No like, IM OBSESSED. Julie Soto was already on my radar as the author of my favourite fanfic, so when I saw that she was publishing her debut i honestly had ZERO doubts that it would be a 5 star read. I was right: Forget Me Not has all the elements that Julie Soto is so good at: tension, characters you fall in love with, and an amazing story to boot. The story follows Elliot, a grumpy florist, and Ama, a sunny up and coming wedding planner, as they reunite 3 years after their messy break up. Cue the TENSION.
Thank you so much to Netgalley for the ARC; I can’t wait for you all to meet Ama and Elliot. They will be your new favourites!

I loved this book so much! Ama and Elliot had such good chemistry. The extinct flowers living on Elliot's skin Swoon. Grumpy x Sunshine? YES. I loved the elements of TLC and The Wedding Planner throughout the story. It was adorable and spicy and just perfect.

Forget Me Not was is for the readers who love a silent, broody hero.

As you can probably tell from the cover, this is Reylo inspired. As a Reylo fan I do not mind this at all haha. Plus the cover is gorgeous! The colors and the way they are looking at each other, plus his hand on her cheek?!? *swoon*

The writing style took a little getting used to but was so interesting. Ama's POV is the present and Elliot's is the past. I thought that was an interesting take on the dual POV and helped fully flesh out their relationship. I would have liked for them to interact more in the present since they were working together on a wedding and this is supposed to be a second chance romance. I felt their second chance romance needed more development and most of their romance is in the past. I liked both characters (my favorite was Elliot!). I think they had good chemistry and I wanted to see them end up together. I also liked that they never doubted each other's skills, that was super cool considering they were at odds. The steam was good and worked for the characters.

Overall this was an entertaining read! Would recommend if you like second chance romance, grumpy/sunshine, workplace romance, forced proximity, angst, hero falls first, and mild steam.

Gosh I loved this book!! This was one of my anticipated reads of this year and it didn’t disappoint. The beginning is a little slow going but after the story kicked in I was completely engrossed in the story. Definitely recommend to anyone who loves second chance romances, grumpy x sunshine, and broody MMCs w/ tats ;)

Thank you Netgalley and Forever for the ARC!

Did I request this for the cover? Absolutely. So beautiful. Thank goodness the story was a success, just like the cover art!

Be warned- spoilers ahead!

I loved this book. Very very much. Elliot? 😙🤌 he was perfect in every way. He was grumpy yet gooey, silent but spicy, averse to people yet kind. He was everything I could’ve hoped for from this MMC. Actually, he was a little *too* silent for the story because we didn’t get a lot of depth in his conversations with Ama but his inner monologue filled in some of those emotional gaps for me as a reader.

The problem with a perfect MMC is that it makes me hyper focus on the ways the FMC falls short. I loved Ama for the most part. She was a badass boss babe who was courageous, selfless, knowledgeable and kind. With that said, I didn’t love the conflict towards Elliot. I didn’t love that she was listening to him cry after she said no to the proposal. Soooo harsh, especially after having just told him she loves him. Cry together! Show him kindness! It didn’t jive for me. The end also was so rushed for me. I wish Elliot had his chance to tell her all the hurts she caused directly to her face rather than the Bluetooth moment during the wedding. There needed to be more follow through on the makeup/redemption aspect with Ama. She needed to grovel a bit more for me. Also, Hazel?? At the wedding doing the IG live and barely apologized for throwing Ama under the bus? Didn’t love that.

So 4 stars for me overall! I had an absolute blast with the humor, the spice was top notch and I’d gladly own this book with how pretty it is 😍

Thanks to Forever for the copy of this book!

Did I request this solely for the male MC with tattoos on the cover? Absolutely. Did he live up to all my expectations in this book? Also yes. I *love* a grumpy/sunshine trope, especially when he’s sarcastic and secretly super sweet florist. Elliot is just so endearing - I loved him so much. Ama was his perfect counterpart, and I loved her profession as a wedding planner organizing a high-profile wedding during the course of this story. Ama and Elliot had such a great dynamic in both the past and present timelines, and stemming their relationship from the perspective of wedding planning and marriages worked so well. Julie Soto wrote a great romance with lots of good plot and a fantastic villain - I’ll definitely be back for more of her writing!

Read if you:
- love the grumpy/sunshine trope
- dig a guy with tattoos
- are interested in wedding planning
- can handle some steamy scenes or are fine flipping a few pages

Thank you to Forever for the ARC in exchange for an honest review! <3

For fans of Ali Hazelwood & Elena Armas, expect this book to be a new favorite!

