The Wake-Up Call: A Marriage-In-Trouble Novella

by S.T. Moors

James has the perfect life. He's blessed with two adorable daughters, and is happily married to his beloved Zara - the woman who he'd be nothing without, and the backbone of their family.

But when he overhears a conversation the morning after a disastrous Valentine's dinner, James soon realises that his wife has a vastly different opinion about their home life.

Now, he's in the fight of his life to prove his worth to Zara and save a marriage he's ashamed to admit he's been coasting through.

But has his wake-up call come too late?

**This is a low-angst, marriage-in-trouble romance novella. No cheating or OW/OM interference**

Genres: Novella, Second Chance, Romance, Contemporary, Marriage, Short Stories, Contemporary Romance

80 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 7, 2026

Reviews

[Jen ♥]

Being a SAHM is no joke, and it's pretty amazing how these mothers manage to make it look so easy. This story made me reflect on how much I loved my mama and how grateful I am for everything she did and all the love she gave us. She truly was the best. 🥹

[Paula (in & out) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone who is married or has been married, will definitely understand the FMC's frustration with her hubby who is clueless, selfish and inconsiderate - amongst other things. I'm blessed that I lucked out with a good guy and didn't end up with someone like this MMC here because I would have murdered him or kicked his behind.😁

I'm also grateful to have real great GR friends who tell it as it is because if I had listened to the negative reviews, I would have most likely skipped it and that would be shameful because there is not much out there that interests me these days..... Shout-out to Carrie! Thank you girl!

[Tmstprc · Rating 4 out of 5]

New release that popped up on FB.

Maybe not quite 4 stars, but I liked it.

Marriage in trouble, he’s taking her for granted and she’s had enough. On overheard conversation between her and her mom gets his head on straight.

Low angst and felt real.

[🐝 Shaz 🐝 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice short story on marriage.
When the husband realises he is taking his wife for granted, and is about to loose her.
He changes his ways, by being more helpful and appreciative of everything his wife does.
Eventually they both have a heart to heart talk.

Happy ever after.

[Pinky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trigger Warnings: Miscarriage recounted, difficult pregnancies recounted

This was a quick read, I recommend it. It felt so realistic, I can see people having these issues IRL. I can understand the FMC Zara’s anger and resentment. The MMC James took her for granted and it was frustrating to see. The gut punch hit at around 50% and we see grovelling. Even though this is a short read, it was satisfying to me. I wouldn’t say it’s memorable and the characters don’t stand out, but it’s still a 5 star. It was nice to see a guy change once he realized he might lose his wife if he doesn’t get his act together.


Zara and James have been married for 8 years and have two kids together. After all these years, Zara feels overwhelmed with all the house work and feels like James doesn’t do enough. After a breaking point, Zara has had enough. But James doesn’t want to lose his wife.

Now for spoilers


Zara and James have been married for 8 years and have two kids named Kehlani and Sienna. Kehlani is 7 and Sienna is 3, they were the most realistic kids I’ve ever read. Usually books sugarcoat kids being cuties, but these two were annoying lil kids. Living in their own world, unaware of their parents having issues or feeling sad. I did like that the kids didn’t play a role in the grovelling, it was focused on Zara and James. Zara is overworking herself at home ever since Sienna was born. She was a primary teacher but she quit her job to focus on raising the kids. She feels like James takes her for granted since he stays after work for drinks at the pub with coworkers and spends the weekends golfing with friends. Currently, James was supposed to come home at 5 after golfing with friends, but he still isn’t home and it’s 7. Zara doesn’t mind that James goes out with his friends. But she hates when he tells her last minute, especially since she planned the day ahead of time. He was supposed to help pick up the groceries with Sienna while Zara picked up Kehlani from ballet. But the day before, James tells Zara that his friend booked for golf and he has to go. So Zara had to do all this shit on her own and is exhausted. Her kids are taking a bath and when they splash each other, she’s annoyed. She is trying to fold clothes, but her kids get out of the bath. I know she loves her kids, but she feels impatience and is tired since she’s doing so much. It just felt so real seeing her struggle, it really did feel like she was a single parent.


