The Has-Been: Delleth College Series Book One

by Wren Riley

Genres: Second Chance, Hockey, Romance, College, Found Family, Forced Proximity, Sports Romance

348 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 9, 2026

About the author

Wren Riley is a writer of all things real-life romance, which is why her stories are filled with angst, sadness, and a little heartbreak. Don’t fret...she does believe in happy endings.

Born and raised in Southern Indiana, Wren is, at heart, just a small-town girl chasing big dreams. If she’s not slumped over her desk, you’ll likely find her bothering her husband or giving her golden retriever, Mae, unlimited pets.

Reviews

[poppi ♡]

4 stars!!

i am so beyond grateful to have the opportunity to read this as an arc. wren’s writing is such a breath of fresh air and you genuinely feel like one with the characters.

i fell in love with the characters individually, but also the sisterhood that’s built between the group of girls. i’m an individual who is also super close to her cousins so it felt like home to me and it felt so real.

liam and aubrey’s relationship was the real deal. the ups and the downs felt so real and so raw, nothing was sugarcoated. but even through all the downs, they found home within one another. the love they felt for each other was palpable and you can feel the emotions on the page. wren wrote their story so perfectly and following along as a reader, i cried and i laughed and i fell in love with them both.

happy release day (9/9!!!!) to the has-been! if you haven’t read this one yet, i strongly urge you to pick it up.

i am so excited to see what’s happening next at delleth college because i know it’ll be great!

[Mandy Sickle]

I received The Has-Been in return for an honest review from Rattle The Stars PR.

It's Liam and Aubrey final year and if they can avoid each other they may just make it to graduation. However, sometimes fate takes a hand and tosses them into each others paths. They can't deny the attraction is still there and it looks like avoiding each other is impossible when they will be working together. Maybe a second chance is just what they needed as life has changed so much for them both.

I love Aubrey she's a sweetheart I really felt like I was able to connect with her and Liam is such a great complement to her. They have this adorable chemistry that just works so well it's sweet and just the right amount of spice. I loved the supporting cast in the story as well and I can't wait to see more of them in the next book of the series.

This is the author's debut book and I'm obsessed with Aubrey and Liam's story. I devoured this one in just one sitting and didn't stop till the very last page. The author has done a beautiful job creating engaging characters and a story that stole a little place in my heart. I loved every moment of the story and can't wait for the next book in the series. The author has quickly become one of my new favorite auto buy authors. Highly recommend if you enjoy sweet second chance romance.

[Bri]

Huge thanks to Wren and Rattle the Stars PR for this ARC

How many times did I cry while reading this? Yes.

I seriously loved this book so much. I felt so much for both Liam and Aubrey for what they have gone through.

For this book, I read the triggers, acknowledged the triggers, then promptly put the book aside so that way I could forget about said triggers before I started reading. So by the time that I actually picked this up to start the only things that I knew were: exes, hockey, and winter college setting. And boy did I not know what I was getting myself into so when I started reading I was completely unprepared for all of the emotions I was going to feel while reading this (in a good way because I wanted to be surprised by it).

If you’re looking for your typical hockey romance….. this isn’t it. This was much more. Yes there is hockey in the book AND some amazing banter AND clear chemistry between the characters AND hot af smut but what Wren has done is written a book that was so incredibly emotional and highlights second chances, forgiveness, accepting help, importance of mental health, and how to move on and continue living after life altering events.

I was so attached to Liam and Aubrey throughout the entire story, their story sucked me in and make me feel so much.

I really did love this book and its characters with my entire heart, I truly can’t wait for book 2!

✨𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬:
🏒 Second Chance Romance
💜 Exes to Lovers
🏒 Mental Health Rep
💜 Forced Proximity
🏒 College Setting
💜 Right Person, Wrong Time
🏒 Sports Romance
💜 Chosen Sisterhood
🏒 Found Family

[chaptersandcheckups]

Thank you Wren and Rattle the Stars PR for this ARC!

This one’s for those who love a hockey, second chance, forced proximity romance with a lot of emotions!!

This was such a heartfelt read! I finished it within a few hours and can’t wait for the next one.. I will say that this one was heavy on the mental health rep. The author tackled anxiety, PTSD, and loss is such a passionate and caring way..

Wren!! What did you put in this one? It was sooo good!! I was hooked from the beginning

The story follows Liam Anderson and Aubrey Vaughn.. Liam was the captain of Delleth’s hockey team and on his way to the NHL, but one life altering accident on the ice caused him to lose everything.. he returns to Delleth after time away rehabbing and regrouping. He knows he’ll eventually have to face his fear of seeing the hockey rink, students, and his ex Aubrey.

Aubrey returns for the new year with her cousins June, Rory, and Reese. They all live in the same condo and have a found sisterhood. She still isn’t over Liam and when she sees him after his return all her feelings return tenfold. She wants to look after him for his mom and for her own sanity as well..

Liam and Aubrey have to work closely as the Delleth Hockey Team’s student athletic trainers. They relearn how to be in the same space as each other and fall into the easiness of the friendship they used to have.

We get to read about them coming back together but there’s still a missing piece from Aubrey’s end that’s holding her from completely giving in.

I loved all the friendships and the sisterhood in this one!! Morgan Reid!! The nicknames he gave Aubrey and Reese! I can’t wait for his book

Tropes:
🏒hockey romance
📚college romance
🏒forced proximity
📚second chance
🏒past trauma
📚mental health rep

[Destiny | _readingwithdee_]

Tropes:
💜Second Chance Romance
🏒Hockey Romance
💜Forced Proximity
🏒Chosen Sisterhood
💜Exes to Lovers
🏒Mental Health Rep

‼️PLEASE CHECK TW LIST‼️

The Has-Been is the first book in the interconnected Delleth College series, which explores the lives of the vastly different Vaughn cousins. This chosen sisterhood was everything. This group of women were so supportive, funny and gave off so much love. If you love the idea of a second-chance romance set on a snow-covered campus in northern Michigan, exes-to-lovers, forced proximity, this book is for you!

I have to say that The Has-Been was not what I was expecting. I don’t mean that in a bad way, because really enjoyed the plot of this story. Aubrey and Liam tore my little heart with everything they endured when they felt alone and were suffering in silence. However, they put the pieces of my heart back together with their undying love, and as they opened up to one another about the past. The mental health rep in this book is extremely heavy, but real life isn’t perfect so I enjoyed seeing a real scenario played out in between the pages as well. If I could hug both these characters, I would with all of my being. They were fortunate to be surrounded by exceptional family and friends who supported them throughout all their hardships as individuals, and a couple. What a read!

[Sam]

🖤 💜Review of an Advance Copy provided by Wren Riley through Rattle the Stars PR 💜 🖤

Here’s how this review is going to go:
1. First thoughts
2. Significants to me
3. Favorite quote
4. Blurb from Author
5. Whatever else I loved, characters, overarching themes, scenes etc
6. Where you can find it/buy it 🫶🏻


1.
This isn’t usually my genre I lean towards but I tell you what, I was hooked baby. Aubrey and Liam, ugh. I understand, but damn it.

2.
I highlighted 19 passages in this book and I never highlight. Seriously. I also read mad slow so the fact that I read this in 11 days is actually insane hahaha. Mind you I’m a full timer who commutes an hour+ each way 5xWeek. 👀

3.
My favorite quote by far is from the beginning, “‘You are allowed to be distant, not to be yourself. You’ll find your way back. It’s like winter here, cold and frozen, but eventually everything defrosts. Then, in the spring, the flowers bloom and grow regardless. The sun is coming. Trust me.’”

