What We Choose

by M.J. Allen

PAUL
I cheated on my fiancée.

Sophie and I were building our future. In love, happy, peaceful. Then she found a lump in her breast, and I made the worst I numbed my fear by sleeping with someone else. My worst mistake and my biggest regret. Now I see Sophie around town with him. She's radiant and laughing with people who actually show up. I'm trying to learn how to be a man who does. If she lets me, I'll spend the rest of my life proving I can choose her when it's hardest. If she lets me...

SOPHIE
I thought the promise was in sickness and in health.

But he buried his fear in someone else. On the same night, I walked into a bookstore and met the gentle giant owner, who invited me to his book club full of misfits.

I'm laughing again, I'm smiling more than I ever have, and I'm healing my heart.

My bookstore owner keeps showing up like it's as easy as breathing. I don't know what the future holds; I don't know if I'll win this battle against cancer, but I do know I'm done wasting time on people who love only when it's easy.

CALLUM
She came into Rivers & Rhodes Bookstore and asked for books with happy endings only.

I gave her a recommendation, an invitation, and an offer of friendship. Now, this beautiful, brave woman is completely under my skin. I'm not here to win a competition against him. I'm here because choosing someone, second by second, is the only way I understand love.

Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Friends To Lovers

694 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 31, 2025

About the author

MJ Allen is a contemporary romance author who loves writing about strong, kind heroines and the men who adore them. Her stories explore mental health, emotional intimacy, respect and loyalty, and women’s empowerment.

When she’s not writing, MJ can be found spending time with her husband in their New Jersey town with their two cats.

Reviews

[Mora · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was such an emotional ride! It made me laugh, cry, and even get frustrated at times. It’s heartwarming and sweet (maybe a little cheesy), yet some parts were heartbreaking. It’s quite long (over 900 pages) so I got a bit bored here and there, but overall, it was an enjoyable read.


What to Expect:

✔️ The MMC1 cheats on the FMC after her cancer diagnosis
✔️ The truth comes out early (he confesses in chapter two)
✔️ FMC meets a new MMC (and he’s absolutely incredible)
✔️ A sweet and heartwarming romance between the FMC & MMC2 (most of the book is about them)
✔️ The cheater and his mistress get what they deserved
✔️ HEA for the FMC & MMC2


⚠️ Very Important:

The FMC has breast cancer throughout the entire book, so the story follows her journey with the disease. There are a few chapters that include the chemotherapy, and the fatigue that comes with it. This may be a sensitive topic for some readers, so please make sure you know what you’re signing up for.



SPOILERS‼️
•
•
•
FMC: Sophie
MMC1/Ex-fiancé: Paul
MMC2: Callum
OW: Elise


— The MMC1 (Paul):

I’ve read about a lot of pathetic, loser “MMCs,” but Paul… he takes it to a new level.
Paul and Sophie had been together for six years, happy and in love, until Sophie was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was scheduled to have a double mastectomy, and even with all the pain and struggle she went through, she was still kind and cheerful, and was always the one comforting her fiancé, trying to make him feel better.
But Paul was selfish and pathetic and only cared about himself. He made Sophie’s illness and suffering all about him. At some point, he just couldn’t handle it anymore and started complaining to everyone—his family, and friends. They told him that he and Sophie would get through it together, but that wasn’t what he wanted to hear.
Eventually, he found the words he wanted to hear from a coworker, Elise. He had an emotional affair with her for a few months and told her everything about Sophie’s cancer and what he was going through. He found comfort with OW and never opened up to Sophie about his fears. The OW kept telling him that he deserved rest and happiness too, and that he should put himself first.
After a few months, he decided to cross the line and pursue her, and they started sleeping together. Since then, they’d been having an affair for two months. He developed some feelings for OW and was constantly comparing her to Sophie—how she was healthy and had perfect breasts.
His “reasons” for cheating:
- He said he cheated because he was worried about Sophie and scared she might die, and the OW was his escape.
- He didn’t like the fact that Sophie was going to have a mastectomy, and that was a problem for him, so he found someone else with perfect breasts instead of fighting for the person he supposedly loved.

“The thought slices in, jagged and so fucking cruel. Sophie’s body sliced open, breasts gone, drains and scars. The image of her perfect chest carved away.
Right behind it is Elise and her perfect body.
Elise with no ports or scars or poison running through her veins to kill cancer cells.
I hate myself for it, for even letting the comparison exist.”

He enjoyed cheating and didn’t really feel guilty while doing it. When he finally reached the point where he couldn’t handle Sophie’s disease anymore, he told her that he had been cheating on her for two months with Elise, and that he had feelings for his mistress. He also told her all the awful reasons for his cheating, including that he was struggling with the fact that she wouldn’t have breasts anymore.

“So, when you were going to the bar with Brian and Chris, you were..."
"With her," I whisper. Relief I don't deserve slips in—two seconds of air—followed by agony. Her face—oh God—Sophie's perfect little face folds in devastation.
The look breaks me, and the words shoot out of me unbidden. "Sophie... I was scared, and you were so—everything was so serious, and Elise—she... she let me—just—god—breathe for a second. Because I just... needed something easy."
The word makes me sick, and I force it out anyway. "She was... there. She listened and... with her, there wasn't cancer."
The betrayal cracks her face even more, "You were talking about my cancer with her?"
"Yes."
"Since the beginning?"
"Yes.”

“And the surgery—losing your breasts—it's—" My voice drops, useless, and I choke out through a closed throat. "That's… it's a problem for me."
Silence detonates like a bomb between us. I hear the clock, the refrigerator hum, my heart slamming against my ribcage.
And Sophie...
Sophie looks wrecked, absolutely wrecked.

Sophie kicked him out immediately and told him it was over. He left as fast as he could, with some pathetic tears, lame apologies, and telling her that he loved her. He never fought for her, and he told her about his cheating just to get rid of her, because he knew she wouldn’t stay with him after that.
That same night, he moved in with his mistress, and they started having sex like rabbits, which went on for three weeks. He felt relieved because he no longer had to hide.
Thankfully, the author spared us the sexual details with the OW, so there’s nothing graphic besides kissing, but it still gives me the biggest ick.

“It was easy to allow myself to escape into the fantasy Elise had been crafting for a cancer-free, worry-free life. A fantasy of us being together fully.
A fantasy of leaving Sophie because that was the right thing to do, since I was cheating on her. I would free both Sophie and me from the shackles of this relationship. I would free myself from this fight against cancer, which I was wholly unprepared for.
I did the one thing she would never forgive me for, and I can’t think about it anymore without my stomach twisting itself into an agonizing knot.”

