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The Way Back
Elena Whitaker had a a family, a future, a life she could trust.
All of it vanished the night she learned the truth about her husband's betrayal.
So she ran—back to her hometown, back to the version of herself she’d forgotten, back to something that didn’t hurt to hold.
Three years later, she has found a new rhythm.
A small-town clinic she’s poured herself into.
A quiet home that finally feels like hers.
And a heart that’s learning—slowly, carefully—that love doesn’t always have to hurt.
Then Matt Reeves returns… carrying the weight of a mother who’s slipping away and the regret of every moment he can’t rewrite.
Millbrook is small. Memories are loud. And the past has a way of finding the cracks you thought you sealed.
For readers who
• Heartache that lingers
• Love that refuses to behave
• Small-town gravity
• The impossible choice between who you were… and who you’ve become
Some lives break apart.
Some lives rebuild.
And some cross paths again when the heart is ready.
All of it vanished the night she learned the truth about her husband's betrayal.
So she ran—back to her hometown, back to the version of herself she’d forgotten, back to something that didn’t hurt to hold.
Three years later, she has found a new rhythm.
A small-town clinic she’s poured herself into.
A quiet home that finally feels like hers.
And a heart that’s learning—slowly, carefully—that love doesn’t always have to hurt.
Then Matt Reeves returns… carrying the weight of a mother who’s slipping away and the regret of every moment he can’t rewrite.
Millbrook is small. Memories are loud. And the past has a way of finding the cracks you thought you sealed.
For readers who
• Heartache that lingers
• Love that refuses to behave
• Small-town gravity
• The impossible choice between who you were… and who you’ve become
Some lives break apart.
Some lives rebuild.
And some cross paths again when the heart is ready.
224 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 2, 2025
About the author
Grace Mitchell
3 books44 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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December 10, 2025Nah the cheater has a new woman and there’s a possible HEA with her… I don’t care if he “redeems” himself or any of that. He chose to cheat and was happy doing it. If his wife hadn’t caught him, he probably would’ve never stopped.
Does that make me a bad bitch for wanting him to suffer for the rest of his life while watching the heroine with her new man? Yeah, I guess I’m a bad bitch.
I liked the h though. Some reviews were pissed off because she was too cold toward the cheater but I loved every second of it and I’m glad she never gave him a chance and moved on with OM.
Does that make me a bad bitch for wanting him to suffer for the rest of his life while watching the heroine with her new man? Yeah, I guess I’m a bad bitch.
I liked the h though. Some reviews were pissed off because she was too cold toward the cheater but I loved every second of it and I’m glad she never gave him a chance and moved on with OM.
July 11, 2026
UPDATE 7/11/26:
I initially gave this 4 stars and it panicked my GR friends (God bless them) into worrying about me that I may have been abducted by aliens and thrown into some foreign land of no-return. Let me tell ya, I think they were right to worry about me because looking back now, WHAT THE HELL Paula! 🤕
I tried to justify it that the poor sap was so pathetic sorry and reformed now into a new man who learned his lesson and would never do it again.
I tried explaining that the whole thing he was going through with his mom and the fact she had Alzheimer's and I felt his loneliness & pain made him into a good man and he deserved a 2nd chance.
I tried to blame FMC for being so cold to him and not being more understanding. (Yeah, that one didn't fly with anyone - even me. 🤫🤥)
I gave one excuse after another to make apologies for this cheater-cheater pumpkin eater but I ran out of juice. Truth is, this should have been an instant DNF for me, but I blame it on those aliens, 'ya know?
So yeah, I'm back now from where ever I landed and have all my marbles intact. I hope. 🤕
Thank you GR friends for having my back! Love you Boos! Justice has been served. The loser has been downgraded to 1 star only. Whew! 🥶
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Original review 12/9/25:
It takes real talent to make a reader go from hating a cheater character to rooting for them to get their HEA by the end. I loathe cheating tropes and never feel sympathy for them. Just the opposite in fact. Lol.
However, this is a very well written and highly emotional story that takes you in an almost real-life experience of what happens when the person you love betrays you in the most horrendous way and the consequences of their actions. I have never been cheated on and don’t personally know anyone close to me who has cheated or been cheated but I would think the way the FMC reacted in the beginning is how I would have as well because to me cheating is black & white. If one goes there, there is no coming back from it. So to have me feeling sorry for the cheating MMC and rooting for him to get a HEA by the end, shows how different this was from the normal plots out there who pretty much wipe out the cheating part and focus mostly on other non-consequential things. Believe me, I shed lots of bucket tears for this and that never happens with any books I read! Lol.
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
I would like to preface this review and say that this is my opinion and I know lot's of my safety friends may not like it and that is okay because we all have our unique preferences and this is why reviews are here to give us a heads up.
This is the 2nd cheating book that I ever read that I liked and as much as I want to insert some quotes so that one can understand how awesome this was, GR has singled me out for some reason and won’t allow me to do so, therefore I am going to do my best to explain…..
There is a lot to like and some thing that I disliked here. One of the main emotions I got from this is conflicting because at the start I was rooting for the FMC but at the end I was all for MMC to find his happiness and I did wish he had gotten forgiveness and a HEA with FMC. However, I also liked the OM too but I never felt any deep love & attraction between them. It was more of affection, friendship, comfort & security type relationship based on maybe knowing that he would never hurt her like MMC did because OM was a loner and down to earth.
I know I'm contradicting myself to my safety friends who in any other cheating trope story I would be DNF'g or rolling my eyes here at this thinking, but I did truly feel that MMC suffered and redeemed himself by the end and deserved a HEA - at least in my eyes. It's not that I excuse his cheating because what he did is not excusable, but author wrote him differently by the middle to the end then the selfish jerk he was in the beginning. But back to the story....
MCs were HS sweethearts and married for 8 years. They are deeply in love and trying to start a family. Someone in a review said that the MMC did not want to have a baby with FMC but that is not true at all. He was all in and they had even named their kids before they were born.
Now this to me has 3 parts; the beginning where FMC finds that her husband (MMC) is cheating on her with her friend/boss (OW), the middle where we see the transformation of the MMC and the end where we get the most emotional scenes that puts this thing altogether in its entirety. I have to confess that the ending was disappointing for me for the reasons I will mention below, hence why I am giving it a 4 star instead of 5.
Anyway, in the first 2 chapters, I was rooting for the FMC because seeing the man that you love so deeply & trusted banging your friend & boss on the security video, made me feel her hurt and devastation and I was all for her to leave the asshole. To say that I didn’t like MMC in the beginning is beyond words. He was truly a douche canoe.
But the FMC’s reaction is not your typical one that we read. Seeing the devastation in front of her eyes of the man she loved with all her heart betray her and the end of her dreams & marriage, she decides to confront them (hubby & OW) first and get answers before she leaves their asses behind.
I have to confess the OW was a loathsome bitch. I hated her throughout all the scenes and wanted her to get payback – at least more so than what she got. The OW is a needy drunk. She had a husband who loved & supported her and through it all away because she was a nasty drunk and leaned on MMC to constantly help her.
Their affair started when weeks prior to the confrontation, the OW (her Boss) would contact MMC to ask where FMC was and other stupid excuses. It eventually led to OW talking about her problems with the hubby and him talking shit back that he was having issues with FMC too (he would tell her about how she no longer had any time for him because she was always working and that he was tired of the constant timing to have sex – aka when she was ovulating). OW would also constantly call him to come and rescue her every time she was drunk. He hid these calls from FMC and he said that he didn’t mean all that shit he said to OW about his wife but he enjoyed being needed and couldn’t turn down someone who asked for help. He is a cop BTW and his wife (FMC) is a veterinarian.
Anyway, on one of these runs to help OW because she had called him drunk from a bar to come and get her, she ends up kissing him and he kisses her back and they have sex in the car. Then again 2 times more at the exam room at the veterinary practice that FMC works in. It is here that FMC learns about the cheating when she happens to check the security alerts and sees her hubby and OW having sex.
When she confronts the OW, she lets her have it and accepts no excuses. She makes her tell her the truth of how many times they fucked and why. She gives her an ultimatum to tell her husband or she will. Then she leaves and goes home where she confronts MMC and has him explain why he did it and destroyed 8 years of marriage and a lifetime of love. Those scenes were awesome BTW.
Anyway, she then leaves his ass and we go through the transformation of the MMC. First, he was angry at himself for being caught out and delusional that after she calms down a bit, his wife will come back and they would work things out. Then when OW shows up the next day after her husband throws her out because she didn’t meet FMC’s timeline to tell him so FMC had to send him the video, she thinks that MMC and her would get together. For a few seconds, MMC contemplated having sex with her because he said every time he & OW had sex, his brain checked out and all the noise around him stopped. Luckily, he got smart and kicked her out of his life.
It is then he realizes that the man he used to be (a good man) is no longer. He hates himself and what he did to his wife and marriage. He tries very hard to get back together with FMC but eventually realizes he destroyed everything and there is no coming back from it. So we have him in the middle chapters of him working on himself by going to therapy where he comes to realize that the sole reason his cheating happened is his need to be needed and never say no. Not an excuse at all but a habit he had to change. What got to me is how he continued to loathe & not forgive himself. He became a shadow of the man he used to be. One that didn't feel worthy or a "good man" and just lived day to day. As a reader you can't help but feel sorry for him and this is when I was rooting for him to get his happily ever after.
