I was a twenty-two year old single mum with a thriving business, a beautiful daughter and two of the best friends a girl could ask for.
He was thirty-three, a tattoo artist covered from head to toe in ink and to top if all off, he was a player with a capital P.
I tried to resist, knew it'd end in disaster but he bulldozed his way into my life, into my heart. He was everything.
She was always in the background, pulling him from me in one way or another. I told him, he didn't listen and then it all came crumbling down around us.
I don't have anything left to give, he says he won't let me go. Where do we go from here?
Krystal Veitch writes swoon-worthy, contemporary romance with spice that’ll make you squirm in your seat. She loves creating relatable, flawed characters who work for their HEA.
She lives in Adelaide, South Australia, with her husband, two kids and her cat, Cecil.
Being Australian, Krystal uses words like mate and fuck more than the average person, and in her free time (when she doesn’t have a child attached to her arm or leg), you will find her either reading or buying yet another house plant to add to her collection.
Let me first be clear, I grabbed this one because of the cover alone. Hello tattoed sleeve porn. This cover is a mood is all I'm saying.
I didn't hate this book but I like my protagonist with an inkling of intelligence and Ryan—as close to perfection he was to embody the elusive alpha male—was dumb as fuck.
The man had no ability to reflect on his own or even follow a simple line of thought. He seemed deprived of any sense of reasoning. When asked —repeatedly— by his friends or family why he suddenly wanted to pursue something serious with the heroine or why he loved her, the only and best answer he would come up with was along the lines of: "I don't know, she's not like any other girl."
Dude, this is LAME as fuck. Romance me some?
I thought the author's choice to stick with the OW drama all throughout was lazy. Seriously that bitch was the equivalent of the bad guy in a b-movie that never dies. Enough already! That being said if OW is your thing, you might enjoy the repetitive and contrived conflicts drawn from it?
The age gap romance adverstising for this book was such a let down, considering Ryan was portrayed younger than Molly. The heroine had at least the decency to have her shit together, mostly. (Hero is 11 years older than heroine. She's 22.)
This was mostly cute, greatly boring, highly repetitive and otherwise entirely forgettable.
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I didn't like this one. There was too much OW drama, the bitch was there almost the whole fucking book. She's one of the hero's best friends and was clearly in love with him but he was oblivious. The h, his friends, everyone told him that the bitch had the hots for him but he kept justifying her actions, that just made him look stupid af.
What I liked: -the hero only saw his friend (OW) as a little sister, he never liked her "that way" -there's NO cheating -aside for being super dumb, the hero was actually very sweet with the h and her daughter -the heroine -how obsessed the H was with the h -the moment when the h's daughter called him "daddy"
What I didn't like: -the OW obviously, everything she did, everything she said, I fucking hated her -the fact that the heroine and his friend had to tell him to stop calling the OW "babe" bc it was disrespectful to the h, I wish he had come to that conclusion on his own
Other info: -player hero -the h is not very experienced, she's only ever been with one man, one time -he'd been "celibate" for a day (lmao) when he met the h -the woman he had sex with -the night before meeting the h- showed up briefly when the MCs met, he was not interested -a couple days (I think) after the MCs met the H received a text message from a girl he had saved on his phone as "great tits" with an attached picture of said tits, the h saw the message but the H told her that he didn't want the other woman -he wasn't with anyone else after meeting the h -switching POVs -both celibate during separation -Epilogue: 2 years later
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Can’t wait for the next book because that H messes up massively too. 🤡 Love a grovelling H. Hope he☝🏼does it as well as this book’s hero does. 📕 📕 A well written hero. He’s kind live among us in RL. Droves of them. My review is about as clichéd as his character. Despite everyone telling him (constantly) how he’s failing the h and their relationship, he simply chooses not to see it. Yes, chooses, because while he’s a liar he’s not quite THAT dense or oblivious. He just ignores the inappropriate ow’s antics because he wants his cake and he wants to eat it. 📕 📕 The ow (now SHE probably rode the short bus, as some un-pcs would say) has been one of his bffs forever and a day. He isn’t interested in her in a romantic way but he won’t acknowledge that their closeness goes beyond just that of mere bffs . Everyone else can see it but him. 🙄 Yet he’s like: babe / you have open access to my home / touch me inappropriately / I miss you…🙄 He’s a lying liar because the h can’t even look at a fly and he’s going all caveman on her, yet he can babe other women? Um nosirree. I think not, Denzil the dense man. 📕 📕 He had ONE job. Don’t hurt me, is all she asks. And what does he do? He hurts her. Then he walks away. 👈The very reason she had commitment issues in the first place. Then she brings cookies to forgive him for hurting her cos she’s actually the one at fault. Sigh. Deep long sigh. 📕 📕 Then there are the irritating friends who tell her not to string him along. Um…that short bus…man…that short bus… Why do friends and family of heroines feel they need to push her instead of supporting her?! Why? She’s NOT stringing him along. She made her point very clear. She’s told him to git. She’s not two minded. She wants to move on not hang on. Yet his bff admonishes her to either move on or stop punishing him. Um…short bus…she’s not giving him mixed signals! Stop telling her what to do!😤 📕 📕 Anyway, he grovels nicely and she’s happy so I’m happy.
