romance to fall into. I loved going on this journey with Alex and Ro and watching their growth as they found each other again. And their chemistry was HOT.

The fake dating aspect of the story felt too short to be a major part of the plotline, but it was still a fun element and the story has such a memorable setting and well-crafted, lovable characters. I was giggling and kicking my feet during the whole second half and I wanted to stay in the world of Moonville forever. So so good. Another Sarah Hogle stunner!

Thank you so much to Putnam and Netgalley for the e-ARC, and to Putnam for the finished copy, in exchange for my honest, unbiased review. OLD FLAMES AND NEW FORTUNES is out now!

I'm giving this 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. It was really cute, but there were some things that I didn't like.

I loved the magical realism aspects and the flower elements. The flower magic and the meanings spread throughout the book were probably my favorite parts.

This is a small town second chance romance between former high-school sweethearts Romina and Alex. Romina was wonderful, but honestly, I didn't like Alex very much for most of the book. He was very immature. I did, however, enjoy the small town charm and the side characters. I'm looking forward to what awaits the other two sisters!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the chance to read this magical and spicey romance! I loved how this book was more magical realism than full fantasy. It has small town charm and is like a steamy Hallmark movie with special powers. The book centers on Romina, a floral fortunist, who uses flowers to help the love lives of others. Romina and her collegue Trevor decide to fake date to help convince his father to help finance her shop, and attend his father's upcoming wedding and festivities. However, the son of the new wife is Alex, the past love of her life which ended in a painful breakup.
The book is fun and had a wonderful setting with the small magical town. Romina and Alex were relatable and you rooted for them to reunite their romance. They had great chemistry and the book was swoonworthy. It was a little finery and steamy but not too much.
Overall it was a really enjoyable book and I can't wait to read more by this author!

I really enjoy anything this author writes. I love the journey I am taken on and the characters and settings just always make me happy, think, and sometimes she’d a few tears. I can’t wait to read more as soon as possible.

Thank you Net Galley and publishers for letting me read an arc of this book in return for an honest review.

I was expecting a cute little romance book about flowers and magic, but what I got was so much more! This book had me blushing and smiling and kicking my feet in happiness. It was so cute but also very steamy. The back and forth witty banter was hilarious and attractive. I loved all the characters of this book and you really got a feel for their personalities through this whole thing. Romina is trying to save her flower fortune business, but ends up fake dating her colleague to get his dad to help fund the store. She runs into her first love that she hasn't seen in eleven years, who also happens to be the stepbrother of her fake boyfriend. That's when the magic truly happens.

Read this if you love:
*second chance romance
*small cozy town vibes
*fake dating
*tension
*cute little love stories

Alex is so smitten with Romina that I can't. He's got it bad for her saying things like "Romina, I would've picked up the sun with my bare hands and moved it if you didn't like the position of your shadow." Like c'mon, swoon. Literal book boyfriend right here. And when they finally get alone...."Don't you dare be gentle, he orders when I rise back up so he can spread me with his fingers. I've waited for you, for this. You'd better ride me like you mean it." Oooh sir, I'm blushing. That's really the whole summary of the only spicy scene in this book, the rest is sarcasm and sexual tension that makes it such a fun read. Overall I really loved this book.

Old Flames and New Fortunes is a romance novel about floral witch Romina Tempest, who sells flower fortunes in her family's witch-related shop. To help out one of her colleagues, Romina pretends to fake date him to get an invitation to the financier's wedding, who also happens to be her fake boyfriend's father. And the bride... turns out to be Romina's ex-boyfriend's mother. And guess who is also coming to the wedding?

This book is set in small town Ohio, which is also where my origin story was set, so it always makes me happy to see Ohio representation in books. I'm also pretty much always down for a witchy romance with some botanical element so I was excited to read this one!

Andddd it just didn't work for me. I liked the setting and the premise. At the beginning of the book, I was into the floral fortunes and how magic worked in this world. And then that part almost completely fell away into a reconnection/fake dating romance. Which is fine, but I wanted more magic!! And witchiness! The MMC, Alex, super didn't hit for me. I wasn't a huge fan of Romina either. There is a twist that is dropped in the last quarter of the book that threw me, and not in a good way.

This book is about a character in her late twenties or early thirties (I can't remember lol) who really wants to have kids. As a woman also in that age bracket and wish for relationships, I feel like I can kind of comment that I didn't like how this was handled in this book at all. Probably personal preference, but it really rubbed me the wrong way.

Overall, this book wasn't for me. 2 stars. Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam and NetGalley for the eARC of this book, my thoughts are my own!

This is what I would describe as a witchy-second chance cozy read. I loved it. I got sucked right in and devoured this book.

4 Stars

This was so cute and wildly infectious.

