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Ashes of Us
Piper Hayes thought she was days away from forever... until forever betrayed her.
One betrayal and it all the wedding, the plans, the future she thought she could trust. So she walks away, determined never to look back.
A year later, she’s built a new life and learned how to live without him… until Liam Sullivan returns, and the past she buried refuses to stay dead.
He’s changed. She’s stronger. But some wounds don’t heal clean, and some love stories burn even when you try to put them out.
Perfect for readers who
• Second-chance romance with real consequences
• Strong women who rise again
• Heartbreak, resilience, and the hope that love can heal
Sometimes the only way to heal is to face the flames.
One betrayal and it all the wedding, the plans, the future she thought she could trust. So she walks away, determined never to look back.
A year later, she’s built a new life and learned how to live without him… until Liam Sullivan returns, and the past she buried refuses to stay dead.
He’s changed. She’s stronger. But some wounds don’t heal clean, and some love stories burn even when you try to put them out.
Perfect for readers who
• Second-chance romance with real consequences
• Strong women who rise again
• Heartbreak, resilience, and the hope that love can heal
Sometimes the only way to heal is to face the flames.
269 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 4, 2025
409 people are currently reading
81 people want to read
About the author
Grace Mitchell
3 books18 followersGrace Mitchell believes love stories don’t have to be perfect... just honest.
She writes contemporary romances about second chances, forgiveness, and the kind of heartbreak that changes you for the better. Her books explore the messy, beautiful parts of being human: regret, resilience, and the courage to try again.
When she’s not lost in fictional heartbreak, Grace spends her days chasing good coffee, long walks, and the next line that might break her heart a little.
She writes contemporary romances about second chances, forgiveness, and the kind of heartbreak that changes you for the better. Her books explore the messy, beautiful parts of being human: regret, resilience, and the courage to try again.
When she’s not lost in fictional heartbreak, Grace spends her days chasing good coffee, long walks, and the next line that might break her heart a little.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 103 reviews
November 10, 2025
I hate cheating tropes but I admit I got suckered in by the pic on the cover, and I was in the right mood for an angsty-type of book but this one was one big FLOP of major proportions.
Some reviewers think that this is not an AI written book but I don’t know if I can agree with that because it felt off in so many ways with repetitive scenes & sentences over and over again, chapters left open-ended conversations or dialogue, boring & bland characters that you couldn’t feel sorry for or route for in any way and so on.
SPOILERS BELOW –
Plot – MCs have been together for six years. Engaged and living together and 5 weeks out from their wedding. FMC is a school teacher who has a love for baking and we get endless scenes of this which basically filled up pages. MMC is a Firefighter.
Story starts with FMC leaving work with some muffins or something she baked for MMC to try for their wedding. She goes to his Fire Station to surprise him and gets a surprise of her own because she finds him all wrapped in an OW and is devastated. The scene plays out with OW having her legs wrapped around his waist in some office and they are hot kissing while his hands is busy under her shirt. FMC is devastated & heartbroken. OW is happy & gloating later on that FMC is out of the picture. MMC is angry(?) at himself for getting caught. Hard to tell what he was thinking/feeling because we got mixed info. In his delusional head after FMC runs away after catching them in the act is that all he has to do is say he is sorry and that it meant nothing and she would take him back. Lol.
Yeah. We get his thoughts for the first 30% or so and let me tell you that this was not a devastated dude who is in love with FMC. Did he feel all sorry for himself for getting caught? Yep. Did he regret getting caught? Yep. Did he understand how devastated FMC was to learn about his betrayal? Nope. Did he think of anything or anyone other than himself? Nope.
Turns out that he has been f*****g the newbie OW in his fire-station for over 4 months and still was going to go through with the marriage to FMC because he supposedly loves her? Because they been together for so long? Who knows why he wanted to marry her and didn't break things off as we never got much info about what he was feeling in the first half.
I say supposedly because we never really get his POV that he is in love with her at all. There are references of the past where FMC says they were happy and we do get a somewhat remorseful MMC after the 30-40% when he finally realizes that he alone is to blame for the ruin of his relationship with the FMC, but love? Nope. More on that in a minute…..
So after FMC catches him in the act, she leaves his ass and he is feeling sorry for himself. He says that he had the affair with OW because he was bored and that he & FMC had become comfortable and somewhere along the way “she became part of the furniture” and when the OW showered him with attention he went for it as he saw it as some form of freedom, excitement and no longer part of his routine/comfortable life. (weakest excuse EVER people!).
For 4 months up until he was caught, he was having the time of his life having sex with OW and lying to FMC. Never once did he consider how he was betraying & ruining his relationship with FMC. In his mind, he thought he would never get caught so when he was finally caught and he realized that FMC was not going to forgive him, he felt all sorry ass for himself because everyone (his family, her family, his colleagues, etc) all thought what a piece of shit he was and he wanted to get FMC back to save his ego and reputation. That’s what I got from this because there are never really any deep feelings of loss because he LOVES FMC. Just the fact that he is not the nice guy people thought of him.
The only part of the story I liked is the FMC’s sister & his brother who gave it to him straight. They didn’t let him get away with his pathetic excuses and actions. He said to his brother and a team member that he & FMC were having problems but they were not. FMC was clueless that they were having any problems or that he was unhappy. Basically, the cheating was his way of having his cake and eating it too. No excuse or reason and it is never really addressed or delved into because if he was bored & comfortable with their relationship, why was he going through with the wedding? Why not break up with her first before he moved on with any OW? These are the questions that should have been addressed for both MCs because his selfishness & immatureness is basically ignored. Someone who loves their partner would not have cheated out of "boredom". If it takes that lame excuse to cheat, then you don't love the person and you will never be faithful. It's that simple to me and this is why this did not work for me.
Also, what you don't do to the person you supposedly love and planned to marry? try to gaslight her! Yep, he went there. The excuse he gave to his brother and his captain was that "they were having problems”. NO, they were NOT. At least not from what was written. FMC was clueless that anything was wrong between them and believes they are happy and excited to plan their wedding. So yep, he tried to gaslight her by lying to excuse his behavior. That's a "Hero" for you? That's a regretful MMC for you? And the worse part is that he doesn't even acknowledge that fact to himself. Later in the story he tries to offer lame apologies to FMC and he keeps telling her that his cheating was on him and only him and that she shouldn't blame herself or think she did anything wrong. LOL. The best part of that was that FMC didn't and she let him have it as she should.
Anyway, that was what the author should have focused on and delved into more deeply to tell the story to capture out attention of why he became that man that he claimed he wasn't and continued for 4 months up until he was caught out. His pathetic “I ruined my life and maybe if I am remorseful & pathetic enough she will take me back” didn't wash for me and here again is where the inconsistencies and lack of emotion & depth was missing which is why it felt too much like an AI writing for me.
Then there is other stuff that bugged the heck out of me. Like for example, we are told he has no deep feelings for OW and that she was just his “freedom” excuse. So if she was just a fling or something, why was he continuously f***g her for 4 months and just weeks away from his wedding? Was he going to continue f**king her even after he got married? We never got any insight on that and that is something FMC should have asked. Did he never once consider the fact that it was not okay and that he was betraying the woman he supposedly loved & was building a life with? He said he felt a slight guilt when at first OW kissed him but not enough to stop it right there and then at the kiss. Nope, he had to get his rocks off with the OW and thought FMC would never find out.
Issue here is that MMC had no morals and absolutely no love for FMC which is why even towards the end when we are supposed to think he changed and learned from his mistakes, in reality I don’t think he did and certainly never shown he was ever truly in love with FMC – past or present, and nor did I ever get any POVs or feeling that he was sorry for what he did with OW.
