I loved this book and Ama and Elliott so much! Ama is a wedding planner that doesn’t believe marriages last forever based on the fact that her mothers been married over a dozen times. They’re just a party to her and she loves planning them. Elliott didn’t want flowers to be his life but is now the owner of his fathers flower shop. This story jumps between past and present. It’s a second chance romance. I absolutely loved all the banter in this! And the spicy scenes were perfection🥵 I loved both of these characters so much and I loved the setting that Julie Soto created. I could see the flower shop and weddings so easily with the details, and she did it without over detailing. Some authors add too many descriptions for my preference and I end up skimming things because it’s too much. I was surprised at how well detailed this book was without going overboard and therefore I didn’t feel the need to skim any part of this. I can honestly say that enjoyed every second of this and I highly recommend!
5⭐️2.5🌶
I received this as an ARC from NetGalley for my honest review

Ama Torres just landed the every wedding planners dream wedding. Unfortunately it comes with the small caveat of having to work with her ex, Elliot Bloom. If they can work together, the wedding will be spectacular, but that might be harder than she thought.

Julie's unique approach to telling the backstory in this book is spectacular and really draws the reader into the story and invests them in the characters. Elliot, by design, is a struggle to like in the beginning but as the book continues, you really start to see through his sharp exterior to how much he adores Ama. This is such a lovely grumpy-sunshine, forced proximity, second chance romance. What a fantastic debut book for Julie Soto!

I wasn’t sure if I would like Forget Me Not. It has many elements I’m typically not attracted to, but I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I’m not usually wild about split POV but because Elliott is such a hard cookie to read, we definitely needed his internal dialogue. I wish we’d been able to see him with a life more than his work and Ama, like with friends, but other than that, I enjoyed his character. I was also really into AMA’s internal battle re: her old boss. Definitely recommend this modified sunshine & grumpy romance. Especially loved Elliott’s tattoos.

Thank you for the advanced copy Grand Central Publishing & NetGalley!

GUYS!!!

Wedding planners and grumpy florists>>>>>

From the start I knew that I would be completely obsessed with Ama and Elliot and boy, was I right!

I really enjoyed not just watching Ama work on the main plot of the story which was Hazel and Jackie’s wedding with Elliot but also seeing how Ama and Elliot met and what exactly led to the end of their relationship.

The flashbacks of Elliot and Ama were AMAZING, I found myself laughing at the peanut butter donut scene, you’ll know when u read about it ;) and crying when we find out exactly what led to Elliot and Amas breakup.

As for present scenes in working on the main wedding, I thought they are great but in a sense i wish we could've seen more of Elliot and Ama interacting with one another. Don't get me wrong, the angst was so real between them. My heart hurt for them but it seems like in the present scenes we only get a couple scenes of them together and as much as i have grown to love them and as a strong Ama and Elliot shipper i would have loved more content.

Amas wedding planning and Elliots arrangement of flowers combined make such an amazing partnership and as every character pointed out in the book they work perfectly hand in hand.

Overall this was such a cute read and I definitely recommend everyone to read it!! Especially if you love second chance romances with lots of angst with the MMC being grumpy but loving at the same time 🙌

3.5 stars rounded up
I had a hard time getting into this book. It kind of felt like a chore. I would read two chapters a day and move on to something else. It has dual povs and moves back and forth in the timeline. The characters hardly communicate. The end helped it wasn't my favorite read.

Forget Me Not is a strong debut perfect for spicy romance fans.

Synopsis: A wedding planner and a florist who have a complicated history must work together to plan a high-profile wedding.

Thoughts: If you’re looking for a quick binge that gives off a lighthearted tone, this is it. I absolutely loved all the floral talk and wedding planning antics, and it was so clear the author did her research. Told in chapters that alternated between the past and present, I enjoyed the build up in figuring out why the two broke up though I wish parts about the breakup were handled a bit differently. As expected, the narration by Callie Dalton and Teddy Hamilton was perfect and the two knew how to make the chemistry between the characters come to life. I’m excited to see what Soto writes next.

Read if you like:
-Wedding antics and party planning
-Dual timelines and POVs
-Second chance romance
-Grumpy/sunshine
-Open door scenes
-Sacramento, CA setting

Thank you Forever pub for the ARC!!

Hi, hello, I am obsessed with this book. Grumpy hero? Check. Second Chance? Check. Boy who pines for the girl the whole book? CHECK.
Elliott and Ama made my heart flutter in each chapter. I could understand her reluctance because of how she grew up, but I wanted to scream so many times because not many people get to feel the love of such a good man.
I adored the side characters.. and I would really like a book about one of them.. Hint, hint. But the push and pull of Ama and Elliott and how he just kept being there for her was really the only thing I needed to make this book a favorite.
Thank you to Forever (GCP), Netgalley and Julie Soto for an early copy.

