Breaking

by Raegan Salander

Jenna Bradshaw's life looks perfect from the outside-a comfortable home, a successful husband, and two grown children. But beneath the surface, her world is crumbling. Over decades of quiet sacrifices, Jenna has lost herself, her voice drowned out by a loveless marriage, dismissive children, and the judgment of her husband's elitist family. She has become invisible in her own life, a shadow of the hopeful young artist she once was.

When her best friend Sasha tragically dies in a car accident, leaving behind two foster children, Jenna is forced to confront the harsh truths of her existence. While taking on the care of Leah and Dylan, Jenna begins a journey of self-discovery and renewal, reigniting her passion for art and finding strength in her independence. However, her decision to walk away from her marriage is met with resistance from her husband, Troy, and their children, who fail to see the quiet pain she has endured for years.

As Jenna builds a new life, she learns to confront her past, embrace her grief, and reclaim her identity. Along the way, she discovers that resilience lies in allowing herself to be vulnerable and in daring to demand the love and respect she deserves. Will Troy learn his lesson or is this goodbye forever?

Genres: Second Chance, Contemporary Romance, Family Drama, Contemporary, Abuse, Marriage, Second Chance Romance

Unknown Binding

First published January 31, 2025

Reviews

[Pinky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trigger Warnings:Neglect, emotional abuse, neglect, drunk driving, struggles with autism, parental neglect, death of loved one from car accident, struggles with foster care, starving kids, bullying, homophobic slur used on kid, depression, hints of suicide ideaition, secondary character cheating, breast cancer death

When I am reading a long series, I like to take a break to read something angsty on Wattpad. This caught my eye and I was craving something with grovel so I gave it a go. The premise is similar to Kiss From a Rose, a neglected FMC whose husband, the MMC, doesn’t seem to notice until it’s too late. Even though the intro is similar, I liked this story a lot more. Especially since the story turns out to be a bit different. We see a build up of the bad treatment towards the FMC before the gut punch moment. The FMC has a backbone in this unlike Kiss From a Rose and she didn’t have annoying inner monologue about loving the MMC while he treated her like shit. The MMC did fail in many ways for far too long but sometimes, you don’t realize what you have until it is gone. The characters were more mature, realistic, and didn’t seem cartoonish. There is good OW drama but I love the way it was handled, though some people might disagree. I recommend you give this a go if you crave something angsty with grovel. Formatting could be different since the POVs change in the middle of the chapter. I might get some details in the spoilers wrong since I didn’t realize I can rate this on GR so correct me if I am wrong on something!


Jenna has been married to Troy for 20 years but feels like she is invisible to her family. Their two kids barely acknowledge her and Troy spends more time at work with his coworker. She tries to communicate but he doesn’t seem to care and she has had enough.


Now for spoilers


Jenna worked at a diner, she was raised in the broken foster care system with a friend named Sasha. She starts seeing a rich guy named Troy but they didn’t properly label the relationship from what I remember. Jenna finds out she is pregnant and has to put off her dreams to go to school and give up opportunities. She is going to tell Troy when he comes to the diner with another woman who he kisses in front of her. This pissed me off, and then he returns like nothing happened to see Jenna. Jenna tells him that she is pregnant and at first, he tells her that he can’t deal with this. But he comes back and says that he will marry her. Sasha talked to Troy behind Jenna’s back telling Troy not to marry Jenna since she deserved better. But we don’t find this out until much later. Jenna marries Troy but isn’t allowed to have Sasha at the wedding. Troy’s family thinks of Jenna as a gold digger, his mom Margaret, treats Jenna like shit throughout the marriage. Grant, Troy’s brother, also tells Troy that he is making a mistake in marrying Jenna. But despite that, he goes through with the marriage and they have two kids, Max and Lily. Now 20 years later, Max and Lily no longer wanna spend time with Jenna and ignore her. Troy is always working and around his coworker Lila, his best friend Mack’s little sister. Lila and Troy seem to be a better match to Margaret, she wishes they were together. Troy can tell that his marriage with Jenna is crumbling but he does nothing about it. He will text Jenna saying he will be home late and Jenna is always disappointed. She waits for him, craves for his attention, she tries to talk to him about it, but all her efforts are ignored. Troy will shut off the discussion by saying he had a long day, to give him a break. But Jenna couldn’t handle the quiet in her home, her kids barely spoke to her and Troy was barely home. He stopped sleeping in the same bed as her and I’m not sure why, but his priority was to work. Jenna says that she doesn’t care about the money, she only wants Troy, but he doesn’t seem to get it into his thick skull. Whenever his family insults her, he doesn’t do anything to defend her and seems like he isn’t even present in the event. He makes time for his kids but Jenna is left out of her own family.


