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Regretfully Yours #6
Fox: A Short Romance
She pretends not to remember him. He pretends he’s always loved her.
Lucy knows her marriage is over when she overhears her husband tell a friend he’s never loved her. When confronted, Fox confirms the sad truth that he only married Lucy because he knocked her up and stayed after she lost the baby out of guilt.
Devastated—because she is hopelessly in love with her husband—Lucy agrees to a divorce, but before that can happen, she is severely hurt in a car accident.
She wakes up in the hospital to a frantic, attentive Fox, a performance Lucy assumes is for an audience. Annoyed, she pretends to have amnesia and is shocked when Fox, believing her, insists they’re happily married.
Nearly losing Lucy forces Fox to face the the woman he loves is his wife. And he’ll do whatever it takes to keep her—even if it means lying, manipulating, and fighting dirty.
Tropes
💔 Marriage in Crisis
💔 Amnesia (she's faking it)
💔 Morally-gray MMC
💔 Betrayal & Grovel
💔 Novella (55k words)
Alternative Cover Edition for ASIN B0GT6H5JVQ: here
Lucy knows her marriage is over when she overhears her husband tell a friend he’s never loved her. When confronted, Fox confirms the sad truth that he only married Lucy because he knocked her up and stayed after she lost the baby out of guilt.
Devastated—because she is hopelessly in love with her husband—Lucy agrees to a divorce, but before that can happen, she is severely hurt in a car accident.
She wakes up in the hospital to a frantic, attentive Fox, a performance Lucy assumes is for an audience. Annoyed, she pretends to have amnesia and is shocked when Fox, believing her, insists they’re happily married.
Nearly losing Lucy forces Fox to face the the woman he loves is his wife. And he’ll do whatever it takes to keep her—even if it means lying, manipulating, and fighting dirty.
Tropes
💔 Marriage in Crisis
💔 Amnesia (she's faking it)
💔 Morally-gray MMC
💔 Betrayal & Grovel
💔 Novella (55k words)
Alternative Cover Edition for ASIN B0GT6H5JVQ: here
263 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 22, 2026
About the author
Maya Alden
62 books1,356 followersA top 20 Amazon Bestselling Author, Maya Alden pens angsty contemporary romances.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 308 reviews
July 23, 2026
This was just ok. I was in the mood for something light, but I became bored halfway through 🙈. I mean it was a short, decent story, but I wasn't really feeling any real chemistry between the MMCs. As usual Maya is hit or miss for me.
July 30, 2026
⭐ 3.5/5 Stars
Maya Alden, babe, if your book is 269 pages long, it is not a short story. It is not a novella. It is a whole-ass book. I just needed to get that off my chest before we begin.
Now, onto the actual story.
At this point, I'm starting to believe Maya Alden enjoys rage-baiting her readers into hate-reading her books. Because, once again, she came up with an absolutely delicious premise and then seemingly asked herself, "How can I make this significantly more frustrating than it needs to be?"
A marriage in trouble.
An accident.
A husband suddenly confronted with the gut-wrenching realization that he could have lost the love of his life before ever telling her that she was the love of his life.
The material was RIGHT THERE.
And for once, Maya didn't even give us one of her usual irredeemable assholes masquerading as a romantic hero.
The MMC was flawed, absolutely, but he wasn't terrible.
He'd grown up with horrible examples of what love and marriage looked like and genuinely didn't understand his own feelings until it was almost too late. Was discussing his confusion about his marriage with his best friend instead of his actual wife a spectacularly stupid decision?
Yes.
Sir, your wife was literally available for this conversation.
But was it an unforgivable crime requiring forty years of groveling and a pilgrimage across Europe on his knees?
No.
The flashbacks actually show that for most of their two-year marriage, he was a good husband. He treated Lucy with love and respect. Their relationship was strong enough that she never once questioned whether he loved her.
And once this man finally realized what Lucy meant to him?
He was GONE.
He fell all over himself trying to fix their marriage, prove his love, and become the husband she deserved.
Which brings me to Lucy.
Ma'am.
WHY ARE WE FAKING AMNESIA?
Apparently, the answer is—according to Lucy herself—because she wanted to be a petty bitch.
Excellent.
A solid foundation for rebuilding a marriage.
Her friend encouraging this nonsense because he supposedly "deserved it" annoyed me even more because... did he?
He deserved consequences. He deserved to have difficult conversations. He deserved to prove that his newfound understanding of his feelings was genuine.
Did he deserve to be deliberately manipulated into believing his injured wife had lost her memory?
I'm going with no.
And then, because apparently one liar wasn't enough for this marriage, he figures out that Lucy is faking the amnesia...
AND DOESN'T TELL HER HE KNOWS.
Fantastic.
Now we have two adults wandering around their own marriage performing an elaborate psychological stage production while both secretly knowing things the other person doesn't know they know.
At some point, I needed someone to yell CUT and send everybody to couples therapy.
What frustrated me most was that both Lucy and her husband eventually realize the exact same thing: their relationship cannot survive if it's built on lies and guilt.
Wonderful realization.
Perhaps we could have reached it approximately 150 pages earlier?
Because once everything finally comes out, Lucy moves out anyway. He continues showing up and trying to prove himself. She remains hesitant and makes him work for another month before they reconcile.
And honestly?
That should have been the entire book.
Why did we need the fake amnesia?
Lucy could have recovered from the accident, confronted him about what she'd learned, walked away, and then forced him to prove through his actions that he genuinely loved her and wasn't simply staying because he felt guilty about nearly losing her.
There.
Marriage-in-trouble.
Separation.
Grovel.
Rebuilding trust.
Maya, I have just fixed your plot for free.
Instead, we spend all this time watching Lucy secretly test him while pretending she doesn't remember their problems. And the entire time he's showing her how much he's changed, she doesn't believe any of it anyway!
She still leaves.
She still doubts him.
He still has to spend another month winning her back.
SO WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THE AMNESIA?
It added absolutely nothing except another layer of dishonesty to a marriage that desperately needed honesty.
That said, I still enjoyed parts of this book far more than some of Maya Alden's recent releases. I genuinely liked the MMC, and once all the unnecessary games were finally put aside, I believed in his love for Lucy and his determination to make their marriage work.
The ending was satisfying, and the bonus epilogue was genuinely sweet.
So, ultimately, this wasn't a bad book.
It was simply a good marriage-in-trouble romance being held hostage by an unnecessary fake-amnesia plotline.
Free the marriage, Maya. We didn't need the amnesia.
Maya Alden, babe, if your book is 269 pages long, it is not a short story. It is not a novella. It is a whole-ass book. I just needed to get that off my chest before we begin.
Now, onto the actual story.
At this point, I'm starting to believe Maya Alden enjoys rage-baiting her readers into hate-reading her books. Because, once again, she came up with an absolutely delicious premise and then seemingly asked herself, "How can I make this significantly more frustrating than it needs to be?"
A marriage in trouble.
An accident.
A husband suddenly confronted with the gut-wrenching realization that he could have lost the love of his life before ever telling her that she was the love of his life.
The material was RIGHT THERE.
And for once, Maya didn't even give us one of her usual irredeemable assholes masquerading as a romantic hero.
The MMC was flawed, absolutely, but he wasn't terrible.
He'd grown up with horrible examples of what love and marriage looked like and genuinely didn't understand his own feelings until it was almost too late. Was discussing his confusion about his marriage with his best friend instead of his actual wife a spectacularly stupid decision?
Yes.
Sir, your wife was literally available for this conversation.
But was it an unforgivable crime requiring forty years of groveling and a pilgrimage across Europe on his knees?
No.
The flashbacks actually show that for most of their two-year marriage, he was a good husband. He treated Lucy with love and respect. Their relationship was strong enough that she never once questioned whether he loved her.
And once this man finally realized what Lucy meant to him?
He was GONE.
He fell all over himself trying to fix their marriage, prove his love, and become the husband she deserved.
Which brings me to Lucy.
Ma'am.
WHY ARE WE FAKING AMNESIA?
Apparently, the answer is—according to Lucy herself—because she wanted to be a petty bitch.
Excellent.
A solid foundation for rebuilding a marriage.
