What do you think?
Rate this book
What's more dangerous than a second chance?
Wall
I want my wife back, but I lost the right to go after her one drunken night four years ago. She's moved on, but I'm not going anywhere. I'm gonna be right here. And when she finally comes to me? I ain't letting her go again.
Mona
John Wall wrecked my life, but I've put myself together again. I'm not the broken woman whose husband betrayed her. I can fight my own battles.
Then a favor for a friend backfires, and I run into more trouble than I can handle. I need backup, and John is still the biggest man I know. But he won't help me for free. He wants something in return.
I thought I knew what tore us apart, but when I let John back in, I realize the past isn't always how you remember. And second chances? They can heal you--or break you forever.
Wall is a 43,000-word novella set in the Steel Bones Motorcycle Club World. It takes place before the action of Charge and Nickel's Story, and it can be read as a standalone. Wall is a second chance, redemption romance that deals with infidelity and pregnancy loss.
HEA guaranteed.
Wall
I want my wife back, but I lost the right to go after her one drunken night four years ago. She's moved on, but I'm not going anywhere. I'm gonna be right here. And when she finally comes to me? I ain't letting her go again.
Mona
John Wall wrecked my life, but I've put myself together again. I'm not the broken woman whose husband betrayed her. I can fight my own battles.
Then a favor for a friend backfires, and I run into more trouble than I can handle. I need backup, and John is still the biggest man I know. But he won't help me for free. He wants something in return.
I thought I knew what tore us apart, but when I let John back in, I realize the past isn't always how you remember. And second chances? They can heal you--or break you forever.
Wall is a 43,000-word novella set in the Steel Bones Motorcycle Club World. It takes place before the action of Charge and Nickel's Story, and it can be read as a standalone. Wall is a second chance, redemption romance that deals with infidelity and pregnancy loss.
HEA guaranteed.
167 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 30, 2020
897 people are currently reading
1385 people want to read
About the author
Cate C. Wells
28 books2,960 followersSecret question: what is your favorite thing about this time of year?
CATE C. WELLS writes gut-wrenching paranormal and contemporary romance. Whatever the world, readers can expect character-driven stories that are raw, real, and emotionally satisfying. Cate's into messy love, flaws, long roads to redemption, grace, and happy ever after, in fiction and in life.
As well as books, Cate has collected a husband, two daughters, and a cat along the way. She lives in Baltimore when she’s not out exploring with the family.
Want a heads up on new releases and bonus content? Sign up for Cate's newsletter at catecwells.com
Facebook: @catecwells
IG: @authorcatecwells
TT: @authorcatecwells
Threads: @authorcatecwells
Bookbub: @catecwells
CATE C. WELLS writes gut-wrenching paranormal and contemporary romance. Whatever the world, readers can expect character-driven stories that are raw, real, and emotionally satisfying. Cate's into messy love, flaws, long roads to redemption, grace, and happy ever after, in fiction and in life.
As well as books, Cate has collected a husband, two daughters, and a cat along the way. She lives in Baltimore when she’s not out exploring with the family.
Want a heads up on new releases and bonus content? Sign up for Cate's newsletter at catecwells.com
Facebook: @catecwells
IG: @authorcatecwells
TT: @authorcatecwells
Threads: @authorcatecwells
Bookbub: @catecwells
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 381 reviews
August 14, 2021
Note to self: AVOID
They were high school sweethearts, they marry, but 3 miscarriages later, he cheats and they separate. Four yrs later, he wants her back.
After they break up, he turns into a manwhore for 6months getting drunk and sleeping through all the club whores… and he never tries to get his wife back. They weren’t divorced when he fucked those club whores.
The wife is a loser doormat who gained a bunch of more weight and remained celibate for 4yrs. Then ran to the cheater for help..and this is the reason for their 2nd chance... 🙄
What’s worse is that the heroine is apparently described as fat/overweight with greasy hair who doesn’t take care of herself, while the OW, who he cheated with, has a killer body and is hot. Sounds like he’s been lusting after her and the other club whores and the drunkenness is just an excuse to finally give in and go for it and cheat. I am sure his dick didn’t all of sudden fall into her vagina by accident. Cheating always starts with lust...
Imagine after they get back together, he’s going from these hot club whores to his fat wife who doesn’t shower or take care of herself…. like what was the author thinking…..
I found this author from reading Run Posy Run and was planning to go read all her back titles but screw that, not if this book is this authors idea of a romance novel. I got major second hand embarrassment just from reading the reviews, gag!🤭
Once a cheater, always a cheater……
Avoid.
They were high school sweethearts, they marry, but 3 miscarriages later, he cheats and they separate. Four yrs later, he wants her back.
After they break up, he turns into a manwhore for 6months getting drunk and sleeping through all the club whores… and he never tries to get his wife back. They weren’t divorced when he fucked those club whores.
The wife is a loser doormat who gained a bunch of more weight and remained celibate for 4yrs. Then ran to the cheater for help..and this is the reason for their 2nd chance... 🙄
What’s worse is that the heroine is apparently described as fat/overweight with greasy hair who doesn’t take care of herself, while the OW, who he cheated with, has a killer body and is hot. Sounds like he’s been lusting after her and the other club whores and the drunkenness is just an excuse to finally give in and go for it and cheat. I am sure his dick didn’t all of sudden fall into her vagina by accident. Cheating always starts with lust...
Imagine after they get back together, he’s going from these hot club whores to his fat wife who doesn’t shower or take care of herself…. like what was the author thinking…..
I found this author from reading Run Posy Run and was planning to go read all her back titles but screw that, not if this book is this authors idea of a romance novel. I got major second hand embarrassment just from reading the reviews, gag!🤭
Once a cheater, always a cheater……
Avoid.
August 14, 2021
Bad enough he cheated but the fact that he still kept on sleeping with lots of other women during separation made his profession of love for heroine worthless. He should have been completely celibate afterwards therefore truly showing how sorry he was for sleeping with that ow. If he had done that at least his thoughts would have matched his actions. I don’t know how h could forgive him after all of the women he’d been with.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 24, 2024
4 All I Ever Wanted Stars ⭐
~Second Read. The moment you read one CCW book, it's like falling down the rabbit's hole. Love the Wall family!~
Wall is a second chance romance between John and Mona Wall who were once wildly in love. Fair warning it's about mending a relationship torn apart because of loss and cheating. It's an honest and heartfelt reminder that it happens to the best of us and that sometimes it's not always the end.
It’s a hard feeling. That you’ve lost something, and the world continues on as if it doesn’t matter.
Disappointed and disillusionment broke John and Mona. Although happily married, the pressure was too much and John messed up. Even though they both went on with their lives; neither moved on. Yet it isn't until 4 years later when Mona finally reaches out to John that gives him the opening he's been patiently waiting for. He's going to win back Mona.
And so we’re clear. This ain’t me leaving.
It’s not?
Nope. Cause I guess you don’t know this, but my heart’s right there. He nods to where I sit on the bed. Has been since I first laid eyes on you.
I guess we can all take the moral high ground and claim that cheating is unforgivable. But there are so many variables and each relationship is different. This book was an emphatic portrayal of a couple too far gone to see the damage they were both responsible for. A very valid reason to try again. Seriously, it's always so lovely reading a book by this author. 💖
~Second Read. The moment you read one CCW book, it's like falling down the rabbit's hole. Love the Wall family!~
Wall is a second chance romance between John and Mona Wall who were once wildly in love. Fair warning it's about mending a relationship torn apart because of loss and cheating. It's an honest and heartfelt reminder that it happens to the best of us and that sometimes it's not always the end.
