A push and pull of will they wont they wrapped up in a forced proximity romance.

The premise seemed like an easy read.

It was okay in the beginning then the interactions between the two MCs left something to be desired. It’s why enemies to lovers is hard in non speculative fiction because there isn’t a reasonable way that the Mcs are coming for their throat.


I’m okay with jealousy and possessiveness but it really just came out to no where on both their parts, every plot point just felt like a shock

Yet i was sat for the story for some inexorable reason I need to know how to ends.

Rating: 3 /5

I wanted so badly to like this book. But the writing, both the inner thoughts and the dialogue of these characters was cringey and immature. It’s not just that the characters aren’t likable people, although they’re not, the writing itself is immature. It felt like something I’d have read on wattpad 15 years ago.

I was ready to put this book down after the prologue. And that’s as a person who rarely DNF’s a book. Because it was an ARC, I kept reading. But it took me a very long time to finish it and even longer to figure out what to rate it. I hate giving a book a low rating. So I went with 3 out of 5 on this just based on the fact that I do think there will be an audience willing to overlook the things I didn’t like. There were aspects of this book, sort of the bare bones base for what could be a really great story. It just was not for me.

On the rare occasion I wrote a review like this, I don’t usually post it on Goodreads or any retailers just because it seems unfair to leave a bad review for potential buyers or readers on a book I received for free that just wasn’t right for me. That applies here, so I won’t post this review anywhere else.

ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for honest review.

Oh. My. Gosh. Talk about yearning in men!! I am absolutely devoured this book in one sitting. Listening to how Aston feels about her and protects her from everything is just so moving. There is so much emotion and dedication in this book and it truly shows.

Kat T. Masen delivers a small-town romance with second-chance tension, family drama, and plenty of sparks in How to Break My Heart.
A cozy and steamy enemies-to-lovers romance following a small-town café owner and her best friend’s billionaire brother as they’re forced to work together to plan a wedding.
A delightful and heartwarming escape, 'How to Break My Heart.' delivers a perfect blend of witty banter and genuine emotion. The chemistry between the two leads is electric, making their slow-burn romance feel earned and deeply satisfying. This is a sweet and charming read that will leave you smiling long after you've finished the last page.
A must-read for anyone who loves their romance full of heart, heat, and humor. This is an absolute treat.

(Minor spoilers)

Unfortunately this one wasn’t for me!

I didn’t really understand the small town x billionaire combo - the characters acted very prim and posh and were flagrant about their wealth but they live in a charming small town where no one else has that kind of wealth (ex. one character says that living in Brooklyn isn’t good enough for them - but your “manor” is in a tiny town no one has heard of?). There were also a LOT of dramatic elements added in that felt unnecessary; at 90% through the book, within the span of about 5 pages <spoiler> it’s revealed that the MMC’s dad isn’t his biological father, his mother had an affair, his (not biological) father’s brother tragically drowned as a child and the FBI opened up an investigation when the father was an adult, and the mom had been in and out of rehab for addiction problems throughout the MMC’s life, unbeknownst to him. </spoiler> Absolutely NONE of this has any major bearing on the main story, so it felt really chaotic? Overall this one just wasn’t for me!

Thank you to NetGalley and SS Atria Marketing for this eARC!

Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
Is the summary intriguing? Sure is! I love me some enemies to lovers, best friend's brother angst. And then dual POV? That always works so well for me with romance books. Was the execution good? Absolutely not. While the initial flashback chapter pulled me in, the rest of the story slowly dissolved into a relationship that was toxic and, to be honest, left me wondering where the chemistry was.
The MMC, Aston, is a possessive jerk who feels he has some kind of claim over the FMC, Eva. I'm not sure why, or how, since they haven't seen or talked in many years. Because they had one encounter in high school that makes her his and no one else can touch her? Nope, not buying it. And the author did try to insert some of Aston's family trauma into the story to help flesh out his character but it really didn't do what it intended to do. I could not excuse his behavior because of his upbringing when he has zero understanding of how to try to heal himself or even want to do it. Couple that with zero build up to this happening and then it was just strung out throughout the book and made me mad. He's a walking red flag with no substance.
Eva has some good qualities but she too easily gives into Aston's possessive nature. I truly felt all their scenes together were forced. He's all "mine mine mine" and she's like "Ok, yes!" But there was no slow burn building up to it and it just struck me as toxic.
And the writing? So much telling and not a bit of showing. I need to feel the characters are hot and bothered for each other, not be told about how all the body parts react and the magnetic pull that is there. Again, where is the substance.
I almost DNF'd many times but pushed myself to finish. In the end, it was not worth it for me. I was bored of reading the same scene over and over again and never getting anywhere. The plot, which was centered around Eva's best friend and Aston's sister's, Maddy's, wedding, was just not there. None of the planning scenes leant anything to the story line. I felt like they were inserted so the author could get to the next sexy/spicy scene. And since these scenes gave little to the actual plot, the pacing was completely uneven.
Even though this one hits many tropes I like, the lack of depth and development with the characters, the cheesy spice scenes, and the juvenile exchanges between the adult characters just made it utterly unenjoyable for me. Perhaps others will like the more surface level relationship of this book but I need a little more to keep me rooting for the couple.

I was kindly provided with the arc of this book by NetGalley and Atria Books in exchange for an honest review, thank you ✨

4 ⭐️

This was a very good story, it was fast paced and the tension was delivering 🙂‍↔️ but I think it was a little more rivals to lovers than enemies to lovers because Austin was sooooo invested in Eva from the very beginning and she was the one holding back and I get it 🙈 but the tension between them and the little possessive side of Austin about her had me giggling and kicking 😮‍💨

That being said, I really enjoyed this book, and the spice was just chef kiss 🙂‍↔️ I think Maddie was a little bridezilla with Eva and maybe it’s just me but I wouldn’t put my beet friend in that much stress 👀🫠

Overall was a very good, swoony and sweet book ✨

📜Quick Summary: Eva’s life is perfectly sweet as the owner of a cafe. In the quiet town of Cinnamon Springs, a new hot doctor is getting everyone’s attention. But Eva is forced to place her eyes somewhere else; her best friend’s brother Aston. Maddy is desperate for Eva to work with her brother on Maddy’s upcoming wedding, and well.. It’s the last thing she wants to do. He broke her heart years ago. But the wedding nuptials bring out the competitor in her, and Eva fights Aston for the top spot in Maddy’s eyes. Will a steamy night lead to more truths or just break her heart all over again?

❣️Initial Feels: I hope this is a cute and cozy fall romance kinda novel!

👀Trigger Warnings: marital affairs

🌶️Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️

📖Read if you want: enemies to lovers, small town romance, dual point of views and timelines, best friend’s brother trope

🙋🏼‍♀️Moving Character: This novel was really hard for me to root or care for any specific character…for a lot of reasons.

💡Final Sentiments: First book by this author, and although this is the first in the series, I’m not sure that I’ll continue on in Cinnamon Springs. I love a good dual point of view but when the timelines switch, it needs to be clear what timeline we are in. It’s such a weird jump though, that you’re experiencing what the other character is feeling from what you just read about. So I would read about Eva kissing Aston, and then the next chapter will rewind a bit to get Aston’s point of view. I didn’t fall for their “love” story either, I wasn’t sold on their love.. It all just seemed like lust. At the start of the novel, with the flashback of how they found these “feelings,” I felt like they pulled me in. I was waiting for more…more development, more reasons to love one another, more solid background. I needed more story, instead of all this surface level stuff. But all I got was a pushy billionaire who swore a lot. This will be either hit or miss for a lot of people, and I know some people will love the steamy scenes!