The FMC in turn became cold and unforgiving. She had pretty much left him in the dust after she walked out on him and closed her heart. For some reason, it didn’t sit well with me because we never see her truly grieve her loss (until the end) and in this part MMC was dealing with heartache with his Mother who had Alzheimer's and author takes you in a realistic journey of how hard that is for the family when a family member no longer remembers you. I felt the pain to be honest because I have experienced it with a loved one and the way author written those scenes is one that brought memories back. So kudos to her for keeping it so real because this is where my change of heart for MMC had me rooting for him to get his HEA. Preferably with FMC but by then she was in on her relationship with OM and not interested in patching things up with MMC.
So the ending I liked & disliked at the same time because it reached the crucial point in the story that I was hoping to get somewhere in the middle where FMC finally showed some emotion and empathy towards MMC. This was the point in the story where they finally are kind to each other and say a final goodbye. Just thinking about it, still leaves me in tears because even though I didn’t like FMC in the middle part of how cold & hard she was towards MMC and completely over him (justified as it was), it is still a love story of some sort and I wanted to see her emotions. As I said in the beginning, after she learns about the cheating, she sort of goes numb or something and writes him off. Every call & text he sent her in the beginning, goes unanswered. Every attempt he made to see her to apologize and beg for forgiveness and a 2nd chance, is met with coldness and dismissal. Every sympathy she should have had seeing him suffer at the loss of his mother, was at first dismissed until the end when she sees how hurt and broken he is and decides to give him a final crumb and a goodbye. So yeah, this scene was needed to make me like her again somewhat. And she also gave him forgiveness so that he could move on which was needed because of all his self hatred throughout and because he finally realized he would never get a second chance because she loved OM. In that final scene, she tells him that he was the love of her life and they talk about how they both wished they had those 2 babies they dreamed about. It was a gut wrenching scene and their final goodbye.
Now the ending (Epilogue) is where it lost a star for me because we are shown she moved on and married OM and is very happy with him, but MMC is still single. However, he has a nice talk with an OW who works with FMC (she is her Assistant) and he is looking forward to their next talk which sort of implies that he would be finding love with this OW who is closely connected to FMC but an employee at her work again. I wish it had been with an OW who was not connected to FMC at all.
Anyway, if you want a truly well written cheating trope where it will take you on an emotional journey and have you rooting for one character one moment, to the other in the next and so on, this is the book for you. I never thought I would enjoy a cheating trope, but I made an exception with this one. Well done Author. I will be checking more of your work.
I initially gave this 4 stars and it panicked my GR friends (God bless them) into worrying about me that I may have been abducted by aliens and thrown into some foreign land of no-return. Let me tell ya, I think they were right to worry about me because looking back now, WHAT THE HELL Paula! 🤕
I tried to justify it that the poor sap was so pathetic sorry and reformed now into a new man who learned his lesson and would never do it again.
I tried explaining that the whole thing he was going through with his mom and the fact she had Alzheimer's and I felt his loneliness & pain made him into a good man and he deserved a 2nd chance.
I tried to blame FMC for being so cold to him and not being more understanding. (Yeah, that one didn't fly with anyone - even me. 🤫🤥)
I gave one excuse after another to make apologies for this cheater-cheater pumpkin eater but I ran out of juice. Truth is, this should have been an instant DNF for me, but I blame it on those aliens, 'ya know?
So yeah, I'm back now from where ever I landed and have all my marbles intact. I hope. 🤕
Thank you GR friends for having my back! Love you Boos! Justice has been served. The loser has been downgraded to 1 star only. Whew! 🥶
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Original review 12/9/25:
It takes real talent to make a reader go from hating a cheater character to rooting for them to get their HEA by the end. I loathe cheating tropes and never feel sympathy for them. Just the opposite in fact. Lol.
However, this is a very well written and highly emotional story that takes you in an almost real-life experience of what happens when the person you love betrays you in the most horrendous way and the consequences of their actions. I have never been cheated on and don’t personally know anyone close to me who has cheated or been cheated but I would think the way the FMC reacted in the beginning is how I would have as well because to me cheating is black & white. If one goes there, there is no coming back from it. So to have me feeling sorry for the cheating MMC and rooting for him to get a HEA by the end, shows how different this was from the normal plots out there who pretty much wipe out the cheating part and focus mostly on other non-consequential things. Believe me, I shed lots of bucket tears for this and that never happens with any books I read! Lol.
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
I would like to preface this review and say that this is my opinion and I know lot's of my safety friends may not like it and that is okay because we all have our unique preferences and this is why reviews are here to give us a heads up.
This is the 2nd cheating book that I ever read that I liked and as much as I want to insert some quotes so that one can understand how awesome this was, GR has singled me out for some reason and won’t allow me to do so, therefore I am going to do my best to explain…..
There is a lot to like and some thing that I disliked here. One of the main emotions I got from this is conflicting because at the start I was rooting for the FMC but at the end I was all for MMC to find his happiness and I did wish he had gotten forgiveness and a HEA with FMC. However, I also liked the OM too but I never felt any deep love & attraction between them. It was more of affection, friendship, comfort & security type relationship based on maybe knowing that he would never hurt her like MMC did because OM was a loner and down to earth.
I know I'm contradicting myself to my safety friends who in any other cheating trope story I would be DNF'g or rolling my eyes here at this thinking, but I did truly feel that MMC suffered and redeemed himself by the end and deserved a HEA - at least in my eyes. It's not that I excuse his cheating because what he did is not excusable, but author wrote him differently by the middle to the end then the selfish jerk he was in the beginning. But back to the story....
MCs were HS sweethearts and married for 8 years. They are deeply in love and trying to start a family. Someone in a review said that the MMC did not want to have a baby with FMC but that is not true at all. He was all in and they had even named their kids before they were born.
Now this to me has 3 parts; the beginning where FMC finds that her husband (MMC) is cheating on her with her friend/boss (OW), the middle where we see the transformation of the MMC and the end where we get the most emotional scenes that puts this thing altogether in its entirety. I have to confess that the ending was disappointing for me for the reasons I will mention below, hence why I am giving it a 4 star instead of 5.
Anyway, in the first 2 chapters, I was rooting for the FMC because seeing the man that you love so deeply & trusted banging your friend & boss on the security video, made me feel her hurt and devastation and I was all for her to leave the asshole. To say that I didn’t like MMC in the beginning is beyond words. He was truly a douche canoe.
But the FMC’s reaction is not your typical one that we read. Seeing the devastation in front of her eyes of the man she loved with all her heart betray her and the end of her dreams & marriage, she decides to confront them (hubby & OW) first and get answers before she leaves their asses behind.
I have to confess the OW was a loathsome bitch. I hated her throughout all the scenes and wanted her to get payback – at least more so than what she got. The OW is a needy drunk. She had a husband who loved & supported her and through it all away because she was a nasty drunk and leaned on MMC to constantly help her.
Their affair started when weeks prior to the confrontation, the OW (her Boss) would contact MMC to ask where FMC was and other stupid excuses. It eventually led to OW talking about her problems with the hubby and him talking shit back that he was having issues with FMC too (he would tell her about how she no longer had any time for him because she was always working and that he was tired of the constant timing to have sex – aka when she was ovulating). OW would also constantly call him to come and rescue her every time she was drunk. He hid these calls from FMC and he said that he didn’t mean all that shit he said to OW about his wife but he enjoyed being needed and couldn’t turn down someone who asked for help. He is a cop BTW and his wife (FMC) is a veterinarian.
Anyway, on one of these runs to help OW because she had called him drunk from a bar to come and get her, she ends up kissing him and he kisses her back and they have sex in the car. Then again 2 times more at the exam room at the veterinary practice that FMC works in. It is here that FMC learns about the cheating when she happens to check the security alerts and sees her hubby and OW having sex.
When she confronts the OW, she lets her have it and accepts no excuses. She makes her tell her the truth of how many times they fucked and why. She gives her an ultimatum to tell her husband or she will. Then she leaves and goes home where she confronts MMC and has him explain why he did it and destroyed 8 years of marriage and a lifetime of love. Those scenes were awesome BTW.
Anyway, she then leaves his ass and we go through the transformation of the MMC. First, he was angry at himself for being caught out and delusional that after she calms down a bit, his wife will come back and they would work things out. Then when OW shows up the next day after her husband throws her out because she didn’t meet FMC’s timeline to tell him so FMC had to send him the video, she thinks that MMC and her would get together. For a few seconds, MMC contemplated having sex with her because he said every time he & OW had sex, his brain checked out and all the noise around him stopped. Luckily, he got smart and kicked her out of his life.
