Only Love Can Hurt Like This by Paige Toon

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?

Title: Only Love Can Hurt Like This

Author: Paige Toon

Published By: Penguin

Publication Date: 27th April 2023

Links:   

UK:  Amazon      Waterstones     WHSmith

US:  Amazon   

Our Review

Now where do I begin to unravel the emotions I felt whilst reading this book.

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.

The setting sounds idyllic, surrounded by peach groves and a lake to swim in, the writing was very atmospheric and I could almost smell the peaches and feel the dry dust in the air when the weather got hotter. The story flows at a leisurely pace with a real slow burn between the characters. 

Both Wren and Anders have had their hearts broken in different ways and they seem perfect for each other but guilt and heartache strive to keep them apart.

It's really hard to describe what happens without giving spoilers so I'll just say that I was floored by something which I really wasn't expecting and which I think tested the characters to their limits. The emotions run high and it seems impossible for them to escape the shackles that are holding one of them back. Its such a heart-breaking scenario which brings up all sorts of dilemmas.

Deeply emotive with a twist that will break even the hardest of hearts. I loved this book so much, easy to read and impossible to forget.

Sincerely

Book Angel x

About the Author

Hello! Thank you so much for visiting my author page. I write emotional love stories featuring flawed characters who sometimes find themselves in impossible situations. If you pick up one of my novels, I hope that you will experience every emotion along with my characters, from love, passion and grief, to heartache, happiness and hope. I certainly feel it all when I'm writing. I can't wait for you to discover my heart-breaking new novel, Only Love Can Hurt Like This, when it's released, but in the meantime, please check out my other books, and if you enjoy them and would like to drop me a line, I'd love to hear from you on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram @PaigeToonAuthor. You can also sign up to my newsletter The Hidden Paige via paigetoon.com. Lots of love, Paige x