Nestled in the enchanting rural landscape of Ohio, Moonville is no ordinary town—it’s a magical haven where Romina Tempest practises the mystical art of floral fortune-telling. Her shop is a sanctuary for love seekers, and while Romina has given up on love herself, she still wants to help others manifest their happily ever afters.
Eventually, Romina seizes a chance to expand her shop, using a wedding as the perfect backdrop to negotiate with a potential investor. To secure an invitation, she concocts a plan involving fake-dating her chaotic colleague and best friend, Trevor. However, the situation takes an exhilarating turn when she discovers that Trevor’s soon-to-be stepbrother is none other than Alex, her high school sweetheart—the one who broke her heart eleven years ago.
What begins as an innocent ruse escalates into a week-long fake-dating escapade as Romina, fuelled by the desire for revenge, aims to make Alex pay for past transgressions. Yet, amid the charade, the undeniable spark between them reignites. Stuck between proving Alex’s loss and risking her business by revealing the truth, Romina faces a critical decision: to give Alex another chance or finally break free from her past.
I don’t know what it is about witchy/magic vibes, but they automatically make a romance ten times better, argue with the wall.
I mean, let’s be real, this book had me from the first page. Romina is a flora fortunist—she creates floral arrangements in tune with the language of flowers to bring a person’s romantic hopes to fruition. A scorned romantic who makes other people’s dreams come true with flower magic? Come on, this is what dreams are made of. While reading I constantly pictured Romina surrounded by flowers and birds (kind of like Snow White) and let me tell you, the gorgeous descriptions in this book did not let me or my vision down.
Romina was such an interesting character to follow. She’s been burned by romance before yet she still believes in it for others. Funny, stubborn as hell, and a great friend to her sister (with whom she owns the shop) and her best friend Trevor, Romina is kind of like cottagecore vibes to the max.
The love interest Alex pretty much fits into the traditional romance hero image. He’s cocky, a tad arrogant (and always needs to be right) but then he also has moments where he is so sweet and gentle that you kind of just want to pat him on the head for being a good guy.
Now, were some of his actions questionable? Definitely. Was Alex at times infuriating and frustrating and made me want to tell Romina to run for the heels? Abso-freaking-lutely. Usually that would be enough for me to dislike a romantic interest. But in the end, what can I say? The whole “he fell first AND he fell harder” mixed with his insecurities because he just wanted to know that Romina was as into him as he is into her kind of won me over. So if you can suspend your disbelief, I’m sure you’re going to understand what Romina sees in him.
I do think this would have worked even better as a dual POV, though, just to get more of Alex’s pining and some insight into the motivations behind his actions (which you do get to some extent but also sometimes really makes you question why Romina is not running for the hills). Aside from that though, I think they were a well-made match because Romina brought out the sweeter side of Alex and Alex in turn really kept Romina on her toes. Their banter and interactions overall felt super genuine and had me aching for them to get together already. If you’re a fan of high school sweethearts and second chances romances, odds are that you will love this duo.
Small perk I need to mention: every chapter title is a flower and we get a cute little description of its properties and that made me (a woman who has absolutely no clue about botany whatsoever) smile before even getting back to the story. Such a sweet little detail that drew the whole book together.
In need of a second chance romance between high school sweethearts in a small town with magic vibes? Hogle’s new book ticks all of those boxes and more—escape into this whimsical tale and explore the blossoming romance of Alex and Romina in Old Flames and New Fortunes!
Old Flames and New Fortunes is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of April 2nd 2024.
Will you be picking up Old Flames and New Fortunes? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
Fibs and squabbles and spells . . . oh my!
A small, magical town tucked away in rural Ohio, Moonville is the perfect place for floral witch Romina Tempest to use the language of flowers to help the hopeful manifest love in their lives. After giving up on her own big romance eleven years ago, at least she can bask in others’ happily ever afters.
When the shop’s potential financier shares news of his wedding, Romina jumps at the opportunity to discuss the business . . . even if it means 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 King: her high school sweetheart. Her greatest love. The boy who broke her heart.
What starts as an innocent misunderstanding becomes a weeklong fake-dating scheme, as Romina quickly finds out she can’t deny her connection with Alex. Caught between her livelihood and her heart, Romina must decide if taking a second chance on first love is worth the risk.