It is then he realizes that the man he used to be (a good man) is no longer. He hates himself and what he did to his wife and marriage. He tries very hard to get back together with FMC but eventually realizes he destroyed everything and there is no coming back from it. So we have him in the middle chapters of him working on himself by going to therapy where he comes to realize that the sole reason his cheating happened is his need to be needed and never say no. Not an excuse at all but a habit he had to change. What got to me is how he continued to loathe & not forgive himself. He became a shadow of the man he used to be. One that didn't feel worthy or a "good man" and just lived day to day. As a reader you can't help but feel sorry for him and this is when I was rooting for him to get his happily ever after.
The FMC in turn became cold and unforgiving. She had pretty much left him in the dust after she walked out on him and closed her heart. For some reason, it didn’t sit well with me because we never see her truly grieve her loss (until the end) and in this part MMC was dealing with heartache with his Mother who had Alzheimer's and author takes you in a realistic journey of how hard that is for the family when a family member no longer remembers you. I felt the pain to be honest because I have experienced it with a loved one and the way author written those scenes is one that brought memories back. So kudos to her for keeping it so real because this is where my change of heart for MMC had me rooting for him to get his HEA. Preferably with FMC but by then she was in on her relationship with OM and not interested in patching things up with MMC.
So the ending I liked & disliked at the same time because it reached the crucial point in the story that I was hoping to get somewhere in the middle where FMC finally showed some emotion and empathy towards MMC. This was the point in the story where they finally are kind to each other and say a final goodbye. Just thinking about it, still leaves me in tears because even though I didn’t like FMC in the middle part of how cold & hard she was towards MMC and completely over him (justified as it was), it is still a love story of some sort and I wanted to see her emotions. As I said in the beginning, after she learns about the cheating, she sort of goes numb or something and writes him off. Every call & text he sent her in the beginning, goes unanswered. Every attempt he made to see her to apologize and beg for forgiveness and a 2nd chance, is met with coldness and dismissal. Every sympathy she should have had seeing him suffer at the loss of his mother, was at first dismissed until the end when she sees how hurt and broken he is and decides to give him a final crumb and a goodbye. So yeah, this scene was needed to make me like her again somewhat. And she also gave him forgiveness so that he could move on which was needed because of all his self hatred throughout and because he finally realized he would never get a second chance because she loved OM. In that final scene, she tells him that he was the love of her life and they talk about how they both wished they had those 2 babies they dreamed about. It was a gut wrenching scene and their final goodbye.
Now the ending (Epilogue) is where it lost a star for me because we are shown she moved on and married OM and is very happy with him, but MMC is still single. However, he has a nice talk with an OW who works with FMC (she is her Assistant) and he is looking forward to their next talk which sort of implies that he would be finding love with this OW who is closely connected to FMC but an employee at her work again. I wish it had been with an OW who was not connected to FMC at all.
Anyway, if you want a truly well written cheating trope where it will take you on an emotional journey and have you rooting for one character one moment, to the other in the next and so on, this is the book for you. I never thought I would enjoy a cheating trope, but I made an exception with this one. Well done Author. I will be checking more of your work.
June 8, 2026
2 It was not supposed to be boring⭐️⭐️
Elena and Matt was married and was trying to have a baby, when she finds out he has an affair with her alcoholic and kind of gross boss! 🤮
This is where I was supposed to feel something, anything, but I didn’t. Maybe it’s me. The boss and Matt gave me a case of serious ick.
So no the gut punch for me!
Matt is a serious contender for limp noodle of the year, and my pursuit of feelings, felt like a failed journey early on.😢 Me wiping away my own tears.
So she left and went back to her hometown, back to the old version of herself and spent time, a lot of time with her dad. The problem was I didn’t care. There was nothing wrong with the story, it just didn’t land.
Three years later, she has found a new rhythm. A small-town clinic she's poured herself into and in comes a new man…
Ok I love she left Matt in the dirt and cut him completely out, but it was a drudgery for me to read and it was supposed to be a fast, fun and dramatic palate cleanser.
Should you read it ? Hmmm I don’t know.
Chance of divorce? I can’t say.
Elena and Matt was married and was trying to have a baby, when she finds out he has an affair with her alcoholic and kind of gross boss! 🤮
This is where I was supposed to feel something, anything, but I didn’t. Maybe it’s me. The boss and Matt gave me a case of serious ick.
So no the gut punch for me!
Matt is a serious contender for limp noodle of the year, and my pursuit of feelings, felt like a failed journey early on.😢 Me wiping away my own tears.
So she left and went back to her hometown, back to the old version of herself and spent time, a lot of time with her dad. The problem was I didn’t care. There was nothing wrong with the story, it just didn’t land.
Three years later, she has found a new rhythm. A small-town clinic she's poured herself into and in comes a new man…
Ok I love she left Matt in the dirt and cut him completely out, but it was a drudgery for me to read and it was supposed to be a fast, fun and dramatic palate cleanser.
Should you read it ? Hmmm I don’t know.
Chance of divorce? I can’t say.
December 16, 2025
#cheaterscanalwayssuffermore 😈😈😈
jokes aside she is easily one of my top fmcs in stories like these, stood on business my only gripe why there is no ever revenge f*ck. new mmc is hawt also
jokes aside she is easily one of my top fmcs in stories like these, stood on business my only gripe why there is no ever revenge f*ck. new mmc is hawt also
December 28, 2025
DNF-Wtf! I’m one staring this because the title is purposely misleading. This is not a redemption arc. When you say redemption after betrayal it means the OG couple get back together. Not that the cheating husband redeems himself by taking care of his elderly mother while the fmc finds a new man.
December 11, 2025
This book surprised me a lot.
Usually with a cheating romance I root for the cheater to suffer greatly and the heroine to move on to better things, leaving him in the dust.
This one felt so much more realistic.
It focused way more on life. The hardships, the guilt, the sadness, and how cheating isn’t easy to move on from because you’re mourning your whole idea of the future that will now never be.
The good thing is Elena never thinks about taking back Matt. I liked how she stood strong in that boundary, realizes she’s heartbroken, but found safety and peace in her new love with Caleb and the life she built.
I’m kind of unsure about Matt’s storyline. It made me realize in these books the hero usually suffers and we write him off, but this one had realistic depictions of the aftermath. He’s guilty, lonely, has family issues, and even though I didn’t forgive him, I did find a way to empathize with certain things. (Which I usually never do in these books 😂) I think it helped that Elena never takes him back, but they finally get closure.
It was definitely different than the usual cheating romances I’ve read, and was overall much more sad than i anticipated, but I just for surprising me, I will give it four stars!
Usually with a cheating romance I root for the cheater to suffer greatly and the heroine to move on to better things, leaving him in the dust.
This one felt so much more realistic.
It focused way more on life. The hardships, the guilt, the sadness, and how cheating isn’t easy to move on from because you’re mourning your whole idea of the future that will now never be.
The good thing is Elena never thinks about taking back Matt. I liked how she stood strong in that boundary, realizes she’s heartbroken, but found safety and peace in her new love with Caleb and the life she built.
I’m kind of unsure about Matt’s storyline. It made me realize in these books the hero usually suffers and we write him off, but this one had realistic depictions of the aftermath. He’s guilty, lonely, has family issues, and even though I didn’t forgive him, I did find a way to empathize with certain things. (Which I usually never do in these books 😂) I think it helped that Elena never takes him back, but they finally get closure.
It was definitely different than the usual cheating romances I’ve read, and was overall much more sad than i anticipated, but I just for surprising me, I will give it four stars!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 7, 2025
I wish we had a longer epilogue for the characters to find out more about what happened to them, but I liked that the h didn’t take H1 back and found happiness with someone else.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 12, 2025
Redemption?
Sorry, but what redemption? The husband, Matt, didn’t really redeem himself. He cheated on her, Elena, with Elena’s boss Angela. Who was a drunk. Seriously, Elena had the best speech made to a cheating partner that I’ve seen in a while.
He made the choice to cheat.
Elena meets a new man, Caleb. And there are puppies! Four stars for that alone LOL. 🦮
KU read. I really like this author. This is the third one of hers I’ve read, and I like her style.
Sorry, but what redemption? The husband, Matt, didn’t really redeem himself. He cheated on her, Elena, with Elena’s boss Angela. Who was a drunk. Seriously, Elena had the best speech made to a cheating partner that I’ve seen in a while.
He made the choice to cheat.
Elena meets a new man, Caleb. And there are puppies! Four stars for that alone LOL. 🦮
KU read. I really like this author. This is the third one of hers I’ve read, and I like her style.
December 20, 2025
A different marriage-in-trouble/cheating story that I thoroughly enjoyed. I'm usually always for the OG couple to get their HEA and although I felt Matt redeemed himself I was happy with the HEA that Elena and Caleb got, even though I ended up feeling quite sad for Matt in the end. He was a total a-hole idiot and he owned it.
December 10, 2025
I am not writing a full review because my friend Paula said it best here - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Cheating tropes are not my thing but this one captured my emotions in different ways - good and bad and at the end of the day, when an author can keep you invested in something without wanting to DNF it, it's a win.
PS: For those that feel differently about this book, don't come to my review for debates. I am not here for that and nor am I okay for y'all slamming my friend Paula's review because she liked what she liked. That's too HS behavior for this grown ass woman.
