**Spring Fling by Annie England Noblin – 3⭐️**

*Spring Fling* is a sweet take on the friends-to-lovers and second-chance romance tropes. While the setup had promise, the emotional depth between the main characters didn’t fully land for me. Their separation felt a bit underdeveloped—aside from him moving away, there wasn’t much to explain the disconnect or drive the longing you'd expect in a second-chance story.

The author does try to weave together past and present timelines to enrich the narrative, but these connections didn’t quite hit the emotional mark. Still, fans of light, small-town romances may find something to enjoy here.

**Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Audio for the ARC.**

Spring Fling is a faced paced, cute little romance. I love small town romance books. I feel like the building up to the romance was a little lacking. Granny is by far the best character!

I was a little hesitant about this one given some of its lower reviews, but I was pleasantly surprised by it!
The whole book itself was lighthearted but not in a crazily cliché way, perfect for a spring/summer read. Perhaps it was because of the narrator, but I really enjoyed all the characters and the romance between Mylie and Ben. I found myself laughing and/or smirking often, especially during the bingo granny fistfight. The main plot point I found a little frustrating at times because Ben’s deterrence to Clay Creek seemed a little unreasonable, but I liked how everything wrapped up. I’d definitely recommend this for those looking for a light and fun read!

This was a cute spring, city boy x country girl romance book! I did find I wasn’t as invested in the main characters as I wanted to be as I found their storyline a bit surface level. The audiobook version was very well done, with the narrator using a Southern accent for the small-town characters. This would make a very cute Hallmark movie!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperAudio for gifting me an ARC copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

2.5 stars, rounded up.

This book has lots of small-town charm and would be a great Hallmark movie! I struggled to stay interested in the story as it felt somewhat predictable and slow. I didn't love the main couple as it seemed like they had a lot of obstacles to overcome, but instead they just got together without too much preamble.

I enjoyed the narration and audio quality, and especially appreciated that the narrator had a slight southern twang that helped immerse me in the setting.

I received a free physical ARC of this book in a Goodreads giveaway and an audio copy from HarperAudio via NetGalley.

This is a cute spring romance! The small town antics were so fun. I had some trouble connecting with the characters though. I felt like the story could have been a bit longer so I could get more invested in their story. If you love small town vibes then this could be a fun romance to escape with.

The narrator did a lovely job. The slight southern accent she did really added to the story. Since the story was dual pov, I would have loved for there to be two narrators but this narrator did a good job with the story.

Beautiful cover. art. This book wasn’t awful. It was just kind of surface level for me. The disgruntled ex employee aspect though was so damn relatable for me and I found myself more interested in that than the second chance romance storyline.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperAudio for the ARC of this book. While I did think this book was really a cute story and had a lot of potential I just felt like the relationship between the two main characters was rushed. Like they picked up exactly where they left off ten years prior, even though they were completely different people. That being said it was still a really cute book.

This was a cute romcom. Unfortunately though I didn’t feel connected to any of the characters. There wasn’t a lot of depth to anything in the story. The narrator was great which is probably why this still was ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ stars.

This was a very sweet childhood best friends / reconnections / small town romance. Mylie and Ben rekindle their friendship from 10 years prior, before Ben had moved away with his mom. This time around there’s a mutual attraction and they’re working around the fact that Ben plans to move away again after he sells his family home. Things kind of move a bit fast in this read and despite knowing what his plans were Mylie still holds a grudge when it’s time for Ben to go. There’s also an under-lying plot line with a disgruntled former employee, and it really added some much needed angst to the story. All in all, this was cute. Will it stick with me, no, but I enjoyed it while reading it.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Audio for this copy of Spring Fling to read and review!

Thank you Annie England Noblin and NetGalley for this ARC.

#Friendstolovers.
#Smalltownromnace

When Ben comes back to his small town to sell his grandfather's home, he reconnects with his childhood best friend, Miley. This book was cute. I rated it 3 stars as there was nothing about this book that I will remember after I read a few more books. It was cute and a good listen while I was doing other things. Did I mention it was cute?

3/5 stars

I aspire to be like Granny when I’m old and gray—she’s such a diva!

Aside from the side characters, I didn’t enjoy this read very much, unfortunately. Maybe it’s the fact that it was in third person—I usually like third person when used right, but this really needed to be done differently. Historical fictions are the only things that should be third person, never romcoms, and I stand by that.

On top of that, the romance and even the humor were poorly executed. There was no connection between the two characters—just lust. It felt like they were forcing something that wasn’t even there to begin with.