Speaking of OW, if she was just a “fling" which their relationship is never really defined either, why then did his “stomach bottom out” when he learned she left his station house for good or when she walked out of his house and he realized she was done with him too?
We have a scene after FMC catches them and leaves his ass mere hours or a day later when OW texts him and even shows up at his house to “comfort” him. Instead of him kicking her to the curb and ending it, he is wishy-washy with her and even contemplating what he should say to her to answer her texts and then even lets her into his & FMC’s house (where apparently he had brought her in the past for sex as she was familiar with their place) and contemplates to allow OW to “comfort” him (aka kiss & have sex) but only stops when he sees something of FMC’s and thinks maybe I should stop.. LOL. He never outright tells OW that she was just a piece of ass he was using. He basically stringed her along (before & after) and it is the OW who makes the decision to break things off – not him.
OW - "I'm sorry. I just thought… I thought we meant something. I thought this meant something."
MMC: "It did. It does. I just…” What could I possibly say? That she'd been a mistake? That I’d been bored, selfish, looking for something to make me feel alive for all the wrong reasons? "I need time to figure this out."
He needs time to figure it out? She means nothing to him? Nope. Again with the wishy-washy POV and is this what we want from our MMC's? This is supposed to make me believe this is a romance and they are meant to be and he is all in love with the FMC? Yeah, I think not.
A cheating trope folks would have a “Hero” at this point in the story realizing that he lost the woman he loved because of his stupid & selfish actions and would be groveling and kicking OW’s ass out of his life, but not him and not in this story. Which begs the question – when does it become a romance story when you never get any actual romance or love from either character towards one another? Not in the past or in the present.
OW btw disappears after she gives him the finger and never returns. I would at least have had a chow-down confrontation with FMC & OW about HER morals, not have her painted as basically an innocent victim of MMC’s actions. She was NO innocent at all. She was gloating when she learned FMC left him and she also instigated things with the MMC and she knew he was engaged & taken. She had met FMC many times but she still went after an unavailable man and got no payback. I hate that. I always want the OW to get payback just as much as the MMC.
So that’s the first half. Second half is about FMC now a year later living her dreams by opening her own bakery shop and she is successful. She is dating OM and is not celibate. No sex scenes for either MC given in detail which I was at least grateful not to get. MMC is celibate and still pathetic because now he realizes FMC will never give him another chance and when he meets OM, he is not even jealous. We don’t get any POVs of his where he is devastated at the fact that she is sleeping with OM or that she may be in love with him, etc. which is another point of how a non-romance this is.
Then we close towards the last 99% of the story with FMC having broken up with the OM and MCs starting to talk & hang out. No deep conversations about the past actions and that she is over it. No input of how she came to the conclusion of “I can’t ever unsee what I saw” and the lies he told her and betrayals. No HEA. Just a HFN where trust has not completely healed but they are taking it one day at a time. Yep, that's what I got for wasting my precious time on this crap.
So my recommendation? Avoid. There’s no real drama, angst or anything else to like because characters and story is just too bland. It lacks any real depth or emotions to draw readers and leaves you only disappointed to have wasted your time and for some, your money.
Some reviewers think that this is not an AI written book but I don’t know if I can agree with that because it felt off in so many ways with repetitive scenes & sentences over and over again, chapters left open-ended conversations or dialogue, boring & bland characters that you couldn’t feel sorry for or route for in any way and so on.
SPOILERS BELOW –
Plot – MCs have been together for six years. Engaged and living together and 5 weeks out from their wedding. FMC is a school teacher who has a love for baking and we get endless scenes of this which basically filled up pages. MMC is a Firefighter.
Story starts with FMC leaving work with some muffins or something she baked for MMC to try for their wedding. She goes to his Fire Station to surprise him and gets a surprise of her own because she finds him all wrapped in an OW and is devastated. The scene plays out with OW having her legs wrapped around his waist in some office and they are hot kissing while his hands is busy under her shirt. FMC is devastated & heartbroken. OW is happy & gloating later on that FMC is out of the picture. MMC is angry(?) at himself for getting caught. Hard to tell what he was thinking/feeling because we got mixed info. In his delusional head after FMC runs away after catching them in the act is that all he has to do is say he is sorry and that it meant nothing and she would take him back. Lol.
Yeah. We get his thoughts for the first 30% or so and let me tell you that this was not a devastated dude who is in love with FMC. Did he feel all sorry for himself for getting caught? Yep. Did he regret getting caught? Yep. Did he understand how devastated FMC was to learn about his betrayal? Nope. Did he think of anything or anyone other than himself? Nope.
Turns out that he has been f*****g the newbie OW in his fire-station for over 4 months and still was going to go through with the marriage to FMC because he supposedly loves her? Because they been together for so long? Who knows why he wanted to marry her and didn't break things off as we never got much info about what he was feeling in the first half.
I say supposedly because we never really get his POV that he is in love with her at all. There are references of the past where FMC says they were happy and we do get a somewhat remorseful MMC after the 30-40% when he finally realizes that he alone is to blame for the ruin of his relationship with the FMC, but love? Nope. More on that in a minute…..
So after FMC catches him in the act, she leaves his ass and he is feeling sorry for himself. He says that he had the affair with OW because he was bored and that he & FMC had become comfortable and somewhere along the way “she became part of the furniture” and when the OW showered him with attention he went for it as he saw it as some form of freedom, excitement and no longer part of his routine/comfortable life. (weakest excuse EVER people!).
For 4 months up until he was caught, he was having the time of his life having sex with OW and lying to FMC. Never once did he consider how he was betraying & ruining his relationship with FMC. In his mind, he thought he would never get caught so when he was finally caught and he realized that FMC was not going to forgive him, he felt all sorry ass for himself because everyone (his family, her family, his colleagues, etc) all thought what a piece of shit he was and he wanted to get FMC back to save his ego and reputation. That’s what I got from this because there are never really any deep feelings of loss because he LOVES FMC. Just the fact that he is not the nice guy people thought of him.
The only part of the story I liked is the FMC’s sister & his brother who gave it to him straight. They didn’t let him get away with his pathetic excuses and actions. He said to his brother and a team member that he & FMC were having problems but they were not. FMC was clueless that they were having any problems or that he was unhappy. Basically, the cheating was his way of having his cake and eating it too. No excuse or reason and it is never really addressed or delved into because if he was bored & comfortable with their relationship, why was he going through with the wedding? Why not break up with her first before he moved on with any OW? These are the questions that should have been addressed for both MCs because his selfishness & immatureness is basically ignored. Someone who loves their partner would not have cheated out of "boredom". If it takes that lame excuse to cheat, then you don't love the person and you will never be faithful. It's that simple to me and this is why this did not work for me.
Also, what you don't do to the person you supposedly love and planned to marry? try to gaslight her! Yep, he went there. The excuse he gave to his brother and his captain was that "they were having problems”. NO, they were NOT. At least not from what was written. FMC was clueless that anything was wrong between them and believes they are happy and excited to plan their wedding. So yep, he tried to gaslight her by lying to excuse his behavior. That's a "Hero" for you? That's a regretful MMC for you? And the worse part is that he doesn't even acknowledge that fact to himself. Later in the story he tries to offer lame apologies to FMC and he keeps telling her that his cheating was on him and only him and that she shouldn't blame herself or think she did anything wrong. LOL. The best part of that was that FMC didn't and she let him have it as she should.
Anyway, that was what the author should have focused on and delved into more deeply to tell the story to capture out attention of why he became that man that he claimed he wasn't and continued for 4 months up until he was caught out. His pathetic “I ruined my life and maybe if I am remorseful & pathetic enough she will take me back” didn't wash for me and here again is where the inconsistencies and lack of emotion & depth was missing which is why it felt too much like an AI writing for me.
