This was perfection. Will be a top romance read this year.

Second chance romance
Grumpy sunshine
Dual POV
He falls first
Alternating timelines

Does that not sound divine?!

My interest was peaked in the first chapter and held the entire way through, I loved the humour mixed with raw emotions, the juxtaposition of Amas tough and rumble demeanour and Elliot’s brooding sensitivity.

There was angst but it was the believable kind, all through out there is a sense of mystery surrounding what went wrong between them that kept me turning pages to understand.

Heaps of chemistry, self growth, tender moments and serious steam, this is a sure fire hit for summer reading.

Thank you to NetGalley, Forever and Grand Central Publishing for the ARC all opinions are my own.

I’ll be posting a more extensive review on my Instagram closer to publication date.

Forget Me Not - By Julie Soto

"𝑰𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒔, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒎𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒖𝒕. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒚, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏'𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒅 '𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈' 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒆."

Special thanks to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the eARC of this book 🫶

I absolutely adored this! It’s been one I’ve had on my list for months, and I squealed when I was approved for it on NetGalley! I was happy to find that it lived up to the hype and I had such a great time with it!

Ama is a wedding planner who doesn’t believe in marriage. But she is amazing at her job anyways! From the start there is obvious tension between her and the rude florist, Elliot. They are forced to work together on a high profile wedding that could be very beneficial for both their careers, but because of past drama they can hardly stand to be in the same room together.

This book is the ultimate grumpy sunshine and second chance romance lover’s dream! Beyond the romance story itself I loved seeing into the wedding planning world. As someone who had a very no strings attached, do it yourself wedding it was fun to see into the world of the rich, and what goes into planning their big days that seems inconsequential to real life people. But the author was great at making us also care about all the seemingly silly details! It was a unique setting and I loved it!

This book is also deceptively spicy 🌶️ which I was pleasantly surprised to find 😜

This book is 5 stars for me, and from what I can tell a debut for this author! I will now be adding Julie Soto to my auto buy list for sure! The only thing I wish I could’ve seen a liiiitle more of was Elliot’s personality, and why Ama fell for him. Not to say it’s not there or it’s not good, it is! Their connection is obvious! But I did find myself wanting just a tiny bit more.

It’s out July 11th, so be sure to get your copy this summer! This is one I will def be purchasing for my shelf 💜

💐

“B-because I want to know you. I want to know what you like, what you hate—even if it’s me.” I start pressing a second finger inside slowly. “Fuck fuck fuck—I want to love what you love, even if it’s extinct.” -Ama

I just love books about love.
And that’s precisely what this book is about.

The story is initially being told in two different time lines. We get both POVs which I really liked. We get Elliot’s POV from the past and Ama’s in the future. I kept trying to figure out what was going to happen next on both sides.

My favorite thing about this book would definitely have to be Elliot’s devotion to Ama. He was there for her every step of the way. Also the chemistry between Elliot and Ama is unmatched! 🤭

“If you want to move forward with whatever this is between us, you don’t have to worry about me backing out. You may think everything ends one day, but you haven’t had ‘everything’ with me” -Elliot

Overall I really enjoyed the story and the characters.

Definitely recommend if you like:
•Flower shop setting
•Wedding setting
•Second chance romance
•he fell first and he fell hard
•grumpy vs sunshine
•spicy scenes (including a work table) 🫠🙌

-Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an Arc in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up

"Forget Me Not" is cute, second chance romance novel, with a dual POV. Ama Torres is a wedding planner who loves weddings but doesn’t believe in marriage while Elliot Bloom (pun intended) owns a flower shop but prefers being an architect. They had a falling out a few years back but can't seem to avoid each other as they are both in the wedding business.

I must say, I really liked the time jumps. We hear from Ama in present day as she begrudging works with Elliott on a high profile wedding while Elliott recounts their history and explains why they are so uncomfortable being around each other. I loved their chemistry but was annoyed with Ama for taking Elliott for granted.

While this is a work of fiction, I thought Ama's reason for rebuffing Elliott didn't seem plausible. Also, who gets married 16 times?

Still, if you like sizzling reads with lots of angst, add this one to your TBR!

Thank you NetGalley and Forever Pub for this ARC. All reviews are my own.

I loved the dual timelines, especially having Elliot's POV in the past and Ama's POV in the present. So unique.

