Chloe Liese continues to shine with her trademark warmth, representation, and depth. This is a beautifully layered second-chance romance that feels real and affirming. Emotionally rich and utterly swoon-worthy.

4 stars!
Once Smitten, Twice Shy is a tender, cosy read about healing, second chances, and falling in love with someone who truly sees you. Juliet and Will communicate like actual adults (refreshing!), and the fake-dating, insta-love dynamic is both sweet and swoony.

I adored the sisterhood, the pinkie promises, the Scottish touches, and the thoughtful rep — Juliet lives with a chronic condition, and Will is neurodivergent. While the Twelfth Night reimagining felt a little thin, this was still such a heartwarming journey with no third-act breakup and loads of charm.

Perfect for fans of B.K. Borison’s Lovelight series and New Girl’s Jess & Nick.

Tropes: fake dating, insta-love, healing from past trauma, neurodivergent MMC, chronic illness rep, no third-act breakup, group chat chaos, playlists, soft spice.

Once Smitten, Twice Shy is the third and final book in the Wilmot Sisters series and follows Juliet, who has recently got out of a toxic relationship and been diagnosed with a chronic illness, and Will, whose autism makes socializing difficult. They agree to practice dating so Will can become more confident in flirting and Juliet can regain her confidence in romance.

I was really excited to read this book as I loved 'Better Hate Than Never' but sadly I really wasn't very keen on this one. My biggest gripe is that it felt very insta-lovey so the characters feelings didn't really develop throughout their fake dating scheme. Additionally I thought their reasons for wanting to fake date were flimsy at best for example in Will's case he's ultimately looking for someone to take over running his family's farm and distillery with but I'm not entirely sure why it has to be someone he's romantically involved with and not just a business partner. When it becomes clear that they both have feelings for each other, it becomes incredibly frustrating that they keep up the practice dating charade for no apparent reason. The author did try and introduce a forbidden aspect to their relationship in that she is like a sister to his best friend but this perspective felt quite out dated.

One of the things I really enjoyed about Better Hate Than Never was the chronic illness and neurodivergent representation. As someone who suffers with migraines it was a nice change seeing them in a romance book. However in the case of this book I didn't think the representation was done well at all as it mostly came for the protagonists info dumping at each other in conversations and came across as quite preachy rather than portraying what it is actually like to live with these conditions. In general, I found the dialogue very scripted and almost rehearsed so it didn't sound natural at all. For example there is a scene where Will sends Juliet a picture of his pitbull and she sends back a paragraph about the importance of socializing dogs and the stigmatism around bully breeds.

Finally I find the nicknames the sisters have for each other extremely cringey and can't see why anyone in their late twenties/early thirties would instead on calling their sisters KitKat, Juju or BeeBee. I wouldn't mind if they threw this in to conversation to tease each other or something similar but they refer to each other by these nicknames consistently and I got second hand embarrassment every single time.

Overall this book was a bit of a let down for me however I do still want to read Two Wrongs Make a Right as it is based off my favourite Shakespeare play.

This is the 3rd book in The Wilmot Sisters trilogy but it's perfectly fine to read as a standalone.

I've read quite a few of Chloe Liese's books but this one was not one of my favourites. I felt like I've read it before after reading the Bergman Brothers series. This one really isn't any different - woman with physical disability meets a neuro-spicy man and they work hard to make their relationship work.

Juliet and Will were ok as characters but I didn't feel like I could connect to either of them and I didn't really like their whole "practice romance" scheme that they came up with. It would have been better for them to just be friends and help each other through the things they're finding difficult and rather than talking about the fact they're starting to have feelings for each other they try and hide behind their "practice" which just felt childish.

It would have been nice to get a bit more background into Juliet's break up with her ex to explain why she was feeling so fragile. Maybe it's explained in the other books but given this is Juliet's book and is a fairly big part of her story it would have made sense to dive into this a bit more but the only mention of it was how she was left feeling.

Thanks to NetGalley and Piatkus for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

"The plan was to stop hiding in the cottage, inhaling shortbread and rewatching Fleabag."

I mean, that sounds like the perfect night to me, Juliet, but whatever...

This is the third and final Wilmot Sisters book, and it's Juliet's turn to take centre stage. This one's a reimagining of Twelfth Night, but not in a "She's the Man" way. Juliet has had terrible relationships in the past, and is still healing from the residual trauma. When she keeps bumping into handsome Will, the two soon realise that they can help each other out: Juliet wants to get comfortable with the idea of romance again, and Will needs to get better at romance if he's to find a wife (I can't remember why he needs to find a wife, apologies).