Her friend encouraging this nonsense because he supposedly "deserved it" annoyed me even more because... did he?
He deserved consequences. He deserved to have difficult conversations. He deserved to prove that his newfound understanding of his feelings was genuine.
Did he deserve to be deliberately manipulated into believing his injured wife had lost her memory?
I'm going with no.
And then, because apparently one liar wasn't enough for this marriage, he figures out that Lucy is faking the amnesia...
AND DOESN'T TELL HER HE KNOWS.
Fantastic.
Now we have two adults wandering around their own marriage performing an elaborate psychological stage production while both secretly knowing things the other person doesn't know they know.
At some point, I needed someone to yell CUT and send everybody to couples therapy.
What frustrated me most was that both Lucy and her husband eventually realize the exact same thing: their relationship cannot survive if it's built on lies and guilt.
Wonderful realization.
Perhaps we could have reached it approximately 150 pages earlier?
Because once everything finally comes out, Lucy moves out anyway. He continues showing up and trying to prove himself. She remains hesitant and makes him work for another month before they reconcile.
And honestly?
That should have been the entire book.
Why did we need the fake amnesia?
Lucy could have recovered from the accident, confronted him about what she'd learned, walked away, and then forced him to prove through his actions that he genuinely loved her and wasn't simply staying because he felt guilty about nearly losing her.
There.
Marriage-in-trouble.
Separation.
Grovel.
Rebuilding trust.
Maya, I have just fixed your plot for free.
Instead, we spend all this time watching Lucy secretly test him while pretending she doesn't remember their problems. And the entire time he's showing her how much he's changed, she doesn't believe any of it anyway!
She still leaves.
She still doubts him.
He still has to spend another month winning her back.
SO WHAT WAS THE POINT OF THE AMNESIA?
It added absolutely nothing except another layer of dishonesty to a marriage that desperately needed honesty.
That said, I still enjoyed parts of this book far more than some of Maya Alden's recent releases. I genuinely liked the MMC, and once all the unnecessary games were finally put aside, I believed in his love for Lucy and his determination to make their marriage work.
The ending was satisfying, and the bonus epilogue was genuinely sweet.
So, ultimately, this wasn't a bad book.
It was simply a good marriage-in-trouble romance being held hostage by an unnecessary fake-amnesia plotline.
Free the marriage, Maya. We didn't need the amnesia.
July 24, 2026
I’ve really enjoyed this short story series by Maya. It’s definitely my favorite works of hers. I admit to going into this with a heavy case of side eye. The premise sounded pretty absurd to me. Happily my frown was turned upside down, and I found this to be very sweet.
Spoilery thoughts….
Faking amnesia aside (I mean, really?), I was fully prepared to disbelieve this MMC. How does one go from ‘I’ve never loved my wife and want a divorce’ to utter devotion within minutes? Honestly, I still don’t know. But it absolutely worked for me, and I completely bought what he was selling.
I liked the FMC and understood her reticence. I mean, who wouldn’t be disbelieving! She put him through his paces and he passed with flying colors.
These two crazy kids turned out to be two of my favorite characters in the Mayaverse. ✌️
Spoilery thoughts….
Faking amnesia aside (I mean, really?), I was fully prepared to disbelieve this MMC. How does one go from ‘I’ve never loved my wife and want a divorce’ to utter devotion within minutes? Honestly, I still don’t know. But it absolutely worked for me, and I completely bought what he was selling.
I liked the FMC and understood her reticence. I mean, who wouldn’t be disbelieving! She put him through his paces and he passed with flying colors.
These two crazy kids turned out to be two of my favorite characters in the Mayaverse. ✌️
July 24, 2026
3.75 stars
Of all series by Maya Alden, I find this one is the best with the highest chance of a satisfying read. I do believe the novella format helps a lot in going to the core of the drama and sustain a good pacing. The newest instalment, Fox, is amongst the better MA. It was not perfect but it was reasonably solid. And more importantly for me, there was no infamous Snag moment.
The original angle of this novella is that the pov of the H, Fox (aka the moron), is given more limelight than the h, Lucy. It thus showed in depth his regrets and his will to redeem himself. I did believe in his distraughtness. Also, I loved that for once, it is the h who gets to gaslight the H with her pretend amnesia.
The writing was smooth and some sentences were beautifully worded with cutting precision. On the drama side, I feel it was sedately done. More like in a grounded manner than in a frenzied one. Personally, I was fine with it. Where I wanted more was on the emotional quality of the prose. Maybe it was just a me thing, but the words felt cold and clinical to me. They intellectually felt right and drove the story, but they lacked the intensity to provoke me at the emotional level. (Perhaps, if the story had been written in 3rd person narrative it would have been better?). Yet, I won't balk at a respectable MA, so I am rounding up.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 28, 2026
OK guess what? Alden broke through her three star ceiling with me on this one. Classic Alden, guy comes from a horrible and wealthy snobbish family, there's an interfering mother who is engineering a reunion with a toxic ex who "fits in" with their fancy selves. Girl is working class *but* smart and authentic and loving. And then! You'll never guess! She overhears him saying he doesn't love her and never has, and married her because he had to (in this case she was pregnant, they lost the baby, he stayed out of guilt). Classic Alden. He's telling his bestie he's going to divorce, she beats him to it and bounces. Very NOT classic Alden. Our first indication this is a level up in the Alden universe.
Then!! Just as Fox realizes that "you don't know what you got till it's gone" is a saying for a reason and that he *does* love her, Lucy gets in an accident and almost dies! And then when she wakes up she fakes amnesia! Multiple characters refer to the events of the plot as a telenovela, and they are not wrong. The middle portion of this where she's faking and trying to figure out why he's pretending he loves her and they were never going to get divorced (he wants her to believe it before she remembers otherwise), and everything involved with that is great. Lucy is very much stuck by her ruse, etc etc.
This book is much funnier and operates at a much snappier pace than most Aldens, with a minimum of patheticness on the FMC's part compared to her usual. The only major ding I have is that truly truly it did not need the last several chapters. Like (as reader stand-in her friend Dina says many times) "what? why?" After Fox and Lucy spend weeks of her recovery she decides she needs weeks more. I think there was a better way to get to the ending without the weird "prove yourself" to a guy who just spend weeks proving himself. It's a plotting issue for sure, and it made the book a lot weaker. I'm giving it four stars because it is much better than other Aldens I gave three too, but it did fall apart in the end.
Then!! Just as Fox realizes that "you don't know what you got till it's gone" is a saying for a reason and that he *does* love her, Lucy gets in an accident and almost dies! And then when she wakes up she fakes amnesia! Multiple characters refer to the events of the plot as a telenovela, and they are not wrong. The middle portion of this where she's faking and trying to figure out why he's pretending he loves her and they were never going to get divorced (he wants her to believe it before she remembers otherwise), and everything involved with that is great. Lucy is very much stuck by her ruse, etc etc.
This book is much funnier and operates at a much snappier pace than most Aldens, with a minimum of patheticness on the FMC's part compared to her usual. The only major ding I have is that truly truly it did not need the last several chapters. Like (as reader stand-in her friend Dina says many times) "what? why?" After Fox and Lucy spend weeks of her recovery she decides she needs weeks more. I think there was a better way to get to the ending without the weird "prove yourself" to a guy who just spend weeks proving himself. It's a plotting issue for sure, and it made the book a lot weaker. I'm giving it four stars because it is much better than other Aldens I gave three too, but it did fall apart in the end.
July 22, 2026
mediocre at best. Not impressed another recycled story line
This is a 1.5 rating at best. Slight improvement from previous two stories in the regretfully, yours series.
Not impressed with recycled formulaic drivel.
If you're ok with a MFC who initially shows some spine then gaslights herself into believing that her husband, who has lied to her for two years and directly tells her that he doesn't love her has never loved her and wants a divorce then all the sudden in a matter of days changes his mind, now is in love with her read on.
Fox is generic MMC who bulldozed his way to get back with Lucy. He ignores her request for space and does the bare minimum to show that he supposedly "knows his wife."
There's little to no grovel and there's no consequences for how Fox's family has mistreated Lucy. Fox admits he never stood up for Lucy and does the bare minimum in a scene where he tells his mother good bye.