Anyway, my blood boiled during MMC1’s chapters, especially at the beginning. Then he just became the most pathetic thing I’ve ever read about.


— The FMC (Sophie):

My heart broke for her when she heard the awful reasons why her fiancé cheated on her. She thought she had found the right man who would be there for her in the tough times, but it turned out he was just a selfish loser who loved himself more.

“The way he said Elise was easy and there—that's why he had sex with her.
He confided in her about my cancer, and she helped him breathe.
As if I were the one suffocating him.
The implication in his words was clear as day.
Elise is beautiful, easy, and comforting.
I'm difficult, sick, and inconvenient.
And the worst part—the part that knocks the air out of my lungs if I think about it too hard—is that I have to get my breasts cut off because they're literally killing me, and that's a problem for him.
Apparently, over the last six years, he didn't actually fall for me—the person with thoughts and hopes and feelings—just the package. The soft curves and the comforting routine I could provide for him.
But Sophie, the person? She's not enough without her tits and health.”

Over time, as her feelings for him started to fade, she realized their relationship had always been one-sided. She gave everything to the relationship, while he didn’t really do anything for her. But I’m happy that this experience didn’t leave her shocked or afraid of relationships, or drowning in sadness over a man who didn’t deserve her. Sure, she loved her ex-fiancé with all her heart but that didn’t stop her from setting a goal to find love again with a better man (go for it, girl!).

Luckily, she moved on fast 🤣.
She’s always been softhearted but strong, and she’s still the sweet, smiling woman she’s always been, despite all the terrible stuff that happened to her. It’s great that she found MMC2 during the hardest times of her life and finally felt what it’s like to be loved and wanted for who she really is.


— The MMC2 (Callum):

He is perfect book-husband material ❤️.

On the same day Sophie’s world fell apart and her fiancé dumped her, she met Callum, the library owner. He was so amazing, kind, and thoughtful, and there was an immediate attraction between them. It was so nice to see how he made her laugh in a way she never had before, especially on the worst day of her life. Then he invited her to join his book club, and that’s how their friendship started.
The connection between them was good. I loved seeing their easygoing dynamic, the banter, and how they became best friends. He looked out for her and took care of her. It was so wonderful to see him supporting her and always being there, especially during the toughest times. He carried her in his arms, showing her that someone who truly loves her will be there through both the good and the bad.

PS. I loved every time he blushed 🫠.

“Callum Rhodes has completely changed my life, not with grand gestures, but with his gentle smile and steady presence. He stayed, he listened, he cared. His support let me find my own way, while he held the light so I could see ahead.”

— The FMC’s new friends:

Sophie met them at MMC2’s book club, and they became close. There are a lot of them, so you might forget some names at first, but they’re all amazing and supportive. The part where they were coming up with ways to kill her ex was funny 😂—one of them was actually the reason MMC1’s life was ruined.


— The MMC1’s family and friends:

Paul’s family really loved Sophie and treated her like one of their own. When his mom found out he cheated, she was so mad at him and told him how ashamed she felt of him. But he had the nerve to act like the victim, then he went on blaming his mom for not raising him to handle stuff like this. (He didn’t take any responsibility for his cheating and put all the blame on the FMC and his mom).

My mom is staring at me just like Sophie did—like I'm a stranger. Like I'm not the boy she gave birth to, not her son of thirty-three years.
It hurts.
The woman who's supposed to love me unconditionally is looking at me with such potent disappointment.
"You didn't raise me to deal with this kind of thing, Ma," I say, my voice somewhere between accusation and confession.
She blinks and something shifts in her face—her anger folding inward, turning quieter, sharper. "You're blaming me?"
"No—yes—I..." I bite the words out, frustrated, stumbling over the truth like broken glass. "I'm saying... maybe if you hadn't always shielded me from everything, I'd know how to handle this. I've never had to deal with this before, with any of this. You're healthy, dad is healthy, everyone in our family is healthy and cancer-free, and I just didn't know what to do, I didn't know how to act... I don't know how to be the man Sophie needs right now.”

I liked that Paul’s parents told Sophie she would always be like a daughter to them and that they’d support her. They didn’t make any excuses for their son, and they didn’t try to convince Sophie to forgive him or get back together to him.

He also lost the respect of his friends, and they were all disgusted with him. It was hilarious how he showed up with his mistress as his “new girlfriend” and shocked everyone, lying about the cheating… but they eventually found out. He kept trying to make them believe he was the victim, that he suffered while Sophie was sick, but everyone just called him out on his nonsense, which he totally deserved.

“Sophie is the one who has to suffer through cancer," he bites out, "and instead of standing beside her, instead of holding her hand and being the man who loved her—the man you claimed to be—you slept with someone else?"
"I wasn't happy!" I yell, louder than I meant to. I feel the shift, the sudden stillness of the bar as the dam breaks.
“I was miserable and drowning, and none of you helped me!" I rant, sounding half-crazed. "All you kept telling me was to hang in there and be there for Sophie. I was doing that, and I was terrified. I was so fucking scared, I was drowning in it, and none of you helped me..."
Everyone is looking at me, and Elise places her hand on my arm, trying to get me to calm down. I feel as though I'm choking, yet I'm the one tightening the noose around my neck.
Brian stares like he doesn't recognize me. "Because, Paul, it wasn't about you," he says slowly, like he doesn't think I'd hear it otherwise. "You weren't the one with cancer.”

— The karma & MMC1’s regrets:

⇒ In the first 40% of the book:

Three weeks after abandoning Sophie, Paul didn’t really feel any regret. He kept trying to convince himself that he had made the right choice and that he had feelings for OW. He moved in with her, slept with her constantly, went on dates, and bought her gifts. He said he still loved Sophie, but he didn’t actually care about her or even check on her, even though he knew she had surgery and had started chemotherapy. He also never stopped comparing the two women, noticing how different they were. He was completely immersed in all this to escape responsibility for his cheating and the fact that he had broken Sophie’s heart.
Then his world turned upside down, and he lost everything—his family, his friends, the respect of others, and his job. He no longer had a home either (he and OW were kicked out of her apartment). After all this happened, he realized his mistake: he hadn’t truly loved OW and had always loved Sophie. He felt regret and guilt for what he had done to her. But actually, he didn’t like the “consequences” that followed his cheating, and he didn’t like that he was no longer the golden boy in everyone’s eyes. He also realized that OW was just a manipulative person who had used him for his reputation and money, but by then, it was too late, and he was no better than her, since he had used her too, so both of them deserved each other.


⇒ After 40% :

He saw Sophie by chance for the first time since the breakup and she was glowing and happy without him. She was also with Callum, and they were intimate and happy together… he felt jealous, lost, and he even puked. The fact that Sophie was looking at Callum in a way she never looked at Paul made it even more satisfying.

