I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and all opinions expressed are mine .

This book surprised me so much. I was blown away. This is my first book by Kaylie Newell and I look forward to reading more. The book follows Poppy who made a mistake once upon a time that resulted in her boyfriends death . She has lived with the guilt until years later she comes across her ex boyfriend's boyfriends Justin. I loved the plot,the characters development and the fact that the characters confronted their feelings and guilt. I recommend this.

*Flirting with the Past* by Kaylie Newell, the first book in the *Hearts on Main Street* series, is a heartwarming romance centered on Poppy's return to Christmas Bay after her grandfather's death. Tasked with running his antiques shop alongside her cousins, Poppy is haunted by guilt over her high school sweetheart Danny's death. Complicating matters, she reconnects with Justin, Danny's older brother, who initially blamed her for the tragedy. As old feelings resurface, Poppy and Justin navigate their grief, guilt, and growing affection, leading to a tender story of healing, forgiveness, and family reconnection.

Good story about love and healing. Poppy returned to Christmas Bay after her grandfather's death to take up the conditions of his will - to run his antiques shop with her two cousins. It was a difficult decision because of the guilt she felt over the death of her high school sweetheart. Her attraction to Justin, Danny's older brother, complicates matters.

Justin spent the first years after Danny's death blaming Poppy, but sustaining the grief and anger is exhausting. Seeing her again creates a resurgence of his teenage feelings for her. His desire to avoid her and the grief she reminds him of wars with his need to get closer to her.

I enjoyed seeing the relationship between Poppy and Justin develop. Their first meeting surprises Justin when he discovers he can't sustain his anger at Poppy. He attempts to maintain his distance from her but can't stay away. Poppy is equally drawn to him, but some obstacles keep her from believing they have a future together. One is Justin's mom's continued bitterness and grief over Danny's death. An early confrontation with Poppy shows that Evelyn still blames her. However, the biggest obstacle is Poppy's self-blame and belief that she doesn't deserve love. Every time she takes a step forward in their relationship, something happens to push her back. I ached for Poppy and her struggle to forgive herself. I loved seeing them getting to know each other and working past their grief together. The ending was very emotional, with an unexpected twist.

I enjoyed the secondary characters also. Poppy's cousins, Beau and Cora, and Coras's daughter, Mary, were brought together by their grandfather's will after they'd drifted apart. Each is at a crossroads in their lives, and their return to Christmas Bay is the perfect time to reevaluate. I especially enjoyed young Mary. She struggles to deal with her father's death, which leads to an unexpected connection with Justin's mom. I liked how Mary helped Evelyn.

Flirting with the Past by Kaylie Newell,book one in the Hearts on Main Street series, is a wonderful and heartwarming story of healing and finding unexpected love when you believed you were unlovable. It is also a story of reconnections with your past and working toward a future you never expected to find. I loved this story and the way Poppy and Justin were able to work past their hurts, but how they helped Justin’s mother heal by moving past her anger. I also enjoyed the reconnecting of the cousins and the lessons young Mary taught the adults. I highly recommend this book to other readers.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
#NetGalley #Harlequin

Flirting With the Past is a well written romance. I throughly enjoyed the plot and the character dynamics. I definitely recommend this book. My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance ebook. This is my unbiased review.