Maya Aldem excels at mediocrity.
This is a 1.5 rating at best. Slight improvement from previous two stories in the regretfully, yours series.
Not impressed with recycled formulaic drivel.
If you're ok with a MFC who initially shows some spine then gaslights herself into believing that her husband, who has lied to her for two years and directly tells her that he doesn't love her has never loved her and wants a divorce then all the sudden in a matter of days changes his mind, now is in love with her read on.
Fox is generic MMC who bulldozed his way to get back with Lucy. He ignores her request for space and does the bare minimum to show that he supposedly "knows his wife."
There's little to no grovel and there's no consequences for how Fox's family has mistreated Lucy. Fox admits he never stood up for Lucy and does the bare minimum in a scene where he tells his mother good bye.
Maya Aldem excels at mediocrity.
July 26, 2026
I thought about this before deciding to write a review.
The author describes the MMC as her first anti-hero. Really?? The blackmailing hero in Best Served Cold with the revenge porn he shows her father wasn’t an anti-hero, or how about the one that takes the MFC’s virginity on a bet, or how about the one that lets his sister and friends mock his friends with benefits, non-girlfriend. The list is endless.
Just because you describe your hero as morally grey, doesn’t make it so.
He married her because she got pregnant, she miscarried and he stays. She overhears him tell his BFF that he’s never loved her and never will… she leaves, has a car accident and it’s then that he realizes ‘yikes, I love my wife’.
When she fakes amnesia, she’s more of an anti-heroine than he’s an anti-hero. It’s entertaining.
The bonus epilogue is sweet and bumps up to 4 stars—depends on my mood, today it’s 4.
The author describes the MMC as her first anti-hero. Really?? The blackmailing hero in Best Served Cold with the revenge porn he shows her father wasn’t an anti-hero, or how about the one that takes the MFC’s virginity on a bet, or how about the one that lets his sister and friends mock his friends with benefits, non-girlfriend. The list is endless.
Just because you describe your hero as morally grey, doesn’t make it so.
He married her because she got pregnant, she miscarried and he stays. She overhears him tell his BFF that he’s never loved her and never will… she leaves, has a car accident and it’s then that he realizes ‘yikes, I love my wife’.
When she fakes amnesia, she’s more of an anti-heroine than he’s an anti-hero. It’s entertaining.
The bonus epilogue is sweet and bumps up to 4 stars—depends on my mood, today it’s 4.
July 27, 2026
Trigger Warnings:
This is the sixth book in the Regretfully Yours series. The first book is Ansel, then it's Basil, then Cain, then Dominic, and then Evan. While you don’t need to read the books in order, I still recommend em cuz they’re short. This book started strong, but then the plot makes no sense. I wouldn’t say I hated it; I found it entertaining. But I would’ve preferred the story to go differently. The FMC, Lucy, does not make smart decisions. The MMC, Fox, did a good job grovelling, but he’s an idiot. While the storyline isn’t perfect, I would recommend it. It was easy to distinguish Lucy and Fox’s POVs; I loved that they actually felt like their own person. Sometimes the MMC and FMC sound so similar. The betrayal did make me cry, but I was disappointed in the aftermath, mainly cuz of Lucy.
It’s almost 2 years into Fox and Lucy’s marriage. Lucy believes that Fox loves her, but is shocked when she overhears a conversation about how Fox truly sees their marriage. Lucy feels betrayed and is willing to give Fox what he wants: a divorce.
Now for spoilers
Stay safe folks!
This is the sixth book in the Regretfully Yours series. The first book is Ansel, then it's Basil, then Cain, then Dominic, and then Evan. While you don’t need to read the books in order, I still recommend em cuz they’re short. This book started strong, but then the plot makes no sense. I wouldn’t say I hated it; I found it entertaining. But I would’ve preferred the story to go differently. The FMC, Lucy, does not make smart decisions. The MMC, Fox, did a good job grovelling, but he’s an idiot. While the storyline isn’t perfect, I would recommend it. It was easy to distinguish Lucy and Fox’s POVs; I loved that they actually felt like their own person. Sometimes the MMC and FMC sound so similar. The betrayal did make me cry, but I was disappointed in the aftermath, mainly cuz of Lucy.
It’s almost 2 years into Fox and Lucy’s marriage. Lucy believes that Fox loves her, but is shocked when she overhears a conversation about how Fox truly sees their marriage. Lucy feels betrayed and is willing to give Fox what he wants: a divorce.
Now for spoilers
Stay safe folks!
May 2, 2026
Main trope: This is a contemporary romance.
Additional tropes:
✅Second chance
✅Other woman drama
✅Overheard
Detailed spoilers/trigger warnings (if any) and final thoughts can be found below. There is a warning right before the spoiler and trigger section so you have the choice to proceed or stop reading.
Summary: Lucy and Fox have been married less than two years after a world wind beginning that started with an unplanned pregnancy. Fox wanted to do the right thing so he proposed but Lucy didn’t doubt there was love. Until she overhears Fox talking to his friend and learns the truth or their relationship. She doesn’t sit with the information and when she confronts Fox, he doesn’t lie to her.
She knows her marriage is over and decides to leave and stay with her best friend and business partner. Fox immediately recognizes he was wrong in believing he didn’t love her but doesn’t know how to fix it.
When Lucy is seriously injured in a car accident, Fox is distraught over the possibility of losing her, further cementing the knowledge he was wrong in believing he didn’t love her. When Lucy wakes up, she pretends to not remember him or their time together which he looks at as an opportunity to have a clean slate and prove his love for her.
His mother and an ex cause a little bit of drama but Fox quickly puts them in their place. When Lucy finally comes clean about faking amnesia, Fox isn’t upset and lets her know his only plan is to keep showing her how much he does love her in spite of what she heard him say. The trust has been broken but Fox is determined to repair the damage he has done if Lucy will give him a second chance.
⚠️SPOILERS/SPICE/DETAILED TRIGGERS⚠️
✋
✋
✋
*Pregnancy loss mentioned but not heavily discussed.
🌶️:1.5/5
Final thoughts: The entire regretfully yours series have had me in a chokehold and this one is no different. I absolutely loved this book. It starts with an overheard scene that is the betrayal for the book. I loved that the FMC didn’t really waste any time in confronting the MMC about what she heard, and that this sets up for the next part which is his regret and attempt to get her back.
There was just a little bit of other woman drama, his mother actually causes more drama than the other woman, so that gave some more angst to the story. Overall, this is absolutely a yes as a recommendation.
Additional tropes:
✅Second chance
✅Other woman drama
✅Overheard
Detailed spoilers/trigger warnings (if any) and final thoughts can be found below. There is a warning right before the spoiler and trigger section so you have the choice to proceed or stop reading.
Summary: Lucy and Fox have been married less than two years after a world wind beginning that started with an unplanned pregnancy. Fox wanted to do the right thing so he proposed but Lucy didn’t doubt there was love. Until she overhears Fox talking to his friend and learns the truth or their relationship. She doesn’t sit with the information and when she confronts Fox, he doesn’t lie to her.
She knows her marriage is over and decides to leave and stay with her best friend and business partner. Fox immediately recognizes he was wrong in believing he didn’t love her but doesn’t know how to fix it.
When Lucy is seriously injured in a car accident, Fox is distraught over the possibility of losing her, further cementing the knowledge he was wrong in believing he didn’t love her. When Lucy wakes up, she pretends to not remember him or their time together which he looks at as an opportunity to have a clean slate and prove his love for her.
His mother and an ex cause a little bit of drama but Fox quickly puts them in their place. When Lucy finally comes clean about faking amnesia, Fox isn’t upset and lets her know his only plan is to keep showing her how much he does love her in spite of what she heard him say. The trust has been broken but Fox is determined to repair the damage he has done if Lucy will give him a second chance.
⚠️SPOILERS/SPICE/DETAILED TRIGGERS⚠️
✋
✋
✋
*Pregnancy loss mentioned but not heavily discussed.
🌶️:1.5/5
Final thoughts: The entire regretfully yours series have had me in a chokehold and this one is no different. I absolutely loved this book. It starts with an overheard scene that is the betrayal for the book. I loved that the FMC didn’t really waste any time in confronting the MMC about what she heard, and that this sets up for the next part which is his regret and attempt to get her back.
