TLDR: plot twist major red flag, moral dilemma. Should not be advertised as a romance book this book is just sad. Anders is struggling to move on after his wife was in an accident four years ago. He goes home to his family's farm in Indiana and visits more frequently now due to concerns about his brother. This is a brilliant love story that takes you on will they won't they journey for various characters. Paige Toon is one of those authors who I get genuinely excited about, especially when there is a new book to devour. This is a story that is light hearted and funny, but equally, it is heartbreakingly emotional and deeply touching.

Only Love Can Hurt Like This - Penguin Books UK

One night after getting wasted in a bar, Wren meets her dad’s neighbour’s son Anders. It’s a relatively brief meeting but Wren feels herself drawn to him. There’s definitely a connection. However Anders is dealing with his own grief, after losing his wife four years ago.Wren decides to visit her father and stepfamily on their farm in Indiana after her fiancé falls in love with someone else. Wren is no stranger to having someone walk out on her life. She hopes the time away from the UK will help her heal and find new perspective. Wren was raised by her mother in England and looks forward to spending time with her Dad and sister during her visit. 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. 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 Books | Waterstones Paige Toon Books | Waterstones

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin books for allowing me to read Only Love Can Hurt Like This in advance of its release on April 27! Paige Toon has done it again. Such a beautifully written novel, that had me balling my eyes out from about the half way mark. I love how raw and emotional her stories are and this did not disappoint.Wren meets Anders, who lost his wife four years ago and still struggles to move on. Anders and Wren have an electric connection, but Anders has a secret--keeping him from igniting his feelings towards Wren. They keep crossing paths, Wren is moving toward Anders, certain he feels the same way, but never acting on his connection. When Wren meets racing car engineer Anders, a ‘will they, won’t they’ relationship develops but with Anders still grieving over his wife’s accident four years ago, can she break down his barriers to love again? As the smouldering tension increases between them it makes for some steamy reading, until the reality of Anders’ heartache is revealed and then it became emotionally wrenching for them both. The moral dilemma Wren and Anders both face but from different perspectives, makes for a thought-provoking debate for reading groups. Anders and Wren are just gorgeous characters. I have loved them from the beginning of this book. As a reader and female, I instantly felt for Wren. As we see her engagement end, it’s easy to relate to that lost feeling. Her mother always told her to trust her instincts…but it’s hard to trust your instincts when they’re breaking your heart. 💔

Only Love Can Hurt Like This - Penguin Books UK Only Love Can Hurt Like This - Penguin Books UK

Wren finds herself staying with her Dad and step mum and step sister in America after she goes through an upsetting break up with the man she loves. Whilst there she has to figure out the dynamics of her family and once again she feels as thought she's on the outside looking in and not quite sure where she belongs. She soon gets used to the simpler way of living and begins to form a strong bond with her sister which is different to the one she had before now that they're both grown up. On a night out they meet two brothers and Wren is fascinated with one of them in particular called Anders. Their paths cross multiple times and when Wren decides to renovate an old Airstream, ( I had to look this up and it's a shiny steel camper van,) she finds at her dad's house, Anders wants to help her. There’s a lot to love it’s not just a romance, it’s about love and family, loss and healing, learning to live again and accept. I started reading Paige Toon books quite a few years ago and have never been disappointed. This one is probably my favourite have read. It takes you through every possible emotion you could feel. 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?” I instantly endeared to Wren and loved how she dealt with her heartbreak at the beginning of the story. Visiting her dad and stepmother in Indiana initiates a new emotional journey for her, both romantically and familial, rediscovering her step-sister Bailey (whose character I adored!) and her father who she believed never loved her enough.I’ve read most of Toon’s books, the ones I haven’t are proudly on my QUEENS of fiction shelf. Toon is for me, a must read author. Only Love Can Hurt Like This is quite possibly my favourite book yet. Since this is the first book I’ve read by this author, I have nothing to compare it to, but I do know that this will not be the only book I’ve read by this author. This is definitely a story you will want to read again and again. Deeply emotional and so damn good. What a romance! 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. 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. Have I found another great contemporary romance author?? This was my first book by Paige Toon, and I loved every minute of it!