Thank you to Timothy Janovsky and Harlequin for the ARC of Once Upon You and Me!

Timothy does it again. I know for a fact when I pick up one of his books it's going to do a few key things.

1. Feel like a warm hug.
2. Be filled with creativity and unique situations.
3. Inspect some real, raw human topics without making them overly burdensome.

This is definitely no exception, and it's one of the reasons I'm always quick to reach for a Janovsky book. While there are times I love things a little darker, more emotional, and deeper, there are also times when I need something lighter to catch my breath and relax.

I do feel a couple of the topics in this book felt a little glossed over, but not to a point where it upset me. I also found it to be more "tell" than "show" in many scenes, but I zipped right through it and had a really lovely time.

Overall, this is a light book that's great for people who just want a queer, soft, and somewhat spicy read. Thank you again for the ARC!

A cute and (mostly) cozy MM romance. Ethan is running a fairy tale-themed resort he started with his ex-wife, and Taylor is the much younger personal assistant to that same ex-wife. Taylor arrives to set up a sweet sixteen party for Ethan and Amy's daughter. The mutual attraction is evident well before these two cross paths, but obviously the forbidden nature has kept either of them from acting upon those feelings. A little forced proximity breaks down the walls (literally) and pushes these two together.

What to expect:
-13 year age gap
-bisexual representation
-ADHD representation (expect lots of sticky notes)
-an oldest sibling used to taking care of everyone else
-medium spice
-personal growth


This was exactly the level of comfort and angst that I needed at the time, and would like to thank Netgalley and Harlequin for ARC access 💕

4.5 ⭐️

WOW!! This book was so darn cute?? I'm absolutely obsessed with this story. The MC's were perfect in everyway and had me loving them both more and more each page. Literally perfection.

5 stars

I have now read nearly all of Timothy Janovsky’s novels and while I enjoyed them, none previously really stuck with me. But this one was fantastic and I think it will be one that I remember and recommend for a while! First, love an age gap where both MCs are full adults. Second, a huskier MMC is so nice to see especially one that is soft instead of gruff and grumpy. Ethan is a complete Teddy Bear and I was so happy to see him find love again. Taylor is a perfect match for Ethan and I think they balanced each other really well. Both MCs went into things emotionally mature and with good intentions. There was never any meanness or cruelty. Any miscommunication was discussed. The 3rd act breakup did make me cry but it made so much sense in the situation and the reconciliation was SO BEAUTIFUL and also not just one grand gesture and all is better, they worked at it together before reuniting and I think that is sometimes rare in romance novels.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC!

Thank you #netgalley, the author and publisher for this ARC. This is my first book but this author and I really enjoyed it. I wasn’t sure when I started to read this but the character development and the love story was well done. I really like Samara Ethan’s teenage daughter. She was insightful and a little self absorbed just like all teens. She was a really believable character. Taylor and Ethan’s story was the sweetest love story with a fairytale HEA. The conflict they encountered and had to over come was realistic but still fairytalish. The coparenting relationship between Amy and Ethan and that dynamic with Taylor was well done. I really enjoyed this book and will read more by this author. Spice level for this is 🌶️🌶️.

This had all the elements of the perfect romance. This is an age gap, grumpy/sunshine (my literal favorite) relationship between a hotel manager and his ex wife's personal assistant. The Disney-inspired hotel the story takes place in is all about "happily ever afters" and is based in the catskills so we get a strong small town vibe. Ethan is bisexual and neurodivergent so there's a lot of good rep. The problem is that, despite all the pieces being there, the story didn't feel very cohesive. The author did a lot of telling but not a lot of showing so I understood the characters' backgrounds and who they were meant to be but I can't say that I really felt it. I didn't feel their personalities or their attraction to each other beyond the physical. The age gap seemed so matter-of-fact without really adding anything to the story. The disney-inspired setting felt a little strange as well when we find out that Ethan didn't have any connection to it. Additionally, we keep being told that Ethan's ex wife isn't the villain in his story but what we're shown is a dragon lady who barely cares about anyone and is very clearly being portrayed as the villain.