Then there is other stuff that bugged the heck out of me. Like for example, we are told he has no deep feelings for OW and that she was just his “freedom” excuse. So if she was just a fling or something, why was he continuously f***g her for 4 months and just weeks away from his wedding? Was he going to continue f**king her even after he got married? We never got any insight on that and that is something FMC should have asked. Did he never once consider the fact that it was not okay and that he was betraying the woman he supposedly loved & was building a life with? He said he felt a slight guilt when at first OW kissed him but not enough to stop it right there and then at the kiss. Nope, he had to get his rocks off with the OW and thought FMC would never find out.
Issue here is that MMC had no morals and absolutely no love for FMC which is why even towards the end when we are supposed to think he changed and learned from his mistakes, in reality I don’t think he did and certainly never shown he was ever truly in love with FMC – past or present, and nor did I ever get any POVs or feeling that he was sorry for what he did with OW.
Speaking of OW, if she was just a “fling" which their relationship is never really defined either, why then did his “stomach bottom out” when he learned she left his station house for good or when she walked out of his house and he realized she was done with him too?
We have a scene after FMC catches them and leaves his ass mere hours or a day later when OW texts him and even shows up at his house to “comfort” him. Instead of him kicking her to the curb and ending it, he is wishy-washy with her and even contemplating what he should say to her to answer her texts and then even lets her into his & FMC’s house (where apparently he had brought her in the past for sex as she was familiar with their place) and contemplates to allow OW to “comfort” him (aka kiss & have sex) but only stops when he sees something of FMC’s and thinks maybe I should stop.. LOL. He never outright tells OW that she was just a piece of ass he was using. He basically stringed her along (before & after) and it is the OW who makes the decision to break things off – not him.
OW - "I'm sorry. I just thought… I thought we meant something. I thought this meant something."
MMC: "It did. It does. I just…” What could I possibly say? That she'd been a mistake? That I’d been bored, selfish, looking for something to make me feel alive for all the wrong reasons? "I need time to figure this out."
He needs time to figure it out? She means nothing to him? Nope. Again with the wishy-washy POV and is this what we want from our MMC's? This is supposed to make me believe this is a romance and they are meant to be and he is all in love with the FMC? Yeah, I think not.
A cheating trope folks would have a “Hero” at this point in the story realizing that he lost the woman he loved because of his stupid & selfish actions and would be groveling and kicking OW’s ass out of his life, but not him and not in this story. Which begs the question – when does it become a romance story when you never get any actual romance or love from either character towards one another? Not in the past or in the present.
OW btw disappears after she gives him the finger and never returns. I would at least have had a chow-down confrontation with FMC & OW about HER morals, not have her painted as basically an innocent victim of MMC’s actions. She was NO innocent at all. She was gloating when she learned FMC left him and she also instigated things with the MMC and she knew he was engaged & taken. She had met FMC many times but she still went after an unavailable man and got no payback. I hate that. I always want the OW to get payback just as much as the MMC.
So that’s the first half. Second half is about FMC now a year later living her dreams by opening her own bakery shop and she is successful. She is dating OM and is not celibate. No sex scenes for either MC given in detail which I was at least grateful not to get. MMC is celibate and still pathetic because now he realizes FMC will never give him another chance and when he meets OM, he is not even jealous. We don’t get any POVs of his where he is devastated at the fact that she is sleeping with OM or that she may be in love with him, etc. which is another point of how a non-romance this is.
Then we close towards the last 99% of the story with FMC having broken up with the OM and MCs starting to talk & hang out. No deep conversations about the past actions and that she is over it. No input of how she came to the conclusion of “I can’t ever unsee what I saw” and the lies he told her and betrayals. No HEA. Just a HFN where trust has not completely healed but they are taking it one day at a time. Yep, that's what I got for wasting my precious time on this crap.
So my recommendation? Avoid. There’s no real drama, angst or anything else to like because characters and story is just too bland. It lacks any real depth or emotions to draw readers and leaves you only disappointed to have wasted your time and for some, your money.
December 14, 2025
3ish Stars
Still in my cheating books era.
Still in my cheating books era.
November 11, 2025
forgiveness is one thing but getting back with the man who cheated on you for 4 months!!!! leading up to your wedding out of pure boredom after 6 years together is WILD. i just don’t believe this is something you come back from and certainly not over the course of a year and a half. it felt like he was just nostalgic the whole time tbh. this hero was not it for me but i liked the fmc for the first half. it was so satisfying to see her completely cut him out of her life and focus on herself while he was a miserable sorry sod. THIS IS WHAT WE WANT PEOPLE!! she was fine up until the point where she started considering taking him back. like….you people don’t stand for anything, omg. anyway, he didn’t deserve to be taken back and he’ll probably cheat again a few years later. ya know, out of boredom 🤣
update: still don’t know if this was written by ai or not lol
December 13, 2025
5 stars are for support of the trope I love. As for writing skill, well it needs a bit of growth, but definitely not the worst. I doubt it's AI, that honor goes to Lani Lynn Vale, but I digress. I'll always support what I want to read in hopes of an author ballin' one out.
The idea was excellent but the execution needs some work. Although, with how muchFAKE OUTRAGE hate this engendered it must have hit some nerves. All those exclamation points! *
You should check this out, if for no other reason than to support the author. If this fictional fiction is your type of fiction, that is. Oh, one more thing -you must know your triggers - that's very important. I'm sure that last warning was unnecessary, we're all adults here.
Maybe
* No real bakers or firefighters were harmed in the writing of this fictional book. I promise. I almost forgot, that cover? It's awesome. Suckers dudes (and apparently hapless, innocent readers seeking faithful heroes by cover art only, shrug.) every time to see a lady in an apron.
The idea was excellent but the execution needs some work. Although, with how much
You should check this out, if for no other reason than to support the author. If this fictional fiction is your type of fiction, that is. Oh, one more thing -you must know your triggers - that's very important. I'm sure that last warning was unnecessary, we're all adults here.
Maybe* No real bakers or firefighters were harmed in the writing of this fictional book. I promise. I almost forgot, that cover? It's awesome. Suckers dudes (and apparently hapless, innocent readers seeking faithful heroes by cover art only, shrug.) every time to see a lady in an apron.
November 9, 2025
I wish I read Katie's review before I picked this up because she said it best here - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Am I "mean", "immature", "shaming others", "beyotch" and "policing" whoever/whatever because I hated it and rated it so low? Yeah, as you can tell someone has major issues IMO and it is not I or any of the negative reviewers. LOL.
RESPECT GOES BOTH WAYS! Not everyone is going to have the same opinions. Not everyone is going to like/dislike the same thing. No one has the right to tell someone else what they can or cannot read, nor do they have to worry that one person's opinion will force a writer to change her writing style. That's so funny BTW. 😅😂🤣
Am I "mean", "immature", "shaming others", "beyotch" and "policing" whoever/whatever because I hated it and rated it so low? Yeah, as you can tell someone has major issues IMO and it is not I or any of the negative reviewers. LOL.
RESPECT GOES BOTH WAYS! Not everyone is going to have the same opinions. Not everyone is going to like/dislike the same thing. No one has the right to tell someone else what they can or cannot read, nor do they have to worry that one person's opinion will force a writer to change her writing style. That's so funny BTW. 😅😂🤣
November 10, 2025
Do not recommend
Weak, blamed her for him being "bored" and didn't nothing at all to deserve forgiveness. Didn't value her at all and held her back professionally as well as personally.
Weak, blamed her for him being "bored" and didn't nothing at all to deserve forgiveness. Didn't value her at all and held her back professionally as well as personally.