Ugh. While this was a cute book with a besotted Hero, he was such an idiot! This book is stuffed to the gills with OW drama. I hate OW drama but it never bothered me in this book because the H was so so stupid. It was obvious to everyone that the OW wanted the H but she was his very best-est special-est friend (who everyone, including his own mother, hated) but she was new in town and he really needed to be there for her. Dude! Get a clue! When everyone close to you is telling you that someone is bad news, believe them!
I was also annoyed at the Hs player ways. I hate reading the words "the women know the score" when he does the pump and dump. I don't care if the women willingly signed up to be used, it demonstrates that the H is accustomed to treating women like sex dolls, never even learning their names, and I have very little respect for a H like that. Call me old-fashioned. And it's only made worse by the fact that the h might as well have been a virgin, since she's only had sex ONE time (in the backseat of a car) and got pregnant from the experience. (luckily the baby's father conveniently died so he doesn't mess up the story, we only get chaos from the OW). The double standard in this book is striking.
Anyway, I didn't find this too angsty because the H said all along that the OW was like a sister to him, and while he did sometimes prioritize her over the h, it was obvious there would never be anything there. But this OW just would not go away.
3 stars because I liked the h who wasn't a doormat (most of the time) and the H really was crazy about her and seemed very remorseful once he pulls his head out of his a$$.
The hero was so dense, never realizing his supposed best friend (EVIL BITCH) was actually trying to get involved with him herself, as well as trying to break up his relationship with his new girl. THIS scenario created so much lovely drama. Evil OW drama is my catnip, so I loved this story completely.
Molly is a fantastic debut contemporary romance book. While not particularly original in plot, the beauty comes in the writing and the lovable characters, which made the book unputdownable. Ryan and Molly have phenomenal chemistry, and little Emma is too cute for words. I also loved all the side characters (except for Jess, the other woman who I just loved to hate!) and I can’t wait to see whose love story will be told in the next book.
💕 side characters are 👍🏻👍🏻 - nice loyal group of friends who I’m interested in reading more about
💕 the best kind of OW drama - where the H isn’t interested and the OW is just a crazy-b*tch 👍🏻👍🏻
💕 I like that the h called the H out when he wasn’t being truthful and also made him face the consequences of acting shady
💕 I loved that the h pulled back physically when the H wasn’t acting in a way that seemed trustworthy - she held out for the behavior she deserved
💕 This H truly was trying to be a good guy
💕 loved how jealous/possessive the H was
💕 I adored how the OW drama was handled. The H takes out the trash and the h isn’t forced to take the high road. 👍🏻👍🏻 Once the H sees the OW for who she is, that’s it. She’s kicked to the curb brutally. 😈
What I didn’t like as much:
- the H’s complete cluelessness about the OW was frustrating. He seemed really dumb. I know he kinda had to be in order to get the good drama, but I wish the OW had been more wily and manipulative so that it made it harder for the H to figure out. Instead she’s straight obvious and he looks like a goober. Every single person was telling him she’s was crazy and the OW practically wore a neon sign, but he’s the stooge who couldn’t see it. 😐
- the baby’s age and speech/development was a little off. She seemed more like a 3-4 year old, but was actually 1-2
- the h’s age and status as a young uneducated single mom didn’t really make much sense combined with a career as a successful business owner. She might be a waitress at that cafe, but owning it and running it? With a toddler and no baby-daddy?? That’s pretty far-fetched.
- I would have liked to see the H have to deal with the ramifications of his manwhore past. It’s kinda forgotten and magically disappears after the first scene.
