Ok, this book was unbelievably sweet.

Maybell’s had a difficult life. For one thing, her mother always moved her around with whatever boyfriend she had at the time, and for another, Maybell’s quite the pushover. She’s stuck at a job she hates until one day she receives notice that her aunt has died and left Maybell her “manor”. Maybell believes this is the break she needs to start fresh. Little does she know the house she just inherited is not only decrepit and unlivable, but she also has to share it! Maybell and Wesley (the groundskeeper) are co-inheriters of this house and have to work together to restore it. Wesley is handsome but grumpy. Maybell is determined to make this work and pushes through. Will she and Wesley be able to make this work? Or will they kill each other in the process?

Let me start with the “bad” first. I got this as an arc so I want to be honest. I don’t like the name. For the past 3 days, I’ve had the song Last Christmas by Wham! stuck in my head and thought going into it that this was a Christmas book (Once bitten and twice shy, I kept my distance but you still catch my eye). I also thought some parts of the book were a little too unbelievable; I won’t get into the details because of spoilers but if you’ve read it… I mean, come on, really? No way!

What I love about the book is that it was a slow burn. I’m a fan of enemies to lovers stories and while this wasn’t quite that, it’s entertaining watching two people who don’t really like each other (or think they don’t) fall in love. I love Maybell and I love Wesley. I think they are adorable and the whole concept of their love story was darling. I’ve not read anything else by Sarah Hogle but I will definitely be keeping my eye on her books going forward.

5 stars despite my minor nitpick.

3.5/5 stars

I WANT TO STAY AT THE MIGHTY AND MAJESTIC FALLING STARS HOTEL RIGHT NOW PLEASE!!!!!!

Truly, what a beautifully written story.
I absolutely LOVED how the romance aspect was written. It was tastefully done with none of those oddly graphic scenes in an otherwise PG book. It definitely got your heart pumping (is it just me or is it getting hot in here???) but it wasn't too flashy or descriptive if you know what I mean and I appreciate that.

Maybell. WHAT A GEM. AHHHH, I am still gushing over this character. I love her. I love how quirky she is, how she is constantly with her head in the clouds (wow wait I just got that reference in the book HAH), and how she's constantly spewing whatever is in her brain (she has no filter and I am HERE FOR IT). She is everything I consider myself to be in the sense of always mixing fantasy with reality and yet she isn't naive. She's a strong woman who, yes, has her faults (she really struggles with standing up for herself in the beginning), but who overall stays true to herself even if she's acting a little off-kilter.

Welsey. A cutie-pie to say the least. Finally, a man who is isn't considered the one because of his personality that outshines everyone in the room. A man who shows emotion and isn't afraid of being vulnerable is attractive and that's exactly what he is. I liked that even though he had this beautifully toned physique, he still had insecurities and fears to overcome. He wasn't the stereotypical love interest. He wasn't this perfect man and the thing is... there isn't one. That is what made his character realistic and all the more lovable. And that surprise gift at the end??? *swoon*

The only thing I would complain about is how the line between Maybell's fantasies would get sometimes a little too blurry. I would get so confused about whether or not she was dreaming or if Welsy actually said that to her. The descriptions of the two worlds would blur together and I struggled with differentiating the two. I also felt like towards the end, things kind of sped up and were just a tad too picture-perfect. The ending was amazing, I have no complaints, but I think a few of the scenes before it could've been just a little bit messier. Life isn't tied up in a pretty little bow. Their relationship didn't have to be either,

Overall, I'm obsessed with this book and I hope this inspires you to read it. It's delightful, enchanting, and will definitely have you giggling up a storm as you read this in your room at 2:00 am like I did.


Some of these quotes are just so gosh-darn cute I had to put them in here. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't show you how FREAKING ADORABLE THESE TWO ARE

"I think that you walked into my life and absolutely ruined it with how beautiful you are. I haven't gotten a single decent night's rest since we met."

"He doesn't kiss like a dream, doesn't touch like a fantasy. He is Welsey, real. My imagination will spend the next thousand years chasing the memory of this: Welsey. Real, It will never get it right because he is beyond imagining. Nothing beats real."

brb, gonna go cry in lonely...




Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Group for this ARC in exchange for a review!