Read
November 24, 2025This is probably a me thing… but this was very meh for me. She’s planning their wedding and he’s having an affair with a co-worker. I usually like a redemption story, but honestly, she should have moved on.
hard-pass
November 9, 2025This is a note to myself to remind me never to read this and here's why -https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
November 10, 2025
Too Quickly Dressed Long Term, Repeated Choices, As A Mistake
I really don't understand women who think men have an inner monologue that women have.
They do not.
They never regret cheating, only that they have a chance of getting caught.
And I loath how marriage counsellors give men like this a cheat code.
"Oh I just needed attention."
Nah, women have higher levels of mental illness and attention deficit disorders and they still don't abuse trust at the same rates men do.
I really don't understand women who think men have an inner monologue that women have.
They do not.
They never regret cheating, only that they have a chance of getting caught.
And I loath how marriage counsellors give men like this a cheat code.
"Oh I just needed attention."
Nah, women have higher levels of mental illness and attention deficit disorders and they still don't abuse trust at the same rates men do.
December 17, 2025
Difficult/Popular trope of 'engaged and caught cheating' but the author handled it kinda okay.
I am a sucker for betrayal/cheating books.
So, I had to try this new author with 3 books out - all on physical along with emo cheating.
Bit more on the other books at the end.**
I am a sucker for betrayal/cheating books.
So, I had to try this new author with 3 books out - all on physical along with emo cheating.
Bit more on the other books at the end.**
November 13, 2025
This book gave me exactly the kind of messy, cheating-drama punch I love, even though the writing itself isn’t quite my style. It honestly reads very much like a Wattpad novel — and I don’t even mean that in a bad way. The bones of the story are solid, the angst is strong, and you can tell the author is only going to get better with each book. Even when I didn’t love the writing, I still kept turning the pages because the drama was doing its job.
The story follows Piper and Liam, who’ve been together for years and are five weeks away from their wedding. On paper, they’re the perfect couple. In reality? Liam has been cheating on her with his coworker Jenna… for four months. Full-blown sex, not just a drunken mistake—not “a kiss,” which is what it initially tries to imply. Piper walks in on them kissing at the firehouse and her entire world falls apart.
She moves in with her sister, Liam transfers to a different station, and their lives completely diverge. Over the next year, Piper slowly rebuilds herself while Liam absolutely spirals.
Five months later, Liam hits rock bottom and is forced by his captain to start therapy. Meanwhile, Piper starts a quiet, low-key relationship with Daniel, and Liam—still not coping—keeps avoiding everything instead of dealing with what he did.
This is where my problems begin.
Even though Liam admits he was bored with his own life and used Jenna’s attention to feel “seen,” nothing he does in the present day made me feel like he actually loved Piper. He felt guilty, yes. Embarrassed, definitely. But heartbroken? Devastated? Not really. In the cheating scenes and the aftermath, he never felt like a man who loved the woman he betrayed. More like someone who got caught.
And then there’s the part that annoyed me most:
He didn’t even shut Jenna down properly when she came to his house.
And later, when she transferred out of the firehouse? He was gutted.
Like… excuse me??
How am I supposed to root for a reunion when the hero seems more upset about his mistress leaving than the fiancée he betrayed?
Eventually, there’s a fire where Liam saves Daniel’s life. (He doesn’t know Piper and Daniel had recently broken up.) This becomes the emotional turning point where Liam finally stops running from the mess he created. He begins putting in actual work, shows up differently, goes to therapy consistently, and finally gives Piper a real apology—one that isn’t about him feeling better, but about telling her the truth.
Their reconciliation isn’t rushed, and the book does show Liam taking responsibility without excuses. He openly admits:
• he stopped seeing Piper
• he got lazy and complacent
• he let fear control him
• he used routine as an excuse
• he destroyed their relationship long before the cheating
It’s realistic. And painful. And in some ways, very honest.
But—and this is what held the book back for me—I never once felt the kind of love from him that makes a second-chance romance satisfying. Piper had all the heartbreak, all the emotion, all the rebuilding. Liam, meanwhile, felt like a man who only realised what he lost because he saw someone else valuing it.
Did he grow? Yes.
Was the therapy arc good? Also yes.
But did I believe he loved Piper deeply enough for a HEA? Not really.
It’s a good messy read. But for me, the imbalance in emotional depth made it hard to fully root for them as an endgame couple.
A solid read with potential — but the hero didn’t win me over.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 6, 2025
3.5 stars rounded up
This was surprisingly good. I liked it
This was surprisingly good. I liked it
November 15, 2025
Surprisingly better than I thought it'd be. There were some editing mistakes and some repetitive paragraphs, but nothing I couldn't overlook. Piper walks in on her fiance about to have sex with his coworker Jenna. Piper isn't weak and breaks up with him straight away. Liam is moved to a different fire district. So my problem with this book is there wasn't enough detail given about Liam and Piper's supposed problems which she had no idea about. His excuses for cheating weren't good enough and the coworker Jenna just walks away. At the beginning when Piper leaves, Liam is tempted to go there again with Jenna when she shows up at their apartment. The author bypassed Jenna's purposeful intentions of trying to poach Liam from Piper and I didn't appreciate that. Nor did Liam sticking up for Jenna and saying she wasn't just a fling. I was confused of his intentions. As far as the intimate scenes go there isn't a whole lot of detail, but unfortunately the author gave more detail with Liam and Jenna, and had a fade to black scene at the end with Liam and Piper. Which again I didn't appreciate. Very unsatisfying for their reconciliation. But overall the book was decent enough and kept my attention.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 20, 2025
I like the drama of cheating tropes, but the issue these types of books face, for me, is whether or not I believe that the road to redemption sufficiently makes up for the depth of the betrayal. Most of the time, the betrayer does something so horrendous that as a reader, and just a human being, I can't imagine still loving someone that would disrespect me like that. There are levels of disrespect that no amount of couples therapy can fix. I've also seen a recent trend where cheating books use therapy as a way to somehow absolve the cheater's actions. Yeah... no. Being bored with your life doesn't legitimize you putting your privates into another person's privates.
So, back to the story. The gut punch moment starts out in the beginning. The FMC decides to surprise the MMC with cupcakes at the fire station that he works at and she stumbles upon this scene...
This starts off strong with my little angst-loving heart experiencing the heartbreaking palpitations I crave. Now, I'm on the precipice of finding out how far the MMC's betrayal goes, and will he be able to redeem himself in my eyes? The short answer: no. The long answer I will present with quotes and bullet points like this is a school presentation that's important, and not just my insignificant ramblings.
Reasons why the MMC was a butt plug and should not have had a second chance:
◾The affair went on for four months. It started in March while FMC was planning their wedding and sending out invitations.
◾He brought the OW to his and the FMC's apartment - twice - while the FMC was working late.
◾He throws out the idea of counseling after the FMC caught him with the OW. Not beforehand, when he was feeling bored with her.
◾His thoughts about the OW pissed me off. The OW removed herself from the situation, so I'm not confident that the MMC would have truly ended things with the OW if she stuck around after the FMC left. Here are some quotes from the MMC's POV about the OW:
◾He seemed to be more interested with the wedding happening, not because he wanted to actually spend the rest of his life with the FMC, but because so many people were expected to attend.
◾He told his brother that him and the FMC were having problems. Meanwhile, the FMC describes herself as being blissfully happy during their engagement.
◾He didn't really fight for the FMC. The FMC and other family members told him to leave her alone and he did. Later on, when the MMC moves back to town, he skedaddles out of every room she is in. The FMC swooned because she viewed this as respecting her boundaries, but I interpreted it as her not being worth the effort to breakdown walls and fight for her. He even said he was trying to move on.
◾He didn't encourage or believe in the FMC's bakery dreams. At one point, the FMC said she made herself small over their six year relationship.
The FMC... ugh. I'm disappointed. She started out strong. Cutting the MMC out completely. Working on her business that he never supported. She dated another man...