“In my nightmares, that image of her and Callum looking so at ease with each other on her birthday plays on a loop. I had pictured Sophie alone on her birthday, maybe at the apartment, talking to Tess on the phone.
Instead, I stood outside that bookstore and watched the love of my life, happy with another man, my parents, and a group of people, all celebrating her.”

“the way they looked at each other keeps taunting me.
It was intimate, like they existed in their own little world, and it cuts me right to the bone. Her giving him that teasing look, him kissing her hand, her smiling at him like he's her hero, him gazing at her like she's everything...
I had that. I had her.”

This time, he truly felt regret and started to realize that he had ruined the best thing that ever happened to him because of his ego. Now, he had to face the consequences of his bad choices alone. He couldn’t stop thinking about Sophie or how good they were together, and he admitted that cheating on her was his biggest regret.
So, he took responsibility for what he did and started seeing a therapist to change himself and work through his issues.
If anyone thought he was going to try to win Sophie back or fight for her, that never happened.
First, he was completely consumed by self-pity, and everyone told him it was better for him to stay away from her, so he did.
Second, he believed he didn’t deserve her (which was true), so he kept his distance.
In the end, he finally got his shit together and apologized to everyone. His relationships with his family and friends were restored, and then he met Sophie, apologized to her, and they got closure.
He decided to move away and start over somewhere else, partly because he couldn’t stand seeing Sophie and Callum together.
At some point in the story, I stopped caring about him, so it really didn’t matter what happened to him or whether he changed or became a better person.
Honestly, I enjoyed the scenes where he cried his heart out because Sophie was happy with another man. It was satisfying to watch his successful life fall apart and see him leave the town he had loved because of his selfishness and bad choices. He got exactly what he deserved, and that was enough for me.
______

Book info:

— H (32) / h (29~30)
— Multiple POVs:
* FMC (21 chapters from her POV)
* MMC1 (10 chapters from his POV)
* MMC2 (11 chapters from his POV)
* OW (3 chapters from her POV)
— Second chance in love (she finds the love of her life/soulmate)
— Strangers to friends to lovers (H2 & h)
— So sweet, thoughtful, and caring MMC2
— Found family
— Small town


Safety:

➥ (H2&h):

— Past/experience:
⤷ The h had a healthy and active sexual past.
⤷ She had two boyfriends before her ex-fiancé.
⤷ She has been celibate for a few months (maybe around three or four months).
⤷ The H2 had limited experience (sexually and in dating), and the h got some of his firsts.
⤷ He had a few girlfriends in the past but he didn’t stay with anyone for long. Also, he had never loved anyone before the h.
⤷ He has been celibate for a couple of years.
— OW:
After the H1 abandoned his mistress, she tried to seduce H2. But unlike H1, he didn’t give her any attention at all. When the h told him that the OW was her ex’s mistress, he got really mad and put OW in her place.
— No cheating/scenes with other people
— HEA ❤️ (12 years later with a daughter)


➥ (H1):

— Cheating (no sex scenes of him with OW)
— No HEA:
Six years later, he’s still trying to move on in a different place. His relationship with his parents and friends has gotten better, and he found a new job, but he never really got over the h and still misses her. He even has nightmares about the day he broke her heart. He tried dating, but he kept comparing every other woman to her, so he ended up sticking to casual relationships. Maybe he moved on with his life, but he lost the love of his life, and I don’t think he’ll find love again, or at least not like what he had with the h.
I also loved the scene when he ran into the h for the first time after those years. Seeing her happy, healthy, and even pregnant was a painful reminder of everything he lost

“Sophie’s left hand—fingers painted that soft, light pink she always loved, two rings glinting on a very deliberate finger—rests protectively over her very pregnant belly.
A complicated mix of feelings runs through me—jealousy, regret, bitterness, disappointment, hurt, and heartbreak—all swirling together until I feel dizzy. And I have no right to feel a single damn one of these things. I haven’t seen her in six years.
Of course, she’s grown an entire life inside that time.
She’s living the future I once envisioned for us... the one I could have given her if I hadn’t destroyed everything. Little boys and girls with my eyes and her smile. We had plans—our wedding, maybe start trying for a baby on the honeymoon, then come back to buy a house here in Starling Cove.
We would start our life together.
Then I ruined it with my carelessness, with my cowardice. I made choices I will regret until I die.”

Trigger :

— The h has breast cancer
— Loss of loved one (the H2’s father - past)
— Parental neglect (the h’s parents - past)

[Jen ♥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/10. Loved it! 🥹🩷

[Irene]

please read my friend mora's review, im too disorganized to write it rn, i agree with her review completely one thing i will add is way way more OW than i would have liked esp in detail.


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

[Aleksandra [semi hiatus] · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 but I’m rounding up, obviously

it would literally be so perfect, but it was waaaaaay too long… because, seriously, what’s the point of monologues lasting pages?? most of those paragraphs could be cut out, since they were about nothing 🥴

I wasn’t interested in Paul’s chapters at all. like, okay, I’m glad to see him getting his karma (as he should), but those chapters could be shorter (and appear less)
and meanwhile Elise’s (OW) story was interesting, it could be shortened to one, max two chapters

sometimes the book was also quite repetitive, and I didn’t enjoy some of the flashbacks, and how often the author chose to go back to tell about sth that happened, when the plot had already moved forward

BUT

the story was great, that didn’t bore me, I was bored by those long paragraphs;
I loved the main and most of the secondary characters;
romance between the fmc and the mmc was everything;
Callum ❤️;
I also loved Sophie’s journey when it comes to her breast cancer, I felt moved often

overall, it is such a good book!!! I just wish it was shorter

(and please go read Mora’s wonderful review if you haven’t already done it: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)

[Carrie Dozier · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this on Wattpad and I really like this author!
She has 2 other WIP that I’m following and they are good as well…like I said on another review, I’m really into betrayals right now and this fits the bill.
This poor girl gets devastating news and what does her bf do….cheats on her😡
I love that she doesn’t take him back and gets a new H. The new H is just wonderful🥰It does drag at times but this book was just so real to me. If you have ever had someone you love go through chemo or diagnosed with cancer this one really hits hard😢
Cheating fiancé or bf 🤮
Disgusting ow😡
New H❤️
Cancer😢
Very HEA❤️🥰

[Capt.]

tbr: my girl mora did a wonderful review! the story is right up my alley

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

[Nikki ღ Navareus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man, this story had some seriously gutting parts in the beginning. The way Brad dumped Sophie was so brutal and devastating. It was angsty and gutting and I got all the feels I craved and more. It was....

