Wren and her dad - and stepfamily- are a sore subject at the start of this book. There’s pain, heartache and some resentment, all for good reasons. It’s heartwarming to see the ice melt away in these relationships and forge new memories and bonds. The book is about growing, facing your (albeit painful) past, and the hope for a better future. Jonas literally says “lights on no one’s home” about Anders wife and were just supposed to be like oh nice just cause Anders is in love we can just say mean shit about a person who was in a terrible accident?

Only Love Can Hurt Like This - Penguin Books UK

The writing was powerful, the story intriguing. Overall an impactful and thought-provoking read, at times heartbreaking. The title sounds familiar, like a recent song. On top of loving the characters, the suspense around the secret was also eating me up inside and was the only reason I couldn’t delay my stay as much as I wished. While I started to see it coming towards the middle of the book, I wasn’t very convinced about why they hid it even after it was clear it needed to be out. I couldn’t help but feel it was a bit too convenient that they kept postponing it-but not as convenient as seeing other characters solving the main characters' problems. I don't often read women’s romance novels but when I do, I always enjoy a well-written and intriguing love story that hits my emotions in all the right places. Paige Toon’s “Only Love Can Hurt Like This” was a perfect example of this for me, which had me smiling with happiness and tearful with emotional turmoil. There is nothing negative I can say about this book. From beginning to end, this is a gem. Toon has created a beautiful masterpiece worthy of the highest praise and all the stars. If I had one wish, it would be to experience this as a first read all over again because it is truly magnificent.I feel hard for this book about love, family, obligations, grief, expectations, moving on and second chances. This book has heart and tugged at my heart strings. I instantly liked both main characters. They had great banter which I adored. The supporting characters of Bailey (Wren's sister) and Jonas (Anders brother) are both likeable and add to the storyline in their own ways. A moving, remarkably romantic and emotional novel written by one of the only writers who can make me cry! Paige Toon continues to weave the most beautiful, deep stories, and Only Love Can Hurt Like This is her at her absolute best!' Lia Louis And, there is NOTHING that I enjoy more than to see two likable people who have experienced great loss and pain, find each other and come out on the other side. Toon urges us to risk everything, to never play it safe when it comes to the heart, and to know that caring is always, always, worth the cost' Caroline Leavitt For fans of Colleen Hoover, an unforgettable and heartbreaking love story with an earth-shattering secret at its core that asks the question: Is love worth risking everything for?

Only Love Can Hurt Like This by Paige Toon, Paperback Only Love Can Hurt Like This by Paige Toon, Paperback

Every new book that has been published seems to be my new favourite, and every year I think, this cannot get any better. But it does. Every time. What I so love about Paige’s books is that the details change accordingly to the narrator. It’s the small details that set the scene and I love it. Synopsis: Needing a fresh start and a place to heal her broken heart, Wren decides to visit her dad and stepmom on their farm in Indiana. There, she crosses paths with Anders, the son of the family who lives next door and the two begin a special friendship. As feelings start to emerge, Wren is hesitant to move forward as she’s been left behind one too many times while Anders is harboring a secret and afraid to get too close to dealing with his past. Romance novels are all about the journey for me and I enjoyed the journey in this book. There are several journey's in this book - not all of them the romantic kind. The side characters are equally as wonderful in this book. Bailey and Jonas are fun and the perfect siblings to our main protagonists. I love that we are transported by this one. Toon has definitely given me a welcome escape. Paige Toon has been an auto-buy romance author for me for years. Year after year, I saved her latest book for my summer holidays and couldn’t wait to dive in. What I love most about her stories are those little snippets she always throws around. Those snippets usually are a puzzle that suddenly shows one or more plot twists when you see the bigger picture. So, when I got her latest book as an ARC, I couldn’t wait to start reading.Wren was a really easy character to love, she wasn’t perfect but she wasn’t afraid to apologize when she was wrong and make amends. Her pain of feeling like an outsider in her dad and stepmother’s house was my pain. Her constant struggle with trying to extinguish her jealousy and finally love her step-sister without restrictions was so real I couldn’t help but forgive her as soon as those thoughts crossed her mind. Her moments with her stepmother and dad filled me with more emotions than the actual drama of the story. I just adore seeing flawed people finally communicating and healing each other. The fact that the main character has been dumped and falls for a complicated man not technically an affair compared to actual affairs Toon usually writes about. This book was both thought provoking and evoked emotion. This made me think about the expectations that others place on us and the expectations that we place on others and how unfair that can be. What she doesn't expect is to meet Anders, who lost his wife four years ago and has a few hidden secrets of his own, whilst also trying to be there for his brother Anders.

Only Love Can Hurt Like This by Paige Toon | Waterstones

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own. I’ve never read a book by Paige Toon before and I will not be reading another. That means I have no comparison to her other works but the writing in this book was horrendous. About 75% of the story is told from Wren’s point of view and the narrator’s interpretation of the character was a seamless fit. Loved her voice tone. When we begin getting Anders’s point of view, it’s at a pivotal point in the story and the narrator brought the right level of angst, sadness and tone I was hoping to hear. Both delivered great performances. What I thought: I’m not usually a romance reader, the rare occasion I do read a romance I reserve them for holidays, but I can honestly say I loved this book.Thoughts: The more Paige Toon I read, the more credit I give to the research she puts into her love stories. Her books take place all around the world, and even though she is clearly a British author, I felt completely transported to the small-town rural Indiana setting and life on the farm. While this story was a slow-burn full of angst, I never felt bored! There was a great cast of supporting characters that made Wren’s summer on the farm feel not only realistic but also healing. Also, I love how the book explored not only Wren’s romantic relationships, but her fractured relationship with her half-sister, Bailey, her father and new friend/ Andre’s brother, Jonas. I am not one to cry in books and I came really close to shedding tears at the end of this. TLDR: plot twist major red flag, moral dilemma. Should not be advertised as a romance book this book is just sad. The author is known for writing gutwrenching novels, and hits the mark again with this wonderful tale' The Sun Neither of them expected to fall in love. But sometimes life has other plans.
When Wren realises her fiancé is in love with someone else, she thinks her heart will never recover.
On the other side of the world, Anders lost his wife four years ago and is still struggling to move on.
Wren hopes that spending the summer with her dad and step-family on their farm in Indiana will help her to heal. There, amid the cornfields and fireflies, she and Anders cross paths and their worlds are turned upside-down again.
But Wren doesn't know that Anders is harbouring a secret, and if he acts on any feelings he has for Wren it will have serious fall-out for everyone.
Walking away would hurt Wren more than she can imagine. But, knowing the truth, how can she possibly stay?”