Hollyn returns home after a breakup, having largely ignored her family for eight years. The only place available for her to stay is at the apartment her younger brother shares with his childhood best friend, Dax. Dad has loved Hollyn for as long as he can remember, but he can't get distracted by the return of Hollyn, even though she's living with him. Instead, he needs to win the money to buy the flower shop his father used to own. But will he be able to stay focused on his goal?

For the most part, this is a cute rom-com. There is plenty of easy banter between Hollyn and Dax, and Dax is adorable. Hollyn is so oblivious to many things going on around her and very naive at times, which can be a little annoying. Some of the events feel forced to satisfy the plot, without really making logical sense (her famous mother lives in a house with a pool, but no guest room and her brother practically abandons her even before she arrives in town). Dax is definitely the star of the story: he's such a sweetheart and feels the most well-rounded. Some of the supporting characters are less so, especially River and Mercy. The constant 'Moments later…‘ etc were completely unnecessary, particularly as there were no flashbacks or leaps in time. Still, I liked the relationship development and the ending is sweet.

Overall Rating: ❤️❤️❤️.5
Heat Rating: 🔥
Emotional Rating: 💓🙄😬🤔🥰😂🙈💓😬🥰

*Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to leave an honest review*

Told from two perspectives, we meet Dax, a florist entering into the Battle of the Blossoms contest to win $50,000 and the opportunity to buy his late father’s flower business. Then we meet Hollyn, Dax’s best friend’s sister, whose heart is crushed by her much older boyfriend, then promptly shipped back home to start fresh and to deal with the breakup.

As much as Dax wants to believe he got over past feelings for Hollyn, their forced proximity sparks those flames once again. And man did it keep my attention.

I couldn’t put this book down even if I wanted to.

I loved Dax and Hollyn. They were a great combination of good, long-time friends balancing delicately on the fine line of ‘should-we-or-shouldn’t-we’. Even though at times it seemed like Dax was too perfect with his thoughtful and patient nature and Hollyn seemed naive and oblivious to Dax’s adoration of her. I am concerned the characters may have a winking/eye problem, especially Dax, but maybe that’s just a part of his charm.

I’m not one to start or continue a series, but I am interested in Mercy and River’s stories (Hollyn’s best friend and brother). I’m hoping for an enemies-to-lovers storyline because it felt like the banter was already between them. Fingers crossed!

Also, I have to mention I loved the playlist Aimee Brown provided at the very end. I thought it gave a little more insight into the story and definitely added some new music to my ever-growing playlist!

Thank you, Aimee Brown, Boldwood Books, and NetGalley, for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Dax Hartley has made flowers his entire life, just like his late father did.

When his dad’s old florist’s shop is up for sale, he has to have it. Only problem is, he’d need to sell a
kidney to afford it.

The reality show Battle of the Blossoms is the perfect opportunity to win the money he needs, but when his childhood crush blows back into his life, distractions risk taking his eyes off the prize. He needs his head and heart to start working together to ensure he doesn’t miss the opportunity of a lifetime.

Hollyn Matthews has made some colossal mistakes in life.

When she’s dumped just as she’s expecting an engagement ring, she knows she’s put her heart into the wrong man. Hoping for a second chance at being a grown-up, she moves home to stay with her brother and his best friend Dax, a boy whose memory faded as she ran away from her past. Facing the hurt she left behind means facing some home truths about herself, but there’s one boy who has always loved her, if only she’d take the time to notice him.

I was very much looking forward to trying this book from a new (to me) author, and I must confess to welling up at the dedication to the author’s Father at the beginning of the book. I am sure he is looking down very proudly.

For me, this book started with an ‘explosive’ LOL’ moment at the wedding involving flowers and Dax, resulting in my instant warming to his character. I had an almost immediate juxtaposition of emotions however, upon meeting Hollyn. Needless to say, she needn’t have practiced her ‘surprised’ face. Battle of the Blossoms did however sound as though it could go some way towards solving Dax’s financial problems with regards to his Late Father’s flower shop. I looked forward to how this storyline was going to pan out, aided by Hollyn.

