I received an ARC of Once Upon You and Me from NetGalley and Harlequin; All opinions are my own.

The story behind Once Upon a Time You and Me is cute, fluffy, etc. Kind of your typical age-gap romance (our MMCs are 13 years apart). Nothing sticks out about the story as far as new or groundbreaking, but I did appreciate the representation of Bi, ADHD, Burly MMC, etc. That said, there are a couple of things that fell flat for me:

First, our ex-wife character. *audible groan*

Secondly, some of the ADHD representation gave me the ick a bit. Points for trying, but some of the scenarios felt like they were used for comedic relief instead of representing the impactfulness they can/do have IRL.

I don't know that I would market this as "spicy." There is some spicy content, but it is kind of tame, considering other books in spicy genres. Overall, this is a cute story and is a decent cozy read if you're looking for a queer representation book.

Timothy Janovsky's novel, set against the whimsical backdrop of the Storybook Endings Resort, offers a charming and engaging read. Taylor Frost's professional ambition collides with unexpected romantic feelings for Ethan Golding, creating a compelling dynamic. This book provided a comforting and enjoyable experience, earning a solid four stars. While not revolutionary, it excelled at crafting relatable characters and a warm, inviting atmosphere. As a reader with ADHD, I found the representation to be both accurate and personally resonant, even if some references felt a little direct. I'm eager to explore more of Janovsky's work and see where he takes his characters next.

This was such a cosy age-gap romance!

Told in alternating POVs between Ethan and Taylor, the story first follows Ethan, a 40-year old divorcé who runs a storybook-themed resort that he co-founded with his ex-wife Amy. Amy has been busy with work, living on the other side of the country trying to expand their business. So she sends her 27-year-old assistant, Taylor, to oversee the preparations for Ethan and Amy's daughter's sweet 16th birthday celebration at Ethan's resort location. When Taylor arrives, sparks fly between Taylor and Ethan, especially when the cottage Taylor was staying in gets damaged during a storm, forcing Taylor to stay with Ethan ;). But Ethan is worried about their 13-year age gap while Taylor is worried about getting it on with his boss's ex (and potentially losing his job). How could they make their relationship work?

I previously read and enjoyed You Had Me at Happy Hour which featured a neurodivergent character. Once Upon You and Me was no different, and also featured a neurodivergent character (this time one with ADHD). The characters in this book were similarly endearing and it was a joy to read this lighthearted romance.

This was quite a sweet with a little spice book, that had good character development. I enjoyed the story and pace. Overall I would recommend the book to anyone that is looking for some ADHD representation and agent romance. A cinnamon roll and golden retriever meet up.

With the leading character a burly, handsome divorced dad finds himself falling in love with a much younger love interest who happens to work for his ex-wife. This issue made for a lot of tiptoeing around and an slow burn.

I love the characters and how the author built them. They definitely offset each other well, and the most uncomfortable part really was the ex-wife. The guy’s discovery of each other was very sweet and they were very comfortable together, balancing well. There was not a whole lot of that getting to know you awkwardness to get through which was nice.

The setting was perfect and it really enhances the story by the fact that they could have time to get to know each other. While I would rate this as steamy, some of the spicier scenes were moderate and left me a little confused a time or two.

This book dived into a lot of introspection about loneliness after divorce and the difficulty in finding someone to share your life with again, especially when your ex is highly involved in your life.

I was a bit disappointed in the ending because I wanted something more than a long distance, but in the end we got our happily ever after and that is the most important part.

Overall, this book is a sweet read that fulfills our romance needs and desires. From loneliness to a long-distance relationship in less than ideal circumstances. So sweet and a bit steamy for the romantics out there.

I really love Timothy Janovsky’s books, so of course I have to read this! And I like it. I mean, the romance felt a bit flat to me, but it’s cute and funny and the characters are well written.
The rep is very good, as usual in his books.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

Thank you to NetGalley for a free ARC of this book, in exchange for my review. Despite, my opinions are my own.

Spicy -Age Gap - M/M - Plus size - Bi rep - - - so many things to enjoy.

I loved this story. The characters grew on me quickly, and I was super invested in their happiness.

Quick Thoughts Reviews

💔 How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang takes you on the emotionally marooning experience of losing a sibling to suicide. It’s very well-written with a heroine whose self-consciousness makes her all-too relatable. 4.33 ⭐️. Thanks to Kim @bookbruin for the rec!

🚗 Pole Position by Rebecca J. Caffery is a sweet romance set in the world of motor racing. One hero comes across as pretty immature to me & while he does grow throughout the book, he didn’t quite overcome my initial impression. But if you’re in the mood for an age gap, MM romance with a lead who has a lot to learn, you might enjoy this one! 3.5 ⭐️, out now. (Thanks to the publisher for the free copy. All opinions provided are my own.)

🧛 Mistress of Lies by KM Enright had a twist I didn’t see coming, sexy vampire vibes, & a betrayal dished up nice & hot. This is a solid fantasy with a lot to offer but I didn’t love it. The audio is great, though, & provided a nice distraction while painting. 4 ⭐️, out now. (Thanks to the publisher for the free copy. All opinions provided are my own.)

