Kiss From A Rose

by Maya Alden

He built an empire, but forgot to cherish his queen.
So, she found herself by leaving him. Can he find her by following?
Because when is a kiss from his Rose not just a kiss—but a second chance?

Gray Rutherford had it all—a thriving business, a luxurious home, and a family he adored. Yet, when his wife Rose leaves him after twenty years of marriage, he's forced to face the bitter truth: he's taken her devotion for granted.

Confronted with his failings, Gray embarks on a desperate journey to reclaim the love of his life and prove that she is indispensable to him.

On the cusp of forty, Rose Rutherford stands at a life-altering crossroads. Tired of feeling invisible and undervalued in her marriage, she leaves her affluent Atlanta life for Angel Island to manage a friend's B&B as her friend faces the end of her life.

When Gray arrives, intent on reconciliation, Rose is torn between her newfound independence and the past she left behind.

Kiss From A Rose is A Modern Vintage Romance. Get a dose of classic Mills & Boon and Harlequin romance novels with a contemporary dual POV and a sexy touch. Indulge in your favorite tropes:

✔️Marriage in crisis
✔️Later in life
✔️Betrayal and grovel
✔️No cheating
✔️Complete standalone

Trigger warning: Suicidal ideation; depression; passing of a friend due to cancer

Genres: Second Chance, Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Second Chance Romance, Family Drama, Emotional

334 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2024

About the author

A top 20 Amazon Bestselling Author, Maya Alden pens angsty contemporary romances.

Reviews

[Millie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is probably the less bad book I have read for this author.
Not that it says a lot.
If the heroine had divorced I would have loved the book.
The hero was a piece of shit for 20 years. And her two grown kids turned into pieces of shit too.
The heroine, 39 years old, was a housewife. She got pregnant at 18 and she got married. She used to live in a trailer park and the hero was old money. You got your cliché in laws who treated her like dirt because she was poor and didn't go to college (she raised two kids but apparently the author hates mothers). Her 20 years marriage wasn't all bad but it wasn't good. At the beginning at the book she finally decided to leave. And the hero had an epiphany and groveled to her AND SHE LET HIM BACK. Urgh.

Sometimes, I wonder what "love" is to romance authors who write these books. I'm not talking about an author who will write one book, I'm talking about a serial writer of romances with doormats heroines. Do they hate women? Are they projecting their own life or a parent's?
I can't help but think they must hate women who aren't 100% dependent on their partner. All of this author's heroines are terrible and one dimensional. They will have one spark ONE but it will always die a painful death.
Men aren't worth it. Women can be happy being single for a few years. They can achieve so much more if they're not tied down to an ungrateful husband (which all the heroes from Maya Alden are).

I don't get it really. Maybe it's Beyoncé's fault.

[Samantha (bookgramsaga reviews) · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

''I don't feel loved by you''

Safety warnings:
- No cheating
- No OM drama
- OW drama (nothing real)
- Perceived cheating
- Marriage in trouble
- Mention of verbal abuse
- Mention of s*icidal thoughts
- Depression
- Mention of abortion
- Loss of loved ones
- Terminal illness
- Mention of racism
- HEA

SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️

SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️

SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️

SPOILERS BELOW ⬇️

Gray was the most clueless, self-centered man I have read in a long time. His sole focus in life was himself and how things should be for HIM. He was mentioned to being a great father but that's it. He was a great father to his kids but was a terrible role model on how to truly behave towards the ones you love.

Did I believe he loved Rose? Yes? I feel like a lot of these issues and reasons for his behavior were selfish based and Rose deserved better. Part of me would have been fine if she had truly moved on and found someone else to make her happy but she was trapped in her love for him and her decision to start divorce procedures was the only thing she could do in her circumstances.

She lost her voice and was stuck in a marriage where love was missing. He was always focused on work, his projects, his needs and desires and FUCKING her that he never showed her love and devotion.

They were together for 20 years! She bent over backwards to make sure she was the perfect wife his rich ass would be proud of, and his rich ass family would be happy with (spoiler alert: They were not). She suffered through their verbal abuse for YEARS and he never stepped up.

They met when she was 18 and he was 22. They had sex and she got pregnant, he literally wants her to get an abortion and even pays for it (he also in his POV admits he loves her, and he is just scared and knows she won't fit in with his family and status) but once he sees she wants nothing from him and regrets his initial stance, he decides to marry her instead.

If I keep going on the reasons why he was the worst, we would be here all day.

It took her LEAVING HIM and truly leaving for him to get his head out of his ass and cry like a little bitch and beg for his wife.

The kids were horrible, especially Jude who needed therapy and thank fuck he went and got it.

THE PERCEIVED CHEATING? GAH - his absolute cluelessness and ignorance was so fucking stupid. He let his assistant believe that she was a priority when he spent every second with her and ignored his wife. So, I don't blame her for thinking he would end up fucking her once the wife was out of the picture. Thankfully, he wanted nothing to do with her and was shocked by her even suggesting they be together.

He never cheated on Rose, nor wanted to ever have another woman, so he gets a bonus for doing the BARE minimum in a marriage.

I loved watching him be humbled and told off by everyone who saw his actions towards his wife over the years.

Do I think he deserved her in the end?
No lol

Do I think he will revert to his old ways?
No.

I think he has had a chance to learn from his LONG mistakes and do better by her.

The one thing that made me truly cry was Malou and losing her. Malou was Rose's best friend who had been in her life from the beginning. Malou has terminal illness and watching her slowly wither away was sad. She was unable to be there for Rose’s wedding because Gray’s mother was a blatant racist and didn’t want her around.

[Vintage · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before I start my review, I have to comment on something I've noticed in romance novels recently. Aging out women that aren't really that old. The heroine in this book has just turned 40 and acts like she's 70 and about to be sent to the glue factory. Part of this is the character development as the poor thing has no self-confidence, but some of it is societal comments via the author. I was 34 when I got married and thought I looked pretty good, and I was only six years younger than this character. I'm 62 now and still don't feel as old as this 40 year old woman.

Anyhoo, back to our regularly scheduled review. This was good. A very serious second chance romance where the hero isn't the usual dog poo on my shoe from Ms. Alden. I rant and rave over her heroes, but keep coming back.

The poor h is unappreciated by everyone, and I even teared up when her son was so mean. If my son spoke to me like that I would ask him who the hell he thought he was talking to me like that, then go cry my eyes out and wonder where I went wrong. It's always the mothers. The daughter is not much better, and the H is a clueless and thoughtless idiot. Alden really brings home what a treasure the h was as a wife because she never made waves and he was still attracted to her. Yep, she's a domestic doormat, but she's a doormat that changes her circumstances. She runs away!

The H goes on a bear hunt to figure out what went wrong only to find out it was him. His turnaround was suspiciously quick and I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, but this guy's a toddler compared to some other Alden heroes.