I did love the relationship that Hollyn had with her Brother River; he sounded like the perfect support in a time of crisis. It seemed right that Hollyn would turn to River at this time of need. I wasn’t sure what to expect of Hollyn staying over at River’s place, with his fiat mate, Dax, who has had a latent crush on Hollyn since childhood. I liked both characters, so would be open to them getting together, although it seemed as though Hollyn had a lot of pain to deal with in the first instance. It certainly seems however, that Dax has improved with age, like a fine wine! Tristan, on the other hand, was a complete waste of space, and downright unpleasant to boot!

I found Hollyn’s relationship with her parents, in particular her Mother, most distressing. It broke my heart when her Mother acknowledged and ‘allowed’ Hollyn to apologise for being such an awful Daughter! Methinks the apology should be reversed! Very very sad, although her Dad did redeem himself when he stood up for her when Tristan turned up!

So, will Dax be able to continue denying that he has any long held feelings for Hollyn?
Will het get to buy his late Father’s shop?

You will find these answers and more, when you read this great book for yourself.

At last! Author Aimee Brown’s “He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not” has just released. I had the opportunity to read this as a beta reader and I loved it then but I love it more now in its published form.

Dax is a florist who has loved Hollyn since he was a teenager. When Hollyn’s long term boyfriend college professor (manther…old guys who date much younger women. Man plus panther) breaks her heart, she returns to her hometown broke, homeless, and without a job. Her brother River offers her a room in his apartment—but that also means she’ll be sharing the apartment with River’s best friend Dax.

“He’s no longer the skinny, dorky kid who used to help River terrorize everything did. This guy is cool, tattooed, bearded, smells nice, looks nicer, and he brought me flowers. I’d say his dorky days are behind him. Well done, puberty. I applaud you.”

Dax hires Hollyn as his floral assistant and when they end up competing in reality floral competition, the stakes increase—that prize money would allow him to buy the floral shop that once belong to his deceased father.

“I think he feels like his life purpose is on the line. He wants to use this money to buy back his late father’s florist shop. He was just a kid when his dad passed and I watched his whole world collapse that day.”

Brown is a great storyteller. She knows how to make the heart pitter-patter:

“Dax,” she says, stepping closer, her voice hardly more than a whisper as she closes her eyes. “Do it now. Kiss me now.”

And these characters? Swoon. I love the “Flower Boy.” Easy to recommend “He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not.” Stories like this are why I love reading romance. This would translate well to film. Hear me Netflix gods?

Dax Hartley has made flowers his entire life, just like his late father did.
When his dad's old florist’s shop is up for sale, he has to have it. Only problem is, he'd need to sell a kidney to afford it. The reality show Battle of the Blossoms is the perfect opportunity to win the money he needs, but when his childhood crush blows back into his life, distractions risk taking his eyes off the prize. He needs his head and heart to start working together to ensure he doesn't miss the opportunity of a lifetime.

I started off very much liking this book and the plot of brother's best friend/childhood crush but as the book went on, I found myself growing very bored. The plot was extremely fast and it felt as if the characters did not have a strong connection naturally. I did like many parts of the book and thought the whole premise was sweet but this one just didn't click with me the way I wanted it to.

I rated this 3 stars.

This was a very cute and enjoyable romcom that focuses on Dax, a florist who wants to buy his dad's old shop and start his own shop like his dad did and Hollyn who spent eight years with a narcissistic man who broke her heart and ruined her life. They are childhood friends, with him being Hollyn's brother's best friend, and when she needs a play to stay and he needs an assistant for a floral competition his cousin signs him up for, they are thrust back into each other's lives.

I really enjoyed the dynamic of Dax and Hollyn learning how to maneuver around each other as adults as they'd only really ever known each other as children. I loved Hollyn with her brother, River, and also the relationships they each have with their family members. Hollyn's mom really redeems herself over the course of the novel and I love how Hollyn begins to learn to love herself again, despite the atrocious way she was treated by Tristan and a supposed friend that is mentioned in the story.

The storyline with Tristan/Victoria and Hollyn is mentioned quite often through the book, but I did appreciate that it was handled mostly off screen with just enough face time with Tristan to show how truly awful he was, but the focus was more on how Dax helped Hollyn through her feelings, her low self esteem and feelings of being unworthy and as if her family hated her and saw her the way she'd been led to believe by Tristan.