When the girls are out, Zara quickly folds the clothes and gives them their iPads. The kids play and Zara tries to read a chapter of a book. She’s always interrupted and never gets moments to herself. Zara’s parents were divorced and her mom Bronwyn ended things with Zara’s dad. There was no abuse or anything crazy, he was just a deadbeat sucky dad and husband. Zara resented her mom for leaving her dad at first, but she is slowly starting to understand her. Originally, she stayed with her dad, but she left to her mom once she realized he sucked to live with. Her mom started to travel and got hobbies since she had time for herself. Zara also texts James while he is out since she is paranoid of him being okay and he doesn’t respond. When James comes home, he stinks of alcohol and Zara is pissed. He says he is sorry he is late and Zara is annoyed. When the kids are getting ready for bed, James says he can play with them. So Zara tells him to take them to bed and goes to bed herself. She reads and scrolls through social media. I was cringing when James came to bed and started talking about golf. Zara didn’t give a shit, she was mad he didn’t show up like he promised and she had to do everything on her own. He tells her the game went well and starts talking about golf for tomorrow. Zara snaps and says he is not going to golf tomorrow and James says he won’t, acting like she is overreacting. It was such a turn off to see how he took her for granted. And it wasn’t like he wasn’t aware. In his POV, he knew Zara was upset and felt bad. But he didn’t want to say no to his friends and he loses track of time. It was so annoying to read his POV and I can understand Zara’s anger, it was justified IMO.


In the morning, James sleeps in since he is hungover and Zara got up to take care of the kids. James feels bad since he planned to get up to make up for things. Zara hates when he sleeps in since she never gets that luxury. So when he comes down, he can tell that Zara is mad. He tells Zara that they can go out on a date for their anniversary. Zara is shocked that he offered to take her out to dinner. The guy hasn’t taken her out to eat in a long time. That should say enough, when a partner is shocked that their partner is considering doing something nice for them. So they flirt and James takes the kids to the park to play. They take turns taking care of the kids. But when he takes the kids out, he tells the kids he is taking their mom out. The kids ask if it is a buffet restaurant they previously went to and James says yes. Zara and James took the kids there to eat and they loved it. So the kids beg to come and he says fine. He thinks it’ll make things easier and they can save money instead of calling for Zara’s cousin Rachel to come and babysit. But Zara is pissed and asks if he offered to let the kids come on their date. James says yes and Zara said she thought it was a date between them. James says he thought it would be easier and that she liked the restaurant they were going to. Zara says she only chose that restaurant for the kids. She thought James was planning a fancy dinner and is disappointed. So James says they can go on another date and she can choose the place since he doesn’t know what nice restaurants are. Zara is upset but she says fine to booking the restaurant.


Zara’s mom says she is coming back and asks Zara to air out her apartment if she has time. Zara goes to her mom’s place as an escape sometimes so she says she will. She tells James that they need to take the kids to another class. James forgot and Zara is pissed since she left notes in their joint calender. James says he doesn’t look at it and Zara says that she told him multiple times. Then James goes out and he comes back late. Zara is pissed since she told him she needed him there earlier but he wasn’t there. He asked why she didn’t text him and she says she did but he didn’t respond. He checks his phone and apologizes and Zara is so annoyed. When they go to bed, they are about to have sex. But they ran out of condoms and James asks if they can just go without one. Zara says that she doesn’t want to risk a preganncy and James says 3 kids is a good number. Zara is pissed, she had really difficult pregnancies with Kehlani and Sienna. She also had a miscarriage and they both agreed that they would stop with two kids. Especially since James saw how difficult and scary the pregnancies were for both Kehlani and Sienna. He promised to get a vasectomy but kept putting it off. It seems like he doesn’t go through with any of his promises. So they don’t have sex and Zara goes to sleep. Zara says she planned a date for Valentines day but James says his friend Rob has a birthday party the day before. He was able to check his Google Calender for that and it annoys Zara. Zara knows that if he drinks the day before, the date won’t be fun. But James says that Rob’s party is during the day so he is fine with going on the date. So Zara books the date but you can see her getting more and more upset. James can tell, but he thinks that he works hard too.


