I don't know why my book reviews for this month are tied to song lyrics, but when I sat down to write this review I kept thinking of Adele's "Make You Feel My Love." Anyway, this is the kind of love story I love to read. I don't particularly seek a second chance romance, but I find myself rooting for characters I like to have their happily ever after.

Eh. This was pretty mediocre for me. I wanted more and got frustrated with the weird time jumps. While I love seeing older queer rep, not to mention second chance queer rep for each character and queer characters with kids, but it was just boring for me.

This was a very cute second chance romance. I found that this isn’t my favorite type of romance but I liked the writing style enough to definitely try another of this author’s books in the future. You get what you expect and it was definitely cute.

This is not the typical romance that I normally read, but I am fixing an honest review for reading the ARC.
This was a heartfelt story that kept my interest throughout. Good job!

This book was full of surprises for me. The good kind.

It started off with the characters being attracted to each other from the get-go, but when I thought they would jump right into dating/bed, the relationship instead went slowly.

When I thought the ex would be obnoxiously around the whole story, she wasn't. Yes she was present, but never really took the story/POV away from Amanda and Quinn.

And when I thought the MCs would have this big argument about the ex, they didn't! They actually talked to each other honestly like the grownup women they were.

Basically all of this is to say the book was refreshing. It's not a nail bitter, or some great tragic love story, but it was a well told romance and I enjoyed it.

PS - You may want to read some of the author's other books set in the same world, like Built to Last, but you don't need to. I still enjoyed the friend interactions without remembering those books.

Quick read.
I am a sucker for anything romance so I was super excited to read this and it didn’t disappoint
I loved the characters and the drama and of course the romance

The book was lacking a little bit of the character connection that I usually expect from Rey books. But I genuinely enjoyed it overall.

Disclaimer: I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was a sweet romance and with passionate chemistry with both love interests. I really enjoyed this one!

I love all books by this author, can highly recommend. Just wonderful. The main characters are well developed and its so well written you feel personally involved in the journey.

Love the two main characters and the secondary characters really added depth to the storyline. Don't normally prefer to read 40+ age books or LGBTQ but I really liked this one.

I loved this fun romance. It was a quick read, but utterly delightful. It was so refreshing to read about older people falling in love, and even more so to see them both successful in their careers and not have that ever become a source of tension in the relationship. While the source of conflict/tension did feel a little forced, I was relieved that it didn't have to do with one of the partners being asked to "give up" part of who they are (career or otherwise). Overall, a very fun way to spend a day. More importantly, between the age of the characters, the aforementioned career success, and the fact that they could come together and still be independent, this book was incredibly affirming and a breath of fresh air in many ways.

One small (and I do mean small complaint, but if any authors or editors happen to see this, it's worth the note): can we please stop including the seemingly ubiquitous "I don't do online dating, it's so fake, I hate it" scene? It's 2021, and many of us have used online dating/found partners online/don't have other options (especially queer people!) It would be great to have that dragged in every romance book. Just don't mention online dating at all, I promise we won't miss that! And it feels lousy to have it presented as "less than" in every romance book.

I absolutely loved this book!
Two divorcees find each other when Amanda, the owner and head chef of her bakery, wants a resign and meets the architect Quinn. Interest develops but not without drama or consequences. Divorced with kids, Amanda's ex wife makes noise with her power plays.

With any good lesbian romance, there's drama to be expected. In this book, you can sense the drama but never know exactly what will happen until you read it.
Would definitely recommend a read. I couldn't put it down.

TWICE SHY is a contemporary lesbian romance featuring two divorcees in their late-forties/early-fifties stumbling into a brand-new relationship.

It was nice to see some of the concerns that older people have coming through and seeing how it impacted their lives and their developing relationship. For example, worries over the reactions of Amanda’s adult kids (both from Amanda and Quinn), the relationship that forms with an ex over the decades rather than simply years, and having the characters be firmly entrenched in their respective careers instead of starting out. It all made an interesting change from the usual twenty/thirty-something romances I’ve read before.