There was just a little bit of other woman drama, his mother actually causes more drama than the other woman, so that gave some more angst to the story. Overall, this is absolutely a yes as a recommendation.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 23, 2026
Meh...
This was nowhere near what I was expecting and it completely fell flat. The betrayal was totally meh, yet the groveling was way too much for what actually happened. It is a classic case of the FMC punishing the MMC for a minor sin. Maya Alden either writes her female characters as complete doormats or makes them so unyielding that it never matches the situation.
Here, Lucy refused to give in even when tragedy put everything into perspective for Fox. As the old saying goes, you don't know what you've got till it's gone, and Fox almost losing Lucy was a massive wake up call. Making Lucy so difficult over what he said before the accident was just plain frustrating. That is why Maya is so hit or miss. When a betrayal is massive and the FMC should be tough, she writes a doormat. But when the betrayal is minor, she makes the FMC impossibly stubborn.
She really needs better balance with her female characters. When she writes a domineering alphahole MMC, the FMC is weak. But when she writes a sweet MMC who makes a simple mistake, you get an FMC with zero give who makes you want to throttle her. I have read her books where the MMC was a complete jerk and the FMC was totally wishy washy until all was forgiven, yet here the minor betrayal dragged on forever.
Anyway, to get back to this book, the betrayal was not all that and the drawn out conflict was too much. I will still continue to read her books, but I truly hope she gets better at balancing her FMCs.
This was nowhere near what I was expecting and it completely fell flat. The betrayal was totally meh, yet the groveling was way too much for what actually happened. It is a classic case of the FMC punishing the MMC for a minor sin. Maya Alden either writes her female characters as complete doormats or makes them so unyielding that it never matches the situation.
Here, Lucy refused to give in even when tragedy put everything into perspective for Fox. As the old saying goes, you don't know what you've got till it's gone, and Fox almost losing Lucy was a massive wake up call. Making Lucy so difficult over what he said before the accident was just plain frustrating. That is why Maya is so hit or miss. When a betrayal is massive and the FMC should be tough, she writes a doormat. But when the betrayal is minor, she makes the FMC impossibly stubborn.
She really needs better balance with her female characters. When she writes a domineering alphahole MMC, the FMC is weak. But when she writes a sweet MMC who makes a simple mistake, you get an FMC with zero give who makes you want to throttle her. I have read her books where the MMC was a complete jerk and the FMC was totally wishy washy until all was forgiven, yet here the minor betrayal dragged on forever.
Anyway, to get back to this book, the betrayal was not all that and the drawn out conflict was too much. I will still continue to read her books, but I truly hope she gets better at balancing her FMCs.
July 25, 2026
4.0. Rated PG-13. Contemporary Romance
First book by this author. I really enjoyed it.
They got married because she was pregnant. Then she lost the baby. She loved him and thought he loved her.
Until she heard him tell his best friend that he had never loved her. He married her because it was the right thing to do. But had decided to divorce her. His friend told him he was crazy. She is sweet and kind and almost perfect.
She confronts him at home. He admits he said that and does not love her. Wants a divorce.
She packs up and leaves, crying.
At this point you just want to kick his sorry blind ass.
She goes to her friends and cries for 3 days.
As she goes to pick up her clothes and personal items a truck runs a stop sign and she is almost killed.
She has severe brain swelling and is put in a medically induced coma for 4 days.
He has by this time decided he made a mistake. Sitting in the waiting room while she fights for her life confirms it.
When the Dr brings her out of the coma she remembers all except she looks at him and says “who are you?”
Who could blame her? Now comes the major grovel.
Very entertaining read.
Recommend!
First book by this author. I really enjoyed it.
They got married because she was pregnant. Then she lost the baby. She loved him and thought he loved her.
Until she heard him tell his best friend that he had never loved her. He married her because it was the right thing to do. But had decided to divorce her. His friend told him he was crazy. She is sweet and kind and almost perfect.
She confronts him at home. He admits he said that and does not love her. Wants a divorce.
She packs up and leaves, crying.
At this point you just want to kick his sorry blind ass.
She goes to her friends and cries for 3 days.
As she goes to pick up her clothes and personal items a truck runs a stop sign and she is almost killed.
She has severe brain swelling and is put in a medically induced coma for 4 days.
He has by this time decided he made a mistake. Sitting in the waiting room while she fights for her life confirms it.
When the Dr brings her out of the coma she remembers all except she looks at him and says “who are you?”
Who could blame her? Now comes the major grovel.
Very entertaining read.
Recommend!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 27, 2026
كالعادة يا سادة روايات الـ Second Chance تثبتلي أن المرأة ما لازم تحب أكثر من رجل وما لازم تديه أكبر من حجمه...
وكل مرة أطلع بنفس القناعة لما تعطي كل اهتمامك وكل حبك لشخص من البداية غالبا راح يعتبره شيء مضمون وما يقدر قيمته إلا بعد ما يخسره... لهذا عمري ما اقتنعت بفكرة الفرصة الثانية لأن اللي عرف قيمتك من الأول ما كان احتاج يخسرك حتى يستوعبها.
القصة كانت ممتعة شوي انتهيت من قرأتها في أربع ساعات الشخصيات كانت عادية لكن فوكس كاتبه قالت انه morally gray لكن مع الاسف ماشفت هذا في شخصيته كان عادي
وكل مرة أطلع بنفس القناعة لما تعطي كل اهتمامك وكل حبك لشخص من البداية غالبا راح يعتبره شيء مضمون وما يقدر قيمته إلا بعد ما يخسره... لهذا عمري ما اقتنعت بفكرة الفرصة الثانية لأن اللي عرف قيمتك من الأول ما كان احتاج يخسرك حتى يستوعبها.
القصة كانت ممتعة شوي انتهيت من قرأتها في أربع ساعات الشخصيات كانت عادية لكن فوكس كاتبه قالت انه morally gray لكن مع الاسف ماشفت هذا في شخصيته كان عادي
July 26, 2026
My god. This was so good. I am not much of a marriage in crisis trope liker but fuck, I think this is one of her best works ever. The realization that our guy came out with in the end there, about how their love is quiet and content and how he mistakenly took that wrong initially... it was just such a good message. Fuck, that was a good ride!
Also. Don't miss the extended/bonus chapter. It made everything came to a full circle, beautifully.
Also. Don't miss the extended/bonus chapter. It made everything came to a full circle, beautifully.
Did Not Finish
July 23, 2026Just got bored. I think my betrayal pain tolerance is getting to high 😂
August 2, 2026
This book is loaded with AI writing phrases!
I have been trying to read this book for over a week but I can’t get past the beginning (I’m at 9%) because it has so much stupid AI philosophical writing phrases. One of which I hate the most, the waxing poetic about Tuesday’s. It’s literally a dead giveaway when any reference is made to how important or “pivotal” Tuesday’s are to a characters life. I have been reading books, primarily romances for forty years and outside of the occasional remark about taco Tuesday’s, not one has ever made Tuesday’s more than a setting in a story or an appointment date. But AI makes different weekdays more important then they need to be for some reason I can’t figure out, other than as page filler. AI gives gravitas to the most stupid things and this book has that. Also, the short choppy abrupt sentences that feel more like bullet points.
This author is entirely capable of writing excellent material so why did she use AI at all!? Laziness, shortcut for the boring parts, burnout or writers block??? I am always disappointed in this author for how her MMC’s have never been redeemable in nearly any of her stories. But adding AI is a new letdown. Smdh.
Good luck.
49% UPDATE
This book is weak. The MMC has a confrontation with his mother but all he said was for her to get out and not come back unless invited and that if she did he wouldn’t be diplomatic about what he did next. Why can’t this author actually have her characters curse out people who deserve it with actual strong language. I’m not saying f bombs like I would do. But her could have told her how delusional she was to think she had any right to enter his home without consent and to bring a cheating whore with her. Like how hard is that sentence I just wrote for this author to actually replicate in her stories??