The day before Valentine’s Day, James goes to Rob’s party and stopped answering his phone. Zara kept asking where he was and when he answered late, he seemed drunk and apologized. Zara was so upset since he promised he would be home earlier and they had the date the next day. Especially cuz Rob’s party was during the day time. She tells James to sleep on the couch and goes to bed. He comes home at 2AM and passes out on the couch. At this point, Zara feels defeated. In the morning, Zara debates on cancelling, but James says he will be fine for the night. He just needs the day to recover from his hangover. So while Zara took care of everything, James was resting. When Rachel comes to babysit the kids, James cleaned up nice, but he was tired. He kept yawning and seemed like he didn’t want to go. When they got to the restaurant, he barely ate. Zara tried to salvage the day by suggesting they go on a walk. But James says they should just go home. Zara was done, she was tired of putting in the effort into their relationship when he’s doing jackshit. She fakes them having a good date to Rachel. But after that, any time Zara smiles, James can tell that she is faking it. So he thinks that buying cheap flowers and going home early for the first time will make up for it. When he makes it home, he overhears Zara on the phone with her mom and she is crying, he wants to comfort her. Zara apologizes to her mom, saying she used to resent her for the divorce, but now she gets it. She says that her dad did nothing and was a deadbeat. Zara’s mom asks if James is the same and Zara says yes. That he is a good father compared to her dad, but he sucked at being a husband that did things. Zara’s dad forgot to do things, barely contributed, and took Zara’s mom for granted. Zara confined in James about her parents’ divorce, so he knows how she felt. When James hears that Zara thinks that he is like her dad, he drops the flowers. He feels pain and fear that Zara plans to leave him. He knows how much Zara’s dad hurt her, and it hurts him to think that she thinks he is the same. Zara’s mom asks if Zara still loves James and she says yes, but it’s hard. James wants to make up for everything. He knows he sucks and he needs to change. When Zara’s call ends, he quickly re-enters the house like he just came.


James announces he is home and Zara is confused as to why he announced that. James asks if she is okay and Zara says she is fine. He gives her the flowers and she doesn’t seem to care for it, James feels pathetic. She won’t talk to him and he offers to help with the kids. Before he can do anything, she already got shit done. James feels lost, he feels slow on helping since Zara is so used to doing things on her own. Then he offers to take the kids to bed and lets Zara sleep. In the morning, he lets Zara sleep in and takes the kids out. He had breakfast ready for Zara with a note telling her to relax. Zara found dishes in the sink and some stuff she had to clean. She also finds it easier to mop when the kids aren’t home, so she does all these chores. When James comes home, he finds Zara scrubbing the bathtub and feels terrible. This whole time, he felt smug since he thought Zara finally got time to sleep in and relax. James realized he never would’ve noticed things needed cleaning since he’s so used to it being done. So he starts to mop and clean to prevent Zara from doing it, which confuses her. He knows that if he never overheard Zara, he probably would’ve continued being an ignorant idiot. Overhearing Zara was a wake up call to him. Kehlani kept asking Zara to come with her as a parent for trips. But Zara couldn’t go since she was home with Sienna. When James goes to pick up Kehlani, he offers to go on the trip with her. He thought that Zara would want this, but Zara is upset. She wanted to go on the trip with Kehlani but never got the chance to since she always stays home with Sienna. She would have wanted James to stay with Sienna while she went on the trip. James is panicking since everything he is doing just goes wrong. He says he is sorry and Zara says she wished he talked to her first. He is desperate to make things right to prevent Zara from leaving, but he keeps fucking up.


When Zara’s mom comes back, James feels ashamed to face her and wonders what she thinks of him. But she doesn’t treat him differently and he keeps watching Zara and her mom talk. He brings snacks to them and does the house work while Zara relaxes, hoping she would notice. He feels ashamed for taking Zara for granted. Zara is confused as to why James has changed. He is home earlier now and he is more involved in their lives. Then James starts to use the joint calender and puts in the days he can pick and drop off the kids. He offers to take Zara out on a date and books in an appointment to get a vasectomy. Zara is confused since he’s finally doing it now when she’s asked him to do it for awhile. So Zara seems more upset and James looks confused. She says she is going to see her mom and James thinks that Zara plans to leave him. So he kisses her and Zara is surprised, they haven’t had sex since he overheard Zara. He wants to show Zara that he values her for things other than sex. He knows partners have different signs of affection. His is physical touch and Zara’s seems to be showing it through action, so James wants to do that. Zara goes to her mom’s place and says she thinks James is cheating on her. She says that James has changed and started to be more active in her life since she called her mom. She says all the things James does and her mom asks if James has acted suspicious, like he’s hiding something. Zara says no so her mom says to talk to James. Zara says he wants a vasectomy now so it might be a sign. When Zara goes home, James asks if she is okay. Zara goes to pack her things and James asks if Zara is leaving him and looks upset. Zara is confused and James admits he overheard her talking to her mom. He knows he was a terrible husband and Zara says he is a good dad. Zara says she thought he was cheating since he was getting the vasectomy and James says he could never, she is the only one for him. He didn’t have sex with her to show that he can do more than that to make her happy. James says that he will make up for things and they flirt again. Later, James gets his vasectomy and is in pain. But he says it is worth it since Zara spent time birthing their babies and going through that pain, that it’s the least he can do. We see a 2 year time jump and James and Zara are happy. He surprises her every birthday with something. The last two years were trips, this year it was spending time with family. James cooked a whole meal and even though it’s a mess, Zara is happy. They seem like partners in a marriage rather than one person doing more than the other. I loved the way this was done, it honestly felt real. Zara had a fear that James would go back to being a deadbeat, but she gave it time and he didn’t.

