Truly in Trouble

by Madeleine Pines

Luke and Hazel don't have a lot in common, except for the word no.
He hasn't heard one from a woman yet.
She has trouble saying one to anyone who needs her help.

But Hazel is in a pickle—her past keeps turning up uninvited. So when Luke offers her a half-baked proposition beneficial to both, against her better judgment, Hazel agrees.

What starts as a simple favour becomes an ill-advised trip to Portugal, layered banter between found family and an attraction
they're both resisting like hell. As secrets surface and feelings complicate, both must confront their fears and past wounds to determine whether opening up to love is worth the trouble it might bring, because the rules both of them have lived by don't seem to fit anymore.

Truly in Trouble is a heartfelt story about taking chances, embracing uncertainty and the courage it takes to choose something you want—especially when you've spent years convincing yourself you don't need it.

About what happens when two people see each other for exactly who they're trying to hide.
Because falling in love isn't the hard part.

Choosing to stay is.

For anyone who's ever fallen for someone at exactly the wrong time-and hoped they'd stay anyway.

472 pages, Paperback

First published March 24, 2026

About the author

Hi! I’m Maddie. I love love—so naturally, that’s what I write about. But it's not just the dreamy kind of love. I write about the messy, complicated love, about the you-can-break-me-but-you-can't-take-away-how-much-I-love-life kind of love. Ahh, I love those (too much love? ok, Im gonna stop.)

But I also can’t live without laughter, sarcasm, and finding humor in life’s chaos, so my stories often carry a playful twist alongside the heart. They’re about being brave enough to feel every emotion we humans are capable of and somehow surviving them.

When I’m not writing, you can usually find me talking to my one plant (the rest of them seem to die somehow), collecting more books than I could ever read, or pretending I have time to read them anyway. Life is slow, but busy here in Wales with my husband and our baby boy, but somehow, between the chaos and the coffee, I still find time to dream, laugh, and write stories that make me love (sorry) life.

Reviews

[Egija Lukstina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Save this book for your next summer vacation or beach days ☀️🏖️

I really enjoyed the easy language and the smooth, flowing storyline. I found myself comparing me to Hazel quite often and thinking about how I would act in the same situations. It made the story very easy to connect with.

Luke, on the other hand, didn’t completely convince me. I wasn’t really rooting for them as a couple. For someone who is supposed to be such a complex character, he sometimes felt a bit too soft and considerate. And the fact that he knows Taylor Swift’s song lyrics… who is this man?

What I loved the most, though, was the whole group of friends. Their dynamic was amazing and honestly made me wish I could join their friend group.

P.S. The ending was very dramatic — didn’t expect that 😅

[Gabriela · Rating 2 out of 5]

First, I would like to thank Madeleine Pines for sending me an ARC of her book!!! <3

I think the main plot of this book was super cute! I love a cute acquaintances to friends to lovers romance with a touch of found family!! Those are some of my favorite tropes!

I wasn't the biggest fan of the fmc, Hazel. There were some moments where I found her a bit annoying. I understand she's insecure about her role in the friend group (something I can 100% relate to), but she was constantly making every moment about her.

There was a scene where the group wants to take a picture together, and Hazel starts making comments about how she doesn't belong in the friend group, and all of a sudden, everyone is giving her a pep talk on how she's wanted and not a burden. I think that scene on it's own would have been fine, but things like this were happening time and time again with no growth.

The night Alex and Ava get engaged, she does something similar, talking about how she cannot afford expensive wine as a present for them (nobody asked for that... ?), and her piano skills aren't that great, and then it became The Hazel Show and everyone started trying to get her to play the piano for them. IDK, if I just got engaged, and ten seconds later, my fiance's friend's situationship made everything about her... I would be fuming.

I don't hate Hazel for her insecurities. Everyone has insecurities, and that's something that should 100% be portrayed in novels, but I think it was just written very unrealistically. It made me question if Hazel was even ready to be in a relationship. I mean, Luke kissed her for the first time, and she said, "Luke, if... if this is some kind of early birthday gift, I don't need any favors. I don't want anyone feeling sorry for me." Personally, I think that alone showed that she was not ready for any sort of relationship with Luke, and we did not see any growth in Hazel and her self-confidence journey before they started dating.

Don't get me wrong, I do think that Hazel is an adorable character. The cliff jumping scene was one of my absolute favorites, and it literally made me want to book a flight to Portugal and do the same! Also, her standing up to Jackson at the end!!!!! I was screaming, GO HAZEL!!!!!!!! I was so proud of her.

I think Luke balanced well with Hazel. When Luke was with her, he was so sweet, like he genuinely did not PLAY about my girl!!!! Honestly, I expect nothing less. And he is a true ride or die for his friends! Helping Norah when he found her in the grocery story and Alex with his proposal... I literally wanted to sob. And when he finally told his parents how he really feels and then rushed to Hazel!!!! I wish men existed... smh.