This book is THE sweetest romance I've ever read. So gentle, warm, and fun. I loved the characters and was absolutely rooting for their relationship. It's certainly a slow burn, but it's the perfect escape from the world. After really enjoying both this and Sarah Hogle's debut, I'm looking forward to whatever she comes out with next!

Thank you to G.P Putnam's Sons (via NetGalley) for the ARC!

After Maybell Parrish's great-aunt Violet dies and leaves behind her old manor Falling Star, Maybell sees this as a great opportunity to make a change in her life and quit her dead-end job. That is, until she finds out the surly groundskeeper Wesley Koehler was named an equal inheritor in Violet's will. Maybell is determined not to let Wesley ruin her plans but they keep getting in each other's way. They have to find a way to live with each other because neither is willing to give up the manor or the property. Once they start working together to repair the house, though, both Maybell and Wesley discover things about each other that they had been afraid to show before.

This has to be THE sweetest romance novel I have EVER read and I loved it so much!!! It's so sweet I might have cavities now... I finished the book about a half hour ago, and I still have a cheesy grin on my face :D

If you were a fan of Sarah Hogle's debut, YOU DESERVE EACH OTHER, I think it's safe to say you will like this book just as much (if not more! I definitely like it more!)

There were scenes in this book that were so cute I was hiding my face in my sweatshirt because I couldn't handle it. I swooned, I cried, and omg do I wish Wesley was a real person! Can you even imagine????

Maybell and Wesley have SUCH good chemistry, and once they got beyond the initial "I don't like you" stage and figured out what was going on with each other, they were great at communicating their needs and their problems. Which is AWESOME.

Also the date scene in the conservatory? I had to put my book down because I was crying so hard! THE MOST ROMANTIC GESTURE!!!!!!!

Whew. Anyway, this book comes out on April 6th, so go pre-order it!!!!! It is definitely worth it!!!!

I have been waiting for the book to come out so I was THRILLED to receive an ARC. You Deserve Each Other was in my top 5 of 2020 so I knew I needed to read this author’s latest creation.

At first I wasn’t really sure it was going to impress me like YDEO but by the end I was a believer. It’s a novel full of quirky characters, quirky storylines and a bit of randomness. I couldn’t personally relate to the characters or really understand them. But I loved them. So much. This story was super sweet and funny and enjoyable. It was a good reminder that a lot of people face silent battles and everyone just wants to feel seen and loved. I give this one 4.5 ⭐️.

This was a sweet escape of a read that really grew on me after a little bit of a rocky start. Maybell struck me as a little bit manic pixie dream girl at first but thankfully the more time we spent with her the more I grew to understand and love her.

I picked this up both because I liked Sarah Hogle's last book and because I am a sucker for the grumpy one loving the sunshine one and it did not disappoint! The slow burn, the forced proximity, the fun writing style, and the wonderful character growth were all done so well.

A few scenes were admittedly a little Much and it could have done with dropping one or two subplots but at the end of the book I felt like I had just gotten a warm hug and really, I can't ask for much more than that.

Maybell is bubbly and bright, but on the surface she comes off as quiet and reserved most of the time preferring to spend her time creating elaborate daydreams. Growing up she moved from place to place with her mother. When she was 19, she and her mother ended up in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee working as maids at a resort. Maybell's mother left, but Maybell remained. After the resort manager's daughter, Gemma admits to catfishing Maybell she's promoted to a Event Coordinator to avoid fallout. The job is a change in title only, and Maybell finds herself constantly fulfilling housekeeping duties.

One day, a woman shows up to inform Maybell her Aunt Violet has passed away and left her manor to Maybell. Overjoyed, Maybell leaves her work property on her desk and quietly exits the resort. Upon her arrival at the manor, she discovers it was a joint bequeathment leaving the manor to both Maybell and her Aunt Violet's groundskeeper, Wesley. Wesley as it turns out is the guy Gemma used photos of to catfish Maybell. Suddenly Maybell isn't so sure her luck has changed.

"Most of the time I feel like I live all the way down inside of myself, deep, deep down, so far away from my voice that I hardly hear it and certainly nobody else ever does. I've been told before that I blend in, difficult to notice, easy to talk over. But ever since I realized Wesley notices me, it's like I've done to the surface of myself and stayed there. I'm not used to having the world at such close range, having an effect on my environment, present in my own life. I'm run ragged by it. I don't have the wherewithal to project a more flattering version of myself, stumbling when I aim to be charming and likable."