Stay safe folks!

[TTP · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a good book

A marriage in trouble, only drama is the H not priorities his wife and children, but he gets a real wake-up call when he overhears his wife, the heroine, talking with her mother about how she might leave her husband. He then starts to change, and loved it how he didn’t only change because he wanted his wife to stay, but because he also figured out how much better their relationship is when they are a team.

Loved the h. She was so strong. After years of living that way, things will not be fixed over a couple of days. He had to prove it was a permanent change, something he did.

Also loved that it was zero cheating, owd or omd.

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

that woman is stronger than me because i would’ve straight up kicked out his ass

the grovel was good, I think he redeemed himself
i loved the fmc

[Shanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this!

A different marriage in trouble story. I could feel the wife's frustration with her lot in life. I could feel the push and pull of voicing her feelings and not feeling heard. I sympathized with the husband's feelings of not doing or being enough and his fear of acting too late. I could recognize myself and my husband in this story and see how we've had moments like this. I could relate to the truth of how hard marriage with children is. I appreciate the rawness of the characters. Great story.

[Paige · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this for how short it was!! I resonated so much with the FMC. I saw myself so much while reading this book from the very first page. Like the kids taking a bath scene and cereal for dinner because you just couldn’t be bothered. I also have two girls similar years apart and it just reminded me of my household. Aside from the useless husband, mine happens to be the complete opposite but early on I felt a lot of what she did. I’m glad her hubby finally took his head out of his ass. This was a good read and I loved that there was no OW drama.

[Katie O’Reilly]

The way she WHIPPED this sad excuse for a husband into SHAPE 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[Anastasia certifiedbookaddict4life · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75-4 ⭐

This was quite an interesting second chance romance. The reason for the fracture between the main characters was not cheating. There was no other woman or a dramatic betrayal. Instead it was all about the small things, the ones that don't seem important but that can cause cracks in a relationship if left unattended. It was about a woman carrying a much bigger weight than she could handle, having too many responsibilities and a husband ignoring all the signs of exhaustion and anxiety and believing everything was well between between them. This book pleasantly surprised me and captured my attention! I think it raises a topic many women can relate to.

[Bookish.Midnight. and. black · Rating 2 out of 5]

meh.. lost interest. dnf

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short story (super short, I read the whole thing while dinner was in the oven) that highlights a marriage in trouble. While fmc Zara is taking care of the kids, keeping the house clean, keeping up with school events, her husband mmc James enjoys his free time outside of work golfing with his friends or having a few drinks. This novella does an excellent job highlighting the way some may become complacent in their marriages.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my, could I ever relate to this story! I enjoyed the ramp up to the overheard conversation, the immediate wake up call by the H and his attempts to determine the love language of his wife. Her reaction to his sudden change in priorities and caring attitude was attributed to his possible affair as she could not accept that those feelings were honestly meant for her!

Many stay at home wives and many married, working mothers could see themselves in this story. For me, it brought back memories some good some not so much. They achieved their HEA but he had to become the husband and father he was meant to be and she had to learn to trust that his changes were based in his love for the family and for her.

Well done.

[Traci · Rating 4 out of 5]

Notes for me

James

Zara

Two young daughters and Zara is exhausted doing the daily house chores.

James only does what he wants. 8 am golf without asking Zara and out late into the night.

He drinks with his bros the night before Valentines dinner. He’s too hungover to enjoy it so Zara doesn’t either.

She’s had it and he hears her on the phone with her mom. He realizes he needs to change.

Safety

Absolutely safe.

At one point Zara is convinced he’s changed because he’s having an affair. That is settled quickly.

[LaBlue · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. Not a gut punch betrayal. Just a clues man forgetting his part as a husband and a father. Not being a partner to his wife. It was a decent short read. I won’t read this again though as it had nothing new or interesting to offer on the marriage in trouble trope.