4.
The Blurb - This is book one of interconnected Delleth College series! This series will be following the Vaughn Cousins are couldn’t be anymore different from each other. Their differences are exactly what brings them together. This found sisterhood thrives when they are together and lean on one another for each of their individual strengths. 💜 This book is all about second-chance romance set on a snow-covered campus in northern Michigan, exes-to-lovers, forced proximity, and chosen sisterhood - it’s a perfect read for the Ber months 🍁❄️🍂

Authors Blurb - The only thing Aubrey Vaughn ever wanted was Liam Anderson. At least, that’s what she used to believe. Now, she’s back on campus for her final year at Delleth, determined to make the most of the time she has left—rooming with her cousins and focusing on the career she’s building in athletic training. But her plans to make this year different quickly crumble when she has to face the one athlete she knows best: her ex-boyfriend, Liam. Liam was the star center of Delleth’s hockey team until a shattered leg and one mistake took everything from him. After a year away, the only goals he’s intent on scoring are completing his degree and putting his past behind him. That is, until he finds himself in the same clinical rotation as Aubrey, the only girl he’s ever loved. Determined to protect her, Liam does his best to push her away, but they’ve never been good at staying apart. Their lingering attraction, that magnetic pull, drags them back together. Both are keeping dark secrets, trying to outrun the past, but when it finally catches up with them, Liam and Aubrey must decide if love is enough to survive the truth.

5.
This book made me laugh, tear, frustrated and smile so much. I cannot recommend it enough.

The chosen sisterhood is by far my favorite theme in is this book. I absolutely adore Aubrey’s cousins, especially Rory who is described as “sassy sunshine”. Lololol. Shes a hoot this whole book, she makes these comical entrances/statements that just make you laugh out loud and smile. I cannot wait for her book (I hope she gets one Wren!!!!)

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the overarching theme/ representation of mental health. I felt like this book really grasps the complexity of mourning one’s future and how much turmoil and pain that person can face. As a pediatric health care worker myself, I have seen injuries of this nature or even cancer ruin someone’s future dreams and aspirations. It is absolutely heartbreaking and leaves us feeling helpless. I really loved what Liam ended up pursuing in the end. I felt like it was fitting. This book truly did bring up some raw emotions due to how close to home it hit me as a healthcare worker.

It was an absolute pleasure to read this book and I hope you read it! This is an amazing debut book!

6.
Pre-orders are available now at the link in @wren.writes.romance’s bio on instagram! “The Has-Been” Releases on September 9th, 2026!!


🏷️Second Chance Romance | Exes to Lovers | Mental Health Rep | Forced Proximity | College Setting | Right Person, Wrong Time | Sports Romance | Chosen Sisterhood | Found Family

[The Calm Chapter Mandi Wiencek]

🏒The Has Been 🏒
((Spoiler-Free ARC Review))

Title- The Has Been
Author- Wren Riley
Genre- College, Hockey Romance
Series- Delleth College Series Book 1

Trope City-
❄️ Second Chance
❄️ Grief/loss
❄️ Mental Health Rep
❄️ Exes to Lovers
❄️ College Hockey Environment
❄️ Found Family

Trigger Warning- ⚠️
Friends, please take care of yourselves while reading. Though beautifully written, this book discusses miscarriage, suicide attempts, depression, pill addiction, alcoholism, loss of a parent, major injuries and panic attacks.

Oh Wren Riley, you’ve sent me in to orbit with this one! I’m lucky enough to be on the content team for this release Nd I’m so grateful! This book is so well-done. Liam (MMC) had the world- he had the girl, his college hockey team, his future and everything in between. One hesitation on the ice and being boarded left him with a career ending injury. Life can change so quickly. At the time of his accident, Liam was dating the love of his life Aubrey (FMC). Aubrey was the snarky, intelligent, determined and fun girl until Liam’s accident turned their world upside down. Surgeries, pain pills, an overdose and so many deeply painful things in between, these two couldn’t survive as a couple. A year later, their paths cross again. Forced proximity gives their love another chance. I’m still crying. I love the character growth in Liam. What an incredible 180 for a male character. He’s an incredible man climbing back to himself. I love their love. I love their family. I love their friends. I am so invested!

Thank you Rattle the Stars PR and Wren Riley for having me on this team! What a pleasure! 🫶🏻🏒

[Gabby]

What an emotional rollercoaster, in the absolute BEST way! This book had me crying, laughing, swooning, and just downright OBSESSED. The pure emotion Wren Riley poured into not only the story but the characters themselves was incredible. There were moments that absolutely broke my heart and I felt Aubrey’s pain so deeply. Liam’s story was just as heartbreaking, and I swear some of his pain reached straight into my soul.
One thing I especially loved was how much the side characters were woven into the story. This wasn’t just about Aubrey and Liam. The supporting characters felt important, memorable, and like they had stories of their own to tell. And can we PLEASE get books about them?! Because I NEED MORE Reid and Brennan! Fingers crossed the author gives us their stories because I am already invested with just the little snippets we got in this book.
I will say, I totally called it from the beginning what the terrible thing that happened to Aubrey was, but that definitely didn’t take away from the emotional impact. If anything, knowing what was coming made some of those moments hit even harder. And that ending?! Bittersweet, but absolutely perfect. I truly couldn’t have wished for a better ending for Aubrey and Liam.
All in all, this was an emotional, heartbreaking, funny, and completely addictive read. I laughed, I cried, I stressed, and I became way too attached to these characters. And honestly, that’s exactly what I want from a book.

Rated: 4 out of 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

* I received a free advanced copy of this book via Rattle the Stars PR and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Jenia]

*Thank you to author, Wren Riley and Rattle The Stars PR, for letting me be part of ARC Team*
I felt so much for Aubrey and Liam; my heart broke for them on occasion. I don't remember the last time I cried so much while reading a book. The Has-Been had me going through a range of emotions, from the beginning of the book until almost the end. When I started reading, I was unprepared for all the emotions I would feel. Despite that, I couldn't put the book down. I was so invested in Aubrey and Liam's story, and I wanted to see if they would find a way back to each other. I loved the way Wren developed Aubrey and Liam's relationship, and especially the way she portrayed their emotions.

The Has-Been is big on mental health rep and past trauma, and Wren did an outstanding job with it. It was so real, and as I read, I could feel all the emotions Aubrey and Liam felt. One of my favorites is that each character, including the side characters, was an important part of the story. It made me curious about their stories. Reid is one I hope gets a book; there was something about him you couldn’t help but love. The nicknames he came up with had me shaking my head and laughing. I am eager to see what his story is.

Chosen sisterhood made me smile and had a big effect on me. It reminded me of a few of my best friends, who are more like sisters. I adored her cousins and the way that they were always there for one another. In general, the way that everyone came together, including the guys. I finished this book in one day; I couldn’t put it down, I only did when I had to. I would highly recommend this book—one of my favorites for this year.

[Karla Andreina]

When you love someone so deep, so intensely that you are certain you found your soulmate it is extremely difficult to see them go through a destructive path.

You try to be there for them, you offer yourself to them, even when they pushed you away you keep coming back you need to see well again and sometimes love it is simply not enough.

After a devastating traumatic event Liam Anderson life changed forever, he was submerged and lost in his own grief, he started grieving an impossible future, all his dreams were shattered.

Surrounded by sorrow Liam started to push everyone around him away, he wanted to cause as much pain as the one he was suffering, he lived in a constant agony.

He didn’t understand any reason, he only wanted to live in silence, he was drowning in despair. Aubrey Vaughn, his soul mate, the love of his life fought on his as side as much as she could at the same time she was going through a shattering experience, she kept it a secret but that destroyed their relationship.