Cheating tropes are not my thing but this one captured my emotions in different ways - good and bad and at the end of the day, when an author can keep you invested in something without wanting to DNF it, it's a win.
PS: For those that feel differently about this book, don't come to my review for debates. I am not here for that and nor am I okay for y'all slamming my friend Paula's review because she liked what she liked. That's too HS behavior for this grown ass woman.
December 18, 2025
Elena and Matt were high school sweethearts who are now married and trying for a baby.
Elena is a veterinarian, and she was an employee of her friend Angela, until a few months ago, when she became Angela's business partner.
But since then, Angela's been drinking a lot and ignoring work admin stuff. Elena has to work late all the time to compensate. One night, she's working late and notices there's been activities on the clinic's CCTV: Matt's been showing up in the middle of the night to have sex with Angela! (They rendezvous there, obviously when Elena isn't there working late.)
Elena takes a copy of the CCTV footage and first confronts Angela, then goes home and confronts Matt. He wants to deny everything, but she plays the video. Matt says Angela acted all sad about her husband (Bryan) getting mad at her for drinking, then Matt started commiserating about how much Elena's been working and how lonely he is. And that's why it eventually escalated to sex, because he was lonely. But Elena is only busy because Angela left all the work for Elena to do. (He never explained why he commiserated with an alcoholic without telling her that her husband is right, she should stop drinking. It's like he doesn't care or think it's a problem or something. It was weird.)
Elena goes back to their hometown (Middlebrook)to stay with her dad. When Angela doesn't tell Bryan about the affair, Elena sends Bryan the CCTV footage. Elena starts helping her Dad at his clinic (he's also a vet). Matt shows up at the dad's house once to ask for a second chance but Elena's not interested.
Angela suggests to Bryan that they can be together now, but he's not interested.
The story skips ahead 3 years. Elena's running her dad's clinic in Middlebrook. Matt is still a cop in the city, and he's been going to therapy to understand why he cheated.
He had told Elena he just wanted to help Angela, and Elena told him that's his problem, the disease to please. He wanted to help Poor Angela so much he was willing to blow up his marriage just to help her, which was really irrational. So in therapy, he deals with learning about the desire to help vs. the desire get recognition for helping. Then his mom gets diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and he has to return to Middlebrook. He gets a job as a Sheriff's Deputy there.
Right around the same time, Elena meets Caleb, a carpenter who brings some puppies to her dad's vet clinic. He's not talkative but he's steady and dependable.
Caleb is her second chance Hero. She doesn't take Matt back, although they do manage to get closure so they can live in the same town without all the tension and angst. But not a lot of time is spent focused on the new relationship with Caleb. A lot of time is spent focused on Matt's mom. She remembers Elena but thinks Matt and Elena are young and still dating, which leads to some difficult and painful conversations.
Elena is a veterinarian, and she was an employee of her friend Angela, until a few months ago, when she became Angela's business partner.
But since then, Angela's been drinking a lot and ignoring work admin stuff. Elena has to work late all the time to compensate. One night, she's working late and notices there's been activities on the clinic's CCTV: Matt's been showing up in the middle of the night to have sex with Angela! (They rendezvous there, obviously when Elena isn't there working late.)
Elena takes a copy of the CCTV footage and first confronts Angela, then goes home and confronts Matt. He wants to deny everything, but she plays the video. Matt says Angela acted all sad about her husband (Bryan) getting mad at her for drinking, then Matt started commiserating about how much Elena's been working and how lonely he is. And that's why it eventually escalated to sex, because he was lonely. But Elena is only busy because Angela left all the work for Elena to do. (He never explained why he commiserated with an alcoholic without telling her that her husband is right, she should stop drinking. It's like he doesn't care or think it's a problem or something. It was weird.)
Elena goes back to their hometown (Middlebrook)to stay with her dad. When Angela doesn't tell Bryan about the affair, Elena sends Bryan the CCTV footage. Elena starts helping her Dad at his clinic (he's also a vet). Matt shows up at the dad's house once to ask for a second chance but Elena's not interested.
Angela suggests to Bryan that they can be together now, but he's not interested.
The story skips ahead 3 years. Elena's running her dad's clinic in Middlebrook. Matt is still a cop in the city, and he's been going to therapy to understand why he cheated.
He had told Elena he just wanted to help Angela, and Elena told him that's his problem, the disease to please. He wanted to help Poor Angela so much he was willing to blow up his marriage just to help her, which was really irrational. So in therapy, he deals with learning about the desire to help vs. the desire get recognition for helping. Then his mom gets diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and he has to return to Middlebrook. He gets a job as a Sheriff's Deputy there.
Right around the same time, Elena meets Caleb, a carpenter who brings some puppies to her dad's vet clinic. He's not talkative but he's steady and dependable.
Caleb is her second chance Hero. She doesn't take Matt back, although they do manage to get closure so they can live in the same town without all the tension and angst. But not a lot of time is spent focused on the new relationship with Caleb. A lot of time is spent focused on Matt's mom. She remembers Elena but thinks Matt and Elena are young and still dating, which leads to some difficult and painful conversations.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 10, 2025
This book was so bad and boring. This is the first time I don't feel anything at all for the cheating husband.
Usually when I read this kind of books I cry a lot, not for the husband but when they talk about their life together, how they met.. it’s sad but in this book I felt nothing, it was so fake and rushed.
He is really the worst cheating husband and the most boring I have ever read because for the others they at least put in more effort than him. This man really doesn't deserve to be happy for me. The only thing that was good in this book was the fmc that's all. There are other books that are so much better.
Usually when I read this kind of books I cry a lot, not for the husband but when they talk about their life together, how they met.. it’s sad but in this book I felt nothing, it was so fake and rushed.
He is really the worst cheating husband and the most boring I have ever read because for the others they at least put in more effort than him. This man really doesn't deserve to be happy for me. The only thing that was good in this book was the fmc that's all. There are other books that are so much better.
December 25, 2025
Really?
Was the whole point was to ensure that AH gets forgiven and a chance at a decent Hea???
Do I care for his suffering or his redemption, such as both were?
Was this why I stuck till the end?
Well, I am still seething - he deserves to be dunked in pig-shit and laid out to dry for eternity.
A childhood sweethearts/ young lovers from a small town, now married (let me guess for 8 years) and living in a big city (don't remember where) - he a cop, and she a vet - and he cheats!
Not a clean somehow-someone cheating (not that is forgivable) but a heartbreaking betrayal of worst kind.
POS!!!!🤬
They are trying for a baby, she's working hard - at work, and at getting them to the life they dreamt of - Sophie and James, the names they picked up for their future kids.
Her friend/ boss is absent and slacking, and the fmc has to carry all the burden alone, doing multiple shifts.
So, two ppl whom she trusts so implicitly - guess what are they up to?
The fmc gets video evidence too.
🤮
From the clinic, late at night - from the fmc's exam room, on her work table!
No hesitation, no guilt.
🤮
This ow is btw an alcoholic - sorry but an older, unkempt, unhygienic/smelly (picture in head), most-times plastered woman is his choice?
🤮
The woman for whom he torpedoed his marriage, career, integrity (huh!), life?
The woman for who he went out and bought condoms for?
🤮
The woman he visits immediately after his wife leaves him - and almost goes in for another round - in for penny, in for some more 'pounds'! No harm since he has already imploded his world, right?
The woman he lets into their/his home just a few days even after his wife leaves him? And there's a suggestion it is not the first time?
🤮
So, FF 3 years.
(8 and 3 are this author's fav numbers for time-gapping.)
The fmc is back in their home town, practicing at her dad's practice.
His parents live their too.
The pos comes slinking back - 'not' hoping for a second chance, but also is ...
A worthy om comes along.
Caleb!
The D-B is still circling - there, not pushy but also not going away.
His thoughts >> he is vaguely, hazily sorry.
Won't ask her forgiveness because he has no right balah blah. Even in his thoughts, he never truly clearly owns up to his SINS imo. We are kinda told that his gloomy, lonely and sorry-ass feelings are enough of a grovel.
I didn't get that straightforward owning up (same lack in the authors' other zeroes too) of each and every moment of sins and betrayals - like how unequivocally wrong it was to break her heart.
So, I did not forgive him even a teeny tiny bit.
The b*tch just vanishes - I needed to see her suffer.
Her husband divorcing her is not enough.
She not only deliberately went after the fmc's husband, but also shirked work causing the fmc to work longer hours. But then also made the fmc invest in her practice, knowing that was doomed, causing the fmc to lose a lot of money.
Was the whole point was to ensure that AH gets forgiven and a chance at a decent Hea???
Do I care for his suffering or his redemption, such as both were?
Was this why I stuck till the end?
Well, I am still seething - he deserves to be dunked in pig-shit and laid out to dry for eternity.
A childhood sweethearts/ young lovers from a small town, now married (let me guess for 8 years) and living in a big city (don't remember where) - he a cop, and she a vet - and he cheats!
Not a clean somehow-someone cheating (not that is forgivable) but a heartbreaking betrayal of worst kind.