It was so sad seeing Jenna’s attempts to try and make the marriage work. For 2 years she kept thinking it will get better when she started noticing the cracks, but it didn’t. And Troy thought that he had to work this way to let his kids and Jenna have the life they have. But she has communicated that she doesn’t care for this life. When Troy is at work, Lila notices he isn’t in the best mood and brings up his marriage. I appreciated that Troy didn’t entertain the conversation for too long, he did say that Jenna wasn’t happy but he didn’t talk too much shit about her. Lila would try to say he deserved better, but what I loved was Troy never felt anything for Lila. He liked her company, but he didn’t talk about her being attractive, he thought about Jenna and her beauty. Even when he was home and Jenna was asleep, he would think about how pretty she is. But he knew there was an issue in their marriage, he saw the attempts Jenna made to fix it but shut down the discussion before it could even start. Meanwhile Max talks to Jenna like shit, he thinks that Jenna is a lazy house wife. The way he spoke to her was disgusting, he put his dad on a pedestal and thought his mom didn’t do much. Running a household isn’t easy, Jenna was taken for granted. But what I loved was Jenna had her own secret, she made her own money. She painted and sold illustrations, even making books I think. Whenever she felt upset, she would draw. Jenna was seeing a therapist, this was never discussed with Troy in the future, which I wish we saw (at least I don’t remember it happening). Jenna would tell her therapist about how lonely she felt or how her family was treating her. She seemed to want to disappear, it was devastating to see. But what was sweet? Jenna’s friend Sasha always checked on her. Sasha was fostering two kids named Dylan and Leah.


Sometimes Troy would stay in his apartment and Jenna felt like the silence was screaming at her. To make it worse, Lila was involved with her kids Max and Lily. She had dinner with Max at Troy’s apartment, it was like they were their own family. When Jenna went to an event with Troy, he asked her to get him a drink like she was a maid. Meanwhile, Lila was by his side the whole time. When Jenna overheard people talking shit and just felt left out, she left after having two drinks. I didn’t like that she drove after she drank, she says she wasn’t that drunk but I don’t care. She does think about hitting the pedal hard and I think she was contemplating suicide but I could be wrong, but that’s how I interpreted it. Troy was pissed she left without saying anything and once Jenna got home, Troy and the kids called her embarrassing for leaving unannounced. Jenna tries asking Troy about Lila but Troy shuts the conversation down while she cries. She even asks him if he neglects her cuz of Lila and he doesn’t answer. The next time she asks, he says that she is just a coworker. Whenever Jenna tries to contact Troy through his office number, his secretary Maggie would say that Troy is busy. Maggie was friends with Lila so she would try to make Lila’s schedule match Troy’s so that they were together the whole day.

Jenna initiates sex with Troy as a last attempt to connect. But after kissing, Troy says that he doesn’t want to and Jenna is putting too much pressure on the relationship. Jenna is hurt and leaves, thinking that there is no hope. When there is a family get together, Jenna feels pressured to do well since Troy’s family will do anything to shit on her. Troy doesn’t understand why Jenna is overreacting. Margaret makes sly comments about there being a prenup that Jenna signed when marrying Troy. Margaret wished that Troy married Lila instead of Jenna and has been open about it. What I loved was Jenna stood up for herself She says that she proved that she is committed to the family after all these years, but Margaret is tryna get Troy and Lila together. Everyone is stunned and Jenna leaves, she is done pleasing everyone. Oliver, a relative, visited Jenna to tell her that she doesn’t deserve to be treated the way she does. When Max sees them, he makes fun of Oliver. He then gives attitude to Jenna but she tells him not to disrespect her. I loved how she loved her kids but she wasn’t gonna take their bullshit. I also liked that Lily realized ahead of time that she wasn’t treating Jenna well. She had a boyfriend named Josh, they noticed that Jenna was being treated badly and talked to Lily. So she hugs Jenna and apologizes for the way she treated her. Jenna is tired of being alone and right as she plans to do something, she gets a call that Sasha was in a car accident.


