I am obsessed with this book! I cannot remember the last time I felt so many feelings while reading a novel. Wow. Absolutely amazing. I felt so seen by Ama, being so into her work and traumatized by her past. And ugh I cannot even describe how I feel about this book. I was just in my feels the whole time and you won't understand until you read it. This is the blueprint for second chance romances!!!

My friends told me that "Forget Me Not" was the name of a flower I was like AHHHH! That's so smart.

It was really refreshing to see a man who was all in while the woman was the anti-relationship one. So often it is portrayed the opposite way where all men hate relationships. Elliot was all in for Ama. A little too all in for her. Ama's refusal to believe in relationships was frustrating to read but also very understandable for her as a character.

I really enjoyed how the book was laid out with the dual timelines. Usually I have trouble recognizing whether it's the past or present but with the switching of the POV, it made it so much easier.

Ama is an up and coming wedding planner who just struck gold by planning a celebrity wedding. Elliott is the hot florist just taking everything one day at a time. Once talking to her new clients, Ama realizes she has to work with the Elliott. Oh, he's also her ex and she broke his heart years ago.

The cover caught my attention but the book had me hooked from the first chapter. Working together to plan this wedding put then back together in the adorable bubble. The way Elliott looked out for Ama was just the absolute cutest. She tries to handle a lot on her own but I loved how he was always there for her when she didn't even she needed someone. I hope we see more of them in the future!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

This book reminded me why I love second chance romances so much! The quiet grumpy MC, the dual timeline and POVs, the tension, everything was perfect! I read it in one sitting and recommend it for anyone who wants a quick and beautiful romance.

Ama runs her own wedding planning company and Elliott is a florist. They have a past together and haven't seen each other in two years. Now they are forced to work together when Ama has the chance to plan the wedding that could bring her company to the next level.

You get the present timeline in Ama's POV and the past in Elliott's. It was the perfect mix of tension, passion ans heartbreak.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book!

3.75 Stars.

I definitely understand why this is such a highly rated book. It’s sexy and angsty and Ama is a professional powerhouse, even while battling insecurities. Between her wedding business and Elliot’s flowers, it’s a gorgeous visual feast, layered with taciturn grumpiness and high energy individuals. Dual timelines and POVs with Elliot’s in the past and Ama’s in the present. It’s a great mix.

BUT I did have one big problem. The reconciliation and reconnection in the present is severely lacking. It’s all professional interactions and internal reflection from Ama but there isn’t any significant conversations with Elliot to get to that HEA in any believable way. All the connection is in the past POVs. Leaving the present severely lacking, even while other interesting and high pressure things are happening. It was a misstep in my opinion.

What we do get in the years past though is delicious and engaging. Adorable and sexy. Their chemistry is great. And in the present, the nerves and animosity, is a fantastic start. I just wish the reconciliation had more gradations. But the wedding drama is still a fantastic read.

My only other criticism was in the secondary characters. Those wedding clients were far too even keeled. They were too easy and friendly. It didn’t seem believable, for once more drama was called for.

Overall, though, I binged this one with pleasure.

* I received a free copy from the publisher

“An ambitious wedding planner must work with her grumpy florist ex, whose heart she broke, on the most high-profile wedding of her career, in this spicy and emotional romance from popular fanfic author Julie Soto.”

I liked a lot about this book. I enjoyed the descriptions of the flowers and venue (which is good, as it comprised most of the book). I enjoyed the Grumpy Sunshine, many of the secondary characters, and the climactic comeuppance.

I just couldn’t get into the main couple, though. They had history, but no connection, and that left me fairly ambivalent.

This is, however, the author’s debut novel, so I’m very interested to see where she goes in the future.

5.5/10

Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for this ARC.

One of my most highly anticipated releases of 2023. I enjoyed the dual POV, seeing things from the past in Elliot's point of view and seeing how the present circumstances unfold from Ama's eyes. It did take a while for the book to catch readers up to the present dynamic between the two, but it kept me from putting the book down because I just wanted to know what happened between our characters so bad. I loved Elliot's character. His tattoos? *chef's kisses*

This was a really cute story with the perfect amount of spice. I enjoyed the dual point of view and how Ama was in the present while Elliot’s point of view was in the past. A great second chance love story with fun characters and a great female main character. Thank you Net Galley & Forever Pub for the advanced copy of this book!

This was a really interesting format for a romance, and I really liked how the different perspectives were used based on the time period that the chapter took place in. I did feel like we didn’t get enough of Elliot’s POV to fully grasp his character and backstory, and that impacted how I was able to understand Ama and Elliot’s relationship. I loved the setting, the way that Ama and Elliot worked together professionally, and Hazel, Jackie, and Mar’s characters. I’ll definitely be reading the next Julie Soto book!

Forget Me Not by Julie Soto was a pleasant read. It was so cute and heartbreaking at the same time. I can't wait to recommend this to everyone on my Instagram account for them to read. Loved the characters and the second chance at love. So good!

Phew, what a sexy, steamy read! I loved the premise of this book and the past vs. present timeline. It also spoke to me on a level of how family affects your relationships and ideas of relationships. Will be looking for more Soto in the future!

“I think this is where I’ll die. I think I’ll just lie down and wait for death. He can use me to fertilize the flowers. I can’t look at him, but Hazel is smiling with a romantic haze in her eyes.”