There were some things that he said that gave me 'the ick'. When he and Hazel were talking about body counts (and why are we talking about body counts in our late 20s, early 30s?!?!?), Luke said he'd slept with too many women to count, and when Hazel said she's slept with 3 men, he replies with, "Oh, Hazel, that's three too many." It was just very odd, and the double standards were insane.

He was also into Hazel in an infantilizing way. I don't mean he saw her as a child, though he did call her "Baby," which I personally hate as a nickname. He saw himself as her savior. Luke asking Hazel, a woman he only knew as someone who serves him coffee every day and not as a personal friend, on this trip was a major red flag. (Also the fact that Hazel's friends pushed her to go on it when she already said no... my friends would scream at me if I even considered something like that because hello?!?!?! He's a stranger, and people get kidnapped)

And when they got in an argument when Hazel found out he LIED to her about how he was paying for the trip, this man had so much fucking audacity. Hazel said, "I'm happy as I am." And Luke replied with, "Are you really?" AND TO TOP IT OFF, his inner dialogue went, "How could she say that? Her life was a mess." Coming from a man who's known this girl (as a friend and not the SERVER HE FLIRTED WITH SOMETIMES) for two weeks, that is very yucky.

I liked the friend group. They were super fun, and it's literally my dream to go on a vacation abroad like that when my friends and I are older and no longer broke lol. I kept mixing up Luke and Logan at the beginning because their names started with the same letter... (that's on me) and I couldn't tell any of the men apart, honestly. Their personalities were the same (former frat boys in Business with a shit ton of money lying around). I loved Norah, though. She was so sweet, and I loved her friendship with Luke. She's literally the older sister he never had!!!

The ending was a bit rushed. I think in the middle, a lot of scenes could have been cut since they weren't doing much service to the plot. It dragged, so when all of the plotlines started coming to an end, everything happened in the last five chapters, and it was very confusing and a bit too much in my opinion. I wasn't a big fan of it ending at Mady's wedding. I knew something was going to happen because it was clear no one liked John, but as an ending to a book (even if it is setting up book 2?), it was odd. It didn't leave me wanting to know what happened next, it just had me staring at the page like, "... what?"

For writing, I think the dialogue could have flowed better in some places. We found out everything about the character's pasts through dialogue, and that just wouldn't happen in real life. It would have been nice to learn about the character's personalities through their actions and mannerisms first, rather than being upfront about why they are the way they are. Saying, "I am the way I am because of A, B, C, D, and E events from my childhood," is just not likely in mixed conversation, especially if people (aka Hazel) you met two days ago are there. People lie, or at least omit the whole truth. No one lied in this book.

There were also a few grammar errors. Missing commas, words and quotations marks and spelling errors, mostly. Also on page 42, Luke's inner dialogue says, "The exercise helped, either by letting me forget for a moment or by giving me a fresh perspective. Exercise helped. Whether it gave me a brief escape or a fresh perspective, it did the trick," which is obviously repetitive. I think this book just needed to go through another round of editing.

Okay, my last thing is that there were so many pop-culture references in this book. I don't hate pop-culture references in books, especially in romances, because they're honestly necessary to make books believable and human. However, why are we giving Ansel Elgort and Kanye West a platform? If you're going to mention someone else in a work you spent years writing, those people should earn a spot in your book. And those two definitely do not deserve that spot.

Overall, I truly enjoyed reading this book, and it's honestly super impressive that this was the author's first time writing and publishing a book. The story was cute. It obviously wasn't perfect, but I finished this book (because it was lowkey super addicting!!!!) I can't wait to see what the author does next, and when the second book comes out, I will be jumping to read that.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book... I am absolutely obsessed.

First of all, I would have never guessed that this is a debut novel with how well it was written, how well the story flows, the plot is perfect, and the romance is beautiful. I am so grateful to have gotten the opportunity to read an arc copy of this book.

Hazel and Luke both have a lot of family grief, and they both deal with it in different ways. But honestly, they both deal with it like adults. I didn't dislike how either of the characters reacted to anything during the novel, it seemed very mature and never once annoyed me (which sometimes happens with other books). I loved the way they loved each other. I loved reading them both fall for each other more and more with each look they had. The spice was perfectly done, not too much and the slow burn was done perfectly imo. They had such good flirting throughout the whole book too... ugh.

I loved the plot, I loved the build up with them, I loved the friend group & her best friends. I loved getting to see a bit of their family backgrounds in some scenes. This book had me crying near the end. This book had me on the edge of my seat and wanting more and more.

Thank you for writing such a well done book. Congratulations on your debut novel, I absolutely cannot wait for another book to be released by her. Thank you for being a 5 star read for me.

Favourite quotes:
"People often say love is enough. Enough for what? Enough for a week, a month? To stop the ache? TO keep someone from leaving? Maybe for a while."

"I tried to get Luke's handsome smile and strong jawlines out of my head before turning into a teenage girl with a One Direction poster."

"You look like fall." "You look like the sea."

"B.r.e.a.t.h.t.a.k.i.n.g."

"Thank you was the closest we allowed ourselves to feel"

"Meeting you." - this part killed me.