It’s a hard feeling. That you’ve lost something, and the world continues on as if it doesn’t matter.
Disappointed and disillusionment broke John and Mona. Although happily married, the pressure was too much and John messed up. Even though they both went on with their lives; neither moved on. Yet it isn't until 4 years later when Mona finally reaches out to John that gives him the opening he's been patiently waiting for. He's going to win back Mona.
And so we’re clear. This ain’t me leaving.
It’s not?
Nope. Cause I guess you don’t know this, but my heart’s right there. He nods to where I sit on the bed. Has been since I first laid eyes on you.
I guess we can all take the moral high ground and claim that cheating is unforgivable. But there are so many variables and each relationship is different. This book was an emphatic portrayal of a couple too far gone to see the damage they were both responsible for. A very valid reason to try again. Seriously, it's always so lovely reading a book by this author. 💖
October 10, 2023
I love marriage on the rocks stories and I don’t mind stories that have cheating if they are done in a way that seems reasonable and involves legit redemption. This one had the ingredients to be great, but sadly, the main couple lacked chemistry for me. I also didn’t like how much time passed. And the reason for reconnection was super weak.
May 9, 2021
So I recently discovered Cate Wells and devoured both Run, Posy, Run and Hitting the Wall in like 2 days. I was floored by the sophistication of her writing style and the complexities of her characters. Since “Wall” is about the main characters of Hitting the Wall’s older brother, I wandered over to this book next.
Honestly, I was disappointed in this for many reasons, but mostly just frustrated with the way the characters here were written. I knew this book was about infidelity (which i absolutely CANNOT stand to read) but I figured since it happens right off the bat before I got too emotionally invested and since it was a novella, it wouldn’t be too painful before a speedy happy ending.
But then as the book went on I just couldn’t understand the author’s choices with her female character. It was simply depressing and since I am majorly empathetic to the female character while reading I was cringing the whole time.
Spoilers ahead...
So first, we have our male lead, John Wall. After a year or so of infertility affecting his marriage, he goes out one night, gets drunk and cheats on his wife. I like that he was shown to truly care about her before heading out the door and that he immediately confessed to Mona that same night. I had high hopes at this point and felt mildly sympathetic for him destroying his life...while also vindictively anticipating him suffering and having to beg to get her back. Unfortunately, I lost all respect for him when he immediately left the house, didn’t fight (like, at all, pretty much said sorry, keep the house and they never spoke for 4 years...like, what.) and THEN PROCEEDED TO SPEND THE NEXT 6 MONTHS ON A “BENDER” OF DRINKS, DRUGS AND WOMEN. Nope. Nope. Nope. I can’t. There is no excuse for this at all. He has a wife he truly loves and makes a horrific mistake he immediately regrets which deeply hurts her...and he proceeds to spend the next 6 months not fighting for her, but compounding the problem by making the same “mistake” again and again and again? This didn’t seem to be in keeping with his character at all, rather simply a throw away stereotype the author threw in of “oh yes of course the man spends the time apart having sex with the “motorcycle whores”. If a man has the desire to get back together with his wife, he has no business having sex with others. Period. If his goal is for the separation to end, that is simply betrayal. And by the way, they were separated NOT divorced. John seemed truly better than that in the beginning and like he truly valued his wife, so this behavior was baffling, infuriating and unjustifiable.
On to Mona, where I really had a problem. Mona is still grieving her miscarriages when she is hit out of nowhere with her perfect husband cheating on her with some random girl from his biker’s club. But while John spends the next 4 years doing drugs, sleeping his way through the club girls and getting himself into amazing physical shape after he sobers up...the author chose to be less kind to Mona. It was painful and I couldn’t stop cringing for her. In this kind of book you want - no, NEED the girl to get some of her own back - whether it be for her to move on in the dating realm, or change her life/appearance, etc. Mona did further her career by attending nursing school, but other than that she spent her 4 years crying, living in his house without re-decorating, gaining an extra 30 lbs and not going on dates. I don’t say these things because there’s anything inherently wrong or surprising about any of those things, but because at every turn Mona was portrayed as someone to be pitied or mocked, whether by young guys for being “a fatty with a desperate stink”, or even by John who still needed to step in to take care of her yard, dupe her into thinking she was paying the full mortgage when really it was only 1/4th the amount or make sure she changed her tires. I think these things were supposed to read as John still taking care of her as her husband, but honestly I just hated seeing her portrayed at all times as frumpy, poorly dressed, overweight and incapable of caring for herself. John even commented that he knew she wasn’t seeing anyone...where is the jealousy???? Where was her amazing comeback??? It didn’t exist. He won her back because she went to seek him out, not because she was in continued danger but because she was humiliated by someone else. ...honestly I hate second-hand embarassment and the only reason I read this book knowing it had infidelity in it was to see when John got a taste of his own medicine....but it didn’t happen.
Oh, and as a side note - while they talked in detail about the night he first cheated on her, he never told her anything really about all the women he had for 6 months. And we saw plenty graphic sex acts in the club to know Mona would have been beyond devastated and hurt and betrayed to learn about what he was doing while he couldn’t be bothered to even try to fight for her, not once.
“Don’t you want to know if I have a boyfriend?”
“You don’t.”
“How do you know?”
“I know.” There’s no doubt in his voice. Does he think I couldn’t get a man if I wanted one? I’ve been asked out a few times. Given, twice was at the Grab-and-Go at a dubious hour of night, and once was a friend of Lorraine’s that I’m positive she put up to it, but still. They count.
John traces my frown with a calloused finger. “Do you want me to be jealous? Do you wanna know that the thought of you with another man drives me fucking insane? It does. You wanna hurt me, destroy me, you got that power. I know it ain’t fair. It’s hypocritical as hell, but if you let any other man touch this body, it’d kill me.”
Yeah, HYPOCRITICAL AS HELL. My thoughts exactly. I simply can’t summon an ounce of respect for him or belief that he is a loving husband when he knows how deeply his betrayal hurt and destroyed her...and then he kept doing it for 6 months...and then never even told her about it. And then he has the audacity to say this crap.
Still have faith in Cate Wells, but I’m thinking I might steer clear of her motorcycle series...I can’t handle the infidelity.
Honestly, I was disappointed in this for many reasons, but mostly just frustrated with the way the characters here were written. I knew this book was about infidelity (which i absolutely CANNOT stand to read) but I figured since it happens right off the bat before I got too emotionally invested and since it was a novella, it wouldn’t be too painful before a speedy happy ending.
But then as the book went on I just couldn’t understand the author’s choices with her female character. It was simply depressing and since I am majorly empathetic to the female character while reading I was cringing the whole time.
Spoilers ahead...
