This book is classified as Women's Fiction and Romance. I'm not sure how I lean, but I think it's more heartbreak than either of those. When Wren loses her fiancée to another woman, she decides to visit her father who had left her and her mother and built a life with a new wife and family in the states. Sadness...written well, but sadness. Son of the neighbors, Anders is still grieving the loss of his wife and is worrying about his own brother's mental health. Sadness. As Wren and Anders both try to heal, they are drawn together but when Wren discovers there's more to Anders' grief she believes staying will only hurt more. A slow burn romance fraught with angst.
This has some amazing and complex characters who you will connect with immediately. And perhaps why it will pull at your heartstrings so strongly.

I read this one back in May and I really enjoyed it! Paige Toon is such a great author who really knows how to tell a story. The romance piece was swoon worthy. However, I liked that it wasn't the only piece of the book. The novel also centered around family and the important role they play in our lives. I would definitely recommend!

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

3.5 stars

This reminded me a little of a Katherine Center book. Wren was in a rut but didn't realize it until she sees her fiance with another woman. As she flees from that heartbreak, she discovers family, a new direction for her career and enjoyment in the simple pleasures in life.

Unlike other romances, where "the secret" is an over-dramatized thing that most well-adjusted people would be able to rationalize and move on from, this secret has some genuine weight and has Anders facing a true moral challenge.

I have the feeling that this will be part of a series and I'm pretty sure I'll be picking up the next one.

This book was everything. My first Page Toon, I fell in love with her writing and this story. This book will give you all the feels. Highly recommend.

This story was promising something special, something incredibly heartfelt and beautiful and I found that it fell flat in most aspects. The story itself felt incredibly repetitive and it never seemed to pick up speed. It was a slow-burn and I understand the expectations I must have going into something with that, but I still found it lacking! I really, really wanted to like this story and I think there were certain twists and turns that should have hit for me, but I was reading them with a straight face. I will say that I have not read any former Toon books. I’m hoping to dive into her catalog and hopefully find something of hers I like! This was in no way the worst book I’ve ever read, but something that I wish had been something else.

A complex emotional story about relationships and family. A slow burn romance with a lot of angst and miscommunication. Wren and Anders story feels very realistic and well-conceived. I enjoyed getting to know Wren's backstory in the first half of the book and was intrigued by the mysteriousness of Ander's life when he was not at his family's farm in Indiana. As we learned about Ander's life away from the farm, I was glad to hear his side of the story in his own words when the story was told using alternating points of view.
The rural Indiana farm was a wonderful setting and the side characters of Bailey and Jonas brought so much to the story. There were many positives within this story, especially that it reminds us that communication within relationships is very important.
I thoroughly enjoyed this engaging and emotional book and highly recommend it to those who like books about familial and romantic relationships. I am grateful to Penguin Group, Putnam and Netgalley for the opportunity to read a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Paige Toon, G.P. Putnam's Sons, and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review!

Be prepared to feel all the emotions while reading "Only Love Can Hurt Like This." This book too me on an emotional rollercoaster. Do not go into this thinking it will be a happy RomCom. There were so many layers to this book and the characters. Both of our main character's have really gone through it. While we learn about Wren's relationship in the very beginning of the book, we don't learn more about Ander's until the end. I was not prepared to love the characters as much as I did and to feel the way I did. "Only Love Can Hurt Like This" shows the love of a sibling bonds, the different stages of grief, and the possibility of love after loss. It was beautifully written and I can't wait to read more from Paige Toon.

Rating: 4.5 stars

A charming romance that takes a bit to become invested in. The story does focus on character development. This is a good in between book if you are waiting for something to come out but have nothing else to read.

This was such a heartbreaking, but beautiful story. It read like a lifetime movie, which are always emotional and hook you from the start.

Wow! I have never read this author before and had no expectations for this book. It absolutely blew me away! I loved everything about it - the characters, the settings, the plot. Simply fantastic!

"Only Love Can Hurt Like This" is a complex story about families and relationships. It is layered with so many feelings and emotions --obligation and loyalty, love and loss, joy and grief, hope and sorrow. Once I started, I became entirely invested in Wren and Anders and how things would turn out for them. The journeys they had to take were raw and tender and heartbreaking and beautiful. It put me through an emotional wringer.

This isn't a one note book. The supporting characters were fully drawn and added so much to the overall plot. I especially loved the arc of Jonas' character and the development of Wren's relationship with her American-based family.

The vivid descriptions of the Indiana countryside, Indianapolis, and Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England brought Wren and Anders world life and drew me even further in.

I highly recommend this lovely, poignant, and ultimately uplifting book and will definitely be reading more by Paige Toon.

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book.

Paige Toon create a wonderful romance novel with Only Love Can Hurt Like This. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters and while the secret reveal and situations surrounding that were very fictional I still liked how it all played out.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

Wren is living in the UK, happily engaged and planning her wedding until her fiancé calls it off. In hopes of finding some distraction to help her get over her heartbreak, she takes a trip to visit her father and his family in rural Indiana for the summer where she realizes there’s a lot more going on than just corn growing in the fields. Growing closer to her father, bonding with her half-sister, and meeting the “not-too-hard on the eyes” neighbors definitely helps her take her mind off of some things…mainly her ex. Although love stories and romance aren’t generally my go-to for reading, I found it difficult to put this book down. And when weeks and months go by and I’m STILL thinking about the characters, I know it’s a good one for sure.

