Spring Fling is a heartwarming small-town romance that follows Mylie and Ben, childhood best friends who lost touch after high school. When Ben returns to Clay Creek to sell his family's home, both are faced with unresolved feelings and the possibility of new beginnings. The story beautifully explores themes of second chances and personal growth, set against the charming backdrop of Clay Creek.

Annie England Noblin's writing is cozy and engaging, and Amanda Stribling's narration brings the characters to life with warmth and authenticity. While the pacing is gentle, the emotional depth of the characters shines through.

I rated this book 3.5 out of 5 stars. All thoughts are my own.

#NetGalley #AnnieEnglandNoblin #SpringFling

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc and an alc!

unfortunately, dnf’d @50% — i just did not care about the plot whatsoever. there were also wayyy too many flashbacks to when our mcs were children and i just could not remain interested.

as for the narrator, she did an ok job!

Small town romance, Second chance romance, Friends to lovers, Childhood crushes, Southern charm, Fishing competitions, and Clean Romance.

Very cute and cozy story that I loved very much!

This was a feel good romance that just makes you smile. Best friends, lost love, small town vs big city, all things that make for a sweet story. Add in a high school bully who never grew up- and never amounted to much and you have a story.

Mylie and Ben were best friends until Ben moved to Chicago for college. Now Ben is back in tiny little Clay Ceeek to fulfill a promise to his mom and to sell his grandfather's house. He plans the trip to be quick and to keep to himself, but that's not the way of a small town, especially when you and your childhood BFF have unrequited feelings for each other and your houses happen to be next to each other. A wonderful supporting cast rounds it all out - foul mouthed but lovable granny, Mylie's little sister Cassie, and her best friend Melissa.

This is a wonderful romance to make you forget your troubles for a moment. I both listened to the audiobook and read the book. Both were fabulous.

I loved this book. I give this book 10 out of 10. I was excited to be able to
Read this book once I read what it was about. I knew I had to read it.
Now the cover of the book caught my eye right away. It was so pretty 🤩 perfect for summer.
The storyline, was very realistic and the characters all pop. The author made me feel like I was there the whole time. What a sweet story. And I loved Fat Tony. What a fun character. I could not put this book down.

This book really had it all going on. Small town romance, childhood friends to lovers, quirky side characters, even a little action.
Sometimes the pace felt a little slow but all in all, a nice, cozy listen.

Thank you to Net Galley, HarperAudio, and Annie England Noblin for the ALC of this story.

DNF at 32%. I felt no chemistry between the MCs and truly did not care if they got together, so I chose to spend my time on other books.

Mylie and Ben were friends in high school. Ben was Mylie's first love. He moves away after graduation then returns next door 10 years later. The two don't know each other anymore but the feelings of first love still pitter patters in Mylie's heart.

In this small town romance the two friends will explore if there could be something more in their future.

The book was simple and predictable but it was boring. I didn't feel a lot of development between the love birds and would have liked a little bit more explored emotionally.

Still recommend it for a quick beach read!

This is a sweet HEA love story about 2 high school best friends 10 years after they last saw each other.

I received an ARC of this audiobook through Netgalley.

This book explores the idea of emotional importance of people over plans.

I love how well depicted the struggle is in this book. It reminds me of the saying that “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.”

We often are our own worst enemy. We clean to what we think we want so hard that we often lose sight of what is truly important.

Highly recommend!

Annie England Noblin’s Spring Fling is a cute small town friends-to-lovers romance. After years apart childhood friends Mylie and Ben reunite. Building the business she always envision, Mylie now employs a third of her small town of Clay Creek. She’s happy, living with her grandmother and helping to look after her sister. The only really missing? Love. Ben, who left Clay Creek years ago, has no returned, keeping a promise to his deceased mother to spend some time there once more before getting rid of the old house. He planned to make it a quick trip before moving on for bigger and better things. Of course you know what they say about the best laid plans, right? This is a cute, sweet small town romance. While the story might feel a bit too by the numbers, the likable characters and quirky town still made this one an enjoyable listen, and Amanda Stribling does a great job with the narration. I’d like to thank HarperAudio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an ARC of the audio version of Spring Fling.

https://www.amazon.com/review/RST6NX2910P4/ref=pe_123899240_1043597390_SRTC0204BT_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

Mylie feels completely fulfilled in her small town, living with her grandmother and little sister, spending time with friends, and just enjoying life. Until Ben, the best friend who left for the big city and never came back, suddenly shows up to sell his family home, right across the street from her. Now, feelings from the past are back stronger than ever. But will the guy who never felt like he belonged in a small town be able to see all the wonderful things she sees in it?