As someone who both loves Sacramento and romance books, Forget Me Not caught my eye. Once I started it, I struggled to put the book down. While you don't need to be familiar with Sacramento to like the book - it definitely added to my enjoyment in reading it. Despite her faults, Ama is a fun character and her side of the story offers unique insight on wedding planning and what goes into it. I never felt as though Ama and Elliot were one dimensional or boring when their romance wasn't the immediate focal point of the chapter and they both offer their own perspectives throughout the story.

This book does contain smut, and while it's not for everyone. I thought it was well done. I've already encouraged others to get their hands on arcs for this book. I think this will be going on my list of go to hand sells in our small, Sacramento bookstore.

Julie Soto you’ve done it again. I’ve been a fan of Julie’s via Dramione fanfiction for years and was so excited to read this. I loved this story, a quick and fun romance read and can’t wait to see what her next book is about! Did I mention it has some good smut? ;)

In Forget Me Not expect to find:
-grumpy/sunshine
-second chance romance
-dual storyline with flashbacks + present time
-spicy scenes
-angst & pining

Ama Torres is busy living her best life running her own wedding planner business in the greater Sacramento area. She doesn't do long term anything and is focused on making her business better than ever. When a celebrity couple asks for Ama to plan their wedding, Ama is ecstatic! This is her chance to put her name on the map. Only one teeny tiny problem stands in her way - she's going to have to work alongside florist Elliot Bloom - her ex boyfriend who she hasn't talked to in years. Will these two be able to put aside their differences and work together?

I haven't read a book in one sitting in a very long time, but as soon as I started Forget Me Not I couldn't stop reading. The chemistry between Ama and Elliot was off the charts. I loved the subtle way Ama just inserted herself into Elliot's life, even though he wasn't looking for a friendship. Elliot was so grumpy and grumbly and yet he had such a soft spot for Ama. Their slow turn from friends to lovers was so sweet and their fallout was equally as devastating.

Julie Soto knows how to write spicy scenes 👀🔥. The scenes between Ama and Elliot had me melting. The intimacy between Ama and Elliot was always present and the tension and chemistry build up was perfection!

My only small gripe is that I wish that maybe there was more communication between Ama and Elliot in the present. But even still, based on feels alone and the fact that I could not put this book down - this was an easy five star romance!

If you're looking for an angsty, swoony, second chance romance I highly recommend Forget Me Not.

o b s e s s e d

OBSESSED!!!!! the amount of silent screaming i did into my hand? lost count.

ama: an up and coming wedding planner
elliot: flower shop owner

what happens when they’re forced to work together after nearly 3 years - when their romance hit a road block - for a career defining wedding?

dual pov that goes back and forth in time when these two were first figuring out what they were to one another and then to their icy reuniting years later.

love love love!!!!!!! 🥹🥹🥹🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼🫶🏼

Ah, I'm seeing so many GLOWING reviews and I'm wondering if something is wrong with me. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it, but it is not a 5 star romance read for me. It was largely VERY rushed, and despite their history and breakup, the "second chance" is insanely rushed and is very....physical, immediately. This is coming from someone who loves steam. But- there was a lack of connection with that steam and a lack of discussion about the past until the end.

Some good things- it was written well, I enjoyed the characters, I LOVED Elliott and his flower tattoos!!!! The premise was great, just lacked the execution and build up to make me believe their love.

Last, can we can a minute for this STUNNING cover?!

I was gifted this from the publisher here on net galley and got an ALC from Libro. I started the audiobook today while working, and then finished the book tonight after my son went to sleep. I had to know how this love story panned out, and the audio was extremely well done with a male and female narration team.

Told in a past/present timeline, we follow Ama, a rising wedding planner, and Elliott, a florist. Elliot is the grumpy to Ama’s sunshine. In the past, the two have obvious chemistry and fall in love, but in the present, they are no longer together. The book unravels that amidst the planning of the largest wedding of their careers. The tension and slow burn between the two in the present story line, coupled with the steam in the past storyline make this a great contemporary romance. I do wish in the present plot lines that a couple of moments could have turned steamier or created more tension between the two, but all in all I loved how this novel unraveled the past to make sense of the present.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! This book was honestly so cute and I am so thankful I was able to get my hands on it because I honestly flew through it during a road trip. Forget Me Not follows a wedding planner, Ama, and her florist ex, Elliot (love the pun for the title with forget me nots being flowers that symbolize true love). Ama and Elliot have not spoken since Ama oh so unceremoniously broke his heart. Before that, though, they were deeply in love, and through this wedding that'll make or break their careers, they find their way back to each other.

