The story starts with her fleeing an abusive situation talking about her pain of leaving home and the man she loves . A decade later she is lead her back home when a tragic event occurs reuniting her with her mother and her first love, Nik. Despite this, Jane intends to leave again, but this time, she is not planning to escape by herself.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! Love and Other Lost Things by Melissa Wiesner is a story about fear, survival and love. When Jane meets her worst fears on the best night of her life. Nothing could prepare her for the life she will choose. Hitching a ride out to California, she finds her future looking bright. But a few weeks later, she realizes that she has never felt as tired and scared even with all she has suffered at home with her father. Then the unimaginable happens and she feels trapped. A decade later, she makes a choice that will ultimately change the course of her life, her daughter's life and her mother's. Returning to the sleepy New York town was something she never had any intention of doing but once she's back, she just can't quite understand why she left and why she didn't just put her trust in the people who loved her the most. Though the ending was a bit far fetched, I really enjoyed the storyline. Abuse still has such a stigma and many don't believe the victims. Overall a good, solid read that I would recommend to others.

This was definitely an emotional ride! I didn’t know whether to laugh and cry, or scream and rant - so naturally I did them all.
Jane made you feel so much, even while she continued to try not to feel at all. It was both heart-wrenching and heart-warming to watch her navigate her life and make it the best she possibly could, while protecting those around her. I just wanted to wrap her in a warm hug and hide her away from everything for a little while.
While the events were difficult (emotional and physical abuse) to read, Weisner somehow created a positive and hopeful space. The fact that Jane and Scarlett are survivors was threaded throughout so one never stopped hoping.
Although it was definitely inferred, I would like to know more of Mom’s story

Melissa Wiesner was a new-to-me author when I read The Second Chance Year a few months ago (which I loved ❣️), so I was thrilled to read her newish book, Love and Other Lost Things. It also warms my heart when I see my 🇨🇦 hometown represented in books, so I was very invested in this storyline.
This heart-wrenching read tells the story of a long-lost couple who are suddenly reunited 10 years later, after Jane comes back to her hometown following her father’s death. Jane has been carrying many secrets over the years, including the reason she left town and her love, Nik behind a decade ago.
This was an emotional, but important read about abuse and I hope you pick this one up for your next 📖.

Synopsis:

High school seniors Jane and Nik are inseparable—and one day, have their first stolen kiss. But that day soon becomes the best and worst of Jane’s life…Jane has a devastating family secret. To protect Nik, Jane leaves town… 10 yrs later, after news reaches Jane of her father’s death, she comes home, where bittersweet memories of Nik wait on every quiet street. She runs into him and when he breathes her name and caresses the fresh bruise on her cheek—her heart speeds up just like the first time they kissed. Nik still doesn’t know the real reason she left town. Or who put that bruise on her cheek…

Review:

Melissa writes heartwrenching and beautiful stories with this publisher and this is another win! It addresses some serious topics (I recommend checking out the trigger warnings if you need to) so it's so much more than a love story. It's about growth and rising up and making your own choices. There were some shocking moments as well. The romance is a slow burn second chance romance (a fav of mine!) set in a small town. Highly recommend if you're looking for something deeper.

Thank you to to Bookouture for my digital copy.

A brilliantly written book
Had me from the first page
A book about domestic violence but very well told
And the ending just WOW
Thanks NetGalley

Nik and Jane's love story began when they were children. They had big plans after graduation, but one night Jane leaves town, never to be seen again. Now, ten years later, her father has passed away and her mother needs her. She runs into Nik, and he has grown into a man, but she still has the same feelings when she looks into his eyes. Nik can't believe Jane is standing in front of him, but who put the bruise on her cheek, and why did she run away ten years ago? As they start talking again, Nik begins to figure out why she left and the secret that she has been hiding.

This was a great story, with many ups and downs and it brings all the feels. Highly recommend!

Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in return for my honest review.

One reason why my review is under 4 stars is because I struggled to gel with the main characters. I just found them a bit unrealistic and unbelievable at times.