🌟Overall Rating: 3 stars

🔉Special thanks to Kat T. Masen, Atria Books, and NetGalley for this arc of How to Break My Heart.

📘Grab yourself a copy on September 29, 2025.

4⭐️

What to expect:
⦁ Best friend's older brother
⦁ Small town romance
⦁ Like to enemies to lovers
⦁ Forced proximity
⦁ Billionaire x Cafe owner
⦁ Banter
⦁ Broken man

If you like the will they or won't they this book is for you. At times I did just roll my eyes because they were making it to hard. You will be edged. It was a easy read/listen for me. Keep me intrigued.

Eva is thrown into planning her best friend Maddy's wedding. The kicker is Maddy wants her older brother Aston to help her with it. Eva is against this because she still had feelings for Aston after 8yrs of not seeing him. Those feelings now might be hate because of how he left things.

The two of them have to figure out how to navigate giving Maddy the best wedding without hurting each other. I can say the banter is great since they don't want to like each other. What could go wrong after one kiss between them?

This book is marketed as second chance but I don't think that is correct. You find out in the prologue that they kissed one time and then he left a few weeks later for London. There was no relationship to break up from. I wouldn't go into this book thinking there was a great love while they were in high school.


Thank you NetGalley and Atria books for the ARC. Above is my honest review.

An absolute snack of a book. The romance is sizzling and the small town almost becomes a character of its own.

I think my only real issue was that there was an imbalance between Eva & Aston’s character arcs, with Aston getting about 70%. And Aston’s felt like it had a lot more weight to it: his situation seemed a lot more dire. But otherwise I’m glad those two crazy kids found each other again.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kat T. Masen, and Atria Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

[arc review]

not the worst thing i’ve ever read but it was also not good 😬

i’m so confused about why aston thinks he has a claim on eva?? it was ONE KISS…EIGHT YEARS AGO. i do not think that warrants a “nobody is allowed to touch you but me.” i quite liked marco lol he is a respectable doctor and a nice man. he deserved so much better than what eva gave him and honestly i feel like as much as i liked him, he probably didn’t need to be in the book. his character was made to make aston jealous. but again, aston had no claim on eva.

also claiming this is the next big thing on booktok is bold lol.

i’m glad this book is over. i need something better to read.

How to Break My Heart by Kate T. Masen is the first book in a new romance series called Cinnamon Springs. Told in dual POV, it follows Eva and Aston as they are unexpectedly thrown together to plan a whirlwind wedding for Eva’s best friend, Maddy, who is also Aston’s sister. Eva has built a comfortable life in their hometown running a successful café, while Aston has returned under a cloud of bitterness from years working in the family’s high-powered business. Their shared past in high school and years of avoidance come crashing back as they are forced to collaborate.

I love a good romance setup and the promise of an enemies to lovers story. Unfortunately, while this trope is usually a favorite of mine, I could not connect with the execution here. The characters never clicked for me, particularly Aston. I understood that the author was working to show how his traumatic upbringing shaped him, but that did not excuse behavior that was chauvinistic and downright disrespectful. His controlling manner, the dismissal of clear boundaries, and the suggestion and action of non-consensual sexual touch all landed poorly for me. These elements gave Aston an edge that felt less brooding and more abusive, which made it difficult to root for the romance. I know some readers enjoy this kind of male lead (for some reason), so if that is your preference this book may work better for you.

Forced sexual touch simply is not appealing to me. Rather than romance, those moments left me wishing both main characters would step away from relationships entirely and head straight to therapy. If there had been more honest and healthy discussion about consent and boundaries, that could have created the kind of heat I was hoping for and at the very least may have softened some of the more glaring problems in the story. Personally, I wanted more (read: any) emphasis on consent, communication, and respect, which would have shifted the dynamic into something that still held tension but felt healthier and more compelling.