Jenna tries to get a hold of Troy but he isn’t answering his phone. She tries calling his office but Maggie wouldn’t listen, despite Jenna saying it is an emergency. So she tries Max and Lily’s phone but that doesn’t work either. Jenna goes to the hospital on her own and finds Dylan and Leah. Jenna finds a purpose in her life, she knows they need her as much as she needs them. So she takes care of them, jumping into Sasha’s role as their guardian. She spends the night at Sasha’s home but gets a call that Sasha has passed away. Jenna finds out that Sasha was close to adopting the kids. Dylan and Leah were exactly what Jenna needed in her life after feeling so much neglect from her family. They both valued Jenna, they realized how she was treated and they respected her. Troy realizes that Jenna is gone and texts her asking where she is. Jenna says that Sasha passed away and Troy has no idea where she lives, he’s never met her. The fact that he made no effort to meet Jenna’s friend is fucked up, similar to the Kiss From a Rose hero. Jenna is done with the marriage and that is when Troy realized he fucked up. All the chores Jenna did were no longer done and no food was ready when he got home. Max, Lily, and Troy eat take out food and Max thinks that Jenna is overreacting. But Troy tells him to stop speaking this way. When Jenna visits to grab clothes, Troy asks if she needs him and she says no. He did offer to come when he heard Sasha died but Jenna didn’t want him around. When Sasha’s funeral happened, he didn’t come thinking that Jenna needed the space, which was stupid. Jenna goes back to the house to get more things and Troy tries to ask her if she is coming back. Troy panics and tries to talk to Jenna but she doesn’t want to talk to him. I hated that he acted like she owed him a conversation when she tried talking to him for years. But Jenna calls him out and says shuts him out. She leaves her wedding rings at the house.


Lila sees this as an opportunity and makes suggestive comments about them getting together but Troy shuts it down. When his mom starts talking shit about Jenna, he tells her to stop. He is so late to doing this but I was glad he finally said something. It took Jenna leaving for him to say it though. Jenna contacts a lawyer so that she can get a divorce. She tells the lawyer she wants nothing from Troy when they mention a prenup. She already made some money with her illustrations. Lila calls Jenna to tell her that Troy named Lily after her since he liked her. Troy says this isn’t true later on, he named her Lily because it sounded like Jenna’s real name (it’s long and complicated, I forgot). Mack tells Troy that Lila has always been obsessed with him. She had a breakdown when she found out Troy got married and Troy was like bruh why didn’t you tell me sooner. Troy starts texting Jenna every day but she doesn’t respond. Troy is shocked when he is served divorce papers. The lawyer says Jenna wants nothing but he insists that she takes half of his money. The lawyer says that he has to convince Jenna since she is done with him. Jenna’s kids realize how much they fucked up and visit to apologize. Max hugs her and says he is sorry and Lily is sweet, she brought Josh as well. Max says that his girlfriend broke up with him, so he used his anger on his mom. I can understand why Jenna forgave them so easily, they’re her kids, mothers will always have a soft spot for them.


