Thank you NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for proving this eARC. I revived a free copy but my opinions are my own.

This book was adorable. I had such a good time reading it. The plot was engaging, the characters were fun, there wasn't a ton of drama for the sake of drama. I read it in one sitting. The only thing I found a little weird was how obsessed Ama was with Elliot's tattoos. It felt like a weird thing to be that focused on. All in all, I definitely recommend this book and I can't wait to see what the author does next.

Ama Torres spends her days as a wedding planner. She owns her own business and she sometimes has difficulty handling all of the things going into a wedding, but when she signs on for a high profile wedding things get extra hectic. Not only is this wedding career changing either way it goes, but Ama has to work with the man whose heart she broke, a florist named Elliot.
This wedding has to be perfect but there seems to be issues every step of the way. will Ama and Elliot be able to pull of this celebrity wedding that will not only be judged by one of the brides followers, but national television?! Or will their past get in the way of them being able to work with one another?
Not only is this book dual perspective but it is also dual timeline!! My favorite! It jumps between present day Ama as she prepares for this wedding and past Elliot explaining how he met and grew to love Ama only to have his heart broken.
Male florists with tattoos>
It's hard to not sympathize with both characters and why their views on commitment are so different.
Ama's mother has been married over a dozen time and each time Ama is the one that still has to be there to support her mother through the breakups. It is instilled in her from a young age that marriage does not last and that commitment is just a word. when she meets Elliot it's different but she still can't imagine changing her ways for a man just to end up alone in the end like she believes she will be. Ama would rather be alone and never have dealt with a divorce or huge breakup than open herself up fully and have the possibility of heartbreak.
Elliot seems to have a good view on commitment. His parents relationship seemed good and after his father died, his mother remarried into a happy long lasting marriage. When Elliot meets Ama he is almost instantly infatuated with her. He wants to protect her from her boss and then when the two are reintroduced when Ama asks for his business in a wedding through her own company he is a bit standoffish but also seems happy that she's working for herself now. Every time he sees her he grows more and more feeling toward her. In the current timeline Elliot is super distant. He had his heart broken once by Ama so he is clearly trying to not open himself up to any possible feeling towards her now.
I adored this book. From the background on their relationship to the many doughnut shop trips, to the infinite amount of lights going off on Ama's car warning her to help it. The drama with her ex-boss and the relationships she has with her clients that seem to help her create the most beautiful weddings that perfectly fit each couple. Such a cute and fun read. So grateful for the opportunity to read this, book early.

What a well executed second chance romance! Second chance romance are not typically my favourite, but this one delivered. I found both main characters lovable and was fully invested in their story.

I enjoyed the dual POV and seeing how the story intersected past and present, having Elliot's POV primarily in the past, while Ama's POV is our main source for the present day.

Having the dual POV really enhanced the grumpy × sunshine elements of their personalities, I enjoyed seeing the different takes.

It was everything I was hoping it would be and delivered a perfect blend of comedy, romance, angst, and spice.

Ama Torres is an up and coming wedding planner in Sacramento and has just scored the celebrity wedding of the year. This is the type of wedding that could elevate her business to a whole new level. The only problem is that the brides are set on using Blooming, and Elliot Bloom, as their floral designer. Ama and Elliot once had a whirlwind romance, but haven’t spoken or seen each other since breaking up two years ago. Can they put their personal feelings aside to put on the wedding of the year?

Oh my gosh, I adored this book! Grumpy/sunshine, second chance romance and a delightfully quirky FMC? Sign me up! Ama is a ray of sunshine and I loved being in her head, along for the ride. I really liked the dual POVs and alternating timelines, seeing the beginning of Ama and Elliott’s relationship from his view. The only thing I wished for was a more heartfelt conversation between Ama and her mother and their views on marriage. I didn’t want this story to end or to leave these characters, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Mar gets her own book.

Definitely recommend if you’re looking for a sweet romance that will give you butterflies!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“You may think everything ends one day, but you haven’t had ‘everything’ with me.”

Ohhh I love a good “he fell first and he fell hard” little smitten kitten. You’re going to want to preorder this one for the main man Elliot alone.

I had no business receiving this arc (insert major imposter syndrome here) and it had no business being this good! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Forget Me Not is a second-chance + grumpy/sunshine romance following Ama, an ambitious wedding planner who doesn’t believe in long-term commitments, and Elliot, a grumpy reluctant florist. After breaking up for reasons unknown to us, they are forced to work together on the highest profile wedding of both their careers. Their story is told through multiple POVs in past and present.

