It's taken me a while to write this review as I didn't know how to get my feelings on this book across.

I generally love a second chance romance. The opportunities for angst are endless, and I love it when characters have a shared history. However, this book relies too much on the past timeline. At no point was it clear to me why they were getting back together - they just felt like strangers who once knew each other.

This wasn't a bad book. It was just bland and, quite frankly, disappointing as it had so much potential.

Thank you to Julie Soto, Harper Collins and NetGalley for the free e-arc. Obviously, all opinions are my own.

Whilst I absolutely loved this book I will admit that I found the first few chapters confusing and difficult to get into. However, once I had grasped the concept of the two different timelines and told from two POV’s AMA & Elliotts then the story really started to flow for me.

The story begins with Ama a wedding planner dealing with a bride with cold feet on her wedding day, as she puts the brides mind at ease we learn quickly about AMA’s upbringing and why she became a wedding planner. Everything is going well for AMA and her small business and when she lands the opportunity to be the wedding planner for a top influencer with her own make up brand she decides to go for it, there is just one little snag in the deal, the brides want to work with a specific florist and that’s just happens to be someone that AMA is not too comfortable working with.

Told from two timelines, present day and three years previous we begin to see the love story between AMA and Elliot unfold.

I’m not one for spoilers so I will leave it there. What I will say though is if romance with some added spice is your thing then I highly recommend this book.

For me this was a 5 star read. I would like to say a big thank you to Harper Collins and Net galley for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

Forget Me Not is one of the best romance books that I have read in a while and it is now a new all time favourite. As soon as I started this book, I fell instantly in love with it. The writing was so fun to read and I loved all of the characters. Elliot Bloom is now one of my new favourite book boyfriends and I am obsessed with him. He is literally the definition of I hate everyone but you and I love him.
This book is a second chance romance with a past and present timeline which is one of my favourite romance tropes. I loved that in this book, the present timeline was told by Ama but the past timeline was told by Elliot. There was just something about this book that felt so special as soon as I started it and I knew it was going to be a five star read. It was so fast paced and fun and had me giggling so many times because of how adorable Ama and Elliot were.
I cannot wait to read future books by Julie Soto because I loved this one so much.

A wedding planner and her florist ex-boyfriend getting a second chance at romance? I was sold at the blurb, and Forget Me Not didn't disappoint!
Ama and Elliot are forced to work together for the first time since they broke up three years ago for a high-profile celebrity wedding. Things are further complicated by the two meddling brides, who are determined to play matchmaker for them and by the involvement of a TV crew documenting the whole wedding.
I loved the sumptuous descriptions of the decor and would absolutely love to see Elliot's dance floor design in real life. I have a bit of a soft spot for tattoos and I loved the meaning behind Elliot's ink. Tattooed cinnamon roll for the win!
This is perfect for anyone who loves to read about the behind the scenes of wedding planning.

This just didn’t wow me I’m afraid.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book.

This book was such a sweet, heart warming story. I read it very quickly due to it's fast paced plot and loved the characters too.

Forget Me Not by Julie Soto

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

An ambitious wedding planner must work with her grumpy florist ex, whose heart she broke, on the most high-profile wedding of her career, in this spicy and emotional romance from popular fanfic author Julie Soto.

He loves me; he loves me not... 

Ama Torres loves being a wedding planner. But with a mother who has been married more times than you can count on your fingers, Ama has decided that marriage is not the route for her. But weddings? Weddings are amazing. As a small business owner, she knows how to match her clients with the perfect vendor to give them the wedding of their dreams. Well, almost perfect…

Elliot hates being a florist, most of the time. When his father left him the flower shop, he considered it a burden, but he’s stuck with it. Just like how he’s stuck with the way he proposed to Ama, his main collaborator and girlfriend (or was she?) two years ago. But flowers have grown on him, just like Ama did. And flowers can’t run off and never speak to him again, like Ama did. 

When Ama is hired to plan a celebrity wedding that will bring her business national exposure, there's a catch: Elliot is already contracted to design the flowers. Things are not helped by the two brides, who see the obvious chemistry between Ama and Elliot and are determined to set them up, not knowing their complicated history. Add in a meddling ex-boss, and a reality TV film crew documenting every step of the wedding prep, and Ama and Elliot's hearts are not only in jeopardy again, but this time, their livelihoods are too.

My Opinion

This was one of those books where I went into without reading the blurb so this was a pleasant surprise. I enjoyed reading this, it was such an entertaining and heart-warming novel. Julie Soto tells this with the use of two different perspectives - Ama tells the present tense timeline whereas Elliot shows the past. For me this was an original idea, a wedding planner that doesn't believe in marriage.

Rating 4/5

"Marriages will never be perfect. They're always a week in progress. But weddings? Weddings are just a moment in time, striving to be perfect."

3.5 stars!

A fun, multi-pov romance focusing on the wedding scene!

With a trope I adore, the grump x sunshine, the dynamic between the characters I easily enjoyed. I enjoyed that the characters were developed and their flaws worked well for their character and the overall story. I would have appreciated more development of the side characters, but the main focus was the two leads.

I greatly enjoyed that this story had angst that I search for, the slow angst of romance and the main characters having to deal with all the emotions associated with past actions and behaviours. It wasn't quickly solved and I enjoyed how this impacted and change the development of the story.

