Published By: Penguin
Pages: 400
Released On: 09/04/2026
What if the person you love the most is the one you can’t have?
Grace has loved Jackson since she was fifteen – when they spent every childhood summer exploring France’s breathtaking Ardèche region together. They were best friends, until life took its course and Jackson married someone else.
Years later, Jackson re-enters Grace’s life with an irresistible offer: her dream job in the very town where their story began. And he’s newly single.
As memories from those idyllic summers flood back, Grace encounters an old friend Étienne, who proposes a plan to help make Jackson jealous. But as their scheme unfolds, Grace finds herself questioning if the sparks between them might not be so pretend after all…
Unbeknownst to Grace, Étienne is harbouring a secret that could shatter her world.
Will learning the truth finally set her heart free?
Or is this the beginning of a love story bigger than she ever imagined?
*****
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for the advanced copy of this title in return for an honest review.
This was the first Paige Toon book I’d read in a long time – possibly close to a decade – but I was instantly reminded how much I love her work. It’s so easy to read, so natural, and so enjoyable.
Grace is a wonderful protagonist. She’s so real and relatable, she’s not perfect, and she reminded me of so many people and I think she’s the person readers will love the most. Jackson is equally as wonderful, and even though he is just words on a page, he sounded so handsome and kind and family-orientated. Étienne was also a beautiful character, the third in our love triangle. The chemistry between Grace and Jackson, and between Grace and Étienne is wonderful.
Set in France – which she has depicted beautifully – this is a sumptuous story about love, family, friendship, overcoming obstacles, secrets, following your dreams, passion; just a bit of everything.
I was expecting something lovely and light and frivolous – an enjoyable but predictable romance novel. And there are aspects of that but it’s got such depth, such heart, with difficult topics including relationship breakdowns, unrequired love, secrets, illness and death. It’s not morose, it feels very real, but it’s what makes the lighter parts feel even more important.
Whilst it’s not a really long book, at 400 pages it is quite lengthy, but it just zoomed by. I completely lost myself in it and I read it in a day.
There was a twist but one I saw coming. That isn’t a negative, I enjoyed how it go to that stage anyway.
It’s a slow burn love triangle with everything I expected from that trope but with enough to make it feel fresh.
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