Jane has always wondered why her mother stayed with her abusive father. Jane upped and left her Mother and Father when she was younger and now she is back after his death and she wants answers. Yet, I don’t think she was ever wanting the truth. It’s very intense at times and very emotional. But for me, Jane just didn’t cut it. She done and said things that I found myself rolling my eyes because I don’t think that is was realistic.

Jane has been in an abusive relationship herself. I think Jane was a strong character and it takes courage to pick yourself up and try and escape these relationships.

I loved Nick. I wanted so much more from him and I know that he was rooting for Jane, wanting and needing to be there for her.

The book is written well I just wanted a bit more from the characters, more of the feels and emotion. I felt at times it was a bit draggy.

Thank you to netgalley, Melissa and the publisher for allowing me this ARC.

A classic story of women who always choose a mate just like their fathers. Deciding to break the circle of abuse Jane used the excuse to return home after her father’s passing to escape with her daughter. She plans on using her hometown as a stop before moving on and disappearing for good. Reconnecting with her friends and mom make her second guess everything. They give her the strength to stand up and fight. There were a couple of twists I did not see coming. It was great to see Jane realize what she wanted and taking it. Thank you to NetGalley for this free advanced copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily

Ten years ago, Jane ran away from everything she held dear because her abusive father turned on her. Now she's back and attempting to help her mother over the holidays with plans of never returning, not back to the life she built in California and certainly not back to her childhood town full of people who worshipped her father. But running into old friends and watching her daughter interact with her grandmother has Jane questioning what she wants their future to look like.
It's just so painfully good? I don't want to put another author down to lift Melissa up BUT I will say this is the book I desperately want whenever it deals with a difficult topic; in this case, domestic violence. I need to feel the emotions, the highs, the lows, and most importantly, the victories. I knew Melissa was talented before I read this. And now I find that her range is so incredible that she's an auto-read author for any book I see with her name.
Thank you to Bookouture and Netgalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

Domestic violence is the theme which runs throughout this contemporary story which follows Jane McCaffrey who ran away from her childhood home as a young teenager only go back to Linden Falls some ten years later when her father died. Jane’s return to her childhood home sparks difficult memories especially when she meets again those of her best friends who thought that she had, quite simply, abandoned them. As this complex story unfolds there is a sense of lives coming full circle and with old secrets being revealed now is the time for Jane tell her story to those who were once her closest friends.

This was an intricate look at life in a small American town, a place where everyone knew each other’s business and yet when things were uncomfortable folks tended to look the other way. The author explores this claustrophobic small town atmosphere really well, and brings the place and the people alive in the imagination. I enjoyed getting to know, Jane and meeting her friends, particularly Nik who is a really special person. Whilst the author does a great job of building up a stark picture of everything in Jane’s life, it is in the promise of the future where the heart of the story lies.

Beautifully written and heart breaking in places, Love and Other Lost Things is a compelling read with a dramatic ending I really didn’t see coming.

Prepare for an emotional journey as this book will have you feeling everything, and you'll be rooting for Jane and Nic to find their happy ending together. This story will not be easy for everyone to read as it does involve domestic/emotional abuse and childhood trauma of growing up with an abusive parent. But the storyline is so powerful and beautifully written that you will be drawn in from the very first page and does a good job at showing how getting out of an abusive situation isn't as easy as it seems but you can, there is hope and you can heal from your past. This was my first Melissa Wiesner book, and it will definitely not be my last one.

What you get when you read this emotional rollercoaster:
Second Chances
Single Mom/ Sweet Kid
Small Town
Secrets/Unexpected Twist
Childhood Friends to Lovers

This book - I loved it. The emotions it had me crying , laughing and smiling. I couldnt put it down. Im a huge fan of second chance romance and this book will stay with me for a very long time.

