ARC REVIEW
He Loves Me He Loves Me Not by Aimee Brown
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A sweet romcom about starting over again.

💐Hollyn heads home after getting her heart broken. Little did she suspect that the boy next door, Dex, and a flower completion were exact what she needs to heal.

This was a good, quick read. Here’s what I loved:

🌺 the dialogue. This was an amazing example of hilarious dialogue that just worked. One liners, zippy comebacks, and the ever changing nicknames for Hollyn’s ex were spot on.

🌻 The side characters. Literally every one of them was amazing. I wanted to join in on this little world and be friends with all of them. Jake and Brynn had me dying in laughter. Mercy is the bff we all deserve. River was just the right amount of annoying little brother. The parents were iconic. I just loved them all.

🌸 The love story. I adored Hollyn and Dex. His childhood crush and their developing friendship made for some good angst. I wanted them to be together! Plus Dex is such a book boyfriend. This man had it all.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the ARC book in exchange for an honest review.

Release date: 12/8

This was a fun read! A relatively low conflict, closed door friends to lovers jaunt. If the brother’s best friend thing isn’t normally your bag, give this one a try anyway. Instead of two MC’s that are constantly bickering and kinda hated each other as kids, Hollyn and Dax actually get along.

There’s also a generous heaping of sexual tension, but no actual sex scenes. So if you’re not an open door kind of person, points in your favor!

This book put me in a really good mood. It’s just a really, really chill romcom and is perfect for when you need a pick me up.

This book was so cute and such a breath of fresh air! It was original, and unique! The characters were so endearing. <3

My only hiccup was not caring for Hollyn’s dad. Seem like there were more issues there that were never unpacked. They talked about her being self-centered so much, but it’s not a quality we ever actually see. She seems so sweet from beginning to end, but she does grow as a character.

Dax…. Holy moly! Dax is dream man material!!!

I am not a movie watcher, but I would watch the crap out of this if it ever becomes a movie…. Which it should!

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read such a great book! All thoughts and opinions are 100% mine.

Who doesn't love a sweet, second chance romance?! This was so sweet, cute, endearing and adorable!

I thought the characters were well developed, relatable (but I am a bit over the whole man is 6'5, woman is "pint sized" 5'3), felt like real humans I could be friends with and the friendships surrounding them were just the best!

I giggled, I smiled while reading and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

I loved this rom com so much! I love the connection between the title and the main characters flower job. I've read other stories by Aimee Brown so I had some high expectations. This definitely met those expectations and may now be my favorite story of hers!

"𝑶𝒏𝒆 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒈𝒐, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒔𝒃𝒂𝒏𝒅."

This book gave me all the feels! Some scenes I laughed out loud, others I had to swallow the lump in my throat and then there were the scenes where the lump didn't go away and I just cried!

I loved that we got to experience the feelings of both Hollyn and Dax in the same scene. I feel like it was really important for the reader to experience it this way since the one's feelings were so different than the other - they stemmed from different places.
Character development also played a very important role in this story and it was displayed perfectly. We got to experience the growth of Hollyn first hand by seeing her struggles (the ones she showed to others as well as those she kept to herself) and how she overcame them with some help from her loved ones. I also loved Hollyn's little revenge achievements during her lowest moments, they were so comedic!

Hello brothers best friend! Dax was once a dorky teenage next door neighbor / brothers best friend - but Dax had character development inside and out! He is now every woman's dream, but he only has one woman in his dreams.
"... 𝒂𝒏𝒅, 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅, 𝑰'𝒅 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍."
Dax is of course the perfect book boyfriend ever! Not only is he perfect on the outside (if you know what I mean), but his actions is so pure and romantic that you cannot get any better.

"𝑾𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑰𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒂?
𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒂. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆."
Need I say more!?

The side characters - I loved the attitude that River has and the brother sister bond with Hollyn. Mercy on the other hand is very straight and honest when it comes to her best friend, and she will also do anything to protect her. I don't want to go into a lot of detail on them since they will both get their own books! Excitement overload!

This is one for the fans of romance (hint of rom-com), brothers best friend trope and the boy next door.

I’m sorry I took so long to get here.’‘You’re right on time, gorgeous.’