Troy begs to meet Jenna and when he does, he opens up about being on the autism spectrum. He says that he was neglected by his parents as a kid and was treated like an embarrassment. He wanted a dog but his mom refused, giving him a stuffed animal, not recognizing his needs. Whenever they were at family dinners, he zoned everyone out so he didn’t notice his family hurting Jenna until it was too late. A lot of his behaviour made more sense when he explained himself but it doesn’t excuse him neglecting Jenna. She made efforts to communicate but he shut it down. And he should have told her he had this, they were married for 20 years for god’s sake. Jenna felt betrayed that he never told her. He says this was the reason he brought another woman to her diner early in their relationship. He didn’t know how to deal with Jenna, but he regrets it. Which was why he showed up afterwards. But Jenna was the first person that made him feel comfortable and was the first person he ever loved. Adam, a parent of Leah’s friend, asks Jenna if he can take the kids to a concert. Jenna says they can if she tags along and she has a good time with Adam. So Adam starts to ask Jenna to go out. Lila schemes to get a picture near Troy to make it seem like he moved on from Jenna. She goes near him and poses and Troy gets pissed off. Jenna thinks they are together now but he says they aren’t. Troy gets Maggie to admit she helped Lila get scheduled with Troy and blocked off calls from Jenna. He demotes Maggie since she has a disabled kid and losing her job wouldn’t be good. He fires Lila and cuts contact off with his mom Margaret. After a couple of weeks, he finds out that Jenna’s neighbour is moving and moves in next door. Jenna goes on a date with Adam and he kisses her forehead. Troy sees her and begs her to give him 20 weeks before the divorce to make it up to her. He gives her a house tour and it looks exactly like how Jenna would have designed it, he even added things she asked for over the years. It shows he could’ve done this for her but didn’t care to until she left him. He sends her flowers with notes and texts her but Jenna doesn’t respond, he also got paint brushes. If he visits her, she tries to shut him out. But when he asked her to give him a chance, begging her not to do anything just yet with anyone else, like kiss Adam, Jenna says fine. So she meets Adam as a friend for coffee and he opens up about his previous marriage. He cheated on his ex and tried to make it up to her. But it was too late, she had breast cancer and passed away. I know he’s changed, but I got the major ick when I heard he cheated, we don’t find out until very last minute. But we see Troy grovelling and it was nice. He shows up to Jenna’s door every day with different food that she loves. She told him these things throughout their marriage and he remembers every detail. When Jenna asks him why now, Troy says that he wants her back and will fix things. Seeing Dylan and Leah’s reactions to Troy was hilarious. Leah was shipping them while Dylan was hostile towards him. I liked seeing that Troy made an effort to get to know the kids too. Even if he might have bribed them at points, I found it cute.


Troy tries to invite Jenna to run with him, but she tells him not to push. But when he got exclusive tickets to an artist she loves, she can’t help but say yes. She said no at first but it was an invite-only event. Troy was shocked when he found out that Jenna was secretly an artist. He bought her a painting she admired, he would invite her and the kids to events. They go to a fair and he would get her things he noticed she looked at. Eventually he would sneak in touches and then he kisses her, saying he really needed it. When Dylan gets into a fight, Troy drives Jenna to the school. Dylan says someone called him a homophobic slur and insulted Leah. When they leave, Troy talks to Dylan by giving him some advice. When Dylan struggles with algebra and Jenna accidentally offers that Troy teach him, Troy doesn’t hesitate to say yes. He is working from home, so he is always present around Jenna, he is kinda retired. But then Lila shows up with Margaret saying that she is pregnant. At this point I’m like girl move on. Jenna can tell by the way Lila answers questions about the baby that it isn’t Troy’s baby even if she claims it is. Troy is afraid that Jenna will believe it but Jenna believes him. They have sex at his place and slowly start to get back together. Eventually Troy asks to combine their houses together so that they have their own space but can meet at his place to sleep together. He hopes Jenna will wear the rings again and one day, she surprises him with a dog and wore her rings again. I wish Jenna opened up about her therapy since Troy isn’t aware she also needed help thanks to his family’s treatment of her. But I like that he chose to work on himself and how Jenna would ask him questions about him coping whenever they are outside. Troy never discouraged Jenna’s questions, they started to communicate more and you can tell Troy felt so much guilt and remorse. Lily gets married in the epilogue and you see Jenna and Troy dancing together happily. It was a cute story, the grovelling was satisfying. Yes it’s stupid that this went on for 20 years but the way it was done was realistic. I did like that the characters owned up to everything. Sometimes change happens when you realize that what you took for granted will no longer be with you.


Stay safe folks!

[Debbie DiFiore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow that was hard

I can't believe how.much I cried through this. It was heartbreakimg.and.wonderful all at the same time! He was awful at first and I hated him. Troy I mean.and at the end she annoyed.me.too. Lila was a psycho. And his Mother too. They were.just evil.I like that there really wasn't cheating. He never even.looked.her way. The h was his first and same with her. Dual virgins. That was unexpected. I know this review is.not profound but reading the book was I just loved how he won her back. He truly groveled and I never doubted his love for.her!