This line right here encompasses everything Soto brings to the table with Forget Me Not: humor, romance, and all the flowers.

I devoured this story in under 24 hours. I knew from the first three chapters that I wasn’t going to be able to put it down and I was not disappointed.

I loved the two different timelines we followed as well as both characters, and how they both slammed into each other by the end of the story. I loved the beauty of the writing and the significance of flowers throughout the story. What I might have loved most though, was that there was humor throughout. When a book can make me laugh? I call that a win.

There were moments where I wanted to smack Ama for being a demanding workaholic, there were times I wanted to strangle Elliot for being to scared to ask for what he wants and then there was Jackie and Hazel who were simply perfect and adorable throughout - plus, as a bonus, their wedding date is MY wedding date (October 7, 2023)!

Throughout the story we see strong women, women who hold no shame for their relationships -or lack there of - we see male characters being vulnerable bosses being put in their place and so much more. Soto truly brought in a bit of everything with this story and I am here for it. I don’t know what else to say other than I loved it. I will be buying a copy and Julie Soto is now an auto-buy author for me - hands down.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for sharing this ARC with me and letting me in on the gem that is Julie Soto’s writing!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was such a cute read! I will say I didn’t find myself connecting with Ama as a character - and that’s okay! I think I loved Elliot enough to make up for it. This book was written in such a way that everything flowed together seamlessly. I really loved the flashbacks and how we saw both of our main characters falling for each other.

The ending was a little open ended and definitely had me wishing for more - I feel like I can never get enough of Elliot Bloom now!

Maaaaaaybe 3.5 stars? There’s a lot to like about this romance, but I didn’t love it unfortunately. Elliot hands down was the best part for me. We love a grumpy yet sweet and pining hero! I liked Ama, but I didn’t get the sense that she was pining for Elliot nearly as much as he was pining for her, and bc of that I can’t say I was really rooting for the two of them to end up together.

I really enjoyed how Ama was a wedding planner and Elliot a florist, but I also felt that all the drama in the present day timeline with Hazel and Jackie’s wedding overshadowed the development of the romance.

PS The audiobook was fantastic! I adore Callie Dalton and Teddy Hamilton 😍😍😍

**thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review**

First of all, can we talk about this cover? Absolutely GORGEOUS.

I've learned recently that I'm a SUCKER for a second chance romance (when done correctly) and boy was this *chef's kiss*.

Ama, Amazing, Amateur depends on who you ask really. She's a sweet, sassy, donut loving wedding planner who has been hired to coordinate a major influencer's wedding. She's not new to the wedding planning game but she hasn't had her own business long and there's ONE florist she's dead set on never working with again.

Elliot-The florist in question. He's tall, handsome and most importantly BROODY. He's angry to his core and doesn't care who knows it. He lives by the quote "flowers are better than people" but sometimes, it seems he doesn't even like flowers.

This unlikely pair make the BEST duo. Their banter is cute and funny. Where Ama is overly excited about things Elliot couldn't be bothered. The dual POV and past/present POV's really kept me wanting/waiting to know what happened between the two.

*Thank you NetGalley, Julie Soto and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for my copy of Forget Me Not.*

Second chance romance is very hit-or-miss for me, so it's not a trope I typically gravitate toward without good reason. I was hearing fantastic early buzz about Julie Soto's debut novel, however, and ended up loving it. It's yet another contemporary romance based on Reylo fanfic (I seriously cannot believe how many there are; it's not my preferred ship, but I've ended up reading several just based on synopsis) and does a great job establishing the initial relationship between the main characters through flashback so that the reader doesn't feel out of the loop during the book's current storyline. It's well-written with fleshed-out characters and so much angst; even knowing that there was a guaranteed HEA, I was getting so nervous during the read. I'll absolutely pick up more from this author; she managed to really stress me out, which means I cared about the characters and storyline. I received an eARC of Forget Me Not from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

such a cute fun read! i love a good second chance romance and this did not disappoint. i knew i would love julie's writing (i've read some of her fanfic) and i loved using his pov for more of the context from their past!

I absolutely loved this book! Julie Soto’s writing style immediately grabbed my attention and I devoured this in a couple of hours! I loved the grumpy x sunshine trope as well as the second chance romance! This is a great book to pick up for a quiet weekend in. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Yeah I think GrumpyxSunshine might be it for me because the way I devoured this in less than 24 hours!!! The Dual POVs were great and uniwue because we hear from Ama in the present while we hear from Elliot in the past! I really enjoyed how their POVs flowed together and didnt take away from the story! The humor was on point albeit cusp of millenial-gen-z lol! Writing was solid and the chemistry between this two was just amazing! Looking forward to all future reads from this author! Thank you NetGalley!

God, this was so good. A wedding planner and a florist who are exes having to work on a high-profile sapphic wedding? Chef's kiss. Definitely one of the best romances I've read this year.

Everything just worked. The premise was great, the plot was compelling, and the narrative style was solid. The second-chance romance and enemies-to-lovers elements both flowed into each other seamlessly and Ama and Elliot had great chemistry. They were also just very well-written characters; it's easy to understand and sympathise with their motivations and fears, and the build up of the re-emerging romance was delicious.

The one thing I had to suspend my disbelief for was Ama's mother being married 16 times (who has the money to do that?). I didn't think that was particularly realistic, but I could buy into it when the rest of the story is so good. Would highly recommend this one!