So first, we have our male lead, John Wall. After a year or so of infertility affecting his marriage, he goes out one night, gets drunk and cheats on his wife. I like that he was shown to truly care about her before heading out the door and that he immediately confessed to Mona that same night. I had high hopes at this point and felt mildly sympathetic for him destroying his life...while also vindictively anticipating him suffering and having to beg to get her back. Unfortunately, I lost all respect for him when he immediately left the house, didn’t fight (like, at all, pretty much said sorry, keep the house and they never spoke for 4 years...like, what.) and THEN PROCEEDED TO SPEND THE NEXT 6 MONTHS ON A “BENDER” OF DRINKS, DRUGS AND WOMEN. Nope. Nope. Nope. I can’t. There is no excuse for this at all. He has a wife he truly loves and makes a horrific mistake he immediately regrets which deeply hurts her...and he proceeds to spend the next 6 months not fighting for her, but compounding the problem by making the same “mistake” again and again and again? This didn’t seem to be in keeping with his character at all, rather simply a throw away stereotype the author threw in of “oh yes of course the man spends the time apart having sex with the “motorcycle whores”. If a man has the desire to get back together with his wife, he has no business having sex with others. Period. If his goal is for the separation to end, that is simply betrayal. And by the way, they were separated NOT divorced. John seemed truly better than that in the beginning and like he truly valued his wife, so this behavior was baffling, infuriating and unjustifiable.
On to Mona, where I really had a problem. Mona is still grieving her miscarriages when she is hit out of nowhere with her perfect husband cheating on her with some random girl from his biker’s club. But while John spends the next 4 years doing drugs, sleeping his way through the club girls and getting himself into amazing physical shape after he sobers up...the author chose to be less kind to Mona. It was painful and I couldn’t stop cringing for her. In this kind of book you want - no, NEED the girl to get some of her own back - whether it be for her to move on in the dating realm, or change her life/appearance, etc. Mona did further her career by attending nursing school, but other than that she spent her 4 years crying, living in his house without re-decorating, gaining an extra 30 lbs and not going on dates. I don’t say these things because there’s anything inherently wrong or surprising about any of those things, but because at every turn Mona was portrayed as someone to be pitied or mocked, whether by young guys for being “a fatty with a desperate stink”, or even by John who still needed to step in to take care of her yard, dupe her into thinking she was paying the full mortgage when really it was only 1/4th the amount or make sure she changed her tires. I think these things were supposed to read as John still taking care of her as her husband, but honestly I just hated seeing her portrayed at all times as frumpy, poorly dressed, overweight and incapable of caring for herself. John even commented that he knew she wasn’t seeing anyone...where is the jealousy???? Where was her amazing comeback??? It didn’t exist. He won her back because she went to seek him out, not because she was in continued danger but because she was humiliated by someone else. ...honestly I hate second-hand embarassment and the only reason I read this book knowing it had infidelity in it was to see when John got a taste of his own medicine....but it didn’t happen.
Oh, and as a side note - while they talked in detail about the night he first cheated on her, he never told her anything really about all the women he had for 6 months. And we saw plenty graphic sex acts in the club to know Mona would have been beyond devastated and hurt and betrayed to learn about what he was doing while he couldn’t be bothered to even try to fight for her, not once.
“Don’t you want to know if I have a boyfriend?”
“You don’t.”
“How do you know?”
“I know.” There’s no doubt in his voice. Does he think I couldn’t get a man if I wanted one? I’ve been asked out a few times. Given, twice was at the Grab-and-Go at a dubious hour of night, and once was a friend of Lorraine’s that I’m positive she put up to it, but still. They count.
John traces my frown with a calloused finger. “Do you want me to be jealous? Do you wanna know that the thought of you with another man drives me fucking insane? It does. You wanna hurt me, destroy me, you got that power. I know it ain’t fair. It’s hypocritical as hell, but if you let any other man touch this body, it’d kill me.”
Yeah, HYPOCRITICAL AS HELL. My thoughts exactly. I simply can’t summon an ounce of respect for him or belief that he is a loving husband when he knows how deeply his betrayal hurt and destroyed her...and then he kept doing it for 6 months...and then never even told her about it. And then he has the audacity to say this crap.
Still have faith in Cate Wells, but I’m thinking I might steer clear of her motorcycle series...I can’t handle the infidelity.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
do-not-read-cheating
April 11, 2023Noooope…
Spoilers ahead-
Sigh. So. The h suffers miscarriage after miscarriage, which is traumatizing in itself, only to have her husband cheat on her and basically sleep around while they’re still married (but separated- technically cheating) with a lot of club bunnies… don’t worry- she remains celibate 😵💫🙄.
Apparently, she gains a bunch of weight (poor thing) and her “hubby” sleeps with women that have amazing bodies.
Cool, cool- what a way to boost someone’s confidence and self-esteem 🥴.
I’m supposed to believe their HEA?
Thank you Jena for the spoilers 😵💫 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Spoilers ahead-
Sigh. So. The h suffers miscarriage after miscarriage, which is traumatizing in itself, only to have her husband cheat on her and basically sleep around while they’re still married (but separated- technically cheating) with a lot of club bunnies… don’t worry- she remains celibate 😵💫🙄.
Apparently, she gains a bunch of weight (poor thing) and her “hubby” sleeps with women that have amazing bodies.
Cool, cool- what a way to boost someone’s confidence and self-esteem 🥴.
I’m supposed to believe their HEA?
Thank you Jena for the spoilers 😵💫 https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 15, 2024
Боже, памагі нам вижити серед цих жахливих обкладинок
January 8, 2025
I cheated because I was going through something that you also were going through but now I want forgiveness trope.
The MMC and FMC have been trying for a baby for the longest time but everytime she is pregnant she miscarriages, after her last failed pregnancy, their relationship falls apart even though words are left unsaid because adults in these books never sit down to talk🙄
Anyways.
One day, the MMC comes home drunk to confess cheating and they don't talk at all after that.
The MMC falls into a frenzy of drugs, women, sex and partying for years and eventually stops after joining some club. Oh, but of fucking course he is MADLY and DEEPLY in love with the FMC even though he was getting his dick wet every single day. He is SO regretful that he continues doing the thing he got kicked out for. Other women. And not even one this time, loads of them.
Would you wanna take him back after being celibate for 4 years? (the FMC was) No, she deserved better.
But our girly could not see that, she sees John and BOOM she is dripping wet and he is hot, muscular and he smells like an unicorn's asscrack or whatever. Give me a break. Man's only cardio was fucking and putting his stick in girls like a pencil sharpener. That's who you want back in your life?
I did not understand the emphasis on John being a jacked man who just oozes sex while the FMC was putting herself down every. single. time. It gets old girly, get over yourself. It was straight up sad.
I did like some things. It did have some cute scenes... But I did not like anyone in this book. I just could not.
She gave in too fucking fast, he got forgiven fast, where was the redemption? WHO KNOWS..
The MMC and FMC have been trying for a baby for the longest time but everytime she is pregnant she miscarriages, after her last failed pregnancy, their relationship falls apart even though words are left unsaid because adults in these books never sit down to talk🙄
Anyways.
One day, the MMC comes home drunk to confess cheating and they don't talk at all after that.
The MMC falls into a frenzy of drugs, women, sex and partying for years and eventually stops after joining some club. Oh, but of fucking course he is MADLY and DEEPLY in love with the FMC even though he was getting his dick wet every single day. He is SO regretful that he continues doing the thing he got kicked out for. Other women. And not even one this time, loads of them.
Would you wanna take him back after being celibate for 4 years? (the FMC was) No, she deserved better.
But our girly could not see that, she sees John and BOOM she is dripping wet and he is hot, muscular and he smells like an unicorn's asscrack or whatever. Give me a break. Man's only cardio was fucking and putting his stick in girls like a pencil sharpener. That's who you want back in your life?
