This book is a testament to Toon’s talent for capturing the complexities of relationships, making you feel every pang of love and loss. With its rich storytelling and unforgettable characters, this novel is a must-read for anyone who believes in the power of love to endure and transform. Paige Toon has delivered yet again, reminding us that sometimes love takes time, but it’s always worth the wait.

Thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book! I voluntarily read this book, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I devoured this book in less than 24 hours, just as I have with all of Pagie Toons books. Paige writes such beautifully sad love stories. The characters have troubled or tragic pasts and I always find them realistic and relatable. That said, the main characters and their lack of communication frustrated me at times, especially Ellie. She should have continued her counseling far sooner than she did. And I felt like Ash gave up so easily and leaned on Becca way more than was appropriate.
I was still rooting for a happy ending for them together.

Loved it, I couldn’t put it down! This is my second book by this author and I’m hooked! Seven Summers was my first. I love the way the author’s magnificent descriptions bring everything fully to life.

Thank you NetGalley & PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for sending this book for review consideration.

A new Paige Toon book calls for immediately dropping all other books to read this. Ellie and Ash have an undeniable connection and chemistry after meeting while traveling through Europe. They plan to meet again after a short time apart, but Ash is a no show and Ellie has no way to reach him. With no way to connect, the two continue on with their lives until years later when life brings them back together. Can they move beyond their past and have a potential future?

The writing is incredibly engaging, and I could not put this book down. I loved the complexity and authenticity of the characters, which led to me being incredibly invested in their relationship. This book is angsty and at times heart wrenching but also so beautiful.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Ellie and Ash are both traveling in Lisbon, and when they meet there is instant chemistry. Ellie, grieving the loss of her best friend, Stella, doesn’t expect to hit it off with Ash and finds herself taking risks and living in the moment. This book absolutely grabbed me from the start. I was hooked from the time that Ellie was reading ACOTAR, and was keeping my fingers crossed the entire time that Ash would continue to make appearances throughout the book. I won’t give anything away, but here are some overall themes:

Twin flames
Love at first sight
Grief and loss
Meant to meet
Childhood trauma and difficult parental relationships
Invisible string

HIGHLY suggest giving this one a go!!

This book is filled with angst and emotional turmoil. The two main characters, both grappling with personal loss, meet while traveling through Europe. Despite her insistence that they can't have a relationship, he persists and eventually convinces her otherwise. After just three days, they fall in love and plan to reunite in Spain. However, she arrives late, and he doesn't show.

Fast forward several years, and she starts a new job at what turns out to be his family estate. Once again, she claims they can't be together, but he convinces her to give the relationship another try—only for them to break up again. More years pass, and she learns that his father has died and that he never married. This time, she rushes back to him, but now he's the one saying they can't have a relationship. In a twist, she convinces him, and they fall in love once more.

Overall, I found the book tedious and repetitive, with the same cycle of "can't be together, then together, then not" playing out multiple times. It felt frustratingly predictable.

I was so excited to receive an ARC of this one. I have never come across a Paige Toon book that I didn’t enjoy, and this book is no exception. It may even be better than some of her other ones if possible. I was in a reading slump and this one took me out. Toon’s writing is so engaging and she captured the chemistry between the two main characters so well. Hits you in the feels and keeps you wanting to read more. Definitely recommend.

This is the first I’ve read anything from Paige Toon, and it will not be my last! Adding the rest of her books to my TBR ASAP!

Ellie and Ash meet the summer after university in Lisbon and enjoy a whirlwind 3 days together. After going their separate ways, due to unforeseen circumstances, they aren’t able to meet up the next week like they planned. Flash forward 6 years, and they fall back into each other's lives. From there, they spend the duration of the book working (and sometimes failing) to balance their growth over the last six years, with the connection and passion they felt those years ago.

I absolutely FLEW through “What If I Never Get Over You’. I loved Ash and Ellie and I was cheering them on the entire book. I was so nervous for them and heartbroken through some of the chapters of their story, but was so relieved and excited as they came back to each other time and time again. I also enjoyed Ash and Ellie as characters so much and was ready to cry happy tears when they ended up together in the end. I loved this read, and cannot wait for others to experience it when it comes out in April!

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons, Paige Toon, and NetGalley for providing this book in exchange for a review.

I love love loved this book! Paige took is an auto buy author for me. I love everything she does! The angst in this book was so good! Ash was a dream man. I loved the complexity of the characters and getting to see them grow ❤️ five stars!

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

What If I Never Get Over You by Paige Toon.
Welp, she did it again and altered my brain chemistry with Ash and Ellie. It felt like this book was made for me in so many ways! I can totally relate to their instant connection that held strong over 6 years, and that they both were solo traveling (it's one of my fave things to do other than reading).
Spoilers below! I actually gasped when she ran into him at her work, I don't know why but I wasn't expecting that! I enjoyed seeing them figure out where they fit into each others' lives, and of course come together at the end. I loved how the connection they had for each other stayed true over multiple "versions" of themselves and while they grew separately and together (because isn't that what life is all about?). I can definitely see myself revisiting this as a comfort read, many of the lines in it were very very real to me. Another 5 star read, a must have when it hits shelves in April!

This book was so beautiful. I mean, just from the title I knew it was going to hurt. I’m usually not a fan of angst, it gets me all anxious and I usually have to skip ahead to make sure they end up where they need to be. But I had to know how this ended for Ellie & Ash- and their story was perfect. Their love for each other was so swoon worthy, I just couldn’t get enough of it. If you like a little bit of pain and angst with your love stories this will be a must read for you! I loved it!