[Claire · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a “marriage in trouble” angsty contemporary. Rose (39) and Grey (42) have been married for like 20 years. He took her virginity and got her pregnant when she was 18, so they have twin kids who are in college. But he’s been awful to Rose this entire time and she’s been a doormat. So, finally, she’s had enough and leaves. He's shocked and doesn't want a divorce, he wants her back.

This is a good premise, but I didn’t like either character – I actually disliked Rose as much as Grey, just in a different way. Rose spent two decades laying down and passively taking his poor treatment, and never spoke up. She was unhappy, but waited 20 years to do anything to try to change her situation. Why did she wait so long? Why didn’t she try to speak up? We don’t know, the book doesn’t really bother filling that in. So, she feels like a bare sketch of a character who isn’t well fleshed out. She’s such an over the top martyr. She never scolds her kids when they’re mean to her. She never argues with Grey. Nobody on earth is really like this! Rose doesn’t feel like a real person. Also, it feels gross that the book frames this stuff as Rose having a “big heart.” This quality is not admirable! Never arguing, never standing up for herself, taking everyone’s bullshit? The book presents that as the reason why we should like Rose and root for her. Grey’s friends literally call her “Saint Rose.”

Rose doesn't have a personality, so the main reason we're given to like her is this so-called "sweetness" and "big heart" that's really just her being a doormat. This author's books are misogynistic in a way that's insidious. The way her heroines like Rose are written - and the way that being an EXTREME doormat is framed as a good quality - it's sugar-coated misogyny, disguised as sweetness. It's worse than many dark romances I've read, where the heroines are more overtly degraded. Because at least many of those books feel more self-aware about what they're doing. Or, they're more upfront about it, and they don't try to disguise it beneath a sugary sweet surface. I'm not one to pearl-clutch about this type of stuff; I read some wild books, and I love many heroes who behave badly. But this author's books are among the most misogynistic romances I've ever read.

Also, any character who is too saintly is boring. And it’s not believable that Rose spent 20 years languishing in Grey’s big house, without any hobbies or friends or anything to occupy her time.

Grey is an asshole, and although you could say yes, that’s the point of a betrayal / grovel book – this book spends too long piling on too many of his bad actions. This book forgets to show us any reason why we should root for this relationship. We’re TOLD they had some good times together, but not shown it. We're told Rose stayed because she loved him, but we're not shown 1 single thing about Grey that's lovable. We’re only shown Grey being a terrible husband for 20 years. He has no redeeming qualities; there’s nothing interesting about him to grasp at. It IS possible for a hero to be terrible, but also compelling – see Jack in the The Blood of Black Oak series, or Shay in Torment: Part One. These guys are much worse than Grey, but they're also interesting and fun to read about and well developed. Grey is a dick, AND he’s dull.

All of his “grovel” actions are the bare minimum of stuff he should have been doing in the first place (he makes more time for his wife and gets a better work/life balance. He apologizes for being an asshole. He makes it clear that his money is both of theirs, not only his. He gets to know his wife’s best friend, that he previously never bothered getting to know).

Calling this behavior “grovel” is absurd. This is the all stuff he should have been doing all along. Like, making it clear his money belongs to them both?! That's not grovel! That's barely breaking even on an action he's doing 20 years too late. A grovel is a hero going above and beyond to make a gesture, or spending a long time putting in the work to show that he recognized his wrong and changed, or inconveniencing himself in a way that exceeds how his actions inconvenienced the heroine (see: in Dukes of Madness, Nick bringing Lavinia the head of her enemy and letting her punish him and showing that he’s willing to die for her, or see in Pack Darling: Part Two, the guys dissolving the entire pack and putting in work to better themselves, or see in Poison Heart, the hero just sitting through his pain after the heroine poisoned his meal and continuing to eat it, or see how the heroes behave in Ocean Echoes or Unworthy. All of that stuff is grovel. This isn't).

I’ve read a few of this author's books, and they’re all like this. If I'm giving an author 1-2 stars continuously on several books, I just need to stop reading them. Why did I read this, then? Because I saw several posts on social media say, “Even if you didn’t like her other books or thought they didn’t have real grovel, this one is different!” So, I would have avoided this, except somebody lied about it, and misled me into reading it. Because I do like the angst of her premises, she just executes them poorly. But I won't blame the people who said that. It's on me, for taking the word of a random person. I won't make that mistake again.

Also, this author's release schedule is so insane that I question whether it's humanly possible: about a full length novel a month. A novel, not a novella. I question whether someone can do that without ChatGPT or some form of AI "assistance." I'm not accusing her, I obviously don't know, but it bares repeating: ChatGPT is a scourge on the industry, and people who use it should not be platformed.

[Capt. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Finally bit the bullet and read this book after swearing up and down that I’m not going to read another Maya Alden book, but some of my GR friends who I had similar book taste and who I trust likes this one and I was intrigued but I should’ve known that equals my doom 🤠

Going to go on a bit of a tangent now.

While Rose wasn’t a total doormat compared to this author’s other books, the fact that she forgave Gray after just a few months, after just plenty of pretty flowery speeches speaks to how weak and pathetic she still is and how perhaps the author views women? I swear her FMCs are just a different spectrum of doormat and spineless, same old style and same old brand, just different font.
That is to say, despite that I love Rose, the wasted potential of her character development truly makes me sad.

Maya Alden knows how to write gut punch moments and she really pulled off with this one, what I also realized is that she doesn’t known how to follow that up, she’s certainly not Sierra Simone, because there’s no desperation for the characters who are wrong, the hopelessness that they lost their wife, the clawing distress that they can’t find her or talk to her or make her forgive them.
Yes, he did cry a lot, but in my opinion, he wasn’t depressed enough or humiliated enough compared to what he made Rose put through.
I wanted Gray to suffer the same amount or better yet more than the times Rose has suffered but he didn’t, because he is a man in Maya Alden’s book.

Like she gave me time to sympathize with Rose but she didn’t give me time to root for Gray or Jude. Not enough reason and sufferings from him, and why a man like Gray who was so cruel to the point that he drove his wife to taking antidepressants and having thoughts about wanting to die deserved a 2nd chance.

And maybe that’s why I think there’s insufficient grovel because Gray didn’t want to make himself jump off a building for being a selfish, small dickheaded worthless garbage prick.
And if he did? That’s happy ending for me🙏🏽

Also the book keep saying that “there are plenty of good in their marriage than bad” and that “the problem started when their kids left for college”. Rose said it, Malou, Rose’s bff has said, Gray has said it, hell! Even Gray’s therapist has said it. That line just keeps on repeating I’m like HUH? WHERE? Cuzzzz

-didn’t Gray said that he wished she miscarried the baby and then he could divorce her?
-didn’t he said that he wants her to abort the baby and even give her the money to do so?
-didn’t he said that he wouldn’t marry her if she hadn’t gotten pregnant?
-didn’t he let Rose conform to her mother’s standards because he can’t defend her?
-didn’t he let other people insult his wife and he did nothing?
-didn’t he blamed Rose for getting pregnant and trapping him making that his justification for treating her poorly?

