The warm fuzzy feelings when finishing this were just intoxicating 🥰 But at the same time, this was a deeply emotional and heartbreaking story. I felt very teary as it came to an end. Such an addictive read as always with Paige Toon - once you start it’s so hard to not devour it! She is, without a doubt, the master of a page turning slow burn 🔥.

It’s been a long 2 year wait for this novel, with Paige Toon usually releasing something new every year, and so I’m worried I’ve missed one of her usual previous character cameos?! I obviously caught the Luis reference with the racing, but worried there was a more subtle one I’ve missed 😂 I so enjoy these little check ins with previous characters.

This is your typical romance novel, you know from the very beginning how the book is going to end, which is why I was a bit sceptical when I started it.
However, I enjoyed the journey very much.
The author was able to put the reader in the story, to make you feel for the characters, to cry with them and to laugh with them. I felt the rural America, I smelled the hay and touched the fresh water of the lake. I smelled the popcorn and felt Anders touch on my skin. I cried with Wren and laughed with Bailey.
So yes, the book was predictable, but not in a “make you bored” way.
On top of this, there was a twist I didn’t see coming and a heavy topic such as depression was put in there very thoughtfully.

If I had to give a small critique, I felt the end was a bit rushed, a good ending, but too quick for my liking.
I don’t know if I would necessary like a sequel, but if there was one, I would like to be more concentrated on Jonas.
I admit I didn’t know the author, but after reading this, I will definitely check out her previous books.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK for approving this beautiful e-ARC.

I’m a little ashamed to say this is my first Paige Toon book, but if this one is anything to go by then I’ll be adding all of her previous titles to my TBR!!

Only Love Can Hurt Like this is a sweet but heartbreaking story about having your heart broken, finding love again, grief and healing from past family trauma.

“After Wren finds out her fiancé is in love with another woman, she decides to get out of the UK and head to stay with her father and stepmother on their farm in Indiana. She soon crosses paths with Anders, the son of the owners of the neighbouring farm. This is the start of a beautiful friendship that soon turns into developing feelings. But Anders is hiding something that truly isn’t what you expect at all, which changes the whole summer for them both”

I became so attached to the characters, and I was rooting for them all the way, I felt as if I was there living through it all with them!

Although I had to rate it 4 ⭐️, my actual rating is 4.5 ⭐️!

Sometimes in books I can struggle to imagine the scenery but Paige writes in such a beautifully descriptive way, that I could picture it all clearly in my head! I would love for this to be turned into a movie, I think it has everything needed for it to be a big hit!

I kind of wish we’d have had a bit more of Wren and Scott together before their engagement/relationship broke down, just so we could have seen what kind of dynamic their relationship was as Wren mentions later on in the book that looking back she can maybe see why they weren’t the perfect match. Although I completely understand why there wasn’t more as this wasn’t a book about them as a couple!

I would love to have a sequel for Jonas! He was one of my favourite characters after Wren and Anders, his story is also a difficult one that I would like to read more about one day!

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Penguin RandomHouse UK for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Having adored Someone I Used To Know, I was delighted with the opportunity to read Only Love Can Hurt Like This, Paige Toon’s latest contemporary romance novel.

When Wren Elmont’s fiancé confesses he has developed feelings for his assistant and ends their relationship, she’s desperate to escape their small English village. She hopes a few weeks staying at her father’s farm in Southern Indiana will help mend her bruised heart, but when Wren unexpectedly falls in love with the boy next door, Anders, she fears her heart will be irrevocably broken.

Only Love Can Hurt Like This is a romance that tugs at the heartstrings, stirring plenty of emotion as the likeable leads, Wren and Anders, develop a friendship with an obvious undercurrent of romantic interest that seems doomed to be unrequited.

Wren can’t control the way Anders makes her feel. She tries to distract herself with a project - refurbishing a dilapidated vintage Airstream she names Bambi, and involves herself in the running of the farm. She minimises her physical reactions to him and attempts to convince herself their friendship is enough, but it’s a futile task.

Anders tries to be clear with Wren that friendship is all he has to offer, but he is clearly torn. His reticence seems to stem from grief, and guilt, involving the loss of his wife, but it’s been more than four years and everyone believes it’s time he moved on, however it’s more complicated for Anders than expected.