It wasn't a bad story but I can't say it was particularly great either. Ultimately, the way it was executed lacked some of the warmth and emotional connection that I expected going in.

3.5 stars

This was a cute book! The first 40% seemed a little slow, with a lot of extra adjectives and descriptions, once we hit 40% the pace picked up and I really enjoyed it.

I enjoyed the fairytale themes, and the romance between Ethan and Taylor felt refreshing. It helped me as a reader seeing on page that they had an attraction prior to even meeting, so their relationship didn’t feel as rushed.

Overall quick, cute, fluffy romance with plenty of spice.

This ARC was very sweet, a little bit steamy, and an overall lovely read. It's got queer rep (gay and bi), fat rep, disability rep (one MC has ADHD, as does the other's sister, and one MC's parent has MS), age gap (13 years), and fairytale references galore. Ethan lives at and runs the Storybook Endings Resort, originally created for his daughter with his now ex-wife, Amy. She now lives in California, working on building her empire of resorts, and Samara lives with her full time. Her personal assistant Taylor comes up to the original location in the Catskills a week before Samara's big sweet sixteen party to get everything ready, and the two men are immediately attracted and drawn to one another. They end up having to share a cottage, eventually give in to their attraction, and enjoy all their time together, not just in the bedroom. But when it comes time for the party, their secret becomes a problem. I thought the way the conflict was handled in this book was gentle but assertive, with each character figuring out (or being told/encouraged) what they needed for themselves, in order to end up back together. I've enjoyed this author's books before and this was no exception, so thank you to Afterglow by Harlequin for this ARC! It comes out Apr 29/25.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me access to this ARC. While I found the the chemistry between the main characters lacking (perhaps because age gap romance isn’t my jam or perhaps because the emotions just felt flat), it’s still a cute, fast read.

This is the cutest twist on a fairy tale. Ethan and Taylor are couple goals. The book kept me entertained and ready to see what happened next without feeling stress about what was going to happen. This is a great palate cleanser book or just a relaxing, enjoyable read.

3.5 stars. A quick romance — I appreciated that both characters had fleshed backstories, and the divorced/co-parenting main character. I found neither main character particularly compelling — they were both understanding and sort of “perfect” in their own ways. Quick and enjoyable read but overall fell a bit flat for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Romance for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Some words used were really cringey and the continuity of some of it was off, so hopefully that was caught before publishing.
Overall, this was really cute. The epilogue was a little random and I’m not sure who would actually appreciate what Taylor set up, but to each their own.

⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️Random notes from my read: CAN BE CONSIDERED SPOILERY⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️





* I can already tell Amy is the kind of woman who lies about the reasons for her divorce to make herself seem like a victim
* lol dickstracting
* Quickly learning that Taylor is Samara’s real parent where they live, not Amy.
* Smize? Seriously? Has that ever been used outside top model? Thanks, I hate it
* Twunk? Huh? How did you get twunk from the previous stated “sexiest twink”?. I mean, I could get it if it said “hunkiest twink”, but it didn’t
* Weird overreaction to a small lip nibble
* He already saw Taylor naked, so why is he acting like it’s the first time he’s confirmed his junk size? He already had that thought, when he accidentally walked in on him getting out of the shower
* …of course he had to stop touching himself to touch Taylor. One of his hands is bandaged, so it’s not like he has the usage of both.
* Sharpshooter?
* That makes it sound like he only slept with Ethan because Ethan said he wanted it. That sounds kind of gross
* Taylor just severely overreacted and made a lot of assumptions about Ethan when Ethan asked him a question about himself
* Cool, now Ethan is beating himself up over something he didn’t even do wrong
* You just thought about how you jumped to conclusions and still accepted HIS apology? Where is YOUR apology, Taylor?
* Amy is the worst. Wasn’t she just talking about sleeping with one of her employees?