I started losing interest in the story when I could see where the direction with the OM was going. She mentioned how he was steady, perceptive and kind multiple times. Like that's a bad thing. Like she won't crave that when she's 55 and settled into the routine of her marriage, and she can be confident that she won't need to worry when a hot, younger woman is hired at her husband's job. Which, btw, the FMC being safe and dependable is what had the MMC straying.
The frustrating part is that she doesn't ask any questions about the affair when she's thinking about taking him back. Aren't you the least bit curious about what he did behind your back? How bad it was and if he deserves your forgiveness. There was this big thing about him not making excuses and owning it, but what are we owning? I want to know how many times? When? Where? Did he use protection? Because he put her health at risk by cheating. He disrespected her by bringing this woman into their home. Did he have sex with her there? If so, did he do it on their bed? If so, did he change the sheets? Did he have sex with both of them on the same day? Did he shower before/after? The way my mind was spinning. She may not have wanted to know, but as a reader, I sure as hell did. How callous were his actions?
I appreciated the sister's rage and found her drastically more entertaining than the FMC.
Anyways, he saved the OM from a fire which gets the FMC all moist and really swings that door open for a reconciliation. Sidenote: I like how this is heroic to her because he didn't know that she already broke up with the OM, and she's like "he put his life at risk for my happiness." Okay, cool, but he also was going to let a younger guy burn alive in there before he realized the OM was also in the burning building. Kind of takes the wind out of my sails for thinking he is a heroic fireman.
More stuff happens. She sees him with another woman and assumes the worst. He chases her down and explains he's innocent. They get together. We jump forward and they're in therapy.
Would I reread: No. Though I enjoy a good gut punch moment, I don't enjoy reading about an unworthy MMC, and this guy sucked.
So, back to the story. The gut punch moment starts out in the beginning. The FMC decides to surprise the MMC with cupcakes at the fire station that he works at and she stumbles upon this scene...
I stopped on the landing.
The silence stretched for a heartbeat. It wasn’t the comfortable quiet of people working side-by-side, but… something else. Something that made my chest tighten.
There was a rustle of fabric. A sharp intake of breath. My feet moved before my brain caught up. I moved up the steps, then into the hallway. The door to his cramped office was half-open, and I could see…
I could see…
Liam's hand was in Jenna's hair. His other hand, the one that had held mine just this morning, the one that would slip a ring on my finger in five weeks, was cupped against her jaw, tilting her face up to his. Her hands were fisted in his shirt, the navy station t-shirt I'd folded fresh from the dryer last Sunday. They were pressed together against his desk, and he was kissing her the way he used to kiss me. The way he hadn't kissed me in…
God, how long? How long had it been since he'd kissed me like that? Like he was desperate for it? Like he couldn't breathe without it?
Jenna made a soft, breathy sound, and Liam's fingers tightened in her hair. Something inside my chest cracked open. His mouth moved to her neck. Her head tilted back, exposing her throat, and his free hand dropped to her waist, sliding under the hem of her shirt. She arched into him, and he lifted her—actually lifted her—onto the edge of his desk. The same desk where we'd eaten Thai food two weeks ago, where I'd sat and told him about the end-of-year field trip while he'd smiled and nodded and said all the right things.
Her legs wrapped around his waist.
His hips pressed forward.
It was too much. My fingers went dead, and the container slipped from my hands.
It hit the floor with a plastic crack that sounded like a gunshot in the quiet hallway. Eighteen perfect cupcakes exploded across the linoleum, buttercream and vanilla bean and hours of work scattered in a mess of plastic and frosting.
They broke apart.
Liam's head whipped toward the doorway. His face went white. Then red. Then something worse: guilty.
“Piper—”
His voice felt like barbed wire someone had tightened around my heart.
I turned and ran.
My feet hit the stairs too fast, and I grabbed the railing to keep from falling. Behind me, Liam was still calling my name.
“Piper, wait! Please, Piper!”
But I couldn't stop. Wouldn't stop.
The common room blurred past. The bay doors were open and the sunlight was too bright, too normal, too much like the world hadn't just split open. My hands shook so hard I dropped my keys twice trying to unlock my car. The metal bit into my palm when I finally got the door open.
“Piper!”
Liam was in the doorway now, shirt untucked, hair disheveled. Looking exactly like what he was.
I threw myself into the driver's seat, slammed the door and locked it. My hands were shaking so badly I could barely get the key in the ignition.
He reached my car and pressed his palms against the window. "Please. Please just let me explain!”
The engine turned over.
I looked at him then. Really looked at him. At the man I'd been planning to marry in five weeks. The man I'd woken up at five in the morning to bake for.
His mouth was still red from kissing her.
I put the car in reverse and drove away.
This starts off strong with my little angst-loving heart experiencing the heartbreaking palpitations I crave. Now, I'm on the precipice of finding out how far the MMC's betrayal goes, and will he be able to redeem himself in my eyes? The short answer: no. The long answer I will present with quotes and bullet points like this is a school presentation that's important, and not just my insignificant ramblings.
Reasons why the MMC was a butt plug and should not have had a second chance:
◾The affair went on for four months. It started in March while FMC was planning their wedding and sending out invitations.
◾He brought the OW to his and the FMC's apartment - twice - while the FMC was working late.
◾He throws out the idea of counseling after the FMC caught him with the OW. Not beforehand, when he was feeling bored with her.
◾His thoughts about the OW pissed me off. The OW removed herself from the situation, so I'm not confident that the MMC would have truly ended things with the OW if she stuck around after the FMC left. Here are some quotes from the MMC's POV about the OW:
She was watching me with those dark eyes, the same eyes that had looked at me across the bar four months ago, the ones that had made me forget everything I should’ve remembered.
For a second, just a second, I let myself imagine it. Kissing her. Letting everything with Piper go. No more guilt, no more wedding to stress over, no more having to face what I'd done. Just this. Just easy. I'd done it before. Four months of making the easy choice, the selfish choice. Four months of taking what I wanted and telling myself it didn't mean anything. It would be so simple to do it again.
How had I let it get this far? Four months. Four months of lying and sneaking around and telling myself it didn't mean anything, that I'd end it soon, that Piper would never find out. Four months of being stupid enough to think I could have both. And now I had neither. Jenna was gone for good. She’d made sure of it when she walked out yesterday, enough venom in her voice to make it clear she meant it. But she’d never been what I wanted, had she? She’d just been easy. A distraction.
◾He seemed to be more interested with the wedding happening, not because he wanted to actually spend the rest of his life with the FMC, but because so many people were expected to attend.
"You can't just walk away from this. From us. What about the wedding?"
I stopped and turned around.
"What about it?" I asked.
"We have two hundred people coming. We have deposits. We have—"
"Cancel it."
"Piper, please. Think about the wedding. Think about everyone who's coming. My parents, your parents… they've spent so much money. We can't just—"
I stepped forward and jabbed my finger into his chest.
"I don't give two fucks about the wedding, Liam."
He opened his mouth but I kept going, punctuating each sentence with another poke to his sternum.
"I don't care about the deposits or the guests or what your mother thinks or how much money anyone spent. I cared about YOU." My voice cracked but I didn't stop. "I cared about our future. About building a life together. About Sunday mornings and stupid arguments about whose turn it was to do the dishes and growing old and all the little things I thought we'd have."
"We can still have that.”
"No, we can't. Because YOU wrecked it." Another jab. "You threw it all away for four months of sneaking around with her. So if you think, if you actually think, that I'm going to save this wedding just to spare you the embarrassment?" I shook my head. "You're out of your goddamn mind."
"Piper—"
"I am MORE than happy to burn this whole thing down myself."
"You're being unreasonable." His voice was rising now. "You need to calm down and think about—"
"Calm down?" I laughed again. "You cheated on me and you're telling me to calm down?"