Here beginneth ye olde fake dating romance, which is most satisfying. Y'all know I enjoy a slow burn, a pine, a lean, a good "fuck it" moment, and this book delivers. As with other Chloe Liese books, there's good disability rep, with Juliet living with a connective tissue disorder and Will being neurodivergent. It's also dual POV, which I really appreciated, and there's no clichéd third act breakup.

I liked Juliet and Will a lot. I liked how they were both vulnerable but willing to put the work in to better themselves and each other. I also enjoyed the side characters, especially the ones we've seen in other books in this series. On that note, you don't have to be familiar with any other books to read this one - you can dive in at any point. The other two books are also based on Shakespeare plays, which is always fun.

I received an eARC from Little Brown UK on Netgalley, for which I'm very grateful.

What a fab end to a fab trio of books! I love these retelling of old stories. Líese has such a magical way of writing that is inclusive and real

I have to say this was my least favourite book of Chloe's so far - I just didn't fully buy into the romance of this, and I felt the pacing was off with their "practicing" morphing into a real relationship.

This series is so warm and comforting, and I was so happy to finally see Juliet get her own story. This is a story of healing and learning to trust again and I think the author handled it beautifully. Juliet is so sweet and deserving of love, and then to have Will as the MMC - he's so quiet and unassuming and I loved them together. I loved the glimpses we had of the characters from the previous books, and seeing how they're getting on. The pacing is a bit slow at times, but overall this was so sweet, and I'm so sad to be leaving this family behind.

This was an ok read for me! If you love friends to lovers, slow burn romance you will enjoy this one. Hope to check out more books from this author :)

Thank you to Chloe Liese and Netgalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

"Once Smitten, Twice Shy" is the third and final book in 'The Wilmot Sisters' series. This follows Juliet (a woman who has previously left an abusive relationship), and Will, a neurodivergant man who struggles with love. They devise a plan to 'practise' love, going on dates and just being together.

One thing I love about this book was the diversity in it; there was quite a few LGBTQ+ side characters, but our main characters were also diverse as well. Juliet has celiac disease and also connective tissue disease - the book talks about how difficult it is to find places that would accommodate her dietary needs, it also shows how difficult it is to live with a chronic illness.

Our main male character Will has autism and the book is very focused on the struggles associated with having autism - such as loud noises, touch difficulties, sensory issues and things like that.

Will and Juliet take care of each other so beautifully; Will respects and understands Juliet's needs with her health conditions, he doesn't coddle her or treat her like she's fragile. Juliet understands Will's needs as a neurodivergant man, but she doesn't treat him any differently. They respect each others boundaries and they respect each other.

I think this is one of the healthiest romance couples I've read about to this day. There were a couple of issues here and there, but that's normal in relationships - they worked together to solve the issues.

As individual characters, I love them so much and I relate to them. They work so well together!

I haven't read book one or two in the series, however I plan on reading them as soon as I can! I would recommend reading them in order. This book was so good, I can only imagine that the first two will be just as good.

I loved every single character in this story, all of the side characters and previous main characters. It was such a healthy and positive environment. We had a wlw couple, we had a mlm couple, we had so many different types of characters. It was a beautiful book with amazing characters, easily a 5🌟 read for me.

No notes, just perfect.

But seriously now - The neurospicy rep? The chronic illness rep? The Shakespeare retelling? This book was calling my name. And it did not disappoint! Chloe Liese is officially on my autobuy list.

This was a light and fun read with only a smattering of angst. I hadn't read the earlier Wilmot Sister books and picked this up for something a little different, and it was! I loved the neurodiversity and chronic illness reps in this book because I always feel like I learn something. It was also fun to make the connections with Twelfth Night and other Shakespere items eg the Montague neighbour. However the spice felt a little forced and out of place, even though it was well written. Maybe it was a late edition to the book?

Big thanks to NetGalley, Little, Brown Book Group UK and Chloe Liese for a copy of this book. This is my honest review.

I was so thankful for being given the opportunity to read this book, I have loved this series and cannot wait to buy this one physically, I love Chloe’s writing style and the representation that she brings with each book. This is definitely my new favourite of the series .

I love how this author is so inclusive with her characters and usually enjoy her books, but i struggled with this one a bit. Maybe it wasn't the right time to read it, but I didn't feel the pull to pick it up.
The premise was fun with both characters helping each other to give romance another try and the last third was good, so I'm glad I did keep going.

ˋ°•*⁀➷ Tropes

🎀 Reimagining of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night
🎀 Star crossed lovers
🎀 Romance practice lessons
🎀 Grumpy x sunshine
🎀 Neurodivergent rep
🎀 Chronic illness rep

This was a super sweet read and had amazing representation!

