Second chance romance and mutual pining is a chefs kiss pairing. As someone who grew up watching hgtv with my parents, I could see the progression of the home reno and Shelby and Cameron’s relationship play out like it would onscreen. This is such a cute idea for a book and I loved that they were former child stars however, I wish that we got more than a few references back to that time and more insight about cam, Shelby, and Lyle during all the years they were on the show together. It alludes to the fact that Shelby/cam were inseparable but we don’t really get that. This is made up for with the chemistry that is obviously evident between the two and hello the banter??! So good. A cute, easy read that lowkey reminds me of celebrity couples who rebranded and now have home shows.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St.Martin’s press for the ARC!!

Built to Last is a sweet, swoon worth romcom with some heat. Former child stars with an instant attraction, they fail to remain connected as a result of the chaos surrounding their celebrity lives. Despite the disconnect, they can't break free from the spell each had on the other. Que a new reality show that will bring them together one more time, and this may be just what they need to sort out all of those frustrations and make that love connection stick.
Despite a few slow moments and a seemingly rapid conclusion, I enjoyed the book. There was humor, friendship, steam, and conflict resolution - what's not to like about that?
Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy and opportunity to provide an honest review.

This was a super cute story to read. I really liked the main characters. Second chance romances - between two childhood friends, is one of my favorite love stories to read!
The story was quite engaging and I didn’t want to put it down.

Built To Last
⭐️⭐️⭐️.75 (Rounding up to 4 ⭐️)
Genre: Romance / Rom-Com
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 10/18/22
Author: Erin Hahn
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Pages: 336
Goodreads Rating: 4.09

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: Shelby Springfield has spent the last ten years trying to overcome her past, as a former child star, it’s hard to forget a mediocre pop career, a meltdown widely documented by the paparazzi, and a huge public break with her former co-star Lyle Jessup. It’s also hard to forget her other co-star and childhood sweetheart, Cameron Riggs -- the one who got away. When Lyle stirs the pot, getting the two back in the spotlight with a home renovation show, Cameron can't help but come on board. Sparks and sawdust fly as Shelby and Cameron film the pilot for "Homemade" and battle Lyle’s shenanigans at every turn.

My Thoughts: Second chance romance stories are another one of my favorites. I was hoping to see more flashbacks to their childhood sweetheart time, there was a few, but I would have liked to see a little more. The characters were well developed, you could see the growth throughout the story, Shelby and Cameron had good chemistry, there was witty banter, and the supporting characters really sealed up the story. The author’s writing style flowed well, had complexity to it, was creative, and worked well for this story. The author tied in a DYI aspect to it, which will attract more readers. Overall, this was a good read for me and I enjoyed the book. I would recommend this book that will be released later this year. This is the author’s debut book and I cannot wait to see future novels from this author. There is some hints that this supporting characters, Lorelai and Drake may get a spin off novel, which would be amazing.

This was such a cute read and actually got me out of a small reading slump. I read the first chapter and took a break but once I jumped back in, I finished the book in less than a day. Shelby and Cameron are childhood first loves who happened to also be former child stars. Through some miscommunication and a need for growth away from the public eye, the two are separated for years. They’re finally brought together by Shelby’s smarmy ex (unintentionally) and a reality tv show centered around homes. I love the character’s growth and how they acknowledged that miscommunication had done a number on their relationship, Watching their relationship re-blossom was a joy and I loved all the side characters (with the exception of Shelby’s ex best friend and ex)! (Excited for a Lorelai story please!) excited for read more from this author.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

Very enjoyable. I will be adding this author to the list of folks who write straight romances that I will read.

I love a good second chance romance and liked the added childhood loves who got lost along the way.

What a breath of fresh air to not have some BS contrived conflict in the third act of a romance! This book deserves 5 stars just for that, but there’s so much more to delight in here.

Shelby and Cameron came of age starring in a tween sitcom together. They fell in love, they fell apart, and now they find themselves a decade later, starring in a home renovation show and sparks fly.

This ooey-gooey love story has fun banter, ride-or-die best friends, sweet moments, solid puns, and two main characters with so much homegrown Midwest charm that you can’t even hate them for being so effortlessly good-looking. This book just oozes feel-good vibes.

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review!

First, thank you to NetGalley for the E-ARC! I've loved all of Erin Hahn's YA books, so I was excited to see what her adult romance could be.

I'm usually not interested in a second chance romance, but this was very cute. I liked both of the main characters, Shelby and Cameron, but I wish I they more standing up for themselves against Lyle. I get "it's none of his business", but he's tearing them down and making them look bad, so I think speaing up for themselves is in order. Also, the characters seemed way older than 27-28. With thousands of hours of HGTV watching under my belt, I really enjoyed the behind the scenes of the tv show and the home reno. I'd read a whole sequel about their show taking off.

My only negative: petition to ban any man in a romance book from saying "oh you're so tight" in bed because it's disgusting and I hate it.

Overall this was super cute and I'd definitely recommend it for any fans of romance or house flipping.

I was introduced to the writer, Erin Hahn, by reading “Built to Last” a cute story with plenty of promise.

Shelby and Cameron started together in a popular teen show (think “Boy Meets World”) and became attracted to each other, even though Shelby’s character was paired with the show’s star, Lyle. When the show ends. Cameron moves on to work for National Geographic, while Shelby returned to Michigan and worked with her dad in remodeling homes and restoring antiques.

Lyle, who dumped Shelby when she was in her early twenties, develops a concept for
a home renovation reality TV show. Shelby and Cameron work together restoring antiques, renovating a home, and filming a pilot episode for the series. As they prepare for the pilot, Shelby and Cameron are able to connect with one another again, and see that their chemistry hasn’t gone anywhere.

Like I said, the novel has plenty of potential and the chemistry between Shelby and Cameron was quite realistic. I also love the concept of the story of “whatever happened to” with childhood stars. I wanted the writer to spend a little more time with the characters and their backstories and I thought Lyle, especially, was undeveloped. But for someone looking for a a good escape, I would highly suggest this book.

Three and a half stars.

Thanks go to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to give this novel an early read.

This was a cute contemporary romance. It provided me with the escape I was craving and ended the way I like in my easy, breezy romance reads to end.
The one thing that bothered me was how none of the main characters were every day, ordinary people. It felt a little like I was reading an early 2000 YA romance where all the characters were super rich, super famous, super talented, or all of the above. I’ve never been interested in lifestyles of the rich and famous, so that element of the story didn’t work for me.

But that’s me being fussy. It is a solid romance with good chemistry and conflict development.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
#NetGalley

I loved this book! The home reno element and Shelby and Cam becoming close again with each other and their families through the process was a great story. I squealed at the end with happiness for them both and any romance that can make me squeal is one I'll be recommending!

This book started off good for me but after awhile it slowed down a lot so I lost interest. I did not finish the book. This is a friend's to relationship book which some people may like.

Cute romance about a second chance love. As a home show lover, this one couldn't miss!

Cameron and Shelby were childhood best friends and first loves. Different career paths took them away from each other, but you never forget your first. When Shelby gets an opportunity to showcase her woodworking talents on a new show, she calls Cameron to help and he comes running.

Shelby and Cameron are exactly the joy-filled, sweet romance we all need right now.

This was a fun read, pulled at the heart strings, and you really rooted for the two mains. I wanted them to make it from the start, the back story was fun, and the snake in the grass was easy to see. Loved the premise of her coming into her own and him backing her, this was a fun easy read to just loose yourself in for a time.

This book was great! Two former child stars end up on a home renovation show, and are thrown obstacles left and right. Will they rekindle their old feelings for one another? Will the house they are flipping be a flop? Overall, I really liked this! It was very sweet, and was just the kind of book that is perfect for curling up with a blanket and a good cup of tea. I also loved the ending! I just wish we could watch the music video :) Will definitely read and recommend more by Erin Hahn!!

Second chance (or third in this case?) romances are typically not my thing. However, from the very beginning I found my self rooting for Cameron and Shelby.

Both characters were sweet and loveable and I wanted them to have their happy ending, not just with each other, but with themselves. I didn’t feel certain aspects were fully resolved for them to get the right kind of closure they deserved. It was sort of just lumped in a summary that things were all good all of a sudden.

The writing style felt a bit clunky and jumped ahead at weird times. Unimportant subplots got too much time, while the ones I thought were imperative to the story were skipped over and got hardly anything at all. There was hardly any real conflict in my opinion.

Despite all of this I still enjoyed the story for what it was. The love was there and it was very sweet.

Brief Synopsis: Former child star Shelby Springfield left the Hollywood limelight after a disastrous breakup and has found peace flipping houses with her dad in Michigan. Her former co-star and first love Cameron Spriggs left Hollywood at 18 for college and now films documentaries for National Geographic. When Shelby’s ex-boyfriend and former co-star Lyle Jessup reaches out to them about filming a home renovation pilot, Shelby and Cameron are unsure of Lyle’s game. But Shelby wants to prove to Hollywood that she’s not the party girl she once was. And Cameron regrets leaving Shelby, not once but twice, and wants to work with her again. As Cameron and Shelby take every twist Lyle throws at them, they may end up building something more than just a house.

Thank you so much to Erin Hahn, NetGalley, and St. Martin’s for the ARC!

I absolutely loved the premise of this book. Former child stars now filming a home improvement show? Sign me up. I have read several books with the home improvement theme as the backdrop and I have really enjoyed them and this one was no exception.

Shelby was such a great character. I loved how she found the courage to leave Hollywood and how she found something to do that she loved. I also loved that technically she didn’t really care what everyone else thought of her. Sure, the television show was a chance for Hollywood to see how serious she was, but mostly she did it for her dad so that he could be financially secure. Shelby was so secure in the person she had become since Hollywood and I loved reading about her.

Cameron and Shelby had such great chemistry and I loved that we got snippets of their past that shows just how much in love they had been with each other as kids on a TV show. I think all of the characters were written so well, and I really loved Shelby’s dad and best friend Lorelai.

This book is dual POV which I absolutely love. I think this is such a great romance read and I highly recommend. This book releases October 18th!

4⭐️
🔥🔥🔥Open door romance

Second chance-romance centered around an HGTV show. I loved watching the romance develop between the two main characters. Cameron and Shelby were well-written and realistic with their flaws. I’d recommend this book to anyone that loves a good romance or rom-com.

I raced through this incredible rom com in under a day. Erin Hahn joins Ali Hazelwood in my favorite romance author category. The characters POP right off the page with authentic flaws, fears, and dreams. I'm so glad I've preordered this one so I can display it on my shelf like a trophy.

I adore second chance/friends to lovers romances, and this one did not disappoint! The premise of the story is adorable and this was just an easy and enjoyable read.