The only real gripe I have with this book is that Hollyn's dad's comments about her being selfish and "bad" are not ever actually shown in the novel. She's not portrayed or written that way at all and it felt like a massive disservice to have that be the sentiment she takes away from her relationship with her dad. That ball was dropped in a big way and I left the story hating Hollyn's dad because he just comes across as a massive asshole for no reason. The way he spoke to her when she first returned was so beyond inappropriate as a father to a kid who was clearly going through something traumatic, I was hoping it'd be explained why he was such an insensitive jerk, that when their relationship came down to her having to apologize for something she barely even did, it left a knot in my stomach and it made the book end on a sour note. I really did not enjoy that. This was the only thing that made me drop the rating from a 5 to a 4, because this entire thing could've and should've been handled and written in a much better way.

The epilogue is cute, though.

Thanks to NetGalley for the book for an honest review.

Dax and Hollyn's love story was a solid three stars for me. I did like the characters and I enjoyed the reality show premise, but for whatever reason the melding of all of it just left me wanting more from the story.

I love a good unrequited love story, so I felt for Dax every time he tried to deny his feelings around Hollyn. And while I loved the idea of Hollyn - a girl running from her past who ends up making some hard-to-overcome mistakes, only to find her happy ending with someone who was right in front of her the whole time - I just had such a hard time connecting with her on the page. I didn't dislike her; I just didn't love her, either.

I thought the flower-based reality TV show was a unique plot point. I've read plenty of dating reality show romances, but I hadn't read one in which the main characters find love while doing floral arrangements. I thought that was a very nice way to build drama, but again, I just wanted more. The reality show was such an important catalyst for both Hollyn and Dax; it gave Hollyn direction and purpose in her post-breakup life, and it was the one way Dax could save his father's flower shop. Yet we only got a few instances of the show actually playing out on the page. For something that played such a monumental role in both Hollyn and Dax's futures, it ended up having such very little impact on me as a reader. And because of the lack of impact, the drama that should have resulted from the show ended up falling a bit flat for me.

Overall, I loved the characters and I loved the reality show premise. But for whatever reason, I didn't feel the drama or the connection when the plot and characters came together. To me, He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not was cute but a solid three stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book! This is not the first brother’s best friend romance I’ve read, but it might be the cutest.

I will say the most unrealistic part is how open Dax is with his feelings 😂. He’s done a lot of work on himself and is following his dreams - if anyone knows an IRL Dax, I’m currently single.

I enjoyed this story and it did end up surprising me - the twist I thought I saw coming didn’t end up happening. I will definitely be reading Mercy and River’s books when they come out!

Unfortunately, He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not was a "loves me not" for me. A bit tedious and repetitive, I found Dax incredibly dull (never great to be bored by one of the two POV characters), and the actual prose was just unpolished and bland, with flat dialogue in particular. Also, what's the deal with the time stamps? For moments that are, like, a reasonable amount of time later in the scene, and obvious from context? Why do we need that?

Ultimately, a forgettable romance that failed to hook my heart.

This friend's to lovers rom Com was delightful. Dax was by far my favourite and totally swoon worthy character, I mean flowers everyday sign me up!
This book however cute, at times felt repetitive.

I loved this book so much - I loved that Dax fell first and his relationship with Hollyn.

This is a closed door romance which I don’t normally prefer but I thought it worked perfectly with this book - you could feel the chemistry between the characters.

This was a cute book. Nothing spectacular that stood out to me, but a fun read none the less. I would recommend this book as a cute second chance romance. The writing kept me captivated and we could see the connection between Dax and Hollyn. Also kind of loving the brothers best friend trope lately.
Overall great read!

This was just fun to me. The sort of book I read & enjoyed, but could not help to think afterword of the other books I could have read instead. It even has all my favorites wrapped into one with second chance romance mixed with friends to lovers and brother's best friend yet that was not enough to pull it together for me. It was both a little too quick with their feelings and also slow which is sort of impressive if it was not so boring. Also it does the cardinal sin in terms or romance for me which is a bunch of telling and not showing in the progression of feelings.