POS!!!!🤬
They are trying for a baby, she's working hard - at work, and at getting them to the life they dreamt of - Sophie and James, the names they picked up for their future kids.
Her friend/ boss is absent and slacking, and the fmc has to carry all the burden alone, doing multiple shifts.
So, two ppl whom she trusts so implicitly - guess what are they up to?
The fmc gets video evidence too.
🤮
From the clinic, late at night - from the fmc's exam room, on her work table!
No hesitation, no guilt.
🤮
This ow is btw an alcoholic - sorry but an older, unkempt, unhygienic/smelly (picture in head), most-times plastered woman is his choice?
🤮
The woman for whom he torpedoed his marriage, career, integrity (huh!), life?
The woman for who he went out and bought condoms for?
🤮
The woman he visits immediately after his wife leaves him - and almost goes in for another round - in for penny, in for some more 'pounds'! No harm since he has already imploded his world, right?
The woman he lets into their/his home just a few days even after his wife leaves him? And there's a suggestion it is not the first time?
🤮
So, FF 3 years.
(8 and 3 are this author's fav numbers for time-gapping.)
The fmc is back in their home town, practicing at her dad's practice.
His parents live their too.
The pos comes slinking back - 'not' hoping for a second chance, but also is ...
A worthy om comes along.
Caleb!
The D-B is still circling - there, not pushy but also not going away.
His thoughts >> he is vaguely, hazily sorry.
Won't ask her forgiveness because he has no right balah blah. Even in his thoughts, he never truly clearly owns up to his SINS imo. We are kinda told that his gloomy, lonely and sorry-ass feelings are enough of a grovel.
I didn't get that straightforward owning up (same lack in the authors' other zeroes too) of each and every moment of sins and betrayals - like how unequivocally wrong it was to break her heart.
So, I did not forgive him even a teeny tiny bit.
The b*tch just vanishes - I needed to see her suffer.
Her husband divorcing her is not enough.
She not only deliberately went after the fmc's husband, but also shirked work causing the fmc to work longer hours. But then also made the fmc invest in her practice, knowing that was doomed, causing the fmc to lose a lot of money.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 26, 2026
**Spoilers ahead**
A heads up for readers who like to read about the OG couple getting back together, this is not that book.
Some tough chapters on memory loss where the tears just came without permission. What a heavy subject to write about, and it was written well. I haven’t experienced a family member go through memory loss but I do have aging parents which makes you realise that they won’t be here forever.
I was kinda devo that we don’t get a complete view on how Elena and Caleb’s relationship ends up but we do get his POV and how he sees his future with her, so I guess that’s a consolation?
Matt’s redemption was meh, he suppressed his emotions for Elena for those 3 years. He seemed like he was emotionally stunted and a people pleaser. He also had a saviour complex, which is what got him into trouble in the first place. His cheating was due to him feeling like his life was a chore and being with his wife was like a responsibility he wanted to escape from. There was no grovel, cause he realised she’d never take him back, but cmon. He got his redemption when she forgave him, purely cause she needed to move on too and had to let go of the loss of their love.
Elena was your strong FMC. She confronted the OW and Matt once she found out about the cheating and just upped and left, didn’t give him a chance to explain, cause sometimes, how can you explain the cheating when there were no real issues with your relationship 🤷🏽♀️also cause she knew she couldn’t get passed it. She was a boss by letting the OW husband know. She gave the OW an opportunity to break it to him but she didn’t.
I did get the feels again when Elena confronted Matt about what he took from her and as a result what they both lost cause of his infidelity. The love between them was there and will always be.
We’ve seen nastier OW but this one was just a small selfish manipulator. There was a point where I thought her and Matt would continue their affair after their spouses had left.
Overall I think this book was more about dealing with heartache, learning how to grieve properly while manoeuvring the other issues in your life and ultimately forgiveness. Forgiveness to yourself and to the one who hurt you so you could truly move on and find your happy place.
A heads up for readers who like to read about the OG couple getting back together, this is not that book.
Some tough chapters on memory loss where the tears just came without permission. What a heavy subject to write about, and it was written well. I haven’t experienced a family member go through memory loss but I do have aging parents which makes you realise that they won’t be here forever.
I was kinda devo that we don’t get a complete view on how Elena and Caleb’s relationship ends up but we do get his POV and how he sees his future with her, so I guess that’s a consolation?
Matt’s redemption was meh, he suppressed his emotions for Elena for those 3 years. He seemed like he was emotionally stunted and a people pleaser. He also had a saviour complex, which is what got him into trouble in the first place. His cheating was due to him feeling like his life was a chore and being with his wife was like a responsibility he wanted to escape from. There was no grovel, cause he realised she’d never take him back, but cmon. He got his redemption when she forgave him, purely cause she needed to move on too and had to let go of the loss of their love.
Elena was your strong FMC. She confronted the OW and Matt once she found out about the cheating and just upped and left, didn’t give him a chance to explain, cause sometimes, how can you explain the cheating when there were no real issues with your relationship 🤷🏽♀️also cause she knew she couldn’t get passed it. She was a boss by letting the OW husband know. She gave the OW an opportunity to break it to him but she didn’t.
I did get the feels again when Elena confronted Matt about what he took from her and as a result what they both lost cause of his infidelity. The love between them was there and will always be.
We’ve seen nastier OW but this one was just a small selfish manipulator. There was a point where I thought her and Matt would continue their affair after their spouses had left.
Overall I think this book was more about dealing with heartache, learning how to grieve properly while manoeuvring the other issues in your life and ultimately forgiveness. Forgiveness to yourself and to the one who hurt you so you could truly move on and find your happy place.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 13, 2025
Well written but I hated the resolution
Not a traditional romance. I have enjoyed this author’s books in the past but I get too invested in characters to read any more of her work. Not for me.
Not a traditional romance. I have enjoyed this author’s books in the past but I get too invested in characters to read any more of her work. Not for me.
January 12, 2026
4.5
This was really emotional, but felt very real and very human.
Not your normal romance, but woof did it make me feel things.
The only thing I really didn’t like was who we assume Matt ends up with in the end, simply because she works at the Vet clinic and is friends with Ellie.
This was really emotional, but felt very real and very human.
Not your normal romance, but woof did it make me feel things.
The only thing I really didn’t like was who we assume Matt ends up with in the end, simply because she works at the Vet clinic and is friends with Ellie.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 11, 2026
It was not bad but not exciting also.
Heroine is married and finds out her husband is cheating on her with her boss. She’s a vet, and her boss is married too.
Apparently the hero felt that she was distant and ow was having troubles with her own husband and it happened. Three times.
Heroine confronts ow that is btw, a drunken weirdo.
Then she confronts her husband and leaves.
Divorce. She doesn’t give him the time of the day.
That part I liked, she refused his pitiful excuses and anything coming from him, then she divorced him and moved on with her life in another town.
Three years later the ex is back in her hometown because his mother has Alzheimer, so they meet again.
He is still somehow in love with her but ridden with too much guilt and when he sees her with another man he doesn’t want to disrupt her happiness.
They have a last confrontation where she eventually tells him how much she was hurt and how he shattered their dreams, then she moves on with om.
Ex husband doesn’t try harder, and in the end he made peace with the idea that he’s lost her.
Maybe there will be a new interest for him, but it’s not clear.
So, my thoughts.
It was a hard and painful subject but the way it was dealt with was cold and emotionless.
The heroine and the husband were childhood sweethearts and they were planning a child, maybe there was so,e kind of stress for the child planning since she wanted sex for the pregnancy but it had not yet become a problem, so they should have been ok. The husband decision to cheat was his choice and he could not explain it in any way, he just said it happened and it felt good because it was without the issue of the pregnancy. But imo he didn’t really love the heroine.
There was never a moment where he really regretted losing her, he just kept saying he regretted throwing away their marriage but not that he missed the heroine which shows he didn’t actually cared for her.
This is what I felt.
Then the ow.
She was a basket case, a drunken loser that was losing money in her business and also a shady one.
Ow husband was a nice guy that kept caring for his wife until the heroine sent him the video of ow and her husband having sex. He left ow without even a penny. Good guy.
So, when they met again three years later, ex husband didn’t really try to reconnect, but I don’t know why he kept saying that he wanted to try again with her.
Why?
And after the heroine finds out about the betrayal he still was tempted to have sex with ow a couple of times, he stopped because it was the right thing to do, to because he was disgusted with that he had done and by the ow that was a drunken pitiful woman. Yuck. Ew.
I liked the heroine but I think she didn’t sound very hurt. She didn’t even cry or shattered in the beginning, how could she not, when she and her husband had such a long history? It doesn’t make sense.
But I appreciate that she found another man, a really god and steady guy, and that she moved on with him even if her ex told her he never stopped loving her and wanted her back. But imo it was just his guilt talking, I never felt as if he really missed the heroine, or if he ever thought about her as his other half.
Most emotional part was when it was described his mother Alzheimer, that was really angsty, even more than the cheating.
Heroine is married and finds out her husband is cheating on her with her boss. She’s a vet, and her boss is married too.