Bottom Line? I thought this was a fun if predictable read. The characters were engaging and the drama was a lot of fun. Great debut novel. 💕 I look forward to reading the next in the series! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
⚠️SAFETY SQUAD SPOILERS⚠️
- no cheating or sharing
- OW drama - H isn’t interested but is clueless that she’s a bunny-boiler
- no dubcon
- h has had sex 1 time and got pregnant
- H is a manwhore
- no condoms - they do have a short discussion first 👍🏻
Reread cuz I saw the next book out there... didn't notice it's not released until April. 🤦♀️
***Original Review*** This follows the romance between Molly (22-yr-old single mom) and Ryan (33-yr old playboy tattooist) with a side of insta-love and loads of ow drama. I’m on a terrible OW kick, so I LOVED all the wannabe OW machinations… but the biatch is around A LOT, so if that’s not your thing, you might skip.
The book opens with Molly meeting Ryan when she gets a tattoo at his shop. The two have a ZAP connection, but Molly is leery of starting anything because of his manwhore ways, and she makes him work for it… so it takes a bit for things to get going. He’s the pursuer, but in a persistent sweet way, not an overbearing/psycho way.
I found both mc’s likable enough, but Ryan (though enamored) is a bit of a dum dum… like not noticing that his bestie is foaming at the mouth for him. And Molly (though sweet) is a bit wishy washy… like telling Ryan to not block Jess, but then getting mad when she’s constantly calling.
Bottom Line- Ok, lighter/soapy-ish read. Most of the plot revolved around Jess causing problems and clueless Ryan mucking it up, then kissing ass with a fair amount of secondary character filler. I enjoyed it, but in a drama-llama way. (There’s nothing heavy or serious feels.) The writing is solid, and very tight for a new author. 👏👏 Their BFF’s story (hopefully book 2) sounds pretty juicy… (he slept w/ someone when they weren’t official and she’s preggers) “So, he cheated on you?” She shakes her head. “No. We weren’t together, together. Not officially. I said some pretty hurtful shit...” She laughs sadly. “My heart doesn’t seem to get that cos it’s been aching like a motherfucker since.”
Too many inconsistencies for me to rate it higher, but I enjoyed the story for the most part. I dislike reading a book that makes me question what I remember though. (Then I have to waste my reading time going back to verify. 🙄) *See age gap as an example of one inconsistency- unless he had a birthday that wasn't mentioned. 😆🙃
6%: I’m thirty-two, and the bachelor lifestyle has suited me just fine up until this point. But for some reason, she’s caught my attention.
17%: “Thirty-three.” My mouth drops open. Holy shit. He’s eleven years older than me.
Molly was super insecure and a bit immature for me. Did Ryan F up a bunch? Yes. I get that. But it got to an annoying point. On and off again.
The OW drama got to be a bit much, too. Do I enjoy the drama since he had no feelings for her? Sure. Did I like her coming back like someone that just won't die in a movie? No. No, I did not.
Anywho, I enjoyed the story but got annoyed and irritated also 😄😉😎
It's not often that you feel sorry for the hero, but this poor schmuck can't catch a break. His best girl FRIEND, not a FWB, has the hots for him and he's too clueless to figure it out.
The younger heroine who's actually a pretty sweet little thing is relentlessly one sided in regard to the H's reactions or non-reactions to the OW. Even when he wants to block her number, the h won't let him as she still wants him to prove he doesn't want her. OMG!
After a misunderstanding where the OW has taken off her clothes and in his bed but it really is innocent...it really is, the H grovels his way back in with bad baking and cute illustrations of one of the most vocally proficient 2 year olds ever. I wuv you Wyan.. Hmmph.
