Well this is about 150 pages long and I thought about DNFing 5 times minimum.
The hero cheats on page with his HS ex, that only wants him for his money. The heroine kicks him out, moves on with someone else and even has a child, unsure who‘s the dad. Whole town hates the hero who is also the mayor at the time of the shitshow.
Idk, this was just too messy, the hero was just too pathetic (someone who was once a mayor and owns a business shouldn’t work at a fast food place all of a sudden). I think i would have preferred him to skip town and come back or idk, but this wasn’t even grovel it was some stupidity. And the heroine, your husband that you say you love cheated and the next day you‘re already on a date with a new guy and have unprotected intercourse? Hell no. Just no.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
At first it kinda seemed to be going ok. Then it was totally confusing. Ugh! I hated the story line when you could find it with all the poorly written sentence structures. Then I stopped reading when the timeline of events was so poorly written it hurt my brain but the biggest turn off was another author, who doesn't know how to transition in her writing, have a lead female character who so under values herself that she has to go and sleep with someone the next day she finds out her husband fooled around with another woman. I hate that! Why women have to portray women as always needing to let other men use them because they are hurt and not in the frame of mind emotionally or physically to be with anyone. Don't care that there is spoilers. Jillian should have been ashamed of herself for sleeping with another man. Two wrongs don't make a right. And the dumb writing where, the next day she finds out he cheated...not all the way...but cheated, she sleeps with someone else and the next DAY she thinks she might be pregnant and then assumes it's the guy she just slept with baby. AI writing? Possibly. It is that dumb! I'm sorry. I like a good broken marriage, reconciliation book but this one was dumb. The whole town against him, the author makes him look like a whipped little kid. I skimmed. Storyline aside, the writing structure and timeline was awful. Plus, making women seem to devalue themselves so much that they have to hook up...the next day. None of these characters where with getting to know. Not even the bird.
This book was good but you should know going in that it is very OTT. There are things that happen that are both unbelievable and would never in a million years happen in real life. I read to escape reality, so these things didn't bother me. There were some parts that were kind of silly and I guess that's leaning into the romcom vibe. If you've read any of her other books this one has more of the same vibe of "Prince Cheating Charming." Overall this is kind of a run of the mill book for this author but I like reading her work and have liked most of the stories she's written. This story isn't life changing but it is a fun read without much of a time investment.
Here are a few things I didn't like (possible spoilers):
It seemed like Jillian couldn't not be in a relationship. She goes immediately from her marriage to a relationship with Cash...like be single for a minute girl...figure out who you are.
I also didn't like that we just jumped two years into the future. I'm pretty sure most of her other books don't have that big of a time gap.
Also, some of the formatting of the book was off. There wasn't a break or anything to clue us in that the next paragraph/sentence was a different scene or a different day. I read this via Kindle Unlimited so maybe that had something to do with it...who knows.
I usually love KL books but this one reads like a soap opera. I hated Frankie from the beginning, to me he seemed irredeemable, but the fact that Jillian slept with Cash the next day and seemed to just go into a relationship with him instantly was just to unbelievable for me. I get this is a book, but come on … it just made it seemed like just a way for Frankie’s transgression to be pardonable. I cant say I liked anyone in this book. I really didn’t understand Jillian’s thought process and the last pages reconciliation seemed unbelievable. It’s an ok read.
Whenever I start a Katie Landry book, I go in knowing I need to suspend my disbelief for a bunch of things to make sense. In this book, it's absolutely necessary. And while I really enjoyed this book, the ending left me wanting.
Jillian (FMC) and Frankie (MMC) are the golden couple in the story. Frankie is the mayor of Ramshackle Bay, and with Jillian, they run a coffee shop. When Frankie's ex, Christabelle (OW), shows up, Frankie tells Jillian he and OW were just casual and were still friends, so nothing to worry about. But in his mind, Frankie started playing the "What If' game, and ends up getting caught cheating. Jillian nopes out, even though Frankie was extremely apologetic and starts to do the work to become the guy she actually deserves. It's then revealed she's moved on with Cash (OM) and she's pregnant.
I really enjoyed the story, even though I'm not all that hot about the pregnancy tropes. The writing is solid, but my biggest issue with this book were the leaps in logic and the 'wand waving' to smooth over conflicts. Some of the resolutions were so ridiculously easy; I would have loved to see more depth in how some of the issues worked out. But it's a very short book, and I suppose not many folks would want to read about eminent domain. I know I still want to know what they would have done if .
In any case, I enjoyed this book, though not as much as her other books. It's what's I consider 'snack lit:' Not a whole lot of weight or substance, but good to entertain me for a day or two.
I received an ARC of this book. These opinions are all my own.