Both of them needed that time apart to heal on their own, to grow and to learn from their mistakes, to try to find their way to each other, to leave all the wreckage behind.

One of my favorite things about this book is how the characters are extremely appreciative of their present because of what they been through in the past, all the grief and all the mourning, all the longing, after all the pain they realized that they are like a rainbow after the storm in each other live. Liam and Aubrey bring each other hope and faith.

This books is about supporting people we love, to never give up, to ask for help when we need it, to not let the shadows win and let the light in because even if our life is not perfect it can be pretty extraordinary.

This was an exceptionally emotional book, I laughed and cried with this character and their love story! Definitely one of my favorites this year.

[gab]

thank you to both Rattle the Stars PR and Wren Riley for giving me the chance to read this ARC for an honest review.

i really wanted to love this book, and it wasn’t bad, it just didn’t live up to my expectations. it’s full of tropes i love like second chance and sports romance. as a psychiatric nurse i really love seeing mental health themes in books because they are SO important to share and talk about. i also liked that it focused on men’s mental health since it is still unfortunately so stigmatized. i also loved the vaughn cousins dynamic and the importance of chosen family in the novel.

the story was fine, i just felt like it was extremely rushed. aubrey and liam hate each other, then are immediately flirty again, then sleeping together, then back to silence then back together. don’t get me wrong i love a second chance, it just moved way to fast to feel cohesive or like any actual growth happened for the characters. they both have their own issues that i felt were rushed through just to get them back together. i also feel like they spent too much time that could’ve been plot with the side characters, i know it will be an interconnected book and wanted the familial themes included of their relationships, but it was also aubrey and liam’s book and i felt like there was more scenes apart with the other characters than with them reflecting on their issues or with each other.

not a bad read, just didn’t wow me or anything.

[KensiKalamity]

✨ 🍔 𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 🏒 ✨

The Has-Been
By @wren.writes.romance

🎉Happy Release Day!!! 🎉

Stars: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Spice: 🌶️ 🌶️
-Mental Health Rep
-Second Chance
-Forced Proximity
-Sports Romance
-Chosen Sisterhood
-and so much more!!
Liam & Aubrey
This emotional college setting story is so incredibly beautiful. Mental help representation will always be so near and dear to me. Seeing everything these characters went through together made me feel so much. Like I went on this journey, learning and growing with them. I was on the edge trying to figure out all of the secrets they had, including her cousins that I'm hoping will be answered in the coming books. I can not wait for the next in this series. Wren Riley is an extremely talented writer and I can't wait to see what she has in store next.

I'm incredibly thankful that I got to be an ARC reader through @rattlethestarspr and can't wait for the next read!

#bookreviews #books #readmore #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealthmatters

[MJ]

“I’m okay with destroying myself—I’ve already done that. But I’ll be damned if I destroy her. She’s summer, freckles on sun-kissed skin, radiant and warm. And I’m winter, cold and lifeless.”

The Has-Been is a beautiful, emotional book focusing on healing after loss, and navigating the nuances of what it means to love. Liam suffers a serious hockey injury in college that permanently alters his ability to follow his dreams as a professional hockey player. As he goes through the grief of losing what he thought was the most important part of his life, he has to redefine who he is and what he wants. Simultaneously, Aubrey watches grief destroy the person she loves most as Liam slips away from her mentally and emotionally, forcing her decide if love is enough to stay.

This story is beautifully executed, taking real life obstacles, experiences and trauma and moving through them with grace. The cadence of the writing is poetic and lyrical, filled with lush comparisons and visuals. The story explores the emotional turmoil of grief and love in a way that makes your heart clench with how accurate the descriptions are to the actual human experience. Anyone who has loved and lost can connect with this book.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes an immersive, emotional read. This is short and easy to digest, and filled with impactful experiences, real-life obstacles, and deep messages that make you feel seen. Liam and Aubrey are both messy; just like all of us humans.

Thanks for sharing an ARC with me, Wren! ❤️

[Leanne | Reading Between Games]

THE HAS-BEEN by @wren.writes.romance 💜
4.5 ⭐️

Unfortunately, life got in the way of my reading and my attempt to finish it for yesterday’s release.

I absolutely loved this second chance romance … and Wren had me at hockey! 🏒 There are so many different dynamics between family and friends throughout the book that kept me completely engaged. And then there is Liam and Aubrey 🫶🏻 bringing the mental health struggles to the forefront.

Thank you Wren for a wonderful read and writing about sensitive topics but ones that need to be talked about!

Thank you to @rattlethestarspr & Wren for hooking me up with an advanced copy before it released.

[Samantha Sterling]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was such a cute read 💜And Liam Anderson? I'm obsessed.

Silence. That was all I really wanted. But now, now I want noise. Her Laughter. Her voice.

I’m a sucker for a good second-chance romance, especially when it’s SO obvious these two have never really gotten over each other, and The Has-Been absolutely delivered on that.


The quote that TOOK ME OUT:

"Do you want me to remind you how good I can f*ck you? A reminder that it's me that can make you scream—not a single other person on this campus."


Now about the story:
Aubrey is back at Delleth for her final year, trying to focus on her future, only to end up face-to-face with Liam, her ex and former star hockey player whose life basically imploded after an injury and one reallyyy bad decision. Now they’re stuck in the same clinical rotation because apparently avoiding your ex is too much to ask.

I really liked Aubrey and Liam together. There’s so much history between them, and you can feel that pull even when they’re both trying very hard to pretend moving on is totally working for them. Spoiler: it is not. Liam is sooo down bad for Aubrey. That man literally has everything about her memorized.

Both characters are carrying their own baggage and secrets, and I really loved the mental health themes woven throughout the story. They gave Aubrey and Liam so much more depth and made everything between them feel more raw and complicated.

I also really liked the whole Delleth setting and the relationships surrounding Aubrey and Liam. The other characters made the story feel fuller, and I’m definitely interested in seeing where the rest of this series goes!

Overall, The Has-Been was emotional, angsty, sweet, funny and a really solid start to a new interconnected series. Thanks RTSPR and Wren for the ARC 💜

❄️ Second chance romance
🏒 Sports romance
💔 Exes to lovers
⏳ Right person, wrong time
🏠 Forced proximity
🎓 College setting
🧠 Mental health rep
👯‍♀️ Chosen sisterhood
🫶 Found family
🤐 Secrets + complicated history

[Katie (books_with_katie280)]

ADVANCED READER COPY FROM AUTHOR

God, this book took me on an absolute roller coaster of emotions!! I couldn’t put it down every chapter pulled me in and I just had to know what happened next!! I genuinely loved this book!! It hooked me from the beginning and kept getting better the more I read!!

Everything hit perfectly, the soft itself, the connection between Liam and Aubrey, the tension between them, and then the love that they shared for each other!!

It was a great book for mental health and how important it is to ask for help and getting the help you need! It also shows that healing isn’t always linear and that there may be obstacles in the way.

Thank you Wren Riley for the opportunity to read this before the release date!!

[Erin Browning]

This story might take place in the frigid temperatures of fall/winter in Michigan. But boy will it warm your soul. This book made me feel every emotion in the best possible way. From kicking my feet laughing, to teary eyes and to overwhelming joy. This book had it all. I’m so excited to continue this series with these amazing characters. Eager to see where Wren takes us next!