These things happened BEFORE their kids were out for college…Maya Alden must be trying to gaslight me with that “there are plenty of good years” line.

Like I said the author didn’t give me much in terms of why I should not be wanting Gray not to k!ll himself.


Claire did an awesome review about this and I agree with it all specially about the grovel just about doing the BARE MINIMUM in a supposedly loving marriage.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Koryne · Rating 3 out of 5]

My stomach was in my ass and I was crying by chapter 5. I HAAAAAAAAAAATED Gray and her kids so much that by the time it got to their reconciliation i was over it and bored. she should have divorced him and moved on.

my biggest issue is that he was “heartbroken and torn up” over her leaving him that the FIRST THING HE DID when he talked to her after 4 weeks was to yell at her and accuse her DYING friend of dying to manipulate him. 😑😑😑😑 like excuse me?!

my heart broke for Rose. and i feel like Gray should have just had his ass kicked and all his money taken. I’m so proud of Rose for leaving and doing what was right for her. Gray might have never actually cheated on her, but he was a dick from the beginning. when they were secretly hooking up and she got pregnant he brought another woman to her work, let his friends degrade her AND LET THE OTHER WOMAN KISS HIM. but somehow HE had the right to resent HER for getting pregnant and then having to marry….. she was 18 and he was 22…….


AND HIS ASSISTANT….. literally everyone was telling him how he never seemed to like his wife and his assistant was going around telling everyone that now that his wife left they can be together. and even though he never gave her even a HINT that he was into her, in his pov he said she was beautiful and he thought about fucking her in the way that all married men in their 40s think about fucking 20 year olds or something like that 😑😑😑😑😑 he should have been alone forever because i never believed for a second that he loved his wife. there was literally zero comeuppance for the assistant…she still works for the company, just not as a PA because Gray stepped down.

give me 5 minutes in a ring with Gray, Jude, and Willow(her kids) so i can defend my girl 😭 the only good person was Willow’s boyfriend for pointing out how they treated their mom like total SHIT.


Maya Alden seems to write H’s that are total shit but i eat it up like it’s my last meal 😅🫣 this was perfect for the mood i was in though that’s why i rated it 3.5 stars😂 and i love marriage in trouble with this type of angst.

[Christelle Ruiz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really looking forward to reading this book but I was disappointed.
I read the first two chapters and I was really interested.
But I’m not a fan of doormat, perfect wife who suddenly grow a backbone. And the husband excuse was that he didn’t realized he mistreated and disrespected his wife?! Seriously!
And she forgave him 2 months later!!
I wanted to throw my kindle across the room so many times as I was so frustrated by Rose, Gray and their kids!
It started really well but was disappointing by 40% into the story!!

[Sue Miz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I said to myself I'm never reading a Maya Alden book again, but the blurb and a review caught me because this story is very personal
I was so ready to shred it apart if not handled carefully
But I'm crying 😭😭
35% in and all the emotions are hitting me
It is so well done
If this continues like this, it's a definite 5 stars
It is 4.5 rounded to 5🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

What I love more than Second-Chance books are authors who surprise me

There is no doubt that Alden's writing has matured immensely, her plot is well-thought of and for a short book (remove the sneak peek for her upcoming books by the end and the story is less than 200 pages) it hit all the emotions.

quick synopsis...not a spoiler cause it's literally in the blurb

The book opens with Rose and Gray married for 20 yrs. He got her knocked up when she was 18 and him 22, got married, had twins. Of course his family did not approve of her.
Rose is being disengaged from her family. Her children think she is uneducated because she didnt finish college so they do not interact with her much. Her husband drowns himself with work to the point where everyone thinks that he is having an affair with his assistance.

In the words of Rose, her marriage was not all bad, there were good times especially the intimacy part between her and her husband but "I do love my family, but I need to be loved too," I told her (her friend). "I'm so tired of taking care of those who don't return the favor"

Her marriage was like a tree that kept giving fruit only to be depraved of the sun, water and care.

So Rose leaves and this act becomes the reality check for Gray and her kids.

This book is a Therapist heaven
It addresses two points

1- Are women who stay for their families doormats? and when they leave, are they homewreckers?
2- Men who take their marriage or partners for granted.

I've read in some of the reviews that Rose was a doormat.
I'm sorry people think that because they do not know what a doormat is.

Rose may have appeared like this, but she is further from. A lot of women are nurturers in their nature. They love taking care of their family, nothing wrong with that. However, they do love to receive also.
Rose, when young, did not have the luxury to leave or stand up for herself. She was isolated and surrounded by people who belittled her
but that did not break her. Once she made sure that she is at a point where no one would say "you didn't do your part" she said FUCK YOU ALL and left.

"I lost myself, Malou. Became invisible. The thing about marriage no one tells you is that you have to give yourself completely to it. You do it selflessly. Your kids, your husband, they become your life. But you don't become theirs. No one even says thank you. It's like you were expected to lose yourself and your identity to become a mother and wife. I don't even know who Rose May is anymore. They didn't see me, that's true—but what's truly fucked up is that I didn't see myself either."


The way Gray perceived his marriage and Rose is, unfortunately, how many men see marriage. They think She should be their "safe haven" without them making an effort to become hers.

Yeah, I knew she loved me. I'd always known that. It was why I treated her the way I did, wasn't it? It was why I took her for granted, thinking, where would she go? Hadn't I thrown that stupid prenuptial agreement at her time and again in the early years when we had a fight?

When Gray realized how fucked up he was with Rose, he did what we wish men in his position do ...fix his damn mistakes.

Now as much as I wished to see more grovel (I am a bitch and always want a man on his knees)
I think Gray was on the right path

- Don't know how to fix your mistake? seek a therapist
- He neglected his wife? so he shows up and quits everything to be with her
- He did not support her choice of friends? help her with her friend problem and be supportive
- He allowed family and friends to belittle her? stand up for her and cut off anyone who does
- He publicly disregarded her? make a public speech where he shows how much he loves her
- Put his work first? quit his job while supporting hers

The book hit me on a personal level because I know women who are Rose but didn't have the luxury to leave or a Gray to grovel to.