This was a surprise and I really enjoyed every page of it. A very good story with a nice amount of angst but with a hero I loved. The age gap is not significant at all, because the heroine is 22 and the hero 33 but she’s got a 2 yo daughter while he’s never been in a relationship so it’s not as if she was a virgin grown up in a convent while he was a widow with children. The hero in the beginning seems to be a womanizer because when he meets the heroine the woman he spent the night before with turns up and the heroine freezes. But it’s true that as soon as he sees the heroine he’s besotted and tries to persuade her to date him. He even deletes all ow numbers and messages from his phone- and they have not been together yet. He’s really cute. Then come ow. And the real angsty part of the book. Because the matter is, can a woman and a man be only friends??? The hero obviously think they can, because there’s this woman he considers like a lil sister, who he basically saved from an abusive ex, while the woman has obviously been in love with him all the time. And she creates havoc. She’s mean to the heroine, she’s jealous and the hero doesn’t believe she can be in love with him because he was never interested in her as a woman. He treats her as he would a male friend. And can’t understand why the heroine doesn’t trust him. He is of course very protective of his female friend and can’t see that she wants more from him until it’s too late. The heroine has great trust issues because she grew up without a a father, had a cheating boyfriend and her only sexual experience was a drunken ons with a stranger in a bar, that rejected her when she told him she was pregnant. So all the men in her life were total disappointments and when she sees that ow has feelings for the hero and he refuses to change his relationship with her, she feels betrayed and rejected once again. Thank god this hero is a good and besotted man who sadly has a very low iq, but when he understands ow is obsessed by him he immediately rejects her and throws her out of his life. After some more drama they can be happy- eventually. I liked how this author deals with feelings and is able to make an angsty story without abuse and cheating, only with some evil characters and some good old misunderstandings. So totally safe for me. The hero is completely besotted with the heroine and with her lil girl, he’s truly a sexy and honest guy and his love for the heroine is never under discussion. The heroine is young and had a nasty experience with the only one man she hooked up, but she’s strong and caring. She’s also smart and has a nice and satisfying job. They make a very good couple. I really appreciated this new author and I hope she will write other books because I like her style. And of course next book will be about the heroine’s friend Penny! After many disappointing stories this one is a palate cleanser that I loved to read and I will surely reread!
Molly was a cute read about a young single mom and an older tattoo artist. Unfortunately, there was nothing really exciting about it and I'm not sure if I will read anymore in this series.
This is a debut novel, congratulations to Krystal! Molly is a single mom romance and while i love this trope, owd is not exactly my territory (there is no cheating tho)...
Did i want to throat punch Ryan at times for how oblivious he was? You bet. But in the end, his grovel was sweet and his reaction to Emma calling him dad for the first time was the sweetest.
I had high expectations for this book. When I saw the first teaser, I was soo excited to read it. However... I had a few issues with it... It was too insta-love and the OW drama was pretty intense. Ryan semed like a walking contradition. He would tell Molly she was his and he'll go all crazy over other guys touching her, but when his friend Jess hugged him, or was always all over it, he didn't see the issue. I was really upset over something he did relating Jess while he was with Molly... There were good things in this book, like Ryan's effort in winning over Molly, learning all the plants' names, the scenes between Ryan and Emma, Molly's daughter, were too cute, and some of Ryan's quotes were super sweet, but the OW drama, Ryan's actions, and the fact that Molly forgave too easily made it so hard for me to enjoy this book fully.
But, this is just the author's debut novel and she'll only improve from here!
Once again I got suckered by TikTok. Very disappointing. I thought I was getting a spicy book but no. I’ve never actually laughed out loud while reading sexy times but I have now.
“I know baby, I can feel it. I’m going to put another finger in you, and I want you to clinch down on them okay?”
“Good girl, keep clenching and releasing for me.”
“I want you to release and clinch for me one more time, Molly, and then you’re going to come.”
Good grief! I didn’t know if he was trying to please her or coach her through child birth. So. Cringe. SMH
Here’s some internal dialogue after he “gets” her there.
(I use my palm to cover her pu$$y, to calm her down and when she’s still, I give it a pat and move back up her body.)
(She pulls back and licks my lower lip, tasting herself. “Yum,” she whispers…”)
I just can’t…
I found myself skimming because it drug on and on. Shallow plot. Very immature hero and heroine. Insta-love and no character growth. No true feeling or connection between the main characters at all. Waaayyyyy too much time focused on the hero’s BFF/OW. Zero respect for the heroine’s boundaries and how she felt about the OW and his actions. It’s a no for me. No cheating. The whole thing just felt very juvenile instead of how a thirty-something year old man should act. I know better than to read a recently published book based off all the four and five star ARC reviews. I should’ve waited awhile for honest reviews from random readers instead. Sigh…
had a lot of potential- like all the tropes at play here, that cover, all of it- should have been a story I loved. And didn't quite work for me.
The age gap didn't really play out at all- in fact, the heroine felt much older than the hero with how he acted. Lots of OW drama, oblivious hero, and immaturity kind of foiled any love I might have for him. The angst felt a bit forced (and a trope I dont love)- and I felt like the story I expected from the blurb was less about an age gap, sweet story and more about OW drama. Because of it, I didn't quite feel much of the chemistry, which made the sexy stuff feel a bit cringey (even with dirty talking, which I adore), and I felt like the drama outweighed the focus on authentic connection between these characters. It just felt like it was missing that spark.
