Oh man. This slow burner 😭 I loved this story. The shock of Ander’s secret and how it affected everything. Lauren’s parents. Jonas and his overcoming of past loves. Bailey and Wren’s growing sisterly bond. Oh I just loved this one. I just wanted to know that everyone ended up how they should.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC! Pub date April 27, 2023.

I'm newly introduced to Paige Toon through Bookstagram, though I haven't read any of her books yet, so when I saw Only Love Can Hurt Like This pop up on NetGalley, I knew I wanted to give her a try.

I really wasn't disappointed.

When Wren discovers that her fiancé is in love with someone else, she breaks the engagement and, broken hearted, leaves to visit her father and step family in the US. She's hoping to heal from her grief and reconnect with her dad and step sister. What she doesn't expect is to cross paths with Anders, son of a neighboring farmer.

Anders is dealing with grief of his own, after losing his wife in a freak accident. He's struggling to move on and meeting Wren has made everything worse.

Wren can't help falling in love with him, but when she learns the truth about his wife, she's certain there can be no future for them.

This was such an emotional read. You can't deny that there are only so many plots for a romance novel, and I liked the direction that Toon took with this one with respect to Ander's wife, Laurie. This certainly isn't a lighthearted romance--there's a lot of grief here: of broken relationship's, of wanting stronger relationship's with one's parents, discussion of depression, and hospice care.

There was also a fun, varied cast--Wren is a likable lead and Bailey and Jonas are a hoot. I also LOVED that this story was mostly set in Indiana. Not that it was Indiana specifically, but after feeling like every recent read was set in LA or NYC, it was refreshing to be thrown on a midwestern peach farm.

If I were looking for anything that didn't work for me, I might suggest that the wrap up happened too smoothly for how drawn out the rest of the book was. It meandered a bit, and though that was fine as I wasn't looking for a fast paced read, it just seemed too good to be true.

But I absolutely enjoyed this title and I'm looking forward to diving into this author's past books.

Special thanks to Penguin Group Putnam for giving me the opportunity to read a copy of this book in exchange for a review on NetGalley.

This book was not what I was expecting.

This was my first Toon book, and I will say I was drawn to this book mainly because of the title. Overall, I liked the storyline, but there were elements which I didn't connect with or enjoy.

One big thing with this book is that this isn't a typical romance. In my opinion, the romance lacked in places and was almost too slow-burn especially for being marketed as a romance. I think it would help to go into this book with an open mind and not to expect your typical romance novel. This book is about more than the romance, and I think the genre should reflect that instead of being a romance. .

In nature, this book is slower paced. The story seemed to move slowly despite the timeline moving swiftly if that makes sense. Overall, I didn't mind the pacing, but I felt like the plot never really built up. The big secret also was predictable for me. So I didn't think it was that shocking, and it didn't take me by surprise.

Another problem I had was it felt repetitive in places. It felt as though statements and observations were mentioned several times, and most of the time it was stuff that didn't need to mentioned more than once or twice.

I also had a hard time believing the MC"s age. Her thoughts and certain behaviors felt very much like 18 year old vibes, and it did make it hard to believe her character.

Overall, I did enjoy several other aspects of the book like the setting, the side characters, and the familial themes. Although I didn't connect with the MC, I did invest myself into some of the other more side characters. I really enjoyed the small town aspects. The setting was very detailed and familiar for me.

While this book wasn't a favorite for me, I definitely think there are people out there who will deeply enjoy this book. Overall, this book just wasn't meant for me, and that's okay. I would still recommend this book to people who are looking for a romance novel that is more than just a typical romance.

Thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons and Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Overall Rating: 4/5

This story was equal parts beautiful and heart wrenching.
I encourage you to go in to it blind knowing that it’s in the romance genre, but not your standard romance.
The beginning was very slow paced, setting the scene. I was not bored because of the descriptive, pretty style of writing (reminiscent of Kristin Hannah) although I didn’t feel the story was really going anywhere. Eventually the narrative takes a big turn and the story is just sad, heartwarming- really all of the emotions.
I encourage you to put this on your list for when it is released in April, and thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the opportunity to receive an early copy!

Loved this book so much! I was pulling for wren and Anders the whole book and loved the character the development and watching them both work through their past heartaches. I will definitely be reading more from Paige.

