4 stars.

Timothy Janovsky's "Once Upon You and Me" is a charming and lovely age-gap, forbidden-ish romance that is equal parts emotional and spicy with a little baggage thrown in for good measure. I admit it was a bit slow to start, but it picks up around 25% in and then doesn't let up until it finishes. I really liked Ethan and Taylor! I loved the concept of Ethan running a storybook/fairytale-themed resort. It made the story feel fun and whimsical in and amongst the relationship/family drama and turmoil. Great setting here! The forbidden aspect comes from Taylor being Ethan's ex-wife's assistant, so when they find an attraction to one another, it's a little scandalous! Ethan is a plus-sized bi-sexual MMC with ADHD and a lot of love to give. He's grumpy and lovely and I adored him. Taylor is a steadfast, hard worker who is rarely acknowledged by his boss, Ethan's ex-wife. He's at Storybook Endings to help Ethan throw his and Amy's daughter's 16th birthday party. The attraction between Ethan and Taylor is dynamic and instant and a little messy! I don't think I ever felt the stakes a whole lot, meaning I had no doubt that they would get their HEA despite the nature of their precarious situation. Regardless, I found this book to be the perfect palate cleanser. It's a quick read with a lot of heart and heat. I will say, I didn't love or hate the audiobook narration. While Anthony Myatt does a great job narrating the story, his voices are not distinct enough between the characters, I had to back up the audiobook several times to make sure I was getting it right. Still, I recommend this book!

Thank you to NetGalley, Timothy Janovsky, and Harlequin Audio for the complimentary ALC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

Thank you, NetGalley & Harlequin Audio, for this audio ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Once Upon You and Me was a fun, spicy listen—even if it wasn’t my favorite overall. The age gap between Taylor and Ethan was handled in a refreshingly non-dramatic way, and I loved seeing that in a queer romance. The spice was definitely a highlight!

The fairy tale resort setting was cute, and the “falling for your boss’s ex” setup had fun potential, though I didn’t fully connect with the characters or their chemistry beyond the physical. Still, it made for a quick, enjoyable listen, and the narrator did a great job.

Not a standout for me, but a good time all the same!

This book may have had a slow start for me but it was still good. It was a nice pallet clensear to break up all the dark books i enjoy. With that being said this was a good ARC and a good way to step into MM romance. I will be looking into more stories from this author.

What a cute little read.

And also the bisexual energy in this one was a really great time. The messiness of the overlap of the relationsips but also just knowing that you kinda sorta found their person, was enticing. The small town feel of having a place like the fairytale resort is excellent and the way that PA assistants are really making the entire world run and aren't appreciated enough.

Their relationship was cute, and the added bonus of him being a good dad, was everything I needed it to be.

The narrator did a good job, and I would recomment the audiobook.

Thank you to Harlequin Afterglow, Harlequin Audio, and Netgalley for an early copy.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Audio, Harlequin Romance, and Timothy Janovsky for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Okay- could the setting BE anymore.. fun? ...Whimsical? Disney Adult? Timothy really gave us a fairy tale themed resort for all sorts of visitors and occasions. FUN!

This MM, age gap, somewhat forbidden (young gent is the assistant to older gent's ex wife.. who is ALSO his boss!) romance was so enjoyable. I loved seeing the growth in our older gent as he learned from his past relationship AND began to take care of his mental health. Gave himself grace, got himself an ADHD diagnosis and deployed tools and coping skills.

Smol spoiler (but you already know you're getting the HEA sooo just chill!?) What I love about many of Timothy Janovsky's third act break ups is that he gives them time. For growth, reflection and healing and for coming back together. The HEA in this one absolutely was not thrown together in one passionate moment. It came together through conversation and time. I LOVE THAT.


Narration was very well done! It wasn't distracting and kept me engaged! That's a win!

This is such a sweet book! A story about listening to your heart and opening yourself up to love. Such a cozy story! I highly recommend

This was such a heartwarming and enduring story. I found both of the main characters to be well done and their relationship progression felt genuine and real. I liked that the book while romantic and wistful was also reality based enough to give it just that extra believability. I loved this so much apparently I am making up my own words! The audio on this one was so binge worthy and the narrator did and exceptional job of bringing everything to life. I will definitely be picking up another book by this author.

