Once Smitten, Twice Shy review

 

Chloe Liese is an author I discovered this year and has easily become an absolute favourite author. She writes characters I continue to fall in love with and romances I can’t help but be invested in. Once Smitten, Twice Shy was no exception to this, it was another book I read in 24 hours and could not put down at all, and I cannot explain the excitement that went through me when I saw I was approved for an e-arc. 

Once Smitten, Twice Shy is the third book in the Wilmot Sisters series following Juliet the oldest sister who has sworn off romance and Will Orsino who doesn’t think he will find his own happily ever after and together they agree to practice romance to both of their advantages. 

I found myself absolutely loving this book from the very start, not desperate to know how it would end but desperate to spend time with these two characters I found myself really connecting to in many different ways. 

I wasn’t expecting Juliet’s book to top how much I loved Kate’s story or how much Bea’s stuck with me but it did which I don’t think I can complain about and it just tells me I really need to get physical copies of these books! I think that there are many reasons why I found that I both loved and connected to this story in ways I think will stick with me. 

First off is something I didn’t know about ahead of reading which just made it all that more exciting to discover and that is that Will is an autistic character which is present in a lot of my favourite books by Chloe Liese and was something that I can’t explain how happy I was to discover it. A lot of what Will says in this book surrounding his neurodivergence was stuff that I really connected to myself particularly when his challenges with noise are discussed and socialising, whether that be being anxious about it or drained afterwards. I often connect to and treasure books with neurodivergent characters however I don’t often connect to characters quite as strongly as I did with Will. 

There were also parts of Juliet that I found myself connecting to, from the odd discussion around siblings and being the eldest to romance books and the odd other thing. I know myself if I connect to characters it just makes my reading experience that bit better along with my love for the book. 

There wasn’t loads of this but something else that immediately adds to my love of a book is a Scottish setting or Scottish characters and there was just enough in here to have that box ticked for me. 

This was a romance that I really enjoyed watching develop from people who didn’t really know each other, to good friends who really understood each other until finally they started dating. It was nice with this being a dual POV romance to watch them both realise and try and hide their feelings about each other but even the friendship they developed first was one where they understood each other and did what they could to support each other with their additional challenges and that was something present throughout the full story. Both Will and Juliet did whatever they could to help the other with the things more challenging for them without pushing too far or making the other feel that it was a hardship or stepping in when the other could still manage it. 

Something else I found myself loving about this book was how much time we get to spend with Juliet’s friend group who have been present throughout the whole series and Juliet’s sisters, Bea and Kate, who we have previously followed. I really like spending extended periods of time with characters and that is something this series does really well. It was also great to see more of both Bea and Kate’ relationship particularly in this book seeing how Bea’s had continued to develop.
On the other hand Will’s family were great to meet for the first time and I loved any and all the time we spent with them. 

This was a book I loved reading and a fantastic conclusion to a series that I loved reading this year. I highly recommend checking out Chloe Liese and the Wilmot Sisters series. I cannot wait to see what Chloe Liese writes next now that both the Bergerman Brothers and Wilmot Sisters series are done. 

Thank you to Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group for a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.