Slowly, after much tribulation, Wesley warms up to Maybell and we begin to learn more about both characters. Maybell already knows she's attracted to Wesley but as she finds herself growing fond for him as a person she freaks out. How can they share this property if something were to go wrong?

"I think complimenting him is making it worse. It's so humanizing, to see this giant starchy potato get all pink and flustered simply because I'm bearing witness to his fluffy trees."

This story is so fluffy and sweet – my cold heart was so warm reading it. I loved both characters and I was happy to see a different kind of male love interest introduced. Someone so adverse to socializing and loss of control he contemplated staying in Europe after flying to his brother's wedding to avoid a return flight. Someone who gets so anxious in restaurants he hasn't been able to really date. I so appreciated learning about Wesley and watching him grow.

I really like the way Sarah Hogle wrapped up the story leaving it open-ended but cleaning up all the loose ends. I would recommend this book and plan to look into any other works Sarah has available.

A solid romance about two very unique individuals, that by the end you feel are 100% made for each other. This is a slow build romance with very well developed characters. At first,
I wasn't sure I was going to like anyone, but as the story developed I did. I love how, besides the beginning, the only characters are actually Maybell and Wesley and actually the house. Its a magical story just like Maybell would dream in her head.

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

I adored Sarah Hogle's debut You Deserve Each other and I immediately dropped everything when this hit my Kindle.

CW: parental abandonment, domestic abuse (hinted at side character), anxiety, social anxiety, catfishing (past incident)

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

-m/f enemies to lovers
-close proximity
-grump/sunshine
-only one tent
-virgin cinnamon roll hero
-slooooow burn
-a bit of a forbidden romance
-flirting via artwork and notes
-major swooning
-a house in need of some fixing up

I felt all of the emotions reading this book. Sarah Hogle is so good at writing witty, snappy, voicey characters. Maybel was wonderful. Not happy with her life, she's still so hopeful, living in her own imaginary world where everything is perfect, living vicariously through that. And Wesley. Dear, sweet Wesley. How he immediately takes care of Maybel, he can't not, he's so sweet about it. When he offered her a helmet I would have fallen over if I wasn't already sitting.

This beautiful book was about sharing your inner self with someone, your inner dreams. I adore books that show the MCs falling for each other and just getting each other, but this was so much more, their confessions, their dreams. It was so beautiful and honest. Both Maybel and Wesley dealing with anxiety in different ways, how that presents, how people choose to cope. This book dealt with some serious issues so delicately with humor and honesty.

And sweet Aunt Violet who deserves a mention for bringing all of this together. Her last wishes were genius. The house and all of its secret passages. The close proximity was so well done, the relationship slowly progressing. The hint of forbiddeness since they were living together and it seemed like a bad idea. The coincidences. The entire ending, I had tears in my eyes. This was a HEA so well earned and so beautiful.

Rating: 5
Steam: 2 (closed door)

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was a sweetly, awkward romance with a whimsical heroine who leaves it all behind to start over in her aunts abandoned mansion only to find a man already living there. Initially they don't get along but Maybells sunny disposition draws Wellsey from his shell. It's interesting how we learn that Welsely suffers from social anxiety and that causes him to appear aloof but he flourishes under Maybells attention and love blooms naturely. There wasn't much heat in their interactions but they allow themselves to let go of their fears in order to be together. Well written and fantastical.

*3.75

I loved the previous book of the author, so when I got an arc of this I was pretty excited to read it but unfortunately it wasn't as good as I hoped.

It's definitely not a bad book and I appreciated some choices that have been made but overall it wasn't what I was expecting. It's just that "We deserve each other" was funny and different from a lot of other contemporaries I read but this needed some spicing up, you know?
It felt a little bit flat to me!

Some positive points are the writing: it's not excellent but I like that it communicates trough images and I could see perfectly in my head how the author envisioned some scenes. I think this will be very good translated in a movie!
Also I liked Wesley and how he's depicted because he's quite different from the classic hot male character in romances.
It was like we had a change of roles between woman and man and that was actually very fresh and new.

Not the masterpiece of the year but I definitely recommend it if you want something fast to read!

After reading and absolutely LOVING You Deserve Each Other last year I couldn't wait to read more from Sarah Hogle. I honestly was unsure if I would love Twice Shy as much as I love YDEO, but if you could describe a book giving you a big gentle hug - then that is exactly what Twice Shy is.

