• arc review: what if i never get over you •
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I'm a sucker for a one that got away romance. Unfortunately, this one fell a bit flat for me. Ellie and Ash meet while they are interailing (traveling Europe) and over 3 days fell for each other with plans to meet up again a few days later, unfortunately things didn't pan out and significant time go by before they see each other again. Sound promising, right?
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Years later, Ellie finally decided to leave her family business and become estranged from her parents to make her dreams come true and become a gardener. She shows up at her new job at a 500 year old estate and surprise surprise... Ash is there. We read through their messy reuniting experience.
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Maybe I am becoming a grumpy old lady, but the immaturity of Ellie's character grinded my gears, especially when it certainly didn't feel like she matured at all as she aged throughout the book. Ash also didn't allure me as a mmc, but I felt bad for him and his character on more than one occasion. Overall, I didn't form an attachment to either of the characters. And I am not sure it's fair to compare this to One Day or to Bridgerton it didn't fulfill its promise of being an epic romance.
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I will say that this book semi tried to tackle class issues and the trouble with obligations and more, but not in a way that I would describe as meaningful. And then don't even get me started on the end of this book. It was rushed.
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Big thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Group for the opportunity to review this book. It's available today, April 15! 🌷🪻⚘️
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Page & Pour Rating: 2.75✨️ (will round up to 3 on goodreads).
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#bookgirl #bookreview #booksbooksbooks #arcreview #dogsandbooks

One Day meets Bridgerton really is the way to put it for this beautifully escapist romance full of heartache, hope, and second chances. An easy heartfelt read with depth, beautiful sceneries, flowers, and a sweet ending. I especially loved the little conversations about planets and the shifts in setting. A cozy, emotional read that still hits deep.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

A heartfelt, romantic escape that proves true love always finds its way back! 💖
Two strangers Ellie and Ash, meet while traveling solo and spend three unforgettable days together in Lisbon. It’s romantic, magical, and totally unexpected. They planned to continue their travels together, they unexpectedly and unfortunately go their separate ways, thinking it was just a beautiful moment in time.

Fast forward six years, and Ellie takes a job as a gardener on a grand estate in Wales. She has no idea the family who owns the estate is none other than the Berkeley family and their son Ash, the same man from Lisbon, aka Ashton Berkeley. Not only that, he’s from old money, the heir to a 500-year-old estate, and officially a Lord. The surprise and tension in their reunion felt so real, and I was immediately drawn back into their connection.

One of the things I really loved about this story is how layered it is. Ellie and Ash are both working through grief, family expectations, and the weight of their pasts.

Of course, nothing is simple. Ellie has doubts about fitting into Ash’s world, especially with pressure for him to marry a long-time family friend. She walks away, convinced their lives are just too different. That part hurt, but their time apart wasn’t wasted as it gave them the chance to grow, heal, and figure out who they are. So when they come back into each other’s lives, the love is still there, but it’s stronger and more grounded. It made the ending even more satisfying.

I absolutely loved the ending. It’s hopeful, emotional, and gave me all the happy ending feels I was craving. This book is perfect if you love travel romances, second chances, and characters who grow into the best versions of themselves. Definitely one I’ll be thinking about for a while.

Romance at its emotional best.

Thanks PENGUIN GROUP Putnam | G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for ARC!

Synopsis -

Ellie and Ash meet at a cafe in Lisbon and they hit it off instantly - the connection is so natural, that within 3 days the bond they form is bone deep. After making plans to meet up a week later in Spain, they part ways. When Ellie arrives late at their agreed location, she’s unable to find Ash anywhere. 6 years later, Ellie is working her dream job as a gardener for the Viscount Berkeley family estate in Wales - a grand heritage site with 500 years of history. While she seeks peace from her newfound life, Ash comes crashing back into her life to wreak havoc. Will Ellie ever be able to get over him?

Review -

#WhatIfINeverGetOverYou is a trademark Paige Toon novel which explores an “insta love” trope in all its depth and breadth. The premise of Ellie and Ash meeting right at the start, the sparkling hot chemistry they share in just 3 days was refreshing. Of course the setting in Lisbon is the icing on the cake. I loved how Toon captures the city’s vibes, the scorching heat, the exotic architecture and beauty of Portugal’s beaches.

Fast forward 6 years, we are transported to the breathtaking Welsh setting - what’s more, it’s the sprawling, lavish gardens of the Berkeley estate. I could literally smell the sweetness of those flowers, vividly picture the sheer grandeur and scale of the mansion and its surroundings.