I gave up on this author but this book restored my faith. I hope the next one's of hers would be as thought of as this one

[Raffaella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well everyone knows by my rating that I didn’t always like this authors books. This one was a nice and good surprise.
I liked it very much, and I cried a lot, as in ugly cry, which thing does not happen to me very often, being myself a very callous and nasty bitch.
But this one was truly angsty.
It’s about a couple in crisis.
They’ve been married for twenty years and have twin children.
They’ve married very young, he was 22 and she was 18, he is rich and she was trailer trash.
His family always treated her as trash, her mother was a nasty racist bully and the hero never defended her.
She is a very sweet and loving woman, and managed to mould herself into a classy elegant woman her status required.
Her husband is a selfish uncaring asshole and has always treated her as a commodity, since they have great sex, she’s hot, and she’s a doormat.
Lately the kids have left for college and the husband is always busy at work and neglects her more than usual which is very bad.
He basically is never at home and sleeps in the guestroom.
When he forgets their 20th anniversary she decides it’s time to dump his sorry ass and divorce him. Her children have also become insufferable conceited assholes, which make her sad.
So she leaves and goes to her childhood bff, who’s dying of cancer.
The same friend she could not even invite to her own wedding because she’s trailer trash and black. Yuck and yuck.
When the hero finds out she’s gone he breaks. He loves her, wants her back and realizes he might have screwed badly.
As the story unfolds and we see him trying to understand his and his children fuck up and the reasons why his wife left, and then trying to win her back, we also see some of the bad moments that made her leave.
How he reacted to her pregnancy (awfully but at least he was very young), how he basically left her fend for herself with his bitch of a mother, how he forgot her birthdays, how he never made her feel loved, how he talked to his friends about her, and how he thought about her and to her.
It should have been four stars, and yes, I liked the book and I must admit that this author is growing and getting better since her previous books, where the heroes were just plain cruel, mean and abusive, and often also manwhore, and the angst was obtained by cheap means, here she is getting better and more subtle in her characterization so the hero is not just a nasty human being you never want to meet in your life. The hero has some good things for himself, he reacted badly to her pregnancy but he made amend very soon afterwards and yes, he was scared and didn’t want a pregnancy so soon, who would at that age, but he was very happy with his two children and was a very good father.
He was also a family man, and he loved the heroine and was faithful always, not once straying even when he was proposed, and even if imo with his EA, a younger bimbo who was obviously enamored with him, he gave her too much attention and spent too much time with her lately.
But.
Imo his behavior was borderline abusive, in a very subtle and manipulative manner, he was ready to put her down, he never disciplined his children when they vere nasty with their mother, he took his frustration on her and resented her even for things that were not her fault, and what was worst, when they quarreled he threatened her with their prenup that said that if she left him she could not have anything not even her children. He decided what and when and where. He said jump and she had to say how high. She became depressed and suicidal, she went to a therapist and took antidepressants.
This was painful. Had I been her therapist I would have suggested that she left him immediately and I would have helped her to make a very quick plan to become independent, like where to go, where to find a job, things like that.
She did it only after two years of abuses and neglect.
And neglect is a form of abuse, an emotional one.
So, when he came back and yes, he groveled, yes, he did change his life totally and became a better man, I wished she would have rejected him and divorced him, and he should have spent years trying to win her back, not only some meager months.
She never rebelled because she is the kind of a people pleaser, and because she was so young and alone when she married him, I can understand how she fell into that awful society and that toxic relationship with him. She never said no, never complained, never stood up for herself, and that is also her fault, especially with her children she should have never allowed them the kind of awful remarks about her they often did. She should have expected respect as her due.
She did not, so they all stepped on her over and over again.
Imo she was too forgiving and she forgave him too easily.
Two things more: ow was a blond bombshell half his age who was clearly infatuated with him and when she confessed that she thought they had a thing and he was anyway going to separate by his wife, well, I must admit she had more than one point. He was always with her, he had dinner with her three times a week and he called her darling, and even if he didn’t touch her he told her not to pass any calls from his wife so I don’t think she made it all up in her mind. He showed no care and no respect for his wife, and no desire to spend any time with her since he went home late at night. Of course she thought he didn’t love her and was going to try with her! The second thing I found weird is that the heroine is 38 and she sees herself as old, with age lines and aging body, which was not true at all since everyone thought her beautiful and fit, I think it was more something to do with her lack of self confidence due to her in-laws but I want to remark that most women at that age are beautiful, young looking and with amazing bodies, and when she says she looks her age, well, I was quite puzzled because a 38 yo who looks her age should be still beautiful and young. But, again, I suppose it has to do with the way she saw herself as lacking.
So, not four but three stars, because the hero isn’t a manwhore and a cruel mean azzhole and it was a very well written story, but some of his behaviors were borderline disturbing and somehow abusive anyway.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Unexpected Stars

Rose has finally had enough. Enough of being ignored by her family. Enough of feeling like no matter how hard she tries, she’ll never be good enough to fit in with the people closest to her. When her husband completely ignores their twentieth anniversary, Rose knows she has to make a change and leave the life that doesn’t seem to want her there anyway.

"Do you resent being married to her because of the twins?"
I shook my head. "I love being married to her."
"Then why have you been treatin' your wife like dirt, Gray?"

I’m not going to lie, Gray was an entitled jerk for the first quarter of the book. He played the perpetual blame game as far as Rose getting pregnant at eighteen and altering the course of his life forever. Because, you know, she did that all on her own and stuff. When he realized Rose was really and truly done with his attitude and indifference, he finally started to take notice. I’m going to give the story credit for including all of the many characters who felt Gray was a crap human being and shared their opinion with him. His 180 degree turnaround was a joy to read. And also the only way I would’ve been satisfied with the story.

As a character, Rose held onto her sweetness and grew a spine without changing who she was. She didn’t yell or scream at her family for how they’d all been treating her, but she let them know she was making changes in her life regardless of how they felt about it. Rose, her growth and her relationship with her bff Malou are the reason this book gets a five star rating from me.

ARC provided by the Author in exchange for an honest review

[Belle (on hiatus) · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 ⭐️ for the worst husband of the year!

Ladies, please never let a man treat you this way... let alone for TWENTY years - sorry but no amount of grovelling can come back every single person in your life congratulating you for your wife leaving you because they think you've been begging for it to happen 🤷‍♀️

[Lu Bielefeld · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
====
Prepare your tissue to dry up the tears that will surely fall while reading.
I really felt all the despair and humiliation of the heroine and I confess that I was emotionally affected.
20 years of abuse and neglect by those who should protect and love our heroine.
Zero did not deserve forgiveness in my point of view. The way he despised her feelings is unacceptable
Darling Zero, you're not worth it.

Very well written story that catches the reader's attention. I waited until midnight to download the book and finished around 5 am.
Kudos to the author.
It would be 5 stars ⭐ if our heroine kicked his ass and cut off contact with the toxic family. 😂

[Jac K · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
Pretty good marriage in trouble trope between empty nesters. It’s not as melodramatic as the other books in the series, but I did feel like it had some soapy vibes to it (which worked for me). Regardless this IMHO is not super realistic (his OTT assholery, her OTT doormatery, the kid’s attitudes, the illogicalness of their marriage dynamic), so FYI if that’s not what you’re looking for.

