First time reading a book by this author and I absolutely loved it! The characters drew me in from the start and the relationship build up was perfect. I am also currently planning my own wedding, so I really enjoyed all the little details that were discussed. I will be following this author moving forward for more releases.

this was phenomenal!!!! the whole time I was like PLEASEEEEE GIVE ME A NOW ELLIOT CHAPTER … THEN BAM IT WAS PERFECT AND EVERYTHING I NEEDED IT TO BE!!!! idk I loved everything about this. I can’t lie and say it didn’t start off a tad slow but when it picked up we didn’t stop. The characters we likeable and the wedding planner x florist was suchhhhh a nice change of pace. AND THE SPICE ATE. I have no complaints.

This was a light read with depth, the writing style was lyrical and not like a typical romance but still fun and spicy.
The characters were great, the MMC was extra grumpy with sweet moments.

So sorry - I didn't get the hype for this book at all. I love second chance romance. It's probably my favorite trope, But these two felt like they should have stayed broken up, lol. I didn't feel any sort of connection beyond the physical. No romance. No feels. Too much about wedding planning. Idk, just not for me. But luckily I'm the outlier!

I did not post this publicly anywhere else because I prefer to only share positive reviews. Thank you for the chance!

There's so much spinning in my head, I'm not sure how to make it all come together for a worthy review. This book is everything I love. Grumpy/Sunshine, Second Chance Romance, and the angst. I loved it. I heard this may be a type of fan fiction, which I've never been a fan of, but if this that, I've changed my mind. The characters Ama and Elliot are so great. Ama the super nice, go with the flow girl, and Elliott the total not always nice. Love, love, love! Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this fabulous story.

I love a wedding! This was a fun read getting into all the wedding planning bits and seeing how it was pulled off however, the romance felt flimsy. I didn't feel invested in the couple as much as I wanted to be. It's good but not great.

I. Freaking. Love. This. Book. I’m officially obsessed with Soto’s writing, and she is an automatic buy author for me now. This book was sexy and passionate. The characters were raw and real. This is the grumpiest grumpy v sunshine I’ve read in a long time, and I’ve realized I need more characters like this. And Elliot, the main male character? *chef’s kiss*

Hero is a jerk! I could not get through it because I did not remotely see the appeal. But good for reader's advisory.

I know this book is pretty popular, but I just didn’t like it. I dnf’d at a little over 50% because I couldn’t get into the characters. I found myself increasingly frustrated with Ama and her interactions with Elliot. I also didn’t like the different timelines but I think that’s more of a personal preference. I may pick it back up in the future because part of me thinks this could be right book wrong time, but for now I’m done with it.

Fans of fanfiction will definitely appreciate this book! It may alienate readers who aren't as familiar with fanfiction in general, especially Reylo, but it definitely has potential!

I love second chance romance and this had all the angst and longing I look for in these stories. The characters were multi-faceted and relatable while still being unique. Can't wait to read more from Soto!

TW: Loss of a parent via cancer

Forget Me Not by Julie Soto is a Second-Chance Romance about Ama, an ambitious wedding planner who now must work with her grumpy ex, Eliot, a florist whose heart she broke, on one of the most important weddings of her career.

I personally do not seek out second chance romances, but oooh boy! I could hardly believe this was a debut. Julie Soto gives us a heart throbbing and beautiful story about two individuals who fall in lust and love. Ama’s talent for giving her clients the fairytale wedding of their dreams contrasts the happiness she denies herself. While Eliot’s own journey and disposition of being an aforementioned grump with a loveable interior who makes boutonnières for clients and more specifically, uses the language of flowers for the ones he gives to Ama (whether its flower love language or not, is something to find out in the book!).

While we get our second chances, our grumpy/sunshine dynamics, a spicy story, we also get a story of two individuals who care for each other and want each other to be the best versions of themselves.

My final thoughts: get yourself a donut, fresh flowers, and treat yourself with this story. I had been in a bit of a reading slump, but this kind of story was the right one to ease myself back and remind myself why I love books.

**Many thanks to NetGalley & Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was an adorable second chance romance with such believable characters! I loved the grumpy/sunshine trope, as well as the slowburn and how the book surrounded a wedding. The pacing and dual time line was done really well, and I was equally invested in the past timeline as well as the present. I was impressed with the writing as well since this is the author’s debut, and I’m looking forward to reading whatever work she publishes next!