Maybell Parish is a dreamer and maybe she likes to live in her pretend world more than the real world sometimes. She's not very happy with her current job, even though she did get a promotion. She's pretty sure her friend/co-worker isn't really her friend at all. So when she finds out that her Great-Aunt Violet left her the manor she so fondly remembers from her youth she jumps at the chance to go live there.

Only the manor is now tattered and beat down. Not only is the manor unlivable, but she has to share it with the grouchy groundskeeper Wesley Koehler. He grunts, isn't very talkative and just largely ignores her. Both have entirely different plans for the estate and are often arguing with one another. How will they every learn to live together?

I loved both Wesley and Maybell so much. I could often imagine the scenes playing out as a movie while I was reading them. The dynamic and chemistry between these two was evident right from the beginning. While Twice Shy was told from Maybell's perspective, I still felt like I could always relate to Wesley and what he was going through.

I have so many passages highlighted in this book and I honestly need to go back and re-read it again to savor those moments. Sarah does such an effortless job of conveying how Wesley and Maybell are going through grief and anxiety while also writing such beautiful prose. Twice Shy had the perfect mix of angst, longing, sadness and hope.

This was so dreamy and swoony!! An inheritance! An uninvited, but sexy stranger! Treasure! I loved the AU portions, I loved the discoveries, I loved the vulnerabilities. This was so fun and charming!

Maybell Parrish is perpetually mustering up the courage to speak her mind. Rather than confront her terrible coworkers, Maybell chooses to retreat into her favorite day dreams, but she’s jolted to reality when she learns her beloved yet distant and now deceased Great-Aunt Violet has chosen her to inherit her remote manor in the mountains. Eager for a fresh start, Maybell quickly and quietly leaves her old life behind. When she arrives, she learns she is not the sole inheritor: Wesley Koehler, the stoic grounds keeper, has other plans in mind for the estate. Wesley and Maybell set off sorting through Violet’s hoard of old belongings and fixing up the place and carrying out Violet’s final wishes. As they slowly let their guards down, it becomes clear that both will need to step outside their comfort zone to live the lives they truly want.

I adored Sarah Hogle’s debut You Deserve Each Other. It was smart and hilarious and felt so different from the other rom-coms in my stack. Twice Shy definitely had glimmers of that wit, but I felt like it was buried. Much like Violet’s rooms full junk, this book just felt much too crowded and bogged down with unnecessary plot that deterred from the really lovely characters. Dream cafes and catfishing coincidences made the first half of this book disorienting and unbelievable. I felt like there was enough plot in this story for 2-3 different books. Hopefully Hogle’s next project has a bit more room for the humor and character development that I adored from her debut.

Sarah Hogle goes on my list of authors that I would read anything they write. You Deserve Each Other was one of the most funny and charming romances I've read last year and now Twice Shy climbs the list as one of the most adorable romances I've read this year.

If you need a proper definition of the word SWEET, this is it. It's this book. It's so sweet I can almost taste the sweetness. It's the sweetest, most adorable book I've read in a long time. Let's say it's a kind of book that will put a big and bright smile on your face even on a bad day. That freaking amazing.

These characters are so precious. They made my heart flutter, made me laugh out loud, made me go awwww at least hundred of times. And Wesley. WESLEY NEEDS TO BE PROTECTED AT ALL COSTS!

If you're looking for something as sweet and delicious as chocolate, you can't do better than this book. Only a bite of this sweetness or a page in this case and you'll be hooked. I devoured it in a sitting. It's that good. Read it.

This was adorable. An enemies to lovers/friends to lovers romance all while restoring an old home. I swooned when I first met Wesley & Maybell was such a likable character that you couldn't help but to root for her.
I loved how she had an AU coffee shop where she would daydream a perfect life and we got to see snippets of that.
Overall a super enjoyable romance!

The actual romance part isn't bad and there's some nice chemistry between the characters, but the main character blows it for me. She's very annoying, and her constant daydreaming gets old quickly. The whole book is just too slow-moving.

My first reaction to this book was how the writer came up with this premise and tying in Maybell's daydreams, which surely is one of the most creative plotlines I have ever read! The twists and complexities of the story that unfold early on are so unique (and almost comical at times!) that I found myself marveling at how the author pulled it all together. I also appreciated how she tied in characters that experience social anxiety and thought this representation was very well done.