👑 Once Upon You & Me by Timothy Janovsky is a tender story that wears its heart on its sleeve. There’s bisexual, ADHD, & fat rep in this romance, a single dad who has to navigate a relationship with his ex’s assistant, & a cute ending. With that being said, sometimes this book veered into corny IMO 😩. 3.5 ⭐️, out 04/29. (Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.)

📖 are any of these on your TBR or have you read any of these already?

Taylor Frost is the personal assistant to a hospitality mogul who has been trusted to fly across the country to plan for his boss' daughter's sweet 16 party. He spends the week with his boss' ex husband, and sparks immediately begin flying. This is a spicy, age gap romance filled with fairy tales, archery, and complicated family dynamics.

I hate writing a somewhat critical review without being able to put my finger on why I didn't like it, especially when it's a book by an author I have read and enjoyed before. It was just missing something that would make me unable to put it down. I found myself not wanting to pick it up, so it took me 9 days to get through it when I normally read things in 2-3 days.

There were things I still enjoyed, like Samara's relationship with Taylor and her dad. I could really see their new family unit working long term, especially once Amy got her head of out her ass and started co-parenting. The chemistry was great, and I liked the way the story ended. But overall, I thought this book was fine.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin for the ARC.

Edited to add, because it was so dumb I totally forgot, and up top because it should be a trigger warning. There's some REALLY OFFENSIVE and pandering stereotypical characterization of an adult with ADHD in this book, treated as a cute afterthought whenever the author remembers that he should maybe have some nuance attached to the vague blobs of MMCs.

Buckle up. This is going to be rough, but not as rough as this book. Sorry in advance to anyone who enjoyed this, you may actually want to stop here, because I'm probably going to make you mad.

This is easily one of the absolute worst books I have read in some time. I only slogged through to the end because I feel like I have been DNFing too many ARCs lately, but that should not reflect anything in terms of my opinion because this book was an absolute turd. Normally I try and go relatively easy on titles even when I absolutely hate them, because I fully understand that writers are people and bad reviews hurt feelings, but this is inexcusable, especially from a legendary house like Harlequin, who presumably has just bushels of money laying around, some of which could be thrown at an editor.

I don't even know where to start. The fact that the tense changes midparagraph, constantly? The overwriting, to the point that I would expect Janovsky had a thesaurus open while writing -- except that half of the $3 words he uses liberally literally do not mean what he thinks they mean? The complete lack of originality, character development, plot, or conflict (the only fight the two MMCs have is when one points out that the other one is younger than them, and then the big third act breakup when the mean mommy boss lady catches them out, despite them both being grown adults, because she is an irrational lady with a dumb lady brain and is mad so they break up because they got yelled at)? The tropes holding this bad boy together like a wad of duct tape? The only antagonist, the big scawwy mean ex-wife/abusive boss whose apparent only role was to be a big mean mommy who is mean? The saccharine, sanitized, woobified MMCs who baby talk about how horny they are at each other until they have big horrible baby talk sex that made me want to peel my skin off so I could bleach it more thoroughly?

I have read three selfpub books so far this week that were incredible, beautifully written, original, well plotted, characterized, and developed. Don't waste your time on this, read something someone respected your time enough to use the grammar check feature on their word processor before submitting it for publication.

Oh how beautiful and spicy and romantic this is ! I cannot wait for others to read this special book timothy has treated us to.

Thank you Net Galley and punishers for letting me read an arc of this book in return for an honest review.

I didn't think I'd like this book as much as I did. It's witty, heartfelt and deep, and gets really spicy after 50% of the book. Like really spicy. It's an age gap, bosses ex husband, mm love story that has so much character growth. Ethan is the overweight ADHD divorced 40 yr old dad that doesn't believe in happily ever afters anymore and Taylor is the put everyone else's needs ahead of his 27 yr old that wants to be taken care of for a change. Their relationship somehow works and it's really sweet to see how it played out in the end.

Ethan es un hombre divorciado que apenas ve a su hija, pero está emocionado porque ella quiere celebrar sus dulces dieciséis en su resort. Para organizar la celebración, su exesposa enviará a su asistente, Taylor. Lo que ninguno de los dos esperaba es que se sintieran atraídos, pero saben que no pueden cruzar esa línea. Sin embargo, ¿qué sucede cuando, a pesar de sus esfuerzos por mantenerse alejados, más conviven y más se gustan, hasta el punto de no poder resistirse? ¿Será solo una aventura o se atreverán a desafiar an Amy y afrontar las consecuencias?

~

En general, estuvo entretenido, pero se centró más en la atracción y el sexo que en el desarrollo de la relación. Además, algo que no me gustó fue que Ethan se quejara de que, como apenas veía a su hija, ya no la conocía, cuando él nunca hizo el esfuerzo de subirse a un avión para visitarla, y tenía los medios para hacerlo, ya que era su propio jefe.


Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute and charming queer romance with lots of messy family dynamics lol. One of the mmcs, Ethan, is recently divorced and trying to navigate that, the cottage, and his daughter's sweet 16th birthday. The other mmc, Taylor, is the overworked assistant of Ethan's wife, who is working to plan the sweet 16 birthday party and finds himself in forced proximity with the other mmc.

As they work together to plan the perfect fairytale wedding for the birthday party, they get closer, and there is undeniable chemistry between them. I liked that the mmc struggled after the divorce despite the relationship being over way before. Some aspects of this felt whimsical, and I enjoyed the realistic writing in the book. The romance is cute, and there are steamy scenes. The third-act breakup brought about by the ex-wife was as expected, but it still annoyed me a bit lol. I wish the book was a tad longer, but it was still a good read. Thanks to Harlequin for this arc for an honest review.

Read for:
- Queer romance
- Divorced father mmc
- Small cottage setting
- Assistance mmc
- Plus size mmc

This was a cute premise! I also love the inclusion of a plus size hero because I feel like we don’t really get a lot about that in LGBTQ stories.

really cute romance that doesn't have much spice but that works really well for it. 5 stars. tysm for the arc. would recommend.

A romance set in a fairy tale inspired resort? Count this Disney fan in. I’ve read all of Timothy Janovsky’s books, and I continue to be impressed with how he manages to make each of his stories unique while maintaining a distinctive style.

There is a neurodivergent character at the center of each of Janovsky’s books. Ethan is an adult who has been diagnosed with ADHD. He says, “Most people think ADHD is reserved for disruptive kids in middle school classrooms. Those people would be wrong.” He doesn’t feel like his ex-wife ever really understood what his diagnosis meant, and she does not take the reality of the way his brain works seriously. In contrast, when Ethan discusses this with Taylor, he says, “It’s amazing you’ve learned this about yourself, and that you’ve claimed peace with how things turned out.” Taylor validates Ethan’s experience, which is so important. Taylor also gives one of the best pieces of advice around mental health I’ve ever heard: “If you treat your brain like a villain, it’s going to act a villain. Treat it like the world’s coolest sidekick.”

I realized as I read Once Upon a You and Me that I haven’t really read many age gap romances at all. My concern is always that there would be an unbalanced power dynamic. While that exists to a small degree since Taylor works for Ethan’s ex-wife, their relationship doesn’t feel unbalanced. While Ethan is older than Taylor, it definitely still feels like Taylor holds his own in their relationship. Ethan is navigating what it means to be a divorced dad and how to relate to his daughter, and Taylor is able to help him with that. At the same time though, the reader can understand why Amy would feel weird about her assistant sleeping with her ex-husband.

While I did like Ethan and Taylor together, my favorite relationship in the book is between Taylor and Samara, Ethan’s daughter. While not necessarily in his job duties, Taylor goes above and beyond to love and support Samara. In addition to planning her birthday party, Taylor shares music recommendations with Samara and supports her dad in picking out a birthday gift for his daughter. Taylor knows how much Samara loves photography and helps Ethan pick out a vintage camera for her. He acknowleges that he spends more time with Samara than Ethan does, and he wants to help and support Samara’s relationship with her dad.

I’ve been reading more and more bisexual representation in romance novels lately, and I’ve been thrilled to see it. Early in the novel, Ethan describes some of the unique difficulties he’s found trying to date, “Dating in Upstate New York for a divorced, bisexual, single dad, who just turned forty us not sunshine and rainbows, storybooks, and sunsets. The past five years have been a montage of awkward conversations, shitty beers in shittier bars and slow head nods from guys named Kurt.” It is important for romances to feature all different kinds of people, and even more important to address issues like biphobia.

Once Upon a You and Me has Janovsky’s signature humor and charm. Several of his books have a magical element, and while this one does not, it does have a nice little dose of fairy tale whimsy. look forward to reading his next book, which is another Christmas romance (A Mannequin for Christmas). Janovsky’s holiday romances are so much fun, and I highly recommend you check them out if you haven’t yet.

A sweet little romance! I found both main characters likeable and enjoyed the story of their happily ever after.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Ethan is the manager of a small B&B resort situation in the catskills, and his ex wife's assistant Taylor should definitely be off-limits. When he comes to inspect the B&B Taylor and Ethan can't resist each other though.

I like this more than I've liked other Timothy Janovsky's books, but I feel like it somehow fell a little flat. I wanted to know more about Taylor and Taylor's motivations, but I felt like the only character I really knew was Ethan. The drama felt manufactured to me. Like oh no, Taylor's boss will kill him if he's in a relationship with her ex-husband, but it didn't feel compelling to me.

All in all though, this was cute and fluffy and there was nothing glaringly wrong with it, or that overly annoyed me.

Every Timothy Janovsky book I’ve read hasn’t disappointed - and this was no exception!

I DEVOURED this in one afternoon. A little less than 300 pages, it’s absolutely the perfect length for such a heartwarming story.

Set in a fairy tale campground, we follow a mix of coworkers, forbidden love, and a bit of forced proximity as they quickly realize they have a connection.

I loved this book, and I can’t wait to see what Timothy Janovsky comes up with next!