Fair warning: my experience of this book may have been colored by an annoying audio narrator. Without her interpretation of Maybell as a character, I might have liked it more.

This is a very typical grumpy-sunshine/enemies to lovers/opposites attract contemporary romance that suffered from not enough character development and a lack of chemistry. Two people jointly inherit an old estate in the Smokey Mountains and have very different ideas about what to do with it. Conflict ensues. And then all of a sudden, they're in love. And it ends in Scotland....?

2.5 stars ( )

The daydreams confused me a bit.
Enjoyed this version of enemies to lovers. ( )

BookRiot recommended this as a “gentle, low-drama romance”. Amazon describes this as “the most hilarious and feel-good romance of 2022”. Admittedly humour is subjective but “hilarious” is a massive overstatement -- at most, I grinned with amusement. But feel-good? Absolutely. I really enjoyed reading this.

Maybell inherits a half share of her great-aunt’s dilapidated house -- and so does her great-aunt’s grumpy groundskeeper, who has his own ideas about what should happen to the property.

I was invested in seeing Maybell’s circumstances improve -- when the story begins she’s underpaid, unappreciated and heartbroken after being catfished by a friend. I liked watching her grow closer to Wesley and I liked how, because this is another single POV romance, his perspectives are sometimes a genuine surprise for both Maybell and the reader.

Some of Maybell’s experiences cleaning and restoring/renovating the house get glossed over but I was interested and would have liked more. Objectively I don’t think more details were needed per se -- it’s a romance, of course the romantic relationship is going to be the main focus! -- but I came away with the odd feeling that there was something incomplete about the story. Subjective reactions not always reasonable, I guess… ( )

Very sweet. ( )

Maybell Parish, a dreamer and a hopeless romantic, inherits a charming house in the Smokies from her Great-Aunt Violet. Seizing the opportunity to make a fresh start, she moves out of her shared apartment and quits her job before discovering it seems her troubles have only just begun. When she arrives at her newly inherited home that is in the brink of collapsing, she is informed that she isn't the only inheritor. She has to share everything with Wesley Koehler, the groundskeeper who's as grouchy and as it turns out he has a very different vision for the property's future.

Convincing the taciturn Wesley to stop avoiding her and compromise is a task more formidable than the other dying wishes Great-Aunt Violet left behind. As renovations begin to restore the home, Maybell uncovers something unexpectedly sweet beneath Wesley's scowls and cold-shoulders—leading readers in a heartwarming tale about two strangers that find love where they least expected. Love that had me wanting more, more, and more of this sweet romance!

Shortly after putting this highly anticipated release down (with a show of hands, who else has been waiting for this since 2020?) and devouring it in one sitting (not the first and surely not the last with this author), I had to take a moment to gather myself… because this was absolutely phenomenal. Sarah Hogle is hands down the new queen of romance! She has me 2 for 2, 5 star ratings!

Oh my goodness!

‘Twice Shy’ was perfect.

It’s the only word to describe how she was able to bring these characters to life with the romance, storyline, humor, and real life issues (death, anxiety, etc). This slow burn romance hit me right in the feels! And the characters were incredible—so what’s not to love?

One hand we have Maybell—epic one-liners, hopeless romantic that more often than not daydream of being swept off her feet by ‘Jack’ in her AU where she owns a cute retro coffee shop. Then the other, Wesley—brooding, grumpy, grouchy loner who has an unexpected soft side to him. He’s so book boyfriend material. Wesley was adorable and I couldn’t help but want to hold him when he got shy, flustered, and struggled with his social anxiety. Seriously as the story progressed, I fell more in love with the main characters. They’re so charming, real, raw and I simply couldn’t get enough.

Honestly I never have much success with authors follow up novels. There is always a major flaw that makes them fall flat and I didn’t think it was possible for the author to top ‘You Deserve Each Other’ but ‘Twice Shy’ pars for sure.

‘Twice Shy’ is perfect for fans of “The Hating Game’, ‘You Deserve Each Other’ and ‘Shortcake’, especially for readers who are looking for opposites attract romance, laugh out moments, amazing characters with a decent plot that glues everything together.

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