Only Love Can Hurt Like This by Paige Toon is a brilliant novel which expresses the joy of love, but also the pain and doubt it can bring. Anders lost his wife four years ago, but hasn't been able to move on. Wren's fiance broke up with her in England, so she flew to her father in the States to get over him. When Wren and Anders meet, sparks fly, but is it too early for them to be in a new relationship? A great summer read! Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

I went into this book not knowing if I would like this new to me authors writing style, and I’m so glad I stuck it out. The beginning wasn’t keeping my interest until about the 70% mark, then I was fully invested to continue reading. I have to say to anyone trying to decide if they should read this, “READ THIS BOOK” you won't regret it. To me this seems like a slow burn romance with heartbreak and sorrow. Some tough decisions to be made by the characters with lots of different emotions and feelings to consider. It will make you cry.
Thank you for the opportunity to read this from NetGalley for my honest review!

Let's all just take a minute to admire this beautiful cover.

Then we can all feel the pain that is delivered behind the title, "Only Loe Can Hurt Like This"

I am ashamed to admit this is my first book by Paige Toon but I can guarantee it will not by my last.

I was instantly pulled right into the storyline, I fell in love with Wren and Anders. Paige Toon is compared to Colleen Hoover but quite honestly, I enjoyed her writing style much more. I was incredibly emotional while reading and rooting for Wren to just get her happy ending. Everything was so real and it played out like a movie right before my eyes! My fingers are crossed that this is turned into a movie as I hope it gets an even wider audience than just us readers.

This has book of the year written all over it!

Teaser :

For fans of Colleen Hoover, an unforgettable and heartbreaking love story with an earth-shattering secret at its core that asks the question: Is love worth risking everything for?

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?

Every now and then I need a Hallmark style book to take my mind off the real world.
Paige Toon’s Only Love Can Hurt Like This was just the ticket.

Architect Wren’s world is not at all turning out according to plan. She is not in love with her current job and her fiancé has decided that she isn’t the one after all. She flees the UK for rural Indiana in hopes of resetting herself. Her father and step mother own an orchard in the country where families can come by to pick fruit by the season. The quaint setting is exactly what Wren believes will help her move forward. In an effort to get to know her younger half sister Bailey, she agrees to a night out in the small town. At the local dive bar, where Wren is vastly overdressed, she lays eyes on Anders who wrecks her plans.

Anders lost his wife four years ago and is having a hard time recovering from that loss. He is not in any place for a relationship, and is harboring a secret that is draining him. He works all the time for a racing team in Indy and comes home often on the weekends to check on his brother at their family farm. On one such visit he and his brother Jonas meet Wren and Bailey. Despite his attempts to avoid Wren, they find themselves running into each other in the small town and the rest is history as they say.

Wren and Anders story is at times heart-wrenching and a little predictable, but that didn’t stop me from reading. Sometimes we all need to read a sweet love story.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam, and of course the author Paige Toon for the advanced copy of the book. Only Love Can Hurt Like This is out now. All opinions are my own.

I loved this book so much I wound up buying multiple copies to give to my book club friends. If you love slow burn, small town, heart warming romances that will make you smile and cry-this is the perfect read. This is my first book by this author and I will be reading more. Just an engrossing and captivating read!

THANK YOU TO NETGALLEY FOR AN ARC OF THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW!

I loved the cover of this book. It reminds me of a Colleen Hoover cover. 
This book deals with a lot of loss and heartbreak. Two people who are on opposite sides of the world just happened to cross paths. The two will start to help each other heal and maybe in time their hearts will come together. 
I liked this book and the storyline that was given. Classic betrayal and loss for both characters. Just like Wren's mother always said, "Trust your instincts", I am glad I did because this book is great.

Ooooh this one is a tough one. I listened to it on audio and I don't think the narrator and I vibed very well. I felt like Wren had absolutely zero personality, actually all of the characters besides Bailey seemed pretty dull. I appreciated the story and how it handles different kinds of grief: end of relationships, loss of loved ones, parents splitting up at a young age, plus many more instances.

I'm sure I would have enjoyed this more if I had physically read it so I'll remember that for next time I read a Paige Toon novel.

Only Love Can Hurt Like This by Paige Toon is a heartbreaking and heart mending story that tells the story of Wren and Anders with gorgeous care and prose. This is a love story that will have you rooting for its main characters and will remind you to believe in love.

Thank you to Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for the ARC - Only Love Can Hurt Like This is out now!