"I'm trying to fix this and you won't even listen to—“
"We're done, Liam."
"No." He shook his head, desperate. "I'm not giving up on us.”
"That's not your choice anymore," I said, and my voice was steady. Cold. "The wedding's off. We're off. I don't want to see you.”
"That's bullshit," he said, louder now. "You don't get to make that decision on your own.”
◾He told his brother that him and the FMC were having problems. Meanwhile, the FMC describes herself as being blissfully happy during their engagement.
◾He didn't really fight for the FMC. The FMC and other family members told him to leave her alone and he did. Later on, when the MMC moves back to town, he skedaddles out of every room she is in. The FMC swooned because she viewed this as respecting her boundaries, but I interpreted it as her not being worth the effort to breakdown walls and fight for her. He even said he was trying to move on.
I'd moved two hours away. Changed my number after she blocked the old one. Deleted social media because seeing mutual friends post about their lives—lives that didn't include me anymore—was too much. I’d kept my distance from Riverside. Told myself it was for the best, that she needed space, that we both needed to move on. And while I'd been here, working double shifts and trying to outrun my mistakes, she'd been building something. Creating the life she'd always wanted. The one I'd told her was too risky, not practical, not the right time for. She'd done it anyway.
Let Riverside be what it is: a chapter closed. I’d earned the right to stop bleeding over it.
◾He didn't encourage or believe in the FMC's bakery dreams. At one point, the FMC said she made herself small over their six year relationship.
I'd eaten those cupcakes and told her they were good. Told her she should open a bakery… someday. Someday when we had more money, more stability, more time. I'd never actually believed she'd do it.
The FMC... ugh. I'm disappointed. She started out strong. Cutting the MMC out completely. Working on her business that he never supported. She dated another man...
I started losing interest in the story when I could see where the direction with the OM was going. She mentioned how he was steady, perceptive and kind multiple times. Like that's a bad thing. Like she won't crave that when she's 55 and settled into the routine of her marriage, and she can be confident that she won't need to worry when a hot, younger woman is hired at her husband's job. Which, btw, the FMC being safe and dependable is what had the MMC straying.
The problem wasn't just that I'd cheated. The problem was me. I'd been comfortable. Too comfortable. We'd fallen into a routine—work, wedding planning, Sunday dinners with family—and somewhere along the way I'd stopped seeing Piper. Stopped really looking at her. She'd become part of the furniture, part of the plan, part of the safe, predictable life I'd built. And then Jenna showed up and paid attention to me. Made me feel seen. Made me feel like I was more than just a guy going through the motions. Except that was bullshit too, wasn't it? Jenna didn't really see me. She saw what she wanted to see. And I'd let her because it was easier than admitting I was bored with my own life. Easier than doing the actual work of staying present in my relationship. I'd told Piper the bakery was too risky. Too impractical. We needed stability, needed to save money for the house, for the wedding, for the future we were planning. But in reality? I'd been scared. Scared she'd succeed and outgrow me. Scared she'd realize she didn't need me to build the life she wanted.it.
The frustrating part is that she doesn't ask any questions about the affair when she's thinking about taking him back. Aren't you the least bit curious about what he did behind your back? How bad it was and if he deserves your forgiveness. There was this big thing about him not making excuses and owning it, but what are we owning? I want to know how many times? When? Where? Did he use protection? Because he put her health at risk by cheating. He disrespected her by bringing this woman into their home. Did he have sex with her there? If so, did he do it on their bed? If so, did he change the sheets? Did he have sex with both of them on the same day? Did he shower before/after? The way my mind was spinning. She may not have wanted to know, but as a reader, I sure as hell did. How callous were his actions?
I appreciated the sister's rage and found her drastically more entertaining than the FMC.
"She's my fiancée.”
"Ex-fiancée," Maya corrected. "And you're standing outside my apartment harassing my sister, so either you walk away right now or I'm calling your captain and telling him one of his firefighters can't take no for an answer."
Liam's jaw clenched. "You can't—"
"I absolutely can. And I will, with details. Want me to tell him about Jenna too? She’s your subordinate, right? Lieutenant sleeping with someone under his command… I bet that’ll go over great."
She looked down at the flowers in my hand.
"Are those grocery store daisies?"
"I just wanted to—"
"What, apologize with seven-dollar flowers? That's your play? You cheated on her for four months and you think daisies are gonna fix it?" She let out a laugh that had zero humor in it. "Buddy. My guy. My dude. You are so far out of your depth you can't even see the shore anymore."
"I know I messed up.”
"You didn't mess up. You didn't forget to take out the trash or accidentally double-book dinner plans. You stuck your dick in someone else while my sister planned your wedding. That's not a mess-up. That's a choice. Or, rather, multiple choices. Like, hundreds of choices over four months."
"Can you just tell her I'm sorry? That I want to talk—"
"She doesn't want to talk to you, and she sure as shit doesn't want to see you. She doesn't want your sad grocery store flowers or your explanations or your excuses." Maya leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. "She's done, Liam. Completely, utterly, one-hundred-percent done. And you know what? Good for her."
"I love her."
"No, you don't. You love the idea of not being the bad guy. You love not having to face consequences. But you don't love her, not really. Because if you did? You wouldn't have done what you did."
I know she had to cancel a wedding and tell two hundred people and face her friends and her family and explain that the man she was going to marry couldn't keep it in his pants for four goddamn months."
She stepped closer, and I actually stepped back.
"So yeah. I know plenty."
"I just want a chance to explain—"
"There's nothing to explain. She caught you. You admitted it. That's the whole story." She pointed at me.
"Now get off my doorstep before I call the cops and tell them you're harassing my sister."
"I'm not—"
"You showed up at her place of residence after she blocked you on every possible platform. That's textbook harassment, my dude. Now leave. And take your ugly flowers with you."
She slammed the door in my face.
Anyways, he saved the OM from a fire which gets the FMC all moist and really swings that door open for a reconciliation. Sidenote: I like how this is heroic to her because he didn't know that she already broke up with the OM, and she's like "he put his life at risk for my happiness." Okay, cool, but he also was going to let a younger guy burn alive in there before he realized the OM was also in the burning building. Kind of takes the wind out of my sails for thinking he is a heroic fireman.
More stuff happens. She sees him with another woman and assumes the worst. He chases her down and explains he's innocent. They get together. We jump forward and they're in therapy.
Would I reread: No. Though I enjoy a good gut punch moment, I don't enjoy reading about an unworthy MMC, and this guy sucked.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 1, 2025
I read another book by the author and I knew what I was getting into as both running themes of the book were the same: Heroine finds out her partner is cheating and seperates. Then they take time apart before reuniting ( the mmc works on himself and figures out why he cheated before trying to reconcile with the fmc). There is a lot of push back from the heroine and understandable lack of trust so even a friendship is a struggle..
So in otherworldly the heroine in the stories arent complete doormat. Cheating is their line in the sand and it takes a whole lot of time and change before they even consider talking to the hero again.
In this story, the heroine is busy planning a wedding. Shes busy stress baking and picking out the invitations to notice the Hero is giving her 50 percent of his time and energy because for the past 6 months ths he's been giving the other half of his attention to a coworker..worse yet a subordinate st the fire station). She walks in on an intimate kiss while taking home a cake flavor to try out.
She immediately leaves him without speaking to him and letting him explain ( I mean really theres nothing to explain..it wasnt a misunderstanding or a one time mistake kuss..he's been hooking up with another woman for months..5 weeks before their wedding she walks away from him).
Its more then a year separation before they speak again and he lives with her ghost and his regret the entire time. Winning back her heart is a obstacle he may not be able to jump over.
The writing is solid although and bonus points for not making me completely hate the hero ( which is a cheating trope book is a very difficult task).