As an event manager and licensed wedding planner myself, this was sweet sweet candy. A florist and wedding planner tryst? Give me more Julie Soto! It made me feel all fizzy inside. ☺️

Thank you Julie Soto, Forever (Grand Central Publishing), and NetGalley for an advanced electronic copy. Forget Me Not releases on July 11th.

This was one of my most anticipated romance releases for 2023, and it didn't let me down. Julie Soto (lovesbitca8) has been an instant read for me for years in the fan fiction world, so I was thrilled she was releasing her debut book.

I love an angsty second chance romance, especially when it is forced proximity involved. Ama is a sunshine wedding planner who is here for the good time, not the long time. Elliot is our soft boy who has few words, but knows exactly how to deliver them. I adored the flashbacks being told by Elliot, and then present being in Ama's POV. You feel the build up of the break up, at the same time as the emotional stress of working with your ex that you still love. I love the queer rep that's built in, but doesn't feel like it's used for "diversity." Every piece of this book felt well thought out, from the locations to the details of Elliot's tattoos. It is a slow burn to the end, which did leave me wanting a bit more (hence the 4.5 instead of 5 rating). Overall a SOLID debut romance novel, and I recommend pre-ordering now!

Tropes included:
-second chance
-dual timelines
-dual POV
-he falls first
-workplace romance

Omg this debut novel had absolutely no right being this good 😤 the audacity to keep me awake until 3 in the morning.

Maybe presumptuous to say… but Julie Soto I’m a forever fan.

Firstly, I love me a good wedding planner vibes book.I don’t think that will never not slap. But also, the blueprint of this book was incredible- told in dual POV and alternating time-lines that converge to the present, we get little glimpses of Ama and Elliot’s (very complicated) relationship. They haven’t spoken in over 2 years but can’t seem to get over each other… this second chance romance was done so beautifully, it will honestly be difficult to top this for me. (Sorry to everyone else 😪)

Truthfully, every time I see the “grumpy x sunshine” trope being thrown around, I’m already skeptical. But damn Elliot Bloom, the broody-tattooed florist, was a scowl personified. 😂 and I loved him so much.

I’m sure I’ll have more coherent thoughts after *checks clock* 4am, but tl;dr you absolutely should add this one to your summer tbr.

Thank you to Forever pub, netgalley, and Julie Soto for the ARC!

Thank you to Forever Pub for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

I love finding a new author and knowing they'll become an auto-buy author. Julie Soto is now an auto-buy author for me after reading Forget Me Not.

This grumpy-sunshine, second-chance romance follows a florist, Elliot, and wedding planner, Ama, as they work together on the wedding of the season. The brides-to-be don't know that Elliot and Ama have a history of their own, that they use to date and it didn't end well. We get a glimpse into their past via Elliot and what happened and what's happening in the present day leading up the wedding with Ama and Elliot's point of views.

I love dual point of view novels and I'm a sucker for wedding planning novels. This novel reminded me a lot of Keely and Roy's romance on Ted Lasso (they're also a grumpy-sunshine romance). There were plenty of on-page steamy scenes from their past romance that had me turning the page and wanting to know what happened between Ama and Elliot. Julie Soto wrote in such a vivid, descriptive nature that I could easily see the wedding being constructed right in front of me. Also I wish I had that dance floor for my wedding.

I can't believe that Forget Me Not is her debut novel. It was amazing! I could easily see Julie writing more from characters within the same universe, but regardless I'm here for whatever Julie Soto writes in the future. I need more from Julie ASAP!

Julie Soto’s debut novel is guaranteed to give you all the feels.

“Forget Me Not” is a second chance romance starring Ama Torres, a wedding planner, and Elliot Bloom, a grumpy florist. When Ama is hired to plan the largest wedding of her career, she quickly discovers that it won’t be all sunshine and roses. Elliot Bloom, her ex, has been contracted as the wedding floral designer and there is no working around him. Left with no choice but to put their complicated pasts behind them, the pair attempt to plan the perfect wedding. With love in the air, however, it’s hard for both Ama and Elliot to deny the chemistry between them.