I did not understand the emphasis on John being a jacked man who just oozes sex while the FMC was putting herself down every. single. time. It gets old girly, get over yourself. It was straight up sad.
I did like some things. It did have some cute scenes... But I did not like anyone in this book. I just could not.
She gave in too fucking fast, he got forgiven fast, where was the redemption? WHO KNOWS..
January 2, 2023
3.5 stars!
So. This is 100% a cheating romance, which I can only read if I know about the cheating before I start reading and I know theres going to be some good groveling. I liked this one a lot, though it’s not quite as good as my favorite Cate C. Wells book, just because it’s so much shorter. Wall is about a formerly married couple who have been separated for 4 years, ever since John cheated on Mona after they were both dealing with constant losses from miscarriages. It was one night and one huge mistake that cost him his marriage and the love of his life.
Obviously, if cheating is a hard limit, avoid this one. But I felt like the author did really well with John’s redemption. He had so much to make up for. He’s been waiting for Mona to give him a chance again and when she needs his help for one of her patients, he jumps at the chance to be back in her life. It’s very angsty and emotional, but I just wish it was longer. That’s why this is more of a 3.5 stars than a 4, but it’s still a very solid groveling romance.
So. This is 100% a cheating romance, which I can only read if I know about the cheating before I start reading and I know theres going to be some good groveling. I liked this one a lot, though it’s not quite as good as my favorite Cate C. Wells book, just because it’s so much shorter. Wall is about a formerly married couple who have been separated for 4 years, ever since John cheated on Mona after they were both dealing with constant losses from miscarriages. It was one night and one huge mistake that cost him his marriage and the love of his life.
Obviously, if cheating is a hard limit, avoid this one. But I felt like the author did really well with John’s redemption. He had so much to make up for. He’s been waiting for Mona to give him a chance again and when she needs his help for one of her patients, he jumps at the chance to be back in her life. It’s very angsty and emotional, but I just wish it was longer. That’s why this is more of a 3.5 stars than a 4, but it’s still a very solid groveling romance.
January 22, 2022
Meh. This one was fine, but seriously boring for me.
Back in my reproductive days, I knew my way around a miscarriage, and for that reason, I could empathize with the h and her depression. Infertility and pregnancy loss are a bitch. The book did give some glimpses of the deep darkness that can accompany such losses, but I still wasn't feeling it. I also wasn't feeling the split between the H and h. He never tried to go back to make a case for his dumbassery?
All in all, the angst is low despite the heavy topics and they hooked back up remarkably fast after a four-year hiatus. Oh, and they had a baby. So, yes there is cheating and marital strife, but I was left wanting more.
Back in my reproductive days, I knew my way around a miscarriage, and for that reason, I could empathize with the h and her depression. Infertility and pregnancy loss are a bitch. The book did give some glimpses of the deep darkness that can accompany such losses, but I still wasn't feeling it. I also wasn't feeling the split between the H and h. He never tried to go back to make a case for his dumbassery?
All in all, the angst is low despite the heavy topics and they hooked back up remarkably fast after a four-year hiatus. Oh, and they had a baby. So, yes there is cheating and marital strife, but I was left wanting more.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 14, 2021
First of all I am wary of cheating books.
If the book is about the Hero or heroine actively cheating then its a no go for me but I like a reconciliation marriage, getting over cheating or not.
The prologue starts with the Hero admitting quite quickly he has had sex with another woman.
He was very drunk and doesn't really know her so it wasn't planned and isn't an affair.
The heroine asks him to leave and he did.
The book then starts at chapter 1, four years later.
In his defence the Hero admitted it straight after it happened.
He has also been taking care and looking out for the heroine in the background unbeknownst to her for their time apart.
What I found harder to understand and so does the heroine is he stays away after being asked to leave.
He doesn't seek her out, bump into her, or try to win her back.
She goes to him, that's why they get the second chance.
It doesn't seem as if he had a plan to seek her out after a set time, they were just apart.
The author does make you feel for both the Hero and heroine but my heart broke for her.
For the safety gang.
At the start the husband obviously cheats, there are no details in this scene of him with the other woman.
They are separated for four years.
"After Mona cut me loose, I went on a six-month bender. Drink, drugs, women. I was blacking out. I had to delete Mona’s number from my phone so I didn’t call her up, say something to hurt her worse. Then one day, Heavy finds me passed out in clubhouse yard after a party.
He saved my life that day. I got sober, and I haven’t had a woman or a toke since. "
"“He’ll be down there. Once the tits come out, he disappears. He used to party, but after he patched in, he cleaned himself up. Never touches club pussy. Hasn’t in years.”"
They don't discuss the time they were apart.
She wasn't with anyone else and as he was keeping tabs he knows that.
HEA.
Epilogue.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 1, 2022
Wall was a fabulous second chance biker romance. It contains cheating and it was my main reason for picking it up. I was in the mood for a redemption story and Cate C. Wells delivered. This was my first book from this author and I can easily say I’ll be reading more from her.
John Wall f**ked up. Big time. So I was excited to find out how he would find his way back to Mona and save their marriage. This story is on the short side but nevertheless it still made an impact. There’s two in a marriage and this couple has had their share of struggles. It was explored through communication and their actions. John and Mona were two relatable characters with a strong connection and chemistry. I enjoyed getting to know how it all started and how they had ended up they way they were. Also the fight for their marriage and each other. I was invested from the beginning. John definitely redeemed himself.
Wall is book 4.5 in a series but can easily be read as a stand-alone. I’m definitely going to continue with this series and the other work from Cate C. Wells. What a fabulous introduction to this author.
4 Hope Stars
John Wall f**ked up. Big time. So I was excited to find out how he would find his way back to Mona and save their marriage. This story is on the short side but nevertheless it still made an impact. There’s two in a marriage and this couple has had their share of struggles. It was explored through communication and their actions. John and Mona were two relatable characters with a strong connection and chemistry. I enjoyed getting to know how it all started and how they had ended up they way they were. Also the fight for their marriage and each other. I was invested from the beginning. John definitely redeemed himself.
Wall is book 4.5 in a series but can easily be read as a stand-alone. I’m definitely going to continue with this series and the other work from Cate C. Wells. What a fabulous introduction to this author.
4 Hope Stars
Read
November 23, 2022Self note:
He cheats with ow. Told h the same day. It was a ow that was trying to get him for sometime. It was after 3 miscarriages. The ow is blonde, fit, … while the h is curvy, a mess after the miscarriages and the cheating. H cheated because he felt like he couldn’t fix the situation and missed more fun sex instead for having babies.
After he told her, she got him out of the house and H proceeded to sleep with tons of women, alcohol, drugs, … for six months. She doesn’t know this in any moment in the book. After they get back together, she goes to the club and see the orgies and all that and question if he ever was in any of them. She felt really heartbroken about the orgies but never know that he was in orgies and all that. h celibate and H celibate after the first six months. The book starts 4 years later. She get pregnant later.
He cheats with ow. Told h the same day. It was a ow that was trying to get him for sometime. It was after 3 miscarriages. The ow is blonde, fit, … while the h is curvy, a mess after the miscarriages and the cheating. H cheated because he felt like he couldn’t fix the situation and missed more fun sex instead for having babies.