The audiobook could’ve been better too, but it’s not the narrator’s fault. Just the way the story was written.

No hate to the author! This just wasn’t the right read for me.

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙂𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙍𝘾 & 𝙖𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙤𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠!

Spring Fling is a friends-to-lovers (second chance adjacent), small town romance. Mylie and Ben were friends growing up, but they lost contact when he moved away. He returns to their town to sell his family's home before starting a new job. Neither of them anticipated giving "them" a shot. What will they do when their goals and things that are important to them seem to pull them apart again?

I loved the cast of whacky side characters. There was a lot of setting and side character development considering the shorter page count. There is some spice, but most was closed door or brief. Overall, it was an easy low stakes read!

The audiobook edition is single narrator, but the narrator makes changes to distinguish between characters. I was able to comfortably speed it up to 2x, which is generally my speed sweet spot. The production was clear and easy to follow!

Thanks to HarperAudio Adult and NetGalley for an ALC of this audiobook for an honest review.

What a light Spring Rom Com. This small town romance draws you into their family. Noblin does a good job of tying the past into the present.

Rekindle your belief in the magic of first love and the charm of small towns with Annie England Noblin’s delightful friends-to-lovers romantic comedy, perfect for readers of Jill Shalvis and Sarah Adams.

Spring is in the air and Mylie has everything she could ever want: her tackle shop is thriving and employs a third of Clay Creek, Arkansas, and she lives with her beloved Granny and little sister Cassie, who both keep her on her toes. As tourists pour into town for the annual fishing tournament, Mylie is in her element and ready to bring her all-women team to victory.

After moving to Chicago, Ben never thought he would return to Clay Creek. But with both his grandfather and mother gone, he’s left to deal with their estate. His plan is simple: come in quietly, fix up his lakeside childhood home, sell it quickly, and get out. He underestimates how quickly his arrival will stir up the local gossip, and how intensely his unresolved feelings for Mylie, his childhood best friend, will resurface.

Amid the buzz of competition and the rhythm of small-town life, Mylie and Ben find themselves unable to ignore their shared history. They tentatively explore a future together, despite the impending sale of Ben’s house and Mylie’s insistence on staying put in Clay Creek. Flings are easier said than done, and Mylie and Ben will have to address their clashing lifestyles before their feelings get away from them.

***Five Stars***
I enjoyed this one, not sure I'd relisten but I loved it one time around.
Mylie met Ben when they were kids, him and his mom moved to town after his father died to live with his grandfather. Mylie's granny told her she should make friends with him because she knows what it is like to be without a father. They remained friends all through school and even had feelings for each other, but both were too shy to tell the other. Ben always knew he wasn't staying; he was going to college in a big city because small town life was not for him. They stayed in contact for a little while but quickly quit communicating. After both Ben's mother and grandfather passed away, he returns as his mother's dying wish to settle the house and sell. Mylie and Ben still have feelings for each other and decide to just have fun while he is in town. We know how this goes.
The side story with that trash human Robby was something. I freaking hate that guy. What a loser. OMG the raccoon though. HAHAHA 
Amanda did a fantastic job at narrating this one.
Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Audio Adult, and the author for the opportunity to listen to and review this story.

First and foremost as always thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book. This was an incredibly good read! The story was beautifully written and the characters were flushed out really well! The narrator did an amazing job engaging with the story! Definitely worth the read!

This is an engaging, well-written book, but it’s unfortunately not for me. It’s described as a delightful romantic comedy—but the first chapter opens with the heroine having to fire an ex-con employee for drunkenness and theft. He then goes on to destroy her property and make threats. I wasn’t expecting violence and the woman-in-jeopardy trope in a rom com—nor would I describe this book as a rom com. DNF in chapter 5. The audiobook narration is well done.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

A sweet friends to lovers romance set in a small town. I enjoyed the characters both the main and the side ones. This was just a cute story. I got the warm and fuzzies while reading it. Narrator was wonderful!

I received an arc from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a cute small town romance with a little bit of spice. I loved the slow burn friends-to-lovers trope and really enjoyed the overall plot of this book. The narrator did a great job at bringing this story to life and I look forward to listening to more books narrated by her. Definitely recommending this to romance fans.

Thanks to Netgallery and Harper Audio for the ALC of Spring Fling.

I wished I liked this book more than what I did. The story although cute, had a romance that was hard to root for. The main characters constant fights and miscommunication made it harder for me to believe that their romance would last more than a year after the book ended.

The narration was great though, and the writing was not bad. It's just not memorable enough for me.