My favorite part of this story was when idiot Brad and his skank whore Elise decided it would be a great idea to go hang out with his and Sophie's friends at the groups' favorite bar, and surprise the friends with his new budding relationship. It didn't turn out the way Brad had planned as his friends were utterly and fully repulsed and disgusted by his cheating on Sophie during such a horrific time in her life. His friend Maude verbally went after Paul and Elise like a rabid badger, shredding the two scumbags for being the disgusting pieces of shit humans they both were. It was an epic take down and made me want a loyal friend like Maude. I would read that part again and and again and again!

I loved Sophie's journey and the new group of friends (FAMILY) she found. Her new man Callum was a sweetie pie. A bit of a beta sweetie pie, but such a nice guy.

My only problem with this story is that it was SO LONG, and the second half was so drawn out that it started to become a little boring.

That being said, I did get the angst I crave and the story was solid, with an amazing HEA for our heroine and her new man.

[LaBlue · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was amazing in the betrayal, angst, recovery and romance plot line. I personally don’t like cancer in any books I read for many reasons and this hasn’t changed my preference on that. While the cancer is the catalyst for everything that happened to the FMC in this book it was also an idealized portrayal of a smooth and successful cancer journey. Which I felt trivialized it a bit. The author absolutely put a lot of heart into this story. There was so much depth of characters and subject matter. Deep dives into each character’s choices and their own struggles. It was just so great to read this book and I honestly can’t wait for more by this author.

This book has four POV’s. It opens to the FMC going over her cancer treatment options. She is doing this with her then fiancé/OM right next to her in his POV. He is struggling and she is comforting him while his thoughts are ping ponging back and forth over her, her cancer, and his guilt over his betrayal with the OW, and a lot of thoughts on the sex he has had and is eager to get back to with the OW. It’s a lot going on in his head here. Once the FMC is done with her planning he blurts out his thoughts and it is revealed his affair and all his truly heinous feelings towards what the FMC will have to go through to hopefully save her life and how he can’t handle it. This was rough and I cried but I loved the pain of it all. The author was truly stellar here!

So the FMC kicks him out, breaks down, gets help from her long distanced sister and starts to prioritize things so she can stay focused and positive while she continues the worse fight for survival experience anyone could ever have. She also meets the MMC on this same night. It was one of a few points in the book that was so ridiculously contrived. I mean it’s absolutely possible to meet the love of your life on the worse day of your life but I would have preferred if it had been a few days later IMO. Just saying.

The book then plays out as the MMC is struck on first sight over the FMC. We get his POV which I throughly enjoyed because he is absolutely book boyfriend goals! lol. Anyway, it continues on with the FMC meeting a bunch of sweet side characters and revealing her diagnosis and her betrayal to the MMC and company and this sets up a wonderful yet unrealistic immediate support system for the FMC’s upcoming struggles. We then get back to the cheating now ex-fiancé/OM and his utter stupidity when his family finds out what he did. When some people fuck up they definitely follow the premise of “Go big or go home!”, which is what he did with his mother next. The things he said had me laughing at how hilariously absurd it was. I loved his betrayal of his parents because it was so epically insulting.

Obviously, he goes to live with the OW. It was a choice that felt like not a choice but this author does an amazing job of exploring this numbnut’s non-choices and his active choices and I loved all of his POV chapters. I wished there had been more even though he wasn’t the MMC. His story is/was so good. We see him spiral because of the fear he felt at the cancer diagnosis for the woman he deeply loved. But it’s slowly revealed that even if the cancer hadn’t come up he was a flawed person who was already straying emotionally on the FMC with the OW. The cancer situation just made him act sooner than he probably would have. He was selfish and a weak willed person. He had a childhood quasi friendship with the MMC that revealed the same flaws he still had as an adult that would have always been an issue if the cancer had not blown him up for all to see the choices he makes.

Honestly, his character was so interesting to read because he was so shocked at himself for his poor decisions. Like he really couldn’t believe who he was being. He did have another semi betrayal scene with his college friends next when he tried to act like nothing had changed except the OW was now substituted for the FMC in their friend group. I LOVED how they all chewed him and the OW out for their actions. It was such a delightful comeuppance scene. That’s when his situationship with the OW really ended for me. He thought his friends would just ignore his bad behavior and stand by him, to support his struggles with the cancer diagnosis and they didn’t. That means he not only lost the FMC, his parents, but now his friends too. The next day his final remaining straw was the loss of his job alongside his reputation.

I could go on and on about this characters story arch but it really is worth reading for yourself.

As for the FMC/MMC, the story around them is sickeningly sweet. I enjoyed every second of it even though it came off as too fast in a short time frame all while the cancer treatment was happening slowly but rushed at the same time. It’s really hard to explain this, lol. So much was happening but it really was all happening in like two weeks to a couple of months. I have to say time continuity felt off in this book. They met, she started her treatments, they hang out/date, he gives her rides to her treatments and other cancer support, she starts losing her hair, she is having self image trauma but her new friend group and her ex’s family are all helping her in numerous ways so she gets over all her feelings easily and healthily. The MMC/FMC become an official couple. They have sex on a night of a fundraiser gala for cancer patients. It’s all very romantic and sweet, exactly what a romance should have.

The FMC then falls deathly ill and they all have a heartbreaking moment when the ex fiance is called in because he was still listed as her emergency contact with the hospital. It was such an OTT dramatic scene for the purpose of adding a little excitement to this story that it felt forced even though it was very well written. This all gets resolved easily but the angst and anger from the MMC having to deal with the cheater/OM still having a position of authority in the FMC’s life over him was so good to read.

Anyway, the rest of the FMC’s cancer journey is time skipped over but apparently has no further bumps in the road and she is cured with no lasting side effects. Yay! This is why I felt the cancer story was trivialized and used primarily as a plot device. It was absolutely pivotal for the purpose of being the catalyst for all the betrayals by the ex fiancé, and it was great on helping the FMC move forward with her life with the new mindset that life is too short to stay traumatized by one man’s failures in a relationship with her. But the use of the cancer was definitely underwhelming for the reader. Which I totally appreciate! It was vital for this story without completely becoming the story even though it was in a lot of the story too. Again, another thing I can’t explain well.

The FMC/MMC get their HEA and at least one kid in a six(?) year epilogue. I can’t remember how long later it was and while I could go and check for this information it really isn’t relevant so I won’t bother with it. The OM gets a lonely life because I don’t think the author wanted him to get over himself. Like his character accepted that he had messed up and that he had huge character flaws, but instead of moving on to someone else and doing better next time, he just fixated on the FMC being the one that got away and he just didn’t want to let her go. In this one area I was disappointed with the author. There was so much positivity in this book for nearly everything that I felt like this is one place it needed it. I felt that he damaged himself so much that he was basically a pariah from his family and home town. He could have still grown from his failures. He could have had a family as well. Also, I truly didn’t feel like a selfish person like him would have stayed single for long, let alone have lived a life of lonely self reflection or hung up on his own fuck ups. It was just out of his character is all I’m saying.