It was awesome seeing the behind the scenes of a wedding planner. The drama and the stress of the day of the wedding was so exciting and stressful. It definitely gave me all the feels. And I could picture perfectly all the floral arrangements and the space that Ama created for the reception.

Elliot's speech and his small acts of kindness were so swoon worthy. But also the grumpy banter he would do with Ama was amazing. And let's not forget his tattoos.

I loved the way that Ama stood up for herself the day of the wedding. And Elliot was always in her corner. I'm glad she finally listened. Plus I wish I could see those memes in real life.

I really need to stop requesting books on Netgalley just because I love the covers. I CANT STAND SECOND CHANCE ROMANCE. Most of the couples past and learning each other happens off page, which is usually my favorite part of romance. Add onto the slowness in the beginning, its a meh for me,.

When you think “i need a 2000’s romcom movies type of book” This book is what you need to go for.

The story is both light and a angsty to grasp your attention as you root for this couple to get their second chance together.
Elliot is the perfect tall, broody, and tattooed man. He can’t stop thinking about Ama from the minute he sets his eyes on her, them working together for months as a florist and wedding planner is only making it worse. That is until he finally gets a taste of which only makes him hungrier for her–only to realize she doesn’t do long term or believe in marriage (the irony of a wedding planner who doesn’t believe in marriage).

We get Elliot’s pov from 3 years ago when they started and Ama’s present one as she’s forced to work with him again while she plans the wedding of her dreams to grow her business.

I personally will sign whatever petition needed to turn this deliciously sexy and sweet book into a movie. 10/10

I can’t even describe how in love I am with Ama and Elliott.

This book was so freaking good! It had some great open door scenes, but the chemistry, banter and angst were just off the charts.

Every time Ama and Elliott had to be in the same room I was drooling with anticipation.

Julie Soto is q phenomenal writer and know that she will keep you hooked from page one in this amazing second chance romance!

I don't know what Julie Soto put in this book but I was hooked! The spice, the humor!!! SO good! I enjoyed this book more than I thought. I can't wait to read more Julie Soto books!

I was so excited when I found out I received this ARC 🤗 I really liked this one. It was easy to read and follow along, and you build a great connection with the characters! This slow-burn second chance will have you swooning this summer! ☀️Who knew grumpy florists could be so hot? 😍

I think my only complaint was how long it was. It felt at some points that it took forever to get to the main point!

I really enjoyed this book! Though the tropes in this book could've been boring and overdone, I didn't feel that way at all and found the whole thing entertaining, interesting, and unique.

Ama Torres is a wedding planner who believes in weddings, but not marriage or long term commitments. She finds herself working on a big wedding where she needs to work with her ex, Elliot, a grumpy local florist.

Read this for:
- grumpy/sunshine
- dual POV
- flashback timelines

I enjoyed how this book was structured with the dual POVs and flashbacks. Ama has a type A personality without being over the top. She's interesting and a strong character who pairs well with Elliot's grumpiness. Elliot's POV was refreshing and I loved the flashbacks. I only wish there was more of him and that there was more of a present day resolution at the end. As is, I felt like it wrapped up a little too quickly while other tidbits could've been weaved in better throughout.

I just have to start by saying this is one of the prettiest covers I have ever seen!

So I loved the premise of this book! It’s a second chance romance between a wedding planner and a florist. It sounded percent and I was so excited to read it. There were parts that I really enjoyed but overall this didn’t live up to the hopes I had for it.

Forget Me Not is told though a past/present timeline with a dual POV. In the present we have Ama & in the past is Elliot. I found myself wishing that both perspectives were in the present. I don’t feel like I knew much about Elliot so getting more of his thoughts (especially after their time apart) would have been nice.

The romance didn’t really do anything for me. The two barely spent time together in the present. When they were in the same space it was mostly due to business and the interactions were awkward. I’m not sure how I was supposed to root for their second chance.

The wedding planning aspect was my favorite part of the book! Ama is hired to plan a wedding for a celebrity influencer and it definitely comes with some obstacles. I loved how passionate she was about her job. She went above & beyond for her clients making sure their special day was perfect! I thought it was so much fun!

I will admit that I am usually not a fan of the second-chance romance trope, but that cover and that book description made me want to give “Forget Me Not” a try.