Would be interested in more by this author, I think there is a great potential here.
i was super excited for this book - it’s an age gap, single mom romance, which are two of my favorite tropes. the teasers on tiktok really made me excited, but i’m not a fan of “the other woman” and the drama that comes with that. the mmc didn’t cheat but when there’s another woman around, causing drama, that is 100% in love with the mmc and he’s oblivious? i just don’t really like that. i also felt like there were just too many conflicts with the other woman involved that it just became repetitive and annoying.
in addition to that, i just didn’t fully connect and fall in love with the main characters. i don’t know if it’s because i didn’t like how they initially met - their interaction was a bit too unprofessional on his part for me to really get over while reading. the smut was good, it wasn’t great. this book may totally do it for others, it just didn’t for me!
A 10/10 debut!! Such a sweet, feel good book. It was so refreshing seeing a book with a realistic friendship surrounding a man and woman, I'm not saying this shit was okay because holy shit was she a piece of work. But this stuff is real, men are oblivious, and this stuff happens. Anyway, as much as I loved Ryan there were times where all I wanted to do was kick his arse urghh. This has all the best tropes for me. Single mum, age gap, fuck boy turned family man. Loved it and can't wait for the rest of the series!!
It’s me, not the book. I dislike single parent h or H, so I really should just stay away from pet peeve books. This was a KU book at least, so didn’t cost me anything extra.
- the h had a ONS with some random dude at a bar and lost her virginity in the back of a car, and got pregg. (Condoms anyone?🙄) Months later she found the dude again to tell him about the baby and he denied paternity. The dad ended up dying years later. The Hero is a total price charming towards the h and doesn’t act realistically about her being a single mom. If I were a single male, I would def not want to get involved with a single mom or there would be some conflict getting involved with one, but I get that this romance novel was written for single moms. I just wish the author had kept it some what realistic, but this H is totally cool with literally everything, and quite 1 dimensional in his character. The heroines reaction towards the H bff ow was completely realistic and on point, and I liked that she was a good mom and a strong female.
I love a good crazy ow drama book though, so if anyone know a one, please let me know. 👇
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Might read for the crazy ow drama angst, but has my pet peeve: single mom h.
The H has a female bff who is obsessed with him. He knows it’s inappropriate but he’s blind. This causes problems with the h.
Story: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (3.5) Trope: instalust, age gap Angst: 😱😱😱😱😱 Smexy: 🔥🔥🔥🔥
If you're A fan of other woman drama, this is definitely the book for you! 😂😂 Cute read, but I found the female protagonist a bit grating at times. I'm definitely willing to give this author another go, though.
I feel honestly bad giving an author a one star on their first release. But this book was so predictable and feels like a copy cat of Kat Savage’s Hawk. So much is similar from the single Mom, the tattoo artist who doesn’t date, the psycho other woman drama.
Molly was so nervous to start a relationship with as she put it the player Ryan.
You have to laugh at his stupidity, It's like he is blind. He never sees was Jess was all about. So that makes problems between him and Molly. Their love over shadows their problems, so they get their HEA+1.
honestly i dont believe for a second men are dumb, i already had a very bad view of him due to this,
“Hey, Ry.” A high-pitched voice snaps my attention from Molly to the doorway. The blonde I took home from the pub last night is standing there, dressed like she’s about to go clubbing. She’s wearing a tight, hot pink strapless dress that barely hits her upper thighs and the highest pair of heels I’ve ever fucking seen. How did she even walk down here without me hearing her? “Thought I’d stop by, see if you wanted to grab some lunch or something. I didn’t even have time to get your number last night. You left so quickly after...” She’s running her hand up and down the door frame. I assume she’s trying to look sexy, but all it’s doing is pissing me off. I just painted those walls, and now she’s got her grubby hands all over them. “I’m with a client, babe.” I use that one when I don’t remember their name. “Can I give you a call later on?” “Oh, yeah, sure, no worries, I’ll, um, talk to you later,” she replies, hesitating for a minute before turning to leave. She obviously didn’t think about the fact that I don’t have her number. Don’t want it either. She knew the score when she came home with me. Fuck me, I’ve screwed this up already. Last night was one of those nights I just didn’t want to go home alone... I love my life, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes it’s nice to feel a warm body next to me while I sleep.