What a beautiful (and emotional) love story! From the moment Wren and Anders meet, I knew this was going to be one intense journey between the two characters. To see how much they evolve and all the challenges they must overcome made their love all the more rich and all the more real. This is so much more just about romance... it is about family, grief, acceptance, letting go, and all the hard work it takes to be free and where we want to be in life. First time reading this author and looking forward to reading more of her work.

Thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for the eARC!

My first Toon book! The first few chapters had me absolutely hooked. I love women’s fiction and I know this is something Toon does well. I really loved the characters, the small town farm setting, the love interest, familial themes, and the main character’s growth. I did find the book to be a bit repetitive though with a big lull in the middle and I wasn’t a fan of the third act conflict. I was prepared for a huge, shocking twist and there definitely was one but i didn’t really like how everything was wrapped up with that. While this particular book didn’t end up being my favorite, I’m still eager to check out her backlist and future releases. I would recommend this to fans of small town, slow burn romance that is reminiscent of Mia Sheridan but more based in reality.

Well...*wipes eyes and clutches book to my chest*...this story took hold of my heart.

As always, Paige Toon knows how to invite readers into a story and introduce us to a perfectly flawed yet loveable character. The book starts with Wren's heart breaking and the life she thought she'd have shattering. I would have followed Wren anywhere. I felt like I was right there, watching her fiance on that park bench. I knew Wren for two pages and was beyond invested. I would have followed her anywhere...even a small farming town where her heart gets flipped upside down.

Only Love Can Hurt Like This is a devastating and wholesome love story with a very unexpected twist that will have you flipping through the pages as fast as you can, even while your heart breaks.

Thank you, Net Galley and Penguin Putnam for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

PUB DATE: April, 24, 2023

My goodness I couldn’t put this one down. What an incredible book. I loved everything. It was a wonderfully told story about family and love. I definitely would recommend this to anyone looking for a romance read that will make them feel

Paige Toon has a gift for writing about nuanced life (love, loss, betrayal, post-trauma, grief), nuanced characters and nuanced relationships. Nothing is black and white. The twist was a bit surprising. I know of a real life situation very similar to this and the plot felt plausible to me, In the past I have turned to Paige Toon for a Brit-lit fix, but she set this book largely in Indiana, USA. I loved the farmland setting, and how all of the labor intensive work was therapeutic. Hope, love and healing win.
Thank you #NetGalley and #PenguinGroupPutnam for the ARC e-book

This was a very heartbreaking story. It is a story of love, grief hope!. Loved everything about this story.
Highly recommend it! Read this book you will not be disappointed.
Thank you NetGalley for eARC in exchange for a honest review.

Started 2023 off with a comfort read.
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I read the Jessie Jefferson series last summer and they were the first books I've read by Paige. I loooooooooved the series so much that I knew, I HAD to read more books by Paige. I had the amazing opportunity to do so, with her upcoming book;
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Wren needs a fresh start from life. Her fiancé, or well ex fiancé left her for another woman. Currently living in the UK, Wren decides to visit her dad and stepmom on their farm in Indiana, US. Be as far as possible from her broken heart. Although her dad left her when she was a kid due to cheating on Wren's mother, she feels like it's the right thing to do. Maybe she can finally strengthen their relationship?! Gladly she gets along well with her stepsister.
Wren crosses paths with Anders, one of the brothers of the family who lives next door. And that's the start of a special friendship. As feelings start to unfold, Wren is scared to make the first step, due to all of her heart breaks and being left behind way too many times. On the other side Anders cannot seem to get over his last big love. Additionally he is hiding a big secret, he's avoiding developing feelings for Wren and scared to get too close to dealing with his past.
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I was NOT expecting that very emotional twist at the end. It had me close to tears not gonna lie. Although sometimes throughout the book I would've wished more twists. I had no expectations whatsoever going into this book and I'm glad I didn't because it was the comfort read I didn't know I needed! Loved this!

I highly recommend if you like:
-Comfort read
-Farm romance
-Event planing
-Heroine who fights for the boy 🥰
-Formula 1 references
-Sister relationships
-Emotional rollercoaster lol
-Split family dynamics

This is my first book by Paige Toon and it hooked me from the very first page. Anders and Wren were such likable characters in the book that I couldn’t help but root for them from the beginning. Wren’s long time boyfriend broke up with her so she went to visit her dad and his family from the UK to Indiana. I really enjoyed the story and loved the twist at the end. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review. To be published April 2023.