This was an endearing and sweet second chance romance book. The characters were well crafted and sensible. Dax & Hollyn have known each other since years because Dax is Hollyn's little brother's bestfriend. Hollyn is going through a bad breakup which leads her back to her hometown. She reconnects with old friends, her family and Dax. She still considers Dax a very dear friend but she's unaware of the fact that he has had feelings for her right from when he was just twelve years old. But due to their age gap and an unspoken agreement with his bestfriend, he had to maintain his distance. Though now that she's back, will Dax finally confess or will some problems create misunderstandings between them? You have to read to find out! Overall, it was a well written read but sometimes I felt disconnected with the story so it was a 3.5 star read for me. Nevertheless, if you are looking for a feel good light-hearted romance, this one is the right pick for you.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review

I really loved the characters!! Each different character was so well written - you just can't help but fall in love with them all!! But I didn't enjoy the lack of spice! I found it to be a sweet and charming read that really could have been amazing with a bit of spice added in!!

Overall, was a really enjoyable read that was filled with lots of sweet and funny moments!! Im really looking forward to reading the next book in the series!!!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book.

A funny and sweet story about two friends who meet after 8 years and they work together so he can win a competition so he can buy the flower shop his late father used to have . She is his best friend older sister and his crush from the age of 12 . She just ended a relatioship after 8 years so she wants to start fresh . Will they give it a chance ?
I received this book from net galley and the publisher as an ARC. Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Get ready to laugh out loud and have a tissue box ready!!!!

Dax Hartley, a florist, has been in love with his childhood crush, Hollyn for nearly a decade. Hollyn has just been betrayed by her long term boyfriend and has to move back home jobless and broke. Hollyn’s brother offers his room in the apartment he shares with Dax as a soft spot for Hollyn to land. Now Dax is faced with living with the woman he is in love with, but doesn’t know it. The two compete in a floral competition to win the money to buy his deceased dad’s floral shop, all while exploring what might have been.

I would recommend this book to any lover of forced proximity, friends to lovers, an slow burn romance tropes. I don’t generally become attached to the male love interest, but man did I fall hard for Dax! He’s everything you want in a man: supportive, sensitive, protective, and funny. Hollyn on the other hand just seemed to blunder her way through the book. I liked her subplot of working through childhood trauma and anxiety though. This book was also hilarious. I haven’t enjoyed a rom-com this much since Talia Hibbert’s Brown Sisters series. Both are laugh out loud funny with great mental health representation. I think He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not is perfect for someone who loved the general feel of the Brown Sisters, but doesn’t like smut as much. All of the steamier scenes are written in a fade to black format, so you’re mostly focusing on the character’s emotional connection, not the physicality.

I seriously loved this book and I think it’s a contender for my top 10 of 2022.

Release Date: December 7, 2022

Thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood books for the ARC of this book!

It wasn’t my favorite romance, but it would make a good movie. I was disappointed because the book had a lot of potential. Wy

Do you ever really forget the girl next door? As much as he tries, Dax Hartley certainly doesn’t. Sure, he’s grown out of his teenage awkward years and into his 6’ 4” frame, and is now considered a hot bachelor known to charm the ladies. But when his best friend’s sister comes back home after years away, will Dax change his tune? Enter beautiful Hollyn Matthews, hoping to start fresh after losing her long time boyfriend and her job. But can she get over the chip on her shoulder of being in her former pop star mother’s shadow and also not being good enough to marry per her ex?

Well one thing’s for sure, when Dax comes to pick up Hollyn from the airport instead of her brother, she’s quick to realize that he’s not just her brother’s best friend anymore but so much more. And that is just what Dax has always wanted. Throw in some cohabitation, ex and family drama, and a reality show to boot and you’ve got a delightful love story!

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for my honest review.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Boldwood Books and #NetGalley. Thank you to the publishers, NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.


Charming, thoughtful and heartfelt.

Such a sweet story 🥰 A nice take on the ol boy next door trope, I loved that there was no unnecessary angst! Dax was total golden retriever energy and I loved it. Very much looking forward to reading stories about the other characters!