Aside from that, it just felt like a different writer than the “Barron’s Second Chance” author would write. Very lacking in something that I can’t quite name. Maybe because is so short maybe something else. But it just didn’t feel like the same writer. Good luck.

[Smiler The Avid Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely, realistic story. I think as a Mum we’ve all been there. This story will resonate with so many of us.
A really enjoyable Valentine’s Day read.

This story is based on a mum and wife at her wits end. A wife who has tried to communicate her needs to her husband for a long time. A mum who is doing ALL of the heavy lifting without a break or support from her husband.

A wife who isn’t asking much, but for not to be taken for granted, she just needs to be seen and heard.

This isn’t a mum who dislikes her children, the book is showing her in the moments of despair, not rejoice. We aren’t seeing the moments when she is loving her children, we are seeing her in the moments where is asking for her team member to step to the plate.

We aren’t see her bitter, we are seeing her recognising that no matter what she said she was being ignored or not taken seriously. The husband was doing what he wanted, when he wanted without any thought to his wife and spending quality time together….….the wife didn’t say he shouldn’t have fun or go golfing and see his friends, she just needed more balance and a partner that she could rely on to take on some of the heavy lifting.

[Joanne Farley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really great marriage in trouble book with a totally clueless MMC.

[My Dark Romance · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute little novella about a marriage in crisis. Nothing dramatic just some missteps by the husband who doesn’t realize what is minor to him is a big deal to his wife.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5

[Soph · Rating 4 out of 5]

★★★★. I wish this was longer. His grovel was so good and she was so strong.

[Kiley · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Wake-Up Call was about 38-year-old James Dixon, a builder by trade, and his 35-year-old wife, Zara, a former primary school teacher who had become a stay-at-home mother of two.

James and Zara had been married for 8 years, but things had started to change not long after their first child was born. After the birth of their second child, James and Zara had decided she should be a stay-at-home mother of two precocious little girls, 7-year-old Kehlani and 3-year-old Sienna. It seemed to Zara that the more she stayed home, the more James stayed away. He was either out with the guys playing golf, out at the bar drinking with his buddies and playing darts, or at work, and rarely ever being at home. When he was home, he became the "fun parent" and spent all his time with the kids. He rarely, if ever, helped out around the house.

After he had planned a last-minute day of golfing with his buddies without checking with Zara, he spent the entire day out of the house, rounding it off with drinks at the local bar, where he spent the last few hours of the day with his pals, even though he'd told his wife he'd be home by five that evening. Two hours later, he finally arrived home, kept the kids up two more hours past their bedtime, and tried to plan the following day of golfing again...until Zara shut that down. The following morning, he suddenly recalled their anniversary was a week away, so he told Zara he'd plan a date night. Zara said she'd get a sitter for the kids. Unfortunately, the two rugrats heard about the date and begged their dad to take them too...so he promised them they could go as well...again, without checking with his wife, but he was so certain she wouldn't mind, he didn't even consider talking it over with her. She found out about the deal as she was putting the kids to bed...alone. James got annoyed because she was upset that he chose a family restaurant for the four of them instead of a romantic place for the two of them to celebrate their 8th anniversary. James acted like he was the victim, because as she left the room to go to bed, his last thought was, "I couldn't f*cking win".

A month later, when Zara was home watching the kids (as per usual), Jame had decided to go to the bar with his buddies after work (as per usual). Once again, he didn't check their shared calendar to see if anything had been written in, so he missed helping with the girls' activities. To make up for the sh*t show of their anniversary, he told Zara to plan a romantic dinner for Valentine's Day...only to tell her after she had already made reservations that the day before was one of his buddies' birthday...and they had plans to meet at the pub. When Zara said she could reschedule or even cancel their date, he asked why. She responded that he wouldn't be in the mood for a date after being out at the bar all night, and that he'd want to "spend the whole day parked on the couch". He swore he'd be home early enough the night before so that he could be ready to go out with his wife. However, the night before Valentine's, James still wasn't home at midnight. He hadn't answered her calls or messages, so she hadn't heard from him since he'd left for work that morning. When he finally did call, he was drunk and told her he was on his way home, but that they'd had a "lock-in" at the bar. She was angry enough to tell him to sleep on the sofa. It was almost 2 in the morning when he finally got home. By the time they were supposed to go on their date that evening, James was horribly hungover and not in the mood, but they went anyway. The date did not go well.

