Old Flames and New Fortunes by Sarah Hogle

 

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.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/194803816-old-flames-and-new-fortunes

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My Review: 5/5 Stars

Sarah Hogle is one of my favorites when it comes to comedy and romance. I just end up in stitches when I read her books. Her characters are a delight. It’s such a nice blend of romance and laughs and magic. In this book, we follow Romina. When Romina and her chaotic friend and colleague, Trevor, go to meet Trevor’s dad in what they think is a business lunch (they need money to fix up their shop and get it ready for a big event), they accidentally end up fake dating. In a moment of getting Trevor’s cousin off his back, they tell her they are dating, never thinking it would go past that moment. But then they realize this “lunch” is actually a big family get together where Trevor’s dad announces his is getting married. And the bride? Romina’s first love, Alex’s mom. And cue Alex’s entrance. Romina and Alex had a once in a lifetime love. But miscommunication and circumstances forced them apart. And while both have tried to move on, neither truly have all these years later. It’s clear from the beginning that Alex doesn’t believe in Trevor and Romina’s romance and as she juggles to keep up the lie through the week to the wedding, all the feelings she thought were pushed down for Alex, come rushing back. And once the charade is over, will she be brave enough to take a chance on Alex once again? These two were sweet and hilarious. Their banter was just so rich. I laughed my whole way through their story. Through every twist and turn and all the witchy magic. Because of course there is some magic in this book and it just takes the story to a new level. Such a fun read!