The novel incorporates contrasting themes of controlling parents, childhood friendships, the weight of familial obligations, inheritance, grief, loss on one hand, while on the other - there’s the joy of gardening, a love for astronomy, space, cozy cabins, aloof living and stargazing. All these elements play a significant role in the love story of Ellie and Ash - drawing them close and ripping them apart time and time again.

The characterisation is richly emotional and delves deep into the characters’ varied backgrounds and upbringing, the intense feelings they have for one another and the metamorphosis they undergo over the years. The ending will surely pluck at your heart strings!

Highly recommend this poignant love story!

“...my best friends are audiobooks..."

"...maybe if we let this thing between us burn brightly enough, the flame will fizzle out. Or maybe it will crash and burn in a fireball so brilliant that we’ll never recover. Either way, I’m in."

“You broke my heart,” he says seriously. “Again. Except this time it was intentional.”

"Grieving has been a complicated process."

So many emotions, all at once, consume Ellie and Ash in the sweeping love story, What If I Never Get Over You, by outstanding empathetic romance author, Paige Toon.

In their early 20s they met interrailing through Europe. Each traveling in honor of a loved one. Each with their own grief. Three days in Lisbon, sleeping on the beach, dancing in bars and seeing the sights, they fall in love. Having other commitments, they make plans to meet in Spain in a week. Ash never shows up.

It takes Ellie 6 years to move on, and not just from Ash. Working her dream job on a sprawling estate owned by a Viscount, the last person she expects to see is Ash. It's evident to Ellie he lied to her, or at least kept secrets. But Ash doesn't see it that way and wants a second chance with Ellie.

Voice actress Anna Acton squeezes your heart with the breaks in Ellie and Ash's voices as you hear how confused and stuck they are in the grief and separate trauma they never really healed from before they ever met.

This writer takes us on an emotional journey as this couple, with time and perspective, grieve, grow and understand we may never fully get over some pain but we do heal and can try love again.

I received a free copy of this book/ audiobook from the publishers via #NetGalley for a fair & honest review. Opinions are my own.

This book might be permanently in my beach bag this summer!! It’s an emotional story about love, loss and second chances. I just love Paige’s writing in all her stories, the emotional twists and the incredible character growth you go on with these characters.

This story is about two people meeting while traveling and spending three amazing days together. They fall madly in love and plan to meet at the next stop in Spain. I highly recommend just jumping into this book from there and falling in love with the story without having too much information.

Expect to feel all the feels, longing, hoping, wishing and healing as this story takes you on a whirlwind adventure spanning six years.

“Three days to fall in love. Six years to try to forget”

Thank you, @PutnamBooks and @NetGalley for my advance copy.

📚 #BOOKREVIEW 📚
What If I Never Get Over You by Paige Toon
⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Pages: 416 / Genre: Romance
Release Date: April 15, 2025
🥳#HappyPubDay!🎉

Ellie and Ash met and spent three magical days on holiday in Portugal. When their plans to meet back up fail, they spend the next six years depressed and moon after each other. Finally, they meet again by coincidence when Ellie gets a job working her dream job as a gardener on Ash’s family estate in Wales. But Ash’s lifelong best friend is now his girlfriend, Ellie can’t handle the class struggle between the wealthy family and the help, and Ash’s father is a lecherous snob who wants him to marry up not down. Can they listen to their hearts and live the life they want or will they cave to the pressures around them?

This was my first Paige Toon novel and I wanted to love it as I know her fans all rave about her books. I didn’t love it. I thought it dragged on too much and these characters had so much baggage and hangups that they couldn’t fully enjoy what they had and then ended up miserable for years and years over and over again. I think if they tightened up the storyline and timeline, I would have enjoyed it a lot more. I will definitely try another book by this author though.

4/4.5

I'm a huge Paige Toon fan and I love her ability to write vulnerable characters who have to make tough choices and seeing how those choices unfold in each story she tells. There is always heartbreak, love and an ever changing plot. This one is no exception to her brilliance when it comes to writing.

A book packed full of feelings and two individuals who have their own losses, not great family dynamics and the need for something more for themselves.

When you got toward the middle of the book it became a tad bland for me. I liked the parts where these characters went after what they wanted and what they saw for a future, but when they weren't together or trying to be together, it felt lacking which is why I couldn't give it all the stars.

Still a great compelling story that had so much punch. I still will always love and adore Seven Summers but this was still a great and impactful storyline.

have read a couple other Paige Toon books that I really enjoyed and was so excited to get an ARC of What if I Never Get Over You.

This book started off strong. I enjoyed Part I with Ellie and Ash meeting while traveling on vacation alone. After spending three days together the two decide to meet up in a few weeks to travel more. However, one of them doesn't show.