Wren flees her cozy home in England after realizing her fiancé loves someone else. Heading to her father's farm in Indiana is a perfect getaway, except Wren always has felt like a guest in her step-mother's house. With a broken heart and decades worth of hurt feelings, Wren might need more than a short visit to heal. With her younger half-sister as a distraction and the goal of improving her family's relationship, Wren digs in. Meeting the neighboring farm's brothers and spending time with them helps Wren process her feelings until she starts to fall for Anders who lost his wife and clearly isn't over her. Will Wren heal enough to find her path forward, and is it with Anders, or will he lead to another broken heart? Fans of Colleen Hoover and Emily Henry will love this character-driven romance.

This was such a sweet read. It beautifully showed the complexity of relationships. Tackling how some relationships end because you’re not meant to be, some end tragically, and some are a means to finding the right person. It also explored forgiveness and family dynamics beautifully.

Thoughts:
-I loved every character in this book. They all had great character growth and were just all around likable
-Wren’s rocky relationship with her dad, step-mom, and half-sister were a big plus for me. I loved the complexity of their relationships and how each side saw things so differently growing up. It highlighted the struggles a child of divorce faces nicely. It was heartwarming to watch them rebuild their relationship
-Anders was such a stand-up guy going through a really terrible situation and handling it with grace
-I absolutely loved Jonas and Bailey’s friendship
-I wish we got more of Anders’ point of view - I think his storyline would have packed more of a punch if we had

I really enjoyed this book, but at some points it lacked the umph I expected. I still teared up at points and highly recommend it!

Thank you Netgalley, Paige Toon and Penguin Group Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for the opportunity to review this book!

This was a great book. I didn't want to put it down when I started and never wanted it to end. I think I could have stayed in the lives of all the characters forever. The story is painful at times in varying degrees but is always shrouded with hope, forgiveness and love. I think I'll be checking more out from this author in the near future.

Beautifully written novel, I felt it to be very personal.
Wren and her story captivated me from the very first page and stuck with me even after I finished the novel 🥲

This book was beautiful. Heartbreaking and unforgettable. I really enjoyed the two main characters. The twist was wow. Amazing.

Emotional and epic romance that I could not put down. WOW!! This one made me cry like a baby and man was it so good. This slow burn love story is one you won't soon forget as you close the last page. It is one that will totally put you into a reading slump and make you want to read it all over again. I can not wait to won a print copy of this title.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader copy of this book. If one is looking for a read alike for Colleen Hoover Paige Toon, comes close. This is a love story with a twist and a bit of thriller. Keep writing Paige. Loved it!

Paige Toon's debut left me torn on how to review it. Wren's journey of healing on her father's farm introduces her to Anders, a widower grappling with his past. While there were aspects I struggled with, such as excessive internal dialogue and multiple conflicts detracting from the main story, I still found the Ander/Wren moments entertaining. The characters, especially Jonas, were likable, and the unexpected twist added emotional depth. Overall, it's worth a try, offering an engaging read without major regrets. I rate it 3 stars, rounding up for this review.

Wow- this was such a tender and beautiful story. While it definitely had my attention from the beginning, I did find myself wondering when the secret that the back of the book heavily mentions would finally be revealed. The characters in this book were strong, unique, complicated, yet relatable. Overall, I wish the pace had been a little quicker and I think there was room for a little more drama/detail, but it was an enjoyable read nonetheless.

Thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for my free review copies.

I loved this book! it was so beautifully written and a great story about waht it means to love and lose and to love again.

Such a great story about loss and starting over. Both Wren and Anders have suffered. They escape to the peacefulness of an Indiana farm where they learn how to trust again. They open their shutdown hearts to the possibility of happiness. I love a good love story that's not too complicated, everyone knows they have issues, and work towards solving them.

**Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All opinions expressed in this review are mine alone.**

Talk about tugging at your heartstrings more than a few times. This read is emotional for a lot of reasons. So many emotions through this read; there’s hurt, grief, fears, abandonment, loss, and love. There’s complicated relationships between siblings, families, and partners that made this read real and relatable. My heart went out to Wren for everything she dealt with and the soul searching she did to accept what happened and how it prepared her to move forward. Anders story is heartbreaking and the grief he carries weighs him down immensely and Wren saw it along with everyone else.

For how emotional this read is it flows so nicely and quickly that I read it in less than a day. If you love a romance book that’s not just a romance book and that knows how to tug at your heartstrings then you definitely need to read this book.



Thank you publishers and @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.