I see what all the hype is about. An amazing, hot romance. Julie Soto is going to be a lasting name in the genre!

This book was SO CUTE <3

If you love second chance romance, grumpy/sunshine, DUAL POV, DUAL timelines, and wedding adjacent storylines this is for you.

My biggest question lies in the old timeline. I just don’t understand how they went from strangers to love SO QUICKLY. It seemingly came out of nowhere...

HOWEVER. The couple was adorable, and I loved the book overall.

Forget Me Not is a cute second-chance romance that focuses heavily on their first attempt at love. Ama and Elliot met while working at one of the many weddings Ama's mom has had. While they both clearly fall for each other, Ama has a hard time believing in long-term relationships, so things end badly, and even their professional relationship becomes non-existent.
That is, until a high-profile wedding falls on her lap, and Ama knows she needs it to push her career to the next level. Even if it means working with Elliot again after two years of complete silence between them.
As they work together to create the magical wedding Hazel and Jackie want and deserve, Ama and Elliot start getting close again and realize some feelings are still unresolved.
This is one of the very rare cases in which I preferred the past timeline over the present one. Watching Ama and Elliot getting to know and falling for each other in the past was really sweet, but I missed a bit of this connecting in the present.
Still, a cute and fast read, full of wedding themed scenes, so if you love weddings, this book is definitely for you!
3,5 stars!

Perfect if: you love weddings, second chance romance and lots of spice!

I really enjoyed this book. It felt unique compared to most second chance romance troupes. The characters were likable and the plot/pacing kept me intrigued!

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this story, all views are my own. I have been anticipating this book all year and it did not disappoint. This debut book by Julie Soto has the perfect mix of emotion, fun, snark, romance and character growth.
From the first chapter I was pulled in by the characters and wanted to know more. I love the banter between the MCs and never felt the story lagged in pace.

What a cute story! I love the cultivated magic of shows like Say Yes to the Dress and this book gave that to me. The plot was predictable and the commitment-phobic main character is one I’ve seen many times but the addition of creating a magical over the top wedding left me eagerly reading. Some of the *ahem* “romantic” scenes brought the story from cute new adult to solidly adult fiction and left me rolling my eyes a bit but that was just my opinion and it didn’t stop me from plowing ahead. Overall a solid, enjoyable book and one I’d recommend to friends.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Rating: 3.5 ⭐️

Forget Me Not was a fairly enjoyable read. While there were several elements I enjoyed, the romance was a bit underwhelming.

I was able to listen to the audiobook at the same time and the narrators were great and definitely made the story a bit more enjoyable.

It’s dual POVs of the main characters, Ama Torres and Elliot Bloom, and there are some great tropes like grumpy-sunshine, forced proximity, opposites attract, workplace and a second chance romance.

The story goes back in forth with Elliot’s chapters being in the past and Ama’s chapters being in the present. I will say, I definitely enjoyed the past chapters more as we got to see more of their romantic development and history.

The overall premise of them working together for a wedding after years of not seeing each other was pretty enjoyable. There was a lot of angst, pining and heartache. There was also some amusing, sweet and spicy moments. The flowers and wedding aspect was really interesting as well.

My biggest issue with this book though, was how slow paced it was in terms of them reconnecting and truly communicating again in the present day. They hadn’t seen or spoken to each other for over 2 years and once they start working together again, they don’t really talk or are around each other that much to be honest. There were scenes and moments where they wouldn’t see each other for weeks.

Their romance in the present day was also quite a letdown, as there really was no romantic development between them until almost the end. I wanted to see them together and in love in the present day more. While, in the past their relationship was filled with some amazing banter, tension and spice, we don’t really get to see any of that in the present day. Again, they don’t really communicate that much in the present day so there really isn’t any romantic development.

There was open-door spice, which was amazing but it does occur in the past chapters.

They were separated for 2 years and during that time she had some hookups but he didn’t. I will say, it did feel like Elliot’s feelings for Ama were a bit stronger than hers.

The ending was okay but I just wanted more from their relationship. An epilogue would have been nice as well. But there was still a nice and sweet conclusion. Overall, a decent read I was just expecting more from the romance.

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