[Camille · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 🌟for Marriage-in-trouble! The perpetually shat-on wife grows a backbone, finds her lady-balls, gets her groove…whichever phrase embodying Makes a Necessary Change resonates with you. An Upstairs-Downstairs vibe among the H’s family and his cluelessness locks in a pattern of abuse for the h. A tragedy kicks off her personal change, but she weathers it with supportive found family. There’s lovely groveling and even some comeuppance, which is a delight to read. The romance is pretty light and any sexytimes are tame or behind closed doors. This might veer into women’s lit, but it kept me clicking on the old Kindle, so 4 stars it is.

[Preeti ♥︎ Her Bookshelves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kiss From A Rose
So, who inspired whom???
Too many similarities here!!!
I have a theory though!

Better book?
My vote goes to Breaking - several reasons that I'll get into later.
But have to say, writing is stellar.

[Soph · Rating 4 out of 5]

★★★★. I’m always for a man who had to grovel for the whole book after severely messing up with his wife.

“Troy reached out, stopping her gently. "Wait. I need to ask you something."
She turned back, curiosity flickering in her gaze.
"I saw you with a man yesterday," he said, his voice quieter now. " He kissed you. And it hurt so badly. I know you want to get separated, but please, can you... not. Not yet?"
Guilt twisted inside her, just as it had when she wanted to kiss Adam back. "Troy, we are getting divorced."
He met her gaze, desperation and determination mingling in his expression. "Please... twenty weeks. You can give me twenty weeks.”

A man who begs like this, ugh 10s.

For my safety readers, safe with exception. There is other woman drama, but it’s not the leading cause of the problems. Troy has no interest in the other woman like ever. He makes this known throughout the book to Jenna, his children, his mother, his brother, the best friend, the other woman herself and in his inner monologue. There is another man who Jenna hangs out with and goes on one date. Nothing happens.

[Prac Agrl · Rating 2 out of 5]

The initial doormat heroine snd then suddenly the personality change was weird.
I wanted her to speak up soon.
The idiot husband only realising 20 plus year later his mistake??
I mean even with your diagnosed disability it was possible not to see how you were belittling your wife or how people around you are treating her??

[Inna · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars.

This was really good, but I will admit that I listened to the AI generated audiobook and it wasn’t great, hence the one star off. I rarely have time to sit and read, so I chose the audio, but somewhat regret that decision because I know a lot of the emotion was lost with the somewhat mechanical narration.

Overall though, I really liked the story. I love a marriage in trouble trope, so this hit the spot. I do think the story got to a point when all of the hero’s actions were so awful that I didn’t think he was redeemable anymore. Like maybe the heroine would have been better off with another man. He thankfully didn’t cheat, but I think the illusion of cheating can be just as bad, and the heroine truly just had to go off of blind trust at the end. So sadly, idk that he really was ever fully redeemed, and even though the heroine seemed to forgive him, I didn’t really. I always wish for more grovel in books, and I really could have used more here too. I needed him to break down crying because he was losing the heroine, I needed him drowning in a pit of despair and misery, and then maybe I would have thought he suffered enough. LOL.

I saw the Author leave a comment on a different review (Debbie’s, for those interested) that this book was based on her friend’s true story, but that the friend’s husband never actually became a good guy at the end… and now I just want to know more about the true story!!


Anyways, this book was surprisingly safe. Hero and heroine were each other’s first and only. Hero never cheated, although everyone around them thought he had and the appearance of cheating was certainly there. Heroine does go on a date with OM which makes the hero miserable, but not miserable enough for me. 😅

[Yvonne Qin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rate：4.5🌟..

Review：

Ever since I finished SEP's "Nobody's Baby But Mine," I've been wanting to find a romance novel similar to the story of the mmc‘s parents in that book: a wealthy hero marries the poor heroine after she gets pregnant, everyone around him hates her and sees her as a gold digger who trapped him with the baby. The hero treats her coldly, even resents her, and eventually, the heroine can no longer bear his indifference and leaves him. This makes the hero realize his love for her, leading him to grovel.

Although I read Maya Alden's "Kiss From A Rose" earlier this year, which served as a decent substitute in terms of plot, Maya Alden's writing leaves much to be desired. Specifically, the heroine never grows a backbone throughout the story, and the hero doesn’t really grovel enough. In his POV, he claims to feel sorry and guilty toward his wife, but in the heroine’s POV, he still comes off as an asshole. Maya’s handling of this dynamic feels immature, making the characters seem inconsistent and disjointed.