Julie managed to somehow take tropes I usually despise and craft a story that was fun, unique, and just the right amount of sexy for a stunning debut!

I’m usually not a fan of second chance, dual timeline, or “it’s not you it’s me”, but Julie pulled it off incredibly well. The chapters from the past never felt boring or like they were holding the present storyline back, the second chance was realistic, and the way the “it’s not you it’s me” was woven into the character’s personality and storyline didn’t make me want to rip their hair out, but instead go “there, there, you’ll realize soon sweetie”

The spicy scenes were what I consider a perfect balance for a story like this. Enough to give an extra oomph, but not too much that it distracted from the story.

I liked the pacing, the side characters, and the wedding plot line. It kept it light, quick, and overall very enjoyable!

If you like:
- second chances
- broody but sensitive hot men with tattoos
- sparky, confident boss women
- a little spice with your fluff
- dual timeline & dual pov

then you’ll adore this!

As a fanfic writer and reader myself, I was incredibly excited for Julie’s debut, and am thrilled to say it did not disappoint!

I am absolutely OBSESSED with this grumpy/sunshine, spicy, dual POV second chance romance between a wedding planner and a florist set in Sacramento, California!!!

Told through flashbacks and present day timelines, we get to know how wedding planner Ama meets florist Elliot, falls in love and and eventually how they broke up when they are forced to work together to pull off the highest profile wedding of Ama's career.

The sexual chemistry between Ama and Elliot is over the top HOT! I couldn't get enough of all the flashback scenes told through Elliot's eyes. Both of these characters felt real and relatable and I was invested in their relationship from the very first page.

The buzz on this book truly is worth all the hype and I can't recommend it enough. Great on audio too narrated by Callie Dalton and Teddy Hamilton. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and Librofm for an early ALC!!

Ama has an opportunity to take her wedding planning business to the next level with a high profile client, but is forced to work with her ex Elliott who has already been hired as the florist.

This was a fun second chance workplace romance between a grumpy hero and commitment-phobe heroine. It’s told in dual perspectives and timelines, revealing their past connection from Elliott’s POV and Ama’s experience in the present day. The format worked well to see the chemistry that initially brought our characters together as we wait to find out where it all went wrong.

I loved that beneath Elliott’s gruff shell, he was a softie who saw Ama’s strengths — I admired their partnership. It’s steamy and highlights the fear of falling in love and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

If you’re a fan of grumpy/sunshine or second chance romances, this one is for you!

After leaving her boss’s company to start her own wedding planning business, Ama gets the opportunity to plan the wedding of a lifetime. The catch? The florist is her ex, Elliot.

Ama’s POV mainly occurs in the present and we see her struggle with setting boundaries between herself and her clients as her former boss, Whitney, has told her to do numerous times. Over the course of the book, Ama learns that doing everything the same way that Whitney does isn’t the only way to have a successful business.

Elliot’s POV are predominately written in the past and give us insight into Ama and Elliot’s previous relationship. I really loved that we got to see Ama and Elliot from the past. Their history played a huge role in the story and I enjoyed seeing their past unfold alongside their present.

Elliot’s tattoos and hair… need I say more? This grumpy florist wears his heart on his sleeve and I fell in love with him immediately.

Ama is strong-willed, a donut lover, and an overall kickass wedding planner! Her family history gives great insight into why she views marriage the way she does.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Julie Soto’s debut novel had me giddy and hooked from the first few chapters. A long time fan of her fanfiction, I was curious to see how her work would transfer to original characters and I was NOT disappointed.

Ama is a career driven woman who is determined to land the biggest wedding of her career, just one hitch. She will have to work with Elliot, the grumpy yet talented florist, whom she crossed professional lines with 2 years before only to have it blow up in their faces.

The dual timelines leading up to the wedding and counting down to the moment Elliot and Ama’s personal lives collided created the perfect tension. The chemistry between the two of them had me hooked. The subtle details, the tattoos, the car, the boutonnière and the landmarks around the city made me feel so immersed in the story.

I received this as an arc from Forever publishing and owe them and Julie a huge thank you for letting me experience a romance that was exceptional. I will buying myself a copy and desperately awaiting Julie’s next book.

This could have been a 5 star read but I needed more communicating in the present! We get lots of communication in the past during the flashbacks but only some grudge fueled remarks in the present.

