I read about half of this, and it was perfectly fine, but it just wasn't grabbing me. I tried both ebook and audiobook and ultimately decided I wasn't invested enough to continue. I was similarly underwhelmed by a previous book by this author, so I think maybe her writing just isn't for me.

This tasted like Sweet Home Alabama, and that isn't necessarily a bad thing.

The characters and their banter got overwhelming at certain points I won't lie. The amount of times Stanley the dog barked a ridiculous amount of times and granny is so much of a character I have a hard time imagining her as a real person.

I think the bond between Mylie and Ben was well done at least in the chapters where you go back to when they are in school. The friend to lover trope is one of my favorites when well done. Their miscommunication as adults though had me rolling my eyes. The fact that Mylie jumped into things with Ben knowing he would end up leaving and then being upset when it happens makes no sense to me. But that might also be because I was unsure about the timeline? It seemed to me they were a thing for a week?

Not a great book but not a bad one, somewhere in the middle where I could see Netflix adopting the book and creating a spring romantic comedy from it.

A fun romance with some twists. Enjoyable to read a story where the woman has created a thriving business that a town depends on. Happy ending.

This was a cute small town, best friends to lovers, second chance romance. I love everything about Clay Creek. I'd live there in a heartbeat. It definitely has Virgin River vibes. I absolutely love the side characters - Granny, Morris, Fat Tony, Cassie, Jodi, and Melissa were all great-especially Granny. The Bingo brawl had me laughing. I really enjoyed the snippet at the end where we learned why Emily(Ben's mom) never sold the home, and I wish that Ben had been made aware of it at the end.

I'm usually not a huge fan of friends to lovers, but this was done in a way that made sense. I wanted more romance and tension between Ben and Marlie, I feel like we didn't really get to feel them fall in love or reconnect in the way I wanted.

Tropes/Things to expect
*Small Town
*Slow Burn
*Friends to Lovers
*Second Chance
*Time jumping (present to childhood and back again)

Arc Review
Thank you to Netgally, Annie England Noblin, and Avon and Harper Voyager for allowing me the pleasure of reading this one. I'd travel back to Clay Creek any day.

Submitted on Amazon, Goodreads, and BN.com

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️.5

“I’m here, and I’m not leaving. Clay Creek is my home…you’re my home, Mylie.”

Tropes
🎣 Small town romance
⛴️ Friends to lovers
🎣 Second chance romance
⛴️ Slow burn
🎣 HEA
⛴️ Dual timeline

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for allowing me to read this book in advance in exchange for an honest review.

Blurb
Ben and Mylie were friends in high school. After graduation, Ben moved away to Chicago and they lost touch with each other. After a few years, Ben has to return to Clay Creek so he can sell his grandfather’s home due to him passing away. Once he is back, Ben runs into Mylie and sparks immediately start flying.

Review
This was a cute contemporary romance where old friends get a second chance at a romance that never was. I love a dual timeline book when it is done well. This book was written in dual timeline well. I enjoyed getting the glimpses of Ben and Mylie’s childhood friendship and what caused them to not be more than friends.

Mylie was well written. I enjoyed her sass and spunk. She wasn’t afraid to speak her mind and tell Ben what she wants in her life and in a relationship. She wasn’t afraid to take charge. Ben could have used some more dynamic. I feel like he was a little short on personality. I can say that the side characters in this book were fabulous! I loved the raccoon, Fat Tony, and grandma. They were stellar!

If you are a going to do a dual POV book, please label the chapters with whose POV each chapter is from. There were times that I was confused as to who each chapter was representing.

Overall, I would recommend this book. It was a cute, quick read that was a good palette cleanser.

Review posted to Goodreads and Amazon.
**Waiting on Amazon review to go live.

This started off really cute and I was able to overlook the mistakes (there were a LOT) but that quickly got old. There was almost no chemistry, characters were flat, and really the mistakes were so plentiful they took over the experience. Robbie and Bobby are apparently the same person. Mylie and Miley are used interchangeably. About 60% in I gave up, skipped to the last chapter, and called it quits. The cover is adorable though!

Thank you #NetGalley for the advanced copy of #SpringFling by Annie England Noblin in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first book by Annie England Noblin and I went into it pretty much blind. It is a childhood friends to lovers small town romance. Ben can't wait to leave town and so after graduation, he's off to Chicago for college and he doesn't look back until he needs to sell his grandfather's house - the house he and his mother moved into when his father died unexpectedly. His mother made him promise to go back and see the house one more time before selling it and so he and his childhood best friend Mylie come face to face again after too many years. Mylie loved Ben but she couldn't ever imagine leaving her home, her grandmother, and her little sister. Fat Tony and Stanley provide some needed laughs to help cut the angst.

Mylie and Ben have great chemistry but their conflicting plans for the future makes a relationship, heartbreak waiting to happen. I had my doubts about whether or not this book would have an HEA because honestly, it just didn't look like it was going to work out and honestly, I didn't love how it did end up working out. I don't mind when one MC gives up their own career, family, and plans for the future to be with the one they love but only if the other MC is also willing to give those same things up or at least something. This ending felt very one-sided and that always worries me about the future of the couple.

