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 received an early copy of Old Flames and New Fortunes back in October of 2023, but wanted to wait until after the holidays to read it and I’m so glad I did! Sarah Hogle told me in her comments section on Instagram that she had rewritten some of the story and that “the dynamic between two particular characters has been tweaked” since the earlier draft. Since the Netgalley was updated after early reviews started popping up I thought it was worth mentioning for prospective readers who are trying to decide if this book is for them. Old Flames and New Fortunes was truly such a cozy, delightful, and romantic book and it’s a new favorite of mine!

I think the best part of the book for me was the cozy, springtime cottagecore atmosphere. Romina is a witchy florist who tells fortunes with flowers and helps her clients find the magic of romance in their lives. I’m not usually a fan of witchy stories, but the magical touches are so subtle and definitely enriched the story. I love flowers, and I had fun reading about what different flowers mean. I really enjoyed the setting. Moonville is dripping with lovely, small town vibes. Romina’s house sounds like a colorful fairyland, as does her garden and flower shop. There’s quaint shops filled with unique small businesses (no big box stores or chain restaurants here!), lots of trees, and it’s all coated in sunshine. I could hear the birds singing and feel the springtime breeze kissing my cheeks, the warmth of the sun enveloping me in a hug. I didn’t want to leave!

This town is filled with so many wonderful characters. And wow, there are so many of them. lol. I’ll be honest, I had a hard time keeping track of everyone at times and how they’re connected, but they were all so much fun! Romina shares a building with her sisters, Luna and Zelda, who each have their own small shop within. Romina has a flower shop, Luna makes candles, and Zelda has a bookstore filled with magical and paranormal tomes. They’re in the process of expanding, and will have a greenhouse and space for an outdoor night market soon (if all goes according to plan). Trevor, Romina’s close friend and fake-dating partner, is a not-so-silent investor in their business as a whole. I LOVED Trevor. He’s hilarious and might be my favorite character in this book, and I’d like for Sarah to please write about his love story. And then you’ve got Alex, Romina’s childhood sweetheart, and Trevor’s future stepbrother. Yep, you read that right. Romina is fake-dating her best friend to make her ex-boyfriend jealous and oops, these two guys just found out they’re about to become family. And oh, the wedding between their parents is very soon and everyone’s family shows up and there’s fake feelings and real feelings floating all over the place and sooooo many people in such a small town. lol. Phew!

I loved watching Trevor and Romina try to pretend to date because they were so bad at it. lol. It was so silly. Try picturing what it would be like if Joey Tribbiani and Phoebe Buffay from Friends had tried to fake date and convince people of their love. That’s how Trevor and Romina felt for me, and I loved it. Because of Alex’s suspicions surrounding their relationship, he decides to invite himself to sleep on Romina’s couch since he has nowhere else to go… so of course, Trevor has to move in and share Romaina’s bed and oh my gosh, I was giggling at their antics.

Second chance love stories are one of my less favorite romantic tropes, but I enjoyed how Sarah Hogle wrote about Alex and Romina. The flashbacks to their previous relationship were so swoony, and these moments softened my heart to the initial animosity between them in the present. I don’t like it when a book’s love interests don’t like each other (or hate each other) at first, but it was so obvious that it was all for show in this book and because of some deep-seated longing that was very thinly veiled. I love how it was done. The angst felt very real. Watching Romina and Alex fall in love all over again was so sweet. He says some of the most romantic things to her, and the grand gestures were on point. I need an Alex. Unlike Sarah’s other books, Old Fortunes and New Flames has some open door (or just… outdoors in the open lol) steaminess. The spice level is still on the mild side, but enough to leave me fanning myself and needing a glass of water.