All that to say this book was super cute, a lot of fun and very emotional. I adored the characters (grumpy Elliot not so much). I really enjoyed the wedding parts and planning it snd the discussions of flowers and the arrangements were breathtaking. I could clearly picture the masterpieces. Elliot sounded super hot especially with his tattoos but he was way to grumpy even for me who likes a grumpy/sunshine. Grunts are not words! As we had flashbacks we got to the steamy parts of the book quicker which was appreciated.

My favorite part was when AMA stuck it to her old boss who was a witch with a capital B and tried to steal her wedding. It was an amazing f u moment we all live for. I’ll definitely read more of this author in the future to see how their writing style develops as they publish more!

I think this is one one my favorite books I have read in a long time. It has everything I want in a book plus more.
Julie has outdone herself. I had so much faith, so so much and it paid off. This book was EVERYTHING. The angst, the spice, the relationship building is incredible and I can see myself reading everything Julie writes from here on out. I trust her writing endlessly and she is now on the top of my auto-buy list.

4 Stars I love a heart wrenching second chance romance and Forget Me Not by Julie Soto gave me all of the angsty “I still love you” vibes. It’s been over two years since wedding planner Ama Torres last saw florist Elliot Bloom when she broke his heart. After scoring what will be a highly publicized wedding gig, Ama now has to work with Elliot again, and ignore the pain in her heart every time she sees him.

The novel has a dual timeline and POV, jumping between Ama’s view of the present and planning the wedding, and Elliot’s view of the past, how they met, got together, and broke up. The dual timeline can sometimes drive me crazy in a second chance romance, especially if we don’t find out until late in the novel how/why they broke up the first time. With this, that knowledge didn’t come too far in the story and I loved reading Elliot’s POV as he fell in love with Ama. Even though he has a very dark and grumpy disposition, Elliot Bloom is a simp and he falls first and falls hard for his girl. It’s seriously sweet to read. There was a lot of character growth in Forget Me Not, especially for Ama, who had a lot of issues with relationships due to her mother’s many marriages and divorces. I really loved this story and wish that I could keep reading more of Ama and Elliot’s story!

This books lives up to all they hype I’ve been hearing about! Wedding designer Ama lands a career defining opportunity designing the wedding of a famous influencer and her partner. The problem is they want to work with a specific florist, her ex Elliot. Can Ama and Elliot work through their past and pull off a show-stopping wedding? Especially with Ama’s old boss hindering it’s success?

I enjoyed the flashbacks of how Ama and Elliot’s relationship began and unfolded to the present. It helped establish how strong their connection was from the beginning. Also, the female friendships were wonderful, supportive and caring. All different kinds of relationships were highlighted. The message that each person has a past that has shaped their idea of what an ideal relationship for them looks like I really appreciated!

From a tattooed florist to a temperamental Lady Cat-Ryn, this book is the perfect grumpy sunshine contemporary romance!

What a fantastic, fun, and romantic read. This book was like a delicious donut, our main characters favorite, and was impossible to put down. I’ve never been big on spice in books, but the blend of romance and spice made it seem plausible and sweet as opposed to a book filled with very wholesome scenes and then the spice level shocks you when it appears. The writing was so easy to read. Loved!!

Wow! I had so much fun with Julie Soto’s debut, Forget Me Not. Thank you so much to Forever Publishing for an early review copy.

Ama Torres is a wedding planner who employs many of her ex-stepsiblings from her mothers sixteen (16) marriages (and counting)! She used to work for the most popular wedding planner in Sacramento, but went out on her own to use her own methods. Ama creates dream weddings because she really gets to know the couple, from proposal story to Pinterest boards.

Elliot Bloom is a popular florist that Ama used to work with all the time, but now refuses to. But when Ama books THE wedding of the year for influencer Hazel Renee and her fiancé, they are set on using Elliot’s company.

And thus, Elliot and Ama’s story begins to unfold, from her present day POV and his in the past, counting forward from the day they met.

From the first chapter, I was invested and swept up in this story. You can’t help but to root for Ama. And Elliot is the perfect grumpy book boyfriend—he hates social media, uses The Language of Flowers to send secret messages in the boutonnières he makes for new clients, and charges Ama a PITA (pain in the a**) fee when they first start working together.

In the acknowledgments, Ali Hazelwood is the first person Julie Soto thanks, and mentions that Ali convinced her to pull-to-publish. There has been some speculation about which fandom, since Julie has notably written for Star Wars and Harry Potter. Having had the privilege to read this, I can safely say Forget Me Not has heavy reylo roots. Especially in the family dynamic for Elliot’s background.