In contrast, Raegan’s "Breaking," while following a very similar plot—neglected wife, asshole husband and in-laws, selfish kids, a deceased friend, and a journey of self-discovery—portrays the heroine in a way that beautifully balances vulnerability and strength. She has her moments of compromise but also knows when to fight back. Trapped by life, she uses painting as an outlet for her suppressed emotions. The reason she eventually reconciles with the mmc is that he genuinely puts in the effort to apologize, communicate, and change. It’s hard to believe this novel first appeared on Wattpad—the character development is far more mature and relatable than many well-known authors’ works.

[Nicole · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't enjoy this book because it felt far too similar to Kiss From a Rose by Maya Alden. There are differences, but the similarities are so great I felt like I was rereading the other book.

Both FMCs were beautiful, poor teens who lost their virginity to and eventually became pregnant by the MMCs.
Both MMCs had mean families who shunned the FMC, starting with mean and dismissive mothers.
Both MMCs had brothers who fell in line with their mother's plans for who they should marry, to disastrous effect.
Both FMCs gave up their education for their children, who were incredibly dismissive of their mothers and didn't recognize her contributions to their family.
Both FMCS had a best friend who the husband didn't allow to come to the wedding, who died and left their life's work in the hands of the FMC.
Both MMCs missed these funerals and neither initially knew where their wife's best friend lived.
Both MMCs had a junior female work colleague who they were so close to that everyone believed they were having an affair.
Both books feature a daughter whose boyfriend who expressed disappointment over they talked to/about their mother.


There are more, but the parallels were so clear to me that I felt like I was missing something, like Maya Alden doing a Metro Boomin and giving people permission to use the bones of her book. Obviously, there are also differences, such as the countries that the books take place in and (this book) having a neurodivergent MC. Also, this book is riddled with errors. I didn't initially know that it started out on Wattpad, but that definitely explains a lot.

[BAG of Books · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a copy of Kiss From A Rose by Maya Alden. Each scene is literally the same, just rewritten in Reagan's own words. The only change is that the heroine stays in her dead friend's house to raise the friend's kids, not to run her B&B. This one is the copy, because it was published on Wattpad in 2025, and KFAR was published first. (In my opinion, allegedly.)

[Valentine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Safe. No cheating. Each other firsts and only. Neglected h. Oblivious H.

[Libby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read lots of reviews that described this book as a not so subtle rewrite of Maya Alden’s Kiss for a Rose. Granted it is an almost identical plot line but then how many pregnant alpha’s rejected mate books are out there??? Ues, a very similar plot but done with much better execution. If I was to hazard a guess, I’d say the Alden was AI generated and this book was not. The main characters are much more fleshed out in this story. There’s more detail and, frankly, I liked Jenna much more than Rose. Some things were a little confusing, like the timeline. Ages and time passage seemed a bit jumbled. Also, as someone who has passed the 20+ year mark in a marriage, that’s a long time to live with partners who are virtual strangers. That was a hard one for me to accept but, hey, I’m the one who kicked someone out the VERY FIRST TIME his palm hit my cheek while Jenna put up with years of emotional abuse. That just made me sad for those wasted prime years of their lives.

[Jordan Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

thoroughly enjoyed this

I loved this story!! If you enjoy a marriage in trouble, Maya Alden’s Kiss from a Rose, Love on the Spectrum… you’ll love this! I’ll always be sad when a loved one passes. But overall this story was so so good!

I do want to know if Lila was lying about the baby? Or the parentage and what her end game was?

It was an absolute delight!

[Addicted 2 📖 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, there are many parallels between A kiss From a Rose by Maya Alden - BUT - I really liked this one much better. Just my opinion. As I always say, I really appreciate a strong FMC.

[TheBookishWife · Rating 3 out of 5]

meh! 3 measly slightly boring stars. One star goes to Audible availability.

[Irene · Rating 5 out of 5]

breakng

Great storyline, the couple had struggled with miscommunications and disagreements in their marriage. They separated and were divorcing, until he decided to fight for his marriage.

[Kathleen Bohle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly Entertaining

Raegan Salander has written an emotional story of a couple that marriage is work and if you really want it to last, communicate is paramount. Once the couple learned to open up parts were heartbreaking. You felt for both parties their love, their anguish and finally their understanding of each other. There was a part where grammar seemed to be skipped, but nothing deterred from the story. Thank you Raegan for this well written story.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZON.ca would not allow a review.

