Old Flames and New Fortunes Is Ohio Small Town Magic at Its Finest

A review of Sarah Hogle’s latest novel

Many, many thanks to GP Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley for the digital review copy of Old Flames and New Fortunes, which came out this week on April 2nd.

(Full disclosure: This post uses Bookshop.org affiliate links).

Old Flames and New Fortunes is a second-chance romance set in a small town in Ohio, with a slight magical twist. Here’s the synopsis:

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…