Once Smitten Twice Shy is available January 14, 2025

Is it a little early to be posting this? Maybe, but somehow I got my hands on Once Smitten Twice Shy and can’t help sharing the fun! 

Juliet and Will meet in a Scottish pub and the chemistry is SO GOOD from the beginning! The writing in the opening scene (and throughout the book) really captures the emotions and pull of these characters! The instant chemistry strikes fear into Juliet, who’s been down a tough road. She recently escaped a massively toxic relationship and seriously questions her judgment in relationships. So she’s in no place to get close to a man.

Will is neurodivergent (autism) and has gotten accustomed to rejection from women in the sometimes sad world we live in. He’s given up on love and is willing to settle for a marriage of convenience with someone he likes and respects, but he can’t get past a third date.

So what a surprise when, months later, they run into each other again in the States and find out they have some pretty close ties. Juliet wants to be ready to open herself up to love again; Will wants to find a partner he can at least enjoy life with. So they decide to help each other out by “practicing” dating. And I’m sure you see where Once Smitten Twice Shy is heading!

Once Smitten Twice Shy was an absolutely beautiful and touching story with tenderness, empathy, and passion. Juliet and Will exude warmth and sincerity are both such lovely people.  You see and feel the relationship growing and the love they’re creating. I will say there was a span where I was like, “come on already, it’s soooooo obvious you guys are in love with each other, just recognize it and admit it,” which often happens in friends-to-lovers books. But I really can’t complain.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for my advanced copy of Once Smitten Twice Shy. All thoughts and opinions are mine.

Rating: 4
Themes and Tropes: Retelling (Twelfth Night), friends to lovers, slow burn, neurodivergent rep, lessons/practice, found family
Steam: Medium
Pair With: Nice whiskey from a family-run distillery

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