I don’t think this is even a mainstream publishing house book so who is she writing these clean language books for? And clean language doesn’t mean to exclude any actual verbiage that is direct and insulting where appropriate. I’m mean the best insults in the world are witty and don’t use any foul terminology but this author can’t seem to find her way around any insults of any kind in any of her books. This story being the worse offender in not speaking planning even when the story calls for it.
Even in the original over heard scene that this whole book is based around the MMC thought some pretty awful things about the FMC but he never actually SAID it out loud. Which I think is actually done to make his redemption arch believable to the reader. But the fact that the FMC didn’t hear these things doesn’t mean the reader can easily forget that the MMC is just that vile of a person to the FMC. Which is why none of this authors MMC’s are ever redeemable to me.
So instead of just putting all the dirt on page out loud between all the characters I’m reading about and actually making the characters WORK to be redeemed, we are given the retards level of detail that serves no real purpose and they are never truly vulnerable to each other and never have true growth. But a sloppy patched together HEA that is not convincing or credible.
Why am I still reading this half AI, immature garbage?!? Ugh.
I have been trying to read this book for over a week but I can’t get past the beginning (I’m at 9%) because it has so much stupid AI philosophical writing phrases. One of which I hate the most, the waxing poetic about Tuesday’s. It’s literally a dead giveaway when any reference is made to how important or “pivotal” Tuesday’s are to a characters life. I have been reading books, primarily romances for forty years and outside of the occasional remark about taco Tuesday’s, not one has ever made Tuesday’s more than a setting in a story or an appointment date. But AI makes different weekdays more important then they need to be for some reason I can’t figure out, other than as page filler. AI gives gravitas to the most stupid things and this book has that. Also, the short choppy abrupt sentences that feel more like bullet points.
This author is entirely capable of writing excellent material so why did she use AI at all!? Laziness, shortcut for the boring parts, burnout or writers block??? I am always disappointed in this author for how her MMC’s have never been redeemable in nearly any of her stories. But adding AI is a new letdown. Smdh.
Good luck.
49% UPDATE
This book is weak. The MMC has a confrontation with his mother but all he said was for her to get out and not come back unless invited and that if she did he wouldn’t be diplomatic about what he did next. Why can’t this author actually have her characters curse out people who deserve it with actual strong language. I’m not saying f bombs like I would do. But her could have told her how delusional she was to think she had any right to enter his home without consent and to bring a cheating whore with her. Like how hard is that sentence I just wrote for this author to actually replicate in her stories??
I don’t think this is even a mainstream publishing house book so who is she writing these clean language books for? And clean language doesn’t mean to exclude any actual verbiage that is direct and insulting where appropriate. I’m mean the best insults in the world are witty and don’t use any foul terminology but this author can’t seem to find her way around any insults of any kind in any of her books. This story being the worse offender in not speaking planning even when the story calls for it.
Even in the original over heard scene that this whole book is based around the MMC thought some pretty awful things about the FMC but he never actually SAID it out loud. Which I think is actually done to make his redemption arch believable to the reader. But the fact that the FMC didn’t hear these things doesn’t mean the reader can easily forget that the MMC is just that vile of a person to the FMC. Which is why none of this authors MMC’s are ever redeemable to me.
So instead of just putting all the dirt on page out loud between all the characters I’m reading about and actually making the characters WORK to be redeemed, we are given the retards level of detail that serves no real purpose and they are never truly vulnerable to each other and never have true growth. But a sloppy patched together HEA that is not convincing or credible.
Why am I still reading this half AI, immature garbage?!? Ugh.
July 26, 2026
Good but struggled a bit
Overall, I really enjoyed the story, but I have to admit that there was a part of me that really couldn’t reconcile the two versions of the MMC. There was no gradual shift I guess and I don’t know maybe had their been a scene where he in real time had decided to go to the house to meet with her, and you saw that he was already starting to question his decision or his thought process maybe I would’ve believed in his love more. But I really struggled to believe that he did in fact, love her. And saying, someone always brightens a room or lights the way or whatever is an equivalent to love because I know a lot of people that can light up a room and I’m not in love with them so between the disconnect and him saying things like that, I just struggled with it and then I didn’t love the FMC because I would’ve been more impressed with her. Had she not faked her memory loss because she was kind of being like an ostrich and not confronting things after she had confronted him and I was so proud of her in the beginning. And you can’t ignore the fact that because he said the things he did didn’t split them up she very well could be dead. So there were some disconnects for me. It’s probably a 3 1/2 star book but I’m gonna round it up because there were some really great parts of it. I just couldn’t reconcile the two versions of the MMC there needed to be some kind of progression between the two personalities.
Overall, I really enjoyed the story, but I have to admit that there was a part of me that really couldn’t reconcile the two versions of the MMC. There was no gradual shift I guess and I don’t know maybe had their been a scene where he in real time had decided to go to the house to meet with her, and you saw that he was already starting to question his decision or his thought process maybe I would’ve believed in his love more. But I really struggled to believe that he did in fact, love her. And saying, someone always brightens a room or lights the way or whatever is an equivalent to love because I know a lot of people that can light up a room and I’m not in love with them so between the disconnect and him saying things like that, I just struggled with it and then I didn’t love the FMC because I would’ve been more impressed with her. Had she not faked her memory loss because she was kind of being like an ostrich and not confronting things after she had confronted him and I was so proud of her in the beginning. And you can’t ignore the fact that because he said the things he did didn’t split them up she very well could be dead. So there were some disconnects for me. It’s probably a 3 1/2 star book but I’m gonna round it up because there were some really great parts of it. I just couldn’t reconcile the two versions of the MMC there needed to be some kind of progression between the two personalities.
July 23, 2026
Fox, book 6 in the series…
Same pattern as before. This time the couple are married, because she got pregnant, but she miscarried and they stayed together anyway. And once again, the guy talks to his best friend and says he doesn’t love her. She hears it. They separate and on the way to get some of her stuff, a truck hits her car.
She comes out of her unconsciousness and pretends amnesia.
In the four days she’s been out of it, he has realized he actually does love her.
Nothing spectacular here. It was a decent little read, and in fact ends at 75%. The rest of the book is excerpts from a couple of her other works.
Same pattern as before. This time the couple are married, because she got pregnant, but she miscarried and they stayed together anyway. And once again, the guy talks to his best friend and says he doesn’t love her. She hears it. They separate and on the way to get some of her stuff, a truck hits her car.
She comes out of her unconsciousness and pretends amnesia.
In the four days she’s been out of it, he has realized he actually does love her.
Nothing spectacular here. It was a decent little read, and in fact ends at 75%. The rest of the book is excerpts from a couple of her other works.
July 23, 2026
For the Grovel lovers
This was a relatively short book with the overheard trope where the FMC over hears her husband of eighteen months confess to his friend that he never loved her and he wants to divorce her. A pretty strong start.
But then the FMC gets into a car accident on her way to their house to pack up her things and the MMC realizes he does in fact love his wife and thence commences the grovel.
This book is 80 per cent grovel and I am not a fan of extended grovel because I tend to get bored.
This was just an okay read for me.
This was a relatively short book with the overheard trope where the FMC over hears her husband of eighteen months confess to his friend that he never loved her and he wants to divorce her. A pretty strong start.
But then the FMC gets into a car accident on her way to their house to pack up her things and the MMC realizes he does in fact love his wife and thence commences the grovel.
This book is 80 per cent grovel and I am not a fan of extended grovel because I tend to get bored.
This was just an okay read for me.
July 31, 2026
A little to short
It stops at 75% so just fyi. I actually really liked this and I am glad I read it. At first Fox is an idiot but after she leaves, he starts remembering things and after the accident he totally does a flip. He really did love her. I liked how she faked the amnesia and I liked when he found out. It was cute. I did not like her attitude when he told her he knew. She still wanted to move out and it annoyed me. But he is nothing if not persistent and I loved the ending. I wish it would have been longer but it still was good for sure.
It stops at 75% so just fyi. I actually really liked this and I am glad I read it. At first Fox is an idiot but after she leaves, he starts remembering things and after the accident he totally does a flip. He really did love her. I liked how she faked the amnesia and I liked when he found out. It was cute. I did not like her attitude when he told her he knew. She still wanted to move out and it annoyed me. But he is nothing if not persistent and I loved the ending. I wish it would have been longer but it still was good for sure.