Hollyn, getting dumped Legally Blonde Style, goes back to her hometown after 8 years. She has no place to stay so her brother offers his room, which also is right next to his best friend Dax. Dax has been in love with Hollyn since he was 12 and his childhood crush coming back into his life is going to cause all sorts of issues.
Dax is in need of money to save his dad's flower shop that he took over. In order to do this, he gets into a reality competition so he doesn't have time for distractions now, namely, his feelings for Hollyn. When it comes up he needs an assistant though, he chooses Hollyn because, well, her life imploded and she isn't doing anything else right now.
I am in the minority, I know I am, but the lack of communication from Dax to pretty much everyone in this story was just unnerving. At every turn he wasn't telling people his true feelings and it got him into some weird situations to say the least. While I could sympathize with Hollyn, just getting out of an 8 year relationship the way she did was super hard and emotional, I struggled to picture her at 29 years old. The characters in this book were so immature that I really felt like I was reading a college age book. If you like brother's best friends to lovers books, you may really enjoy this, but it fell flat for me due to the issues I had with the male MC and other plotlines woven into this story that I felt were unncesscary and just overdone.
Thank you to Aimee Brown, Blackstone and Netgalley for an early copy.

Sweet and funny friends-to-lovers storyline. Also throw in a bit of “brother’s best friend”, “reconnecting after years apart”, and “reality TV teammates” and you have a really good book.

Really liked Hollyn and Dax, and the secondary characters were great as well.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Watch for “He Loves Me He Loves Me Not” to come out on December 8, 2022!

This was such an incredibly fun page-turner of a read.

The dual POVs were deftly written and I fell in love with the MCs, Dax and Hollyn, as well as the supporting characters. Aimee Brown also creates a rich world of childhood memories and supporting characters to bring this story to life. Each of the MCs was richly written with truthful emotions and obvious attraction. Their love story was a pleasure to read - I do love a foregone conclusion that the characters have yet to discover - as it unfolded amongst mayhem and hilarity. SO OFTEN, I was laughing out loud while reading this.

Huge congratulations to Aimee Brown (and Boldwood for snapping her up). I have been a fan of hers for years now and this is easily my favourite book of hers to date.

'He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not' made me fall in love with all of the characters. It's the perfect balance of slow-burn, second chance love, and friends to lovers that makes me unable to put down the book. The main character, Hollyn, has just been dumped by her boyfriend, and she thought that he was going to propose to her! She has to figure out what her next chapter is, and she reaches out to her brother, River. River tells Hollyn that she can come and stay with him and his best friend, Dax. Dax was River and Hollyn's next-door neighbor growing up, but he has been in love with Hollyn since he was 12 years old. Dax never told her how he really felt about her. Will sparks fly as she returns how and she's sleeping in the bedroom next to us?

Dax is more than just the boy next-door. He runs a floral business out of a van, and he is hoping to be able to buy back his father's floral shop. His cousin, Brynn, enters him into a reality competition to find the next great floral designer. As part of the competition, Dax has to choose an assistant, and he picks Hollyn. The two of them begin to work closer together, and they begin to spend all of their time together.

The author, Aimee Brown, does such a great job of developing this world, and all of the side characters are so interesting. I'm so happy to see that she is making separate books for the characters of River and Mercy. Mercy is Hollyn's childhood best friend, and I can't wait to read more about her in the next book in the series. Because of the depth of characters, I was swept up by the love and friendship throughout this story.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a feel-good romance. I read a lot of romance books, and this one really stood out to me. It's such a sweet story, and I can't wait to read the follow-up books in the series.

Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the ARC of this amazing book!

As soon as I got this downloaded, I was nose to reader. It's sexy, genuine, characters who had me falling hard for them. It made me mad that I have to blink because I didn't want to miss a moment not even any punctuation.

Dax wants to buy his father's old florist shop. He needs to win the reality show Battle of the Blossoms to get the money for it. After a failed relationship, Hollyn moves back home and stays his brother and his best friend Dax. She helps Dax as his assistant and their feelings start to show....

Lots of funny scenes. Some really outrageous ones actually. It's sweet too... Love both Dax and Hollyn. The whole cast is funny. Really had fun reading it.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.