So in otherworldly the heroine in the stories arent complete doormat. Cheating is their line in the sand and it takes a whole lot of time and change before they even consider talking to the hero again.
In this story, the heroine is busy planning a wedding. Shes busy stress baking and picking out the invitations to notice the Hero is giving her 50 percent of his time and energy because for the past 6 months ths he's been giving the other half of his attention to a coworker..worse yet a subordinate st the fire station). She walks in on an intimate kiss while taking home a cake flavor to try out.
She immediately leaves him without speaking to him and letting him explain ( I mean really theres nothing to explain..it wasnt a misunderstanding or a one time mistake kuss..he's been hooking up with another woman for months..5 weeks before their wedding she walks away from him).
Its more then a year separation before they speak again and he lives with her ghost and his regret the entire time. Winning back her heart is a obstacle he may not be able to jump over.
The writing is solid although and bonus points for not making me completely hate the hero ( which is a cheating trope book is a very difficult task).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 9, 2025
2.5*
It was a decent read, I do feel there was an appropriate amount of redemption for the MMC. But some things he done just made him a bit ‘meh’. Having sex with the OW in the apartment he shares with FMC (it’s not mentioned but assuming it would have been in the same bed he shared with FMC…) and he brought the OW over to their apartment more than once when the FMC was working late. Also, when he was caught cheating he just didn’t have ‘affair fog’ lifted I wanted him to turn on the OW which didn’t happen. When she showed up to his apartment the next day to check on him he lets her in and is contemplating kissing her? And he still can’t even admit to the OW that what they done was wrong, that he made a mistake and wants to be with the FMC.
For a second, just a second, I let myself imagine it. Kissing her. Letting everything with Piper go. No more guilt, no more wedding to stress over, no more having to face what I'd done. Just this. Just easy.
"I'm sorry. I just thought… I thought we meant something. I thought this meant something." "It did. It does. I just…” What could I possibly say? That she'd been a mistake? That I’d been bored, selfish, looking for something to make me feel alive for all the wrong reasons? "I need time to figure this out."
It was a decent read, I do feel there was an appropriate amount of redemption for the MMC. But some things he done just made him a bit ‘meh’. Having sex with the OW in the apartment he shares with FMC (it’s not mentioned but assuming it would have been in the same bed he shared with FMC…) and he brought the OW over to their apartment more than once when the FMC was working late. Also, when he was caught cheating he just didn’t have ‘affair fog’ lifted I wanted him to turn on the OW which didn’t happen. When she showed up to his apartment the next day to check on him he lets her in and is contemplating kissing her? And he still can’t even admit to the OW that what they done was wrong, that he made a mistake and wants to be with the FMC.
For a second, just a second, I let myself imagine it. Kissing her. Letting everything with Piper go. No more guilt, no more wedding to stress over, no more having to face what I'd done. Just this. Just easy.
"I'm sorry. I just thought… I thought we meant something. I thought this meant something." "It did. It does. I just…” What could I possibly say? That she'd been a mistake? That I’d been bored, selfish, looking for something to make me feel alive for all the wrong reasons? "I need time to figure this out."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 15, 2025
He changed…
So right off the bat, we know he cheated because the book description tells us there’s a betrayal. And it’s a massive one. What we have here is a guy that loves his fiancée but is feeling pressured. The wedding is coming soon, and since he’s immature and can’t handle his feelings very well, he ends up lying to her and banging another girl. Who, by the way, is a subordinate.
Now I don’t know about the rest of you, but in business that’s totally verboten. People have been fired for it. Plus it could be twisted into sexual harassment and a court case. So this was definitely not a good idea.
She walks in on them and now the wedding is canceled. The rest of the novel is them coming to terms with what’s happened, both individually and together.
From a structural perspective I think it’s well done. Many of us have been cheated on, and how you personally deal with it is up to you. I can’t tell someone else how to feel. I know what I did when it happened to me, and we worked it out. Then it didn’t work anymore after a while, because the trust never rebuilt. Liam made an effort to change himself and become the kind of man that could be trusted. I certainly appreciated his willingness to do the work.
KU read, and this is probably not for everyone.
So right off the bat, we know he cheated because the book description tells us there’s a betrayal. And it’s a massive one. What we have here is a guy that loves his fiancée but is feeling pressured. The wedding is coming soon, and since he’s immature and can’t handle his feelings very well, he ends up lying to her and banging another girl. Who, by the way, is a subordinate.
Now I don’t know about the rest of you, but in business that’s totally verboten. People have been fired for it. Plus it could be twisted into sexual harassment and a court case. So this was definitely not a good idea.
She walks in on them and now the wedding is canceled. The rest of the novel is them coming to terms with what’s happened, both individually and together.
From a structural perspective I think it’s well done. Many of us have been cheated on, and how you personally deal with it is up to you. I can’t tell someone else how to feel. I know what I did when it happened to me, and we worked it out. Then it didn’t work anymore after a while, because the trust never rebuilt. Liam made an effort to change himself and become the kind of man that could be trusted. I certainly appreciated his willingness to do the work.
KU read, and this is probably not for everyone.
November 7, 2025
Much better effort than the author's first book.
While not a major plot point, I found it odd that a bakery that sold specialty coffee opened up next door to a...coffee shop. (She goes next door for a latte and coffee dates, but makes herself an espresso from her machine in the bakery.)
Again, it's not a plot point, but most fire departments operate on a 24/48 shift. 24 hours on, 48 off. Liam's 12-hour shifts were odd.
I enjoy cheating books and reading them from the perspective of "can the cheater redeem himself?" In the case of this book, no, Liam does not.
Liam...apologizes. I think Piper is crazy for talking to him when he moves back to town. He cheated for four months while she planned their wedding. There's no coming back from that.
"Something hot and sharp twisted in my chest. He sounded so sincere... so worried. Like he actually believed he was the problem here." um, Liam IS the problem. If he hadn't cheated on her, she wouldn't second guess his every action and interaction later.
I applaud the author for taking on this topic. Keep working!
While not a major plot point, I found it odd that a bakery that sold specialty coffee opened up next door to a...coffee shop. (She goes next door for a latte and coffee dates, but makes herself an espresso from her machine in the bakery.)
Again, it's not a plot point, but most fire departments operate on a 24/48 shift. 24 hours on, 48 off. Liam's 12-hour shifts were odd.
I enjoy cheating books and reading them from the perspective of "can the cheater redeem himself?" In the case of this book, no, Liam does not.
Liam...apologizes. I think Piper is crazy for talking to him when he moves back to town. He cheated for four months while she planned their wedding. There's no coming back from that.
"Something hot and sharp twisted in my chest. He sounded so sincere... so worried. Like he actually believed he was the problem here." um, Liam IS the problem. If he hadn't cheated on her, she wouldn't second guess his every action and interaction later.
I applaud the author for taking on this topic. Keep working!
November 11, 2025
1. Maya is my hero.
2. It made no sense for Liam to change his phone number and delete all his social media. Why would he cut off all methods of communication when he was still hoping to get back together with Piper?
3. Why did Piper go to the coffee shop next door "approximately 800 times" a week when her bakery also made and served coffee?
4. If an EMT went into a burning building, I'm pretty sure they would be suspended or even terminated and/or lose their certification.
5. I quit reading at about 65%. Liam had stayed away from Piper the way she asked him to. He’d done no groveling or anything to earn back her trust or forgiveness. All he did was wallow in his misery and his “poor me” attitude.
2. It made no sense for Liam to change his phone number and delete all his social media. Why would he cut off all methods of communication when he was still hoping to get back together with Piper?
3. Why did Piper go to the coffee shop next door "approximately 800 times" a week when her bakery also made and served coffee?