After he told her, she got him out of the house and H proceeded to sleep with tons of women, alcohol, drugs, … for six months. She doesn’t know this in any moment in the book. After they get back together, she goes to the club and see the orgies and all that and question if he ever was in any of them. She felt really heartbroken about the orgies but never know that he was in orgies and all that. h celibate and H celibate after the first six months. The book starts 4 years later. She get pregnant later.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 16, 2022
2.5 Stars
I'm always on the hunt for an angsty marriage-in-trouble romance.
My thoughts? I'm disappointed.
✖️ The hero didn't even try to stay and fix his marriage. After his confession about the one-time cheating incident, she tells him to leave...and he does. He simply said he was deeply sorry and walked away. He made zero effort to explain, beg, or grovel. He never went back to make amends. How utterly disappointing. An alpha he most certainly was not. Nope, instead he waited passively for her to come to him. For 4 freaking years. Later, he explains WHY, but I still thought he was an idiot for thinking that staying away and not fighting for her, was the better option.
✖️ I didn't like the way the heroine was written/described. Basically, she let herself go. Gained weight, enough for the hero to mention it (not in a mean way) and a stupid secondary character to call her "fatty." I almost DNFed. Practically everything we're told about her made me cringe and feel secondhand embarrassment. But the hero? It seemed he fared a whole lot better during the separation--but of course. He got so physically fit, he could be on a cover of a fitness magazine.
✖️ To add salt to my wounds, even the club girls were described as having hot bodies. Lovely.
✔️ The only thing I appreciated was that John did manage to convince me he loved and adored Mona, and that he was truly remorseful. There's that, at least.
Book Description:
Wall is a 43,000-word novella set in the Steel Bones Motorcycle Club World. It takes place before the action of Charge and Nickel's Story, and it can be read as a standalone. Wall is a second chance, redemption romance that deals with infidelity and pregnancy loss.
HEA guaranteed.
I have not read the previous books in the series.
I'm always on the hunt for an angsty marriage-in-trouble romance.
My thoughts? I'm disappointed.
✖️ The hero didn't even try to stay and fix his marriage. After his confession about the one-time cheating incident, she tells him to leave...and he does. He simply said he was deeply sorry and walked away. He made zero effort to explain, beg, or grovel. He never went back to make amends. How utterly disappointing. An alpha he most certainly was not. Nope, instead he waited passively for her to come to him. For 4 freaking years. Later, he explains WHY, but I still thought he was an idiot for thinking that staying away and not fighting for her, was the better option.
✖️ I didn't like the way the heroine was written/described. Basically, she let herself go. Gained weight, enough for the hero to mention it (not in a mean way) and a stupid secondary character to call her "fatty." I almost DNFed. Practically everything we're told about her made me cringe and feel secondhand embarrassment. But the hero? It seemed he fared a whole lot better during the separation--but of course. He got so physically fit, he could be on a cover of a fitness magazine.
✖️ To add salt to my wounds, even the club girls were described as having hot bodies. Lovely.
✔️ The only thing I appreciated was that John did manage to convince me he loved and adored Mona, and that he was truly remorseful. There's that, at least.
Book Description:
Wall is a 43,000-word novella set in the Steel Bones Motorcycle Club World. It takes place before the action of Charge and Nickel's Story, and it can be read as a standalone. Wall is a second chance, redemption romance that deals with infidelity and pregnancy loss.
HEA guaranteed.
I have not read the previous books in the series.
do-not-ever-read-cheating-ow-sex
April 11, 2023Note to self:
Run Posey Run was the only good book from this author. She is unsafe. She just isn’t for me. Cheating, woman hating, horrid men.
Stay clear from her work from now on.
Run Posey Run was the only good book from this author. She is unsafe. She just isn’t for me. Cheating, woman hating, horrid men.
Stay clear from her work from now on.
February 7, 2024
Sad and depressing that in the end I wanted to cry, hit my head somewhere hard, or puke. And I felt fat and sad even if I’ve always been a skinny underweight girl. Because the book is so wrong.
Double standards just to start with.
Cheating.
Plain overweight heroine and hot built hero.
Loss of many pregnancies.
Puuuuuuuleeeeease spare me this pain.
The heroine and the hero have been married for some years, they’re quite young and she went through three miscarriage, the last one quite advanced that she was already showing.
She is depressed and sad and of course neither she or the hero do nothing.
He’s also hurting but of course, for a woman feeling like a failure because she can’t keep a pregnancy is worse. Instead of going through therapy, both physical to a fertility clinic and psychological to a trauma therapist, she mopes and he goes to his club and gets drunk. One night he gets drunk and cheats with a woman who was after him for some time and is, as we know afterwards, a knockout. While the heroine is a plain little thing, overweight and without a care for herself.
This is a sign of depression of course, but he’s more worried about him than her well being.
He failed her completely. As a man, as a husband, as a partner.
She threw him out of their home and he went partying, drugging and drinking and of course having sex with multiple women, maybe even with the same woman he cheated with. For six months, and they’re still married. So cheating all the way.
While she, of course, mopes and stays celibate for four years, and even if she takes a course for becoming nurse, she never takes care of herself. She’s still overweithg and unhappy with it, she doesn’t dress well or shaves, she does not have a manicure in ages. When she needs the hero’s help he decides he wants back into her life, because you know, after screwing everything with a vagina he wants his plain, good old wife who cooks so well.
And the heroine is a mess. I can understand depression and she should have taken care of it with a therapy, but afterwards she simply doesn’t care about herself and this I couldn’t understand. She should have tried to stay healthy, check her weight since she was not happy with it, in a world she should have loved herself.
The fact that, even after he cheated and dumped her without a lot of regrets and she’s ready to jump his bones the first time they meet reeks of desperation. I don’t like these kind of heroine. She should have moved on, taken care of herself, tried to make new friends, date some good men, there are plenty. But no. And it seems that since she’s plain, overweight and not sexy she deserves to be cheated and she can’t be too choosy. This is what I get from these kind of stories. When the heroine is a sad mess, and believe me, there’s plenty of description about how she doesn’t have a wax in ages, how she sweats and how lanky and lifeless her hair are, and even how much weight she put on, even the hero notice but apparently it’s ok for him since he already had his fix of gorgeous hot babes when they were apart, and now he wants stable and safe. And her meatloaf is the best. How sad is this? I understand that the author made an effort to give us a book where both partners are severely hurt and traumatized but when she put the double standard both in looks and in behavior, well, she didn’t make it. The heroine was a pushover, and she even recognize being guilty because after her miscarriage she neglected he poor needy husband, booohooo. If a couple has a traumatic experience they have to look for help, not ruin themselves. The hero was not able to be a good husband, he was weak and selfish. The heroine is a loser who suffer from issues going back to her childhood, and she thinks she’s not enough, so of course in the end she thinks she deserved what he did and she has to take him back or else. Who will have her? Not me, for sure. She lacks of self confidence, respect for herself and strength. She was always there. I wish there was a book somewhere where the heroine goes on a I binge of random sex after the hero cheated. Why isn’t there any?
The only thing I liked is that in the end she manages to have her daughter and of course she has her husband back, but beware, she had better not to be depressed anymore in her life whatever awful things happen to her, because the hero’s resilience is null.
Double standards just to start with.
Cheating.
Plain overweight heroine and hot built hero.
Loss of many pregnancies.
Puuuuuuuleeeeease spare me this pain.
The heroine and the hero have been married for some years, they’re quite young and she went through three miscarriage, the last one quite advanced that she was already showing.
