Those Two words

This novel is a cozy and thoughtful romantic story set in Maine, USA, focusing on childhood best friends Patrick and Jo. Reunited after years apart, Jo returns to manage her family’s business, reigniting Patrick's long-buried feelings. The narrative explores their complex relationship, shaped by shared history and personal losses—the deaths of Patrick's father and Jo's mother. Themes of second chance love, nostalgia, and the challenges of coping with anxiety add depth and realism to the story.

Overall, this book is a delightful, light read with a charming New England backdrop. Fans of friends-to-lovers and second-chance tropes will enjoy the heartwarming romance and engaging storyline. The author’s modern yet old-school charm makes this love story both timeless and contemporary, leaving readers eagerly anticipating Ronnie’s future works.

Thank you NetGalley for this wonderful arc

WOW!!
I was absolutely blown away by this book, and still can’t believe it is the author’s debut! She is definitely one to watch!

A stunningly beautiful, at times heartbreaking story. It takes an awful lot to make me cry, but this did it.

Johanna and Patrick’s story is full of real, raw emotions. Johanna’s character is so relatable for anyone who has ever suffered with any kind of anxiety, and I could just feel everything she went through as it was described, almost as though I’d been there and seen it myself. The writing is beautiful, the story telling is excellent and keeps you engaged throughout.

Johanna and Patrick grew up together, have been best friends since childhood and their parents owned a restaurant together. Johanna left Sutton Bay 6 years ago, and Patrick had no idea why. But now she’s back to help their families save the restaurant and there are a lot of words left unsaid, insecurities and broken hearts to be mended.

Patrick is a single dad and his daughter Lottie is adorable. I loved seeing her relationship with Jo blossom, and it was so great that her mom never caused any drama and was so supportive of Patrick and Jo. It felt like something we rarely see in single parent romances!

One of my favourite parts of the story was the jigsaw puzzle (IYKYK) 😭🧩

You can really tell how much love and care has been poured into this book. We sometimes see new authors rushing out releases whereas this author has clearly taken her time to write this properly and thoroughly. It is well edited, without plot holes and beautifully written.

Huge thank you to the author and Netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review. Any chance we can have Quinn and Graham next?! Please?!

I was provided the opportunity to read an ARC of this novel by the author and NetGalley. This novel is a debut novel for Ronnie and it was a great first book!

This novel focuses on Patrick and Jo whom were childhood best friends. Jo ended up moving away, but has recently returned to town and is working to manage her family’s business. Patrick finds himself with immediate feelings coming back to him for Jo.

I went in pretty blind and don’t want to spoil it for other readers but it seriously has one of the cutest romances in it! This novel has friends to lovers, second chance, and he falls hard tropes.

Cannot wait to see what is coming next for Ronnie!

What a debut novel this was! It was the perfect second chance romance for me, you could feel that childhood best friends to lovers history that cemented that they were made for each other right from the very beginning, I loved the way that there was glimpses into their past and how deeply rooted they were in one another’s lives.

Also we know I’m a sucker for a single Dad so on top of Patrick obviously being everyone’s ideal man he’s a single girl dad too?? He was swoony with a filthy mouth and I was absolutely here for it! The way he showed all his emotions and was all in pretty much as soon as he stopped attempting to avoid her made me love him even more!

My heart hurt for Johanna so much, the way Ronnie portrayed her Depression and Anxiety was handled with such care and really highlighted just how well someone can hide what they’re going through, even from those closest to them.

I absolutely loved this book and I can’t wait to see what’s next in Sutton Bay! I feel like we got a couple of hints and if it’s who I think it is I’ve got a feeling Patrick’s going to have some competition 👀

Oh my goodness I loved it!! I went in wanting to read a few chapters before bed and I couldn’t put it down! I had to keep reading! I absolutely love Jo, Patrick and the rest of the Our Place family ! This is a beautiful cozy heart tugging love story that is set in Maine! If you love a second chance, always been you romance you gotta check this out! I look forward to reading more of the Sutton Bay series when they are released!
Thank you to Ronnie and NetGalley for letting me read an advance copy of Those Two Words! This is Ronnie’s debut novel and it’s amazing! This book had me in my feels and I was crying by the end! It’s a must read!!