Many thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with an ARC and allowing me to provide my honest review

This was cute story! A little corny but it takes place at a fairytale wedding resort so I feel like that can be expected. I loved both of the characters and I was invested in their stories. Unfortunately I didn't feel like we got enough emotional development for me to root for their relationship. They're basically strangers when they meet and I needed to see them get to know each other better before the instalust kicked in. However, I will say the sex scenes had some amazing character development. I adore scenes where things don't go perfectly and characters need to communicate with each other. I love the realism and it also shows me that they are able to express their needs. They way they both were so thoughtful about making it good for the other person made me very emotional. While I wish that we had gotten more emotional development, the other parts of the story were very cute so overall it worked for me. I adored all the representation we got. It was so fun to see an plus-sized, bisexual man with ADHD find someone who appreciated all those parts of him. If you're looking for something quick and cute with some spice this could be a fun pick.

I adore Timothy Janovsky's stories, but this one was not for me. It felt slow paced and didn't keep my attention.

I did read it in tandem with the audiobook, so that may have made a difference in my outlook for the story.

I will continue to read and support this author, because I know he is an excellent writer.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I’ve been a fan of Janovsky’s work for a while and honestly his last two books have kind of disappointed me. I didn’t really feel the chemistry between the two MMC’s, the big conflict towards the end irritated me and I really only liked the daughter. I didn’t love this book and I didn’t hate it either. I felt like we could have been given more in many aspects of the book like character development, and the spice/tension between the two MMC’s.

If you're looking for a romance set in a wholesome environment with some dirty sex scenes, I have the book for you! I thought the environment of the fairytale resort was really cool, but I did have some conflicted feelings about our main character being at work at basically all times in the book and the fact that his love interest is his boss's ex husband. It just felt a little messier than I wanted.

This was my first Timothy Janovsky title, and I can confidently say that I will be reading more!

Taylor and Ethan's relationship was like a breath of fresh air. While it was an age gap romance, both were mature about their budding relationship. The balance that Timothy achieved between sweet and spicy scenes was great and left me feeling satisfied by the progression of their romance. I also appreciated the body positivity with Ethan's character as well as the ADHD representation, it's always refreshing to see characters who are celebrated for being real and flawed.

Every book I read by Timothy Janovsky cements himself as an auto buy author for me! He has nailed the science of crafting the perfect rom-com with mental health rep behind it. I loved Ethan and Taylor and thought they were such a well matched pair. Taylor is so emotionally intelligent with the role he played with his siblings growing up and I love how he was able to be there for Samara and how that lead to such a dynamic of trust and respect to form between him and Ethan (on top of the lust and chemistry!!)

I always love seeing ADHD representation in books and I thought it was portrayed really well in this story. Ethan has been able to identify the things he struggles most with and which tips/routines work best for him, but he still feels a sense of shame having to admit that. I loved the way that Taylor was so easily able to show him "hey its perfectly okay that you're like this"

Thank you Harlequin and NetGalley for an ARC of Once Upon You and Me

4.25 stars

Thank you to Harlequin Romance and Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC of this one. All thoughts are my own.

This??? Way too cute, oh my gosh. The archery, the sleepy, accidental kiss, “I need you to be gentle with me,” the voice messages?!

I really loved this romance. It was soft and sweet and heartfelt. Ethan and Taylor were so, so good together right from their first meeting.

I loved how drawn to each other they were. There is a whiff of insta-love in here, but it didn’t bother me in the slightest. It felt organic, it grew and developed slowly over the course of the book. It was absolutely wonderful to read.

Even the third act breakup, which normally makes me heave a giant, disappointed sigh, felt organic and realistic and barely breakup-ish at all.

3.5 stars. This was a cute story and I liked the plot, but something was just a little off for me. I think the pacing was too quick for my liking and the book may have benefitted from being longer.. While I enjoyed Ethan and Taylor a lot, I don’t feel their characters were fleshed out enough. But that might be the result of the book being on the shorter side. I would have liked 50 or so more pages, sans ongoing mention of Ethan’s hand injury lol. I adored the ending where the two of them started sending Grimm stories back and forth. That was such a sweet and clever way of reconnecting. And that epilogue added 10 years to my life it was and raised my serotonin levels significantly 🥹