The following day, James took off work early, and that's when reality hit him in the face. He arrived in time to overhear a phone call between Zara and her mother. Zara's mother had divorced her father when she was younger, and Zara had chosen to live with her dad, thinking her mother was wrong for the breakup. James overheard his wife apologizing to her mom for thinking poorly of her for divorcing the "deadbeat father,"...and the truth of how she felt about James came out: she thought he was the same as her dad.

This man was a complete loser. Totally inconsiderate, self-involved, negligent, and clueless to others around him. Unfortunately, when his eyes were finally opened, the things he chose to do to "fix" their relationship were all wrong, mainly because they made him out to be the "fun parent" yet again. Everything he did put more work on Zara and focused their kids' attention on him instead of their mother. Also, the fact that the changes he was trying to make had the opposite effect on Zara. She began to think he was cheating on her.

For such a short novella, this book was packed full of angst, drama, and an emotional rollercoaster full of twists and turns. The fact that the two main characters rarely communicated with each other was a major turn-off, but without it, there wouldn't have been a story, since it was what the entire plot was about.

I can't say that the main characters were fully developed or mature because they both acted childishly since they didn't communicate as adults should. The FMC chose to confide in her mother rather than her hubby. However, she did need an outlet since he was rarely ever home not forgetting the fact that her mom helped open the eyes of her daughter, and she finally pulled her head out of her arse and spoke to her hubby. Both needed to do some growing up, and the MMC did a ton of that, while the FMC only did a smidgeon. However, she didn't need to do too much because she was already more mature than the MMC. Some other reviews stated that the MMC didn't do enough changing. The gripe here was that the FMC did the dishes he had dirtied while preparing her birthday meal. What they failed to acknowledge was that she had insisted he rest, being as he had spent the entire day preparing the meal. She also "put her foot down" and told him he was trying too hard again. That wasn't him slacking off, but rather HER stepping up and taking the load off him.

I decided to only give this a one-star rating because the more I thought about it, the more I realized how one-dimensional the story was. Think about it: the MMC friends who were...more than likely...single. Why do I say that? Because the author didn't give the FMC any friends. Not. One. Single. Friend. If the MMC had married friends, surely their wives would have been friends with the FMC...right? But the reader never got to read anything other than the MMC went out with HIS friends. They never visited the house of the main characters, never talked to the FMC. NADA. Then there sat the FMC...at home. All. Day. Every. Day. She had no life! She never called a friend, never went to visit a friend. She never thought about friends she'd left behind when she became a stay-at-home mom. The only person she spoke to other than her husband and kids...was her mother. There was zero world-building. Oh, she left the house, but the author never "showed" it to the reader. It was all "told" to the reader, except for when she visited...you guessed it. HER MOTHER. Or when the MMC visited the school. Any outside world was briefly mentioned, then promptly forgotten. Definitely not a story I'd want to read again.

[Soni_e · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another rushed book, no depth, nothing.

[BiblioDarling · Rating 4 out of 5]

ST MOORS
THE WAKE-UP CALL

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating System (as of 8/14/2025):
⭐: It was a struggle to read. I almost DNF
⭐⭐: This could have been so much better.
⭐⭐⭐: Good/Average
⭐⭐⭐⭐: Great book. I will probably reread it.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: I absolutely loved this book.
***********************************************************************
Triggers:
🚩Use of Alcohol/Drunkenness

Tropes:
💕MF Romance
💕Marriage in Trouble
💕Grovel to HEA
💕No Cheating
💕No OW Drama
💕Overheard
💕Novella

**********************************************************************
Spice: 🔥🔥🔥
Spice Level Rating System (as of 9/4/25)
🔥: Clean. Handholding. Kissing.
🔥🔥: Non-Descriptive/Implied on Page Sex
🔥🔥🔥: Hot-Descriptive on Page Sex
🔥🔥🔥🔥: So Hot—Do Not Read in Public
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥: Oh My-BDSM. Blood Play. Smut.
************************************************************************
Quote:
“I’m not happy. And it’s affecting the kids because I’m starting to become impatient with them.
Because I’m constantly tired and frustrated, and so annoyed at James”

Summary:
FMC and MMC are married. MMC has checked out of his marriage. He seems to be unaware of this. FMC is holding everything down while the MMC goes golfing and hanging with his buddies. It all comes to a head when the MMC messes up not only their anniversary dinner but Valentine’s Day as well.