The blurb sets this one up. Gray (42) and Rose (39) have been married for 20 years. It was a shotgun wedding, and she feels like he has always resented her. Now that the buffer of the children has been removed, she’s miserable and decides to leave to care for her dying friend. Gray is blindsided and determined to get back his wife that he loves dearly. The rest is them figuring it out.

Certain parts were great. I especially loved Gray’s POV parts after Rose left him as he realized he’d taken her for granted and had his personal growth. I really wish his mother had still been a live, I really feel that was a missed opportunity for the plot. I also like the parts with her friend.

But I had a couple grumps,

🔴 I thought both characters were a smidge flat, especially Rose. Her character didn’t have a lot of depth except being a martyr and sweet. The author tried to give her some growth, but I feel like really everyone around her changed rather than her growing as a character.

🔴 I understand we needed a conflict, but at times it felt forced. His behavior was very extreme for someone desperately in love with his wife, and much of it made little sense and felt like manipulation rather than logical development. Like him ignoring her at events for the OW, not taking her calls/returning texts, and especially him traveling out of town to visit their children at college and not including her. All of these required the reader to suspend disbelief to extreme lengths. I would’ve preferred it to be more plausible, maybe by having the secretary interfering more by cancelling plans or deleting messages. Then it would’ve been more believable.

🔴 Then there was the fact that we listened to chapters and chapters and chapters of him crying and panicked and in despair and shame and desperately telling everyone how he “fucked up” and how much he loved his wife, and the first time he gets a chance to speak with her, he acts like an asshole. Why would he do that other than to prolong the conflict?

Bottom Line- Solid soapy marriage in trouble read with some feels, but not great if you want it to be relatable because Gray’s actions make ZERO sense. And like most of her books the conflict resolution is unbalanced with the loads of the plot dedicated to the conflict and little to the grovel/making shit up. This would be better if Rose had some fight in her. I still enjoyed it though, as a soapy read. You just can't dig deep.

[Pinky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trigger Warnings: FMC called gold digger, loss of loved ones, breast cancer detailed, someone dying in car accident, suicide ideation with details, thoughts of self-harm/overdosing, depression, alcoholic parent, drug addict parent whose sex life was exposed to kid, poverty, emotional and verbal abuse, abandonment, teen pregnancies, domestic abuse for side character’s parents, MMC kissed OW when he first got with FMC but they weren’t official, talks of abortion, attempted assault to side character, racism, woman calling FMC fat, death of side character to cancer

“I do love my family, but I need to be loved too," I told her. "I'm so tired of taking care of those who don't return the favor.”

I was craving an angsty romance and Mel🌜 recommended this so I decided to give it a go. While it was an addicting read, I didn’t love the characters much. This is a quick, short, angsty read that I recommend you check out if you want a marriage-in-trouble book. It feels like a Harlequin romance so it’ll give y’all a bit of nostalgia. The grovel was meh, I was happy for the couple but it wasn’t satisfying to me. I hated Gray the MMC, I just don’t understand how the fuck he thought it was okay to treat his wife so badly for 20 years. When you see flashbacks of how cruel he was, he just seemed like such a manchild. Our FMC Rose doesn’t have a backbone at first. She does start to stand up for herself but she was still easygoing. The beginning was repetitive, it was the same conversation being held by different characters. Gray would tell people Rose left him and everyone would tell him that it seemed like he hated Rose. I don’t feel these characters are memorable but the book did get me emotional. The side characters were meh, I loved Malou but that’s about it.

Rose got married to Gray when she was 18 because she was pregnant. It has been 20 years and after being ignored by Gray and her kids, Rose has decided to put herself first for once and leave. Gray finally opens his eyes to how shitty he was to Rose. He wants to win her back but doesn’t know if Rose will take him back.

Now for spoilers


Seeing how Rose was treated by the family was insane to me. She waits for Gray to come home for their anniversary and he comes late. He forgot it was their anniversary and Rose had gifts ready for him. Gray feels guilty but doesn’t make an effort to spend time with Rose. Rose is used to being treated like an afterthought. Gray stopped sharing a bed with her months ago and there are rumours he is fucking his assistant Aimee. Her kids Willow and Jude don’t respect her. She is treated like a maid, she cooks and cleans. Jude was an ass who would tell Rose to stop talking since she didn’t finish college thanks to her pregnancy. Gray would never tell his kids to stop disrespecting Rose, he enabled it. Rose would have instances where she wants to cry and disappear but holds back with a smile. When she got pregnant at 18, she lived with her drug addict mom in a trailer. Her best friend was Malou and they took care of each other while growing up. When Rose got pregnant, Gray told her to get an abortion. He was seen with another girl the next day and kissed her in front of Rose. But when his friends made jokes saying they wanted to get with trailer trash Rose, Gray decided he wanted Rose. So he proposed to marry her and Rose accepted him without a second thought. She didn’t really call him out for kissing OW. She always thought he married her because of the pregnancy and he always mentioned it whenever they fought which didn’t make it better. His mom opposed the marriage and called Rose a gold digger, she insulted Rose throughout the marriage and Gray did nothing to defend her. Gray would fuck her whenever he wanted, complained about her food, whined when Rose would bring up concerns, and treated her like absolute shit.


I don’t know how the fuck Rose lasted in the marriage for 20 years. She has tried to tell Gray her concerns, but he would lash out and make her feel like her feelings weren’t valid. Rose worked hard to be the best wife since his parents never accepted her, she just wanted Gray happy. In doing so, she put aside her feelings and felt like what she had to say wasn’t important. Her kids started to ignore her as they grew older since they didn’t think Rose was cool like their dad. They had a separate group chat without Rose and Gray never included Rose. He was a good father to his kids but a terrible husband. The twins Willow and Jude shocked me at how rude they were with their mother, especially Jude. Gray went to Rose’s bed after she fell asleep and thought she was beautiful, but he slept in a separate bed on their anniversary, as he had done for months. He says that it is because he works late and doesn’t wanna wake her up. The next day, Rose wakes up and sees that Gray never opened his anniversary gift. She knew he didn’t care much for her and decided she was leaving him.