5🌟💗

[Zonia H]

Thank you to the author for the advance readers copy

This story will have anyone in their feelings. This story was well written and I really enjoyed the character growth shown by both Liam and Aubrey. They both had past trauma as individuals and together as a past relationship. I feel that the author did a great job at navigating the complex mind and difficulty faced by being a young adult, in college, with certain dreams/goals, and on top of that a relationship. It’s a great reminder to all who read it of why mental health matters. Watching both Liam and Aubrey navigate the feelings and emotions of finding each other again, healing, facing their demons, and most important learning to forgive one another but especially themselves was just what I needed.

[Taylor Whitaker]

Such an easy read! Excited to see more from Wren Riley.

[Danielle🌶️📚]

3.5 stars!
- exes to lovers (second- chance romance)
- mental health rep
- college setting
check tw’s before reading!!
thank you to Wren’s ARC team for the ARC!
The Has-Been is the first in the interconnected Delleth College series, following the lives of the Vaughn cousins.

This debut novel is really promising! The story building scenes of a wintery campus, really does bring the reader in for a cozy experience. This being the first book in this series definitely sets the bar pretty high, as this was an easy ready that will leave you wanting more of the Vaughn family’s history & future.

With heavy themes, this author does a great job of giving you a a well rounded perspective of both the past and present of each character. (With exes to lovers trope especially, that’s really important to do) Being angry at a character on one page, just to sympathize with them a few chapters later was my favorite experience about this!

Having a male mmc struggle with a prescription addiction was particularly refreshing to read (men’s mental health is taboo & shouldnt be) Particularly Liam having a therapist who challenged him to get better was a welcome change from shying away from mental health issues in the book space.

i’d say my only “critiques” were wishing Liam & Aubrey had more communication/ scenes together with more dialogue between them. Also wish that the side characters’s weren’t so lengthy, as I felt it took away from screen time of Liam & Aubrey.

[Isabella Grace]

"𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗳*𝗰𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂? 𝗔 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺—𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘂𝘀."

RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5
SPICE: 🌶️🌶️ 2/5


New-to-me author.

DEBUT NOVEL.

And we’re opening with:

🏒 Hockey
💔 Exes-to-lovers
❄️ Snowy college campus
📚 Forced proximity
🧠 Mental health rep
🤐 Secrets
👯‍♀️ Chosen sisterhood
😮‍💨 A man who is very much NOT over his ex

Wren Riley said:

Welcome to Delleth College. Here’s your emotional damage.

And apparently I enrolled willingly.

The Has-Been follows Aubrey and Liam, two people with a LOT of history and approximately zero ability to exist around each other normally.

Same campus.

Same memories.

Same unfinished story.

Which is really just a poetic way of saying:

These two are absolutely still in love and making it everyone else’s problem.

😂

Liam used to be the star center of Delleth’s hockey team, headed toward what looked like a huge future in the sport.

Then one catastrophic injury and one terrible mistake changed everything.

His hockey career?

Gone.

His confidence?

Shattered.

His life as he knew it?

Completely derailed.

After time away rehabbing and trying to piece himself back together, he returns to campus determined to finish his degree, move forward, and leave the past where it belongs.

Simple.

Reasonable.

Mature.

Except…

AUBREY IS THERE.

And unfortunately for Liam, the human heart does not care about your carefully constructed recovery plan.

Especially when you’re still painfully, embarrassingly, hopelessly in love with your ex.

And LIAM?!

Sir.

You were not subtle.

This man had details about Aubrey stored in his brain like classified government information.

Her habits.

Her preferences.

The little things.

The kind of stuff you only remember when somebody has lived rent-free in your head for YEARS.

And I was just sitting there like:

🥹 Oh, he’s DOWN BAD down bad.

My favorite kind of medical condition.

Aubrey is back for her final year at Delleth trying to focus on her own future and her athletic training career.

She’s got her cousins.

She’s got her plans.

She’s going to have a good year.

And then she has to work in the same clinical rotation as the one man she absolutely, definitely, completely moved on from.

😂

Sure, babe.

Absolutely.

Very convincing.

Because the second these two are forced back into each other’s orbit, that old ease starts creeping in again.

The friendship.

The familiarity.

The attraction.

All those little pieces of a relationship that don’t magically disappear just because two people broke up.

And that’s what I liked most about Aubrey and Liam.

Their connection didn’t feel like:

Oh! My ex is hot again!

There was actual HISTORY there.

They knew each other deeply.

They knew how to comfort each other.

How to irritate each other.

How to read each other.

And underneath all the hurt, you could feel that these were two people who once built something real together.

Which makes second-chance romance hit so much harder.

Because I don’t just want:

They still have chemistry.

Give me:

They still instinctively reach for each other even after everything went wrong.

THAT hurts properly.

Thank you. 😭

And this one definitely gets emotional.

Both Aubrey and Liam are carrying some serious weight from their pasts, and I appreciated how much care went into the mental health aspects of the story.

There’s anxiety.

PTSD.

Grief.

Trauma.

The aftermath of having the future you thought you were guaranteed ripped away from you.

And the book doesn’t treat those things like convenient little plot devices that disappear the second somebody gets kissed.

They’re part of who these characters are and how they relate to each other.

Especially Liam.

Because losing hockey isn’t just losing a sport for him.

It’s losing the version of himself he’d spent years becoming.

That’s a completely different kind of grief.

And watching him try to figure out who he is when he isn’t Liam Anderson, hockey star anymore gave his character so much more depth.

Meanwhile, Aubrey has her own things she’s carrying and her own reasons for hesitating even when it becomes VERY obvious that the feelings between them never actually went anywhere.

And sometimes I wanted to grab both of them and yell:

JUST FUCKING TALK TO EACH OTHER.

Affectionately.

Mostly. 😂

But I also understood why neither of them was ready to just jump back in and pretend the past hadn’t happened.

Because the whole point is that love wasn’t necessarily the problem.

Timing.

Trauma.

Secrets.

Fear.

Those were the problem.

Right person, wrong time is such a rude trope.

Because why can’t you people simply meet when you’re both emotionally stable and ready for a relationship?!

Oh right.

Then I wouldn’t have a book.

Carry on. 😭

I also REALLY enjoyed the world surrounding them.

The Vaughn cousins living together gave the story this warm chosen-sisterhood element that balanced out some of the heavier emotional moments.

June, Rory, Reese, Aubrey—

I already see what you’re doing, Wren.

👀

You’re introducing me to an interconnected series and expecting me not to become nosy about everybody else’s love life.

Too late.

I’m invested.

And MORGAN REID?!

The nicknames.

The personality.

The potential.

Sir, I have already clocked you.

I will be waiting.

😂

That’s one of the best things an interconnected series can do…make me finish one couple’s book already thinking:

Okay, but whose mess are we getting next?

The Has-Been felt sweet, emotional, angsty, and hopeful without losing that college sports-romance comfort vibe.

And considering this is Wren Riley’s DEBUT?!

I’m impressed.

There were a few places where I wanted the pacing to tighten up a little, and some of the emotional back-and-forth had me ready to personally schedule a joint therapy appointment for Aubrey and Liam.

BUT…

The chemistry worked.

The emotional foundation worked.

The mental health representation added real depth.

And most importantly?

I cared about these two.

A lot.

WHAT TO EXPECT:

🏒 Hockey romance
💔 Exes-to-lovers
❄️ Second chance
📚 College romance
🏠 Forced proximity
🧠 Mental health representation
🤐 Secrets + complicated history
⏳ Right person, wrong time
👯‍♀️ Chosen sisterhood
🫶 Found family
🏒 Former hockey star rebuilding his life
😮‍💨 MMC who has absolutely NOT moved on
💜 An interconnected series that has already made me nosy


FOUR “SIR, IF YOU HAVE HER ENTIRE PERSONALITY MEMORIZED YOU ARE NOT OVER HER” STARS.

