Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this arc. This book was alright. I didn't really find anything spectacular about this book. The family dynamic from both main characters was interesting. Overall wasn't giving me the wow that I wanted. I do think this would be enjoyable for other readers and would still recommend.

This book was just not for me. I found it to be short on any really interesting characters or even events. It dragged on for me with predictable people doing predictable things.

Only Love Can Hurt Like This is the first book I’ve read from Paige Toon. After Wren's fiancé falls in love with someone else, she finds it hard to recover from the heartbreak, while Anders is still struggling to move on from losing his wife four years ago. Wren hopes to find solace during her summer stay on her dad's farm in Indiana, but her life changes when she meets Anders amidst the cornfields and fireflies. However, Anders is hiding a secret that could impact everyone if he acts on his feelings for Wren, leaving her with a tough decision on whether to walk away or stay. The author addresses heavy topics throughout the book such as infidelity, chronic illness, and child death. The writing style being compared to Colleen Hoover and Jojo Moyes piqued my interest. However, I found that the execution fell short. While the beginning was captivating, the middle dragged on, and the final quarter of the book felt rushed with little explanation. Additionally, the "secret"/twist was obvious to me which was a letdown as the author could have explored other facets of the story. I couldn't connect with the main characters, Wren and Anders, and their chemistry felt forced. Some characters, like Bailey and Jonas, were well-developed, but others, such as Casey, were underdeveloped. Overall, this book wasn't for me, and I wouldn't recommend it.

Oh the feels! This book was very emotional, but oh so good! I loved the story, the characters and I’m so glad I chose to read this. Paige is a new-to-me author, but she is amazing. I love her writing and am looking forward to her other books. Highly recommended!

Contemporary Fiction

Stabbed through the heart in the best possible way!

Chris Bohjalian once said - and I'm paraphrasing here - that in order for a book to be great and memorable it needs to break your heart. This book took my heart on a roller coaster ride - it went from the lowest of lows to the highest of highs. A new favorite.

Wren has traveled to Indiana to visit her father after she and her fiancé called off their wedding. She is heartbroken and looking for an escape. Her father got another woman pregnant when she was 6 and he left her and her mother to marry this woman and raise that child. Shortly thereafter, Wren and her mother moved back to England where her mother is from. Over the years, Wren has visited America a few times, but has never felt close to her father, his wife and her half-sister, Bailey.

Bailey is recently married and Wren's father and stepmother have moved to a farm to be closer to her. When Wren visits she is swept up into the workings of a hobby farm. She and her sister get closer and forge a friendship. The women also become friendly with the two brothers on the nearby farm - Jonas and Anders.

Jonas is known as the town playboy and is hung up on an ex-girlfriend. Anders has come home because he is worried about Jonas. The four of them develop a wonderful bond. Wren develops feelings for Anders, but they both say that a relationship is not in the cards for them. Anders is grieving for his wife, whom he lost in a go-kart accident. It's the little things that make the difference and eventually the two can no longer keep their feelings hidden. But can their love survive?

You know that in any literary relationship a couple will have to overcome some kind of major hurdle before they can find the love. And boy do Wren and Anders have a major hurdle to tackle. I loved what the author did with this story and she will be forever on my MUST READ list, now. The author's note at the end explains that she had heard about two real-life situations similar to what Anders experiences and this novel grew from there.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC of this novel.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam, and author Paige Toon for an ARC of this book.

This was my first Paige Toon read but will not be my last! I have already requested a couple of her backlist books at my local library.

I loved everything about this refreshing book. From the description of Indiana to the sisters love and trust of each other and of course the love story of Anders and Wren. Wow! Toon can weave a story and make you feel as if you are there.

This started off a little slow but kept my interest enough that I finished it & enjoyed it by the end. The characters were interesting & the story was very heartfelt. The setting is hard to beat. I will be looking into more Paige Toon books in the future.

Thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for advanced copy in exchange for my honest review

What an emotional read! This story was so beautifully written — lighthearted and heartbreaking all at the same time. It’s a slow burn type of book but doesn’t necessarily read as a slow burn. The interactions between Anders and Wren are engaging and keep the plot moving. I couldn’t stop reading this book, but I also didn’t want it to end.

Side note: I was born and raised in Indianapolis, so I absolutely loved all of the Indiana references all throughout the book!

This was my first book by Paige Toon, but I will definitely be looking at her backlist now!

A big thank you to Putnam Books + Netgalley for allowing me to be an early reader for this one!

Obsessed, wow this book is such a page turner. I read it in one sitting. The chemistry between fmc and mmc is perfection. The side characters are so well developed. My only wish is that the ex would have realized he made a big mistake but that’s just the petty in me.

Now this is my kind of love story. ONLY LOVE CAN HURT LIKE THIS is a tender novel of longing, devotion, moving forward after loss.

In the wake of a canceled engagement, Wren leaves the UK to spend the summer with her father in America. She doesn’t plan to make roots in this small Indian farm town but when she meets the reserved but ruggedly handsome widow, Anders, she begins to imagine her life in new ways.

As a Midwest gal, I felt deeply connected to the rural setting and the small town secrets kept me invested in the story. The slow but steady love between Wren and Anders felt authentic and the lack of cheesy banter was a welcome reprieve. This love story is completely perfect for summertime reading and has firmly landed itself a spot in my summer reading guide!

RATING: 4.5/5 (rounded up to 5 stars)
PUB DATE: April 25, 2023


Many thanks to Putnam books for an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Only Love Can Hurt Like This comes out April 25th and if you love a little bit of a tragic, will they, won’t they love story this book is for you!