Better than the last one, but still a little too much…. And it felt like you had to make the OM evil to make her get back with the trashy ML, so yeah I disliked that….
And I disliked that the baby daddy wasn’t Cash (the OM)
I don’t know, everybody was against the ML after he cheated and just didn’t feel believable, maybe if the mom was like yeah it was a mistake but I’m still gonna support my son and the son (ML) was like: no, this was a wake up call, maybe I need to grow up and then he did all he did in the book to grow up and atone. It felt like EVERYBODY was against him and he had no choice other than to grow up, like the WORLD was against him or something like that.
I miss the first few stories like the cheating prince or the one that became a famous athlete and decided to be with the OW bc he thought that the FL didn’t match him anymore now that he was famous and rich, there was a simplicity there instead of like chaos or something that was in the last story and in this one.
Also there are other ways that the ML can fuck up other than cheating… Maybe he had a childhood friend he never thought of and she had to watch him with other people and she didn’t move on but then decided to move on and he realized he loved he all along but now he had to watch her be with other people like she did him, or maybe he lied to her saying that he loved her then married her and she found out he didn’t and now she decided to leave and oh no he realized he loved her all along, I don’t know something like that.
I love Katie Landry, and at this point that’s very established. This one sits in the same space as her other books for me — heartbreak, angst, and a man who really has to sit with the consequences of his choices. Even if this one fell a little flat on the angst side, especially from Jillian’s perspective, it still had that emotional pull her books always have.
Honestly, this one hurt more than the others in the beginning. Frankie’s inner monologue in those first chapters was hard to read in the best way. Watching someone so focused on being the shining star that they slowly stop seeing the people around them felt painfully real. And the “what if” element worked for me too — it didn’t feel dramatic for the sake of drama. It felt believable that someone could love their wife and still get pulled back into old feelings and unfinished questions.
The part that didn’t fully work for me was Jilly moving straight from one relationship into another with Cash. I like that Katie doesn’t default to making the wife celibate while the man figures himself out, but this felt different. It went from rebuilding herself to another serious relationship very quickly, and I wanted a little more space there, child or not.
Still, I enjoyed it for what it was. Katie Landry writes emotional messes really well, and even when it doesn’t hit as hard as her others, I’m still going to pick up whatever she writes next.
So, Ms Landry has always been a must read for me and I have loved most of her books. However, this one didn’t even come close to meeting the bar.
The first thing I consider when rating a book is whether I can believe in the happy ever after. Well, I 100% DO NOT believe he will be faithful in the future. I was sad after the awesome pro-woman stories she writes that she would have Jillian take him back. It’s an absolute no. He is a cheater, not just some one second thing. He wanted to be with her, lied to his wife, hired the other woman. It’s a no. If I had a daughter like Jillian, I’d ask her what the heck she was thinking. So that took two stars because no way should she have taken him back. I don’t care how much he groveled, he will just do it again when he gets excited by another woman.
Lastly, the absolute insanity of everything else that transpired killed the story for me. Fish…. Just too much
Cash should have been the MMC - I will just leave that there
When I’m looking for a good time, a laugh, a good grovel and a cheating romance with a FMC that gets her redemption I just look up Katie Landry. I believe I have read every one of her cheating books and I have loved them all. Although this one may be my least favorite it’s still is funny with an amazing grovel and some great characters. In this book we have Frankie who is our golden boy, funny and handsome he’s loved by all. In fact he’s the mayor of this small town. His wife Jillian is quiet, reserved and friendly. Jillian and Frankie have been married for 10 years but, Frankie’s ex girlfriend has rolled into town and Frankie is wondering what would have happened if?? Of course Frankie is stupid and his thinking causes him to actually act and break poor Jillian’s heart. Not just Jillian is upset but the whole town turns on him and his ex girlfriend refuses to leave town. How will Frankie get back into Jillian’s heart? What will he have to do and prove to find his way back home to his wife. Great story with funny moments and interesting side characters.
2 1/2 stars I'm trying to decide if this book was written tongue in cheek or if it's just plain silly. The H and h have been married/together for ten years when his ex comes to their small town. The ex/OW and H flirt and he begins to wonder "what if' "what could have been". When they were in college, the H had asked the OW to marry him, she refused and left and he sank into a deep depression. The calm, steady h supported him and they married. Gregarious and outgoing, the surfer H became the mayor of their small town. The h and H run a coffee shop, book shop business together. The OW openly pursues the H and he succumbs to some intimacy without penetration. The h walks in on them, kicks the H out and files for divorce. The H keeps apologizing and promising to never repeat his mistake but doesn't really do a lot to show that he's changed. The h moves on with an OM who is not all that he seems.
I love Katie Landry book I usually read them as a palate cleanser from all the serious books I'm reading.
