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.

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.