For a debut novel, The Has-Been was such a solid start to the Delleth College series.

Wren Riley gave me hockey, heartbreak, forced proximity, emotional baggage, and two exes standing six feet apart pretending they don’t still know exactly how the other person takes their coffee.

You know.

Romance.

😂

And now that I’ve met the rest of this cast?

I’m seated.

Because apparently I’m not leaving Delleth until every Vaughn cousin has emotionally compromised me.

Welcome to my TBR, Wren Riley.

You got me. 🏒💜

*Thank you so much to Wren Riley for the opportunity to ARC read your debut novel!*

[Le Cy]

4.5

I'm okay with destroying myself—I've already done that. But I'll be damned if I destroy her. She's summer, freckles on sun-kissed skin, radiant and warm. And I'm winter, cold and lifeless.

Hold on, just give me a moment to freaking BREATHE after all of that angst and the much-needed happy ending. This was an absolute rollercoaster of emotions and I was SEATED for this the whole way through. This book just made me realise I may indeed be becoming a sports romance girlie, and you know what? I'm going to own it! The Has-Been was such an incredible read, and I am actually GASSED to find out this was a debut novel.

I'm the has-been.
Aubrey's has-been, Aubrey's right-now, Aubrey's always-will-be.

One of my favourite tropes in books is found family, and Wren Riley freaking NAILED IT with the cast of characters in this book. The sisterhood and familial bond between the Vaughn cousins are to die for. They're all so different, each with their own quirks and so much personality, but somehow they fit together so perfectly. It genuinely warms my heart seeing how they always have each other's backs in their own ways. They are the literal definition of sisters by choice, and I LOVE how much of them (And Liam's best buddies!) we get to see in this book. It felt like they were an integral part of Liam and Aubrey's story, and I love it when side characters actually HAVE that influence in a book. I cannot wait to see more of them in the next installments.

If I were Jack, and she Rose, I would have forced myself on that door, and both of us would have drowned.

And then there are the freaking MAIN CHARACTERS man... Liam is, admittedly, a really flawed character. I am not discounting his experiences because, yes, he's suffered through an incredibly traumatic event and, for a while, lost his sense of purpose. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. But the way he went about coping with it, while understandable, CANNOT be justified. But that was what I loved about his character. His trauma explains his behaviour, but it doesn't excuse it, and I appreciated that the book understood the difference.

It took a near-death experience for Liam to finally realise how badly he'd been treating the people around him, but once he did, he actually did something about it. Sure, for a good year he WAS a coward and DID try to run from his past, but seeing him eventually face everything head-on and genuinely begin to heal was so rewarding. I loved watching him take accountability rather than simply being forgiven because he had suffered. His growth felt earned, and that made his character arc all the more satisfying.

"Don't you apologize, not for one second, Aubrey."

Aubrey, on the other hand, I have endless respect for. She is so, so strong, and I just want to hug her and tell her that sometimes, it is okay not to be. I love that she respected herself enough to walk away when it was necessary, both for her own sake and for the good of the both of them. And the fact that she never stopped loving him just broke my heart even more. It must have been such a difficult decision for her to make, but I'm so glad she went through with it because, ultimately, that was what they both needed: Aubrey needed space away from him, and Liam needed a wake-up call. What she went through, I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. To feel so alone during such a difficult time... My heart breaks for her just thinking about it.

Aubrey Vaughn could tell me to go to hell, and I would.

And their romance?? ANGST. ANGST EVERYWHERE. I was genuinely surprised I wasn't a sobbing mess by the end of this book. (Thank God Wren believes in happy endings, because otherwise I would've been absolutely destroyed.) Their love for each other was evident in all the little details, in everything they remembered about one another, how effortlessly they cared for each other, how closely intertwined their lives had become... It was like they were made for each other. As wise ol' Reid said, "You and Aubrey don't hate one another. You hurt each other... but it's never been hateful." And I think that sums up their relationship sooo perfectly! Beneath all the hurt and mistakes, there was still so much love between them, and I loved that the book never lost sight of that.

Aubrey Vaughn is my true addiction, the vice I cannot sedate. The sobriety I just broke.

The mental health representation was also incredible. Wren doesn't shy away from the ugly details or the raw pain people can go through, and I really appreciated how much care was put into handling the topic. It didn't feel like mental health was simply being used as a plot device or as an excuse for a character's actions. Instead, it was treated as something complicated and messy, just like it is in real life.

"We were never broken—just human."

The only reason this wasn't a five-star read for me is that I think this book was just a little too short for the story it wanted to tell. I honestly think it would've benefited from another 50 or so pages, particularly towards the latter part of the book, just to flesh out some of the characters' communication and emotional development a little more. I felt like somewhere around the 80% mark in particular was a little rushed. The characters also had a tendency to keep putting off actually communicating with each other (they were... HORRIBLE communicators...), which definitely contributed to some frustration as well haha. And, on a completely personal note, there was just a litttleeeee too much smut and swearing for my taste.

"You are meant to be seen and heard, Aubrey Vaughn."

BUTT overall, The Has-Been was such an emotional ride. The angst nearly took me OUT, but I pushed through and am so glad I did because I can tell that this book will stick with me for a WHILE. This was a spectacular debut, and if this is what Wren Riley is bringing to the table with her first novel, I cannot wait to see what she does next. (I sure hope it's Reid and Reese's book next because I'm a SUCKER for their dynamic omg)

"High sticking? I love it when you talk hockey to me."

(P.S. Bonus chapter was SO FREAKING CUTE Y'ALL. What a beautiful end to Aubrey and Liam's story.)

(P.P.S. I LOVE the chapter headings. Ch.19 in particular was so meta hahaha I loved that!!!)

Life isn't meant to be lived in silence; it isn't supposed to be pushed off until tomorrow.
Life is messy and loud—meant for today.

Thank you Rattle the Stars PR and Wren Riley for providing this book for review consideration via BookFunnel. All opinions are my own.

[kileigh]

✨Due to the author taking my review and the critiques that I made about this book, and turning it into an instagram post slamming my review for giving it 2 stars, I will no longer be supporting this author.✨
_______________________

This book had most of my favorite tropes. Second chance romance, hockey romance, mental health rep, and found family. But unfortunately, some of this didn't land in the way that I was hoping.

Aubrey Vaughn is back on campus for her final year at Delleth University. She's determined to make her last year her best yet, after spending the previous year heartbroken and miserable. That determination quickly crumbles when she realizes that she has to face the one athlete she knows all too well... Her ex boyfriend, Liam.
Liam Anderson was the star center for his college hockey team. He was NHL bound, until a career ending injury took his dream from him. Now he's learning how to navigate his new found identity as a former hockey player, and is also trying his best to stay far away from Aubrey, in hopes to protect her.

What I adored about this book was the found family aspect! I love how close the Vaughn cousins are. It melted my heart. The side characters were well written and authentic.
Also, the mental health rep for Liam, the mmc. Men's mental health matters, too. Liam struggled a lot with being able to admit hard truths to himself, and others. I do wish we had more in depth scenes with him and his therapist, because we never really saw what led up to him coming to the decision to address the issue, it was sort of thrown in at the end of the book.

That leads me to the pacing of the book. I wasn't a fan. I love a slow burn romance, but the main character's first conversation was literally at 50% in, halfway through the book, and lasted about 5 lines. Liam and Aubrey had more dialogue with the side characters than they did between each other. And that's really unfortunate, because it could've added so much to their story. Instead, it dragged in the beginning. I would’ve loved some flashbacks highlighting how their relationship was previously, before the injury and the big secret Aubrey is keeping from him, just to add to the angst or something.
I loved the side characters, but it was a lot and there was no point.