I LOVE second chance romance. That is the trope of all tropes. Was this my favorite portrayal of it? No, probably not. But I loved the modern writing. The nod to ACOTAR, and the 80s ballads and pop songs thrown in there. It felt very nostalgic. I highlighted some great quotes about love and loss. Sometimes the timeline had me thrown off? But all in all a great read and would make a cute Netflix romcom 🥰

Paige Toon has been an auto-read author for me for years, and her latest novel, Seven Summers, was a masterpiece. I would have rated that one a million stars if I could. So, when I read that the main characters in What if I Never Get Over You meet while interrailing in Portugal, my heart jumped up. It brought back so many great memories, and I couldn’t wait to read Paige’s newest.

I adored the first part when Ellie and Ash met in Lisbon. Their instant connection (even though I’m not fond of insta love), Sleeping on the beach (I slept on train stations and a rooftop of a hotel), just wandering through the city, and falling in love with each other—all this in three days.

I also immensely loved the last part. Again, their connection was so beautiful, and smiles danced on my face so many times. I loved all those little things, like an elbow bump, brief eye contact, or a small smile. I even might have shed a tear.

The part in between I really liked but didn’t fully love. Sometimes, I wanted to shout at them both, most of all at Ellie, because she just didn’t feel ready for a relationship. So, I understood the third-act breakup and wasn’t even mad about it. And that’s probably also why I loved the last part so much.

Someone said that Paige Toon is a prolific author, and she is, so I’m already waiting for her 2026 book!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC copy of this book.

We meet Ellie while she is interrailing through Europe. There she meets Ash. They hit it off with 3 days spent together and develop a bond and connection. Then they must go their separate ways but agree to meet up a week later. Something happens and Ellie is late and Ash never shows.

Six years later Ellie has been given her dream job for a five-hundred-year-old estate in Wales as a gardener. There she gets an unexpected surprise in the form of Ash. We learn why he never showed and what life has been like for him. We also get to meet side characters that are fun and also work for this estate and have a close friendship with Ash. Ellie gets to see how Ash is living his life where he is from. Ash wants to rekindle what they had but Ellie is very reluctant. They both have good qualities about each other but both didn’t treat each other as I thought they should. Ash was constantly putting his friend Beca ahead of her. Ellie has issues with her parents that make it hard for her to take people on their word.

I felt frustrated how they didn’t communicate more and Ellie didn’t share her feelings with Ash. A lot of stuff and years wasted could’ve been avoided if they talked more. I enjoyed the book but they obviously weren’t the best communicators.

Synopsis- A story of right person, wrong time/place. Two young people meet while backpacking through Europe. They plan to meet in another city but have a missed connection. They then meet again nearly six years later under much different circumstances.
Pros/cons: I was ENAMORED by this book and could not put it down. I read it in almost one day if that tells you anything. Paige Toon’s writing is atmospheric and beautiful and I truly had anxiety trying to figure out if this couple would actually end up together. One of my favorite romances I’ve read this year!
Thank you Netgalley for this arc- add it to your list for April of next year- sorry that’s a long wait! (Until then read her other 5 star read from me- Seven Summers!)

Paige Toon’s “What If I Never Get Over You” follows Ellie and Ash after a whirlwind 3 day romance for two solo travelers with complicated lives.

6 years have passed since their missed moment in Madrid, but have their feelings changed? While Ellie is confused about who she got to know in Lisbon compared to who is in front of her, Ash sees this as his chance to get the one who got away.

Throw in family drama and responsibility, other relationships, and internal doubts.. you’ve got a story that keeps you engaged until the end.

3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ellie is our main character, and we meet her while she is interrailing in Europe. She meets Ash and the two of them immediately hit it off. They have a whirlwind three-day vacation romance. And yet, for both of them, it was something that stuck with them. The pair was supposed to meet up in Madrid, but didn't. It seemed they would live out their lives never seeing each other again (first, who meets someone and doesn't actually mention their last name? second, there were so many things about their lives that they didn't share, it's hard to imagine what they talked about for hours and hours).

But this is a fiction book and Ellie ends up working at Ash's parent's compound/mansion as a gardner. Super cool that she followed her dream and became a gardner instead of working with her parents as they expected... but really? She just happens to end up at his house?

Anyway, they reconnect and Ellie is cold to Ash. She constantly says they wouldn't work, they aren't right for each other, they come from different backgrounds. And yet, they hook up again. Because apparently they are soulmates and meant for each other? I couldn't wrap my head around how Ellie could keep denying Ash and then want nothing more than to be with him - to the point where she wouldn't make new friends or connect with the other gardeners.

More drama ensues, and they separate again and when they come back, Ellie is beyond annoying. This is actually the part where the book lost me. The way she acted was so immature and didn't make sense with the rest of the story. I'm not going to spoil anything but the end was not great and didn't make a lot of sense with the story. All of the character development went downhill. Both characters were selfish and self-absorbed. They didn't actually care about the other - they cared for themselves. But enough said. It was an easy read and I loved it until the end.

Ellie and Ash meet when they are solo traveling. They are immediately drawn to one another. However, when they decide to meet up a week later Ash is no where to be found. When he shows back up in Ellie’s life 6 years later she is still drawn to him but has too much time passed and can she forgive him for not showing up?

I am torn with this book. I loved the first half of the book and was rooting for Ellie and Ash but after half way through the book I felt like it was rushed and we didn’t get enough time with some things. Overall I would recommend still reading for a quick read.

What If I Never Get Over You is another 5 star read from Paige Toon. This book does not disappoint. Be ready for it to break your heart. You will be put through the wringer, but it is so worth it in the end. Must read!

This is literally how I feel about my first love, what if I never get over you? I loved this book and everything. Still hoping for my own happy ending!