Only Love Can Hurt Like This

AN EARTH SHATTERING SECRET. A LIFE-CHANGING LOVE STORY.

"Nobody writes angst and joy and hope like Paige Toon."-CHRISTINA LAUREN, author of LOVE AND OTHER WORDS

For fans of Colleen Hoover, an unforgettable and heartbreaking love story with an earth-shattering secret at its core that asks the question: Is love worth risking everything for?

When Wren realizes her fiance is in love with someone else, she thinks her heart will never recover.

On the other side of the world, Anders lost his wife four years ago and is still struggling to move on.

Wren hopes that spending the summer with her dad and step-family on their farm in Indiana will help her to heal. There, amid the cornfields and fireflies, she and Anders cross paths and their worlds are turned upside-down again.

But Wren doesn't know that Anders is harboring a secret, and if he acts on any feelings he has for Wren it will have serious fall-out for everyone. Walking away would hurt Wren more than she can imagine. But, knowing the truth, how can she possibly stay?

From the publisher

Penguin Random House/G.P. Putnam's Sons | April 25,2023 | 400 pages | ISBN:9780593544334

1. If you were Wren, how would you have responded if you saw your fiance fall in love with another woman? Do you think Wren handled that situation well? Why or why not?

2. How do you think Wren's parents' divorce shaped Wren's outlook on life? If her parents hadn't divorced, do you think Wren's life would have gone down a different path? If so, how?

3. Before Wren goes to visit her family in Indiana, she has many preconceived notions about how they feel about her. Have you ever believed something to be true about a friend or family member that you later discovered was different? If so, what happened and how did you feel (or what did you do after finding out the truth?

4. What was your favorite scene in the novel, and why?

5. Why do you think Anders and Wren are drawn to each other? What do you think each does for the other that makes their relationship special?

6. Only Love Can Hurt Like This is not just a story of love, but of sibling bonds. What do you think is the most important quality in a sibling? Do you think Wren, Bailey, Jonas, or Anders possess this quality? Do you have a sibling, and if so, what do you think is their best quality they bring to your relationship with them?

7. In Chapter 36 Wren says, "I didn't know it was possible to love so fully and hurt so deeply at exactly the same time." Have you ever experienced this feeling? If so, what happened and how did you cope with those emotions?

8. If you could move to one place for the summer, where would it be, and who would you take with you?

9. Do you think Wren did the right thing after finding out the truth about Anders? Conversely, do you think Anders did the right thing keeping his secret from Wren? What would you have done if you were in his shoes, or in hers?

10. Did the ending surprise you?

Book Club Talking Points:
Only Love Can Hurt Like This by Paige Toon is an ideal choice for book clubs because it delves deeply into themes of love, loss, and emotional resilience. The novel's heartfelt exploration of heartbreak and healing provides rich material for discussion, inviting readers to reflect on their own experiences with grief and second chances. With complex characters, poignant writing, and thought-provoking questions about forgiveness and moving forward, this story is sure to spark meaningful conversations and resonate long after the last page is turned.

Reader's Digest May book club pick

One of New York Post's "best new books to read"

One of Reader's Digest's 32 Best Beach Reads for the Perfect Escape

"Will have you swooning, crying, and turning the pages late into the night.... Truly heart-rending." -Sophie Cousens, author of Just Haven't Met You Yet

"Even while her novel was breaking my heart into tiny pieces, I couldn't put it down. Emotional and riveting, this is a story of big secrets, and even bigger love." -Jill Santopolo, author of The Light We Lost

"A tightly-paced blend of angst and joy and hope. Perfect from start to finish. I absolutely adored this book!" -Christina Lauren, author of The Unhoneymooners

"Emotional, angsty, and utterly romantic. I was rooting so hard for these characters to get the happy ending they deserved. This story will have you wiping away tears one moment, and smiling dreamily the next." –Mia Sheridan, author of Archer's Voice and Travis

"Paige Toon writes such beautiful, emotional love stories. I adored Only Love Can Hurt Like This-it swept me away to the gorgeous Wetherill Farm and I fell in love with Wren and Anders." -Beth O'Leary, author of The Flatshare and The Road Trip

"So unique and moving. I adored every lovely word!" -Josie Silver, author of One Day in December

"In this monumentally moving story (keep the tissues at hand) of two lovers kept apart by tragic secrets, Toon urges us to risk everything, to never play it safe when it comes to the heart, and to know that caring is always, always, worth the cost." -Caroline Leavitt, author of Pictures of You and With or Without You

"A delicious, slow burn love story that hit me in parts of my heart I didn't even know I had. Full of original and complex characters, it left me with the wonderful feeling that love this real can make anything possible."-Annabel Monaghan, author of Nora Goes Off Script

"What a beautiful, lovely tearjerker of a book. This story will stay with me." -Lizzy Dent, author of The Summer Job and The Setup

"Compulsively page-turning, wildly romantic and beautifully heartbreaking. I stayed up all night and inhaled it in one big gulp. A totally brilliant read-I could not love it more."-Emily Stone, author of Always in December

"Emotional." –Publishers Weekly

"Oh my GOD. This book! Only Paige Toon can make me believe in the power of love this way....It has everything: family, love, secrets, sexy descriptions of brooding, hot men...just sublime." -Laura Jane Williams, author of Our Stop and The Love Square

"Remarkably romantic and emotional, written by one of the only writers who can make me cry!" -Lia Louis, author of Eight Perfect Hours

"A beautiful love story that simmers in such a heart-warming and heart-breaking way. I sobbed!" -Giovanna Fletcher, author of Eve of Man