But I was very pleasantly surprised with this book, and that was mainly due to the way Soto was able to write both the main characters POV, as this book switches from Ama ( the female protagonist) to Elliot (male protagonist, love interest). The only thing I wished more of was a deeper development of the relationship between Ama and her mom. But overall this was a super fast and enjoyable read.

Would highly recommend if you like the second-chance and grumpy/sunshine tropes.

I simply do not believe that this is a debut novel. I was the exact target audience for this book. Thank you so much to Forever and Julie Soto for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Ama's journey was fun to watch as she grew into a more confident and secure wedding planner. The banter and sexual tension between Ama and Elliott was to die for. I thoroughly enjoyed watching them slowly get back into their groove and work together on Hazel and Jackie's wedding. I wanted to punch Whitney in the face so hard.

The flashback chapters were perfectly timed and added to the story. It was almost like getting two full length love stories simultaneously. I simply need more of Ama and Elliott. I can guarantee I will be re-reading and buying future pubs by this author!

-second chance romance
-grumpy (secret cinnamon roll)/ sunshine
-forced proximity
-perfection

I am torn between giving this book 1 or 2 stars. I did enjoy part of the 3rd act, not all of it just part of it. Warning this review will probably contain my rant and a lot of spoilers.

<spoiler>There were a lot of things I did not like or vibe with in this book. I did not like Ama which sucks because we share a last name. I didn't like how her personality trait is that she loves donut and eats them everyday. That she steps over boundaries with Elliot without knowing him, like without asking doing photoshoot or eating in his back studio after he says he doesn't usually eat back there because he doesn't want insects back there. </spoiler>

<spoilers>Like I get why they broke up the first time, but Ama seriously needed to go to therapy. I swear, I tried but it did not work for me. I get seeing the best in people but how did Ama not see that Whitney was trying to sabotage her.</spoiler>

Right now I can't think about more things that I hate.

This one was okay to me! I liked the concept of the book as well the the relationship between the two characters! It was just the pacing and the flashback aspect that I didn’t really understand. Like why did they break up, why are they avoiding each other, and it fell like they broke up over something so minor. But besides that I loved the male mc, he was the high light of the book in my opinion. I also loved the couple’s wedding that was being planned throughout the book.

4.5 ⭐️

Tropes:
- second-chance
- forced proximity
- grumpy/sunshine.

Ama (wedding planner) and Elliot (florist) are forced to work together on a high-profile celebrity wedding, despite past hurts they've both tried to bury. Elliot has such a strong, silent but intense energy that every interaction and longing glance make it clear just how much she affects him. Ama is a little spitfire with commitment issues thanks to her own mother having been married like 14 times.

This book was sweet, spicy, and surprisingly very angsty! I really enjoyed Julie's writing style, and appreciated how she predominantly used Elliot's POV chapters for context from their past relationship. Would definitely recommend!

I had a really good time reading this story but I did not really love the romance of it all. As someone who got married within the past year, it was fun to read he extravagant wedding planning process but that is basically all I loved from this book. The romance was barely even a part of the story. There were flashbacks with snippets and smut but I did not feel like the characters really knew or even liked each other that much. They just didn't click for me.

In the interest of full transparency, I was a massive fan of the authors fanfics back in the day so needless to say I was very excited to dive into her first traditionally published work! Especially a romance— sign me up.

Forget Me Not follows the story of a wedding planner and a florist as they rekindle a romance that flamed a while ago. The story is set in both past and present which always add an extra level to a second chance romance, although I would’ve liked more time in the present. I loved both Ama and Elliot and thought they had great chemistry and their love story was a very believable one. Julie Soto is a fantastic writer who is so incredibly talented at writing tension and banter and her talents really shine through in this story!

I’m a big fan of the “working together” trope (if that’s a trope!) and really enjoyed the tension that built with the forced proximity. I loved the very real dig into both their fears around love and commitment and was really happy with how the story played out. I would’ve liked to see a little bit more around the ending, specially in the present, to see how it all played out but that’s my only critique! I can’t wait to see where Soto’s career goes and will eagerly read anything else she writes.

I read this book in ONE sitting! I think it may be one of my favorite romances so far this year. Soto presented the dual povs in this second chance romance in a unique way.

Ama, a wedding planner, and Elliot, a florist, are part of the same wedding event and have to work together after having broken up a few years ago. The book follows the present timeline via Ama's pov and the past in Elliot's pov.

I can't wait to read more from Julie Soto.