LITERALLY, THEIR FIRST INTERACTION 8 PERCENT IN....... FMC has had only one sex in her life and that resulted with her kid.
so after that he goes to her cafe every day for like a couple weeks to try to take her on a date, and she says so cuz she has a lot on her plate and wants someone who wants the same things as her. The second she was close to agreeing this happens,
I've got a message from someone saved in my phone as GREAT TITS. Fuck, I am a bastard, aren’t I? GREAT TITS: Busy tonight? < tit pic > Well, I wasn't wrong... “Nice,” Molly whispers into my ear.
he is 34 btw, and she is 22 he is out acting like this. her dumb friends make her agree to this date after all cuz they all hate her i guess, also this is MMCs first date ever like what ?
Enter Jess,, dreaded OW, his best friend literally everyone else hates her (his business partner and best friend, mother) but he keeps her around cuz she moved there and knows nobody/ she is like a sister to him.
Beckett comes in behind me and closes the door, leaning back against it. “Look, I don’t want to get involved in your business, man, but I need to say this. Jess has been standing there grilling me for information about you and Molly for the past ten minutes. She’s asked me if you’re serious about Molly and what I think about her having a kid. She asked me if you’d mentioned her to me before and started telling me how close the two of you are, how she always comes before the women you sleep with. I’m telling you, something’s up with her. I picked up on it in five minutes.” He opens the door and walks out before I can respond. Fuck me. Seriously? Beckett too? I look at the closed door and sigh. I’ll sort it. It’ll be fine. Jess will calm down when she makes some new friends, and Molly and I will work on our communication. Beckett probably misunderstood what Jess said...
This is not the only time he is warned about Jess, also he keeps calling her with these fuck ass pet names i don't understand i had plenty of male friends never seen it like this love, babe ? Time passes their first time having sex and second time for FMC overall, so expectations are quite high what happens you may ask, well Jess calls him and he answers literally,
“Mol… baby, I’m sorry I know I messed that up, but I had to-” I glare at him and he pauses. “I thought she was in trouble. I didn’t think she’d call me at ten at night to chat, Molly. I thought I was being a good friend,” he pleads. “Yeah, okay, Ryan,” I huff. He rubs the back of his neck and shakes his head. “I told her you were staying the night tonight. I promise you, I didn’t mean to fuck this up, Mol. I just didn’t want her stranded somewhere, or hurt, not knowing anyone else that could help…” Oh, you stupid, stupid man. “You told her I was staying here tonight, and she called you this late to… chat? Are you fucking joking?” “She forgot, Mol. She had a bad day at work... I should have ignored it. It’s my fault, not hers.” I roll my eyes and get up, walking past him to the bedroom. He’s not wrong, but he obviously thinks I don’t see him replying to her messages every time we’re together. I know she comes by Inked on Agnes for lunch all the time too; Beckett told me that one. He’s either an asshole, or he’s actually stupid enough to believe she only wants to be his friend. I guess time will tell.
halfway in he still calls her babe, i have no more comments
Just as I’m about to put my phone back in my pocket, it vibrates again. JESS: Can’t wait to see you tomorrow, handsome. ME: Best behaviour, babe. JESS: ;)
Ryan greets everyone else and apologises for being late. He introduces Jess to Penny and Evie and explains that her car had an issue, so he had to stop and pick her up on the way. Penny looks at me, and I roll my eyes back. Of course, it did.
He thinks I didn’t see the message. I did. And he lied right to my face. My stomach is in knots, but I decide to give him another opportunity to be honest. "Jess message you?” He shakes his head. “Nah, baby. I was just checking the time.” My blood boils, and I feel my hands start to shake. “I saw the message, Ryan,” I snap. “Mol, I... look, you said you wanted to keep things separate. That’s what I’ve been trying to do. She came by the shop not long after our fight at the pizza shop and apologised. She promised to make more of an effort with you, so I let it go. She’s come by a couple times for lunch, that's it. I didn't know if you'd want to know. We’re having such a great day, baby. I didn’t want to bring her up and ruin it.” “So, the solution is for you to lie to my face and just keep doing whatever you want behind my back, hoping I don’t find out and get angry. Really?” I ask, irritation lining my tone. “I don’t fucking know, Molly. It’s different, okay? I don’t tell you so that you don’t get upset. You’re twisting this into something it’s not. We’re friends. We’ve been friends long before I even met you.” His tone is aggressive and demeaning, and I feel my shoulders hunch, protecting me from how his words are making me feel. I duck my head down and stare at my hands. He does the same.