Apparently the hero felt that she was distant and ow was having troubles with her own husband and it happened. Three times.
Heroine confronts ow that is btw, a drunken weirdo.
Then she confronts her husband and leaves.
Divorce. She doesn’t give him the time of the day.
That part I liked, she refused his pitiful excuses and anything coming from him, then she divorced him and moved on with her life in another town.
Three years later the ex is back in her hometown because his mother has Alzheimer, so they meet again.
He is still somehow in love with her but ridden with too much guilt and when he sees her with another man he doesn’t want to disrupt her happiness.
They have a last confrontation where she eventually tells him how much she was hurt and how he shattered their dreams, then she moves on with om.
Ex husband doesn’t try harder, and in the end he made peace with the idea that he’s lost her.
Maybe there will be a new interest for him, but it’s not clear.
So, my thoughts.
It was a hard and painful subject but the way it was dealt with was cold and emotionless.
The heroine and the husband were childhood sweethearts and they were planning a child, maybe there was so,e kind of stress for the child planning since she wanted sex for the pregnancy but it had not yet become a problem, so they should have been ok. The husband decision to cheat was his choice and he could not explain it in any way, he just said it happened and it felt good because it was without the issue of the pregnancy. But imo he didn’t really love the heroine.
There was never a moment where he really regretted losing her, he just kept saying he regretted throwing away their marriage but not that he missed the heroine which shows he didn’t actually cared for her.
This is what I felt.
Then the ow.
She was a basket case, a drunken loser that was losing money in her business and also a shady one.
Ow husband was a nice guy that kept caring for his wife until the heroine sent him the video of ow and her husband having sex. He left ow without even a penny. Good guy.
So, when they met again three years later, ex husband didn’t really try to reconnect, but I don’t know why he kept saying that he wanted to try again with her.
Why?
And after the heroine finds out about the betrayal he still was tempted to have sex with ow a couple of times, he stopped because it was the right thing to do, to because he was disgusted with that he had done and by the ow that was a drunken pitiful woman. Yuck. Ew.
I liked the heroine but I think she didn’t sound very hurt. She didn’t even cry or shattered in the beginning, how could she not, when she and her husband had such a long history? It doesn’t make sense.
But I appreciate that she found another man, a really god and steady guy, and that she moved on with him even if her ex told her he never stopped loving her and wanted her back. But imo it was just his guilt talking, I never felt as if he really missed the heroine, or if he ever thought about her as his other half.
Most emotional part was when it was described his mother Alzheimer, that was really angsty, even more than the cheating.
December 13, 2025
This book honestly reminded me of Jona Leigh's Unfaithful. Not because the author did something as bad as Leigh, who seemed to actively cheer on the cheater and try to make him look like a victim. But there was a similar, upsetting feeling here.
The main problem is that the character who cheated got too much space in the story. It felt like the author spent a huge amount of time on his feelings, his reasons, and what his future would look like. It made him feel like the most important person in the book, even though he was the one who caused the pain.
Then there is the wife's new romance. Her relationship with the new person felt very shallow and just friendly and lacked real, deep connection. This is the second similarity to Leigh's book, where the betrayed person's new relationship also felt flat and unbelievable. It seems like a pattern where in these kinds of stories, all the real emotion and story energy stay focused on the destructive, old relationship and the person who broke it, leaving the victim's journey to happiness feeling weak and unimportant.
I am not accusing the author of anything, but I do want to point out a depressing trend I see a lot in books lately. It seems like some authors are too protective of the cheaters. They really do not want them to face any lasting consequences for what they did. This book felt the same way, especially when it suggested the cheater was also going to move on with someone new. Why spend so much time redeeming a cheater and glossing over wife’s new romance?
Let's be clear,Cheaters are emotional abusers, plain and simple!!When authors write stories where the person who cheated is given so much positive attention, and so few real consequences, while the victim's own story is weak, it feels like they are making bad behavior seem normal.
The last book I read where the wife ends up with a new guy and gets her happy ending was 'I still love you but...' by Ashleigh on Wattpad. Honestly, the revenge part on the cheater was a bit over-the-top for me, but I absolutely adored the wife's new romance! Despite some of its flaws, I really, really liked that book.
I like the writing style of this author so will definitely look more of her books but this one didn’t work for me at all...sorry
The main problem is that the character who cheated got too much space in the story. It felt like the author spent a huge amount of time on his feelings, his reasons, and what his future would look like. It made him feel like the most important person in the book, even though he was the one who caused the pain.
Then there is the wife's new romance. Her relationship with the new person felt very shallow and just friendly and lacked real, deep connection. This is the second similarity to Leigh's book, where the betrayed person's new relationship also felt flat and unbelievable. It seems like a pattern where in these kinds of stories, all the real emotion and story energy stay focused on the destructive, old relationship and the person who broke it, leaving the victim's journey to happiness feeling weak and unimportant.
I am not accusing the author of anything, but I do want to point out a depressing trend I see a lot in books lately. It seems like some authors are too protective of the cheaters. They really do not want them to face any lasting consequences for what they did. This book felt the same way, especially when it suggested the cheater was also going to move on with someone new. Why spend so much time redeeming a cheater and glossing over wife’s new romance?
Let's be clear,Cheaters are emotional abusers, plain and simple!!When authors write stories where the person who cheated is given so much positive attention, and so few real consequences, while the victim's own story is weak, it feels like they are making bad behavior seem normal.
The last book I read where the wife ends up with a new guy and gets her happy ending was 'I still love you but...' by Ashleigh on Wattpad. Honestly, the revenge part on the cheater was a bit over-the-top for me, but I absolutely adored the wife's new romance! Despite some of its flaws, I really, really liked that book.
I like the writing style of this author so will definitely look more of her books but this one didn’t work for me at all...sorry
April 18, 2026
I don't get enough sleep bcz of this 😭😭 girl you need to write more. I need to cry at least 4 times a month. It similar with Wall by Cate C. Wells. Husband cheating bcz pressure to have a baby. BUT... Thank God Fmc don't take him back.
⚠️Warning some spoiler⚠️
Like:
🩷 Angst. Oh the pain. I cry when fmc found the video of her husband and her boss fucking in her work place! Not once but twice! Some people complain that she's too cold but I think that's what gonna happen if you watch the whole betrayal. Yes 3 minutes each videos. She watched it all.
🩷 Satisfying confrontation. To OW and to husband. She's so good at making argument so they can't hide behind the word mistake or just happened.
🩷 I love how husband go panic after that. He became OCD. Cleaned the house over and over again so it ready when Fmc come home. She's not.
🩷 Karma for OW. Husband rejected OW. Tempted to fix her, bcz he's a fixer. But no he kicked her out. She's just gone. It's not that satisfying. But knowing she divorced with his husband and has no financial support, it makes me feel better.
🩷 Karma for husband. He's back to his and Fmc hometown. Watching Fmc fall in love again with real H. His mom have dementia. Suffering bcz she would be by his side if he never cheat.
🩷 Of course I love that Fmc never take him back.
Don't like:
💢 Husband not actually grovel. Yes he's suffering but all he did was buy flower, clean thei house and came to Fmc parent house once. Not enough effort for someone fucking wife's boss 3 times.
💢 New H, Caleb is a good guy. I like him. But Fmc is the one who takes initiative. She pushed him to asked her for a date, she kiss him first. At least she's not the one who said I love you first.
💢 There's a hint ex husband move on. I don't need to read that. At least give us a warning so I can skip that part. And the woman Is Fmc's coworker, again, ironic 🙄 I don't want cheater get happy ending. I'm petty like that.
⚠️Warning some spoiler⚠️
Like:
🩷 Angst. Oh the pain. I cry when fmc found the video of her husband and her boss fucking in her work place! Not once but twice! Some people complain that she's too cold but I think that's what gonna happen if you watch the whole betrayal. Yes 3 minutes each videos. She watched it all.
🩷 Satisfying confrontation. To OW and to husband. She's so good at making argument so they can't hide behind the word mistake or just happened.
🩷 I love how husband go panic after that. He became OCD. Cleaned the house over and over again so it ready when Fmc come home. She's not.
🩷 Karma for OW. Husband rejected OW. Tempted to fix her, bcz he's a fixer. But no he kicked her out. She's just gone. It's not that satisfying. But knowing she divorced with his husband and has no financial support, it makes me feel better.
🩷 Karma for husband. He's back to his and Fmc hometown. Watching Fmc fall in love again with real H. His mom have dementia. Suffering bcz she would be by his side if he never cheat.
🩷 Of course I love that Fmc never take him back.
Don't like:
💢 Husband not actually grovel. Yes he's suffering but all he did was buy flower, clean thei house and came to Fmc parent house once. Not enough effort for someone fucking wife's boss 3 times.
💢 New H, Caleb is a good guy. I like him. But Fmc is the one who takes initiative. She pushed him to asked her for a date, she kiss him first. At least she's not the one who said I love you first.
💢 There's a hint ex husband move on. I don't need to read that. At least give us a warning so I can skip that part. And the woman Is Fmc's coworker, again, ironic 🙄 I don't want cheater get happy ending. I'm petty like that.