4. If an EMT went into a burning building, I'm pretty sure they would be suspended or even terminated and/or lose their certification.
5. I quit reading at about 65%. Liam had stayed away from Piper the way she asked him to. He’d done no groveling or anything to earn back her trust or forgiveness. All he did was wallow in his misery and his “poor me” attitude.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 28, 2025
I cannot beat Katie's review and agree with most of her observtions. I do think the H, in the beginning, was narcistic and totally unaware of the needs of anyone but his own. Fortunately, he did seek therapy, which was not discussed, and grew up. A todler acting man is not attractive.
I did like that the redemption and second chance was not instant. They had to learn who they were almost 2 years following the incident, you can never recreate the past exactly as it was and in their case, it would have been a further waste. You could see the growth in both characters and the H had to learn that he was not the center of everyone's universe. The h had to learn to be less of a doormat and to take chances. Both did and it resulted in a reconciliation. I wonder, however, if the h would ever not worry about the H if see saw him with another woman, came home late or a million other situations.
I did like that the redemption and second chance was not instant. They had to learn who they were almost 2 years following the incident, you can never recreate the past exactly as it was and in their case, it would have been a further waste. You could see the growth in both characters and the H had to learn that he was not the center of everyone's universe. The h had to learn to be less of a doormat and to take chances. Both did and it resulted in a reconciliation. I wonder, however, if the h would ever not worry about the H if see saw him with another woman, came home late or a million other situations.
November 11, 2025
hard to read hard to review
beautifully written, felt real
beautifully written, felt real
November 17, 2025
It was ok. A quick easy read…..but…..if you’re going to write a cheating romance WRITE it. The entirety of the cheating was glossed over. If we don’t know the nitty gritty as a reader then neither does the fmc. It just makes it feel unbalanced and the HEA not believable.
Some things didn’t make sense. She owned a bakery and went for coffee next door and the coffee shop was mentioned quite a few times. Then the next thing she’s saying there’s coffee in the bakery. Does she not drink her own coffee????
Some things were repeated.
You call someone?"
“AAA. Two to three hour wait."…..
then the next page,
“Yeah. Did you check with AAA?"
“Sure did," I replied. “Two to three hours wait.”
It’s the errors above that makes me suspicious to the usage of writing aids/generative ai, rather than an editor. Spelling errors are normal in a book, but actual plot mistakes are more noticeable. I’d seen similar reviews saying the same in the previous book due to errors and repetitive sentences.
Some things didn’t make sense. She owned a bakery and went for coffee next door and the coffee shop was mentioned quite a few times. Then the next thing she’s saying there’s coffee in the bakery. Does she not drink her own coffee????
Some things were repeated.
You call someone?"
“AAA. Two to three hour wait."…..
then the next page,
“Yeah. Did you check with AAA?"
“Sure did," I replied. “Two to three hours wait.”
It’s the errors above that makes me suspicious to the usage of writing aids/generative ai, rather than an editor. Spelling errors are normal in a book, but actual plot mistakes are more noticeable. I’d seen similar reviews saying the same in the previous book due to errors and repetitive sentences.
November 23, 2025
Pointless waste of time 🚮
November 6, 2025
Redemption at Work
I read this author’s first book, and she truly works hard to redeem her heroes. I am grateful she shies away from OTT atonement and retribution, so the redemption itself feels more grounded and realistic to life.
In this story Piper catches Liam red handed. They were supposed to get married in five weeks. The Zero has been cheating the whole time they were planning the wedding. As expected, the h calls it off.
As with her first book, the author works hard to redeem the zero back to a hero. Since this guy is a firefighter that includes literally saving someone’s life who is close to the h. Redemption achieved!
My only real problem with the story is the complete lack of chemistry or romance between the MC. The angst of the betrayal wears thin around 40%, then it got really boring because there is no chemistry that makes you root for the second chance.
This is still a good read by a talented author I will keep an eye on.
3.5 stars and rounded up.
I read this author’s first book, and she truly works hard to redeem her heroes. I am grateful she shies away from OTT atonement and retribution, so the redemption itself feels more grounded and realistic to life.
In this story Piper catches Liam red handed. They were supposed to get married in five weeks. The Zero has been cheating the whole time they were planning the wedding. As expected, the h calls it off.
As with her first book, the author works hard to redeem the zero back to a hero. Since this guy is a firefighter that includes literally saving someone’s life who is close to the h. Redemption achieved!
My only real problem with the story is the complete lack of chemistry or romance between the MC. The angst of the betrayal wears thin around 40%, then it got really boring because there is no chemistry that makes you root for the second chance.
This is still a good read by a talented author I will keep an eye on.
3.5 stars and rounded up.
November 5, 2025
Ashes of Us
This is my first book from this author, and I absolutely loved it. I loved this type of stories.
The betrayal was huge and Liam just quite didn't understand the depth of his betrayal. I really live a strong h and Piper was strong. Ahe did what she had to do, and all on her own. I think we also think we need a sister like Mis to have our backs! She was so funny her ride or die. Lol
Liam well he was a hot mess and it was always about him until it wasn't and even then I didn't feel sorry for him. He needed to actually take responsibility, then he did something selfless because it could hurt Piper.
I loved reading the complete change in both Liam and Piper. And this story was so good, I'm so glad I found a new author.
This is my first book from this author, and I absolutely loved it. I loved this type of stories.
The betrayal was huge and Liam just quite didn't understand the depth of his betrayal. I really live a strong h and Piper was strong. Ahe did what she had to do, and all on her own. I think we also think we need a sister like Mis to have our backs! She was so funny her ride or die. Lol
Liam well he was a hot mess and it was always about him until it wasn't and even then I didn't feel sorry for him. He needed to actually take responsibility, then he did something selfless because it could hurt Piper.
I loved reading the complete change in both Liam and Piper. And this story was so good, I'm so glad I found a new author.
November 6, 2025
One of the best betrayal romances I've read
There are some some inconsistencies in the story but overall the story is wonderful. A FMC that doesn't stand around waiting for her fiance to do better. She leaves. The MMC does real work to make himself better for himself not just the fmc. No excuses or secret reasons why he cheated. He just did.
There are some some inconsistencies in the story but overall the story is wonderful. A FMC that doesn't stand around waiting for her fiance to do better. She leaves. The MMC does real work to make himself better for himself not just the fmc. No excuses or secret reasons why he cheated. He just did.
November 28, 2025
Good / quick read.
This author nailed angst as their relationship crashed and the deviation that follows.
Wish there was more on the back end of the story showing us the MC coming back together. The ending felt a bit too quick.
This author nailed angst as their relationship crashed and the deviation that follows.
Wish there was more on the back end of the story showing us the MC coming back together. The ending felt a bit too quick.
Read
December 3, 2025Not for me.
I skim read and skipped then just read the end.
I skim read and skipped then just read the end.
November 15, 2025
It's my fault for reading this even though I hate when the victim of adultery takes back the cheater. I really wish she would've upgraded to a better, hotter, more successful partner. Especially after she figured out her path and healed. Forgiveness could have been had if he had cheated once but 4 months with zero guilt or remorse. He should have had to suffer the consequences for longer. The mistress just leaves the story even though she thought they had something real. He should have had to deal with all the complications that come with fucking with someone else's feelings. Now, do I think mistresses should get a pass if they willingly sleep with someone else's partner? Absolutely not. Where was her punishment? She transfers, and that's it, free to mess up someone else's relationship in the near future. He also doesn't fully understand the damage done for like a year. It's him feeling sorry for himself and talking about how he let everyone down. When he finally realizes all the damage done, she is basically already forgiving him. If you like forgiveness stories, you may enjoy this. I should have kept scrolling.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
should-i-shouldnt-i
November 11, 2025NTS Spoilers in note app
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