It's a sweet second-chance romance set in a small town, so you know that you're going to get a lot of sweetness and some great moments of quirkiness. I like how the author also incorporates some of the slightly darker edges with the antagonist bully-who-never-grows-up character. I enjoyed having something other than just Ben not wanting to consider being happy in a small town. It's still a somewhat generic plot, but it has a little extra tension to set it apart.

Narration from Amanda Stribling is good. She gives each character their particular accent so you can easily tell who's talking without making it unintelligible. It was pleasant to always be sure who was saying what.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and HarperAudio for the listen!

This was a cute, lighthearted book to listen to. It honestly did not feel relatable at all, the characters seemed a little flat. The narrator gave me Reese Witherspoon / Sweet Home Alabama vibes, and it didn’t feel authentic.

Thank you to NetGalley for this audio ARC.

First time reading a book by Annie but I can officially say i was not disappointed. Sweet story with good twists and turns. I love stories of reuniting and rekindling old feelings. Truly enjoyed this book.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this arc.

This story has a lot of things going for it but unfortunately it didn't really feel like the story came together. The small town setting, townies, and mischievous (and vaccinated, lol) neighborhood raccoon were fun elements but didn't make up for the fact that the romance plot was almost nonexistent. I would call it an insta-love romance if the main characters didn't have a history. There was no real relationship or romance between them, and the dynamics between the side characters are much more developed and fun to read about.

I thought the narrator did a great job. The characterization was wonderful and I think thats why the townies played so well!

This book was pretty good - cute. I think for a more adult romance it was weird to have it be a closed-door romance and there was A LOT going on with the side characters. I also am not a fan of the miscommunication trope so would have liked other conflict that interfered with why they had a second chance romance. I also would have liked the resolution to be a little - idk - more? It seemed like very nonchalant for a book about two people pining for each other. It was cute, but maybe not something I’d pick up again. But the audiobook was really good.

This book has so many things in it that i loved.

Highlights:
- Small LAKE side town
- Childhood friends to strangers to lovers
- "its always been you"
- her dog loves him!
- her grandma gets into an actual fist fight for him!

Review:
At first i was conflicted about how i felt about Ben because i kept thinking "if you love her, you would stay for her". But towards the end i realized the same goes for Mylie. Sure her life is in Clay Creek but if she really loves Ben she would make the sacrifice for him. Mylie is the perfect small town sweetheart and Ben is the sweet neighbor boy with black frame glasses and a bit of social anxiety. I loved them together! I also listened to this on audio and i 100% recommend! And don't get me started on the grandmother, she reminded me so much of my grandma. Strong, opinionated, and full of sass! This was a perfect spring read.

Very cute book about two people in a small town who once cared for each other, trying to figure out their love and their lives. Sweet and simple. Minimal spicy.

It took a minute to get used to the narrator, as she speaks very “cutesy,” but eventually I determined that the narration fits the book well.

Recommend for an easy beach read.

Ben and Mylie grew up next door to each other but lost touch when Ben moved away from their small town after high school. When Ben comes back 10 years later to sell his grandfather's house they rekindle their friendship, and possibly more.

The read was fine, but I absolutely do not think Ben and Mylie should end up together. They should have gone their separate ways. Setting aside the romance plot, I did enjoy Granny, Mylie's relationship with her sister Cassie, and the antics of the neighborhood raccoon.

Tropes
* Neighbors to Lovers
* Childhood Friends
* Small Town Romance
* Flashbacks

3 stars

Thank you to HarperAudio & Netgalley for the ARC! Would rate this one 2.5 stars- I don't mind a friends to lovers story, but I didn't feel the chemistry between Mylie & Ben, let alone a friendship. But this book went from sweet, hallmark movie to rated R spice very quickly like they did have a lot of chemistry so that was.. interesting. I did enjoy the small town setting and also Mylie & her sister's relationship was very sweet! This was my first from this author and I'm not sure they are for me with the vulgar choice of words at times and the plot holes throughout. Also, the dialogue between characters felt repetitive, relying too heavily on 'she said' or 'she replied' without much variation; this made all the conversations feel flat and tedious to read/listen to.

Spring Fling was such a fun and adorable read! I finished it in two sittings and was left with such a good feeling afterward. The narrator did a wonderful job with the southern accent which, is not an easy thing to do. I was drawn in right from the beginning as who doesn’t love a small town romance that also includes a fishing competition and maybe some scandalous behavior? This book had me cracking up and reminiscing at some of the references. Specifically, the mention of those plastic glow in the dark stars that everyone had on their ceiling in the 90’s literally had me cackling. And my favorite character was Fat Tony as I believe we might be kindred spirits.
Overall I truly enjoyed the book and will definitely be looking forward to more reads by Annie England Noblin.