December 12, 2025
it was just ok. Something about the writing. The h finds out her husband and boss are having sex. She leaves him pretty much right away. I liked the strong fmc. No waivering, no waffling, he crossed a line she left. simple. That part was good. The husband was an idiot. He threw away his marriage for drama. The ow wasn't worth it, I mean at all. His reasons for cheating weren't believable. He had a savior complex? that was enough to destroy his marriage for a drunk drama mess of the ow? it didn't make sense. He also had unprotected sex the first time in a car. it was just odd. It just didn't make sense to me. By all accounts the sex sounded very boring to me and then he just comes home and gets into bed with his wife and he hardly had any remorse because he does it again only this time at her place of work. It just was off to me. He was only sorry he got caught. Like I said there were things that just didn't add up in the writing and maybe it was the style of writing or when books are ai assisted you don't get the emotional details that you normally would.
the fmc gets an hea with someone new. It left me feeling like the author missed some stuff sith that too, although it was sweet. But the fmc was basically ready to write off relationships all because of her ex husband and that was stupid. Caleb could have been fleshed out more. We never heard from the ow again. There were some other inconsistencies. No real epilogue. The ex husband was miserable for awhile and I also didn't want him to have an hea in his old hometown and it sort felt like that might be implied. The gut punch of the fmc finding out about the cheating was emotional and brutal but after that the angst went away. It was meh. Not sure, but based on the others by this author I probably won't check them out.
the fmc gets an hea with someone new. It left me feeling like the author missed some stuff sith that too, although it was sweet. But the fmc was basically ready to write off relationships all because of her ex husband and that was stupid. Caleb could have been fleshed out more. We never heard from the ow again. There were some other inconsistencies. No real epilogue. The ex husband was miserable for awhile and I also didn't want him to have an hea in his old hometown and it sort felt like that might be implied. The gut punch of the fmc finding out about the cheating was emotional and brutal but after that the angst went away. It was meh. Not sure, but based on the others by this author I probably won't check them out.
January 26, 2026
4 ½ Stars
This was a great book. I love a good cheating/betrayal story and this one delivered.
The story doesn't follow the same pattern that most do in this genre and I appreciated that. The FMC is strong, independent and knows exactly who she is. I read a few reviews that said she was cold and heartless but I didn't see her that way. She was devastated and blindsided by her husband's betrayal and I honestly loved how she dealt with it.
Now some possible spoilers ahead.
I actually felt sorry for the MMC by the end and appreciated that there was a possibility for his HEA in the future. I honestly wouldn't mind reading about it. He messed up big time but I felt like he redeemed himself in the end.
I typically like to read about the couple working things out and wasn't sure if this book was heading in that direction or not until a few chapters before it ended. I wasn't disappointed with how everything turned out I was just unsure what path we were going to end up on.
I felt like the ending was a little rushed and kind of abrupt. We had this epic moment between Elena & Matt where they both finally get closure. We have Matt's last chapter and are given a glimmer of hope that he's going to be okay. Then we just go to the epilogue. I just felt like it needed a few more chapters. I'm glad Elena and Caleb ended up together but thier relationship was so new...it just didn't feel like they were at the happily ever after part yet.
Anyway, I really liked this book and it was a pleasant surprise. I took off ½ a star because I felt like the story needed a little more at the end.
This was a great book. I love a good cheating/betrayal story and this one delivered.
The story doesn't follow the same pattern that most do in this genre and I appreciated that. The FMC is strong, independent and knows exactly who she is. I read a few reviews that said she was cold and heartless but I didn't see her that way. She was devastated and blindsided by her husband's betrayal and I honestly loved how she dealt with it.
Now some possible spoilers ahead.
I actually felt sorry for the MMC by the end and appreciated that there was a possibility for his HEA in the future. I honestly wouldn't mind reading about it. He messed up big time but I felt like he redeemed himself in the end.
I typically like to read about the couple working things out and wasn't sure if this book was heading in that direction or not until a few chapters before it ended. I wasn't disappointed with how everything turned out I was just unsure what path we were going to end up on.
I felt like the ending was a little rushed and kind of abrupt. We had this epic moment between Elena & Matt where they both finally get closure. We have Matt's last chapter and are given a glimmer of hope that he's going to be okay. Then we just go to the epilogue. I just felt like it needed a few more chapters. I'm glad Elena and Caleb ended up together but thier relationship was so new...it just didn't feel like they were at the happily ever after part yet.
Anyway, I really liked this book and it was a pleasant surprise. I took off ½ a star because I felt like the story needed a little more at the end.
May 21, 2026
The Way Back
Grace Mitchell
Rating: ⭐
Rating System (as of 5.8.26):
⭐: DNF/Almost DNF
⭐⭐: Had Potential. Fell Short.
⭐⭐⭐: Good. Something Was Missing.
⭐⭐⭐⭐: Great Book. Strong Overall Story.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: Loved. Reread Worthy. Recommend.
—-------------------
Tropes/Vibes:
💕MF Romance
💕Grovel to Betrayal
💕Fertility Issues
💕On Page Cheating
💕Divorce
💕New MMC
💕Law Enforcement
Triggers:
🚩On Page Cheating
🚩Dementia
Spice Level (as of 5.8.26): 🔥🔥
🔥: Clean
🔥🔥: Mild
🔥🔥🔥: Spicy
🔥🔥🔥🔥: Very Spicy
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥: Explicit/Kink-Heavy
—----------------------
Quote From Book:
I should have known Elena wouldn't just cry and crumble.
Writing Style Rating: Simple
Simple: Flows Quickly/Easy Reading
Descriptive: Lots of Imagery/Detailed
Lyrical: Feels Poetic/Pretty Sentences
Heavy: Dense/May Have to Reread Sentences
Pace Rating: Medium
Slow: Takes Time to Build
Medium: Things Move Steadily
Fast: Things Happen Quickly
—-------------------------
Summary:
FMC and MMC are married and trying for a child. FMC discovers that the MMC has been having an affair with her boss. New MMC.
Review:
I DNF this book. The premise was good. I have read other books by this author. However, this one did not keep me engaged and I really tried. I just felt the pacing of the story left me bored.
Want to read this for yourself? Grab your copy here:
Kindle: https://amzn.to/4tLdhgV
Paperback: https://amzn.to/4usDP7L
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Join the community and read with me: https://bibliodarling.substack.com
Grace Mitchell
Rating: ⭐
Rating System (as of 5.8.26):
⭐: DNF/Almost DNF
⭐⭐: Had Potential. Fell Short.
⭐⭐⭐: Good. Something Was Missing.
⭐⭐⭐⭐: Great Book. Strong Overall Story.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: Loved. Reread Worthy. Recommend.
—-------------------
Tropes/Vibes:
💕MF Romance
💕Grovel to Betrayal
💕Fertility Issues
💕On Page Cheating
💕Divorce
💕New MMC
💕Law Enforcement
Triggers:
🚩On Page Cheating
🚩Dementia
Spice Level (as of 5.8.26): 🔥🔥
🔥: Clean
🔥🔥: Mild
🔥🔥🔥: Spicy
🔥🔥🔥🔥: Very Spicy
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥: Explicit/Kink-Heavy
—----------------------
Quote From Book:
I should have known Elena wouldn't just cry and crumble.
Writing Style Rating: Simple
Simple: Flows Quickly/Easy Reading
Descriptive: Lots of Imagery/Detailed
Lyrical: Feels Poetic/Pretty Sentences
Heavy: Dense/May Have to Reread Sentences
Pace Rating: Medium
Slow: Takes Time to Build
Medium: Things Move Steadily
Fast: Things Happen Quickly
—-------------------------
Summary:
FMC and MMC are married and trying for a child. FMC discovers that the MMC has been having an affair with her boss. New MMC.
Review:
I DNF this book. The premise was good. I have read other books by this author. However, this one did not keep me engaged and I really tried. I just felt the pacing of the story left me bored.
Want to read this for yourself? Grab your copy here:
Kindle: https://amzn.to/4tLdhgV
Paperback: https://amzn.to/4usDP7L
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Join the community and read with me: https://bibliodarling.substack.com
May 12, 2026
Jesus this book was another thing. I don't even have the words to express how good this was. And I was not expecting that ending but I have my heart completely fulfilled, seriously.
I couldn't ask for a better love story. The main characters are amazing. Despite what the H did at the very start that made occurred all the events, he had an strong personality and he was so cute. I couldn't avoid feeling bad for his pain. And the h what can I say? She is amazing. Her personality was so strong and I loved how just she was. She did what she said. She is it. Love her.
Even tho I loved this book I gotta say that this book needed WAY more pages. This is the shorter book by Grage and I truly believe that the story needed more development. So does the h and all the side characters. It needed more to feel full. But it was beautiful.
Just to add, it is annoying the readers writing shit like 'he doesn’t deserve a hea' bruh, even Elena moved on, you move on too. He did a mistake and he's paying the prize and will do for the rest of his life. Can he not be happy? And it is very hypocritical because when it comes about books when the h cheats on the H everyone is like YEES!!!!! LOBA!!! ATEEE but when is the H who cheated they want him to die so bad. 🫠🤢🤢🤢 check that out sisters.