Rose decides to go to her friend Malou’s place. Malou runs a Breakfast and Bed House (B&B House) and Rose helps her. Malou got cancer a while back and Rose has been taking care of her. Rose tried to talk to Gray about her concerns for Malou but Gray didn’t give a shit. He never listens to her since he is so focused on running his company, he is the CEO. Rose doesn’t have much family other than Malou, but Malou wasn’t allowed at Rose’s wedding because of Gray’s mom. Gray’s mom was racist and since Malou was black, she didn’t want her at the wedding. Gray could have defended Rose if he truly loved her, but he didn’t. He knew nothing about Rose’s life, he didn’t know Malou or where she lived. He didn’t make an effort to get to know Rose which was why I had a hard time believing he loved Rose. Rose called him her darling Gray and Gray took her for granted. Whenever Rose texts him, he ignores it, and when she calls him, he doesn’t answer. If she calls his office, his assistant Aimee picks up and says that Gray is busy. Gray only answers messages if his kids reach out to him, his wife is never his priority. He had a prenup for his marriage that his mom set up because she didn’t want Rose to take his money. If Rose decides to leave the marriage, she will get no money. But if Gray decides to end the marriage, he will give her some money. Rose never felt like his money was hers since he always said it was his money. Whenever she complained about his mom, he would shut her down. Rose started to feel like she didn’t want to live and had suicidal thoughts. She went as far as to get pills out to think about overdosing. Luckily Rose realized that this was concerning and went to therapy but Rose was suffering on her own while her family treated her like shit. Especially since they played a main role in why her mental health has declined, she was battling with depression and suicidal ideation without them knowing.


Rose leaves Gray a letter the day after their anniversary. She tells Gray that she is leaving him since she doesn’t feel that she is needed in their family and would like to focus on herself. She tells him she will contact him with divorce papers and will pay him $5,000 back which she borrowed and give the car back. She leaves their wedding rings and everything else. It’s so sad since Rose didn’t even think her family would notice she was gone. Gray talks to his friends and family who all assume that he hates Rose and is fucking his assistant Aimee. He sees Rose’s letter and he is pissed that Rose left. You see flashbacks of how he treated her and he would feel guilty but he was so cruel and selfish. Rose claims that their marriage had good moments but I swear she is lying to herself, their marriage sounded terrible from the start. She thinks it only got bad in the recent years. Gray tells his friends that Rose left and they thought Gray was relieved since they knew about the prenup. He tells everyone that he is not with Aimee and they are surprised. When Gray tells his kids, Jude says Rose is doing it for attention. Even his kids thought that he had something going on with Aimee. Willow has a boyfriend named Mike who holds everyone accountable for treating Rose like shit. Gray feels guilt and cries so I assumed he would make things better but nope. When Gray tells Aimee that Rose left him, she is thrilled. Gray finds her attractive but he loves Rose and would never cheat on her. I guess this is his silver lining, that he doesn’t cheat, the bare minimum. Gray asks Aimee why she didn’t transfer Rose’s calls to him and we find out that Gray told her not to. This idiot has some memory issues because he forgot all the instances he hurt Rose until people told him. He made it seem like Rose was this annoying wife who wouldn’t leave him alone and told Aimee not to send the calls over. Gray feels guilty and tells her to send the calls over from now on. Aimee insinuates that they can get together but Gray shuts her down. Even though she stepped out of line, he thought she was a good worker and decided to keep her around, the idiot.


Gray’s brother Holden is married to a bitch named Bonnie who treated Rose like shit too. When she first married Gray, Holden thought she was a gold digger and didn’t treat her well. But over the years, he realized Rose was an amazing wife and envied Gray. Holden started to treat Rose well after he respected her. When Gray told him Rose left him, he thought Gray was happy. By this point, we have heard the same conversation Gray was having with everyone. They were all happy for him since they thought he hated Rose and would tell him how he mistreated her. They all knew about the prenup and thought he was fucking Aimee. Rose was taking care of Malou at her B&B house, Malou’s cancer was getting worse. When Rose wanted to visit Malou and Gray stopped her because he had an event. Rose insisted that Malou needed her but Gray yelled at her to come. When she went to the event, Gray spent the whole time standing beside his assistant Aimee. Rose contacts her lawyer to send Gray the papers. Rose’s lawyer is her friend Leah who gives Gray a piece of her mind. Gray tells her he loves Rose and won’t sign the papers. Rose calls Jude and Willow to give them an update on where to reach her but they don’t answer. What I hated was Rose reached out to Gray first. Of course, he doesn’t answer but she used a new number. Rose tries to call his work phone and Aimee doesn’t redirect the call to him. When Gray finds out, he says that Aimee doesn’t have to redirect his calls since she isn’t following instructions, he could have fired her but he doesn’t. Even after this, he doesn’t try to call Rose back. Rose gets a call from Leah who tells her that Gray refused to sign the papers. So Rose reached out to Gray AGAIN, which annoyed me. Gray says that he missed Rose and loved her but made no effort to look for her when she left. The guy has so much money he could have hired someone to look for her but he doesn’t. For weeks he was moping but did NOTHING. Like bruh wtf, how is it you love her but don’t make any effort once she leaves?


Rose calls Gray to find out why he didn’t sign the papers. I thought maybe Gray will start grovelling. Nah, this asshole continues to be an ass despite his half-assed self-reflection. When Rose called, he demanded that she come back home. Rose admits that their marriage made her reach a place where she felt like dying. Gray gets offended and tells her that she should be grateful he married her. I’m sorry what the fuck? Rose isn’t lucky to marry you, you piece of shit. It shocked me cuz this guy was CRYING cuz Rose left him. Even after she messaged him on her new phone and he found out that she called his work phone, he didn’t reach out. And when SHE contacts him AGAIN, he insults her and tells her that he will sign the papers because she is ungrateful? Fuck you Gray.

“You know what, Rose, I gave you everything. A great house and anything you ever wanted, and this is your thanks? You say that I'm such a fucking terrible husband that you want to kill yourself. So, fine, do whatever the fuck you want to do. I'll sign the damn papers and send them. Keep the car and the five thousand dollars. You fuckin' earned it.”

Rose realized that it was a good thing she left the marriage and Gray regretted the phone call. Gray snoops on Rose’s phone since she left it behind and found emails between her and her therapist. He finds out that Rose had multiple instances where she was thinking about suicide and even counted the pills since she was ready to die. She wished she had cancer instead of Malou and just wanted to die and disappear. He takes screenshots and sends it to his kids. Jude is a piece of work, but he finally realizes he fucked up after a bit. Willow cries since she had no idea her mom was suicidal. So they all decide that they will visit Rose at Malou’s B&B House. Gray takes 6 months off and lets a guy named Justin become a step in CEO. Before going, he visits Rose’s therapist and the therapist told him that they won’t be telling him anything. Gray believed he needed therapy which thank fuck for that. We find out through therapy that Gray stopped having sex with Rose after this one night when he said he needed her and didn’t make sure she orgasmed. He thought that this wasn’t Rose’s first time faking it during sex and felt guilty. Rather than communicating, he started sleeping in the guest room and used the excuse that he worked late. He saw Rose as his safe place so he shut her down when she complained since he didn’t wanna deal with that, so stupid. He admits that if Rose talks about her concerns, it is like taking his safe place away which he admits is wrong.


