I think it felt pretty cliche in the beginning! The FMC is a hot mess! It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I felt like we were given so many bad things that happened to her without getting to know her first, making it harder to sympathize. I’m also having trouble sympathizing with the FMC on who she blames for the embarrassing thing happening to her. The embarrassing video definitely sucks and I liked having it as a plot point in the book, but the way FMC handles it and her grief just made it hard to like her (this is part of her character I guess, but I feel like she didn't have many redeeming qualities then). I liked when we started to hear more about the MMC's life and job in Nashville. I felt like there were too many conflicts here. Instead of seeing the characters progress naturally over the course of fixing the house, we got a lot of conflicts (enough where several times, I thought it may be the final conflict). Each of them had like a set of things they were dealing with and I feel like we didn't see the characters outside of those. I think they got together too quickly at the beginning too!

Meet me in Ivy Falls is a hallmark renovation movie in book form. It is a second chance, small town romance coated in a cloud of grief that you slowly see lift throughout. It has a lovely flow to it and was my first to read my Amy True.

Thank you netgalley for an arc of Meet me in Ivy Falls by Amy True

This book is so much more than just a romance, it shows personal growth and the beauty behind second chances. I loved the dual POV because it helps you understand the story from all sides.

The setting reminds so much of Gilmore Girls (my favorite series of all times) and it helped my reading experience be even more cozy and sweet. I also loved how the author brought themes like grief and some addictions.

It was an adorable book and I definitely recommend this! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Small town romance, fast paced read. I enjoyed the cute, light feel of the story. However, the buildup of the story was FAST. The couple went from friends/enemies to in love in like 15 mins. I would not recommend this to my friends. Hopefully the second book has a little more build up and less pace :) Thanks Netgalley for my copy

Huge thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

With this book I was looking for a light small town second chance romance, and that's not really what I got with Meet me in Ivy Falls.

This book was much heavier than anticipated, the theme of grief was overall very heavy and stifling. I didn't mind this book but I was looking for something lighter, if you are looking for a heavier hard fought romance than this is for you. Unfortunately it was not for me, I did settle on three stars instead of two because I did like the author's writing style.

Fixer upper second chance romance!!! This was sweet and comforting. It definitely felt like I was reading a Hallmark script.

I am so happy romcoms are so popular because I have so many great books to choose from. This book is high on my list of new great reads.

I will not hold back when it comes to this review cause I know I complain about long ass book, and this was less than 400 pages... it just packed in too many conflicts in just 4oo pages while at the same time trying to give me a second chance romance.

I got so lost sometimes, because the other conflicts did come between the relationship. This small town is mad at her cause she said a few curse words when she had a bloody accident with pain all over her face/hair. Like you have to be kidding me!!!!

I am trying to make this as spoiler free as I can, but it's hard. Like between her grief, his grief, his sister addiction, her hatred of her dad, trying to save the town, filming a show that can make or break her career, he has a very important presentation to make for his job... It was just too much sometimes!!!!!!!!

I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a heavy one. Torran and Beck were high school sweethearts until he left for an rv trip with his parents and never came back. Fast forward 10 years and Torran is looking to renovate Beck's family home till Beck outbids her. He ends up needing help with the project and Torran and her partner Manny agree to help her. This story has a lot going on. Torran and Beck have a lot of grief going on. Toran lost her mom and Beck lost both of his parents and is also trying to help his sister who is struggling with addiction. They are trying to find their ay to each other and heal from their grief but it is a long process. I did enjoy this story but I would definitely be wary if you are struggling with the grief process right now.

📚 Book Review 📚

Title: Meet Me In Ivy Falls
Author: Amy True @atruebooks
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5 stars)

This endearing first book in a planned 3-book series follows the main character Torran as she returns to her hometown of Ivy Falls outside of Nashville, TN after her mother’s death. She and her business partner Manny are renovating historic properties to breathe new life into her dying hometown.

This is a second chance love story between Torran and her high school sweetheart, Beck. Ten years have passed and Beck has also made a return to Ivy Falls, but for different reasons. The chapters alternate between both their POV’s. This book has themes of grief from parent loss, and also drug/alcohol addiction. This is a love story, both between the two main characters, but also between the residents and their beloved town of Ivy Falls. It has a great cast of characters and I’m looking forward to coming back to them in the remaining two books in this series.

*Thank you @netgalley, @hera_books, and @canelo_co for this advanced copy. Pub date in the U.S. is June 25!

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Let's talk about the things I enjoyed first. A second chance, small town romance. Where the protagonists meet 10 years after he broke up with her, with little to no explanation,
The setting of the small town, with all their quirks and ways to keep the town afloat, felt really contemporary.

Now, what I didn't like much. It's bad to say, but I didn't like the characters that much. They spoke a lot and did very little. The FMC's behaviour was incredibly frustrating to read. Every thing that went wrong was never her fault, it was always everybody else's. She doesn't care to understand why people acted a specific way, she only noticed that they acted in a way she doesn't appreciate and that's it. She cuts ties with them.