July 30, 2026
This is a really good story. I love the marriage in crisis storyline. Lucy is a clever woman who’s desperately in love with her husband but she knows he doesn’t feel the same way. I liked how Lucy played it after her accident. Faking amnesia helped her figure out Fox’s true feelings and intentions. And I loved that she made him grovel and work hard to get her back. If you like the betrayal and grovel storyline, this is a great one to read.
July 24, 2026
Most of Alden's books have been a miss for me, this one was a hit. Loved it!
That said, I really wish she would STAHHHP with the whole "bonus chapter on her website" BS and just extend the damn epilogue. I read on a Kindle, I'm not tripping the light fantastic over to no website on my damn Kindle.
That said, I really wish she would STAHHHP with the whole "bonus chapter on her website" BS and just extend the damn epilogue. I read on a Kindle, I'm not tripping the light fantastic over to no website on my damn Kindle.
July 23, 2026
At least Fox wasn’t an unredeemable jerk like C, D, and E.
July 27, 2026
Ha sido de los menos peorcitos, pero si pudo haber sido más corto
July 28, 2026
Wow he about fumbled
July 30, 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Ebook finishes at 75%
Ebook finishes at 75%
July 30, 2026
This book was good too. I think I like Maya Alden books when they’re shorter.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Fox
“Liar liar pants on fire!”
Lots of lying going on in this story which made for some delicious angst and fun times!
Lie number 1….The hero, Fox, begins our story by telling the biggest lie ever, even though he believes it to be the truth. He tells his best friend Percy, “I don’t love her, I don’t think I ever have!” Fox wholeheartedly believes this.
Percy is surprised by this confession, but not near as surprised as Lucy, the heroine, who happened to overhear it as she was bringing him homemade cassoulet. Not surprisingly she left the office undetected leaving the lunch with his secretary. She believed he loved her, but did he ever actually say he did?
Lie number 2…Love is only love if it is loud and in your face. Fox had that with the first and only girlfriend before Lucy. Of course Reina, the ex, shared her fire with someone else and that was the end of the relationship. He doesn’t have feelings for her anymore, but the calm, supportive caring love Lucy shows him feels flat. so that obviously cannot be love.
Percy called it toxic. Fox called it passion. Hmm, I like Percy!!!!
We see Fox’s thoughts about Lucy, and except for her humble beginnings, they are all favorable. However, he married her because it was the right thing to do when she became pregnant(Lie #3, because Fox does what he wants…he did not have to marry her) She lost the baby. So he stayed. Now she is talking about baby number 2 and he is ready to call it quits…so how does he show her that he doesn’t love her? He comes home later that day kisses her softly and talks about his day like most married people in love do. She calls his bluff, tells him what she heard. He doesn’t deny it. Goes as far as telling her he only married her due to the baby. She tells him they will divorce…and all of a sudden he is calling her sweetheart and wants more of a discussion. She leaves to stay at her friend’s house leaving him with his sorries and sweethearts.
Poor Fox isn’t as relieved as he thought he would be. When she calls a few days later and says she is coming by to pick up the rest of her things, he lies(#4) and says he won’t be there! However, it doesn’t matter because she never makes it…she ends up in a serious car crash. Fox frantically goes to the hospital and sits by her side. Begging her to wake up. He finally has his lightbulb moment and realizes that a life without Lucy is no life at all! So, when she awakens to find her husband swearing his forever love, she decides to lie#5…and says she doesn’t know who he is!
What unfolds is a man who figures out how to love his wife the right way for the first time ever. There is another twist later, but what is the fun in spoiling it!
I loved watching Fox embrace the love he had for Lucy all along, but didn’t recognize. Of course Lucy is distrustful of his love, and it doesn’t help that his mom, brother, and sister would like to see her out and the ex Reina in. No worries Fox shuts that down, and finally gives her loving family a chance as he had been holding them at arms length.
This story had a great gut punch, funny moments, heartfelt moments, believable hea, and it told a complete story with fewer words!
I like to go through the check off list for the tropes listed.
Tropes
Marriage in Crisis- The marriage is in crisis, but our poor h had no idea until she overheard her husband of 21 months tell his best friend that he didn’t love her!
Pretend Amnesia-Our h wakes up from a coma with her loving husband by her side. But how can this be? Wasn’t he the same man who said he never loved her. He was just doing the right thing. And they were getting a divorce. Now he is spewing practical love sonnets to her. Feeling confused and a little bit put out by his declarations she decides to fake amnesia so she can understand this change.
Other Woman Drama-We often think ow drama is just the woman who wants the hero, but here we have the ex girlfriend and the hero’s mom….the ex girlfriend is back, and she wants her man. She is also mother approved. It doesn’t matter that she cheated on him once upon a time. I mean he destroyed the man that she cheated with so he must love her right?
Anti-Hero MMC-the man is taking advantage of his “amnesiac” wife because he realizes that he loves her! He also has no qualms about being ruthless to get what he wants or to make others pay for their transgressions
Betrayal & Grovel-He not only betrayed the h, but Fox actually betrayed himself as well. By not recognizing his own feelings, it was a betrayal to himself. Essentially, he betrayed the h by making her feel loved(ah, idiot that was because you did love her) and then telling her it was to do the right thing. Our H gets his grovel on, worried that she will wake up from her amnesia and ditch him, he stops at nothing to prove to her that he is the man for her and she is the only woman he has and will ever love!
Maya Alden has another winner with this novella in her Regretfully yours series…
“Liar liar pants on fire!”
Lots of lying going on in this story which made for some delicious angst and fun times!
Lie number 1….The hero, Fox, begins our story by telling the biggest lie ever, even though he believes it to be the truth. He tells his best friend Percy, “I don’t love her, I don’t think I ever have!” Fox wholeheartedly believes this.
Percy is surprised by this confession, but not near as surprised as Lucy, the heroine, who happened to overhear it as she was bringing him homemade cassoulet. Not surprisingly she left the office undetected leaving the lunch with his secretary. She believed he loved her, but did he ever actually say he did?
Lie number 2…Love is only love if it is loud and in your face. Fox had that with the first and only girlfriend before Lucy. Of course Reina, the ex, shared her fire with someone else and that was the end of the relationship. He doesn’t have feelings for her anymore, but the calm, supportive caring love Lucy shows him feels flat. so that obviously cannot be love.
Percy called it toxic. Fox called it passion. Hmm, I like Percy!!!!
We see Fox’s thoughts about Lucy, and except for her humble beginnings, they are all favorable. However, he married her because it was the right thing to do when she became pregnant(Lie #3, because Fox does what he wants…he did not have to marry her) She lost the baby. So he stayed. Now she is talking about baby number 2 and he is ready to call it quits…so how does he show her that he doesn’t love her? He comes home later that day kisses her softly and talks about his day like most married people in love do. She calls his bluff, tells him what she heard. He doesn’t deny it. Goes as far as telling her he only married her due to the baby. She tells him they will divorce…and all of a sudden he is calling her sweetheart and wants more of a discussion. She leaves to stay at her friend’s house leaving him with his sorries and sweethearts.
Poor Fox isn’t as relieved as he thought he would be. When she calls a few days later and says she is coming by to pick up the rest of her things, he lies(#4) and says he won’t be there! However, it doesn’t matter because she never makes it…she ends up in a serious car crash. Fox frantically goes to the hospital and sits by her side. Begging her to wake up. He finally has his lightbulb moment and realizes that a life without Lucy is no life at all! So, when she awakens to find her husband swearing his forever love, she decides to lie#5…and says she doesn’t know who he is!
What unfolds is a man who figures out how to love his wife the right way for the first time ever. There is another twist later, but what is the fun in spoiling it!
I loved watching Fox embrace the love he had for Lucy all along, but didn’t recognize. Of course Lucy is distrustful of his love, and it doesn’t help that his mom, brother, and sister would like to see her out and the ex Reina in. No worries Fox shuts that down, and finally gives her loving family a chance as he had been holding them at arms length.
This story had a great gut punch, funny moments, heartfelt moments, believable hea, and it told a complete story with fewer words!
I like to go through the check off list for the tropes listed.