After Wren calls of her engagement, she needs to get out of town so she goes from the UK to Indiana to visit her dad for a few weeks in the summer. Her dad lives on a farm with her step-mom and close to Wren’s half sister. Wren meets their neighbors on the farm, two brothers, Jonas and Ander’s. Wren is taken my Anders pretty quickly but there’s little movement in their relationship and she comes to find out why and how that secret will rock her world.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved reading about Indiana and Indianapolis. I loved the characters and how they all interacted together and even though Wren and Anders were a slow burn, I was intrigued by their relationship and shocked by the secrets that come out. It was a very unique twist for a romance and one I could t imagine combating in real life. Definitely Colleen Hoover vibes from that. My only slight critique was the epilogue was a little long and even though I love an epilogue and was so thankful for it, it could have just been additional chapters in the book or even a novella sequel.
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Get out the violins. This wasn't a bad story, but was too much "Oh does he love me: for me. The entire family could have used a good therapist and some lessons in communication.

Wren learns that her fiancé has now fallen for one of his workers. To get away from it all, she leaves the UK and heads to the US to visit her dad, stepmom and half sister in farm country. The neighbor's sons are gorgeous, brooding and unlikable at first, until one gets under her skin. Of course he is not available.

It really isn't a bad story and the unavailability reason is a different take from most other stories which is an area that had not been explored in other books, so I thought that was a good topic to bring to the surface and make us consider. Wren does consider it and decides not to interfere, which may or may not be the right way to handle it.

All in all, if it hadn't been so hand wringing I would have liked it more. Pet Peeve, ok so he has a different color flaw in one eye, so what? Why was it mentioned about 10 times? Seriously, one mention was enough- we get it so why is the author hung up on it? It seemed a really dumb thing to fixate on.

Thank you NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

Wren and Anders meet when she comes to stay with her father and his second family after her wedding is called off. Anders has lost a wife. She is mending a broken heart and trying to fit in with het half sister. He has a brother to worry about. They become friends with all the things they share in common. But Anders can't or won't accept that they are more than friends. He has been keeping something from Wren. Something big.
Likable characters and a good plot. A good summer read. Thanks to NetGalley for an enjoyable ARC.

This was a DNF for me. I got very bored with how slow moving this book was and just couldn’t force myself to pick it back up. Sorry this book was a flop for me.

One of the very best books I have read this year! I foresee this book making it into the Too 5 books I’ve read at the end of the year- probably Top 3. It was everything I love in a book- great setting, great characters and some drama along the way

Oh my goshh. This was such a sweet story and I couldn’t put it down!!! I loved the emotional and raw aspect of it. Nothing was held back. The whole story was so amazing. Wren goes to visit her father and step mom’s farm after a split from her fiancé. This is meets Anders. I loved the aspect of not only this love story but the growth between Wren and her half sister. It was amazing to see so much healing throughout this book. I definitely recommend going ahead and preordering this book. It will not disappointed at all. 🙂

My first book by author Paige Toon but not certainly not my last. ONLY LOVE CAN HURT LIKE THIS seems like an ungainly title but the book is completely engrossing with characters that charm, settings that enchant and situations that build into credible plots. Best of all, there’s a bit of Arizona tossed in, always pleasing for those of us here in the State. Most of the tale occurs in Indiana with a brief intro in England. I read this book in one day and never thought of putting it down. It was a joy from beginning to end. Now I’ll go in search of the author’s other work. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

thank you so much @netgalley for sending me a copy to read in exchange for an honest review. this was my first book from this author and i LOVED it. i was hooked from the first chapter. i adored the two sisters
and they're growth. i felt very invested in the characters lives which made it all the more emotional. i also really related to the indiana setting, (i live in illinois) and the farm, small town vibe was perfect for the book. i felt this book was a slow burn... HOWEVER, it didn't read like a slow burn at all. would recommend it to everyone!

I don’t often read books like this and it was a nice break from heavier, more intense reads. I know many readers devour Paige’s books, this was my first book of hers but not my last!

Only Love Can Hurt Like This by Paige Toon

When Wren realizes her fiancé is in love with someone else, she thinks her heart will never recover. On the other side of the world, Anders lost his wife four years ago and is still struggling to move on.

Wren hopes that spending the summer with her dad and step-family on their farm in Indiana will help her to heal. There, amid the cornfields and fireflies, she and Anders cross paths and their worlds are turned upside-down again.

But Wren doesn’t know that Anders is harboring a secret, and if he acts on any feelings he has for Wren it will have serious fall-out for everyone. Walking away would hurt Wren more than she can imagine. But, knowing the truth, how can she possibly stay?

Out on April 25.

Wren flees, more or less, to her father and stepmother's home in Indiana from the UK when her fiance realizes he's in love with someone else. She's never spent much time there and she's always been jealous of her half sister Bailey but everything changes over the course of the summer on their small farm. And she meets the neighbors- brothers Anders and Jonas, both of whom are struggling with their own issues. She feels a connection to Anders, an engineer for an Indy car team who appreciates her references and the fact that she's an architect. They bond over a mini-Airstream trailer but....Anders is still mourning his wife. This is more than a rom com, as Wren comes to terms with herself, her family, and, well, farming (sort of). If it seems odd that Wren is living on a farm wearing dresses and has to wait to drive to the big city to buy shorts and t-shirts (no Walmart? no Target? no etc?) and that everyone is able to walk to the local bar- I suspect that's reflective of the fact that Toon lives in the UK. Regardless, it's a good read with a big twist - no spoilers- and good characters. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Toon's a storyteller you will enjoy.