This is a very emotional angst filled book with twists you do not anticipate. A very good read that I devoured in one sitting.

[C bond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding read.

[Tanvi Kaur · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stumbled upon this novel after reading the author’s first book, Shattered, which I absolutely loved. So, when I saw a one-star review accusing this second work of plagiarism—specifically drawing similarities to Kiss From a Rose by Maya Alden—I decided to read both books to see for myself.

After finishing them, I honestly don’t believe plagiarism is at play here. The so-called similarities mentioned in that scathing review are actually fairly common romance and family-drama tropes: a “shotgun” marriage, difficult in-laws, workplace misunderstandings, and couples having one son and one daughter. In many parts of the world—particularly in more traditional or conservative cultures—losing one’s virginity to a future spouse or navigating meddling relatives is just not uncommon. Plenty of real-life families experience a range of conflicts and communication breakdowns that appear in countless novels.

Moreover, the reviewer’s claim that both male main characters (MMCs) missed a crucial funeral isn’t entirely accurate. In Maya Alden’s book, the MMC does not miss the funeral and actually meets the friend before she passes away. The writing styles also feel distinct. The author of this book explores heavier themes like post-miscarriage depression, the challenges of adult life in one’s 40s, and the complexities of undiagnosed autism. These elements added depth and realism, setting it apart from the typical young, glamorous billionaire storyline that often fills romance shelves.

Is it possible the author was inspired by Kiss From a Rose? Certainly. Writers draw inspiration from many sources. But having “inspiration” is worlds apart from outright copying. Amazon’s internal review process also tends to flag and address genuine plagiarism concerns. Nothing indicates that has happened here.

For me, this story resonates because it’s about everyday struggles: motherhood, marriage woes, shifting self-esteem, and the desire for better communication. The fact that the female lead is in her 40s—rather than in her 20s with endless opportunities ahead—offers a refreshing perspective.I have not read too many books where the female is middle-aged. This is probably another reason why it seems similar. Perhaps that makes it less relatable to younger or more progressive readers, but it certainly doesn’t justify branding it a plagiarized work. Does the fact that one author has written about a woman in her 40s with an indifferent husband and children, harsh in-laws and struggling with her identity and depression mean noone else can do the same? That would be a shame , because I would like to read more about women like me, who have gone through the same thing in real life. This situation is something millions of women face everyday with no way to escape it.

I don’t typically write reviews, but I felt compelled to speak up. In my view, this book deserves more credit than it’s been given.

[Saadia Y · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t like that autism was used to explain away some of the things that the hero did, because there was a lot. Like neglecting your wife by getting an apartment so you don’t have to go home. Or confiding in the other woman about your marriage and letting her make comments and then acting like you didn’t know that she was disrespectful towards your wife. Or when your wife calls out your mother for matchmaking you, instead of having her back, you tell her off, gaslight her and then avoid her. Let’s not forget how he prevented her one and only friend from being around because she saw what a horrible husband he was. And not correcting the children when they disrespected her too, as a result of you and your family treating her like dirt. The heroine was a doormat for most of their marriage but I thought she was finally growing a spine when she left him. But he bought his way back into her affections and used his autism as a sob story. BTW, it’s not romantic to buy the house next door to the woman who’s divorcing you. She wanted to be away from him but of course, he can’t respect her wishes.

I don’t think the redemption was good enough for the years of mistreatment and the autism angle left a bad taste in my mouth.

[Margerm, Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 1/2 stars. I read this book on Wattpad rather than on my Kindle so maybe changes were made in the Kindle version. There are inconsistencies/hiccups in the story that make you pause and reread to make sure you didn't get something wrong. For example, one chapter begins with "Monday afternoon. . . . and describes an event and then continues with ,"The next morning - Saturday" . . .
The book is a mirror image of Maya Alden's book A Kiss From A Rose. In both books, the h and H have been married for 20 years, got married young because of a surprise pregnancy and the h put her life on hold to raise her son and daughter. In both books the H ignores and dismisses the h and allows others to belittle her to the point that the children treat the h in the way that he has modeled. Others are not surprised when the h has had enough. In this book it felt like the h was a doormat for a prolonged period of time. In this book the h leaves to care for her friend's two foster children after she died in a car accident. In Maya's book, the h left to support her terminally ill friend in running her b&b. In both books the H moves to be closer to the h.