Tropes
Marriage in Crisis- The marriage is in crisis, but our poor h had no idea until she overheard her husband of 21 months tell his best friend that he didn’t love her!
Pretend Amnesia-Our h wakes up from a coma with her loving husband by her side. But how can this be? Wasn’t he the same man who said he never loved her. He was just doing the right thing. And they were getting a divorce. Now he is spewing practical love sonnets to her. Feeling confused and a little bit put out by his declarations she decides to fake amnesia so she can understand this change.
Other Woman Drama-We often think ow drama is just the woman who wants the hero, but here we have the ex girlfriend and the hero’s mom….the ex girlfriend is back, and she wants her man. She is also mother approved. It doesn’t matter that she cheated on him once upon a time. I mean he destroyed the man that she cheated with so he must love her right?
Anti-Hero MMC-the man is taking advantage of his “amnesiac” wife because he realizes that he loves her! He also has no qualms about being ruthless to get what he wants or to make others pay for their transgressions
Betrayal & Grovel-He not only betrayed the h, but Fox actually betrayed himself as well. By not recognizing his own feelings, it was a betrayal to himself. Essentially, he betrayed the h by making her feel loved(ah, idiot that was because you did love her) and then telling her it was to do the right thing. Our H gets his grovel on, worried that she will wake up from her amnesia and ditch him, he stops at nothing to prove to her that he is the man for her and she is the only woman he has and will ever love!
Maya Alden has another winner with this novella in her Regretfully yours series…
July 29, 2026
In Maya Alden’s emotionally charged novella, Fox: A Short Romance, readers are plunged headfirst into the messy, heartbreaking reality of a marriage on the brink of absolute collapse. Released in the summer of 2026, the story is a gripping exploration of betrayal, desperation, and the extraordinary lengths a person will go to in order to hold onto a love they almost threw away. Alden masterfully navigates the turbulent waters of a marriage in crisis, delivering a fast-paced narrative that relies heavily on angst, mutual deception, and a deeply satisfying journey of redemption for a morally gray male protagonist. The story centers on Lucy and Fox, a couple whose relationship is built on a remarkably fragile and painful foundation.
From the outside, Lucy and Fox might seem like a typical married couple, but the reality of their union is steeped in unspoken grief and one-sided devotion. Lucy is completely, hopelessly in love with her husband, having poured her heart into making their marriage work. However, the origins of their wedding were far from romantic. Fox only married Lucy because she unexpectedly became pregnant. Tragedy struck when Lucy lost the baby, a devastating event that should have severed their obligatory tie. Instead, Fox stayed with her, driven not by a profound, sweeping romance, but by a suffocating sense of guilt and duty. For a time, Lucy manages to convince herself that their marriage can survive, blinding herself to the cold detachment that dictates her husband’s actions.
The fragile illusion of their life together is violently shattered when Lucy accidentally overhears a private conversation. She listens in horror as Fox confesses to a friend that he has never actually loved her. When a devastated Lucy confronts him about the overheard confession, Fox does not offer comfort or backtrack; instead, he bluntly confirms the sad truth. He admits that his presence in their marriage is entirely rooted in obligation following the loss of their child. Utterly heartbroken and stripped of her dignity, Lucy realizes she cannot remain tethered to a man who only pities her. She bravely agrees to a divorce, ready to walk away from the ashes of her marriage and start entirely over.
However, fate intervenes before the divorce papers can be finalized. In a shocking twist, Lucy is involved in a severe car accident that leaves her badly injured and hospitalized. When she finally regains consciousness in a sterile hospital room, she expects to wake up to the cold, distant man she was preparing to leave. Instead, she opens her eyes to a frantic, hyper-attentive Fox hovering over her bed. He is playing the role of the devoted, terrified husband perfectly. Still nursing a deeply broken heart, Lucy assumes that this sudden display of affection is nothing more than a theatrical performance put on for the benefit of the hospital staff and onlookers.
Annoyed by his sudden change in demeanor and wanting to protect herself from further emotional manipulation, Lucy makes a split-second, incredibly reckless decision. She pretends to have amnesia. She looks at the husband who just broke her heart and acts as though she has absolutely no memory of him, their doomed marriage, or the devastating confession that led to their impending divorce. It is an act of self-preservation masked as a medical crisis, a way for Lucy to distance herself from the overwhelming pain of her reality.
But Fox’s reaction to her feigned memory loss is not what she expects. Instead of using her amnesia as an easy out to finally end their loveless marriage, Fox leans into her lie with a terrifying intensity. The sheer terror of nearly losing Lucy in the twisted metal of the car wreck served as a brutal, life-altering wake-up call for him. Faced with the very real possibility of her death, Fox is forced to confront a truth he had stubbornly buried: he actually is deeply in love with his wife. He realizes that his feelings for her transcend duty and guilt, and he is suddenly terrified of a life without her.
Believing her amnesia to be entirely real, Fox decides to rewrite their history. He insists to a bewildered Lucy that they are a blissfully happy couple, completely omitting the impending divorce and his cruel confession. He transforms into a morally gray, fiercely determined man who is willing to do absolutely whatever it takes to keep her. He doesn’t care if he has to lie, manipulate her fractured reality, or fight dirty; his only goal is to make her fall in love with him all over again, this time without the shadow of obligation hanging over them.
This sets the stage for a brilliantly tense and emotionally complex cat-and-mouse game. Lucy is forced to maintain her facade, silently watching as the husband she always wanted desperately tries to win her affection. She is treated to the romance, the devotion, and the passion she had craved for years, but it is all built on a foundation of mutual deception. Fox’s elaborate groveling is intense and manipulative, yet it is undeniably rooted in a genuine, desperate love. The novella builds toward an inevitable, explosive confrontation where the layers of lies must eventually be peeled back, forcing both characters to face the raw, unvarnished truth of their relationship in order to truly find their way back to each other.
From the outside, Lucy and Fox might seem like a typical married couple, but the reality of their union is steeped in unspoken grief and one-sided devotion. Lucy is completely, hopelessly in love with her husband, having poured her heart into making their marriage work. However, the origins of their wedding were far from romantic. Fox only married Lucy because she unexpectedly became pregnant. Tragedy struck when Lucy lost the baby, a devastating event that should have severed their obligatory tie. Instead, Fox stayed with her, driven not by a profound, sweeping romance, but by a suffocating sense of guilt and duty. For a time, Lucy manages to convince herself that their marriage can survive, blinding herself to the cold detachment that dictates her husband’s actions.
The fragile illusion of their life together is violently shattered when Lucy accidentally overhears a private conversation. She listens in horror as Fox confesses to a friend that he has never actually loved her. When a devastated Lucy confronts him about the overheard confession, Fox does not offer comfort or backtrack; instead, he bluntly confirms the sad truth. He admits that his presence in their marriage is entirely rooted in obligation following the loss of their child. Utterly heartbroken and stripped of her dignity, Lucy realizes she cannot remain tethered to a man who only pities her. She bravely agrees to a divorce, ready to walk away from the ashes of her marriage and start entirely over.
However, fate intervenes before the divorce papers can be finalized. In a shocking twist, Lucy is involved in a severe car accident that leaves her badly injured and hospitalized. When she finally regains consciousness in a sterile hospital room, she expects to wake up to the cold, distant man she was preparing to leave. Instead, she opens her eyes to a frantic, hyper-attentive Fox hovering over her bed. He is playing the role of the devoted, terrified husband perfectly. Still nursing a deeply broken heart, Lucy assumes that this sudden display of affection is nothing more than a theatrical performance put on for the benefit of the hospital staff and onlookers.
Annoyed by his sudden change in demeanor and wanting to protect herself from further emotional manipulation, Lucy makes a split-second, incredibly reckless decision. She pretends to have amnesia. She looks at the husband who just broke her heart and acts as though she has absolutely no memory of him, their doomed marriage, or the devastating confession that led to their impending divorce. It is an act of self-preservation masked as a medical crisis, a way for Lucy to distance herself from the overwhelming pain of her reality.