Gray contacted Malou to have rooms since they wanted to surprise Rose. Gray and Jude came together and Willow came later with Mike. Jude felt terrible and started hugging Rose and telling her she mattered. Jude started therapy to work on himself, he mentioned that he was insecure. Gray starts grovelling to Rose and by now, Rose finally got a backbone. Rose stops calling Gray “My Darling Gray” and called him out for how he treated her. She didn’t trust that he was back because he loved her. Gray started to help out with the B&B House which Rose was going to take over once Malou passed. Gray made an effort to get to know Malou who was super chill. She made sure to tell him to work for forgiveness. Gray would ask Rose if she would ever take him back and Rose would ask for time. But Rose forgave Willow and Jude immediately since they were her kids. Gray starts helping Rose in the kitchen which he never used to do. Rose told him how he treated her like a maid and made her feel like she wasn’t good enough. She told him he didn’t do anything when his mom would insult her. She called him out for ignoring her and he listens to everything she says and says her feelings are valid. Gray tells her he took 6 months off which confuses Rose. The kids and Gray help out in the kitchen and its nice to see Rose content with her family, Gray realizes that these moments are more valuable than his business. The kids stay until Christmas but Gray stays after they leave.


Gray helps her clean rooms and is constantly with Rose, trying to talk to her or get attention. Whenever Rose lashes out to stand up for herself, he is holding back since he wants to be gentle with her, holding back his anger. The fact that he even has the thought is a bit concerning. At least he’s in therapy but he needs to calm the fuck down. One of the workers need help with building a wall since it was damaged. Gray offers to help but Rose is pissed and goes to his room. He is naked and fingers her instead of getting off himself. He admits he stopped having sex with her after that one time since he thought she faked enjoying it. But Rose says that it doesn’t matter if she orgasms since she loves sex with him. They don’t have sex until Rose fully forgives him and starts calling him her darling Gray again. Gray tells her that he decided to step down from being CEO and work in operations so he has more time to spend with her. Rose wants to live in the B&B House and Gray praises her for running the place, saying she didn’t need to go to college to learn all of this. He admits to snooping on her phone and apologizes. Rose believes he is doing all of this because he knows her suicidal thoughts but Gray tells her he loves her and will prove it to her. Rose doesn’t think that his money is her money and Gray calls his lawyer to cancel the prenup. He wanted Rose to have half of everything he owned if she did decide to leave him.


He hires a nurse to care for Malou but they are always with her. Once Malou dies, they honour her by throwing her ashes into the lake. The kids come to visit for Malou’s funeral, everyone apologized to her when she was alive for not making an effort to get to know her. They keep their house in Atlanta but live in the B&B House. Whenever Gray has a board meeting, he visits Atlanta with Rose. There is an event and Gray announces he is stepping down. Aimee tries to bother Rose but Rose ignores her. Gray calls Rose to the stage, telling everyone they will run a B&B together. This is his way of making up for the Aimee rumours and he kisses Rose in front of everyone. Rose starts calling Gray “My Darling Gray” and they start having sex again. Gray makes an office in the home where he works limited hours. I liked that he got therapy and worked on himself. When they went to visit Holden and his wife Bonnie insulted Rose. Gray stood up for Rose and told them that they are leaving. It does surprise me that he treated Rose like this for 20 fucking years. I don’t know how the fuck she had the patience to stay but I loved the ending. It was bittersweet since Malou died but it was nice to see the family happy.

Stay safe folks!

[CriSsStina · Rating 3 out of 5]

ok, enough for now with these marriage in crisis angsty books; this MMC was even more atrocious in his behavior than the one from Best Kept Vows;

these two books are quite similar; the author used a similar formula for creating angst, through the MMCs behavior, his family's behavior, and of course a "perceived" ow relationship; I'm curious if the author can write similar topics but with other plot devices, without cheating, of course 👀

she forgave too easily; I am not sure how he could have completely groveled for such a behavior that he had for years before she said enough is enough, but this was not enough!!!!

I might come back to this author, the writing is not bad, the spicy scenes are short though, and quite blant, but whatever, I was here for the angst and groveling, not the spice

[Mairi Swan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't remember crying over a book so much as this one. Surely there were scenes where I cried or got emotional but not like this. This story touched me, it tore me to pieces and then stitched me together. Rose WAS a doormat and Gray WAS a real piece. Actually he was still a piece after she left him but fortunately came to his senses. Did I like that they got together in less than two months even though the hurt was going on for 20 years? No I didn't. I didn't because I know from experience that it's too soon to find yourself and what you want from this relationship AND mend for it. But as it is a novel and it's mentioned later that they went couple counselling I bypassed it.

[Tmstprc · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not a huge fan of Maya Alden, I like her stories, but her heroes are usually too problematic. Having said that, this worked for me. Marriage in trouble is my catnip, and this clicked. He’s problematic, but it works, it justifies her leaving.

[Soma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't think I've ever cried as much as I did throughout a book like I did in this one!!

[Aou · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have needed to cry and first half of the book was very helpful but MCs deserved 1 star actually.

[VoraciousReader · Rating 1 out of 5]

The premise of this book was beyond ridiculous. The H, Gray, treated his wife, Rose, like dog $hit on his shoes for over 20 years and allowed, even encouraged, their kids to treat her that way as well. After Rose finally found the backbone to leave him, he and his children had a sudden epiphany and realized that they had been treating her badly. 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄

All of the characters were unlikeable, Rose because she was the worst doormat h that I have EVER seen and Gray and their kids because they were so nasty, condescending and disrespectful to her. The only likeable character in the book was Malou and the author killed her off so ... 🤷‍♀️
DNF

[LaBlue]

31% and this book has me in tears. The angst is typical for this writer and I loathe the MMC as per usual. But the relationships between the FMC and every character in it is heartbreaking. The MMC is a replaceable loser and I will never find him redeemable as this author never does enough change to make it believable. Their only “growth” is the guilt they feel and that doesn’t really translate to HEA or real love for me. But this authors FMC’s are usually amazing in many ways but so far this is the FMC I like the best. Not because of her doormat behavior for twenty years, but because she was truly loving the people she was being treated poorly by. She is now going to accept that you can love someone but demand respect from them too. On top of that her bff is dying and that is a heartbreak all on its own. I’m loving this book even if I won’t believe any HEA that comes later.

78% UPDATE

They are having a heart to heart and being honest about some things and the MMC starts talking about his d!ck. Give me a break. He says that he wants her all the time and it hurts his ever hard “first brain” but it’s not just lust but love.

Do I really need to say anything else?

I lost interest in this book at the 70% mark because that’s when the main couple are finally together in the same room. The about-face of the MMC into simp land is faster than lightning.