The only downfall for me personally was the twists and major plot points in the final third. Whilst I acknowledge that they did add different layers to the story, it just seemed to throw off the flow that had been building. I wanted a greater satisfaction of the grand wedding, but it just seemed to end slightly flat.

Overall, an enjoyable romance with fun tropes!

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK for the eARC, I am voluntarily leaving a review

This book has been a highly anticipated romance debut for a lot of people, myself included, and on the whole, I think it definitely lived up to expectations! I think a wedding setting is always fun in a romcom so the fact that Ama was a wedding planner was perfect, and I liked how Elliot, the love interest, was brought into the story through their working together, with him owning a flower shop, which I also really enjoy in cute stories like this. I liked Ama as a protagonist almost immediately, but found Elliot harder to warm up to - however, I knew some big reveal was awaiting me and I'm glad I stuck around for it as it explained a lot. Their chemistry was great, thanks to Soto's strong writing, and while the story was very easily digestible, it wasn't made too simplistic - I would certainly read more from her in the future.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this new novel.

This was a cute romance! I liked Ama and Elliot but they both got on my nerves too :) I have many questions...
Why did people like Elliot if he never was nice and polite? How did he get friends? Elliot hated flowers so when did he change his mind?
Ama...she needed some therapy and was a sweetheart.

I’ve found the elements that make or break a second-chance romance read for me. It’s the way we see the characters meet again in the present with tangible tension while also reading their backstory on how they first met and fell in love. These two timelines are narrated together with the right timing and then we see conflict and the climax. With that, I can get to see the reasons why I should root for them. This book captures that, and I realized it’s the same for other related books that I love.

Ama is a hardworking young woman with grit. She started her own wedding planning business for couples with smaller budgets and providing them a wedding that encapsulates their love. She did this after having left her mentor’s business and continues to prove herself worthy despite the questions of her professionalism and nature.

While she is all sunshine and is relationship-averse (ironically), Elliot is the opposite as he is grumpy and a romantic at heart. You can guess why they broke up based on that, and them in forced proximity, working together again after 2 years, there is tension, the same chemistry they’ve had since the start, and a quiet pining for each other.

Elliot is precious here with the way he thinks for the best for Ama and will do things for her even when things were rocky between them. Him being a softie and romantic you can get to read in his POV narrating the past (the present is told in Ama’s POV).

The climax part including the wedding shenanigans that occurred and the way they got back together was interesting to read. Although, I wish I get to see more of their reconciliation on the page and how they navigated their life together moving forward, which is why I rated it 4.5 (and because I was reading so slow but it’s more of a me thing since this book is attention-grabbing)

It’s a wonderful debut and I think you’ll enjoy this one. I highly recommend and I can’t wait to read more from this author.

Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for this eARC.

Rating: 4.5⭐️

a great summer read! full of love, romance, weddings and a grumpy florist and a wedding planner that doesn’t believe in weddings! all this adds up to a fun filled read
looking forward to what happens next so hoping there is a follow up!

This was good, but not great. I had so high hopes, but ultimately this fell a little flat.
It was well paced and I actually did like the two timelines, but it wasn’t anything super special.

3/5⭐️

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book as I wasn’t familiar with the author or with Sacramento, but I really enjoyed it.

Ama has started her own wedding business, with the support of her former boss Whitney, her family and her many step siblings from her mum’s SIXTEEN weddings - that’s how Ama realised her talent. But now she is due to meet her biggest starriest client ever! If only the clients didn’t have their hearts set on Elliott Bloom as their florist. If there’s one person Ama simply can’t be around it’s Elliott. But why?

Told in different timelines by dual narrators, I really enjoyed the way this story unfolded and getting to know the characters. I would recommend (just be aware of the racy scenes of you are reading your kindle in a just children’s play area!)

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review.

Ama is a wedding planner who has started up her own agency
Elliott is a florist who worked with and then inherited the shop when his dad died.
They used to be an item a few years previous but Ama wouldn’t commit to the relationship and called it off which left Elliott angry and hurt.
A celebrity wedding Ama has secured brings them back into contact as one if the brides knows Elliott.
Can they work together or will it be too much ?
I enjoyed it

This was such an amazing read and the part with Whitney was particularly on spot! It is a fast paced read that has some incredible steam and a swoon worthy characters.

I really enjoyed this! Well written, great flow. The dual pov worked really well, both main characters were endearing and I loved getting both of their points of view. I also loved that while we still got that typical rom com happy ever after, it didn’t end with the usually ‘two years a marriage and kids later epilogue’. It felt real, relatable and emotional.

A second chance romance for Elliot and Ama, told between now and then, before it all fell apart. Forced to work together on an upcoming wedding, will they fall again? A great read.

This book is SO brilliant. I am not usually a fan of books that go between different time periods however this was totally the exception for me. I loved Elliott and Ama who are flawed but lovable characters and the humour thrown in throughout kept me from putting this book down.

I must say firstly that the UK cover is not good - Definitely would put me off purchasing IRL.
Story is sunshine x grumpy, second chance and thankfully ... Dual POV! FMC is a wedding planner and MMC is a florist. The dual POVs are used really well for the MMC. This book had just the right amount of spice! Really look forward to seeing what else the author writes in the future.