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A review by 13rebecca13
Only Love Can Hurt Like This by Paige Toon
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This is such an emotional and throught provoking novel.
Wren, an architect from Bury St Edmunds has recently split from her fiancé Scott when he realised that he had fallen in love with a co-worker. Following advice from her mother, she decides to visit her dad, step-mum and half sister in America for the summer.
Whilst there, she meets brothers Jonas and Anders. Jonas runs the farm next to her father and she instantly takes a liking to Anders, the younger of the two. However, she doesn't feel like she is ready to get into a relationship yet and Anders lost his wife in an accident a few years prior which he is still not over.
There is so much depth to this novel from the familial turmoil that Wren goes through to the attraction between Wren and Anders which seems impossible. The slow bonding with Wren's sister is beautiful and the whole family relationship was lovely to read.
When the full truth was revealed about Anders's wife accident, I instantly thought "oh no, I don't like this" and I thought it had ruined the book. My final star rating has come from how the rest of it played out. There still are bits that I didn't like but the ending definitely made up for it. It is one of those novels that poses a tough predicament and makes us think about what we would do in that same situation.
Wren, an architect from Bury St Edmunds has recently split from her fiancé Scott when he realised that he had fallen in love with a co-worker. Following advice from her mother, she decides to visit her dad, step-mum and half sister in America for the summer.
Whilst there, she meets brothers Jonas and Anders. Jonas runs the farm next to her father and she instantly takes a liking to Anders, the younger of the two. However, she doesn't feel like she is ready to get into a relationship yet and Anders lost his wife in an accident a few years prior which he is still not over.
There is so much depth to this novel from the familial turmoil that Wren goes through to the attraction between Wren and Anders which seems impossible. The slow bonding with Wren's sister is beautiful and the whole family relationship was lovely to read.
When the full truth was revealed about Anders's wife accident, I instantly thought "oh no, I don't like this" and I thought it had ruined the book. My final star rating has come from how the rest of it played out. There still are bits that I didn't like but the ending definitely made up for it. It is one of those novels that poses a tough predicament and makes us think about what we would do in that same situation.