FINAL UPDATE

The best part of this book was malou. Side characters are basically NPC’s even if they become so likable they over shadow the main characters and even the plot. That’s what malou became. More than her NPC. Her wisdom was on point but her page time was worth every second of it’s brevity. She made this book I would otherwise have hated to more than simply worth it for me. My highlights of this book will show how much I HATE the MMC. lol.

I want to clarify that this author is absolutely phenomenal with setting the stage of heartbreak, angst and betrayal, creating characters you can empathize and sympathize with. That you will root for. This author is beyond belief with her MMC’s that are villainous narcissists who believe they are “good people” despite their actions negating that fallacy. This author gives great MMC POV’s as these characters have their come to Jesus reality checks on their own behaviors, betrayals and guilt motivated actions and feelings. This author has great plot ideas for different relationship situations that entice you to read her books even though you already understand her formula and still want to see what happens.

However, this author’s sole solution to get the HEA is BBS and “I’m sorry’s”. This book does have the MMC walking away from his career AND basically moving away from their old life which is the first true change any of the MMC’s this author writes has done so far. It still only came at the end of the book. This couple only got together on page to work out their issues at the 70%’ish point. Ultimately, the characters just changed to different people like that is realistic. It’s really not. The MMC’s egregious past behavior can’t just disappear like that. Their issues were over simplified as poor communication and misogyny but it was WAY more complex than that. See my highlights for more on this.

Anyway, I don’t know how to rate this book because the agony that was on page was absolutely delicious. The sneering hatefulness I felt for the MMC was visceral. The HEA was better than in past books I’ve read by this author. It was still unearned and disappointing. But I might actually reread this book in spite of the disgusting MMC. I loved everything else but the MMC. Does that make this a good book or am I being delusional? I don’t know. It’s definitely worth a read at least once. Good luck.

[Danny Lea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can honestly say this is the best Maya Alden book I've read. It's heartbreaking so be ready for that. So many years wasted, and a bf dying had me in tears twice. And it takes a lot for a book to make me cry. I'm usually not a fan of Maya's FMC's because it's always a pity party and feel sorry for me kind of vibe. With her being exceptionally too perfect. I really can't stand that even though I know it's this author's calling card. But this worked. I dare say I liked this FMC. She had 20 yrs to get this "perfection" right. And still her hubby was ungrateful along with her children. She went through a lot of shit from 18yrs old without any help from Gray when it came to his family. Picked on by her hubby's fam yet the woman kept her shit together and pressed the fuck on until it became too much after her children left the nest. While Maya's books are always OTT ridiculous with side character's antics. This wasn't. It's probably one of her realest books I've read with how everything panned out. And Malou... So freaking sad. Gray's family except for his younger brother were all assholes, but only because Gray let them be. He held resentment towards his wife from getting pregnant at 18 and feeling she wouldn't be right for his future as a wife. She was "trailer trash." God I hate that term. He married her anyway and Rose worked her ass off to be the perfect wife without any consideration back. And always being put down and critiqued by her MIL. You'll dislike Gray and his assistant Aimee without the Y 😂. She was something else. I think why I liked this story so much was because of everyone's personal growth. Especially Gray's and his kid's.

Overall this was the best I've read of hers so far, but I've only read from this particular series.

[Tessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Star's

I won't lie, I've been in a huge reading slump lately. Nothing has been appealing to me and all my anticipated reads have been falling flat.

So I'm pretty ecstatic to say that not only was I super excited for this book but it met all my expectations.

I love a good marriage in trouble book. I will be honest this was a different plot compared to some of this authors other books but it was a refreshing change. You will rage and your heart will break but you will also get the happiness of HEA.

I know a huge question everyone is asking is, how's the grovel and is the herione a doormat. To answer those questions yes there is grovel and it's my favorite kind personal growth with actions. Do I think the h is a doormat? No, her reactions and decisions fit with her character and her upbringing. So to me she was not one because all her actions fit with her character.

So all in all I really liked this one and would recommend it.

**No cheating

I recieved an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[readbydj 🧺 · Rating 4 out of 5]

oh… this was ROUGH. literally tears streaming down my face 60% of the book 😭

[Irum · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t realize this was by the same author as The Wrong Husband—I should’ve known what I was in for.

The premise is great, capturing the reality of human mistakes, but the story falls flat in the grovel. Rose forgave Gray way too quickly, I wanted more effort from him. Both characters made mistakes. Gray messed up repeatedly, but Rose also ran without properly communicating. And after repeatedly being hurt by his actions, why didn’t she confront him sooner?

The part that hit me the hardest was Malou. She wasn’t even invited to Rose’s wedding, and Rose never fought that? Malou deserved so much more her cancer diagnosis left her isolated, and she was sidelined until her final moments. I cried for her. Rose wasn’t a bad friend, just insecure, but it still hurt to see Malou so alone☹️

Rose’s kids were awful to her too, which made me go hug my mom. At least they redeemed themselves by the end.

As for Gray….yeah, not a fan. I liked his brother more. The way Gray acted right after Malou’s death was unbelievable. Saying, “Can we fuck anytime soon?” after laying her ashes to rest? Not funny, just gross.

In the end, Malou was the only character I truly felt for she was too good for everyone around her🥲🥲🥲

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC of the book.

An amazing gut punch of a story! Loved it.

OW drama = H’s assistant is a bit too big for her britches and does her best to interfere with the communication between the H and h. OW has a warped view of her relationship with the H.

Is there cheating? No. Not even emotional? Nope none of that either. H is and always was in love with the h. The OW and others may have perceived things differently but the H has always been faithful and very careful to never have any physical contact with any OW.

Grovel = H is very guilty of taking his wife, the h, for granted and always expecting the h to cater to him while never taking the h’a wants/needs into consideration. H had a lot of personal growth to work on and had to get therapy to self realize what a POS he has been. H had to recognize what needed to change and then he put in the work to change his behavior. H groveled through word and deed. It was believable and honestly the h had some of her own therapy to recover her sense of self.

Fantastic book and it definitely got me in my feels!

[Hope]

just don't. it's a rage bait at this point


she gets treated as the bottom of the barrel for 20 years by her husband and her children, has to endure their emotional abuse but of fucking course, tell me they love her

[bookishbellexoxo · Rating 2 out of 5]

This gets one extra star because she at least left him at the start but seriously why does this author hate women? Rose should have stayed gone and dragged him to the cleaners, this man's grovel was weak and he was a bit of a loser.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hate when books end with a bunch of pages still left in the book! This book ends at 88% on kindle😐

[Serial Romance Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bawled. Oh my gosh. Longer review to come, maybe. This is one of the best Maya Alden books imho. I lost my mom to cancer a year ago so some of the subject matter triggered me BUT it is a beautiful story of redemption so worth reading! Love IS worth fighting for. Loved it.