MMC walks into their home. He overhears the FMC talking with her mom. MMC then realizes he is about to lose his family. MMC then decides he needs to make changes. HEA

Review:
This was such a cute novella. I loved that there was no cheating and other woman drama. The MMC realized the shaky ground he was on and changed. Yes, he made mistakes as he changed but he took responsibility for his choices. The author took us on a quick ride of what it looks like when a man realizes he is about to lose his family. Of course, there is the plot twist of the FMC becoming suspicious of the MMCs sudden changes.

I liked the FMCs mother and how understanding she was. I loved how she spoke with the FMC. All in all, this was a great read. I recommend it for those who don’t have a lot of time but want a guaranteed happy ending.

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[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh damn, the divorce would have definitely come out of absolutely nowhere for James, the Human Walking Red Flag-a-saurus Rex, if this absolute buffoon hadn't decided to swing by the gas station for a ten-dollar bundle of sad, plastic-wrapped petrol station flowers as some sort of romantic hail mary. And thank fuck he did, because the universe decided to reward his low-effort idiocy by letting him stand there like a stunned mullet while he overheard his wife, Zara, sobbing to her mother on the phone and listing the entire damn encyclopedia of his dumbassery, neglect, and reckless bullshit. The man literally needed to eavesdrop on his own wife cataloging his failures to realize, "Oh shit, maybe taking his two little girls out for an anniversary dinner for his wife and thinking, "Job well done, lads!" isn't exactly husband of the year material.!!" But if you wanna know just how bad this 38-year-old toddler in a man-suit had let the bar sink into actual hell, picture this: after he has his little epiphany and decides to try and be a slightly less useless lump, there's a scene where he puts the toothbrush in the holder instead of just leaving it dripping on the sink. And then he looks at Zara, waiting for a fucking medal because he finally noticed she no longer had to pick up his crap. And a tiny, pathetic part of his stupid brain actually wanted to wag his tail and ask, "Me a good boy now?" like a goddamn golden retriever who just learned not to pee on the rug.

But honestly? I absolutely devoured this hot mess of a novella during my commute home and barely missed my stop because I was too busy cackling. Zara was out here being the most overwhelmed, overstimulated, and overworked queen while this absolute donkey kept brushing aside her very valid concerns like a clueless frat boy flicking lint off his shoulder. The man would constantly, whether unintentionally or just through sheer negligent stupidity, do all the wrong things and then act shocked when it blew up in his stupid face. And yeah, I felt immensely bad for her while simultaneously laughing my ass off at his dumbassery because how does a grown man function? But credit where credit's due, the idiot did grovel. And I mean really put in the work. He actually changed a lot because the man was down catastrophic, head-over-heels, absolutely feral in love with his wife. Sure, he had gotten complacent over the years like a lazy bastard, but he learned his damn lesson before it was too late. And if you wanna know just how much this reformed fuckup stepped up his game? Well, to the extent that she genuinely thought the moron was cheating on her because why the fuck else would he suddenly be so attentive and useful around the house? 🤣 Absolutely loved this!!😍

[Makenzie Goodson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a good marriage in trouble book. 10/10. And it’s a short novella. It’s soo good and realistic cause I know probably most couples go through this. Where the woman is doing most of the work with the kids plus cleaning and the men go out with friends, forgetting everything.

We have Zara and James. They have two young kids and have been together for ten years. In the beginning James to me is straight up an asshole that doesn’t listen or care about mainly anyone but himself. Zara is a stay at home mom taking care of cleaning the house and watching the kids. While James works but continues to forget about when the kids activities are, going out with friends after work and going golfing on the weekend. Continuing to have zara watch over the kids like every time he forgets or doesn’t help is not big deal.

We actually start with him going golfing on a saturday. Leaving zara to do chores while watching the kids. Which is no easy thing. While James does not once message his wife but comes home right at bed time. Then the next day he might try to watch the kids but then it’s their anniversary. He says he’s going to take her out romantically, but it turns into a family outing at a non romantic restaurant.

Then the final straw was before valentine’s day he goes to a friends bday party. Says he’ll be home at 6pm. Doesn’t come home until 2am drunk as a skunk. No calls or updates to zara. He’s so hungover on their date he was barely awake for it. The next day he buy her cheap flowers as a cheap apology. But over hears zara tell her mom how he’s like her dead beat dad and doesn’t help or appreciate her. How zara now understands why her mom divorced her dad.

Cue the grovel. I actually really liked how he went from. not trying at all and acting like a straight up deaf asshole to really trying to make zara’s life better. Okay in the beginning he messes up his grovel. But he learns from his mistakes and tries to continue to help her. He takes the kids so she can have a break, starting cooking some, cleaning the bathrooms, getting a vasectomy 😂. He did love his wife but forgot he needed to appreciate and help her around the house.

