Old Flames and New Fortunes
By: Sarah Hogle
Publication: April 2, 2024 by G.P. Putnam's Sons
384 pages
Genre: Adult, Contemporary
Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!)
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Goodreads description--From the celebrated author of You Deserve Each Other and Just Like Magic , 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.
I wasn't sure about Old Flames and New Fortures when I first started. I don't always enjoy magical realism. Magic that happens in a magical world I have no problem with, but magic that happens in the real world stumps me. So when I tried to classify this book I got confused. Does Romina think she's actually a witch? Or is this supposed to be a magical world? Once I decided to stop trying to figure it out and just enjoy the story, things got better for me.
Romina and her sisters own a shop in town and they want to expand to the building next door, but they need some additional funding to renovate the space. Trevor's dad is just the investor they need. But Trevor doesn't have the best relationship with his dad. When they think his dad has finally agreed to meet with them about the loan, they come to find out that Trevor's dad is just trying to tell him that he's getting married.
I can't remember if the fake-dating scheme came before or after running into Alex. I feel like it came before. If I remember correctly, Romina tries to jump to Trevor's rescue when his cousin or a girl he likes cousin starts putting him down. And then Alex kind of witnessed or overheard Romina's declaration. Romina and Trevor decide to roll with it in hopes of making the girl that Trevor actually likes see what she's missing and for Alex to see that Romina has moved on with her life.
If there's one thing Sarah Hogle knows how to write, it is relationships that have gone bad and are restored again. The tension between Alex and Romina was so strong and intoxicating. Alex was so obviously still into Romina. Romina was trying so hard not to be still affected by Alex that it was comical. As a matter of fact, I think I did laugh out loud at least once. But man, the steps that Alex took to prove himself were so attractive. How could anyone not be won over by actions such as that?
Favorite quotes:
-We are a vast population of hurting hearts that miss people who haven't come into our lives yet.
-...it feels as if he takes something; as if, every time I meet his gaze, he siphons off a little piece of me to keep.
-"We'd be a lot further ahead right now if you'd just been honest."
-Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
-"Romina, I would've picked up the sun with my bare hands and moved it if you didn't like the position of your shadow..."
-I don't get to be part of what happens next, who she becomes. But I can take heart in knowing I did my very best in the short time we had together.
That last quote reminded me of a particularly emotional piece of the book that I don't want to say anything more about so I don't give anything away. Given my cousin had an experience that reminded me very much of the one that Romina experienced makes it even more so for me.
Old Flames and New Fortunes was so much better than I thought it was going to be when I first started it. Keep pushing forward if the beginning is a little confusing or off-putting for you like it was for me. Old Flames and New Fortunes gets 4 Stars. Have you read Old Flames and New Fortunes? What did you think? Let me know!
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