The first half of the book was full of humor and banter and palpable tension as we entered into this "fake dating my bestie who has zero interest in me because we want to make other people jealous except my ex totally can see through this façade and its awkward yet so flirty" vibe. I was sucked right on in and couldn't get enough of the tension and WHEN WILL SHE STOP FAKING IT AND GET HER MAN BACK energy.

Then we hit part two of the book, and while I still enjoyed it, it didn't hit the same for me. It was still really cute and sweet and full of growth (<spoiler> this is where they get back together and are working through the sometimes messy aftermath of two exes making it work again </spoiler>) but it didn't have the same banter and vibes the first half gave me. It was still incredibly heart warming, but it ended somewhat open ended (<spoiler> I mean they are together and planning their future, but it felt like maybe the author is paving the way for future books in a series? </spoiler>).

I had the privilege of listening via audio and thought the narrator did an incredible job putting feeling and energy into the narrator and really made the whole book come alive. I listened in almost one sitting and was so sucked in!

I definitely recommend, as this is a great spring/summer read as we start to have more days outside and lounging around!

I loved this book! I'm surprised to see its lower rating and gave it 5 stars in the effort to bump it up a bit. It's a really charming story about a florist (who's maybe a witch!) who is reunited with her childhood love. There's some fake dating that happens - but it's my favorite kind, where the miscommunication is quickly cleared up and doesn't end in dramatic 3rd act breakups. In fact, there ISN'T a third act breakup, which is so refreshing. I kept cautiously turning pages as I got closer to the end of the book, wondering what horrible thing was going to happen to tear this two apart...and it didn't come. There is a Part One and Part Two, and Part One does end with a twist I did not see coming...but there's plenty of time for the heroine to process it, heal, etc. Alex, the love interest, is a gem and definitely had me swooning.

I also loved the secondary characters in this book. It seems like it's being set up for each of the three sisters to have their own books, and if that's so, I'll definitely pick up the next one. Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this one - wish I'd picked it up sooner. :)

In a nutshell: high school sweetheart broke up with lingering feelings for each other, fast forward years later the ex bf back in town for his mom’s wedding to find out that his ex gf has a (fake, but he didn’t know) bf so the ex bf constantly prying it out of jealousy.

Light second chance romance with lots of bickering, complemented with intense floriography. Not really impress me but it was a little fun. 3,5⭐️

Old Flames and New Fortunes
by Sarah Hogle
3.5 stars
Read April 23rd to April 25th

Small town, witchy magic, and old love. Romina, a flora fortunist has had a bit of bad luck and her and her team need money to help get stuff fixed on the land they bought for their shop. Between a wedding, old love, money problems, and trying to not get hurt again its a long bumpy journey.

I enjoyed this witchy little tale, I didn't fully care for many of the characters. Romina and her sisters were a joy, they have the relationship I wish I had with my siblings.

Thank you, Net Galley and Penguin Group Putnam for the eARC for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my arc! I appreciate the opportunity to read Old Flames and New Fortunes.

Unfortunately this book was not for me. The cover caught my attention initially as well as the fantasy and magical aspect of the description. The book wasn't very whimsical and the story line and characters fell short for me. It was hard for me to get into the story and I almost did not finish it several times.

Old Flames and New Fortunes is a delightful journey of second chances, unexpected encounters, and the magic of fate. Hogle's characters are richly drawn and utterly relatable, making you root for them from the very first page. With her signature blend of humor, emotion, and irresistible charm, she crafts a story that lingers long after you've turned the final page. A must-read for fans of swoon-worthy romances and feel-good stories! Thank you so much for this ARC!! 💓

I really enjoy the fake dating trope & this had it but with a twist. Romina is dating Trevor to help out her shop. Unbeknown to her, Trevor is soon to be the step brother to her ex boyfriend she never quite moved on from. I loved the tension & jealousy from Alex. I was having a good time with the story until a reveal towards the end that completely turned me off from a character. I will be reading more books by the author this one just did not do Jr for me.

This was such a cute cozy fake dating, second chance, opposites attract romance with witty banter and some witchy vibes. It is single POV but luckily the MMC expresses his feelings so it did not bother.

Romina is perfectly content with her life, her little cottage, and her job as a "flora fortunist." She's most comfortable in her garden, letting the plants speak to her, and creating floral arrangements to manifest romance in her customers' lives. However, the shop she shares with her sister is in need of funding if they want to expand, so she pretends to be in a relationship with the owner of the shop, Trevor, to show his father how serious he is about their shop succeeding, after a string of failed businesses. Trevor's father throws a wrench in their plans when he announces he's getting married to Romina's high school sweetheart's mom, and said ex-boyfriend, Alex, is back in town, determined to win back Romina.