I couldn't ask for a better love story. The main characters are amazing. Despite what the H did at the very start that made occurred all the events, he had an strong personality and he was so cute. I couldn't avoid feeling bad for his pain. And the h what can I say? She is amazing. Her personality was so strong and I loved how just she was. She did what she said. She is it. Love her.
Even tho I loved this book I gotta say that this book needed WAY more pages. This is the shorter book by Grage and I truly believe that the story needed more development. So does the h and all the side characters. It needed more to feel full. But it was beautiful.
Just to add, it is annoying the readers writing shit like 'he doesn’t deserve a hea' bruh, even Elena moved on, you move on too. He did a mistake and he's paying the prize and will do for the rest of his life. Can he not be happy? And it is very hypocritical because when it comes about books when the h cheats on the H everyone is like YEES!!!!! LOBA!!! ATEEE but when is the H who cheated they want him to die so bad. 🫠🤢🤢🤢 check that out sisters.
December 11, 2025
There is no way the wicked guy in the beginning is the same guy as in the end. He was literally enjoying cheating on her and even after being caught he was contemplating continuing it with OW.
There is no way the guy with the kindest heart who wanted to make life better for everyone would do something like this to the only person who mattered to him. Makes zero sense.
OW called him out on it too, since he had no problem cheating but didn’t allow her to talk bad about his wife. Psycho much? 😵💫
Maybe it would’ve been more realistic if it wasn’t fully cheating. Maybe if she came on to him or even catching him off guard and kissing him and him pushing her away. Together with the backstory of him texting OW can still be enough for this plot and could give them an opportunity to reconcile.
This book had no point. He should’ve just been a side-character and Caleb should’ve been the MMC.
The funniest sentence in the book was him thinking that he had two minutes to save his 8-year marriage, but it didn't even take him a second thought to destroy it. 🤯
No use in crying over spilled milk!
There is no way the guy with the kindest heart who wanted to make life better for everyone would do something like this to the only person who mattered to him. Makes zero sense.
OW called him out on it too, since he had no problem cheating but didn’t allow her to talk bad about his wife. Psycho much? 😵💫
Maybe it would’ve been more realistic if it wasn’t fully cheating. Maybe if she came on to him or even catching him off guard and kissing him and him pushing her away. Together with the backstory of him texting OW can still be enough for this plot and could give them an opportunity to reconcile.
This book had no point. He should’ve just been a side-character and Caleb should’ve been the MMC.
The funniest sentence in the book was him thinking that he had two minutes to save his 8-year marriage, but it didn't even take him a second thought to destroy it. 🤯
No use in crying over spilled milk!
December 17, 2025
i honestly really liked that she never went back to him, stood her ground, built her life from the ground up that HE destroyed for his own selfish and honestly pointless reason. there was no reason honestly. he was just looking for the thrill no matter how much he acknowledges that it was all his pointless mistake. i guess it’s kind of a bonus that the author humanized him. because these life wreckers are everywhere in our day to day lives. could be your brother or your best friend idk. he was a piece of shit but not the worst pos, he kinda acknowledged that too so bonus points. liked caleb more than mmc. he felt kind of like a cardboard tho. everyone did. even fmc wasn’t so fleshed out but i like that she had a backbone. the writing was stale but readable. enough to get me through the story. anyw it was so-so, i only read it cus someone in the reviews was REALLY passionate abt it and whats 200+ pages 😭
overall it was okay, despite the fuckass ai cover :’) what is that honestly
overall it was okay, despite the fuckass ai cover :’) what is that honestly
December 13, 2025
What happens when your happy is destroyed in one night when you discover your husband is have sex with your boss? You even have video evidence. This is what happened to Elena and Matt. She is devastated and immediate leaves Matt. Matt is confused but knows he has no chance with Elena again. Elena returns to her hometown to take over her father’s vet practice and to start a new life. Matt also returns home 3 years later to help his dad with his sick mother. How Elena and Matt handle this situation is the rest of the story.
Eliana is a wonderful character, strong and resilient. She finds her way after her life is destroyed. She even finds a new love. Poor Matt still wants a second chance but doesn’t know how to approach Elena. Both have to find new lives and a way to move forward. A great read.
Eliana is a wonderful character, strong and resilient. She finds her way after her life is destroyed. She even finds a new love. Poor Matt still wants a second chance but doesn’t know how to approach Elena. Both have to find new lives and a way to move forward. A great read.
December 22, 2025
A new author to me and a different grovel book with a twist in the HEA. I did enjoy the book, a couple of things that didn’t work. Angela and Matts affair didn’t add up - although the author never mentioned age; Angela was described as a woman failing in business, at marriage and life, she was an alcoholic and the times Matt-slept with her she was described as drunk with make up smeared, hair wired and just not attractive at all in my imagination she is older and haggard, so him sleeping with someone like that didn’t really seem believable. The author alluded briefly to Angela doing it with an ulterior motive. It would be more believable if she seduced Matt to blackmail him to invest in the failing practice or make sure Eleana did. Lastly the ending with Lucy from the practice and where it was heading did not seem right to me a bit cringe and just rubbing salt into the wound.
February 17, 2026
Hate the AI cover but the book is good (I don't feel it's AI but I could be wrong, now it's a damn disease, AI is everywhere).
Loved the heroine and how she never put an ounce of doubt in herself for her failing marriage. Her husband cheated, she confronted him and the OW (I wish her comeuppance was worse, she got like 10 lines!) and left. Loved that. She didn't care about his excuses, about how he loved her, she shut him down and went on with her life. Found a great man to be in love with.
The cheater, I hated him in the beginning but he changed a lot (this I wonder if it was AI the change in him was so fast), I had a hard time connecting the cheater and the man.
I won't lie I like that he had to see his ex-wife found love while he was struggling because he was still in love with her.
Loved the heroine and how she never put an ounce of doubt in herself for her failing marriage. Her husband cheated, she confronted him and the OW (I wish her comeuppance was worse, she got like 10 lines!) and left. Loved that. She didn't care about his excuses, about how he loved her, she shut him down and went on with her life. Found a great man to be in love with.
The cheater, I hated him in the beginning but he changed a lot (this I wonder if it was AI the change in him was so fast), I had a hard time connecting the cheater and the man.
I won't lie I like that he had to see his ex-wife found love while he was struggling because he was still in love with her.
July 2, 2026
Reading this was like watching a movie !
You could see the scenes, see the light, the scenery, feel the rain, smell the wet dog and taste the heartbreak.
Its not a shouting screaming high octane adventure of a story but it crashes in to you and devastates you then slowly warms you up through to your soul and builds you back up again filling you with powerful wonderful feelings and hope for the future.
It didnt finish up the way I thought it would, it was way better. The rosebush analogy really resonated as did the relationship with Caleb. Loved it!
Thoughtfully and masterfully written, magnificently crafted a real heartbreaking and heartwarming tale that touches you on so many levels especially with real gentle warmth and love at its core.
I highly rate and recommend this book. Thanks for the seemingly effortless hard work x
You could see the scenes, see the light, the scenery, feel the rain, smell the wet dog and taste the heartbreak.
Its not a shouting screaming high octane adventure of a story but it crashes in to you and devastates you then slowly warms you up through to your soul and builds you back up again filling you with powerful wonderful feelings and hope for the future.
It didnt finish up the way I thought it would, it was way better. The rosebush analogy really resonated as did the relationship with Caleb. Loved it!
Thoughtfully and masterfully written, magnificently crafted a real heartbreaking and heartwarming tale that touches you on so many levels especially with real gentle warmth and love at its core.
I highly rate and recommend this book. Thanks for the seemingly effortless hard work x
December 5, 2025
She Should Have Forgiven Him
Poor guy. Manipulated by a narcissist drunk. Tortured by an unforgiving vindictive self-pitying wife. This is no redemption. She's the one who threw away the relationship of years over a brief human mistake - even brief betrayal. She rejected therapy and talking it out with him. Healthy processing? She just wanted to wallow like a martyr surrounded by people who only enabled her. Her therapy answer was to totally shut him out and throw herself into work and the next relationship? Ol' Caleb better watch his p's and q's. No sympathy for this cold unforgiving whining woman. The little rain scene at the end is not redemption. Where is the grace, Grace? You should have made Matt more bad and unlikeable in order to truly vindicate this woman.
Poor guy. Manipulated by a narcissist drunk. Tortured by an unforgiving vindictive self-pitying wife. This is no redemption. She's the one who threw away the relationship of years over a brief human mistake - even brief betrayal. She rejected therapy and talking it out with him. Healthy processing? She just wanted to wallow like a martyr surrounded by people who only enabled her. Her therapy answer was to totally shut him out and throw herself into work and the next relationship? Ol' Caleb better watch his p's and q's. No sympathy for this cold unforgiving whining woman. The little rain scene at the end is not redemption. Where is the grace, Grace? You should have made Matt more bad and unlikeable in order to truly vindicate this woman.
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