This all being said, this book fell a little short for me. I found the back and forth between reality and the main characters' "dreams" to be a little hard to follow and the overall story to be a little bit too predictable.

I will say that I read this book on the heels of two other reads that were huge favorites for me so my bar is pretty high right now. I do think maybe readers will enjoy this cute and whimsical storyline and very much appreciated having the opportunity to read this second novel by author Sarah Hogle.

Thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons for my gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.

HJ Recommends

In Twice Shy by Sarah Hogle, When Maybell Parrish learns that her Great Aunt Violet has passed away and left her Falling Stars, her family's home in the mountains of Tennessee, it hits her hard. She let years go by without visiting the woman who meant so much during Maybell's troubled childhood. But knowing that she has the chance to watch over Falling Stars and restore it back to its former grandeur is something she will cherish. She's in for a few surprises when she arrives in the Smoky Mountains, though. First of which is the appalling condition of the house and property. Second is learning the groundskeeper, Wesley Koehler, somehow inherited half of the estate as well. And that just doesn't sit well with Maybell.

Sure that her great aunt must have had a good reason for the jumbled inheritance–aside from messing with her just for funsies–Maybell does her best to try to talk Wesley around to her plans for Falling Stars. But he's one stubborn guy. An admittedly gorgeous, broody, guy who gets more and more intriguing with every smidge of information she gleans from him. When they finally find a camaraderie that puts them a bit more at ease with each other, Maybell begins to realize that's the most dangerous thing of all. Because her heart could so easily fall for a wonderful guy like Wesley. And she's pretty sure he's of the same mind. What kind of disaster could that spell for their future, co-owning Falling Stars, if they take a chance and it doesn't work out between them?

An adorable, feel-good novel that made my heart dance, Twice Shy was the perfect sophomore offering by Sarah Hogle that included a memorable cast and a heartwarming romance that was sigh-worthy.

Have you ever read a book and found yourself saying: "These are my people!" when you get to know the main characters? That was exactly what it was like for me when I "met" Maybell and Wesley. I'll try not to give away too many details about their personalities or their situation, but I can say that anyone who deals with anxiety and/or shyness will no doubt embrace this couple and their awkward-filled journey towards a HEA. Because Hogle perfectly captured what it's like to cope with both issues. Right down to how it physically feels as well as how it can affect your relationships with everyone around you.

Hogle's writing was once again on point, just like with her debut novel You Deserve Each Other. There was still that offbeat, almost playful tone to the majority of the scenes, with as many laughs as there were serious moments. And where I felt so drawn to Wesley and Maybell as they were both equally relatable for me, I reveled in every moment they shared–and every step they took to build a relationship out of circumstances that initially put them at odds.

There was a rich backstory in Twice Shy that gets revealed bit by bit as Maybell and Wesley cleaned out the house–which was basically a mansion lovingly called Falling Stars and which had some secrets of its own. I adored what we learned about Maybell's great aunt and uncle, Violet and Victor. Talk about a love story! Swoon… Taking care of Falling Stars, which meant so much to Maybell and her aunt and uncle, gave her and Wesley something to focus on and a way for them to become a team instead of duking out who should have inherited what.

It was oh so cute watching the pair come out of their shells. Wesley was a superb hero–a seemingly grumpy man of few words who had a heart of pure gold, which was evident as we learned more about him. Don't let his standoffishness fool you. Wesley was a standup guy who, yes, did make a few blunders, but he was a great blend of beta & alpha and was perfect for Maybell. She ended up being a sweetheart of a woman who had a really tough childhood. Some readers might not enjoy her penchant for daydreaming or get her quirky sense of humor, but I absolutely adored Maybell. And I get why she found herself living in her head at times instead of in the moments that were dragging her down in real life. Something I think Hogle captured wonderfully.

Twice Shy was a sweet, introspective romance that I know I will be happily reading again in the near future. Sarah Hogle is proving to be an author to watch and I, for one, cannot wait to see what captivating story she gifts her readers with next.

I liked, but didn't love, this book. It was sweet, easy, and fairly predictable with likeable characters and a setting I hadn't seen before in chick lit. I don't have any real criticism of the book, just something didn't quite click for me to make me love it. But it was an enjoyable and quick read.