Thank you for the #gifted copy @bookedwiththeemilys @melissawiesnerauthor @bookouture
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I am not a book crier, but this one definitely made me emotional. It’s a tough but worthwhile read. We are along for the ride as Jane works to break her family’s generational trauma of abuse. She is strong, but we see her at times vulnerable. Nik, her childhood friend and high school boyfriend, comes back into her life. He’s everything she needs and deserves, but can she break free and let him in? Highly recommend this one!

As soon as I picked this book up, I couldn’t put it down! The writing was exactly what I look for in a fictional book. At times, the scenes were tough because it does touch upon the hurt that Jane, the main character, had to endure. But also, the progression of her life seems very realistic - kids tend to mimic what they observed from their parents at some capacity, and Jane’s story is no different. And while I wish Jane didn’t have walls up, I loved seeing how deep the walls she built up, I feel like it’s always difficult to create that in fictional books.

So why 4 out of 5 stars? I didn’t love the conclusion of the book - I understand the thought and need behind it, but I morally have issues behind it and thought it was a bit of an “easy” way to end the book.

Very Bingeable! But heavy read from start to finish.
I loved the strong connection Nick and Jane shared.
I love that Jane’s story is about breaking the cycle. It also highlights the healing power and friendship. This is an entirely captivating read. I will recommend this to my romance reader friends.

Melissa Wiesner has rocked me again with a beautifully-written, yet heartbreaking novel. Jane is a gift of a character that grabbed me, with her painful & powerful story…and unforgettable romance with Nik. This is one of my favorites of 2024. The first I read by Wiesner, #ItAllComesBacktoYou, was one of my 2023 favorites. If this is what I get to expect from her in every book, I’ll be reading every one she writes and hope she continues for a long time.
Thank you, Melissa Wiesner, Bookouture, & netgalley for my copy! All opinions are my own.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Wow wow wow!!!

Jane left town after high school thought she would never return. But after her father’s death, returned and was reunited with Nik her first love. There is still so much chemistry between the two of them, but Jane has secrets why she left town in the first place.


This book was a heartbreaking roller coaster of emotions! It was hard to put down. It was absolutely beautifully written and I can’t wait to read what’s next from Melissa Wiesner!


📘: Love and Other Lost Things by Melissa Wiesner
🗓️: August 6, 2024

Thank you to NetGalley, Melissa Wiesner, and Bookouture for this ARC!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

*Reviewed on NetGalley, Amazon, and Goodreads.

I don’t know how Melissa does it. This is my second of her books, and they both had excellent storytelling and character development and a great romance! I love when an author can write a range of tones/genres and Melissa is a great example of that! 👏🏼

Love and Other Lost Things is GOOD. It has some content warnings so please be aware before you dive in (DV) but I think it was handled really, really well in this story. I’m sometimes leery of books with heavier themes, but the topic was treated with so much empathy and care.

Tropes:
Second chance romance
Childhood friends to lovers
“Who hurt you?”
A twist you won’t see coming
Emotional romance

Thanks to Bookouture for the #gifted copy of this book! All thoughts are my own

Love and Other Lost Things
Melissa Wiesner

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 emotional stars

Gosh this book! I do not know how Melissa can write such an incredibly heart wrenching yet supremely beautiful story. It moved me to tears multiple times. It’s a story of healing, self discovery, determination, redemption, and a second chance at love. This one does cover domestic abuse in the struggles they face. So watch your trigger warnings going into it.

Jane and Nik were childhood BFFs. They did everything together, they had big plans for college. When Jane’s 18, just ups and leaves one day, doesn’t say a word to Nik. She left because of a huge fight with her parents. /Forward 10 years, Jan’s back home and runs into Nik…

This book gutted me in the best way possible. It’s one you cannot stop thinking about. One you only get 2 1/2 hours of sleep because you couldn’t put it down… Yep, I did that. That was all because of that twist, Lord have mercy, that twist!!

Melissa Wiesner had to pour her whole entire heart and soul into this book. She had to of!

If you like emotional, powerful reads, second chance romance, a book that breaks you and then puts you all back together one stitch at a time. Just read this one y’all!!