Aside from the writing itself and editing being fine, this book was not great. Firstly, Ash is an asshole. There is nothing romantic or attractive about him and I’m not sure why the author thought we’d root for him and Ellie. Ellie is a weak female lead as well. There was almost zero character growth throughout the story even though it takes place over a decade. Without spoilers I cannot Recommend this book to anyone. Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I feel like Paige really drags you under with complex relationships and propulsive storytelling. The breakups. The makeups. The gut-wrenching grief. The trauma. This relationship is messy with melancholic undertones and large feelings. I’m a huge sucker for second chances and my favorite part of this book is the ending. Ash 3.0 is my newest collection of book boyfriends. I loved that he didn’t just instantaneously cave to her whims. Ugh! This book wrecked me & then put me back together again. Only thing keeping it from a 5 star for me is that the characters felt younger & more immature than 30. Otherwise - Loved it.

Ash and Ellie meet interrailing in Europe and spend three magical days exploring Lisbon together. They both are feeling things they have never felt before. Ellie is a people pleaser and Ash is a laid back minimalist. They make plans to meet back up in a week...Ash never shows. Was Ellie just a fling to him? Was their connection real or all made up in her head? Six years later Ellie has healed her broken heart of losing Ash and starts a new job at an estate. Upon arrival she learns that Ash is the soon to be viscount. Ellie is shocked to see him and confused by this version of Ash. Is this the real Ash? Why didn't he show that day? Were the feelings real and are they still there?

I have mixed feelings about this book. I felt Ellie and Ash's connection right away and was swept up in the story and second chance romance. I was longing for them to find their way back to one another. However, this book might be better suited for YA readers. Falling in love after three days and being utterly heartbroken about it didn't seem very realistic. I also did not like the miscommunication and immaturity between Ash and Ellie and their lack of trust. Ash said Ellie was "the one that got away" but he never put her first and Ellie completely gave up on him. The book was pretty predictable but I still enjoyed it.

ARC REVIEW

What if I Never Get Over You
by Paige Toon

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐/5 (3 out of 5)


Publishing date: 4/15/2025

I'm a big Paige Toon fan! I love her romance style. But this one is just an "okay" read for me. 3 stars means I liked it but it won't be super memorable book 😊(for ME)

I wasn't able to fully connect with the characters? I did really like the premise and felt the tension at the beginning and I was convinced it was going to be a favorite for me! But as the story progressed it kinda...hit a lull in the action and it started to cause me to lose focus.

But I still love Paige Toon and think you should still give it a go!

Thank you to @netgalley and @putnambooks for the early read opportunity!!!!

I love a good second chance romance and this is it. Ellie and Ash meet on chance and fall fast, though through a series of events do not make their way back to each other until 6 years later when life's circumstances are very different. This book has all of the feels, I felt the pain and frustration and longing right along with Ellie and Ash.

This is the quintessential vacation read, save this one for a trip and you will be glad that you did.

I WAS NOT PREPARED for the roller coaster this took me on. This book was so gripping, I couldn’t put it down. I haven’t read a book that made me feel this way in a long while. So tragic and wonderful at the same time. I may never recover from this. This is a MUST READ. Trust me.

What If I Never Get Over You feels like an emotional hug wrapped in words. It’s a beautifully raw and tender story about love, loss, and the complicated path of trying to move forward when your heart is stuck in the past. Nell, the main character, is so relatable. You can feel her heartbreak, her hope, and her hesitation with every page. The story isn’t just about her past relationship; it’s about the way those relationships shape us and how we rebuild ourselves, piece by piece, even when it feels impossible. This is the kind of book that makes you stop and reflect, maybe shed a tear or two, and ultimately feel a little lighter knowing you’re not alone in your struggles. It’s a reminder that while we may never fully get over some loves, life has a way of surprising us with new beginnings.

Poignant Second-Chance Romance
What a delight! I have always enjoyed Paige Toon's writing, and she hit it out of the park with What If I Never Get Over You? The story follows Ellie and Ash, who meet while traveling through Europe post-college. Their attraction is immediate and passionate in a star-crossed lovers kind of way. A missed opportunity to reconnect leads to six years of both trying to move on from each other. When their paths finally cross again, secrets are revealed that change everything that Ellie thought she knew about Ash. Jam-packed with emotional curveballs, this book will have you pining for the one who got away.

Tropes/microtropes: second/third-chance romance, forbidden romance, they come from different worlds, it's always been you

I was in the mood for an emotional romance and Paige Toon always delivers. I went into this one completely blind so I had no clue what to expect. I got a story of second and third chances. Two people who have been broken by their pasts who need each other to come alive again. It’s a story of fated mates without the fantasy. I knew the ending was inevitable but the journey to get there was rocky. Ash and Ellie are definitely loveable in their own ways but also frustrating sometimes. The ending was what I hoped it would be.

Going to start off by saying that I have read a lot of ARCs over the last six years and have NEVER finished a book and so immediately needed to write a review. I see that this book is getting mixed reviews, but I honestly can't remember a contemporary romance that has made me feel so many emotions in such a short period of time. And it poses the question, can you fall in love with someone in just three days?

I really loved both Ash and Ellie as characters. Having just graduated from university, they meet by chance as they're both traveling by train through Europe alone before going back to their lives in the UK. They quickly click and have a lot of shared trauma that only draws them closer to each other. They go their separate ways, but plan to meet in Madrid in seven days. Except when Ellie arrives late, Ash is nowhere to be found. He's traveling off the grid without a phone, but she's given him her late best friend's book with her number in it in case he needs it, but he doesn't call.