This is my first Paige Toon book but definitely won’t be my last. I instantly fell in love with all the characters. This story is about loss, grief, and letting go. Anders’ story was heartbreaking. He has to navigate learning how to let go and start to living again. The story also touches on depression, and how common it is among farmers. Definitely would recommend this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of Only Love Can Hurt Like This.

This was an amazing read. It was so easy to get into and wanna keep reading. The story brought tears to my eyes a couple times. What even made this book more amazing is that some of the story is set in Indiana, which is where I'm from. I loved to read about the places that are in Indiana and the things that take place here. The ending did feel a little rushed, but did not ruin the story. This is my first book by Paige Toon and now I want to read all her books. I highly recommend reading Only Love Can Hurt Like This.

A wonderful story of finding the right one and not settling. Needing a fresh start and a place to heal her broken heart, Wren decides to visit her dad and stepmom on their farm in Indiana. There, she crosses paths with Anders, the son of the family who lives next door and the two begin a special friendship. As feelings start to emerge, Wren is hesitant to move forward as she’s been left behind one too many times while Anders is harboring a secret and afraid to get too close to dealing with his past. The character are torn between doing the right thing for those around them and the right thing for themselves and it amounts to a bubbling mixing pot of heartbreaking raw emotions. There’s no puzzle or huge plot twist it’s just a story of love with a couple of little twists to keep us in our toes although be warned it is a very slow burner I can’t wait to read more from this author. Really enjoyed this love story it felt very real and sincere, every love faces issues and it is nice to see how people deal with those issues so true to life and not a fantasy.


Thank you to netgalley, penguin and the author for opportunity

I would like to start by thanking Netgalley, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, and Paige Toon for an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

*4 Stars*

Everything Wren thought she knew fell apart when her fiancé fell for another woman and left her. To get away from it all, Wren decides to visit her estranged father and stepmother in small town, USA. While there she meets Anders, whom she forms a quick bond and friendship with. However, Anders has his own demons he's fighting and doesn't and can't let Wren get too close.

I thought this book started out a little slow, but once I got into it I thought that it was paced very well. I felt so bad for Wren at the beginning of the book - she's been left by so many people in her life and it's easy to see how that has affected her. Wren found out that sometimes you can't control who you fall in love with and sometimes it comes when you're not looking for it. Anders had a lot of the same interests as Wren and I felt like they had a lot in common.

I did feel like they bonded a little too quickly, Anders was calling her about family problems after they'd known each other only a few days. However, their feelings for each other did take time to develop.

I thought the characters, especially the supporting cast like Bailey felt one dimensional and most of the problems between the characters and the families are resolved quickly with one or two conversations. <spoiler> Like the chemistry between Bailey and Jonas, Wren was so worried about something happening between them and was satisfied with Bailey saying, "You don't know me."</spoiler> The plot was a little predictable and I felt like I knew what the twist would be close to the beginning of the story.

Overall, I think it was a very good book and really enjoyed the relationship between Wren and Bailey.. This is the first Paige Toon book I've read and I really enjoyed it and will definitely be reading more in the future.

This book was such a breath of fresh air. This is my first book by this author and definitely look forward to their next one.

I really liked this book. There was good character development. The plot wasn't easily guessed which was nice. It brought on a few tears but in a good way. Ultimately, loved the ending. The book really built up nicely and ended really well.

I adored this book. It’s a fade to black dramatic romance. Two wildly different grumpy and sunshine characters fall madly in love but one huge hurdle stands in their way. It’s a beautiful and heartbreaking story. The character development was solid and the author does a great job mixing American and British culture. You’ll read about death, divorce, loyalty, breakups, and guilt. It has a great ending and everything is wrapped up perfectly. It was so easy to fall in love with ALL the characters in the book.

A pretty standard romance, notable for its vague comparison to Jane Eyre, and it’s lengthy, extended, repetitive focus on the heroine’s passion for her seemingly unavailable love object, There’s something very simple and naive to the writing style - flat, humour less, and very focused on rather dull items of clothing. And hair. Everyone turns out to be very nice except one secondary character who is a bad mother. Absorbing in its own way, and not one to linger long in the rear view mirror.