This book really makes me want to apologize to my mom and really appreciate how hard it is the raise kids and keep a house clean. And It very relatable as someone in everyone’s life probably went through feeling like this.
preciate how hard it is the raise kids and keep a house clean. And It very relatable as someone in everyone’s life probably went through feeling like this.

[Jiminy Cricket · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad.

This is a typical, cheating-free, marriage-in-trouble novella. Like so many ‘marriage’ stories it’s based on how unprepared (mostly women) are for the relentlessness of young children. I wish we were at the point (as a species) where I could say that men are as aware of the problems inside the nuclear family as women are, but they aren’t.

This marriage got derailed when the h (Zara) became completely exhausted and totally out of touch with herself. Yes, it sounds like I’m blaming the woman, but let’s be honest it was her job to set boundaries, to self-care, and to call out any unfair or disrespectful treatment.

Maybe I’m jaded, but this book was fantasyland. I don’t believe that 99% of husbands would notice a SAHM/wife’s exhaustion or overexertion or the unfair distribution of responsibilities, its silent labour. And maybe 1% would see it as cause to quietly change their behaviour like the H (James) did. He overhears a conversation that gives him a push, but I don't think even that would be insufficient in real life. IMHO generally people take what they want and push as far as you’ll allow. It’s not malice. It’s an intrinsic blindness of the human condition. And it doesn’t help that most men have the emotional perception of a pile of rocks. So this was a nice dream but it would’ve been more realistic if the wife had realized her worth and demanded change and couple’s therapy. He still would have had to change on his own but she would have felt better about herself. But I suppose this book portrays what women crave, self-aware and self-actualized men who can’t live without us.

[Raffaella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, cute and safe novella.
It’s about a married couple in crisis because the husband and father of their child doesn’t basically do anything else than work.
He has no par in anything related to his family. Doesn’t help with the kid, the house, nothing.
He even messes up the only one thing he had to do, a date with his wife. Because he takes the kid with them.
And the wife is so done.
Dude is not bad per se, and is in love with his wife but he has apparently taken everything for granted, a bit too much actually and when he realizes she could really be done with him he panics and changes his behavior.
He grovels and woos her again, because he loves her and doesn’t want to lose her.
The book is good and very well done. Very realistic too, because this is something that often happens in real life, men thinking that as long as they bring the money home they’ve done the deed, and they are owed all the rest and women left by themselves because taking care of children, house, husband and all is their duty.
The romanticism fades away and the relationship feels stale.
Nothing bad as other women or lack of respect or abuse, just neglect plain and simple.
And this husband here does his best to make it up to her when he realizes the damage he’s done to his wife and his marriage.
I liked it, it’s quite short but well done and totally safe.
Medium angst. Nice characters.

[BAG of Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zara is a former teacher, now SAHM, married to James (38), a construction worker. They have two daughters. One kid is in school, and the other stays home with Zara.

James is a lackluster husband and a useless "fun dad." But he thinks his marriage is great. It's great for him because he's being catered to by Zara.

This all comes to a head after a couple of things happen, and the last straw is that Valentine's day is on a Sunday, and he gets shitfaced at the pub on Saturday, so he's still hungover at dinner on Valentine's Day (he's not young anymore, drinking really affects him).

He comes home after work on Monday after V Day, to hear his wife on a facetime call with her mom, saying she now understands why her mother divorced her father. She had been mad at her mother as a teen, but now she understands.

Now James knows he needs to change, but doesn't have any clue what to do. His first attempts fail spectacularly. He perseveres. Unfortunately, Zara interprets this as love-bombing, so James must be cheating. Oh no! Now what is he going to do?? 😮😂

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

I already love this authors work and the story was no exception. It really mirrors real life in what stay at home moms deal with where we are really never off the clock. It showed how she was slowly falling out of love with her husband because he took her for granted. There wasn’t one big trail, but more how too many days in years of being taken advantage of where on somebody.

Once James overheard his wife talking about possibly leaving him he really stepped up and realized how much he sucked. Zara mentioned that she felt guilty for wanting to leave because James wasn’t cheating or abusive, which is how I think a lot of women in real life feel. Unfortunately, you can still have an unhappy marriage without infidelity or abuse.

My only tiny little critique was that I wish it was mentioned that Zara had her own personal time. It seems like James made his friends/pub/golf a priority in his life so I would have liked to see that Zara also had her friend time.