Can’t wait to see more people reading this book, I’ll absolutely be following Julie Soto’s career now!

✨There’s definitely a market for silent, sexually-skilled heroes. It’s me. I’m the market.✨

I mean they barely had a deep conversation in the present because he was truly silent but go off I guess because it was still a lot of fun. I was hooked from the start and finished it in two nights. Plus I really really liked the set up of the novel.

For the most part, Ama’s POV was in the present and Elliot’s POV was in the past leading up to their breakup. And while the breakup in the past was exactly as you thought it would be, I still had a good time getting there. I loved the tension between the two when they were forced to work on the same wedding. I also loved Elliot at the end like yes work that earpiece king.

I worked as a lead wedding caterer for two summers and let me tell you. The STRESS. So I did feel the wedding bits in my BONES. I think those were my favorite parts to read because it felt very natural and vivid.

✨

The soil and flower chanting during ~that~ sex scene stressed me out and was a bit too meta, but overall I did have a grand ol time with the sex! The scenes were juicy and frenzied and steamed up all the windows. They maybe felt a touch out of character for the two, but I’m a simple gal and all for them getting railed.

Every sex scene but one was in the past, which did make the relationship a bit top heavy? Past heavy? Like I said, they didn’t really talk all that much or even interact a ~ton~ in the present, but there were small things that Elliot did to pull that arc along. You definitely still knew the feelings were there. But I still would’ve loved like a nice thicc, angry yelling paragraph from Elliot. Thoughts and prayers for five sentences in a row to be honest.

While I liked Ama as a whole, I’m not the biggest fan of her general character type—down for a good time not a long time because love will never last as proven by parents, etc. Especially when she gave SUPER mixed signals and then got angry when Elliot was mixed up?? I mean part of it was on him because she was ready, ready to ruuuuuun from anything resembling commitment and he did know that from the start. I was still rooting for her though because Whitney can, with all due respect 🙏, go sit on a cactus.

✨

The writing style was a bit different than I was expecting, but once I got familiar, it felt more natural. I’ve never read fanfic so maybe that’s what I was picking up? Just something about the descriptions and fourth wall breaks. Even the style of the sex scenes felt different to me. It was well written don’t get me wrong, but just a note.

Overall, this was a solid book and was different than anything I’ve read before. It was truly memorable, just maybe not a consistent reread for me. I wasn’t the most emotionally connected I’ve ever been, but maybe it’s because I could only picture Adam Driver and he simply doesn’t do it for me. I think this will make a great audiobook, and it’s definitely gonna make a splash.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5 🌶️🌶️🌶️.25/5

Thanks so much to the publisher for an eARC via NetGalley. All opinions are honest and my own.

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

CW: death of a parent (past), sexual harassment (past), broken foot, allergy incident

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f contemporary romance
-second chance
-work place
-this is just a hookup
-gruff tattooed simp
-dual timelines
-competency kink
-he falls first and hard

I was so hyped to read this book and gosh did it deliver. It had just the right amount of second chance angst, while overall just being fun. Ama loves being a wedding planner, but has zero desire to ever get married after her mother's sixteen marriages. A dash of doubt in her abilities and ambitious, the wedding world in Sacramento in small and her biggest wedding yet puts her smack dab in the circle of her ex Elliott.

Gosh Elliott. Tattooed in his favorite flowers, gruff, but with his heart on his sleeve. I adored getting his POV in those flashbacks. Because he just was so soft on Ama, just adored her. This was competency kink at its finest. He's a flower mastermind, with the architecture skills to match and just finds joy taking care of her. He may huff around about it but he's all in from the beginning and just pining away. He was epic and just had me swooning. Even with the end it wasn't saving Ama these two are very much a partnership and I was just screaming at the sweetness. And gosh the chemistry, this book delivers on the steam and I was here for it.

Ama and Elliott were such a solid couple. Continuing to be thrown together despite being broken up in all of these situations. Despite the breakup neither ever doubted the other's skills to deliver on this wedding. Add in some step siblings, A meddlesome ex boss and just wedding shenanigans this book was fun and honestly I could see it playing out on the screen. But the beating heart of this book is Ama and Elliott and I loved every moment of them past and present as they figured out what they wanted on different services, Elliott's truck, his work table. This book had so much heart, great chemistry and just a propulsive read.

Steam: 3.75