She is depressed and sad and of course neither she or the hero do nothing.
He’s also hurting but of course, for a woman feeling like a failure because she can’t keep a pregnancy is worse. Instead of going through therapy, both physical to a fertility clinic and psychological to a trauma therapist, she mopes and he goes to his club and gets drunk. One night he gets drunk and cheats with a woman who was after him for some time and is, as we know afterwards, a knockout. While the heroine is a plain little thing, overweight and without a care for herself.
This is a sign of depression of course, but he’s more worried about him than her well being.
He failed her completely. As a man, as a husband, as a partner.
She threw him out of their home and he went partying, drugging and drinking and of course having sex with multiple women, maybe even with the same woman he cheated with. For six months, and they’re still married. So cheating all the way.
While she, of course, mopes and stays celibate for four years, and even if she takes a course for becoming nurse, she never takes care of herself. She’s still overweithg and unhappy with it, she doesn’t dress well or shaves, she does not have a manicure in ages. When she needs the hero’s help he decides he wants back into her life, because you know, after screwing everything with a vagina he wants his plain, good old wife who cooks so well.
And the heroine is a mess. I can understand depression and she should have taken care of it with a therapy, but afterwards she simply doesn’t care about herself and this I couldn’t understand. She should have tried to stay healthy, check her weight since she was not happy with it, in a world she should have loved herself.
The fact that, even after he cheated and dumped her without a lot of regrets and she’s ready to jump his bones the first time they meet reeks of desperation. I don’t like these kind of heroine. She should have moved on, taken care of herself, tried to make new friends, date some good men, there are plenty. But no. And it seems that since she’s plain, overweight and not sexy she deserves to be cheated and she can’t be too choosy. This is what I get from these kind of stories. When the heroine is a sad mess, and believe me, there’s plenty of description about how she doesn’t have a wax in ages, how she sweats and how lanky and lifeless her hair are, and even how much weight she put on, even the hero notice but apparently it’s ok for him since he already had his fix of gorgeous hot babes when they were apart, and now he wants stable and safe. And her meatloaf is the best. How sad is this? I understand that the author made an effort to give us a book where both partners are severely hurt and traumatized but when she put the double standard both in looks and in behavior, well, she didn’t make it. The heroine was a pushover, and she even recognize being guilty because after her miscarriage she neglected he poor needy husband, booohooo. If a couple has a traumatic experience they have to look for help, not ruin themselves. The hero was not able to be a good husband, he was weak and selfish. The heroine is a loser who suffer from issues going back to her childhood, and she thinks she’s not enough, so of course in the end she thinks she deserved what he did and she has to take him back or else. Who will have her? Not me, for sure. She lacks of self confidence, respect for herself and strength. She was always there. I wish there was a book somewhere where the heroine goes on a I binge of random sex after the hero cheated. Why isn’t there any?
The only thing I liked is that in the end she manages to have her daughter and of course she has her husband back, but beware, she had better not to be depressed anymore in her life whatever awful things happen to her, because the hero’s resilience is null.
October 20, 2022
I liked this one a lot more than I thought I would. Many of my friends on GR hated this story, and I went into this story thinking that it might not suck me in since it didn't really have the angst I crave and search for in stories. I shouldn't have been worried though. I seriously can't help but love CCW's stories. I love her storytelling and her character development so much. This story included. I loved the work John had to put into getting his wife (and her trust) back after his serious fuck up, and I truly felt the pain and suffering Mona felt while trying to trust her husband again. I'm a sucker for second chance romance, especially when they marriage survives the devastation like in this story, and this story left me completely satisfied.
October 2, 2022
3.5 STARS
Alright, so elephant in the room, this book is certainly not for everyone. But as a reader that loves a good redemption and the angst of cheating, I was all over it. Cheating in romance is hard to pull off. It has to be a reason where you can buy the redemption arc. And as ridiculous as it is for me to say, note I'm talking about fiction. So please don't come at me with morality lectures, kay? But anyhoos.
I first discovered Cate with her PNR series and then her mafia Run Posy Run. This was my first MC read of hers and yes I know I read it out of order, but I had no issues diving right in. John (Wall) and Mona have been together since they were teens, but then life and tragedy happened and John made a decision that cost him his marriage and the love of his life. When he fessed up his one night mistake, Mona kicked him out. Now it's been four years and neither have moved on. Wall protects her from afar while Mona has been in a state of limbo.
This was an entertaining read albeit a little fluffy for my taste. I wanted more grit considering the subject matter but it packed more sweet. I also can't say I loved Mona. She didn't annoy me but she wasn't a memorable FMC either. So while it didn't blow me away, I did read it in one sitting and plan on reading the rest of the series.
Find me on:
And so we’re clear. This ain’t me leaving.”
“It’s not?”
“Nope. ‘Cause I guess you don’t know this, but my heart’s right there.” He nods to where I sit on the bed. “Has been since I first laid eyes on you.”
Alright, so elephant in the room, this book is certainly not for everyone. But as a reader that loves a good redemption and the angst of cheating, I was all over it. Cheating in romance is hard to pull off. It has to be a reason where you can buy the redemption arc. And as ridiculous as it is for me to say, note I'm talking about fiction. So please don't come at me with morality lectures, kay? But anyhoos.
I first discovered Cate with her PNR series and then her mafia Run Posy Run. This was my first MC read of hers and yes I know I read it out of order, but I had no issues diving right in. John (Wall) and Mona have been together since they were teens, but then life and tragedy happened and John made a decision that cost him his marriage and the love of his life. When he fessed up his one night mistake, Mona kicked him out. Now it's been four years and neither have moved on. Wall protects her from afar while Mona has been in a state of limbo.
This was an entertaining read albeit a little fluffy for my taste. I wanted more grit considering the subject matter but it packed more sweet. I also can't say I loved Mona. She didn't annoy me but she wasn't a memorable FMC either. So while it didn't blow me away, I did read it in one sitting and plan on reading the rest of the series.
Find me on:
Read
July 7, 2021This book is my villain origin story. DNF.
March 8, 2022
Reread: March 2022
Enjoyed this one again, honestly, Cate C. Wells is the only author than can create heroes that are interesting, but not necessarily the brightest bulbs in the chandelier. Love the heroine, she feels like that friend everyone needs.
Probably not quite a 4⭐️, but it’s better than the other 3. Nice novella.
Enjoyed this one again, honestly, Cate C. Wells is the only author than can create heroes that are interesting, but not necessarily the brightest bulbs in the chandelier. Love the heroine, she feels like that friend everyone needs.
Probably not quite a 4⭐️, but it’s better than the other 3. Nice novella.
February 14, 2021
A solid reconciliation second chance read.
Wall and his wife were struggling after losing a pregnancy. Wall got drunk and slept with one of the ladies hanging out at the MC. He came home and admitted it immediately and Mona sent him packing.
The story begins 4 years later.
They have a HEA.
Wall and his wife were struggling after losing a pregnancy. Wall got drunk and slept with one of the ladies hanging out at the MC. He came home and admitted it immediately and Mona sent him packing.
The story begins 4 years later.
They have a HEA.