From the very beginning I was rooting for Ama and Elliot to rekindle their romance and live out their happily ever after! Their alternating viewpoints allow the reader to piece together how they first met, the moment their workplace relationship turned into something more, and what ultimately led to their separation. Despite the rift between them, Soto makes it clear that the two still feel deeply for one another no matter how hard they try to limit their interactions during the planning of the wedding. I appreciated how Soto naturally intensified these feelings over the months they spent in proximity to each other. Though I was an emotional wreck while they slowly learned to love each other again, it was worth it just to read the epilogue!

Aside from Ama and Elliot’s romance, I enjoyed exploring Ama’s complex feelings about marriage. Soto adds depth to her character by slowly revealing that Ama, a wedding planer, believes that love does not last. Through Ama’s point-of-view, the reader traces this belief back to her mother, who has been married sixteen different times and views love the same way. This detail adds intrigue and gives much needed insight into the thought behind Ama’s every decision. I appreciate Soto taking her time with Ama’s character development as she changes her perceptions of love. Even more so I appreciate Elliot for telling Ama that she did not need to change everything about herself just to be with him.

I cannot wait to read Soto’s next book in 2024!

I am honestly shocked this is a debut. An extremely grumpy florist and sunshine wedding planner, who were once an item team up for a massive wedding despite avoiding each other for 3 years. The dual timelines were perfect for giving us just enough of their previous relationship and explaining things now. This was laugh out loud funny. Being inside of Ama’s head was such a treat. Her unorthodox way of using her stepsiblings in her business to either further their careers, or just give them something to put on their resume was sweet and a reminder that you divorce partners, not children. However, Ama is severely emotionally stunted due to her mother’s MULTIPLE marriages, and that makes sense. Elliot is a walking contradiction because how can someone who seemingly hates everything love something as much as flowers, even though he was forced into the profession. Ama and Elliott are both a great look into how much our parents actions, wants, and needs can influence us as adults whether good or bad. We even got a legit finish, not “all is forgiven, even though you broke me for years”
AND THE COVER. I just loved everything about this and cannot wait to put a physical copy on my shelf. I especially cannot wait for whatever is next from Julie. She has potential to become an auto buy author for me after this.
Thank you to Forever for my advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adore Julie Soto. Yes, I'm aware that this is her debut novel, but I've been a fan and keeping up to date with her writing in fandom spaces for years now. I was super excited when it was announced she was releasing her first traditionally published work. I'm even more ecstatic that it not only lived up to my high expectations but surpassed them. The best way I can summarize my thoughts and feelings is, this book is a fucking delight (yes the expletive is essential in getting my full sentiment and excitement across).

I was in a pretty solid reading slump when I picked this up but that was quickly squashed in favor of devouring this as quickly as I could. I haven't been this excited and over the moon with a book in a long time. This would've easily been a one-sitting read for me had I not been so busy (incredibly rude of my real-world responsibilities to postpone my reading but I can at least thank them for letting me savor and enjoy this a little bit longer).

This is a witty, fun, spicy, and well-paced second chance romance (a trope that's not at the top of my ranking but is executed so well here) that's dual POV. It's also definitely Reylo coded for those of you that are into that and if you aren't, fret not, a non-Reylos will also thoroughly enjoy this and probably wouldn't have even picked up on it had I not said anything. Throughout the book we follow Ama, a commitment-phobic (relatable) wedding planner, and Elliot, her grumpy (but not so grumpy you wonder why we're even supposed to like him) architect school dropout turned florist ex, as they're forced to work together for the first time after their breakup. Oh, and the wedding they're working together on happens to be the biggest wedding of Ama's career yet that could catapult her to a whole new level. As we follow Ama through her less-than-ideal work collaboration with her ex, we simultaneously follow Elliot through their now dismantled relationship three years prior. While parallel narratives are something that can easily become convoluted or distracting within a story, Soto did an excellent job of using this narrative style to allow readers to fully understand the characters and ground their relationship and story.

This is an absolutely spectacular debut for Julie Soto and I will continue to rant and rave about it to anyone that will listen while I very impatiently wait for her next work set for a 2024 release date.

Thank you to Forever Publishing for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this ARC! Thank you for allowing me to read it early!!

I really loved the characters, plot, and trope! The energy between the main characters was great! I absolutely loved seeing Ellilot’s POV from the past. I want to read more.

I can’t wait to suggest this to patrons and friends!

I've been eagerly awaiting this book since the day it was announced, and I'm so glad to say it did not disappoint.

Right from the very beginning chapters, this book already had me giggling and kicking my little feet over how cute it was. Even though this book follows the pretty standard rom com formula and you know exactly how things are going to unfold, it still managed to feel free fresh and unique— which I have to credit to Julie's writing style that I love so much.