This was a super adorable second chance romance set in a small town in Arkansas. Childhood friends Ben and Mylie get their second shot at love when Ben comes back from the city to sell his family home, giving the pair an opportunity to rekindle what they once almost had.

I loved that the chapters were quick and found the book fast paced, I finished it in not time and really enjoyed it. The side characters are my favorite, Fat Tony and Granny are the best.

I think that the conclusion to one of the characters was a little bit much and Ben was sometimes frustrating, wanting her to pick up her life and never wanting to give on his end.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one.

Thanks to Avon Books for the ARC of this one! This was a cute quick read and definitely a sweet little romance. That being said, I just didn't love it and I don't think it will be a memorable one for me. The characters felt like they were lacking in depth and I felt like the reason they lost touch in the first place wasn't super clear or believable. I just didn't love it unfortunately.

⭐️ 5/5 | 🌶️ 2/5
Third person POV, multiple narratives
Non-timeline
Friends-to-lovers, small town romantic comedy
FMC: Mylie | MMC: Ben
MF Open Door Romance with some explicit descriptions of quick intimate scenes.
Setting: Clay Creek, Arkansas

This is a charming friends-to-lovers romance set in the cozy town of Clay Creek, Arkansas. The story follows Mylie Mason, a tackle shop owner content with her small-town life, and her childhood best friend, Ben Lawrence, who returns home after years away in Chicago. Their rekindled relationship amidst the backdrop of a local fishing tournament along with the sale of Ben’s childhood home offers readers a cozy, heartwarming, and relatable experience.

The author’s portrayal of small-town dynamics and the warmth of close-knit communities is admirable. The narrative is filled with endearing moments, particularly involving Mylie’s spirited Granny and the town’s quirky residents, as well as her close relationship with her sister Cassie. The flashbacks to Mylie and Ben’s childhood provide some depth to their bond, making their reconnection more poignant.

However, pacing occasionally falters and I found the progression of Mylie and Ben’s relationship lacking in intensity. The frequent misunderstandings between the two frustrated me and I was seeking more emotional depth and storyline complexity. Additionally, while the setting is vividly described, the plot leans heavily on familiar tropes, offering few surprises which can often make the book quickly forgettable.

Overall, Spring Fling is a delightful read for fans of small-town romances and second-chance love stories. Its cozy atmosphere and relatable characters make it a pleasant escape, even if it doesn’t venture far beyond the expected narrative paths.

Thank you Avon and Harper Voyager for providing me this ARC of the book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

3 ⭐️

Miley is a hometown girl, business owner, granddaughter, sister, and former best friend (wishful girlfriend?) of Ben - before he moved away after senior year and never looked back. Ben is a well educated man from Chicago who has an exciting career opportunity in the East coast. There’s just one hold up, he has to go back to the small town he lived in 6th-12th grade, sell his grandpa’s home, and face (nervously? Hopefully? Maybe?) his former best friend and biggest crush of his life Miley.

I thought this ex friends, to friends, to lovers read was really cute. Being from a small town, I loved the small town portrayed in the story, especially all the fun side characters that come with small towns! Cute, easy read!

Thank you NetGalley and Avon for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Mylie and Ben were best friends since grade school and she harbored a secret crush on him as they got older. He has never felt like the small town of Clay Creek was his home so after high school he goes away for college and ends up in Chicago. As the years pass they lose touch and what once was a valuable friendship has turned these two into strangers. When his mother passes away, Ben is forced to come back to town to gather the last of what remained in the old house, in order to put it on the market and sell it.

When these two are reconnected, they quickly fall into old habits and those old feelings resurface, but how can they make it work when he's not staying and she refuses to leave her hometown and the only life she knows?

This was a sweet second chance, friends to lovers romance. Mylie has a successful bait and tackle business in this small town and is thriving in the community so I understood her reasons for wanting to stay and I liked how she stood firm on what she wanted. Ben also was clear about his intentions of moving away and taking a job elsewhere but I did feel like something was missing from his character. He seemed so certain about leaving town but his actions didn’t always line up to what he was saying.

The supporting characters were well done from her BFF Jodi all the way to her typical teenage sister. I also liked the little drama with the town troublemaker Robbie but the conclusion of that did seem a little extreme.

Overall a cute book that I enjoyed and would be good for a younger reader who is looking to ease into the romance world.

Huge thanks to Netgalley and Annie England Noblin for sharing this book’s digital advanced review copy with me in exchange for an honest review.

I read this book through a digital ARC from NetGalley
Author: Annie England Noblin
Genre: Romance
Troupe: Friends to Lovers, Second Chance Romance,

Ben is back in his home town to sell his family house. Mylie is still there after he left and broke her heart ten years ago. He isn't staying this time round either, so will it ever be more than a spring fling? Great read.