From a structural perspective, I also found the pacing uneven. At times, the dual POV repeated events in ways that slowed down the narrative without adding much nuance. In other moments, the story skipped forward right after impactful scenes that could have benefited from deeper emotional reflection. Those missed opportunities made it harder for me to build empathy with either Eva or Aston, and left me feeling disconnected from their journey. Because this was an ARC, and because I love Atria Books, I made myself finish this one… Suffice it to say, I won’t be continuing on with the Cinnamon Spring series.

Thank you to Atria Books for the ARC provided through NetGalley. In spite of my opinion of this book, I do truly appreciate the opportunity to read it. Please don’t stop giving me approvals over this one! All opinions are my own.

Cute, warm, and fun. Had depth and humor and romance. Characters were good but this was a quick, light read!

i got 32% into this and i find myself not caring about the characters or the circumstances at all. i was intrigued by the little flashback in the beginning, but in the present timeline i don’t care about them as a potential couple. aston is kind of insufferable to me. i liked the small town vibe, but that’s not enough to hook me. i think others would like, so 2★!

How to Break My Heart is a heartfelt, steamy small-town romance full of second chances, witty banter, and plenty of chemistry. I loved the cozy setting of Cinnamon Springs, the tension between Eva and Aston, and the way their past heartbreak made their reunion feel emotional and real. It has all the classic tropes—best friend’s brother, enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity—and Kat T. Masen delivers them in a fun, engaging way.

At times the story is a little predictable, but it’s also comforting, like curling up with a favorite rom-com. If you enjoy small-town charm and swoony second-chance love stories, this one is for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

How to Break my Heart was a pretty quick read with the premise of Eva, Maddy's best friend, and Aston, her brother trying to best each other to gain the privilege of being Maddy's right hand man as she prepares to get married. Maddy's intent was for the two of them to work together, but competition ramped up and the desire to out - best each other, the top priority. There was definitely chemistry between the two, right from the start, and I had a hard time finding the "enemies to lovers" theme when they so clearly wanted each other. Overall, this was a good quick read, and I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I am personally not a fan of this book. It was way to surface level, there are other men/women involved with the main couple, and the couple themselves had a lot of issues. It was not an enjoyable read, and I gave up around 55% in.

This was a fun romance with just the right mix of sweetness and steam. I really enjoyed the small town setting of Cinnamon Springs, it felt warm, inviting, and the perfect backdrop for Eva and Aston’s second chance story. Eva is such a relatable character: independent, hardworking, and determined to protect her heart. Aston, on the other hand, took a little longer for me to warm up to, his miscommunication or better said not being true enough from the beginning weighed on my opinion on him, but I appreciated seeing his growth as the story unfolded.
The banter and chemistry between them were great, and I loved the added tension of planning Eva’s best friend’s wedding together. It made for plenty of funny, awkward, and heartfelt moments. While there were a few scenes where the pacing slowed, overall this was a charming, easy read. If you like small town settings, weddings, and enemies to lovers vibes, this is worth picking up.

I wanted to love this, but it was okay at best.

While this book is a treasure trove of tropes, it lacks depth. Eva and Aston are both immature and unlikable at times. I think this can be partially attributed to the fact that they were never properly fleshed out as characters. Everything feels surface-level as a result.

I didn't connect with Eva or Aston. I didn't understand why they were in love with each other. Because we never actually get to witness it happen. At most, they were in lust with each other. The foundations of their feelings were rooted in the supposed connection they've had since they were teenagers, but that was eight years before the start of the main story. I needed more from them in the present to fully root for them. We never got that development, so there was very little for me to root for.

This isn't necessarily a bad book. It did show some promise. However, I can't say it's a good book either.

Thanks NetGalley for the arc! Best friends brother trope is def one of my favorites! It felt that the main issue between the two of the MCs could’ve maybe been a bit more drastic based on how they acted towards eachother but other than that it was a cute book! We love a guy with money and a small town girl trying to make her dreams come true come together !