I think the only thing I wish I had seen from this book was more time spent on the current-day side of the romance. Most of the scenes in the present are really focussed on the logistics of wedding planning and Ama and Elliot don't really interact all that much, and at some points it almost felt like I was reading a lit fic book about wedding planning with the romance just being a side plot. Pretty much all of the romance development we got occurred in the past, and while it was incredibly cute and fun to watch their relationship bloom (no pun intended), I wish we had seen more of their reconnection in the present so them getting back together at the end felt more earned.

On the whole though this was still so much fun and I finished it in basically one sitting because I did not want to put it down. If you enjoy a second chance romance with your classic grumpy/sunshine characters, I highly recommend picking this book up when it comes out! I've been a fan of Julie's writing for awhile now, and all of her charm and wit translated perfectly to this novel. I fully believe she's going to be one of the big names in romance before long, and I'm so glad I got the chance to take an early peek at her debut novel.

A-MA-ZING!

I’m a huge lover of this authors fanfics so THIS was a 100/5 for me! Absolutely loved every second of it and cannot wait to purchase a physical copy when it comes out 😍

Ama Torres is a wedding planner. She says she knows everything about weddings from her mother getting married 16 times. Yes, you read that correctly 16 times which is insane.

Ama gets selected to be a wedding planner for a famous influencer and her fiance. The descriptions of the wedding couple and the love they share will warn your heart. They have different opinions for the how they want the wedding to go but are trying to blend their ideas so both will be happy. This will be the biggest budget she has ever worked with and largest guest list. She now has to work with her ex-boyfriend Elliot who is the florist they want to use. She wishes she could say no but this wedding will be good for her career so she vows to be professional.

Ama and Elliot are a fun grumpy/sunshine or enemies to lovers trope. They are forced in close proximity to work with each other and the day of the wedding doesn't go as planned. Ama will have to learn to delegate and trust Elliot.

It made me laugh when Whitney shows back up at the wedding and tries to step into the limelight. She gets what she deserves.

This was a fun quick read that will have you believing in second chance romance.

Very sweet and cute. The main characters have great chemistry. Books that are duel POV are my favorite, i love getting into both characters heads. This had a great amount of spice. The writing style was a little different but once i got used to it, it flowed well. The cover is beautiful, thats what drew me in.

This book is a five-star read for entertainment value; and for the delicious, hilarious scene where Elliott's mom visits the flower shop (iykyk)!

Forget Me Not follows a wedding planner and a florist with a strained relationship who are forced to work together on a wedding. Through flashbacks from Elliott's POV, we discover what happened between them, and then their story is furthered by present chapters from Ama's POV.

I was surprised by how much I got into the story's wedding planning/business portion. Elliott and Ama worked so well together, where we mainly see them interact. They clearly inspired each other creatively. We see their romantic relationship in flashback chapters, mainly hookups, but their chemistry, heat, and connection are fantastic.

This romance is a bit wedding-heavy, and I wish we got more of present-day Elliott, but soooo worth the read!

The synopsis of this one had me hooked from the beginning but unfortunately the writing style kept me from enjoying a lot of the story. It felt as if I was reading a fanfic, it was very juvenile and quickly paced. This also seemed to rub off onto the MC’s so much that I couldn’t really hang onto their relationship while reading. While I may not have been the perfect audience, this book is perfect for anyone who loves second chance romance and a reas that feels as if you’re in a reality TV show!

I loved this story so much! I absolutely will need a signed physical copy!!!

The build-up, dual timelines, dual POV, and workplace/entrepreneurial theme were great!

The spicy scenes were perfection, never taking away or a substitute for the plot. They were hella hot--rose petals, dirt, and a tabletop...okkkay?

Ama is a go-getter and has worked hard to build her own business as a wedding planner. I related to her drive and also her moments of fear of failure as a business owner. Being an entrepreneur is fun, exciting, hard, and scary; this story captures the journey well. Elliot is a florist and architect. He is also a business owner. He is brooding, moody, and protective. When he stops production from filming because she hasn't eaten all day!!

The ending was also perfect--just everything about this book was SO good. Please add it to your TBR and preorder for July! Trust--this is such a good Summer read!

I could not put this book down! I loved the fast pace of the book and really enjoyed the main characters and the back story. Plus, the setting of wedding planning was so fun and beautiful! I can’t recommend this book enough!