Fast forward to six years later, having just gotten her first post-apprenticeship position as a gardener at an estate in Wales when her life crashes around her. This book truly had me on a rollercoaster of emotions. I was happy, sad, physically sick, and at one point so mad I had to put my Kindle down and go for a walk. I was truly surprised by this one and even having just finished it, I'm sad that I don't have another Paige Toon novel to immediately pick up.

I will be going back and reading more of her work, hands down. I'd highly recommend picking up What If I Never Get Over You when it's out 4/15 if you want to go on an ride emotionally.

And seriously such a big thank you for Penguin Group Putnam for giving me the opportunity to read this novel before publishing in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are solely my own.

Paige Toon is an auto buy author for me. I love and just adore her writing style.

This was a perfect, second chance romance!
It will make you feel all of the feels and she does such a great job of transporting you into the book to where you feel like you’re actually there.

This was a beautiful story. I highly recommend and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

I didn’t love or hate this. I really just couldn’t get into this. I think I went into it with such high expectations because of how much I loved her previous book, but sadly this just didn’t live up to my hopes for it.

It’s one of those leave it or take it books.

I enjoyed some elements of this book but overall was a little let down. It was not for me, but I can definitely see why this book would appeal to fans of Colleen Hoover or Lucy Score.

3⭐️

What If I Never Get Over You started off really strong, and I definitely felt the chemistry between the characters. But I struggled with how quickly she became completely obsessed with someone she only knew for a few days—still thinking about him years later. I’ve seen this in books before, and I just don’t get it. Personally, I need more time for a love story to feel real, so that part didn’t work for me. I also wish their grief had been explored more deeply because it felt a bit surface-level. That said, if you’re a fan of insta-love, you’ll probably enjoy this more than I did! It wasn’t a favorite for me, but I didn’t hate it either. Big thanks to NetGalley for the free advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

What if I Never Get Over You by Paige Toon - publish date of April 15th, 2025

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25 - I really liked it!

✨ You’ll love this book if you love second chance at love romances and an upstairs/downstairs relationship.

📖 Ash and Ellie meet whilst backpacking Europe to recover from loss. They fall in love in their 3 days together. 6 years later, they are reunited when Ellie takes a job as a gardener at an Estate in Wales. She realizes he isn’t exactly who he portrayed himself as and their reunion causes mayhem to the lives they’ve built whilst trying to move on from each other.

✨ I enjoyed this book so much more than I expected to. The two main characters have so much chemistry and Ash proves to be the type of man who falls hard when he falls in love. I’m definitely a sucker for that! I felt their conflict made sense for the characters and their background and was holding my breath through all their separation (a breath I didn’t know I was holding l? - haha?), and practically giddy when they were together.

If you’re frustrated by miscommunication between characters, this might slightly bother you, but I felt the miscommunication was understandable and necessary to be true to the characters and their age/backgrounds.

This was my first Paige Toon novel but wont be my last. I’m placing holds on her backlist!

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam and Paige Toon for the advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

Just goes to show you that if something is meant to be that a way will be found. Ellie and Ash could not have had more problems in their path and yet time kept moving. Somehow they were able to find their way back to each other more than once and be able to do what they love in the process. This was a good romance book.

What’s the Story?

Three days. That’s all it takes for Ellie to fall headfirst for Ash—a gorgeous, charming, emotionally available (??) guy she meets while interrailing through Europe. They meet in Lisbon, fall fast and hard, and agree to reunite in Madrid one week later to see where this thing could go.

Here’s what happens: Ellie shows up. Ash doesn’t.

Fast-forward six years—Ellie’s traded heartbreak for hedges, working as a gardener on a dreamy Welsh estate that reads like a cottagecore fever dream. She’s finally stood up to her parents who—if we were in the Harry Potter universe—would definitely be Slytherins. Instead, they’re ambitious, image-obsessed sofa designers. After cutting ties and choosing plants over prestige, this estate job marks a fresh start after six messy years.

Until Ash walks back into her life.

What follows is a second-chance romance full of secrets, angst, and just enough emotional tension to keep you quietly stressed the whole time.

⸻

Four Stars, a Few Notes

This book had me emotionally invested early on, and I genuinely loved the themes of timing, missed chances, and carving out your own life when everyone else expects something different. The settings were atmospheric—Lisbon was warm and swoony, Wales was grounding and introspective—and the slow-burning tension between Ellie and Ash delivered.

But—and you knew there was a but—it didn’t quite hit 5 stars for me. The plot was a bit too predictable. I saw the major beats coming early on, and while they worked, I wanted at least one twist to shake things up.

Then there’s Ellie. I didn’t hate her, but I didn’t exactly love her either. Some of her hang-ups—especially the class stuff—felt more 19th century than 2025, and her constant second-guessing wore thin after a while. I understood her anxieties (and to be fair, some of her concerns were valid), but it made her harder to root for as things unfolded.

Still, if you’re in the mood for quiet heartbreak, beautiful backdrops, and a second-chance romance soaked in yearning, What If I Never Get Over You is absolutely worth the read.

This was very eh for me. Not my favorite romance book but wasn't terrible. I felt like I had higher hopes for it.

Paige Toon does not disappoint, her writing immediately brings you into the story and connected to all the characters she writes. I liked both MC and was rooting for them from the beginning and loved the setting of the novel and hearing the descriptions of the estate and the gardens. I will always recommend anything she writes. I want to thank NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

What If I Never Get Over You was a great book. Ash and Ellie hit it off from the time they met. Although they did loose connection for a while, they found each other again. Other characters in the book were also great. Would recommend this book.