August 18, 2020
This is a good addition to a solid series. I do feel like the 4 years they were apart should have been explored a bit more. I liked both main characters but I really wish Mona could have progressed a bit more without the catalyst of going to Wall for help. H cheats, h kicks him out, H goes on a six month bender of booze, weed and women and then realizes he’s messed up. Well isn’t that nice? Then he just sits backs for 3 1/2 years until she needs help from him? Kind of lame. He’s been keeping tabs on her and looking out for her over their separation but never tries to make amends. He’s turned his life around, works out to the point of being super ripped, women are drooling over him everywhere he goes and what’s she’s done? Taken some nursing classes and gained a bunch of weight? So she’s even more insecure now with their physical differences and she hasn’t been with anyone else the whole time they were apart. Would have been more interesting if she had at least went on a date with someone. Maybe that would have inspired Wall to try and work things out with her sooner. Even though there’s a HEA it made me kind of sad for Mona and really the rest of the old ladies considering the scene Mona walked into at the club house. Imagine if the roles were reversed for these guys? I wish someone would write a book with a club of women who had super hot naked guys hanging around just waiting for a chance to get with any of the club members. Pretty sure no guy would stand for that.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 16, 2023
He cheats on her multiple times. That’s all.
April 20, 2024
- MF Romance
- Biker MMC
- Cheating (Past)
- Second Chance
- Spicy
This is another solid read in the Steel Bones MC series. This book could be very difficult for some, so please check TW if needed.
Wall f*cked up his marriage. No way around that. The books prologue starts there, and picks up four years after the fact. Mona needs help, Wall is immediately there and what follows is a short but satisfying story of redemption.
As always, this author just makes these characters so flawed and that makes them so real. There is no good or bad, just people with real people problems.
- Biker MMC
- Cheating (Past)
- Second Chance
- Spicy
This is another solid read in the Steel Bones MC series. This book could be very difficult for some, so please check TW if needed.
Wall f*cked up his marriage. No way around that. The books prologue starts there, and picks up four years after the fact. Mona needs help, Wall is immediately there and what follows is a short but satisfying story of redemption.
As always, this author just makes these characters so flawed and that makes them so real. There is no good or bad, just people with real people problems.
August 17, 2022
After reading this, I totally get the mixed reviews, although I may be coming at it from a different angle. For one thing. cheating in books isn't the automatic deal breaker it is for a lot of people. I want the redemption plot. I want to see the guy crawl. (That sentence made me ask myself if I'd ever read a cheating book where the woman cheated. The shameful answer is, no. It has less to do with "body count" 🙄 than with the misandrist fact that if I'm going to be mad at one of the main characters, I want it to be the one I don't identify as much with and that's almost always the man. No, it isn't fair. I'd like to say I'll work on it... but I don't want to.) I want to know his sorrow for losing the woman. I want to feel like he'll never do it again. I also want to feel like he has given his partner a reason to believe that it won't happen again.
My problem with this book is that I definitely believed he wouldn't want to do it again, but the circumstances that were created that resulted in him cheating could still happen. The prologue begins and Mona is in a bad place. She's had three miscarriages and isn't taking care of herself, or him. And it's hard to judge someone for how they grieve. But she's in a pretty gross physical state and it's clear the two haven't been close in a long time. And over the course of the book, I honestly can't figure out what these two characters will do to keep those circumstances from happening again. It's clear they're going to try for more children and the book never reveals why she miscarried at the end of the first trimester with the last pregnancy, so there isn't really any security there. And I guess that's realistic too. But I would have liked more conversations between the two of them. Even a quick something about her seeing a fertility specialist to find out if there was an underlying problem, or a marriage counselor to teach them both healthy coping mechanisms and ways to support each other would have been better.
Also, when the first chapter begins, after the cheating reveal (and it's pretty anticlimactic), it's four years later and she's picked herself up off-page. She's going for a nursing degree and that's awesome, but it's in the back of the plot, rarely spoken of, plus she's 30 pounds heavier, hasn't dated since John left, and seems to have no friends (other than an elderly lady at the care facility she works at who has dementia) or close relatives. C'mon authors, you can't give them a few friends or an OM to give the MMC a run for his money? Their lives just have to be empty other than work and school? The book states that after John left, he went on a 6 months sex/booze/drugs bender, so he wasn't celibate, at least for that length of time. Why did Mona have to be?
Also, where was the grovel? I mean it's made clear right off the bat that John felt terrible and he's a gentle giant, but then he walked away and didn't fight for their marriage, or to convince her how bad he felt. That can be okay, but if that's the way you're going to go, I need a grovel. Four years later, Mona came to him for help, and yeah, okay, he takes that about like a bull charging toward a red cape, but really, he should have made that first move.
Honestly, I could have really liked this book, but I needed more from it. It was a very short book, and could have benefited from more page time. I needed more communication, more discussion. Because the circumstances in the prologue could happen again -- they happen all the time in real life to women trying to have babies. So I wasn't really left with a good feeling about these two, even though I did think John wouldn't cheat again.
My problem with this book is that I definitely believed he wouldn't want to do it again, but the circumstances that were created that resulted in him cheating could still happen. The prologue begins and Mona is in a bad place. She's had three miscarriages and isn't taking care of herself, or him. And it's hard to judge someone for how they grieve. But she's in a pretty gross physical state and it's clear the two haven't been close in a long time. And over the course of the book, I honestly can't figure out what these two characters will do to keep those circumstances from happening again. It's clear they're going to try for more children and the book never reveals why she miscarried at the end of the first trimester with the last pregnancy, so there isn't really any security there. And I guess that's realistic too. But I would have liked more conversations between the two of them. Even a quick something about her seeing a fertility specialist to find out if there was an underlying problem, or a marriage counselor to teach them both healthy coping mechanisms and ways to support each other would have been better.
Also, when the first chapter begins, after the cheating reveal (and it's pretty anticlimactic), it's four years later and she's picked herself up off-page. She's going for a nursing degree and that's awesome, but it's in the back of the plot, rarely spoken of, plus she's 30 pounds heavier, hasn't dated since John left, and seems to have no friends (other than an elderly lady at the care facility she works at who has dementia) or close relatives. C'mon authors, you can't give them a few friends or an OM to give the MMC a run for his money? Their lives just have to be empty other than work and school? The book states that after John left, he went on a 6 months sex/booze/drugs bender, so he wasn't celibate, at least for that length of time. Why did Mona have to be?
Also, where was the grovel? I mean it's made clear right off the bat that John felt terrible and he's a gentle giant, but then he walked away and didn't fight for their marriage, or to convince her how bad he felt. That can be okay, but if that's the way you're going to go, I need a grovel. Four years later, Mona came to him for help, and yeah, okay, he takes that about like a bull charging toward a red cape, but really, he should have made that first move.
Honestly, I could have really liked this book, but I needed more from it. It was a very short book, and could have benefited from more page time. I needed more communication, more discussion. Because the circumstances in the prologue could happen again -- they happen all the time in real life to women trying to have babies. So I wasn't really left with a good feeling about these two, even though I did think John wouldn't cheat again.
