Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

CW: death of a parent (past), sexual harassment (past), broken foot, allergy incident

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f contemporary romance
-second chance
-work place
-this is just a hookup
-gruff tattooed simp
-dual timelines
-competency kink
-he falls first and hard

I was so hyped to read this book and gosh did it deliver. It had just the right amount of second chance angst, while overall just being fun. Ama loves being a wedding planner, but has zero desire to ever get married after her mother's sixteen marriages. A dash of doubt in her abilities and ambitious, the wedding world in Sacramento in small and her biggest wedding yet puts her smack dab in the circle of her ex Elliott.

Gosh Elliott. Tattooed in his favorite flowers, gruff, but with his heart on his sleeve. I adored getting his POV in those flashbacks. Because he just was so soft on Ama, just adored her. This was competency kink at its finest. He's a flower mastermind, with the architecture skills to match and just finds joy taking care of her. He may huff around about it but he's all in from the beginning and just pining away. He was epic and just had me swooning. Even with the end it wasn't saving Ama these two are very much a partnership and I was just screaming at the sweetness. And gosh the chemistry, this book delivers on the steam and I was here for it.

Ama and Elliott were such a solid couple. Continuing to be thrown together despite being broken up in all of these situations. Despite the breakup neither ever doubted the other's skills to deliver on this wedding. Add in some step siblings, A meddlesome ex boss and just wedding shenanigans this book was fun and honestly I could see it playing out on the screen. But the beating heart of this book is Ama and Elliott and I loved every moment of them past and present as they figured out what they wanted on different services, Elliott's truck, his work table. This book had so much heart, great chemistry and just a propulsive read.

Steam: 3.75

Wow! I had so much fun with Julie Soto’s debut, Forget Me Not. Thank you so much to Forever Publishing for an early review copy.

Ama Torres is a wedding planner who employs many of her ex-stepsiblings from her mothers sixteen (16) marriages (and counting)! She used to work for the most popular wedding planner in Sacramento, but went out on her own to use her own methods. Ama creates dream weddings because she really gets to know the couple, from proposal story to Pinterest boards.

Elliot Bloom is a popular florist that Ama used to work with all the time, but now refuses to. But when Ama books THE wedding of the year for influencer Hazel Renee and her fiancé, they are set on using Elliot’s company.

And thus, Elliot and Ama’s story begins to unfold, from her present day POV and his in the past, counting forward from the day they met.

From the first chapter, I was invested and swept up in this story. You can’t help but to root for Ama. And Elliot is the perfect grumpy book boyfriend—he hates social media, uses The Language of Flowers to send secret messages in the boutonnières he makes for new clients, and charges Ama a PITA (pain in the a**) fee when they first start working together.

In the acknowledgments, Ali Hazelwood is the first person Julie Soto thanks, and mentions that Ali convinced her to pull-to-publish. There has been some speculation about which fandom, since Julie has notably written for Star Wars and Harry Potter. Having had the privilege to read this, I can safely say Forget Me Not has heavy reylo roots. Especially in the family dynamic for Elliot’s background.

Can’t wait to see more people reading this book, I’ll absolutely be following Julie Soto’s career now!

I think this is one one my favorite books I have read in a long time. It has everything I want in a book plus more.
Julie has outdone herself. I had so much faith, so so much and it paid off. This book was EVERYTHING. The angst, the spice, the relationship building is incredible and I can see myself reading everything Julie writes from here on out. I trust her writing endlessly and she is now on the top of my auto-buy list.

This books lives up to all they hype I’ve been hearing about! Wedding designer Ama lands a career defining opportunity designing the wedding of a famous influencer and her partner. The problem is they want to work with a specific florist, her ex Elliot. Can Ama and Elliot work through their past and pull off a show-stopping wedding? Especially with Ama’s old boss hindering it’s success?

I enjoyed the flashbacks of how Ama and Elliot’s relationship began and unfolded to the present. It helped establish how strong their connection was from the beginning. Also, the female friendships were wonderful, supportive and caring. All different kinds of relationships were highlighted. The message that each person has a past that has shaped their idea of what an ideal relationship for them looks like I really appreciated!

From a tattooed florist to a temperamental Lady Cat-Ryn, this book is the perfect grumpy sunshine contemporary romance!