There is plenty of angst, suppressed desire, and ‘almost’ moments between the couple that feeds into the romantic tension. Heartbreak wars with happiness as Wren and Anders navigate the obstacles in their path to love.

Lest you think this novel is all about their relationship, Toon touches on some serious issues, most notably depression, which plagues Anders older brother, Jonas. Anders’ concern for Jonas explains why he is spending so much time at the farm when he is employed elsewhere as a race car engineer. Addiction is raised when the brothers admit their father was an alcoholic during their youth, possibly as a result of his own unacknowledged depression. Toon also explores the complicated dynamics of families, particularly when divorce results in both physical and emotional distance between a parent and child.

Heartfelt and poignant, Only Love Can Hurt Like This is a touching romance novel. And I love an epilogue that confirms a happy ever after.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

PAIGE TOON DOES IT AGAIN.

I absolutely loved reading this slow burn story.

Wren, is heartbroken. She discovers that her boyfriend loves someone else.

So, for the summer, she goes to visit her Dad and his family in Indiana.

We also meet Anders, who is also broken hearted, whilst out one night both Liz and Anders meet.

As well as the romance, the story also covers some heart-breaking situations.

A brilliant Such a brilliant and heart breaking novel,

I highly recommend this book.

I received an E-ARC with a request for my honest review.

This emotional romance is mainly set in Indiana, where on two farms owned by their parents Wren and Anders spend time visiting their families. Wren lives in Bury St Edmunds in the UK, but when her relationship falls apart goes to spend some time with her dad.

Soon she meets Anders from a neighbouring farm, and she finds it hard to hide from the attraction she feels.
She isn’t sure her feelings are reciprocated but can’t wait to spend time with him again.

Anders is coming to terms with a loss of his own, and although he has feelings for Wren is fighting his urge. Stuck in a secret, he must decide what path for his future he will choose.

Will Wren and Anders find the love they deserve? What could stand in their way?

I must admit I found that the first part of this storyline moved quite slow whilst the characters were introduced and they try to resist their feelings. Something shifted in the middle though and by the end I was an emotional wreck.

The friendship and family storylines through this book were wonderful to read and added a little bit of lightness as well as background to Wren and Anders characters.

I loved the setting on the farms too, and the changes that the new friendships brought to all of their lives and their futures.

Overall, an emotional romance where Wren and Anders try to fight their feelings of true love.

I love reading Paige Toon’s books they are always a real treat.
This one did appear to be slightly different as I felt the pace was much slower but still very enjoyable.
A great read.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Well I didn’t quite get what I was expecting with this novel. A romance novel with a typical friends to lovers storyline. It was a very slow burn with lots of lustful glances and will they/won’t they moments but for me I felt I had read it too many times before, and it was unfortunately too predictable. A quick read, which I’m sure will be devoured by those who love a romance novel and who have read this author before. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the ARC of this novel in return for an honest review.

When Wren discovers her fiance is in love with another woman, she has to get away from her home in the UK. Travelling to America to stay with her father in Indiana, she meets Anders, the son of a local farmer. What follows is a story of friendship, with secrets and upset intertwined - can there ever be more to their relationship?

I really enjoyed the slower, descriptive pace of Paige Toon's writing. I felt like I understood the locations and characterisations well, even if Anders was at times quite irritating and I just wanted him to see what others were trying to get through to him! Wren's relationships with her father, stepmother and half sister were beautifully developed, and I really enjoyed the read.

I liked it, but didn't love it. There wasn't much in the way of plot, it was more an emotional journey. I found it slow in parts, and repetitive. I also found the ending in parts a bit too convenient, a bit twee, and rather boring. How many times has that been done before? With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow I wasn’t expecting this to be such a powerful read and based on such raw emotion.

What if your beautiful wife became a shell of herself after a tragic accident and you lived your life torturing yourself and fighting any connection with another soul. What if you found your soulmate and hurt her by pushing her away due to guilt and misplaced loyalty.

What though if the beautiful wife was your daughter? Could you see her husband move on?

Beautifully written and with believable characters. Loved it.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Once again Paige Toon does NOT disappoint!

Following the story of Wren, who visits her father after splitting up from her soon to be husband.

Only love can hurt like this is such a heart wrenching story.

This will be the beach read of 2023 but you may need a tissue

Such a heartwarming book, it'll make you laugh and cry. It'll touch your heart and leave you thinking about it and wanting more.