First, I want to say thank you so much to NetGalley for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Spring Fling takes place in the typical small town of Arkansas. The story follows Mylie, who owns Hook, Line, and Sinker and who is one of the biggest sponsors of the Spring Fling fishing tournament that takes place every year. The prologue of the book introduces us to Ben, who became Mylie's best friend in the 6th grade. They both had feelings for each other that were never clearly communicated and by the time the end of HS came around, Ben had made the decision to leave their small town and go to school in Chicago.

Something unexpected happens in the first few chapters of the book when the house that was previously owned by Ben's late grandfather suddenly becomes preoccupied again (by Ben himself) Ben has come back to town to clean out the house and put it on the market to sell. Despite the fact that Ben and Mylie have not seen each other and basically have been no contact for over a decade, they seem to start right back up where they left off. I did find this to be somewhat unrealistic and I will say I did find the story line a little lacking.

However, it was a very quick and cute read. Just not something I would reach for again or really think about much now that I've read it. 3 stars!

Synopsis: Two childhood friends, Mylie and Ben, reunite after 10 years. Ben is returning to Clay Creek to sell his family's home and Mylie stuck around becoming the town's majorly successful tackle shop owner. Time has brought these two together once more, sharing their memories and testing the waters of a relationship, even though they are both moving in different directions in life...

My Thoughts: I love a small-town romance; it's like my lifeblood when I need something that reminds me to slow down and enjoy the things life has to offer. I do wish I felt like I connected a bit more with the characters, and that the romance had the time to develop a little bit more, but overall, this was a really sweet book.

Thank you, NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a cute small town romance with a little bit of spice. I loved the slow burn friends-to-lovers trope and really enjoyed the overall plot of this book. Definitely recommending this to romance fans.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Thank you to Avon Books, Epic Tastemakers and NetGalley for an ebook and finished copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I thought this story between Mylie and Ben was so heartwarming. I love the small town atmosphere, the comedic relief side characters and the dual timelines. The Hallmark vibes this book gave were very fun and fluffy. The one thing I will say is that the relationship moved a bit fast at times. I know there is a 10 year time lapse and making up for lost time is a motivator, it just felt odd at times without having some of that build up. I hardly ever find my name in a book though so it was fun to read Cassie on a page. I really enjoyed her little sister and her storylines. I would definitely read more books by this author in the future and I am glad I have this adorable cover in my collection.

Closed Door Accommodations: 178-180, 198-201, 217-219.

This was the perfect read to kick off the Spring season.

4 ⭐️

The characters were all very relatable, and it is honestly the perfect read to get you out of a reading slump.

This follow the story of Mylie, a small town girl who owns a tackle shop in Arkansas, and Ben, her childhood best friend and the guys she’s been secretly in love with since they first met in school. The story also has dual timeline, going back from when they first met, and the present time when they reunite after not seeing each other for 10 years.

Mylie and Ben’s story is the perfect second chance romance for those who love reading about happily ever afters, and secondary characters that make you laugh out loud. The writing was very light and funny at times, and I honestly devoured it in a couple of days.

Spring Fling came out on March 18th, you guys have to check it out!


Thank you netgalley, Avon, and Annie England Noblin for this arc! 🩶

I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a delightful experience! To kick off this review, I must highlight the numerous wonderful elements of this book. First and foremost, I adored the characters and their growth throughout the story. Their development created well-rounded, relatable, and at times frustrating moments that resonated with readers, allowing us to form emotional connections. Additionally, I found the overall plot and concept to be refreshing, lighthearted, and humorous, making for an engaging and enjoyable read that kept boredom at bay. However, a couple of factors led me to rate it four stars instead of five. Firstly, while the cover is attractive, it doesn’t stand out significantly and tends to blend in with the multitude of other romance novels featuring similar cartoon-style artwork. Secondly, although the story was well-crafted and satisfying, I found myself wishing for more depth and additional content. In summary, this was a fantastic story filled with hilarious moments, and I’m grateful for the chance to read it. I would certainly be eager to explore more works by this author!

Spring Fling by Annie England Noblin is a sweet, heartwarming story about second chances and small-town charm. Childhood friends and neighbors Mylie and Ben lost touch after high school when Ben left their small town. Years later, he returns to Clay Creek, Arkansas, to sell his grandfather’s house before relocating for a new job. What was meant to be a quick trip turns into something much more when he reconnects with Mylie — and realizes his feelings for her never truly faded.

Annie’s descriptions of Clay Creek are so vivid and inviting that I found myself wishing I could visit. The town feels like a character itself, wrapping the story in warmth and nostalgia, making this book perfect for a cozy night in or a relaxing afternoon.

I thoroughly enjoyed the plot, the characters, and the emotional journey Ben and Mylie embark on as they navigate their past and uncertain future. Their ups and downs kept me engaged, and the romance had just the right amount of spice — I’d say a solid 3 out of 5 — enhancing the connection without overshadowing the story. My only wish was for a bit more character development, as Ben and Mylie’s motivations weren’t always entirely clear to me.

Overall, Spring Fling is a charming, feel-good romance that will appeal to readers who love small-town stories, second chances, and a sprinkle of spice. I’d give it a solid 3 stars and recommend it to anyone looking for a comforting love story.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review!!