Book Review: Don’t Fall in Love With Me

Don't Fall in Love With Me by Paige Toon will be released in the United States on April 14, 2026.

I LOVE every book I have read by Paige Toon. I discovered her books this summer and read three of them in one week, and then I read some more after that!

That’s why I LITerally squealed! OUT LOUD when I opened my email with the ARC approval for Don't Fall in Love with Me! And lucky me, because this was her best romantic and emotional novel yet! I loved it so much, I will probably read it again before release date (despite my towering TBR, LOL), and then pre-order copies for my friends, and then start a book club just so I can make my entire book club read it, too.

Paige Toon's romance books are always real, and they don't shy away from grief, tragedy, or real life, but it makes each love story even more evocative and realistic while still being swoony and steamy. That is why her books are characterized as women’s fiction in addition to romance, in my opinion. The identity and potential coming-of-age (or midlife coming of age) storylines, depending on the book, are central storylines, layered with the romantic plot.  Her storylines about friendship and family accompany and even deepen or complicate the romance and the setting is always stunning, and Don't Fall in Love with Me did not disappoint. This novel took everything I loved about her books to the next level.

In Don't Fall in Love With Me, Grace returns to the Ardeche region of France for a short-term job and to become part of a love triangle full of second-chance romance and one who got away tropes! As I read the book, I fell in love with the Ardeche (almost as much as Etienne—just wait).

 For 15 years, Grace visited her grandmotehr in France, leaving her home in England. While there, she meets Jackson, who becomes a friend and playmate when they are children. During their teen years, their friendship stays strong, but is tested by Chloe, Jackson’s on-again, off-again girlfriend who is not quite right for him. (The childhood parts are told in flashback).

Cut to the opening of the novel: Grace has been out of touch with Jackson since he married Chloe, for reasons of self-preservation, because she was in love with him on his wedding day (and for years before), but he never acknowledged it. Personally, I think he liked having Grace on the hook (good for the ego and to have a wonderful lady waiting in the wings for you for years). Anyway, Grace is at a pivotal point in her life and needs something new, because she’s feeling miserable and stressed by her job and missing her yearly trip to France.

Jackson calls to offer Grace a short-term gig in marketing for the rebranding of family’s French spring-water company. It seems like a win-win-win, because Grace can see Jackson, visit her grandma, and quit her miserable job for something she is more passionate about AND go to the lovely Ardeche region in France. I would be packing my bags and hopping on a plane if I had even ONE of those reasons to go to France, btw.

 Grace thinks Jackson just might be the “one who got away,” and this might be her chance to kindle their romance. Jackson, well, we don’t know what he really thinks. But he is going to sit up and take notice when Etienne enters the scene.

And now for the REAL second-chance romance. Grace and Etienne have instant chemistry—they became friends for one summer, years earlier, but the potential for love was there. When they run into each other again, Etienne is kind, a good listener, and sexy as hell. He is filling in as a bartender, yet he owns his own business as a mechanic and restores and sells antique cars AND he is restoring his childhood home AND is emotionally vulnerable AND he is good at kayaking! SAY LESS! The only problem is he doesn’t want to catch feels and warns Grace “don’t fall in love with me!” I do not want to tell you anymore, but you need to read this if you want to believe in TRUE love.

I devoured the book in two days, and I was almost sad that I read it so fast. Fun fact: now I am daydreaming every day about buying a plane ticket to France.

I suggest you pre-order from your favorite indie bookstore or Bookshop.org, where you can order online and choose your favorite indie bookstore. Thank you to Putnam for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.