It was actually the baker aspect that drew me in though, and TWICE SHY doesn’t disappoint on that front, even if the story is more focused on the shop itself rather than the baked goods. Just look at those cupcakes on the cover! The scenes where Quinn popped into ‘Bake My Day’ to pick up snacks and see Amanda had me desperate for a run to Millie’s Cookies.

I liked the way TWICE SHY handled the slightly more serious aspects of the story too, namely Quinn’s decision not to have children herself and Mel’s domineering attitude towards getting back with Amanda. It gave the book a little more bite than you might otherwise find in a meet-cute romance. I also liked that there were plenty of queer side characters in the protagonists lives, and that both characters were both already out. Their queerness itself isn’t a cause of angst.

TWICE SHY is a sweet romance with just enough angst to prevent it getting too cutsie. There’s a wide cast of likeable and well-rounded characters, and a fair bit of drama without becoming too intense.

I had no idea until finishing the book that TWICE SHY features cameos from the author’s other books, so this can definitely be read as either a standalone or a part of a series.

A nice story with well thought out characters. The story line shows evidence of character motivation and development.
An enjoyable read

3.5 stars This wasn't my favorite book by this author. I have really loved her other books but there's something about this one that didn't work for me. It saddens me because I long for stories with older characters and nearly adult children and we don't see those often enough. I also listened to the audiobook version of this book after reading it and I think that colored my opinion darker. I loved the bakery theme and the son's involvement, but the rest seemed low key and like artificial drama. I don't know. I'll read it again someday and maybe I'll feel differently. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Plenty of chemistry in this book from Aurora Rey. The level of angst was pretty perfect while the story itself was gentle and delivered some good feels.

The honesty in this book resonated as the characters were genuinely going through the aftermath of failed marriages.

This was the first book I have read by Aurora Rey. It was a sweet, slow-burning second-chance romance between two older women.

Amanda and Quinn begin by embarking on a professional working relationships. Innocently, this slowly morphs into something more than either of them were expecting. Both characters are very likable and I particularly love the realness of the characters as Rey writes much about them getting to know each other.

Cute read, great characters.

With thanks to Netgalley, publisher and author for the copy in return for an honest review.

3.5 stars

For a second after reading the synopsis, I wasn't sure if this was going to be a second chance romance with the FMC's ex-wife or if it was going to be a new relationship with Quinn, the architect our FMC was going to hire for her bakery. Now that I know Quinn and her are great for each other, I'm glad I got to see them together even though the ex-wife was a bit of an issue but not really.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book. I loved the chemistry between the characters and I loved the sex scenes/steam in this book. Whenever they texted, I was almost giddy. I liked both characters and I'm glad Amanda figured out who and what she really wanted for her present/future. I didn't really enjoy reading about Amanda's teenagers (when one of them didn't really like her mother going out with someone new) but that's just a personal preference.

Pretty nice read, I'm curious to see what else the author has written.

<i>(Thank you for letting me read and review an ARC via Netgalley)

This book reminded me of one of my favorite movies It's Complicated but with Lesbians. It is a sweet and sassy story of baker Amanda Russo who is having her bakery expanded by architect Quinn Sullivan. They are middle aged women trying, not very hard, to get back into the dating scene.. There is a spark from the beginning but because both of their hearts have been trampled by love they try to ignore it. Amanda has 2 college age kids that Quinn has to pass the test with. Amanda also has an ex wife that comes sniffing around. But Quinn is easy going , gets along with kids great and is very patient.
The MC were believable characters with flaws that made them human. The sex was hot and real."My body isn't what it used to be or will I forget how to do this" were both of their thoughts. I really enjoyed this book as I do all of Ms Reys books.

3.75 stars
This was a sweet (pun intended) low-angst romance between older women. This was slow, but felt very realistic. The main characters were both likable and had good communication. I love the incorporation of the teenage kids. I really enjoyed this read.