[E · Rating 1 out of 5]

The problem I have to connect with books like these is how out of nowhere everyone gets a guilty conscience and realise they have wronged the heroine. It seems quite unlikely and fake. It doesn’t really settle with the perception that was built up during the first half of the book.
I can’t make myself forget about the emotional abuse a person had to go through for 20+ years just for everyone to realise how shitty they have treated that person when they saw that she is done and not taking their abuse in silence anymore.
I’m at 70% right now and can’t see myself forgiving any character. Not the husbands or the children. You can’t just wrap up 20 years of emotional abuse in a so-called ‘but I’ve autism’. The autism didn’t make you treat other people like they were the shit at the bottom of your shoe. So thanks but no thanks, such ‘heroes’ don’t deserve a second chance. Because they had 20 years of second chances to treat the wife like a person, to love her and respect her, to demand that people in your life shows her the basic amount of respect. She was miserable her whole life. She spent 20 years feeling unloved and unworthy so no amount of grovel makes up for any of it.

[Jacqueline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a unique storyline. Brutally emotional read in the first half. What the h put up with from her husband kids and his family was unreal. And without speaking up. Was it believable? I think so. She was going through post-partum and depression. It seemed she put everything into keeping her head above water. I thought the H was unredeemable. Really disliked him. But then the author made you feel and under stand him better. He def had to work to get her back. The autism storyline was interesting/. I didn’t see that coming at all.

Loved that he redeemed himself as well as her kids. Loved that she looked after her friends kids. I think they helped with her healing and being needed again.

The ending with the OW was awesome. 👏

I gave it 4 stars because it kept my interest and it is a book that I will likely read again. Will explore more books by the author.

[Star · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75
W.Version
I kinda like it but i though that i would like it better
It reminded of another author book it has similitudes but also its differences.
There are some things that i didnt quite like at all like the fact that both are the same in the aspects of other people
First the Ml spend a lot of time with the ow even though he didnt feel anything for her he knew about her crush on him. Second the Fl going on dates and kissed the om(the om kissed her) before their divorce.Yeah no no my cup of tea.
I wished it was show more about the development in their kids relationship with her also...and the ending it was kinda abrupt.But regardless all of that it was a good book with marriage in trouble troupe 👍

[Diedre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, similar to Kiss From A Rose. However, the hero was very different with a different set of circumstances. When I began reading I didn't like the writing style of the hero. It seemed fractured, not quite cohesive and I was trying to understand where he was coming from. So I critically faulted the writer. Until I found out the hero's problem. Then it all clicked and I realized this writer is good! I like the intensity of the Maya Alden book better. I like the details and the more drawn out experience of this book better. I'm glad I read both. This is one of my favorite genres, marriage in trouble and this is one of my tops, along with Kiss From A Rose. 4.5.

[Bri · Rating 4 out of 5]

A much, much better romance than Kiss From A Rose by Maya Alden!

This hero didn't tell his depressed wife to "do whatever the fuck you want to do" after she revealed how suicidal their unhappy marriage made her feel. Said moment from KFAR did not happen here, thank goodness.

Troy's love for Jenna felt believable.

[Shirley Rentzel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved and hated it

Really I loved and hated this book at the same time. My heart broke over these people and their problems. This is a book that people should read just because I think we " women" have all felt like this from time to time and hopefully not for years like the character in this book. Read so you can cry before the happy ever after. Shirley

[Athena Que Será, Será · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite similar to Maya Alden's KFAR.
Tags: curvy-beauties, doormat_heroine, emotional-cheating, grovel-remorseful, hero-hurts-heroine, hero-married-to-heroine, heroine-leaves, hurtful-words-overheard, in-laws-from-hell, mean-mean-girls-women, om_drama, over-the-years, ow-drama, read, rich-hero, second-chance, troubled-marriage, wattpad-mania, weak-hero

[Techdivakt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too many similarities to A Kiss From A Rose, wonder which one is the copier? I enjoyed this book but having read Alden’s book I knew where this was going. The writing was good but it really bothered me so I contacted Alden’s camp and all I got from them was Maya was aware of this book. Hmmmm