Ohhhh I cried a lot during this book. Absolutely beautiful and I loved every page. Would make a wonderful film. Paige Toon does it again!!!

This is just such a stunning book, I laughed I cried and I became obsessed!
Paige Toon always writes lovely books but this just swept me away, it really touched my heart and made me swoon with the power of love truly encompassing this whole book. I loved it, loved loved loved it!

This is my first novel by Paige Toon and I will be looking to read more. Normally I do not enjoy romance books but this sounded interesting so I requested it and I loved it.

We meet main character Wren who is heartbroken when she realises her boyfriend is in love with someone she decides to go and spend the summer with her family. We then meet Anders, another heartbroken person and they both cross paths.

I found this love story quite an immense read and loved both Wren and Anders and how their past experiences have made them who they are. I sort of felt like I was watching a Netflix series as they are both in depth characters and as a reader I really could see them in my mind.

Such a brilliant and heart breaking / heart warming novel, I think that this novel has changed my mind on reading romance novels.

Thanks to Paige Toon, Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Random House UK and Netgalley for the gifted digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Read this if you:

Love slow character driven novels
Enjoy books with thought-provoking scenarios
Have a difficult relationship with your sibling
Are a Paige Toon fan

My Thoughts:

During the first half almost nothing happened, except for unnecessary small talk. The plot wasn’t moving forward in any way and the main characters were creating a connection at all. I didn’t care whether they would end up together or not and I wasn’t in the mood to pick up my kindle. If this hadn’t been ARC, I would have definitely DNF it.

The last 30% of the book was much more entertaining. A big thing was revealed and this made me curious (finally) about how everything will wrap up. The thing that happened is a difficult situation in which everyone would act differently and there is no wrong or right answer. I personally didn’t agree with the main characters’ choices and this made me not be able to relate to them at all.

I was going to give this book 2 stars but I realized that there are many life situations highlighted in this book to which people would relate to and would make them create the connection that I couldn’t have with these characters. So I bumped it up to 3 stars only because, even though I didn’t find anything for me in this book, I think other people might. I think everyone should try this book for themselves because we all relate differently to different life scenarios.

I can see why this book will appeal to many readers, but I’m sorry to say I’m not one of them, I had not read anything by this author before, so wasn’t sure what to expect.
I found it predictable and formulaic, and I wasn’t far into it before I was skim reading.
Too much padding in terms of descriptions of outfits, hairstyles etc. And details about farming life, and how hard it is….it all left me cold.
It’s well enough written, just not a book for me.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this book.

A romance to tug the heartstrings and it delivers. Didn’t wow me but I enjoyed it. Characters were a little predictable but a solid romance.

— 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 —

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: Only Love Can Hurt Like This
𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: N/A
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫(𝐬): Paige Toon
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Romance
𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝: 25th April 2023
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 4/5

The emotional turmoil this book provoked felt like a personal attack. Raise your hand if you’ve even been victimised by a Paige Toon book 🙋🏻‍♀️.

I did find the prose to be a bit matter-of-fact and lacking in flair, but I also found myself gripped with what the outcome of all these fraught dynamics would be. I remember thinking to myself that I could easily see this book becoming a film.

This book broaches a series of complicated relationships, both romantic and familial, that are tentative and strained. The main character, Wren, is doing a bit of soul searching in the USA to ease her heartbreak from her fiancé leaving her for his colleague. Wren has to navigate the roads of reconnecting with her Dad, stepmother, and half-sister on top of the blossoming relationships between Wren and the handsome farmer brothers who live a field over, particularly Anders who avoids the chemistry between them like me doing my science GCSE. These roads are bumpy, full of potholes of jealously and murky puddles that make it hard for Wren to be transparent with those surrounding her.

One of these romantic relationships is an interesting dilemma that deserves the utmost of moral ponderings (you’ll know the relationship when you read it) which I found really compelling and almost CoHo-esque in the way it’s tiptoeing the lines of morally grey and yet barrels it’s way through heartbreak.

Overall, this book is a tender tug on the heartstrings, easy to relax into, and caused me to build a nest of tear-soaked tissues that otherwise could have flooded a small country.

𝑲𝒂𝒚𝒍𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉 @ 𝑾𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒉 𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝑭𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒚
🧚‍♀️🤍