It's it OTT - 100 % Yes Do I love it - Also 100% Yes 🫣😂
The story follows Frankie mayor of Ramshackle Bay and his loving wife Jillian who owns the local coffee shop. When Christabelle Frankie's college ex turns up to visit he feels the what if's and believes she's the one that got away, cue the huge eye roll 😂 and he does the unthinkable and cheats on poor Jillian who quickly kicks him to the curb!
If your looking for a serious story then this isn't for you but if your looking for a quick, unserious cheating novella then this is 100% for you. I just love the sniveling hero's on their knees grovelling and it's so over the top I just love it!
Giving it 2 stars is me being nice I had to push through this book I honestly was expecting something completely different it was just a mess. It was like trying to be funny but I couldn’t laugh even at his parents and their appearance when they first showed up and just how everything played out I just couldn’t. The way he got caught and the whole town in it and their interference with that maybe was suppose to be funny but I found it weird and annoying. I was really looking forward to this waited for weeks and weeks for it to be released and now that it was idk why I waited. I wanted to give it a chance even after I saw the reviews I thought maybe I might think differently but nope just a rushed wanna be funny corky book but just was weird in the end.
This novella read very much like a soap opera decided to make a highlight reel, and I ate it up! Ridiculous characters making ridiculous decisions, Check. Comical dramatics and ball-busting banter? Also, check. Enough heart to ground the painstaking over the top grovel? Check. Check. Check. This author never takes herself too seriously and it absolutely makes these bite sized stories a moorish mouthful. Short, sarcastically unrepentant, and full of interfering nosy-parkers, Katie never fails to create a good time.
I feel so bad for leaving this review. I love Miss Landry
But it read like a bad cheesy rom com. It started off well i thought the gut punch was there, even my heart rate was racing and as the story progressed I thought , this cat be right. Maybe he had an accident and was dreaming all of this and he’ll wake up and it’ll all make sense but sadly that wasn’t the case. Not to leave any spoilers but towards the end there was a questionable event and I hated the way it was handled.
Other pet peeves : Grammatical errors, sentence structures. Also some details don’t add up. 🤷♀️
I loved the book. It is very Katie OTT but fun read. I especially love the twist in the story, the small town feel and all the adorable, crazy characters. I don't understand the low ratings on the book. If you know an author and their style then why judge them for it? Do readers not understand that different writers have different styles and if that style is not for you then find one that suits you instead of trying to get a writer to change their writing style?
This book was a total surprise, not what I had imagined. The start, well I love angst, flawed characters and of course betrayal and this had it all, then the twists and turns happened, I was rooting for the heroine and she did well. The hero wow, just totally floored on how the story line developed. I really enjoyed it, thank you BookSirens, I received an arc for free and am voluntarily leaving my honest review.
This was a quick read, cheating romance. Good angst and It had some good laughs with the side characters and a bird. The one flaw I had is I didn't feel the love between the mmc and fmc, granted why the mmc would cheat, however usually when the couple gets back together aftet the grovel i want them to like each other. The fmc didnt seem to care for frankie at all. However the story was still enjoyable and angsty. I enjoy all of Kates books and will read the next ones and all the others.
Cheating = H gets a blowie from OW, h gets to walk in and see it
h sees H with OW = see above
Grovel = h immediately tosses H to the curb and moves on with OM (who you think might be the new H but he actually turns out to be a scumbag). H works hard to stick around and grovel. He takes menial jobs, lets himself be insulted and humiliated but refuses to give up on h. Eventually, H redeems himself with the h.
Giggle-worthy = book it OTT and has some scenes of hilarity
I liked this book, but not as I liked Katie's other books. Quirky humor, which I love, is present as in all her books… and that is the part I liked the most. I had a problem with MC's … didn't liked them and didn't care if they end up together or not.
I will continue to read her books, and I can't wait to see what she will write next for us.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
To me this book didn't flow right at all, just seems unbelievable. Jillian did really have ant emotions, she was just like we're done and lets Cash in the picture and sleeps with him.
You had them together for two years but neither one of them really cared for the other... All crazy!
I liked the buildup to the cheating. After they were caught, it just turned stupid. We also don't see the groveling. It's more of Frankie's life just blowing up and him becoming a pathetic shell of his former self. Cash turns out to be an asshole. The parrot was the best character in this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I liked the story. A bit disappointed she’d just jump into a relationship the next day. But it’s a short story and it moved along. Looking forward to the next one.
I usually laugh out loud at KL’s story telling. This was ok but a little more rough and choppy than her other stories. Not sure we really got to bond with either of our MCs
I’ve been enjoying all of Katie Landry’s books. This one was quick but enjoyable. I wasn’t sure how it was going to end for a minute—but very satisfied with who she ended up with.