Sarah Hogle is such an amazing storyteller. I’ve read and loved all of her books, and you can always count on them to contain unique elements, some quirkiness, characters you fall in love with, magical writing, and extremely romantic conversations and encounters. She can turn me into a puddle of goo just by having the male character kiss the female character’s wrist. It’s such a small gesture, such a tiny moment, but hundreds of these gestures and moments make up what I’ve come to expect from a Sarah Hogle book. They’re unlike anything I’ve ever read, and each are so unique on their own as well. I keep thinking she will never be able to get another 5-star rating from me and she just keeps on doing it. I can’t wait for what she writes next!

Can you find real love when you've always got your head in the clouds?

Maybell Parish has always been a dreamer and a hopeless romantic. But living in her own world has long been preferable to dealing with the disappointments of real life. So when Maybell inherits a charming house in the Smokies from her Great-Aunt Violet, she seizes the opportunity to make a fresh start.

Yet when she arrives, it seems her troubles have only just begun. Not only is the house falling apart around her, but she isn't the only inheritor: she has to share everything with Wesley Koehler, the groundskeeper who's as grouchy as he is gorgeous—and it turns out he has 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. But when Maybell uncovers something unexpectedly sweet beneath Wesley's scowls, and as the two slowly begin to let their guard down, they might learn that sometimes the smallest steps outside one's comfort zone can lead to the greatest rewards.

Ok. Everyone knows that I REALLY loved You Deserve Each Other. And everyone also knows the worry that comes with loving an author’s debut so much: will they be able to keep up that momentum? Will they end up being a one hit wonder? How can they possibly do it twice? Well. Sarah did it. Sarah wrote another hilarious, heartwarming, happy, swoony, super romantic, feel-good book that tackles deeper situations. Another amazing couple has jumped from her mind to my heart. I can’t pick which of her books I love more. I’m a fangirl. Take my money, Sarah. Just take it all. Give me all the books. I have put off writing this review as long as I possibly could because I have too many feelings! My head is in the clouds! What even is a book review? What are words? How do I do this again? As always, my main points are bolded.

1. Maybell is precious and anxious and visits a special cafe that exists only in her mind because it’s where she feels safe in stressful times. She’s so pure and sweet, and she has the biggest dreams. I loved her quirky personality so much. Her desire to take on the world made me smile so much.

2. Wesley is the grumpiest teddy bear and I want to cuddle up with him on the couch and watch a movie together. And it’s not even necessarily for romantic reasons (although. I’d love a romance with Wes, thank you), it’s because I see so much in him that reminds me of myself. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I won’t elaborate on this but Wesley’s character will make so many people feel seen and understood in this world. Oh my goodness, he’s just. I can’t even explain him. He’s a sweet little cinnamon roll with so many layers and a story and is so sweet I can’t even handle it. He is definitely one of my favorite characters ever. 

3. I loved the setting: a charming, fixer-upper mansion that Wesley and Maybell both inherited. There’s bickering on who gets their way on what becomes of this house, which is so fun. I love bickering. But the house and the surrounding grounds are perfect and so whimsical sounding. And magical.

4. There is mental health representation in this story and it is done SO WELL. 

5. SO. Many. Feelings. I have so many and I don’t know what to do.

6. Sarah’s sense of humor is my sense of humor’s soulmate. And her writing is a balm for the soul. 

7. Maybell and Wesley are so good for each other. The romance just made my heart soar. The way they see each other and speak to one another and help accommodate each other’s needs was perfect. I love them so much together that I don’t want to steal Wesley for myself. And that’s saying something. We can just be friends, Wesley. Best friends.

8. Loch Ness. Nessie. One of my favorite subjects ever. Sarah clearly wrote me my own book. Thank you, Sarah. I guess we can let others read it as well.

So… this review proves that I can clearly come up with words when I don’t have any. But… what do all these words mean? I know I’m being vague about so much, but it’s because you need to read it to fully appreciate anything else I could possibly say! Bottom line, read this. This is just the book we need right now while the world is on fire. Allow yourself to escape to the Smoky Mountains and float around in the pure sweetness of this story and the lives of these two characters. I’ll just be over here basking in the sunlight of it all and eagerly waiting for Sarah’s next book.