Heat Index: 6/10

—plus size (bisexual!) hero

—ex drama... but not the kind you think

—resort setting (a la Austenland)

The Basics:

Taylor's tasked with prepping his boss Amy's daughter's sweet sixteen party at the fairytale-themed Storybook Endings Resort, which isn't a problem. What is a problem? His sizzling chemistry with Amy's ex-husband, the rugged Ethan. And one thing about Amy... she probably won't be very happy at the idea of her employee hooking up with her ex...

The Review:

This is my first Janovsky book, and for me, it falls into the category of "cute, but not captivating". You have a cast of genuinely likable characters here. Ethan is likable (and hot); Taylor is quite sweet; Amy is... complicated, but human. However, I don't know that this book really lives up to the Mess promised by the premise.

Ethan is in that classic zone that spells "life-ruiner". He's hot, he's kinda grumpy (not too much, though—I could've used more grump), he's older, he's figuring his life out after splitting from his wife. But I don't know that there was enough of a Problem from him being him. A lot of this conflict was external, and I think we really could've benefited from a bit more internal tension.

Not that Taylor and Ethan don't struggle with the risks of being together—and while I'm often like "oh come on, don't worry too much about the ex stuff" Janovsky brings the damage with Amy. There's the professional entanglement, there's the shared child... This novel really did a good job of showing the mature, Grown People problems that come with divorce when a kid is involved. Amy is obviously Annoying from a romance perspective, but I found she wasn't unnecessarily villainized here (which is something you unfortunately see in a lot of m/m books).

One thing that may have made this feel distant for me is the tense choice. I'm not against third person present tense (I can really accommodate virtually any tense if the author sells me on it) but in this case it felt a bit removed? I never really got super in touch with Ethan and Taylor, and as such it was a struggle to get in touch with their love story.

But that being said, I really liked the setting. I would honestly love more resort-set romances, it's just such great escapism, and this one had a THEME. I liked that Ethan was bi versus being a closeted gay man who wasn't ever really into his wife. I liked his relative inexperience on that level, which is less common for the older characters, but I think actually reflects a certain subset of reality very well. A lot of people who marry young really don't get to explore until after their divorces.

So all the puzzle pieces are there, which makes me think this will please a lot of people in search of something a little more lightweight. I could see this story very much working in a film setting. I just didn't love it as much as I wanted to.

The Sex:

I will say—this wasn't quite as hot as the summary implies. Yes, there is explicit sex on the page, but the first encounter was a little vague for my taste. This is the second contemporary I've read recently wherein the first encounter was less detailed, and it confuses me—the first scene is where you really set the tone for the couple? Not a dealbreaker, just a bit odd.

The Conclusion:

While I wasn't enraptured by this, it's a sweet, enjoyable read. I did listen to an audio ARC, and the narration was solid as well. This will work for people in search of a lighter listen, which—honestly, is probably a lot of readers right now.

Thanks to Harper Audio and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Once Upon You and Me is a quick, charming read that swept me up with its sweet romance and whimsical premise. Our two MMC's, Ethan & Taylor, just make sense together and watching their bond grow was adorable. There’s a softness and sincerity to their dynamic that made me root for them from the very beginning.

That said, I do wish the story gave us more in the way of a big emotional payoff. The pacing toward the end felt rushed, and I kept waiting for that sweeping, heartfelt moment where they’d declare their love for each other but, I don’t think we ever officially heard them say “I love you,” which left me feeling a little unsatisfied. I wanted that moment.

Still, if you're looking for a sweet escape with small town vibes and lovable characters, Once Upon You and Me is a fun read.

I really adored the main characters Ethan and Taylor and loved listening to their growth throughout the book. Both of them had some individual work to do in order to be ready for a relationship and it was nice feeling connected to them and rooting for their success :) I am excited to read more novels by Timothy Janovsky in the future! Thank you Netgalley and Harlequin Audio for an audio ARC of Once Upon You and Me for exchange of my honest review.

Taylor is sent by his boss to help set up her daughter's birthday at a resort she owns across the country. While he is there, he finally meets Ethan, his boss' ex husband, who turns out to be handsome and surly and completely off limits.
Ethan is excited to see his daughter and celebrate her birthday, but he is not looking forward to having his ex wife's assistant help him out. Until he meets Taylor and can't stop thinking about him and his mouth.