I think this book might be perfect? The narration slayed me with the outright sexual tension between the broody Elliot and the perky Ama. The plot was killer and the steam was perfectly timed - it didn't feel like there was ever a sex scene just for the sake of it. This is a great second chance romance in that there are NO miscommunications! Their initial breakup made complete sense to me, but wasn't ultimately something that couldn't be worked past in time. So when they're thrust together for the wedding of the century? Yeah, something was bound to sprout. Also flower tattoos are a kink I never knew I had, but between Beckett in Lovelight Farms and Elliot Bloom... it's canon now.

I'm hoping that the moody cellist we see at the end is a setup for another wedding themed book, because I'm not done with Ama's stepsiblings yet. Julie Soto, you killed it girl.

*Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review and to LibroFM for the gifted ALC*

FORGET ME NOT is a second chance romance between Ama, a wedding planner that doesn't believe in marriage and florist Elliot. Ama is running her own wedding planning business after leaving a job with a more established wedding planning company. She's hired for a high profile wedding that takes a life of its own. Her clients already hired Elliot, not knowing their romantic past. I loved that the past was told through Elliot's POV because we get to understand the complicated feelings he has about taking over his family's flower shop. It also softens him a little because he is generally outwardly rude. And it gives us so much context as to why there's so much tension between them. In their first go around, their romance went from zero to sixty despite Ama's insistence to keep things casual. In the present, while its apparent they both still care for each other, it takes longer for them to confront their feelings and readers are the real winners of their journey. This books gives you all the drama of wedding day stress and joy while delivering a sexy story about two people who, deep down, are real romantics.

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"In mythology, Amaryllis fell in love with a - man who loved flowers..."

Ok, can we just have a moment for the cover real quick? Because that is exactly why I needed to read this book and now own it...since spoiler: I loved it!

I couldn't believe this was a debut novel! A second chance romance based in Sacramento between a sunshine wedding planner, Ama, and grumpy cinnamon roll florist, Elliot, who's all bark but no bite especially when it comes to Ama. Did you know that Amaryllyis means "to sparkle?" had to google that one and I would definitely agree with our heroine's personality. She truly a spunky go getter who was passionate about her job and obsessed with donuts. I would describe Elliot has a grumpy hero that definitely wears his heart on his sleeve that notices ALL THE details. The chemistry was palpable and the floral references had my heart SWOONING (esp towards the end iykyk!!!).

Read if you like:
• Dual POV
• Past and present timeline
• Second chance romance
• Grumpy (cinnamon roll) x sunshine
• He falls first & hard
• Spicy scenes (hey my girl takes the initiative and it's in HIS POV... which was so different and fun!)

I would have loved to seen more of Elliot in the present POV and a few chapters of them actually together. I wish there was a bit more of them towards the end together because I would have read another 50 pages of them... just being them. Overall, a sweet spicy second chance romance that will definitely be joining my shelves. I will definitely be reading more from you Julie!!

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review - publishes 7/11/2023!

Here comes the wedding planner and her hot florist ex. Mix the two together and you get a spicy, grumpy/sunshine romance that will melt your heart and make you blush.

Ama is a wonderful wedding planner who left her previous job with the top wedding planning agency and has started a new path on her own. Her talent, attention to detail, and relatable personality make her stand out and that helped her land a high profile wedding. This is a larger scale than she has done but she vows to make it a day to remember.

It looks like Ama will be even more stressed with planning this wedding when she finds out the couple requested a florist who happens to be her ex, Elliot. He is broody and a grump but he can't help but feel vulnerable when he is with Ama. They share a past and working together in the present might just bring up old feelings.

There is really something for every romance reader in this book. The characters are so great and the chemistry between Elliot and Ama is so strong. And if you enjoy some spicy scenes you will have a lot to enjoy!

After hearing about this book from several highly trusted friends, I bumped Forget Me Not up on my TBR. I started the audio on a driving day and was so invested in this second chance romance that I finished on my kindle as soon as I stopped driving around. This story of Ama and Elliot was written in two timelines and following their love story in both was emotional and engaging and so easy to sink into. I loved the setting of weddings and flowers. I liked how it felt like they were the only people in the story and that we got so much of them together. I am very excited to read whatever Soto comes up with next.

What a well executed second chance romance! Second chance romance are not typically my favourite, but this one delivered. I found both main characters lovable and was fully invested in their story.

I enjoyed the dual POV and seeing how the story intersected past and present, having Elliot's POV primarily in the past, while Ama's POV is our main source for the present day.

Having the dual POV really enhanced the grumpy × sunshine elements of their personalities, I enjoyed seeing the different takes.

It was everything I was hoping it would be and delivered a perfect blend of comedy, romance, angst, and spice.