It was a sappy romance and I loved every moment of it, especially the dual POV in this one, with Ama's POV in the present day and Elliot narrating the past. Elliot was ever so loving and broody, and of course, hates everyone but Ama. I'm a sucker for second-chance romances and this one had me turning my page as quickly as possible.

However, the communication and some of the characterization, as well as the ENDING kind of miffed me, hence the rating. I won't elaborate too much due to spoilers but it was just so jarring. It didn't ruin the book for me or anything and I've come to terms with their ending, but yeah. That stuck with me. Overall, I would still recommend this book!

This may be one of my most favorite romance covers. I love the colors, the tattoo, that neck grab, the artistry; it’s so beautiful.

I adored this so much. Ama has recently branched out to become an independent wedding planner. She gets chosen to plan for one of the biggest influencers and builds an incredible wedding from nothing. She has some insecurities about not being good enough and is worried that she crosses the professional line getting too close to the bride because her previous boss was a cold planner. But Ama is so warm and a breath of fresh air with the most creative design ideas that you can’t help but love her and her energy.

Elliot is grumpy and broody and inherits his family’s flower shop, but he also has an architect degree, so he has a way of creating absolute masterpieces. The imagery in which he describes bouquets and dance floors and walls of flowers, you can clearly picture this enchanting pieces.

The relationship between these two is like a hurricane, they crash directly into each other when they were least expecting it, have a messy history and then hopes to a second chance after working together again for this big wedding. The chemistry they had was amazing.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🔥🔥

Really cute grumpy sunshine. Ama and Elliot’s relationship is adorable and complex. The story of a wedding planner falling for a florist is really cute and I found myself also falling in love with all the interesting side characters. Really enjoyed the Author’s writing style and pacing was even. The moving back and forth from past to present with each MC was really appealing. Solid 3.5-4star read.

I absolutely loved this one! Ama is a wedding planner that doesn't believe in marriage, while Elliot is a florist that does. I loved the dual POV and dual timeline to show their story. It was such a quick and easy read, but I didn't feel like I was just powering through to power through. It hooked me right away!

This is a cute, semi spicy, second chance romance that I highly recommend! I'll definitely be reading whatever Soto releases next!

The SECOND this book was announced, I preordered it, and then I got the opportunity to read an ARC?!?!? I was in tears. I have been needing to add a new grumpy sunshine romance to my tbr, I couldn't say no. Can we also acknowledge the cover? Amazing. 10/10.

After reading the ARC, I can say it lives up to all my hopes and dreams. It was funny, fluffy, angsty, and just so sweet. I absolutely adored the characters and the story. This book is getting added to my list of annual rereads.

I can't wait for when this releases so I can see everyone going feral over Elliot because he will be everyone's new favorite book boyfriend.

If you're a fan of Ali Hazelwood or fluffy grumpy x sunshine romance, I would definitely recommend.

Ok this was INCREDIBLE! My favourite romance read of the year so far. As soon as I finished it all I wanted to do was flip back to the first page and start again.

The set to me was fairly unique, I haven't read many romances about a wedding planner and a florist, but the way this comes together makes me think there is an untapped market here.

Ama is our lead and she is incredible. She is passionate and headstrong. I loved her flare and individuality. Elliot is delightful. He was reserved and grumpy without being a bully or mean. It was so clear how much he loved Ama and missed her.

The way the story is laid out is perfect. The present is told from Ama's POV, and the past (about three years earlier) is told from Elliot's. It was so easy to love him because of how much he loved Ama and was devoted to her. Telling the past from Elliot's perspective was so smart because it allowed us to get to know who he was as a person and his genuine affection for Ama without sacrificing the present Elliot's hang ups with Ama.

I already preordered a finished copy and will be bringing it in to my store.

Small critiques/Sensitivity things
Early on in the book (first chapter I think), Ama is talking about drinking a lot of coffee and decides to refrain because she doesn't want to seem like a "junkie". I personally wouldn't ever use that in my vocab. It's dehumanizing.

And then for me, personally, the reality TV plot line didn't add much to the story. I was glad for that because reality TV isn't my thing so it didn't take away from my enjoyment. But it felt unnecessary lol.

LOVE. New favourite romance. I was sold the moment I saw that it's grumpy sunshine with a wedding planner and a florist, but the COMMITMENT ISSUES REALLY SPOKE TO ME. So much to love.

I listened to most of this on audio, which I don't normally do for romance, but I think it's going to be my new thing because I feel like I AM these characters now.

The third act conflict was painful but totally made sense and I WILL be preordering a physical copy of this!