Timothy Janovsky writes incredibly sweet romances that also bring some real life baggage and emotional damage (in a good way). I liked Taylor's character development. How he was so used to catering to everyone and taking care of things, and he finally gets to achieve a dream he didn't even knew he had. I also loved how thoughtful he was towards Ethan and him having ADHD. Ethan's character's views on marriage were a little disjointed as he seemed reluctant to ever marry again and then the ending of the book happens without any conversations in-between. I did enjoy the epilogue! I always love seeing where the main couple is a bit down the road.

3/5 stars for the audiobook. The narrator was okay, but the character's voices didn't change much and I sometimes forgot which one was talking.

~Thank you to Harlequin Audio, Timothy Janovsky and NetGalley for this complimentary ALC. All opinions are my own~

Narrative: 📕📘📗📓📘
Angst: Low
Spice: 🌶🌶🌶
Humor: 😆😆😆
Heart: 💧💧💧💧💧
Romance: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Burn Time: Moderate

Janovsky creates a wonderful present-day story with a mix of pop culture and classic fairy tales in this imaginative Catskills (kitty-skills) getaway where dreams can come true if you open yourself up to them. Ethan has found himself at a crossroads between being lonely because he's used to it and becoming his own person thanks to the help of Taylors surprise appearance in his everyday life.

Timothy Janovsky is an author I adore, so it's no surprise that I loved this. The Harlequin romance brand is strong, and so when I needed an escape, well, from everything, I felt confident that this would be an enjoyably sweet romance.

Once Upon You and Me takes place in a literal fairy tale land and features a lovely age-gap romance between a single dad and the personal assistant to his ex-wife. There's the right amount of drama and an overabundance of swoony moments. Even when it could have been easy to villanize certain characters, Janovsky deftly finds a way to avoid this and find rewarding character arcs for all.

My only complaint is that the audiobook only has a single narrator, despite the chapters alternating between the two main character's points of view. This added unnecessary confusion, and unfortunately, the narrator didn't opt to try to give each character a distinct voice. Honestly, this was a missed opportunity, so I recommend reading a print version over the audiobook.

I read a lot of books and I am always happy when a new Timothy Janovsky book comes out. He always read lovely love stories of two men who just are perfect for each other and have a good adventure falling in love. I think the world needs more Timothy Jankovsky books. I am already greatly anticipating his next novel that comes out in September!

This book was outside my norm I will say before anything else. I might say I want to try cute little romance books, I may actually want to try them, I may even have a stack of them on my shelves I purchases in order to try them. But I just always have other things to read first and never get around to them.

I saw this title and cover while browsing Netgalley and was given a free copy of the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

I figured, an audiobook why not? Popped it on while doing some yardwork and omg. I found myself pausing a lot and just standing there to listen. From the beginning it was so so cute. The characters are well fleshed out, the setting is adorable, their interactions are adorable. The story has just enough drama and trouble to keep it interesting without going too wildly out there. I could absolutely see this as a Netflix rom com/romance movie. I say Netflix over Hallmark because for me Hallmark still tends to be very romance and very cheesy pretty often and this to me felt too fresh for that.

Liked it so much I went and preordered a physical copy.

4.5 stars

This was a really fun read. Ethan falls for Taylor, his ex-wife's personal assistant, when Taylor comes to Ethan's workplace to help plan Ethan's daughter's sweet sixteen. Ethan is quite a bit older than Taylor and confidently plus sized. The relationship between the two was so sweet and I felt like the ending was realistic while still being happy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for the ALC. This is my honest opinion.

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.

Regarding the audiobook specifically, the narrator and production was great though I wish the voice between the chapters was a bit more differentiated however it wasn’t such an issue with it being in third person.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ALC!

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.

I switched on and off between the audiobook and the ebook and really enjoyed the audiobook. The narrator did a great job performing both pov's, making sure I was engrossed the entire time.

Overall, 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 rounded up

This was a super cute M4M romance. Taylor is Amy’s assistant and she sends him across the country to help her burly mountain-man ex-husband, Ethan, plan their daughter’s sweet sixteen birthday party at their family owned Catskills resort. But what happens when sparks begin to fly between Taylor and his bosses ex-husband?

What you’ll find:
⛰️Age gap romance (27 vs 40)
⛰️Bi-awakening
⛰️Workplace romance
⛰️Forced Proximity
⛰️Single dad/divorced MMC

A sweet and playful age-gap MM romance that’s as fun as it is heartwarming. You’ll love getting to know these two as they stumble into love and discover just how perfect they are for each other.