Part II seemed so unreal to me. How does one not google the person they fell in love with on vacation or their new job before starting? The lack of communication was an issue for me in this book. Ellie never seemed to believe anything Ash said to her and to me called all the shots with what happened in their relationship. For someone that was so obsessed with another she didn't seem to ever want to take any steps to make it last.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for an ARC of What if I Never Get Over You by Paige Toon for an honest review.

Paige Toon delivers another emotionally rich, beautifully written love story in What If I Never Get Over You, a novel that masterfully weaves together past and present timelines to unravel a romance that feels both inevitable and doomed.

One of the things I loved most about this book was the way the story unfolded across two timelines. The past offered a bittersweet glimpse into Ellie and Ash’s youthful, almost reckless love, while the present timeline carried the weight of everything unsaid, everything lost—and everything that still might be. The contrast between who they were and who they've become gave the story real depth and made the emotional moments hit even harder.

The romance between Ellie and Ash was gorgeously complicated. There’s this constant ache throughout the book, as their connection is so strong and yet shadowed by circumstances that seem insurmountable. It truly felt like their relationship was doomed from the beginning—but that’s what made it so gripping. You find yourself rooting for them, even as it breaks your heart.

This book explores grief, growth, and the lasting imprint of first love in a way that lingers long after the last page. If you enjoy love stories that make you feel everything—the joy, the heartbreak, the hope—What If I Never Get Over You is one to add to your list.

What If I Never Get Over You by Paige Toon is a story in four parts, and it was a nice way to differentiate the book’s timeline. This is only the second book I’ve read by this author, but I do look forward to reading more of her books.

Ellie and Ash are the two main leads who unexpectedly meet at a hostel in Portugal, and their lives unfurl as a result. They have a strong connection and spend three days together before they go their separate ways once life gets in the way for Ellie. However, they plan to meet again in a week. But of course, things go astray from there. The two go on about their own lives until they unexpectedly meet up once again many years later, this time in Wales, where Ash is from. During those six years, neither of them forgot the other.

We learn about Ellie and Ash’s dreams and their family dynamics, expectations and history, friends, jobs, and how being together for only three days had impacted both their lives. They also come from two separate worlds and were raised very differently. There is a romance brewing between them, but in Ellie’s eyes, it can’t go anywhere, so they end up losing more time together. Throughout, they always seem better together than apart.

The title is spot on, and there is an unexpected happily ever after. However, part four is more of an epilogue and really needs to be explored more since there are a lot of holes.

What If I Never Get Over You is set in stunning locations with many details, color, and history. The characters are complex, but we get to know them bit by bit until they finally get their happy ending.

This review is posted on NovelsAlive.

First off, thank you to @paigetoonauthor , Netgalley , & Penguin Group Putnam | G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review 🩵

⚠️TW: Death & P*dophilia

This was my first book by Toon and it didn’t disappoint! I may not be going anywhere for Spring break, but this book made me feel like I was traveling with them in the beginning and if you love insta-love this will definitely be a win for you!

I loved how the author made you feel their highs and their lows, all their emotions, and felt that this was such a cute holiday romance! I will definitely be checking out more from this author!

My second Paige Toon book had me turning the pages long after I should have gone to bed. I could not put this down. Its engaging characters and the palpable chemistry between Ellie and Ash hooked me from the beginning.

Ellie and Ash are recent university graduates who met in Lisbon while interrailing through Europe. The sparks fly immediately, and the two spend three special days together, knowing there is more to their relationship. Ellie needs to leave to meet her parents but agrees to meet up with Ash again in a week’s time in Madrid. When Ellie is late for their meeting in Madrid, she can’t find Ash anywhere and has no way to contact him. She leaves Madrid brokenhearted.

The story picks up six years later when Ellie gets her dream job at Brexley Estates in Wales. It was fairly obvious what was going to happen, but I give lots of kudos to Toon for the path she took us on to get to the end. I was expecting some of the usual tropes, but to my delight, instead, Toon gave us a different route while still giving us the HEA we knew was in store for our Ellie and Ash.

I am hooked on Paige Toon!

What If I Never Get Over You by Paige Toon was truly an amazing story.
I don’t know how Paige does it but she just keeps making her novels better and better.
Her characters come to life and she shows so much emotion throughout them.
Toon’s writing is addicting and emotional.
If you’ve enjoyed her previous titles you’ll absolutely love this one.