I spent the first part of this book feeling like I was reading book two of a series, which is not the case. The characters were vaguely introduced and the storyline jumps right in to what feels like an already-existing universe, making me feel like I was missing something. I was expecting the fake-dating trope to turn into a romance between Romina and Trevor, which I wasn't really feeling, as I found him quite annoying, so I was happy to be wrong! Instead, the second-chance romance between Romina and Alex took the center stage in the latter half of the book, which I enjoyed after a slow middle of the story. They could be cheesy and unbelievable at times, but I thought they talked through their issues well and seemed to truly care about one another.

I'm assuming this is the start of a "Moonville" series, following all three sisters, but honestly, I didn't learn enough in this book about Luna or Zelda to be very interested in reading either of their stories.

4.5 stars

In Old Flames and New Fortunes, Romina fake dates her friend Trevor in order to get a business investment from his father. While preparing for the father’s wedding, she finds out that he is marrying the mother of Alex, her high school sweetheart. A decade ago, Alex and Romina had a painful breakup. She wants to make him jealous, but ultimately still feels attractions towards him.

The biggest strength of this story is the humor. Sarah Hogle write funny characters and funny situations. The romantic leads had great banter with each other, but also with the friends and family. All of the characters have distinct, entertaining personalities. I rarely find myself thinking that romance novel humor is actually funny, but Hogle is one of few authors that can make me laugh.

Although the book is light and funny, it gets balanced with some emotional depth. Alex and Romina are hurting from their breakup, but very obviously never stopped loving each other. They feel jealous over each other. They are clearly destined to be together, but their past is hard to overcome. Also, Romina has gone through something traumatizing with her ex, and is worried about experiencing a similar hurt.

I really appreciated the atmosphere brought to us in this book. There is a witchy aspect, but it’s a bit different than other witchy stories I’ve read. The magic is more internal, rather than a visible power. Our heroine has abilities that involve flower language, and her sisters have abilities of their own. The setting of a witchy flower and candle shop in a small town felt really cozy. This book is perfect for springtime.


If you are looking for a book that is funny, feels like true love, and has no third act breakup, I HIGHLY recommend this one!

I need to finally admit Sarah Hogle is not for me. I can appreciate a zany plot but it’s just a little too kooky for me. 10000% a me issue and not the issue of the book. Fans of Hogle’s past work will eat this up.

Old Flames and New Fortunes started off incredible. Sarah Hogle is probably my favorite author, and I've loved all of her previous novels. Her descriptive writing is unmatched and so atmospheric. I Immediately had to start a playlist because I was inspired just in the first chapter. The banter between her characters makes me laugh out loud, which is not common. I forever love her use of hyperbole. It’s a reflection of my own and feels like I could easily be in this story with these characters. I'm not sure exactly what went wrong for me. I think the second half of the story moved to0 fast. Despite the main characters' history, it erred to the side of instalove and seemed to develop quickly without as much substance as I would have liked. I really enjoyed the build in the first half with the angry flirting and challenging each other. Regardless, I am still pleased with the story overall, and I absolutely look forward to whatever comes next for the author. I will read anything she writes!

When your magical witchy store is in dire need of an expansion and you impulse buy the property without an inspection and karma greets you in the doorway, what do you do? Fake date your witchy shop's chaotic landlord to prove to his rich dad that you're both stable, capable of commitment, and not at all impulsive so he can give you a loan for repairs, of course! And if the fake relationship just so happens to strike a nerve with the real love of your life, who broke your heart and is now trying to catch you in your lie so he can win you back, even better! Oh, and did I mention he's your fake boyfriend's soon-to-be brother-in-law? We love a little family competition! Absolutely nothing could go wrong with this plan, nope, nothing at all!!

I think this whenever I jump into one of her books, but this story solidified it: Sarah Hogle's books demand to be turned into screen adaptations. Her writing is magical, visual, and fun, and would translate so well on screen. The flora fortunes are such a cute idea for bringing together soulmates, the whole Moonville setting is cozy, I loved how close Romina is with her sisters, and Trevor (the landlord/fake boyfriend) is HILARIOUS! His personality reminded me so much of Hall from Sarah's last book, Just Like Magic, and I loved him so much. I wasn't initially sold on Alex as a love interest, but he grew on me, and I enjoyed his banter with Romina. My only qualm was that I was caught off guard by a certain reveal in the middle of the book (and it seemed like *I* was making it a bigger deal than Romina did? Like girl, why were you so calm about that??) and I think the story could've done without it. But it did make the ending and a certain thread throughout the book a whole lot sweeter, so maybe I'm wrong.

This was one of my most anticipated releases for the year and all of the magical whimsy gave me Just Like Magic--my favorite Sarah book--vibes, which made my heart so happy.! (I hope this becomes a series because I need a book for each of Romina's sisters, and also one for Trevor.)

Thank you to G.P. Putnam and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my review! (: