Amy Clipston's newest novel, Something Old, Something New, is an endearingly heartwarming contemporary romance. Christine Sawyer and Brent Nicholson are the main protagonists in the storyline.

Christine lives her life in the shadow of her twin sister, Britney, while Brent continues to live in the shadow of his glory days as a teenage football hero. Neither feel they are truly worthy of love or second chances.

This story was enjoyable to read. Everyone, I believe, has had the feeling that they were not "good enough" at some point. While these feelings may not have been as severe as Christine or Brent's, they are relatable.

Brent's Aunt Midge was my favorite character. I love when authors create someone with moxie and gumption. Both real and imagined worlds are made more lively by them.

The message of optimism, second chances, forgiveness and love in Clipston's novel makes it the ideal book to read at any time.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. All opinions are my own and I am voluntarily leaving this review.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

This was the perfect contemporary read after a few heavier/in-depth historical novels! I really enjoyed the focus on antiquing and remodeling as career choices, and often found myself excited to pick up the book again and find out what happened next.

A few points were still unresolved by the end, and there was less of a faith element than I expected given the author and publisher, but I still liked it very much. Aunt Midge was a riot!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I read this one in an afternoon/evening, and I could have finished it faster, but something about it was begging me to slow down and just enjoy it. Even learn from it as a writer myself. By the end, my heart was squeezing for these two, and I know it's a good read when I have physical pains in my chest for the characters. While it was totally predictable, I still didn't quite see the final twist/solution coming, so that was great. But I really liked these two as characters and enjoyed this book so much. :)

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for a review. (I was approved well after the release date, and by the time I got around to it, my library copy had come in, so I read that.)

Something Old, Something New by Amy Clipston
Release Date: January 3, 2023 by Thomas Nelson - Fiction
Genre: Romance, Contemporary Romance
4 Stars

Description: Sometimes treasure can be found where you least expect it. In the decade since high school graduation, Christine Sawyer has realized her dream of opening Treasure Hunting Antique Mall, the place where shoppers find gems that are new to them. Between her store, her house, and her role as a doting aunt, she’s happy with her life—if a bit lonely. But she’s used to being less lucky in love than her fraternal twin sister. Britney was always the popular one, the head cheerleader who dated the homecoming king and quarterback, while Christine stayed in the shadows. Brent Nicholson is still trying to come to grips with the shambles his life has become. After leading his football team to a state championship, he suffered a career-ending injury. Now he’s lost his construction business thanks to his so-called best friend. So when his great-aunt Midge asks for his help readying her home to put it on the market, the opportunity to spend time with his biggest fan is a balm to his bruised soul. But the antiques Brent finds in his aunt’s house lead him to an unexpected partnership with Christine. After being blind to her for so many years, is it too late for the former high school jock to win the heart of the self-proclaimed “nerdy twin”? As they shift through items of the past, Christine and Brent learn to let go of the pieces they don’t want to bring into the future—and realize the value of what’s in front of them today.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Something Old, Something New by award-winning, bestselling author Amy Clipston is an enjoyable, relaxing read! I certainly recommend this book to everyone who enjoys a clean, contemporary romance.

Family, friendships, humor, work ethics, finding one’s purpose, self-sacrifice making others’ needs a priority,
and so much more are all portrayed in this sweet, entertaining, small-town romance set in Flowering Grove!

Something Old, Something New introduces and develops each character wonderfully as the author draw the reader into the small-town setting and the sphere of lovable characters. The two main characters are Christine and Brent. Christine, a business owner, is unexpectedly helped by Britney’s (Christine’s twin sister) many-years-ago ex-boyfriend, Brent. His assistance with one of Christine’s customers starts their journey of run-ins, witty banter, stolen glances, anticipated interactions, friendship, and romance.

Although there is a bit of repetition throughout the story and the author’s special gift of demonstrating faith through everyday life is not in Something Old, Something New, it is genuinely a lovely read. The Discussion Questions provided after the Acknowledgements were insightful, thought-provoking, and appreciated.

The source and reasons for Brent’s insecurities, self-worth, and struggles are different than Christine’s. Their struggles of either feeling not good enough or always being in the shadow of someone else, brought to my mind Genesis 1:27, Proverbs 3:5-6, and Ephesians 2:10. How comforting, exciting, and encouraging it is to know that each of us were created by God with unique talents and gifts to bring Him glory and to do good works that He prepared in advance for us to do! I hope and pray I remember these truths when I encounter struggles similar to our beloved characters, Christine and Brent.

I appreciate the eArc of Something Old, Something New I received from Thomas Nelson - Fiction through NetGalley.com. I was not required to write a review or paid to do so. The words above are my honest review.

#SomethingOldSomethingNew #AmyClipston #ThomasNelson #ThomasNelsonFiction #NetGalley

'Something Old, Something New' is a interesting story about redemption and second chances. It has complex family issues that have easy resolutions that were hard for me to swallow. Issues like Christine dealt with her twin sister and mother usually to years of therapy to resolve. Brent's lack of trust due to a friend's business fraud likewise would also take much therapy. Overall the resolution is satisfying as far as the relationship between Brent and Christine is concerned. It is nice to see happiness rise out of so much angst.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Christine is used to growing up in her twin sister, Britney's shadow. She is content with her life of running Treasure Hunting Antique Mall. When Britney's ex-boyfriend Brent reappears, he and Christine can't stop running into each other. An unlikely business arrangement forms between Christine and Brent. Will Brent and Christine be able to look beyond their pasts in order to help each other now? A cute, small-town romance that's hard to put down.

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

In this sweet, small-town, Hallmark-esque romance Christine has grown up in her twin's shadow. When Britney's former boyfriend and the town's football hero quarterback comes back to town, he and Christine reconnect immediately. They quickly become reacquainted as friends and find they have a strong attraction to each other. Their friendship is full of banter and lightheartedness. They understand each other as they've both struggled with self-esteem, and I enjoyed the difficulties that both these characters had to overcome. This is a sweet story with great characters, a fun storyline, and a great romance!

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

3 stars - In this story, we have Christine Sawyer who has achieved her dream of opening an antique mall 10 years after high school graduation. She used to being the nerdy, hiding in the shadows twin sister, whereas her twin sister Brittany was always the popular one, head cheerleader who dated the homecoming king and quarterback. Then we have Brent Nicholson, who is having a tough time in life as he lost his construction business and continues to think of the past where he suffered a career-ending injury. Brent goes to help his great-aunt Midge to help make it ready to sell, when he ends up partnering with Christine after finding all the antiques in his aunt's home. They start to get close but the problem? Brent dated Christine's twin sister Brittany in high school, with their relationship ending their sophmore year of college many years ago.... Christine finds herself between a rock and a hard place of trying to figure out what to do as feelings for Brent start to develop....

This book was a clean, contemporary romance published by Thomas Nelson. No faith content, but a cute, clean contemporary romance. Overall, 3 stars. It was just ok, it didn't blow me away, wasn't bad but wasn't the best either. It was just a simple, light read with a small-town romance. I personally didn't care for the twin sister, Brittany, who gave Christine so much grief over hanging out with her ex. Brittany was married now and had moved on from the situation, and it was many years later at this point. The reason they had broken up was also full of assumptions and miscommunications. So it just felt a little repetative and annoying to keep seeing her sister make her choose between Brent and her and make her feel guilty for being around him.

I did like Brent's aunt Midge, she was funny and entertaining. The characters were fine, they had some chemistry throughout and I enjoyed them working together. I didn't love the conflict at the end of course, but it was fine. I am also not the biggest fan of the trope of dating a sister's ex-boyfriend, regardless of how long it had been, but I knew that when getting into the story of course so I am not knocking the story for that at all.

Overall a cute, clean, quick romance read with small town and family vibes. Thank you to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing an Advanced Reader Copy to honestly read and review. I will also talk about this book on my YouTube channel in my end of month wrap up.

I received an ARC of Something Old, Something New from NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Publishing in exchange for my honest opinion.

Genre: Sweet Romance, Christian Fiction
Heat Level: No Spice (kisses)
Tropes: Small town, Second-chance, Twins

I genuinely enjoyed this book. The small town romances are one of my favorites! And she loves antiques (one of my passions). The main couple, Christine and Brent, have lots of fun banter and plenty of problems to work through.

Christine always took a backseat to her twin sister. And Brent has failed in his dreams. Neither feel worthy of love.

And then the sparks start flying. Not to mention input from their friends and family.

I have one tiny problem with the story. As background for this complaint, my degree is in interior design and architecture. The colors they chose for the bathrooms are going to affect how a woman looks in the mirror when applying her makeup. This one is a SPOILER (but minor). STOP reading now if you don't want the spoiler....I just about screamed when they didn't remodel the kitchen. That is the change that brings in the most money!

End of SPOILER!

I loved that the story didn't end in the exact way I predicted, but was still very satisfying. The side characters, such as the nieces, aunt, parents, and twin sister are all so much fun, fleshing out this world. They're not too quirky, but they're completely relatable. And they run the gamut from friendly to prickly. Having a realistic world is a great benefit in a contemporary romance.

The tension all made sense to me too. And the slow burn romance worked, oh so well.

I recommend this romance for anyone who doesn't want a steamy book, a fun light read, a palate cleanser, or just to dive into the world of small town America.

Happy reading!

"Something Old, Something New" is a classic small town romance following an antique show owner and a house flipper who's come back to help renovate his great aunt's house. While the romance was sweet, the conflict were resolved like flipping a light switch, very suddenly. Ultimately, this was too simple of a story with characters that fell flat.

Let me start off by stating this was a hard review to write. On one hand, I enjoyed the banter between Christine and Brent. Sparks leapt off the page and time would tell if they'd fall in love. On the other, Britney's actions towards her twin were questionable.

Britney has the 'perfect' life so why would she be so vengeful? She felt scorned but it was during high school and now she's happily with twins of her own. Her protectiveness was only a guise of wanting to make Brent pay.

Britney's attitude took away from the what otherwise was an enjoyable read. I loved her daughters and after meeting Hunter, her husband, he was a welcomed addition to the story. Since I was awarded this early edition of #SomethingOldSomethingNew on #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, her character and lack of, lowered my score. I feel that Christine and Brent were already going through their own battles and didn't need Britney making this more difficult.

Christine Sawyer had it all. She has her own business, a twin sister with the most amazing twin girls, and parents that love her. She just needs to find Mr. Right. Brent Nicholson was the town hero. He was the quarterback that took the team to the state championship and won. He was dating a cheerleader, Britney Sawyer, and thought college was going to lead him to bigger and better things. Only an injury changed everything. Now he is trying to get his confidence back. A chance meeting with Christine has both of them reeling. Sparks are flying between them but neither wants to act on them. With the help of friends and family, Brent has been shown the error of his ways. Now to convince Christine that she is the one. Loved the ending!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Christine used to browse antique stores with her grandmother, and now has her own antique shop. She likes to say, 'what's old to you, is new to someone else.' People rent spaces inside her shop to sell their things.
Christine feels her shop, two cats and family-she has twin nieces she adores-are all she needs. Christine is also a twin. She has always felt inferior to her sister, Britney. Britney was the popular girl in school, while Christine felt like a nerdy wallflower.
Brent Nicholson was the high school quarterback who dated Britney. Well...he is back in town after losing his construction business, as well as his girlfriend. He is remodeling his aunt's home so she can sell it and move to a retirement center where her friends are.
He keeps running into Christine and there is a mutual attraction. But, how can she possibly fall for him when he broke her sister's heart in college?
For me, this book drone on and on. It was overly sappy and the two main characters acted like twelve year olds. While it was a clean story, it wasn't Christian fiction.
I was given an advanced ecopy by the publisher, Thomas Nelson through Netgalley. I was under no obligation to write a positive review.

Goodness I sure enjoyed this book! Amy Clipston is one of my favorites and this book does not disappoint! The love story and the way it unfolds is beautiful. You will enjoy the characters and the mystery as to how the relationship will work. Overall, a fantastic, clean read!

Since leaving high school ten years ago, Christine Sawyer has realized her dream of opening Treasure Hunting Antique Mall. This is a place where shoppers find gems that are new to them. Christine tells herself that her store, her house and being an aunt is enough, but she finds herself lonely, and unlucky in love. Her twin sister Britney was always the popular one whilst Christine preferred to stay in the background. When Brent Nicholson returns home after an injury that ruins his career, he struggles to return to life without football. So when his great aunt Midge asks for his help readying her home to put it on the market, he decides this might be a way to return to some semblance of a life. However, the antiques Brent finds in his aunt’s house led him to an unexpected partnership with Christine. After spending time together, he begins to wonder how he missed see all the things that make her special and decides that he needs to win her over.
This is a sweet and endearing read, with great banter between Christine and Brent. It was interesting to see them overcome their past which came with insecurities. Both gave the other an opportunity to flourish and shine. A lovely read.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Amy Clipston's Amish books are always wonderful, so it stands to reason that her forays into the contemporary romance genre would also be amazing. Something Old, Something New is a shining example of my "trust the author" method of choosing new books to read!

Christine Sawyer hasn't ventured far from her hometown since graduation 10 years ago. She has opened her dream, The Treasure Hunting Antique Mall, has her own home, and even refinishes antique furniture on the side. She throws herself into the lives of her family, ignoring the fact that, essentially, she is alone. She's used to being on the sidelines, watching her fraternal twin become head cheerleader, prom queen, homecoming queen in school, and now, watching her marry and have fraternal twins of her own. Will it ever be her turn?

Brent Nicholson left town a hero - the quarterback who took the team to the state championship. One injury was enough to make him lose his scholarship. Now his business has folded and he's returning to town to help his aunt, but feeling like the failure his father has always accused him of being. As he rehabs Aunt Midge's house, he realizes that the house needs to be cleared, and where better to get rid of the stuff than Christine's shop.

As the two work together, a friendship forms but, oh, the complications! Brent is the ex-boyfriend of Christine's twin, who, in spite of her happy marriage, is quite vocal about her sister staying away from him. Also, Brent is focused on a job that is waiting for him in Virginia Beach. He has no intention of staying, and Christine has no desire to leave. Can the love and support from Aunt Midge and Christine, change Brent's attitude from defeated to triumph?

It's been a while since I read a book and got so involved in the characters' lives that I actually said, "Yes!!!" when one of them finally gave another character a few home truths, but when Christine finally told her sister, Britney off, that was my reaction. Clipston has a gift for painting characters that could be next door neighbors and friends and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know this cast of characters. Readers who enjoy a sweet contemporary romance will enjoy Something Old, Something New. I definitely recommend!

This is a sweet small-town romance with likeable, realistic characters and a great setting. Local high football star is back for a short time to help his aunt get her house ready to sell when he connects with his old girlfriend's twin. Both are attracted to each other, but the timing isn't right for Brent. Christine has always lived in her popular twin's shadow. Their romance is delightful with lighthearted moments overshadowed by their past insecurities and other issues. Both claim they are just friends. I enjoyed their banter and fun times and was pulling for them, but things seem impossible. Romance lovers will enjoy this story. I received a complimentary copy for the purpose of an honest review.

Something Old, Something New by Amy Clipston is a sweet small-town romance. I like Amy Clipston’s casual writing style. It makes the story easy to read. I enjoyed getting to know Christine Sawyer and Brent Nicholson. Christine operates an antique mall in Flowering Grove, North Carolina. Christine is a fraternal twin. She always felt she was the nerdy twin compared with her pretty, outgoing sister, Britney. Britney has fraternal twin girls, Maddy and Mila (“the M&M’s) whom Christine loves dearly. Maddy and Mila are cuties. They are active little girls who love the color purple. Brent dated Britney in high school. He was the star quarterback, and she was the popular cheerleader. Brent’s life has not turned out as he expected. He has returned to town to help his Aunt Millie get her house ready so she can list is for sale. Brent has no intention of staying in Flowering Grove because he cannot stand listening to his father’s criticisms. The chemistry between Brent and Christine was obvious from the beginning. The two are attracted to each other. They each have a different reason for not reacting to the attraction. I enjoyed the descriptions of Flowering Grove especially Christine’s shop (I could spend hours exploring). I wish I was Christine when she found the Nancy Drew’s packed away in Aunt Millie’s house. I am glad the romance was not rushed. I like how it progressed (become friends first and then move forward). Christine and Brent got to know each other as they worked at Aunt Millie’s house. I was not a fan of Britney. She reminded me of the cheerleaders in my school (the pretty, stuck-up blonds who thought they were better than everyone else). I thought the characters were realistic and relatable as was the town and situations. The Friday night high school football games which are attended by everyone in the town is something that occurs in small towns all over the south (I lived in one for twenty years). The story had some drama which kept things interesting. I would have liked less repetition of details regarding the characters. I just loved Aunt Millie. She is a kind woman who does not hesitate to help bring Brent and Christine together (she would get the mischievous twinkle in her eye). In Something Old, Something New we get to see that someone or something may have a beautiful exterior (or seems to have it all), it does not mean they do not have troubles. I like how the title played into the story. Something Old, Something New is a charming tale with Friday night football, a disparaging parent, lilac loving twins, an aunt in need, an improbable pairing, a twin conflict, and an abundance of antiques.

When reading this I felt like I was in a Hallmark movie. The characters knew each other before the story began, which made it more realistic and able to move the relationships along. This clean romance of friends to lovers was drawn out a little too long, but overall it was enjoyable.

The over sharing of details and repetition of facts a little distracting.

This was a simple, easy read. It is perfect for an "get away".

This is a small town romance and was a fun read for me! The one question that kept coming to mind when reading this book was, Why are we so obsessed with what other think about how we live our lives. I found that both Brent and Christine struggled with self worth and yet that did not stop them from living the best life they could and being there for those who they cared about. I was not a fan of Britney, she was not nice at all and I feel like Pam summed her up perfectly in the book. I loved Pam and Steve they were the greatest of friends and the biggest of cheerleaders for Brent and Chris. I also really love aunt Midge she was so feisty and when she spoke everyone listened, we all need a Midge in our lives. Overall the author kept this a clean read and so its suitable for all and I loved the simplicity of it.