The OW was the last POV we got and she was just such a sad vile person that I could have done without it. She ends up not growing as a person and basically, fades to black, dies. I really wouldn’t have figured that out based on how this chapter reads if it wasn’t for the author putting a disclaimer on it being a suicide scene. It just left me with the question, what was the point of her POV’s? It served no purpose to the story other than trying to make her the “villain” of the story, when she really wasn’t. She was just the NPC the cheating/OM used to blow up his life with. If it wasn’t her or the cancer it would have been something or someone else eventually. The cheating ex fiancé/OM was the only villain here. He was the villain to everyone including to himself. Especially to himself. So the OW’s POV’s were completely unnecessary and honestly can be skipped unless you like morbidity.

As I mentioned at the very beginning I can’t wait to read more by this author. I will probably reread this book because I loved so much about it. I’ll try to add highlights the next time around. So if you like romance with cheating ex’s and cancer survivors then this is for you.

Enjoy! :-)

On wattpad as midnightbluewriting.

[Snafuzled · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this one! It had the gut punches and FMC rising from the ashes trope in spades. This author did an admirable job in actually making me feel bad for the cheating ex (who I hated at the start of the book). I never wanted him and the FMC to get back together, but I couldn’t help but to feel bad for him. He knew he ruined the best thing in his life and had serious trauma over it. I honestly feel bad for any woman he gets with in the future because Sophie will certainly be the ghost that haunts him for life. It was sad. But the new MMC is amazing. Callum is the best book husband material I’ve read in a long, long time. I had this on KU, but also bought it for my perma shelf… the highest praise I can give.

[Izzie d · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay.
I really liked this one..... but.
Possible triggers for some as the heroine has cancer and the story at times does focus on that, fortunately its a successful story for her but obviously not a subject for everyone depending on experiences in life.
I think what made it so enjoyable was the Hero, new man for the heroine, he is amazing.

It's multiple POV. Hero heroine, cheating ex and other woman. Predominantly the Hero and heroine.

HEA.

Lots of potential for stories from the small town.

[Erin · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was SO long, repetitive and bland. Our MFM Sophie is a perfect angel who’s never done anything wrong or has any character flaws. Her HEA Callum is similar, despite extensive bullying has no bitterness or hard feelings towards his bullies because of it and is searching to recreate the perfect marriage his parents had.

The ONLY characters that resemble humans are the villains. Paul, Sophie’s fiancé who cheats on her at the beginning of the book, spends the rest of the book in therapy to understand his character flaws. Elise, the OW, was the most interesting character to me and the only reason I finished this book. I was hoping to get some resolution on her storyline but that never came. The last time we see her, Elise is sitting on a beach, getting drunk after having lost her job, her home, her affair partner and just learning that her father has died and left her no inheritance. She has no friends, family or money. Her childhood was built on betrayal and lies and we can see exactly why she has become the person she is. Does she walk into the ocean? Does she pick herself up and turn her life around? We’ll never know because the author doesn’t see fit to tie up her storyline, even though we learn about how many kids every tangential friend of the couple has in the epilogue.

Actually I think I would like to amend my characterization of Sophie, if she does have a character flaw it’s the same as many women in America today; settling for a manchild who wants a bangmaid and not an actual partner. She does eventually realize it and doesn’t settle with Callum, who treats her like an equal, so good for her I guess.

I will commend the author for her mostly accurate portrayal of cancer treatment. I appreciated the storyline where Sophie catches a cold and ends up in hospital; too many times these stories about cancer treatment ignore the zero immunity patients have and portray them gallivanting about, fulfilling bucket list items with no consideration for the fact that they would most likely end up sick doing it.

So no, I didn’t enjoy this book, I don’t recommend it.

[Amy Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ — emotionally devastating in the best way, but this book absolutely could’ve lost 75–100 pages and been even stronger

Listen.

I love messy cheating books.
I love betrayal.
I love angst.
I love grovel.

But what I REALLY love is when a book understands that sometimes the cheating itself is not even the most devastating part.

Sometimes the devastating part is realizing:

“Oh. This person was only capable of loving me when life was easy.”

And THIS book understood that perfectly.

So Sophie and her fiancé Paul are planning her cancer treatment. Literally sitting at the table trying to organize meal prep schedules, appointments, treatment timelines, survival logistics… and this man decides THAT is the ideal moment to confess he’s been cheating on her with a coworker.

SIR?????????

Not only that — we later find out he basically started cheating the moment her health situation became real. Not after months of caregiver burnout. Not after years of struggle. No no no.

This man heard:

“There might be something wrong.”

And immediately folded like a lawn chair.

Absolutely pathetic behavior.

And somehow it gets WORSE because during the breakup he starts saying things about how she’s going to lose her hair and maybe lose her breasts and how that changes things for him physically.

JAIL.
PRISON.
THE DUNGEON.
Straight into the medieval oubliette.

What I loved though is that the book never tries to soften what he did. Not once. Nobody around Sophie is sitting there going:

“Well relationships are complicated 🥺”

NO.
Everyone is correctly like:

“This man is actual raccoon behavior.”

THANK YOU.

And then… we get Callum.

Sweet merciful heavens.
CALLUM.

This giant soft bookstore owner who basically sees Sophie wandering into his bookstore emotionally shattered and immediately goes:

“I would like to gently care for this woman for the rest of my natural life.”

The chemistry between them worked SO well because it wasn’t instalove in the shallow sense. It was emotional safety. Presence. Consistency. Callum just keeps showing up for her over and over and over again in these quiet meaningful ways that made my chest hurt.

And the BOOKSTORE???
The BOOK CLUB???
The quirky found family of emotionally feral readers???
I wanted to move in immediately.

Honestly this entire friend group felt like being wrapped in a weighted blanket.

And I adored that Sophie’s healing wasn’t presented as:

“New man magically cures trauma.”

No. She’s still terrified. Still sick. Still grieving. Still angry. Still trying to survive treatment while her entire future has exploded. But now she has people around her who actually SHOW UP.

That becomes the whole emotional core of the book:

love as action.
love as consistency.
love as choosing someone every day even when things are ugly and hard and scary.

Meanwhile Paul is over on the sidelines slowly realizing he detonated his entire life because he was afraid.