Special Note: Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

a charming romance, i enjoyed this read

thank you to netgalley and to the publisher for this review copy.

4/5 ⭐ ＯＶＥＲＡＬＬ
1/5 🌶 ＳＴＥＡＭ

If you enjoy:
- Contemporary Romance
- Small Town
- Slow Burn
- Emotional Reads

Wren and Anders story was beautiful, but also heart-wrenching. Two people meet at a time when they both needed it more than ever. They both have tons of healing from past heart breaks just in different forms.

Wren is ready to take a chance, but Anders has guilt holding him back. Their journey isn't easy, but no one said love was. The chemistry, the plot, and the twist will have you invested. I truly enjoyed this read and will absolutely be looking into the authors other works.

Thank you, Netgalley, and the author for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Happy Reading! 🧡

Only Love Can Hurt Like This

Wren and Anders are both alone-and heartbroken. Wren found out her fiance was betraying her, but then she meets Anders while visiting family in Indiana and sparks fly. But most people capable of mature love have baggage of some sort,and being alone does not always mean your heart is free. Anders has a secret he is not quite ready to share. When he does tell it, does it break Wren’s heart all over again, or will it mend it?

I like this novel-a realistic feeling romance with adults acting like grown people with ethics.

Paige Toon’s ‘Only Love Can Hurt Like This’ might appeal to readers fond of romance or chick lit genre. The friends-to-lovers story would interest fans of transatlantic love stories albeit if they do not mind the slow-moving pace of the book.
Synopsis
Wren embarks on a trip to her father’s house in rural Indiana from Suffolk, England to deal with the heartbreak of finding her fiancé is in love with someone else. She is not looking forward to meeting her stepmother and half-sibling in the US, the consequence of his father leaving her mother when they lived in Arizona in her childhood. The pain of her facing the same fate as her mother is not lost on her and makes her resent her father’s family.
On her family’s farm in Indiana, she comes across Anders and his family. She is immediately intrigued by him and soon learns that he is still dealing with his beloved wife’s death a few years ago. Like any forbidden love story, Wren finds herself falling for Anders but upon learning a secret that Anders has been hiding, she must deal with a heartbreak all over again.

What is to like
The rural Indiana setting is very charming. Wren navigating her relationships with her stepfamily and Ander’s sibling is nicely written. Her character is smart and likable, and the reader takes a liking to her. There are also some events that the author has beautifully penned such as the beginning scene where Wren realizes that her fiancé might be leaving her.

What’s not to like
The story is very slow-moving. A large part of the book revolves around Wren waiting and hoping to see Anders and wondering if he is back in Indianapolis where he works or if he is at his parent’s farm who are their neighbors. The big events in the story’s timeline do not happen until the second half of the book and the big climax is not as ‘earth-shattering’ as the book’s cover claims.
The descriptions of Wren wanting to be with Anders or yearning for his company could be shortened for sure. These get annoying after a while and make the reader lose interest in the book.

Book Review Rating: 2.5/5

"An earth shattering secret. A life-changing love story."

Wren visits her father and his family in the US for the summer after the devastating realization that her fiancée was in love with someone else. Anders lost his wife 4 years ago and despises the idea of ever trying to move on.

Through friendship and forgiveness their worlds inevitably collide. This book takes you through multiple avenues of love (friendship love, romantic love, sibling/family love) and learning how to live the life best suited for you.

Anders completely stole my heart from the moment we met him. There is just something about dark, broody handsome men that immediate draw me in! Probably because like Wren, you just want to make them whole again. His dedication to his family and ultimately his wife was remarkable to say the least, and I struggled not being able to reach through the book and hug him sometimes.

Wren is insecure at first, but overtime you can almost picture her blossoming into this new lifestyle on the farm that seems to suit her. By the end, I was audibly cheering her on for using her voice to have her own back and claim the life she knows is right for her.

This was my first book by Paige Toon, and I couldn't be happier with my choice! An absolute treasure for those who love stories of broken hearts finding each other and mending them together.

I’m still working out my feelings with this one. I feel like it was a beautiful show of love and the hurts that come with it, but also at times it felt like it just kept going.

It tackled some super hard topics and I felt like it was done really well. I think Bailey and Jonas were my favorites in the book - their side characters brought so much to the story.

All in all I really enjoyed it, just wish maybe the will they/won’t they was wrapped up a little sooner but also understand why it wasn’t.

This book really just took me for a ride. I loved the build up, the character development, and the writing. I would definitely read more from this author!

“Only Love Can Hurt Like This” is my first experience with Toon's books and while this one wasn't a win for me, I do think I'd be interested in reading more from her. In Toon's newest book we get flawed characters, heavy topics mixed with moments of joy, and a setting that is 100% Midwest perfection -- all ingredients for a solid book for me. However, things didn't go well for me with this read.

Anders and Wren's relationship is the focus in the book, but it fell flat for me. I didn't feel their connection, nor did I find either of them very likeable. Wren is piecing together her life after heartbreak while Anders is dealing with losing his wife. What unfolds is a love story that's a bit bland. There is a big twist in the book but for me it was way ick. I didn't love it and everything that came after that felt really gross to me. I think my biggest issue is that Wren didn't really seem to grow. She had potential but I found her to be cold and unapproachable so seeing her fall in love was a bit awkward, if not unbelievable.

Again, while this one wasn’t for me, I would read something else by Toon. She has a new book coming out in 2024 so I’m going to keep an eye out for that.