January 27, 2021
Call me shallow but books are my fantasy world and in my fantasy world, the H to be super hot with sexy abs and the h described as beautiful. She can be short, tall, skinny, not to skinny, blond, brunette, white, black, purple if that’s the case, it doesn’t matter. The H and h don’t have to be physically perfect as long as the author describes them in a way that makes you think they are. Now, reading that the H had a beer belly was the first strike. Then, second strike was when the author described the h as a overweighted woman (nothing wrong with it but I don’t like how she is described in the book) who apparently doesn’t take care of herself, has a greasy hair from days of not taking a shower and has been wearing the same clothes for who knows how many days. And the final strike came when the ow (the one the H cheated with) has a killer body and pictures in bikini!!! This just shattered my fantasy world! Enough to say this book isn’t for me
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 21, 2023
This is much shorter than the other books and it both does and doesn’t suffer because of it. This beautiful tale of second chances and enduring love absolutely pummelled my emotions. The love between Wall and Mona was undeniable. We don’t see the cheating ( which happens right at the start of the book) and yes Wall goes off the rails afterwards but cut the guy some slack. It isn’t about sex, it’s about self destruction because he hurt Mona, along with struggling to cope with the loss of three pregnancies/ babies.
For me the book was too short. Given that we don’t see them fall in love I needed to see more of their healing. I needed more rebuilding of trust and this part was just far too rushed. We were told things (like the engraved brick and tree) but we’re weren’t shown how this affected the characters nor did we delve into the motivations behind these actions. The author seemed more focused on them having sex than she did on them healing and it left me a little disappointed. It felt as though that was all Wall wanted Mona for on occasions.
I read the books about Kellum and Cash first so I had my hope’s built high for this one. There has also been some build up previously in this series. They weren’t quite met in this one, though I did still enjoy it and loved getting to know Mona and Wall a little more.
For me the book was too short. Given that we don’t see them fall in love I needed to see more of their healing. I needed more rebuilding of trust and this part was just far too rushed. We were told things (like the engraved brick and tree) but we’re weren’t shown how this affected the characters nor did we delve into the motivations behind these actions. The author seemed more focused on them having sex than she did on them healing and it left me a little disappointed. It felt as though that was all Wall wanted Mona for on occasions.
I read the books about Kellum and Cash first so I had my hope’s built high for this one. There has also been some build up previously in this series. They weren’t quite met in this one, though I did still enjoy it and loved getting to know Mona and Wall a little more.
January 9, 2023
Cheating. Infertility. Good Lord, Cate C Wells just wants to take on all the hard tropes on this novella.
If you’re someone who can’t get past cheating, don’t read this book just to leave a crappy review. Seriously, this book just isn’t for you. I’m not a black and white person, I live in the grey, so I can forgive some cheating every now and then and this was definitely one of those times.
After dealing with a lot of loss and a lot of grief, John Wall makes a huge mistake and fesses up to his wife that night. Mona, rightfully, kicks him out. Now it’s four years later and John has been faithfully pining away and ashamed and wants his wife back and Mona needs a big bad biker dude to help her out.
Lots of TW on this one, but overall I was happy with this redemption and this little novella.
If you’re someone who can’t get past cheating, don’t read this book just to leave a crappy review. Seriously, this book just isn’t for you. I’m not a black and white person, I live in the grey, so I can forgive some cheating every now and then and this was definitely one of those times.
After dealing with a lot of loss and a lot of grief, John Wall makes a huge mistake and fesses up to his wife that night. Mona, rightfully, kicks him out. Now it’s four years later and John has been faithfully pining away and ashamed and wants his wife back and Mona needs a big bad biker dude to help her out.
Lots of TW on this one, but overall I was happy with this redemption and this little novella.
August 26, 2024
3 John and Mona Stars
I was a little conflicted about this book. I loved the concept - books with cheating are not for everyone but now and then I do love a good dose of angst and to feel righteous rage towards a character who has truly messed things up. I devour the moment it all comes to a head - that feeling of trepidation is like being on a roller coaster and you can't stop it. Then there is the anger of the betrayal, the devastation and the ability of the character to pull themselves back together. This book does that really well. I was hooked. I was invested from page one.
John (32) and Mona (28) meet when she is 17 , almost 18. John is 21 so nothing happens until she turns 18. They connect and it really is love at first sight. They marry quickly but when they suffer three miscarriages one after another, they lose their way. Each of them grieves but they do it differently and the distance between them grows. He cheats once with a firefighter groupie. He gets drunk and has perfunctory sex with a woman who has been after him. He confesses and their marriage implodes. Mona kicks him out and he lets her. I wanted him to fight for her then but he didn't. He just goes and therein was my first point of conflict with how to rate this book. They stay apart for four years but he still looks out for her and eventually there is a reason for them to cross paths again , then all bets are off- John has a chance to get his wife back and he seizes it.
I like to escape in my books and at times , this felt a bit too.... crass? Normal? Not pretty? I am not putting this very well. I think I did not want the details about Mona not shaving her nether regions, John's friends being smelly , Mona 'gushing in her panties'....
When my hero and heroine are connecting and about to get down to it , it feels a bit odd if she starts thinking about laundry.
He takes my hand and places it to the hem of my sweater. “Show me, baby.” I knead the faux cashmere in my fingers. I love this sweater. It’s soft and machine washable. Almost without thinking, I fist the hem and pull it over my head like some bold woman from a movie.<./b>
Also , I got that John Wall was built like one. He was huge. Massive. Enormous. Built like a bodybuilder. Constantly did weights. That was a tad overdone , I felt.
It was a bit blunt at times and maybe I was in the mood for something a bit more subtle.
I wasn't keen on the some of the secondary characters but there were a couple of excellent ones. The ending was pretty good and I'm glad I read the book but it's not one I would re read.
HEA? Yes
Cheating? Yes
I was a little conflicted about this book. I loved the concept - books with cheating are not for everyone but now and then I do love a good dose of angst and to feel righteous rage towards a character who has truly messed things up. I devour the moment it all comes to a head - that feeling of trepidation is like being on a roller coaster and you can't stop it. Then there is the anger of the betrayal, the devastation and the ability of the character to pull themselves back together. This book does that really well. I was hooked. I was invested from page one.
John (32) and Mona (28) meet when she is 17 , almost 18. John is 21 so nothing happens until she turns 18. They connect and it really is love at first sight. They marry quickly but when they suffer three miscarriages one after another, they lose their way. Each of them grieves but they do it differently and the distance between them grows. He cheats once with a firefighter groupie. He gets drunk and has perfunctory sex with a woman who has been after him. He confesses and their marriage implodes. Mona kicks him out and he lets her. I wanted him to fight for her then but he didn't. He just goes and therein was my first point of conflict with how to rate this book. They stay apart for four years but he still looks out for her and eventually there is a reason for them to cross paths again , then all bets are off- John has a chance to get his wife back and he seizes it.
I like to escape in my books and at times , this felt a bit too.... crass? Normal? Not pretty? I am not putting this very well. I think I did not want the details about Mona not shaving her nether regions, John's friends being smelly , Mona 'gushing in her panties'....
When my hero and heroine are connecting and about to get down to it , it feels a bit odd if she starts thinking about laundry.
He takes my hand and places it to the hem of my sweater. “Show me, baby.” I knead the faux cashmere in my fingers. I love this sweater. It’s soft and machine washable. Almost without thinking, I fist the hem and pull it over my head like some bold woman from a movie.<./b>
Also , I got that John Wall was built like one. He was huge. Massive. Enormous. Built like a bodybuilder. Constantly did weights. That was a tad overdone , I felt.
It was a bit blunt at times and maybe I was in the mood for something a bit more subtle.
I wasn't keen on the some of the secondary characters but there were a couple of excellent ones. The ending was pretty good and I'm glad I read the book but it's not one I would re read.
HEA? Yes
Cheating? Yes
Displaying 1 - 30 of 381 reviews