And honestly?
His chapters were painful in the best way because there’s no dramatic excuse for what he did. He wasn’t secretly abused. He wasn’t manipulated. He wasn’t trapped.

He was weak.

That’s it.
That’s the horror.

And the book KNOWS IT.

One of my favorite details was that even Paul’s parents were basically like:

“You absolute idiot.”

THEY chose Sophie too.
They still brought her food.
Still checked on her.
Still loved her.

Which honestly made everything hurt more because it reinforced that Sophie really WAS lovable and easy to stand beside during hardship. Paul simply failed the test.

Massively.

And then there’s Callum — this enormous book-loving cinnamon roll with hidden venom when it comes to protecting Sophie.

There’s a scene where the affair partner shows up at the bookstore and tries to flirt with him and OH.
OH THIS MAN.

Normally he’s sweet and gentle and patient and emotionally intelligent.

But the SECOND he realizes who she is???
This man verbally turns into a cobra.

Delicious.
No notes.

BUT.

This is where the missing fifth star comes in for me.

This book was emotionally HEAVY and sometimes it stayed in those emotional beats just a little too long. There were definitely sections in the middle where I started feeling:

“Okay I understand the emotion now, we can move the plot forward a little.”

Not because the writing was bad — the writing was actually very good — but because the emotional intensity was so constant that eventually I just wanted the story to breathe for a second.

Sometimes when a book hurts this much, you start desperately needing the relief part of the healing arc. I found myself wanting to fast-forward just a little because I needed everyone to finally get to the hopeful parts and let me emotionally unclench.

A tighter edit honestly would’ve made this a five-star read for me.

But even with that, the emotional moments LANDED. Sophie shaving her head. The wig shop scenes. The article about women being abandoned during illness. The nurse warning her early on that statistically this happens to women all the time — and Sophie thinking:

“Not MY relationship.”

That part hit like a truck because it’s real.

This book could have easily become misery porn, but instead it somehow stayed hopeful without minimizing how cruel the situation was.

And the romance itself felt mature in a way a lot of angst books don’t. Callum wasn’t trying to “win” Sophie from Paul. He wasn’t competing. He simply loved her intentionally from the very beginning and kept proving it through actions.

Also this man owning a bookstore dedicated to happily-ever-afters while loving a woman terrified she might not get one herself???

EXCUSE ME.
WHO ALLOWED THIS.

By the end I was emotional, furious, soft, happy, and ready to fistfight Paul in a Walmart parking lot if necessary.

Which honestly is exactly what I want from this genre 😭

[I’m a Paula too… Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is seriously intense…

The blurb actually tells you a lot. Paul is Sophie’s fiancé. They met in college and have been together for six years. But she finds a lump, and chemo etc. follow. Paul feels stress and decides that in order to deal with that, he’s going to bang another woman, Elise.

And then he tells Sophie that he’s been cheating. Seriously, this guy needs a brain transplant. Abby Normal, anyone?

Naturally, Sophie ends the engagement and breaks up with him. And she’s going through chemo. Paul is a total loser… Anyway, she stops in a bookstore and there she meets Callum. Who I adore!

There are multiple POVs including Elise. Turns out that she comes by her ways naturally, as her mother was a predatory woman, taking her father away from his first wife by getting pregnant. And she taught Elise how to steal men by taking advantage of them. Elise is a spoiled little bitch, caring nothing about anyone else except herself.

KU read, extremely well done. This is a keeper.

[Hey Lin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t have time for a long review, but for an almost 700 page book, I was never bored or reluctant to continue reading!

Starts off with a girl who is starting her cancer journey, journaling in her doctor’s appointments and her then fiance tells her that he has been cheating on her. She, smart girl, breaks up with him and on her worst day ever, she goes into the new H’s bookstore and meets her new love.

There’s no instalove here but a genuine friendship but the attraction is there. She’s navigating a breakup, cancer diagnosis, etc and he realizes that he will be there for her in any way that she wants him. But she finds new love with him and he’s there for her every step of the way while the old fiancé has to live with the consequences of being a numb nut shithole.

The only thing that made me roll my eyes a bit was them calling each other “my otter” and how everything worked out so perfectly for them after they decided to be a couple.

It was a good read and had some teary moments, even for my dead heart ♥️

[Feriel B · Rating 4 out of 5]

the monologues were a bit too long, and too many unnecessary characters but great writing and a beautiful story

[Callie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is about Sophie, who feels her world is crumbling when she gets cancer and then finds out her fiance cheated on her because he couldn’t take it.

She faces her future with bravery and finds a new support system and love of her life.

This story had a lot of elements I liked but it was so long! The first time I thought oh this is cute and will wrap up soon, I looked and saw I was only 50% in. 😂

For the positives, I liked Sophie’s bravery, Callum was an elite book boyfriend, and there’s a lot of cute romance moments.

For the negatives, as I mentioned it was super long. I don’t think we needed so many chapters of her ex-fiancee or some other details that felt repetitive.

I was happy to see them get their happy ending!

safety: mention of parent death in the past, heroine has breast cancer and they mention chemo, radiation, mastectomy, etc.
romance wise: her ex fiancee cheats on her in the beginning, but the new hero is unwavering and only has a little relationship experience

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

It deserves more than 5 stars

At the beginning of the book I cried and by the end I was smiling. Sophie was so strong and brave. Callum oh he was a dream. I also absolutely loved the side characters especially Tonya she was one of my favorites. Especially with what she did to Paul and Elise.

I don't want to say too much as I think you should go into this book without spoilers.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet second chance with a new H. Read this on Wattpad before it was published on Amazon

[Michelle David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Angsty but good

I had so many emotions and feelings while reading this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I hope the author writes more. Especially our friends in Starling Cove.

[Sabahat · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is more a 2.5 but I'll rate it a 3 mostly because what let it down for me was the length of the book. From reading other reviews it looks like this was a Wattpad book which explains the length. Fanfiction gets away with being longer because of the way it's released in installments, but it doesn't work often with published fiction especially in contemporary. Had this book been condensed down it probably would have been more enjoyable, because I remember being really into it and feeling like I had been reading forever only yo find out I was at less than 50% of the book.

I really like the cast of characters we have including the secondary ones and I enjoyed all 4 of the POV characters we got. They all had a distinctive voice and feel to them which is always a good sign of strong characterization. Paul was interesting because you're inside the head of a man who has done something horrific and has these delusional excuses he holds onto to justify cheating on his sick partner, and throughout the book you get to watch those crumble away whilst he gets to the heart of what the actual issue was and work on it. Elise was also really interesting and it was really refreshing to get a look into her past and the complexities of what made her into who she is and what she does. I feel like too often authors write of these other women as inherently evil seductresses who led the poor little man astray but it was clear they were both complicit in this affair. I do wish we could have seen where she ended up though after hitting rock bottom because her story after could be a book.