But Fox’s reaction to her feigned memory loss is not what she expects. Instead of using her amnesia as an easy out to finally end their loveless marriage, Fox leans into her lie with a terrifying intensity. The sheer terror of nearly losing Lucy in the twisted metal of the car wreck served as a brutal, life-altering wake-up call for him. Faced with the very real possibility of her death, Fox is forced to confront a truth he had stubbornly buried: he actually is deeply in love with his wife. He realizes that his feelings for her transcend duty and guilt, and he is suddenly terrified of a life without her.
Believing her amnesia to be entirely real, Fox decides to rewrite their history. He insists to a bewildered Lucy that they are a blissfully happy couple, completely omitting the impending divorce and his cruel confession. He transforms into a morally gray, fiercely determined man who is willing to do absolutely whatever it takes to keep her. He doesn’t care if he has to lie, manipulate her fractured reality, or fight dirty; his only goal is to make her fall in love with him all over again, this time without the shadow of obligation hanging over them.
This sets the stage for a brilliantly tense and emotionally complex cat-and-mouse game. Lucy is forced to maintain her facade, silently watching as the husband she always wanted desperately tries to win her affection. She is treated to the romance, the devotion, and the passion she had craved for years, but it is all built on a foundation of mutual deception. Fox’s elaborate groveling is intense and manipulative, yet it is undeniably rooted in a genuine, desperate love. The novella builds toward an inevitable, explosive confrontation where the layers of lies must eventually be peeled back, forcing both characters to face the raw, unvarnished truth of their relationship in order to truly find their way back to each other.
July 22, 2026
Romance Reader Report Card
❤️ Chemistry: 4.5/5
🔥 Tension: 5/5
🌶️ Spice: 3.5/5
😭 Emotional Impact: 5/5
👨 Book Boyfriend Status: Earned It
📚 Reread Worthy? Yes
Tropes
* Marriage of Convenience
* Pregnancy Loss
* Betrayal Romance
* Grovel Romance
* Married Couple
* Hurt/Comfort
* Protective Hero
* Family Disapproval
* Other Woman Drama (Brief)
* Second Chance (Within Marriage)
What I Loved
This is one of Maya Alden’s stronger betrayal romances.
She keeps all of her signature elements—family drama, other woman tension, and a hero who takes his wife for granted—but trims everything down to exactly what the story needs. The family conflict is resolved quickly. The other woman never overstays her welcome. Everything stays focused on Fox and Lucy.
Lucy was wonderful.
She’s kind, optimistic, and genuinely believes in love, but she isn’t a doormat. When she overhears Fox admitting that he never loved her and only married her because of their baby, she doesn’t disappear or create a misunderstanding.
She asks him.
“Do you love me?”
When he tells her the truth, she leaves.
No games.
No screaming.
No dramatic revenge.
She simply refuses to stay with someone who doesn’t love her.
It’s one of the most emotionally mature confrontations I’ve read in a betrayal romance.
Fox’s grovel is equally satisfying.
After Lucy’s accident, he finally understands what she’s always meant to him. Watching him sit beside her hospital bed, refuse to leave her side, confess his love while she sleeps, and slowly dismantle every wall he’d built was exactly what I wanted from his redemption.
He doesn’t just tell Lucy she’s his priority.
He proves it.
He shuts down his family, refuses to tolerate anyone disrespecting her, and spends the rest of the book earning back the trust he threw away.
What Didn’t Work for Me
The fake amnesia subplot is where the story lost me a little.
Everything leading up to it felt grounded and emotionally honest.
Once Lucy wakes up, pretends she doesn’t remember him, and Fox quickly realizes she’s faking it, the story becomes a game where both of them know the truth but continue pretending anyway.
I understood why Lucy reacted the way she did in the moment, but I don’t think the continued deception added much to the story.
Honestly, I think the book would’ve been even stronger if she’d simply looked Fox in the eye and said,
“You wanted a divorce. Now prove you’ve changed.”
The grovel was already good enough to stand on its own.
Favorite Moment
Lucy confronting Fox after overhearing the conversation with his best friend.
It’s heartbreaking because there’s no misunderstanding.
She asks him directly if he loves her.
He tells her no.
Sometimes the truth hurts more than any lie could.
Final Thoughts
Fox is one of Maya Alden’s better heroes.
His realization comes too late, but once it comes, there is never any doubt about what he wants. His redemption isn’t built on grand speeches—it’s built on consistency, accountability, and choosing Lucy every single day.
The amnesia subplot keeps this from being a five-star read for me, but the emotional payoff, believable grovel, and mature communication made this one of my favorite Maya Alden books.
If You Like…
* Betrayal and Grovel Romance
* Marriage in Trouble
* Protective Heroes
* Emotionally Mature Heroines
* Pregnancy Loss Representation
* Heroes Who Have to Earn Forgiveness
* Maya Alden’s Signature Style
Recommended For
Readers who love a truly satisfying grovel, heroines who choose self-respect over wishful thinking, and heroes who eventually realize that the quiet, steadfast woman beside them was the love of their life all along
❤️ Chemistry: 4.5/5
🔥 Tension: 5/5
🌶️ Spice: 3.5/5
😭 Emotional Impact: 5/5
👨 Book Boyfriend Status: Earned It
📚 Reread Worthy? Yes
Tropes
* Marriage of Convenience
* Pregnancy Loss
* Betrayal Romance
* Grovel Romance
* Married Couple
* Hurt/Comfort
* Protective Hero
* Family Disapproval
* Other Woman Drama (Brief)
* Second Chance (Within Marriage)
What I Loved
This is one of Maya Alden’s stronger betrayal romances.
She keeps all of her signature elements—family drama, other woman tension, and a hero who takes his wife for granted—but trims everything down to exactly what the story needs. The family conflict is resolved quickly. The other woman never overstays her welcome. Everything stays focused on Fox and Lucy.
Lucy was wonderful.
She’s kind, optimistic, and genuinely believes in love, but she isn’t a doormat. When she overhears Fox admitting that he never loved her and only married her because of their baby, she doesn’t disappear or create a misunderstanding.
She asks him.
“Do you love me?”
When he tells her the truth, she leaves.
No games.
No screaming.
No dramatic revenge.
She simply refuses to stay with someone who doesn’t love her.
It’s one of the most emotionally mature confrontations I’ve read in a betrayal romance.
Fox’s grovel is equally satisfying.
After Lucy’s accident, he finally understands what she’s always meant to him. Watching him sit beside her hospital bed, refuse to leave her side, confess his love while she sleeps, and slowly dismantle every wall he’d built was exactly what I wanted from his redemption.
He doesn’t just tell Lucy she’s his priority.
He proves it.
He shuts down his family, refuses to tolerate anyone disrespecting her, and spends the rest of the book earning back the trust he threw away.
What Didn’t Work for Me
The fake amnesia subplot is where the story lost me a little.
Everything leading up to it felt grounded and emotionally honest.
Once Lucy wakes up, pretends she doesn’t remember him, and Fox quickly realizes she’s faking it, the story becomes a game where both of them know the truth but continue pretending anyway.
I understood why Lucy reacted the way she did in the moment, but I don’t think the continued deception added much to the story.
Honestly, I think the book would’ve been even stronger if she’d simply looked Fox in the eye and said,
“You wanted a divorce. Now prove you’ve changed.”
The grovel was already good enough to stand on its own.
Favorite Moment
Lucy confronting Fox after overhearing the conversation with his best friend.
It’s heartbreaking because there’s no misunderstanding.
She asks him directly if he loves her.
He tells her no.
Sometimes the truth hurts more than any lie could.
Final Thoughts
Fox is one of Maya Alden’s better heroes.
His realization comes too late, but once it comes, there is never any doubt about what he wants. His redemption isn’t built on grand speeches—it’s built on consistency, accountability, and choosing Lucy every single day.
The amnesia subplot keeps this from being a five-star read for me, but the emotional payoff, believable grovel, and mature communication made this one of my favorite Maya Alden books.
If You Like…
* Betrayal and Grovel Romance
* Marriage in Trouble
* Protective Heroes
* Emotionally Mature Heroines
* Pregnancy Loss Representation
* Heroes Who Have to Earn Forgiveness
* Maya Alden’s Signature Style
Recommended For
Readers who love a truly satisfying grovel, heroines who choose self-respect over wishful thinking, and heroes who eventually realize that the quiet, steadfast woman beside them was the love of their life all along
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