*I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

This was an absolutely DELIGHTFUL novel! Hollyn and Dax were excellent characters, and as the reader I was rooting for their friendship (and relationship) from the beginning. I love that Dax had been pining for her for decades, and that leant their budding relationship so much credibility. I appreciated that both Dax and Hollyn had great friends within the book as well.

The development of outside relationships with the romantic relationship was forming was very well done and gave the book a more rounded story. Overall, I'm giving this 4 stars.

REVIEW FOR HE LOVES ME, HE LOVES ME NOT

4 stars

Thank you to Netgalley, Boldwood Books and Aimee Brown for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought the story was cute, second chance romance mixed with friends to lovers and brother's best friend. Normally I'm not a huge fan of friends to lovers, because it takes away from people having the ability to just be friends, but this was one-side, unrequited love for a while so I think that's the best version of this trope!

I did feel like the drama with the ex-boyfriend and ex-friend could have been incorporated more. It appeared to be a central theme throughout, but didn't really factor into the arc of the FMC. I think there could have been more added to it while still keeping the arc on a positive trajectory.

Only character I did NOT like was River, Hollyn's brother. He was kind of a jerk, especially to his sister, and his whole "bro code" thing was so, so dumb. However, I would like to see a story with him at the center focus, as maybe it would humanize him a bit more. The other aspect I didn't like was the narration, or establishment of the different scenes. It read too much like a play and detracted from the story some.

Overall, a cute, fun read!

Hollyn is expecting an engagement ring from her older professor boyfriend, but the next thing she knows, she has been dumped and is moving back home. Unfortunately, her parents won't let her live with them, so she moves in with her brother and his best friend Dax. Dax used to be in love with Hollyn. Dax needs a hand on the reality show Battle of the Blossoms that he just joined, so maybe love will blossom between the two yet.

I fell in love with Dax from the get-go. Any book where the guy has fallen first always pulls me in. Dax is the perfect book boyfriend and looks after Hollyn where her family should be. You can feel the history between these two and Brown paces the plot out perfectly. Dax is the Pacey to Hollyn's Joey.

Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this book, the characters were sweet and genuine. Everything felt well balanced and the plot was good. Hollyn had a great development arc and I loved her story with Dax. My only complaint is that it was fade to black and I would be fuming if someone proposed at my wedding…. I would still recommend though .

3.5 stars

The story
Hollyn thinks her long term boyfriend Tristan is going to propose but instead he breaks up with her publicly. And then she finds out he has helped himself to her share of their apartment proceeds. When she moves back home to Portland, it’s not her younger brother meeting her at the airport but his best friend Dax. Dax has grown up since Hollyn last saw him. He’s now a successful florist with a spot on a competition. When Hollyn helps with the contest, the proximity might just do it’s magic.

My thoughts
This books takes its time with a very long slow burn romance taking place between Hollyn and Dax. Put in context though, it plays beautifully into the story of Dax’s strong feelings for Hollyn that he has been having since they were young kids. She’s older than him, they were neighbour’s growing up, and her younger brother is his best friend. He is really in it for the long term, and it’s only when she catches up to his feelings that he allows himself to get closer to her. It’s a sweet story and one where the approval of others is important but not to the detriment of the story.

Read an ebook courtesy of NetGalley
My rating 4/5 - ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

What a lovely couple these two make in this rekindling friendship to lovers romance story. After eight years Hollyn gets out of her long term relationship and moves home to lick her wounds, yet discovers the boy next door who has loved her since high school. Great witty banter throughout this book.

Hollyn is going to dinner with her boyfriend of eight years expecting a proposal. What she gets is dumped along with some cringe worthy put downs.

Hollyn has a lot of work to do to improve her self image after the way she has been treated by her ex.

Now she has returned home to her estranged parents and brother, River. Hollyn moves into her brothers room and lives with the roommate Dax, who is River's best friend. Dax has been secretly in love with Hollyn since they were young.

The story is told from Hollyn and Dax' point of view. The writing style was good expect for a few too many "a short time later" and "the next morning" lines. I enjoyed the history between the main characters when they were young. Such a great friendship. I liked all the characters except for Hollyn's parents.

Throw in a reality flower competition and you've got a fun read.

Thanks to netgalley and Boldwood Books for the arc