Old Flames and New Fortunes
Ratings7
Average rating3.7
A steamy second-chance romance about a magical florist’s unexpected reunion with her high school sweetheart as she fake dates his soon-to-be stepbrother.
A small, magical town tucked away in rural Ohio, Moonville is the perfect place for flora fortunist Romina Tempest to expand her shop, where she uses the language of flowers to help the hopeful manifest their love lives. After giving up on her own big romance eleven years ago, at least she can bask in the promise of others’.
So, when the shop’s potential financier shares news of his wedding, Romina jumps on the opportunity to discuss buying the business. What better place to negotiate a deal than at a wedding, even if she has to fake-date her chaotic colleague Trevor to get an invitation? But all hell breaks loose when she discovers Trevor’s soon-to-be stepbrother is none other than Alex her high school sweetheart. Her greatest love. The boy who, eleven years ago, broke her heart, and who now thinks she and Trevor are dating.
What starts as an innocent misunderstanding becomes a week-long fake dating scheme, as Romina resolves to make Alex pay for breaking her heart. The only issue? She can’t deny their still-burning connection. Caught between proving to Alex what he lost, and coming clean and risking her business, Romina must decide whether giving Alex another chance means going back on herself, or finally releasing her hold on the past.
Series
Featured Series
2 primary books#1 in Moonville
Moonville is a 2-book series with 2 released primary works first released in 2024 with contributions by Sarah Hogle.
Reviews
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Reviews with the most likes.
I usually really enjoy Sarah Hogle's books, so I was disappointed by this one. I did not like Alex. From the start, he came across as annoying, immature, and a know-it-all, and he didn't really redeem himself throughout the whole book. The most important thing in romance books for me is liking both main characters individually and together, so I just couldn't get behind their relationship. The banter and flirting felt cringe and not cute.
I did like the setting. It was very springtime with all the flowers and a touch of “magic.” I liked the parts of the plot that weren't focused on the romance, and they even had a few funny moments. I have found her books laugh-out-loud funny in the past, but this one overall wasn't doing it for me.
Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for providing me with an arc in exchange for a review!
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!
A very surprising and sad 2 stars.
This is very much a case of “It's not you, it's me.” Sarah Hogle is my favourite Contemporary Romance author. I absolutely adore all her books! You Deserve Each Other is a comfort re-read and one of my all-time favourite books, period. Just Like Magic is pure happiness in book form and Twice Shy is one of the few books that almost made me cry. I literally squealed when I got approved for the ARC of Old Flames and New Fortunes. I was so excited! But man, purely because of personal preferences, this was very much a miss for me. And I'm so incredibly sad about it. I did not see this coming!
Unfortunately, this book features one of my absolutely least favourite tropes (someone has a - in this case secret - kid) AND on top of that, one of my least favourite female character traits (desperately wanting to be a mom) in romance novels. Not even the mysterious Sarah Hogle magic is going to make me enjoy that.
Everything else is magical! The writing is funny, but also heartfelt and a tiny bit sexy! The characters are fun and the banter is amazing. I was rooting for Romina and Alex! The emotional component was as amazing and layered as it always is in her books! And while I prefer more couple-focused romances, the friends, family and small town elements in this were great as well!
It had everything going for it! But I just can't get over those two - very prominent - elements of the story that I am probably never going to like reading about. I even had a hard time finishing this book because of my dislike for those tropes/archetypes. I'll still pick up everything Sarah Hogle publishes in the future! But this book just left me feeling disappointed.