I absolutely loved the beautiful content of this novel. I loved the New England vibe and also could relate to the friends or maybe more aspect of the book. I was so invested in the characters and whether or not they would land up together in the end. A beautifully written modern love storm with old school charm. I loved it

★★★★.5

You might know Ronnie from her booksta account @wordstoescape (go check her out if you haven’t already, she’s freaking hilarious!) but soon you’ll know her for her own words, because damn this book was so freaking good!! 😍 Those Two Words is her debut book but it definitely doesn’t read like a debut! It reads like she was made to write and I’m so proud of her for trusting in herself and doing the damn thing!! 👏🏼

Johanna was so relatable! I love how raw and honest her struggles with her mental health were, and how they’re dealt with on the page. I think most people can probably relate to some aspects of anxiety, but to see how much Jo went through was so heartbreaking and it really opens up your eyes to how much some people struggle to cope with what others might see as “ordinary things”. I love how deep Ronnie went with it, she didn’t shy away from the ugly, but she made a painful story beautiful.

I fell for Patrick from the very start. He was guarded and scared, but I loved when he eventually gave in. He tried to fight it, but those old feelings never went away, and he was powerless against them. He was so patient, doing everything he could to help Jo. He was such a good dad to Lottie and I just loved how her humour really lifted the story when it needed it.

I loved the dynamic between the two families and how close they all were 🥹 They have all suffered immense grief, but they continued to rally around one another and supported each other and the restaurant.

This was such a beautiful story about love, overcoming grief, heartbreak, second chances and returning home.

P.S. I really hope we get Graham and Quinn’s story next! 🤭

Those Two Words releases on August 22 and will be available on KU!

Thank you so much Ronnie and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tropes:
- Small Town Romance
- Single Dad Romance
- Childhood Friends to Lovers
- Second Chance
- Workplace Romance
- Forced Proximity
- Mental Health Rep
- Mutual Pining
- No Third Act Breakup
- It Was Always You
- Slow Burn

This is a fantastic debut novel! It is beautifully written and deals with some pretty heavy topics in a sensitive yet realistic way.

Those Two Words is a small town, second chance romance. Patrick and Johanna are childhood friends who are reunited when Johanna moves back to town to help manage the family restaurant. The story revolves around them trying to come to terms with and move on from the events six years ago that led to Johanna leaving town.

I very much enjoyed all of the characters in this book. Johanna and Patrick were both very relatable and the side characters were all great additions too. The author did a fantastic job of creating the cozy, small town setting as well.

I think the only negative I have about this book is that it felt slightly dragged out and a bit slow in places, but in a way this almost made the plot more believable and realistic. The damage to the relationship between Johanna and Patrick was not something that could be fixed quickly and easily with a dramatic grand gesture like is common in other romance novels. It took time, work and patience to get to know each other again and fix all that had been broken between the two of them.

This book is beautifully written, heartfelt and honest and was an absolute pleasure to read. I'm really looking forward to reading future books in the series!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Ronnie Matthews for this ARC copy.

This was a lovely debut novel! I felt like the small town setting was done so perfectly I felt really immersed in the story. It was both light and deep at the same time! Johanna is an amazing relatable protagonist and I can’t wait to read more from this author! I really felt the connection between her characters. Will be adding to our library and recommending 100%!

You can tell this was written by someone who has a love for this genre. It’s a lovely light read and a great debut start for the author. I do have to admit that it slowed down a lot half way through and kind of lost momentum. Although very well written in the prose, I just felt it lacked a iittle something and the fact that you had to wait until the very end to find something out and there wasn’t anything to fill that gap, it just lingered.