A second chance romance is my top favorite trope, but in this case, the reason that it didn't work for me was because most of Liam's actions were red flags and unforgivable. I completely understand that Liam had a lot going on, and that he was struggling with his mental health, but that doesn't give you the right to treat others badly. He wasn't only treating Aubrey bad, he was mean to his friends as well. It was written almost like his friends were brushing off his attitude because of everything he went through, and to a certain extent... sure, I guess.

I truly didn't want them ending up together. Aubrey deserved so much more. This almost read like a trauma bond instead of a romance for me. Because let's not forget that Aubrey went through something major, and swallowed her feelings down for the sake of Liam. He made it impossible for Aubrey to open up, and tell him about what happened to her. Which, by the way, she doesn't tell him until the last freaking chapter... (That was handled so poorly. I would've LOVED that subject to be handled with more care.) Every time they were together, they were doing something sexual. Which, isn't the issue. The issue is that Aubrey's internal dialogue practically screamed at Liam to listen to her. At one point, she started to say something and he said "Tell me tomorrow. Tonight- tonight I don't want to talk." and they continued to have sex. The smut would've been amazing if it weren't for the gravity of the situation, and the fact that in the previous chapter he was talking about how badly he wanted Aubrey to open up to him. Ugh. It gave me the ick.

Liam is an insufferable mmc, and I'm so upset because he had hero potential, but he was selfish, plays victim all the time, and lowkey has narcissistic tendencies. There were a few scenes that made me cringe so hard. "I shouldn't be mad, we weren't together." Meanwhile, he's making her explain herself and feel like shit for trying to move on after A YEAR of no contact.

Another thing that I absolutely hated how the moment Liam finally admitted to himself that hard truth that he wasn't able to say out loud, he was doing it to coax Aubrey into telling him something she wasn't ready to speak on. It was a "look at me, I can be vulnerable so you should be, too," moment. ICK! The whole book, not once, did he ask how Aubrey felt about their situation. It was always "me, me, me."

At one point Aubrey told him that a random guy called him a "Has-Been" and that he fumbled Aubrey. And... TRUE. But Liam got upset at being called a has-been, rather than the fact that he did, indeed, FUMBLE AUBREY! Infuriating.. At that point, Aubrey should just left and never looked back, because how are you gonna get mad at something that isn't even the freaking point?

Anyway, I'm so upset that this didn't land for me. I wanted to love it so bad. Maybe I'll give the next book a try, because I have a feeling that I know who it'll be about, and I already got to know them in this book. I have a feeling I might like their story a bit more, but, we shall see.

Thank you Rattle The Stars PR for this arc in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

[Heather Weir]

**Trigger Warning & Spoilers**

|| Contains talk of attempted suicide and miscarriages ||

Wren Riley’s new book “The Has-Been” highlights not just mental health, but mental health in men and one of the most traumatic things a woman could go through, a miscarriage, and they still found love. Riley brought together two characters who each had endured significant trauma and created a heartwarming love story.

But this is not just a story about finding your better half, this is a story about finding who you are as an individual after enduring one of the worst moments in your life.

It is about healing, promoting mental health in a positive light, friendship, support systems, therapy and once you have conquered all that you get a beautiful love story, even if it may not be the ending you were hoping for.

Liam Anderson was the star center of Delleth’s hockey team until a shattered leg, and one mistake took everything from him. Now he just wants to keep his head down and graduate college without being reminded of the past. However, that proves difficult when he comes face to face with his ex, Aubrey Vaughn and his therapist suggest finding closure with her by confronting the one thing he wishes to forget, his suicide attempt.

“Nowadays, I’m just the life of the party’s best friend. The Has-Been.” – Liam Anderson

Aubrey is in her senior year of college and is determined to make the most of the time she has left rooming with her cousins and focusing on the career she’s building in athletic training, but when she runs into her ex-Liam Anderson plans change and she has to decide whether or not to share the trauma she went through with the one person who could help her heal from it.

Love can be a powerful thing if you let it and Liam and Aubrey have found what true love is to me. To go through incredibly difficult traumas and survive not just that, but the damage that it caused to the relationship was an amazing story to read.

Being able to connect to characters is important to me because it helps me fall deeper into the story, and I had no issue with this in “The Has-Been.” As someone who has had a miscarriage and survived a suicide attempt, it was easy to connect to Liam and Aubrey.

I felt their pain as they were going through the motions of healing and trying to share their stories with the people they love. I felt their heartbreak and anger and the need to push people away in order to protect them. I understand what it’s like to have panic attacks and flash backs of horrid events and just wanting to escape it all and fade into the quiet.

“I’m the has-been, Aubrey’s has-been, Aubrey’s right-now, Aubrey’s always-will-be. Life isn’t meant to be lived in silence; it isn’t supposed to be pushed off until tomorrow. Life is messy and loud — meant for today. And I’ve never cherished the noise more.”
– Liam Anderson.

But these two are like two magnets pulling towards each other at such a force that when they meet the entire world shifts. The chemistry, the banter and love that was felt in these pages was kismet. I needed an entire box of tissues just to follow their story of healing.

Riley’s writing was slow in some parts and fast in others. For me, the ending was rushed with a pretty bow at the end. I love and was so invested in the story that I could have read another 100 pages of deeper character development and for the storyline to come to a better close.

Then the spice almost felt like it was too much for the characters. Don’t get me wrong it was beautiful and I loved it, but some parts seemed too graphic or rough for the characters during a time of healing. It needed something more sensual and slow.

However, Riley did give readers an added bonus of side characters and an opportunity to create more connections to Aubrey’s cousins, June, Reese, and Rory; as well as Liam’s two best friends Reid and Brennan.

That added some mystery and a little bit more spice as the reader will try and guess who Reese is hooking up with and if June is just hooking up with Brennan or if she actually loves him.

Luckily for us, Riley isn’t finished with these characters, and we will find out those answers in book two of the Delleth College series.

It is for all those wonderful reasons that I am rating this book four out of five stars and four out of five spicy chili peppers.

I am grateful for the opportunity to have read the ARC for Rattle the stars and Wren Riley.

[Evie Oliva]

It's been a while since I found a really good sports romance to read which is why I took the opportunity to read The Has-Been by Wren Riley. I've usually found sports romance to be charming, showing the pressures of being a professional sports player and how the lead has to figure out the balance of making a relationship work with their career. What makes The Has-Been different is that fact that it follows a couple where the lead MMC is a year out from a career ending injury with no hope of being to return to his sport and the future he envisioned for himself going pro. Instead, this book focuses on the fall-out of losing that dream and the future you put years of your life into and the ramifications that come from that loss and that was something that I found both unexpected and unique as it is not a subject matter I've seen covered as much in the genre. In the end, I really respected the way the various subjects were dealt with and the realistic approach to rebuilding your life. My only wish is that I would have wanted the book to spend more time with the couple once they are finding their peace in present after spending our time watching them deal with their grief.

The Has-Been follows former hockey player Liam Anderson, who has returned to school at Delleth College after taking a year off to deal with the career ending injury he suffered from and the many trials he went through after, including a break-up with his girlfriend. Liam is trying to take on enough of a course load to allow his to make up his junior year and still graduate not far behind the rest of his class. On the other hand, the book also follows Aubrey Vaughn, a student at Delleth College who has been dealing with her own issues after choosing to break up with her boyfriend, Liam, after she realizes that she could not help him with his trauma and health. The two of them are brought together again once they have to start doing clinical hours with the hockey team for the degrees. As they continue to spend more time together, the former couple have to deal with the feelings they still have for each other while also trying to deal with grief over the issues that drove them apart in the first place.