Thank You NetGalley and Publisher for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This book sucked me in from the first chapter and kept me awake when I couldn’t stop reading on more than one occasion. The first part was consuming, and then there was a lot of heartbreak and tension. I felt a little less invested when the emotions were swirling, but overall I liked the main characters and was happy with the outcome. Read when you want to go on a relationship rollercoaster ride.

2.5⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and G. P. Putnam’s Sons for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author so I wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of writing. The premise intrigued me however because I love vacation-style love stories but this one didn’t hit the way I thought it would. It’s also a second chance romance, which in adult romances, is a favorite of mine IF done right.

Ellie & Ash’s story felt very insta-lovey and young and I think I’m just past the intended demographic unfortunately. Not a horrible story just couldn’t connect to the main characters as much and the side characters were forgettable.

The book is broken down into 4 parts. To me, Part 1 was like a really long prologue and I was getting a little worried by how long it was. I felt that part was a little slow. I knew it wasn’t going to end in happiness, so I guess I just wanted to get to the good stuff. The rest of the book did not leave me disappointed. I knew Ellie and Ash’s paths would cross again, and I can’t say I was surprised by how it happened. Of course things still weren’t easy between the two of them. They encountered many obstacles but I enjoyed seeing how they could make things work.

After meeting in Portugal and spending three days together, Ellie and Ash agree to meet in Madrid to continue interrailing together. But Ellie arrives late, and Ash is nowhere to be found.
Devastated, Ellie can’t get over him for years, until she applies for a job as a gardener for a viscount and viscountess on their estate in Wales, and unexpectedly runs into Ash.


Wow, what an emotional roller coaster of a novel! I absolutely devoured it.
This book explores themes of grief, societal and familial expectations, mental health, and dysfunctional families. It’s full of angst and heartbreak. It was so tense and emotional that I felt a bit violated after reading the second part. 😅
And I also felt like, after everything they’d been through, they deserved more time for themselves.

This was my first book by Paige Toon, and now I want to read all of them immediately! I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump after finishing this.😅

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam Books for the ARC!!

Overview:
Ellie finds herself rather unenthused as she interrails through Europe. This was never meant to be a solo trip, but feels she should hold up her end of a promise made between friends. When all she can dream of is returning home she meets Ash a handsome and intriguing stranger. Although they’ve just met he feels like a kindred spirit. He quickly brought a spark into her life that she had thought might never return. They make the decision to continue on to Libson spending the next 3 days together. Over the course of those 3 incredible days it became clear they’d found something in one another that is rare and irreplaceable. Ellie once so sure she was done with her interrailing adventure takes Ash up on his offer to meet again in Spain. Only when she arrives at their meeting spot he’s not there. Refusing to give up hope she remained in Spain for days searching and waiting. When it’s all too clear that Ash is not coming she returns home with an empty heart and no means to contact the man who made her feel whole

6 years pass and Ellie has secured a job as a gardener for a viscount and viscountess at a five-hundred-year-old estate in Wales. The job is a dream come true. She has the opportunity to work in elaborate sprawling gardens and is enjoying new found friendships with the other gardeners. When it seems that life is only going uphill she catches a glimpse of someone familiar the viscount’s son, or better known to her as Ash.

Even though 6 years time has passed that undeniable connection is still there and cannot be ignored. Ash has taken on a new role in life, one that doesn’t quite mesh with Ellie’s. It becomes clear that neither of them can have all the things they truly want and Ellie has to make a decision.



Thoughts:
This is my first read by Paige Toon and it was quite enjoyable. It would be a great spring or summer read. It is atmospheric and captures the beauty of summer in the Welsh countryside. It is a charming story of two people who will always find their way back to each other.

Others have mentioned a lack of communication between the main characters. I do also wish that there had been just a bit more communication.

However, the connection established was the kind where words don’t always need to be spoken. One where two people have a silent, but deep understanding of each other. I believe that to be the basis of their instant connection. They silently saw and felt something within each other. Part of that being a type of grief the two shared and were able to connect over.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of What If I Never Get Over You

I didn't like the first part of this book. I almost thought about not finishing it. But I kept going and I did start to like it. I think it may be more of a YA book but never the less it was worth finishing. It is a book about love and hate. It is also about the different classes of people. Even though Ash and Ellie have a lot in common with family owned businesses, they are worlds apart. Ash is a moody type of guy who likes to have things go his way or he flies off the handle. Ellie is more laid back. They meet in Lisbon while traveling and it was "love at first sight". I think once you meet your soul mate that's it. You harbor that love throughout your life. This book was a tad predictable but it was a great love story. It is a light beach type read if you are looking for something like that this Spring/Summer.
Thanks to #netgalley, #gpputnamssons and @paigetoonauthor for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.