Fragile Hopes by Lisina Coney – Romance Book Review

April 24, 2026April 23, 2026 Book Reviews, Romance

Absolutely obsessed with this gorgeous firefighter romance!

Fragile Hopes by Lisina Coney is now available to buy, click below.

Fragile Hopes by Lisina Coney book review

Ivy has returned to her small hometown to be a guardian to her teenage brother, after living for a few years in New York. At the age of 26, she’s only just holding things together with multiple jobs in attempt to save enough for her brother to go to flight school. She doesn’t need the firefighter neighbour she’s only just met to turn out to hate her. But slowly a friendship develops between the two, until they can no longer deny their feelings.

I adored this story. It ticks all the boxes for a perfect contemporary romance, including a few that I didn’t even know I would like!
– Small town
– Grumpy firefighter
– Slow burn
– Age gap
– Found family

I sped through this one. It was addictive! The slow burn romance as Ford and Ivy worked through their communication issues (isn’t that always the case?!) was so well written and very believable.

Ivy’s character was brilliant. She’s so hard working and cares for her brother above all else, despite the tragic backstory which adds a whole lot of depth to the book. The fact that Ford sees this and understands it just makes the whole thing feel so cosy and lovely. It’s all wrapped up in a lovely warm ending.

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I’ve read quite a lot of contemporary, small town romances recently, and I have to say that I think this one is my favourite this year, maybe even for the 6 months before that! I can’t wait to see what’s coming next from the town of Harmony Hills as I know I’m going to love it!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publishers for an ARC of this book.