Sophie and Callum were great but truthfully they didn't feel as interesting because they didn't have any tangible flaws. Sophie you could give a break because of the cancer thing and being cheated on at her most vulnerable, but Callum felt a little too perfect. I am absolutely not going to complain about Callum being a romantic lead who is actually a romantic at heart and hasn't slept his way through his small town they way it seems like every other hero has, but he needs something for him to grow through to truly make him work. Callum is someone who idolizes his father and the relationship his parents had before he passed and he doesn't want to settle for anything but that kind of love. Maybe have it be that he's had long term relationships before but because he's holding himself and the relationship to an impossible standard things have never worked out because he thinks it's something he'll stumble into or find some day and not something he needs to build. Also, he's been intimate with other women but never gone down on one before? Not very feminist king of you there buddy.

The best part of this book was how the author portrayed the cancer story line. It truly felt like a life changing force to Sophie and not something that's a blink and it over story line. The scenes where she loses her hair had me feeling the devastation like I was the one going through it.

The first meeting between Sophie and Callum was adorable and so funny. Truly had me giggling and cheesing at the kindle.

[Sofia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reader Note 💕
I’m romance-focused and particular about relationship dynamics. I always flag cheating, OWD/OMD, and romantic scenes involving other people so readers can decide if the book fits their comfort zone.


⭐ Rating: 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📚 Genre:

📃Brief summary : This book is about Sophie's journey with being diagnosed with breast cancer, going through treatments, a mastectomy, dealing with infidelity by her fiancé, and ultimately recovering, finding a new perfect man and a found family.
✍️ Overall Thoughts : A masterpiece of a story

👥 Main Characters
💃 FMC
• Name: Sophie
• Personality: Resilient , kind hearted, smart
• Character Growth: 2/5 only because she didn't really need character growth
• Did I like her? Yes

🕺 MMC
• Name: Callum
• Personality: Protective, sweet, gentle, supportive
• Character Growth: 3/5, his journey with Sophie made him open up more but he was perfect from the start
• Did I like him? Yes

🕺 OM/ Sophie's cheating ex
• Name: Paul
•Personality : Delusional that's all i'm going to say
• Character Growth: 4/5 by the end of the book he did grow alot and understood how deeply wrong he was
• Did I like him? No, even with all his redemption journey

💃 OW
• Name: Elise
• Personality: Cunning, manipulative,
• Character Growth: 0/5
• Did I like her? No
🧠 Relationship Dynamics
• Chemistry: 5/5
• Communication: Good
• Relationship Development: Midium
📚 Plot
• Pacing: Slow
• Engagement: Engaging
• Originality: 4/5
🖋️ Writing Style
• Writing Quality: 4/5
• Style: Descriptive
• Focus: Monologue-heavy
🚨 Content & Safety
• Cheating: Yes but not between the MCs
• Other Women Drama (OWD): Yes the womn that Paul cheated with also tried to seduce Callum but he rejected hard
• Other Men Drama (OMD): Yes, Paul wanted Sophie back
• Romantic Scenes with Other People: Yes in the sense that we get flashbacks of Sophie's past with Paul before he cheated. but none in the present timeline
• Other people after meeting/ being together : No
• Virgins or Experienced: No Virgins. Sophie was more experienced than Callum, he said he has been celibate for years and only had a couple girlfriends in college ( for reference he is in his 30s)
❤️ Tropes & Vibes
• Tropes: Friends to lovers, found family
• Vibes: Sweet, Emotional, Cozy, Angsty
✅ Final Verdict : I really enjoyed this book, BUT i feel like the emphasis on making Elise the " real" villain, did not sit well with me. after paul realized his huge mistake, he was portrayed as a victime of Elise's manipulation, which he was. but it was only because he CHOSE to.
Would I recommend? Yes

📅 Read Date:25/ 02/2026

⚠️Note:
My content is not criticism of the book or author. It exists solely to help readers make informed choices based on personal boundaries.

[Amber Reese · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a frustrating read for me because the story itself is actually beautiful, but the execution made it incredibly difficult to stay engaged.

The book is very long, and unfortunately much of that length is filled with repetitive scenes, internal reflections, and interactions that don’t really move the plot forward. Important emotional moments often feel rushed, while everyday moments are stretched out far longer than they need to be. I found myself skimming large sections just to get to the parts where something meaningful actually happened.

The premise has a lot of potential. The story deals with heavy themes like illness, betrayal, and healing, and there are multiple POVs that explore the aftermath of the cheating and how the characters move forward. In theory, that should create a complex and emotionally powerful narrative.

In practice, though, the pacing completely drains the tension.

Sophie and Callum are almost too perfect, which made it difficult to feel invested in their relationship because there’s very little conflict or growth between them. Meanwhile, the cheating ex (Paul) gets a large portion of the narrative devoted to his emotional journey after the betrayal, but without the kind of tension or redemption arc that might make that storyline truly compelling.

There’s also a POV from the mistress with a backstory that feels very cliché and doesn’t add much to the overall narrative.

By about 70% I was mostly skimming because the story felt very predictable. I kept hoping for some kind of twist or development that would bring new energy to the plot, but it never really arrived.

The ending is exactly what you would expect: Sophie and Callum get married, she beats the cancer, they have their happily ever after, and Paul eventually moves away and continues living with the consequences of what happened.

Overall, the themes and emotional ideas behind this book are strong, but the pacing and structure made it feel far longer than it needed to be. With tighter editing and more focus on the central story, this could have been a much more impactful read.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super Super Sweet Story

There is a little too much of everything. Sophie is too sweet and perfect. She literally has no faults. Callum is too perfect a boyfriend he also has no faults. Paul is very remorseful from the beginning, even while he is actively cheating. Elise is super horrible. There is an over abundance of expressions of love, infatuation, awe, regret, betrayal, remorse, grief. It gets to the point where as a reader I was like I get it everyone thinks Sophie is amazing, and Paul is scum, and Elise is horrible, and Callum is great.


I got tired of re-reading about how Paul cheated and betrayed Sophie. Even after Sophie and Callum became official, Paul and his cheating kept coming up. Callum was perfect from day one and Sophie still wondered if he could be just like Paul. It got boring.

I skimmed more than half of the book. The characters would go off on these random mental tangents about already-expressed thoughts or feelings at the worst time like in the middle of a convo. It was too many instance where I had to flip back to see what question was asked and who asked it to warrant answer given 2-3 pages later.