First of all, I really enjoyed the way that Riley set up the world here. It had the perfect small town vibe with its easy to find main areas to see the main characters, like the hockey rink and the local bar, alongside a full cast of characters that will most likely be seen in various other installments for the series. I love when a series opener does this, allowing the readers to learn the world and the various people in it, seeing the connections between other potential matches and showing just where the series might go next. Riley has developed a believable world and the people that populate it are complicated and realistic, filled with hope and grief and I am looking forward to see who will be the focus of book 2.

As for the characters, I wanted to give Liam and Aubrey big hugs because of everything they had to go through. The mental health representation was done beautifully here, showing the realistic way that depression and anxiety and other issues manifest in various ways and the ups and downs they take people through. It was gut-wrenching at times but Riley was able to give these issues the respect they needed as the story progressed. There was no shying away from the reality of these situations and Riley was able to use a deft hand in showing just how much these characters were worth with their emotions and the way they came through to the other side to find something they could want again.

As for the plot, second chance romances are a favorite of mine, the whole right person at the wrong time leaves hope and this book had that and more. Readers get to see a couple who are still figuring out themselves so they can figure out how to be their new selves together and I love stories like that. This was wonderfully done and I can't wait to see what Wren Riley has in store next for this series.

Read this book if you like sports romance stories with a healthy dose of real issues and couples that learn to communicate and understand themselves and each other again.

Rating on my Scale: 8.5 Stars. I wanted more time with this couple but I'll just hope we get to see a little more of Liam and Aubrey in the next book.



My thanks to Rattle the Stars PR and Wren Riley for the eARC of this book in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

[Cassie Kamphuis]

Book Title: The Has-Been (Delleth College #1)
Author: Wren Riley Tropes: Second Chance, Exes to Lovers, Forced Proximity, College Romance, Hockey Romance, Dual POV, Flashback Structure, Mental Health Rep, Found Family
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

⚠️ This book handles some heavy topics with incredible care. Please check the trigger warnings before diving in.

🤩 The Vibe: Raw, aching, and quietly beautiful.

A snowy college campus. A hockey player and the girl he never really let go of, forced back into the same orbit with the same unfinished story hanging between them. The Has-Been sounds like a second chance romance — and it is — but it's also so much more than that. This is a book about two people who believe they are broken, not just as a couple but individually, and what happens when two people who've given up on themselves find each other again. The dedication says "you are not broken, only human" — and that is the whole book in one line.

👩‍❤️‍👨 Main Characters:

Liam: Carrying more than anyone around him realizes, and holding it together so convincingly that you almost believe him too. What makes him so devastating is that his walls aren't dramatic — they're quiet. He's not pushing Aubrey away with big gestures. He's doing it in small, invisible ways that took a long time to see. Watching him slowly stop running from himself is one of the best character arcs I've read all year.

Aubrey: She came back to Delleth with her own version of broken, and she is not interested in pretending she's fine. That honesty made her so easy to connect with. She doesn't make it easy for Liam to hide either — and that tension between them is where the whole book lives. She is someone who chooses to keep showing up even when it costs her, and watching her learn that she deserves the same in return was everything.

💕 What I Loved:

- The flashback structure — Wren weaves in glimpses of who Liam and Aubrey were before everything fell apart and drops them right next to who they are now, and the contrast is devastating in the best possible way. Seeing exactly what they lost makes the second chance hit so much harder
- The central theme — two people who believe they are too damaged to be fixed, slowly realizing they're not, and then helping each other get there too
- The dedication: "you are not broken, only human" — I felt that in my chest
- The mental health rep being handled with so much intention and care — it never felt like a plot device
- The Delleth College campus feeling like a fully realized world I never wanted to leave
- The found family energy woven through the hockey team, Aubrey's cousins and the people around them
- Wren's writing — it's quiet and precise and it gets under your skin without you realizing it until you're three chapters past where you meant to stop

🤔 Final Thoughts:

I've read this book twice now and it wrecked me both times.

The Has-Been is the kind of debut that makes you sit with it for a long time after you finish. Wren Riley didn't write a hockey romance with some emotional depth layered on top — she wrote a story about broken people finding their way back to themselves, and wrapped a second chance romance around the outside of it. Every choice in this book — the flashback structure, the slow burn, the way both characters carry their damage quietly — serves that central idea. These are not people being dramatic about their pain. They are people genuinely trying to survive it. And watching them choose each other anyway is one of the most moving reading experiences I've had in a long time.

This is my first time on Delleth College's campus. I'm already counting down the days until book two.

If you love:

Second chance romance with real emotional stakes
Characters whose damage feels human and true
Flashback structures that make the present hit harder
College hockey romance that goes so much deeper than the sport
Books that stay with you long after the last page

🎧 Swift Song Pairing: This Love

[Kiki]

⭐️ 4.3/5 stars

ARC Review

I received an ARC of The Has-Been by Wren Riley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Has-Been was my first sports romance, and I ended up enjoying it a lot more than I expected!

I’ll admit, I’m not usually the biggest believer in second-chance romances. I’m very much a “life happens for a reason” person, so part of me has always felt like if two people break up, there was probably a reason they weren’t meant to be together. But Aubrey and Liam’s story challenged that perspective a little.

Their relationship shows that sometimes the problem isn’t necessarily that two people don’t belong together—it can be timing, misunderstandings, trauma, or simply not having the tools to work through something at that point in your life. Once the truth comes out and they actually begin to understand one another, you see how much work both people have to put in to make a relationship work.

I really appreciated that because romance books can sometimes make love feel like: meet → fall in love → happily ever after. In reality, relationships have bumps in the road. You’re going to disagree, hurt each other, or experience things you don’t know how to handle. What matters is how you communicate, process those moments, and decide whether you’re willing to work through them together.

One of my favorite parts of this book was the mental health representation. The story doesn’t ignore how much trauma can affect a person, their goals, and their relationships. It also shows that getting help isn’t something to be ashamed of. Therapy can be difficult to accept—especially when you’re used to dealing with things yourself—but you don’t have to suffer in silence or handle everything alone. That aspect of the story felt especially meaningful and relatable to me.

I also unexpectedly fell in love with the side characters! Between the Vaughn sisters and the hockey players, there are so many relationships and little side stories that I want to know more about. Aubrey and Liam’s story feels complete enough that I would actually love to see future books focus on different couples while continuing to give us glimpses into their relationship.

My biggest critique was the pacing. It moved a little too quickly for my personal preference, and I would have loved more time with certain moments and relationships. At the same time, that makes this a really easy book to fly through.

Since I normally gravitate toward contemporary romance, romantasy, and dark romance, sports romance is definitely outside my usual reading bubble. That’s probably the biggest reason this landed at a 4.3 rather than one of my higher ratings—it comes down more to personal preference than anything I thought was particularly wrong with the story.

And Wren Riley definitely knows how to write a spicy scene. 👀 The chemistry is there, but more importantly, so is the emotional connection. I actually cared about these characters and wanted to see them figure things out.

Overall, The Has-Been is a fast, easy read with a surprisingly deep romance that explores second chances, trauma, mental health, communication, and what it actually takes to make a relationship work. There’s no complicated fantasy world or magic system to learn—you can just jump in and enjoy the story.