Beckett once again warns him.
He leans forward, and his tone is lethal. “Molly’s a good girl, one of the best. She’s put up with this shit for too long, you’re pushing it, and I’m sure as shit not going to sit here and watch you disrespect that beautiful fucking girl. Cosying up with Jess, calling her babe, buying her drinks. You act like it’s all innocent, but you’re hurting Molly doing it. She might not say it, but you are.” He stands up and moves out of the booth, stopping to look at me when he gets to the end. “I hope she drops you on your ass and finds a man that puts her first, cos it sure as shit ain’t you right now, Ryan. I’m out, have a great night,” he curls his lip in disgust and heads for the exit.
“You’re just going to leave me here to go and be with her? You spend all your fucking time with her, Ryan! What? I’m not important anymore?” I roll my eyes. So fucking dramatic. “Jess, I’m leaving. If you want to stay, stay. You’re twenty-eight years old. I’m not your babysitter.” “I hate that fucking bitch! She’s turned you into a completely different fucking person!”
“I don’t trust you.” “Why?” I ask. She shrugs. “You lie. Hide things. You sneak around behind Molly's back when it comes to Jess, even though your relationship is platonic.” She uses air quotations and rolls her eyes. “You’re not trustworthy. That’s a fact.” I clear my throat and lower my voice to just above a whisper. “I’d never cheat on Molly. Her and Emma mean everything to me. I haven’t spoken to Jess since that night at the pub.” She scoffs. “So, what? Beckett calling you out on your shit made you realise what a tool you are?”
Jess is calling. He’s got a selfie of the two of them as her caller ID. She’s kissing his cheek, and they’re both laughing at the camera. Jealousy burns through me, and then I get pissed. Pissed that she’s calling him non-stop at 9: 00PM, pissed that she won’t just back the fuck off, pissed that he’s made me into this jealous woman. I hate it. I don’t want to feel like this. But I can’t stop. JESS: Seriously, what? That bitch won’t even let you answer your phone when you’re with her now? She’s drunk. And she’s drunk texting my man. Does he let her call me that? I scroll through the previous messages, and while he doesn’t flirt back with her, her messages are very inappropriate. She calls him handsome, and he calls her babe, and I want to peel my fucking skin off. I’m so angry.
“You know, I find it funny that me telling you about Jess did nothing, but Beckett bringing it up magically opened your eyes,” she says sarcastically.
and after this they forgive each other but yet another 3rd act breakup happens when OW lets herself in his bed naked while he is in shower, whatever.
If you like the miscommunication trope this is the book for you! Overall, I found the story dragged on too long and repetitive. The characters were generally immature and unlikable. The idea is super cute, but it just wasn’t up my alley.
I enjoyed this book and am excited for the next book. Hopefully it's Penny and Breckett. I'm seriously wondering how he can dig himself out the hole he's in. It sounds like the woman was not some random chick but his ex. That's a pretty big betrayal to come back from.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
As soon as I saw the cover for this book I knew I wanted to read it. Covers are so important to me, its what first draws me in. Yes I do judge a book by its cover 😅
This is the first book in the Coffee Leaf Cafe series.
Honestly, I loved Ryan, the 33 year old tattoo artist with the cocky attitude, from the first chapter. He is confident and goes for what he wants. He sees Molly and knows that he has to be in her life. Molly is a 22 year old single mother who goes to get a tattoo and when she meets Ryan she is instantly drawn to him. These two had to go through some hard times.. They had trust issues and communication struggles but you can just feel their connection through it all.
Ryan is a sweetheart! The way he was with Molly’s little girl Emma made my heart melt. I absolutely loved the single mother aspect in this book. It brought such a good layer to the story and to Molly as a character.
When Molly and Ryan finally take the next step in their relationship.. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 yes!! It’s written so well. 😏
I didn’t want this book to end! I realy enjoyed it. The epilogue was so cute. This couple deserves all the happiness.
I am very excited for the next book in the series. I need to know what happens with the other couple, Beckett and Penny.
I’m giving this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The only thing I didn’t like as much was the storyline with the other woman, Jess. It felt a little drwn out and I felt like Molly was a little harsh towards Ryan at times. But the grovelling was so satisfying to read 😂
Don’t skip over this book you guys! And let me know what you think of it 🪴