Juliet and Will's relationship was tender and wholesome. Will complimented Juliet perfectly as he is such a sweet human being and took the time to appreciate her. She definitely deserved it after the toxic relationship she came out of. It was the small moments between them that won me over. Neither Will or Juliet are perfect but they have self-awareness and are trying to heal.

The portrayal of chronic illness and disability was conveyed in a meaningful way. You can tell Chloe poured her heart out on these pages to offer much needed representation.

Unfortunately, I did struggle staying engaged because the internal dialogue was very long and it took me out of the moments I enjoyed between Juliet and Will. There wasn't much development in the story plot wise as the relationship developed early on.

Overall, this is a cute, cozy romance that you can enjoy if you're in the mood for something with a slower pace.

✨ Many thanks to Little, Brown Book Group and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.

The perfect edition to the Wilmot sisters series. Juliet and Will are so incredibly sweet and their love story was a joy to read and follow. The connection is so well written, with the perfect amount of spice thrown in. Sheer perfection!

This wasnt my first read from Chloe Liese so I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed. I love her books and I can really recommend Once Smitten, Twice Shy along with her other work, a great escape from real life

Do you believe in Serendipity? Juliet once a hopeless romantic has sworn off love after heartbreak, but when she keeps accidentally crossing paths with Will Orsino, the gorgeous, off-limits guy, she can't resist the urge to revisit romance, purely for practice though.

Will Orsino is quiet and shy and really doesn't foresee a happy ever after anytime in his near future. The problem is that marriage is for the sake of his family business, at least.

With neither Jules or Will looking for love, they agree to practice romancing each other in preparation for meeting the right person, but as the saying goes, practice makes perfect and it's not long before the attraction between them becomes irrestible.

This is the first book in the Wilmot sister series I've read, and I definitely want to go back and read the rest because I absolutely adored this one. The whole practising romance really worked, and I found both Juliet and Will such great characters. The only thing I would say is this is very sweet. There's not much angst or yearning, and there's no conflict, so if you like your romance with that, then be aware you won't find that here. What you will find is a beautifully inclusive romance that had me giggling and kicking my feet! There's always some neurodivergent representation or chronic illness rep in Chloe's books, and she does it so well. I can't recommend this book or, in fact, any of Chloe's books enough! I'm terrible at keeping up with series, but she's definitely one of my favourite romance authors.

This was an incredibly sweet romance from Chloe Liese, and a satisfying close to the Wilmot Sisters trilogy!
Juliet and Will are both lovely characters. In the first instalment of the trilogy, we see the relationship that she’s recovering from and know just how bad it was, so I was cheering for her to continue her journey to healing and to embrace a healthy love from the start. Will is just such a sweetheart, and he and Juliet show each other so much grace and respect throughout. There’s a lot of genuine care and kindness there, and it felt like seeing your friend who’s had terrible luck in love find their person and get their happy ending.
That being said, like other readers mention, I found the conflict in the way of Juliet and Will forming a relationship a little contrived and drawn out. I don’t think it’s completely unjustified, but that the framing of it felt a little weak – it could have been sketched out in terms of Juliet knowing what she wanted and Will not being completely sure, or of them needing more time to recover from their past wounds, but this at times came off like they were putting off acknowledging their obvious and instant attraction/connection for no good reason. That being said, Chloe Liese’s slow burns always deliver in satisfying, well-written spice once the characters do get together, and this was no exception.
I found that this was the book in the trilogy that took the least from its source material, which was a little bit disappointing – Twelfth Night is such a beloved Shakespeare comedy and for good reason. The nods to it (and to She’s the Man) were absolutely delightful when they cropped up, so it’s really a case of me wishing there had been more of them.
Realistically this is more of a 3.5, but NetGalley doesn’t have half-stars! As always, the representation was beautifully done, and it’s always so warming to step into a world that’s a bit kinder and more inclusive than our current reality. Kudos to Chloe Liese, I’ll be keeping an eye out for her future projects.

Once Smitten, Twice Shy is a modern interpretation of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night that explores themes of neurodivergence, chronic illness, and self-acceptance. It is also an incredibly sweet story! I enjoyed experiencing Jules and Will's love story as they learned to trust each other and themselves.

I loved the start of the story, and I found myself giggling out loud at many of the cute moments. However, I felt that the stakes were so low throughout that I didn't feel as gripped as I expected from such a strong start. Each character had their own personal hills to climb (which created many wholesome moments), but the lack of external pressure made me sometimes question why they were so hesitant to love each other. Despite this, I thought that Chloe Liese approached each character with sensitivity. There were some great moments where Will and Jules made modifications for each other to ensure that the other was comfortable. It was brilliant to see.

This was a sweet and simple love story that I would recommend to anyone looking for a low stakes romance with excellent representation. Thank you NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK | Piatkus for providing this e-ARC for an honest review.