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

**I received an ARC from the author and this is an honest review. Thank you Madeleine!!**


⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I am actually screaming a little bit over this one.

This being a debut?? From an author who has never published before?? I’m genuinely in shock because what do you MEAN this is your first book?! Madeleine Pines came out swinging and she did not miss.

Truly in Trouble completely exceeded my expectations. The tension was there, the chemistry was there, and I was hooked almost immediately. I kept thinking “okay just one more chapter” and suddenly it was 3AM and my eyeballs hurt but I was in way too deep and fully emotionally invested lol. So much so that I had to find the author on IG and figure out where the heck I could preorder a copy 😭

The characters were real and layered, and their connection built in a way that made everything hit harder. I love reading from multiple points of view. Luke and Hazel were perfect. I get so annoyed reading the same love story over and over, but this was refreshing. There was trauma that was real and relatable. Found family. Banter. Lovey moments that made my eyes water. A healthy amount of GOOD spice, but not over the top. All the things you want in a romance book.

But truly, I cannot get over the fact that this is a debut. The writing felt confident, detailed, and so easy to fall into. It never felt clunky or unsure. This is the kind of book that makes you excited to watch an author’s career unfold because if this is the starting point? Girl whatever comes next, I’m here for it. 👏🏻

Absolutely a 5 star read. No notes. Just happiness and a little bit of emotional attachment. 🩷 GO PICK THIS BOOK UP!!

[BookishBabes98 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was fun, had a little adventure, a little protective MMC, and a little FMC finding her voice again. The FMC was happy in her life and didn't need a knight to come save her, but even independent people need a helping hand and won't ask for it. She had some personal things going on in her life that made her help avoidant, and the MMC had some personal issues that made him love avoidant, a match made in heaven.

I enjoyed that both parties didn't go out searching for love, there was no heartbreak (due to unrequited love anyways), but they found each other anyways. They left as friends (who found attraction...) and came back as heartbroken friends, and eventually in love! The ending, while a little surprising, wasn't a crazy shock to me, it felt like it was being set up for a large portion of the book, but still made me say, no way! Would be willing to read the next book for sure!

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a cute read to start off my spring. It’s very summer vibes. We have Hazel and Luke. They know each other because she’s the barista that works across the street from Luke’s job. They are both friendly with towards each other and a little flirty. When the opportunity arises that Luke needs “help on a business trip” she can’t pass up the opportunity.

Spending two weeks with Luke and his best friends, is something that neither of them expected to love so much. Feelings are changed into more than just friends. They both know once vacation is over life will go back to the same. The problem is they don’t know if they can actually go back to the same.

This was such a cute little romance. I loved the way that Madeleine ended it and I can’t wait to see what comes next. Thank you so much for this arc.

[Agneta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Knowing the fact that this is author’s first published book, I was mesmerized by how good and smooth the storyline was. It felt like reading any other author’s 50th book in this genre. The plots, emotions, spiciness, AND ending… When I tell u I was LOCKED IN! The ending made me want to continue to read more but… WHERE’S THE REST?!?! I need answers NOW!! I will definitely be looking forward for more publishings from this author. Really recommend this book 🤌 The story had a bit of everything what makes a story good and all together satisfied my little brain
I hope author is not allergic to gluten because the author deserves not just any cookie, but a warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie that melts in your mouth, for such a great first book 🍪

[Lady MP · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5

Make sure to add Truly in Trouble for your next vacation read! The whole time, I wish I was in Portugal with the MCs & their friends! And that twist at the end. Excuse me, ma'am... Please tell me we find out what happens in the next book! I'm not assuming there's a next book, but OH MY GOODNESS! Also, I wish I had a group of friends like Ava, Nora & Summer!

If I wasn't following the author on socials, I wouldn't have thought this was their debut novel!
Thank you, Madeleine Pines, for the ARC (I'm playing catch up!)

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I. LOVED. IT. Hazel is incredibly relatable - I found myself rooting for her from the very first page.❤️ If you like Emily Henry you sure will love Madeleine Pines. Truly in Trouble will absolutely get you into trouble - so clear your schedule, because once you start, you won’t be able to put it down.

[PS · Rating 5 out of 5]

💥arc review💥

this was such a good read. Hazel is a very relatable character for me and I loved seeing her develop through the book.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a cute little romance.
Although that ending definitely turned it into a form of a mystery.

I is definitely a fun read.

Thank you for the ARC.

[Danica Gallien · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a debut novel, this was really great!!! A beautiful rom-com! Can’t wait to see what this author will publish next!

[Britt King · Rating 4 out of 5]

OMG that ending! Please tell us we are getting more on Mady!
Acquaintance to friend to lover. I was all in for Hazel and Luke's story, but a friend group that makes you also want to know all of their stories is where it's at. Hope we get more!

[readsbymanduh · Rating 4 out of 5]

ummmm the ending of this book genuinely made me gasp out loud… was not expecting that at all! Like will there be a second book HELLO???? anyway, loved the story and had fun reading it! don’t have much to say about it.

“The best way out is always through” ❤️‍🩹