Overall it was well paced and easy enough to read but, it could have been more fun and less heavy on certain topics and I'm curious enough to see whether Manny and Tessa get their own book, though.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc copy in exchange for an honest review.

Small town romance. Reasonably well paced and easy enough to read. The side characters were more of a draw than the main ones. I felt like there was too much drama about every single thing. Torran was so overly prickly and the town react extremely dramatically to a statement that wasn’t even particularly disparaging. Torran’s relationship with her dad felt unbelievable too. Beck was more easy to read but still frustrating at plenty of points. I know that there are often things like this in these types of books but it coloured every single part of it and I found it too much. A little more let up and fun would have made it more pleasant to read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc copy in exchange for an honest review.

Super adorable! Definitely has Hallmark movie type vibes.

A small town, second chance romance. Both main characters, Torran and Beck, work through their own past traumas while figuring out how to work together. The characters were likeable and you really get to learn more about them through their interactions with the minor characters. Some of the bigger events get resolved pretty quickly, but I did enjoy that miscommunication/hidden communication was not dragged out. The short chapters kept the book moving and it was a very fun read.

Excited for book two! Hopefully Tessa's story.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC.

This book was sweet and fun, a classic small-town second chance romance. I felt myself buying into the characters and their stories, but I would have enjoyed more of the small-town feel. The book was really focused on the romance and backstory so we didn’t get as much of the environment and secondary characters as I usually expect in a small-town romance.

Overall a light summer read. 4 stars.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I would definitely say that Meet me in Ivy Falls is a charming book - just as the description on NetGalley has stated. It is a sweet story about two people who had lost one another years before but have now found themselves in each other's lives again. I have read a lot of romance books lately that are focused on house fixers/house flippers who are trying to renew and revitalize their home towns so the trope, to me was a bit blah, but I did like the relationship between Torran and Beck. They seemed real and also not too perfect. The storyline for the secondary characters of Manny and Tess are teed up for a second book (just a guess) in the series. I would read the second one. This didnt wow me but it was a light-hearted read.

Meet me in Ivy Falls by Amy True is a heartwarming story about reuniting with your first love. Torran and Beck were inseparable from the age of 12 until their junior year of high school when Beck’s family left the small town of Ivy Falls. They were only supposed to be gone for a year, but tragedy struck and Beck cut all ties with Torran. Ten years later, they meet and the feelings both of them have tried to bury immediately resurface.
The best part of this book? The author included a playlist at the end! Nothing like having a soundtrack to the story.

Amy True's latest novel is a quick fun read about a small town where everybody knows everybody and people don't forget.  Add to that historical home restoration and a past love's return and you have a copy of Meet Me in Ivy Falls! Thanks, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with the ARC ebook I read and reviewed. All opinions are my own.

Meet MeIn Ivy Falls review:

I love that the Chapter titles are incorporated in to that chapter. I always love looking for it within the story! It’s like a fun little game of hide and seek within the book!

There were a couple times in the book that a conversation felt a little forced and random and didn’t flow as smoothly as the rest.

I was happy to see both Beck and Torran get past their own emotional trauma and issues and come to realize their mistakes not just with each other but with everyone in their lives. I was afraid they wouldn’t be a good match with their issues and would be a toxic couple but I was pleased and satisfied with the ending!

I will definitely be recommending this book to others looking for a light easy book to read

An enjoyable read - the premise of childhood sweethearts reconnecting years later and having to come to terms with their feelings and the events that drove them apart was strong, and I really liked the setting of Ivy Falls (a quintessential small town, full of colourful and engaging characters). For the most part, I thought it was well done, but I did feel some of the dialogue and characterisation was a little contrived: a lot of the dialogue was very exposition-y, with characters fully laying out how they were feeling in a way that felt slightly clunky. I think a bit more 'show' and a little less 'tell' would go a long way. But as the start of a series, there's promise, and I'd definitely consider reading a future installment and spending more time in the world of Ivy Falls!

I'd recommend it as a fun, easy read that is full of Gilmore Girls vibes and charm.

Thank you to Netgalley and Amy True for an early look into this book for exchange for an honest review.

Read dates: June 1-2, 2024
Pub Date: July 4, 2024

Abby Jimenez meets Gilmore Girls in this sweet yet raw small town romance.

Both of our main characters are working through unresolved trauma. Torren Wright prefers to redirect her hurt into her home renovation projects, and place blame for her anger and hurt toward her father, the Mayor of Ivy Falls who was nowhere to be found during a life shattering loss. Her ex and first love Beck Townsend, on the other hand, tries to run from his problems only to face the harsh reality that you can't run away from your problems; the only way out is through. Through home renovations, a couple roadblocks, and a tension that never faded, Beck and Torren rekindle in a non linear, believable way.

I feel like the burn was a little too quick and did not include the buildup and close encounters I was looking for. They basically went from frenemies to lovers in 10 minutes. This could have easily been pushed out to build up some more tension.

Overall, I'd say pick this one up. TWs include: alcohol abuse, near death from drugs and alcohol, cancer, and loss of parent(s)