If you’re looking for a quick, cozy-but-emotional sports romance with spice, lovable side characters, and a relationship that isn’t afraid to acknowledge that love takes work, I definitely think this one is worth picking up. 🏒🤎

[Becky Whittingham]

Okay, I absolutely DEVOURED this book in literally half a day!

Apparently so much so that I finished it, knew I was obsessed with it, and then immediately forgot half of what happened because I was too busy being emotionally invested in Liam and Aubrey!

The Has-Been follows Liam and Aubrey, former childhood sweethearts who were once completely inseparable until everything fell apart. Liam had his entire future mapped out around hockey, until a devastating injury ended his career before it had really even begun. A year later, he returns to Delleth College trying to work out who he is when he can no longer be the person everyone expected him to become, unfortunately for both of them, that also means being thrown straight back into Aubrey’s life.

And THE HISTORY between these two!

This is second-chance romance done properly because their breakup isn’t based on some tiny misunderstanding that could have been fixed with a five minute conversation. There is so much hurt, grief, guilt and love tangled up between them and as you gradually learn what actually happened during their time apart, you understand why neither of them has ever really been able to move on.

Liam absolutely broke my heart. Watching him deal with losing hockey, his identity and the future he’d spent his entire life working towards was genuinely devastating. I really appreciated that his mental health wasn’t treated as something Aubrey could simply “fix” by loving him enough either. His therapy, recovery and eventual decision to build an entirely new future for himself felt like HIS journey.

Aubrey’s side of their story hit just as hard. She has been carrying her own grief completely alone, and when everything she has kept buried finally comes out - OUCH. There are some genuinely heavy themes in this book, particularly surrounding pregnancy loss, addiction/overdose and mental health, so I would definitely recommend checking the trigger warnings before reading.

Thankfully, it isn’t all emotional destruction because Liam and Aubrey also have SO much chemistry. The banter, the jealousy, the forced proximity, the “we’re definitely taking this slowly” while absolutely nobody believed them for a second.

I also loved the wider friendship/family group. They made the book feel so warm and chaotic around all of the heavier moments and I am now extremely invested in everyone else’s lives.

Ultimately, though, this book is about two people learning that they weren’t broken - they were human. Their lives didn’t turn out the way they thought they would, they hurt each other, they grieved separately and they both made mistakes, but watching them finally choose to face everything together was so satisfying.

And that epilogue?! Liam finally being able to step onto the ice without needing hockey to define him, while building this completely different future with Aubrey, oh my gosh my HEART.

Second-chance romance + former hockey player + childhood sweethearts + forced proximity + one bed + years of unresolved feelings + emotional healing = apparently the quickest way to get five stars out of me.

Absolutely loved this. 🥹❤️

Thank you to Wren Riley and Rattle The Stars PR for giving me the opportunity to review this book early. I cannot wait to read more from Wren.

[Ammarah (The Daily Main Character)]

Thank you to Wren Riley and Rattle Stars PR Agency for the opportunity to receive, read and review an advanced copy of The Has-Been, Book 1 in The Delleth College Series. Before jumping into any book, please take care of yourselves and always check the author's socials for any and all trigger warnings. FYI, there might be spoilers ahead.

This follows Aubrey Vaughn (FMC) and Liam Anderson (MMC) in a second chance, exes to lovers, forced proximity, ice hockey (very light on the hockey), college romance!!! Some of my favourite tropes all mixed into one. Written in dual first person POV with flashbacks, which I think are crucial in a second chance story. Also, how can I book a trip to Delleth College? The cozy, winter vibes of this historic campus were so good, and I love the attention that the college was given, I could truly picture it, which only added to the reading experience.

Onto the characters, both Aubrey and Liam are messy, complex and are dealing with their own types of trauma. Right off the bat they are both really bad communicators and the frustration I felt reading their interactions was at an all time high. If you're not a fan of the miscommunication trope I don't think this story would be for you. I am fine with characters having trauma, but after what they went through together and as individuals I would have preferred it to be explored more, rather than just skimmed past with no real resolution. I found that a lot of time was spent on side characters — her cousins and his former teammates — which allowed me to form a greater connection with them than our main characters. I think I would have maybe just liked more from them.

The mental health representation I think was some of the best I have read. I think the author deserves all the praise here, this was so well researched and considered. It felt like these were genuine depictions of PTSD, anxiety and trauma, and the therapy sessions literally felt like I was there too. What Wren did so well was writing about Aubrey and her cousins. The way she wrote about girlhood, sisterhood and family actually made me super emotional. The way they uplifted each other, grounded each other, and were just the most supportive group of humans was the most beautiful thing to read. Yes they are cousins by blood, but friends by choice, and the way each of them brought their own unique personalities and quirks to the dynamic makes me so excited for future books in this series!

Overall, whilst this was an entertaining, messy and complicated romance, and whilst these main characters are not quite my favourites, this was a solid first book in a series and I am keen to go back to Delleth College and read more about these characters.

The Has Been is available for pre order now and releases on 9th September!!

Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 / 5
Spicy Rating: 🌶️🌶️ / 5

[Melanie Gates]

First, thank you to Wren Riley and Rattle the Stars PR for this ARC opportunity.

College-centered hockey romance with a second chance mixed in? Let's go!

This story is an incredibly heartfelt and emotional read. It is highly important for anyone interested in reading this to look into the trigger warnings ahead of time. Some things discussed may be hard to read and your mental health and wellbeing is important.

A life-altering event changes everything in Liam Anderson's life. He was the captain of the Delleth College hockey team and was well on his way to the NHL when he's injured on the ice and everything changed. When he returns a year later, healed somewhat physically but not certain on his mental stability, he's still ready to put one foot in front of the other and get back to it. One big fear? Running into his ex.

His ex, Aubrey, has returned to school for a new year, surrounded by her cousins in a condo. She's ready to get back to things but definitely worried about running into Liam.... because even though they've broken up... she still has feelings for him. She also learns that she will not be working with the football team anymore as a student athletic trainer; she's now been paired with the hockey team. She thinks, at least she won't run into Liam... it'll just be his friends. Wrong.

Liam is also tasked as a student athletic trainer. Surprise!

This super slow burn novel walks us through their path of rekindling their love. There is a lot of hurt behind both of them; both are hiding secrets they're not willing to tell the other yet. Slowly but surely, they'll find their way to being friends again... and maybe more.

The quote that took me out? "Do you want me to remind you how good I can fu*k you? A reminder that it's me that can make you scream—not a single other person on this campus." Gooooood grief, Liam.

Overall, I enjoyed this story a lot. Why I didn't give it a higher rating is simply because sometimes I was so lost by the intricacies of all of the characters being mentioned all at once. While I understand we're building a series... it was just a lot of names and people to try to keep up with all in one spot instead of spread out more across the book. This, of course, is just a personal preference of mine and should not be the only thing you take from my review.

Looking forward to more from this series and from Wren.

TL:DR
⭐️ 4/5
🔁 Second chance
🏒 Hockey romance
💔 Exes-to-lovers
🎓 College setting
🏠 Forced proximity (they have to work together with the hockey team)
🤫 Secrets from both MCs
💞 Right person, wrong time
❤️‍🔥 Slow burn
😮‍💨 Dirty talk & crawling
🫂 Found family
🧠 Mental health rep
❤️‍🩹 Dual past trauma
🎢 Emotional rollercoaster
🛏️ One bed
🌶️ 1.5/5

⚠️ TW: Depression, grief, alcohol & drug/substance abuse, miscarriage and pregnancy loss, suicidal thoughts and attempt, sports-related injury, panic attack — all on page. Some graphic detail, some non-graphic. Remember, your mental health is important; if these will trigger you, this is not the story for you.