Overall the story isn’t bad especially if you need a pallet cleanser after a dark read. It has that gut-punching betrayal factor, but Paul and Elise get their just due and there is a significant amount of groveling and remorse with a heartwarming HEA. The story is a feel good read. I just think that things could have been scaled down some so the story didn’t drag on so long and get boring and still seem realistic.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay wow I did NOT expect to see this book on Goodreads. I had blindly added this to my TBR thinking I found a hidden gem. Turns out the hidden gem was my own terrible memory because I already devoured it on Wattpad and let me tell you, it is a FUCKING DOOZY.

This story is a full meal. You get a delicious heap of angst, topped with the absolute pain of watching the heroine go through breast cancer, a side of pure hatred for two cheating pieces of shit, and then the main course: a new love interest who is so sweet and swoony I got a cavity.

The emotional pain is real. Watching the fmc go through breast cancer was heartbreaking, but she handles it with so much grace and strength. She is not just strong, she is resilient, radiant, and powerful in a way that makes you sit back and respect her. After surviving cancer and betrayal, she comes out even stronger and more self assured. I loved her so much.

The author can WRITE. I already started another one of her stories on Wattpad which is a marriage in trouble thing and I see she's finally moved it to Kindle Unlimited so I’ll definitely read that next.

Should you read this? YES. Zero hesitation. You will love every second. The only possible complaint is it’s kinda long, but since I read it on Wattpad clicking chapter to chapter, I didn’t even notice. Trust me, it doesn’t drag. The author has real fucking talent.

[Stefanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What we choose

This is a story and a massive betrayal just when she needed him the most. I freaking loved this story!

I will say that I usually don't read long books, but this one sounded really good. I am so glad I did read it. It took me most of the day off and on to finish it. I just could not put it down. It has everything that I love, betrayal, the gut-punch, OW Drama and an HEA!

Paul is engaged to Sophia, and she found a lump in her breast. Paul couldn't handle it, and started confining in a co-worker Elise. It started off just him giving her the attention that should have gone to Sophia. Then the BIG C was diagnosed and the same day the took it further. Sophia was devastated and had to deal with everything on her own now. By chance she meets Callum at his book store.

There Sophie learns what real friendship is and learns that they choose her. Callum falls for Sophie and doing all the while as she navigates her treatment plan. Best part is that Paul's parents take Sophie's side and help her unconditionally.

It takes you through their entire relationship and you fall in love with them and cheer them as they fall in love. I also love that you get everyone's perspective. It helps to see where they are and hearing their thoughts helps you hate Elise more. Lol

Again I absolutely loved this book! Highly recommend

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

Finally got around to reading this after being sold by Mora’s amazing review!


Sophie and Callum, omg I fuckin loved everything about them and their love story!!
Sophie deserved the whole world and her and Callum were perfect together! 🥰
The book club, Callum’s mom, her sister, I just loved everyone and if I could be absorbed into a book and join a group/family it would be this one!

Paul and Elise can fuck off and die, everytime we got his pov and his karma was being given to him I had the biggest smile on my face. His suffering was delightful!!!!

Sophie was so inspiring, she was so strong but stayed so sweet and lovely through everything. I honestly thought this book was going to be a bit heavy but it wasn’t at all, I found myself in a really good mood reading it. I just loved seeing how much Sophie’s life got better and happier and more enriched even while she was dealing with the cancer. I cried happy tears along with them when she got the all clear.
One of the most well deserved HEAs ever 🥰 future epilogues showed them still happily married, with a daughter, all their friends with their own families all still in their lives.

[Ruisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

carried by family, grounded by friends

This was a compelling and emotional read that explores love, a disturbing betrayal, and resilience during an incredibly vulnerable time

Told through multiple POVs—Sophie, Paul, Callum, and Elise—the book aims to give a well-rounded view of each character. While this adds depth, I personally felt it made the story longer than necessary. I’m used to a more focused hero-and-heroine POV, and at times the multiple perspectives slowed the pacing so much that I found myself skimming just to get to the end. For me, the depth given to each POV sometimes came at the cost of the overall storyline momentum.

What made this story truly engaging for me, though, was Sophie’s support system—her family and friends showing up for her through everything. That aspect resonated deeply. I’m currently going through my own cancer journey, having finished radiation and preparing to start chemotherapy, and I understand firsthand how important that kind of support is. It brings a sense of normality, peace of mind, and strength when everything else feels uncertain.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally read on Wattpad.

Cheating = h's boyfriend flat out tells the h he cannot be with her because he can't deal with her cancer diagnosis...and that he had been cheating with co-worker.

h sees H with OW = not the H but her ex-boyfriend, she sees them at a bar all cozy and giggly

OW drama = OW manipulates the boyfriend so easily as she wanted the town's golden boy and wrangled him away from the h. When the boyfriend doesn't work out, OW sets her sights on the H...which DOES NOT work out for her and she gets shut down hard by the H. Comeuppance? OW basically runs herself out of town.

When h was at her lowest, she meets the H who falls instantly head over heels for the h. H is a total golden retriever for her and her knight in shining armor. h has a grueling journey with her cancer treatment and the H is there for her every step of the way. h finds her family with new friends and it was awesome.

Story full of angst, betrayal and redemption. Absolutely fantastic read.

[SC Girlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good book - few changes maybe

Overall, the plot and the characters were very well developed. I loved almost everything about this book. I understand why the author did basically everything she did in the book, but a personal preference of mine would probably be a little bit less of the cancer side of things. I’ve lost a lot of family members to cancer and so I knew it would be triggering, but there was so much detail that it would’ve been easier to read if it had less of it. And the story was exceptionally long so she really could have done without a lot of it. I understand the function and the purpose of it, but I would’ve preferred less detail about the cancer stuff personally. Otherwise it was an exceptional book which is why it got five stars. I don’t know if this is the author‘s debut novel or not. I originally read it on Wattpad when it was there and so I knew it was gonna be good, but I read the whole thing through and appreciated the changes she made and the editing she did. Highly recommend!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

so good!

wow… this author is officially a new favorite for me 🥹

i don’t even know where to start with this book. it put me through EVERYTHING. i cried, got mad, laughed… like I genuinely felt all the emotions while reading it.

i loved sophie and callum so much, they were just the sweetest and gave me something to root for the whole time.

elise and paul though… wow. i definitely didn’t like paul for a lot of the book, but i did end up feeling for him a little. i actually respect that he owned up to his mistakes (eventually) and went to therapy to work on himself and make better choices. elise on the other hand… i just felt sad for her. i really wish we got a little more closure with her story.

i feel like this book had a lot of real life lessons too, especially about accountability and how people respond after they mess up. you can either keep going down the same path or actually try to grow.

overall such a good book. i’m honestly so excited to read more from this author 💕