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2204 Hunter Lane
Marley Matthews screwed up.
Following a drunken night of pleasure, she decides to abandon her glamorous New York City lifestyle and move to Nebraska with a man who quickly betrays her, leaving her hopeless with no one to turn to.
After driving in the night to escape the life she pursued, Marley ends up stranded in front of a farmhouse owned by the Lanes. Payton Lane, a kind stepmother, takes her in until she gets back on her feet, but her stepson, Hunter, is very reluctant to Marley and does not make it any easier on her when she decides to accept Payton's offer.
But there's more to Hunter than what he projects, and Marley begins to think that she may have found someone even more broken than she was.
Drunk driving, loss of a loved one, alcohol abuse, mental health/insecurity, body image and toxic family dynamic.
Following a drunken night of pleasure, she decides to abandon her glamorous New York City lifestyle and move to Nebraska with a man who quickly betrays her, leaving her hopeless with no one to turn to.
After driving in the night to escape the life she pursued, Marley ends up stranded in front of a farmhouse owned by the Lanes. Payton Lane, a kind stepmother, takes her in until she gets back on her feet, but her stepson, Hunter, is very reluctant to Marley and does not make it any easier on her when she decides to accept Payton's offer.
But there's more to Hunter than what he projects, and Marley begins to think that she may have found someone even more broken than she was.
Drunk driving, loss of a loved one, alcohol abuse, mental health/insecurity, body image and toxic family dynamic.
457 pages, Paperback
Published April 23, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 175 reviews
May 1, 2022
greatly disappointed
The MC, Marley, should might as well hold a sign saying “I’m a door mat” since she loves getting stepped on.
Spoilers…
Hunter is rude, selfish, and there’s seriously ABSOLUTELY NOTHING THAT MADE ME LIKE HIM. This is one love interest I did not care for. He f**** practically every single woman he comes in contact with but as soon as he sees Marley he decides he hates her just bc she’s from NYC?? What a stupid reason to hate her for! Also the whole reason why he drives under the influence was just as stupid.
Also, he never showed actual love interest for Marley. He still kept having s** with other girls like all the time. Not to mentioned he had just gotten done having s** with two girls when he hears Marley is going back home and he finally decides to reads the letters and then decides to kiss her?? I literally cringed when they finally kissed. I did not fell any excitement at all. The fact that Ms. Doormat lets him kiss her. After they were done kissing for the first time he said “This is what I needed all this time. This makes me feel alive.” LMFAOOO What he needs is to go to therapy and alcoholic anonymous. Which she also needs therapy because girly needs to stop letting people treat her like s***. But anyways they proceed to have sex (surprise surprise) and all I kept thinking is if he even showered after his “three-day bender with Tabitha and Zetty.” Like I’m sorry are we supposed to believe that he loves Marley???????? When he literally just got done having a 3**** and all it took is for him to read her letters lol
Also, his dad, stepmom, best friend and everyone in town should get arrested for letting him drive drunk practically every day. Like yea I get that your mom died but why are his family/friends normalizing the fact that he goes to the bar every single day and also don’t speak up when he drives drunks every day even though a DRUNK DRIVER was the reason the mom died???? I seriously never hated a love interest until I read this book.
I also gagged when he would call her sweetheart bc HE ALSO USED THAT NICKNAME FOR OTHER WOMEN lmfaooooo
OMG of course Ms. Doormat changes her mind to move to NYC even though she had everything packed, she had a new job, and was ready to start her new life ALL FOR A MAN THAT DOESN’T TREAT HER RIGHT for the second time in the book. Girly please have some self respect!
I’m sorry but who is in love with Hunter????????? Like whooooo? Because there’s no way someone fell in love with him. There’s nothing to fall in love with!!!! He’s a terrible human!
Also does this man even work???? Because it is mentioned that he works for his dad but how does he ever managed to work when he’s always drunk??? Also Marley’s marketing skills were so GREAT that she was able to help the Lane family open multiple businesses in like less than 2 months HAHAHAH How realistic. Also Hunter really sent a picture of Marley’s behind to her ex to let him know what he’s missing??????? Like what??
After they kissed for the first time the rest of the book is basically all s** scenes and absolutely no character development. He just stopped drinking even though he had a serious drinking problem all bc he’s dating her? And their relationship just simply worked with no issues even though they both have incredible amounts of issues???
I’m sad I lost sleep over this book. It was so painful trying to finish it but I did it lol
The MC, Marley, should might as well hold a sign saying “I’m a door mat” since she loves getting stepped on.
Spoilers…
Hunter is rude, selfish, and there’s seriously ABSOLUTELY NOTHING THAT MADE ME LIKE HIM. This is one love interest I did not care for. He f**** practically every single woman he comes in contact with but as soon as he sees Marley he decides he hates her just bc she’s from NYC?? What a stupid reason to hate her for! Also the whole reason why he drives under the influence was just as stupid.
Also, he never showed actual love interest for Marley. He still kept having s** with other girls like all the time. Not to mentioned he had just gotten done having s** with two girls when he hears Marley is going back home and he finally decides to reads the letters and then decides to kiss her?? I literally cringed when they finally kissed. I did not fell any excitement at all. The fact that Ms. Doormat lets him kiss her. After they were done kissing for the first time he said “This is what I needed all this time. This makes me feel alive.” LMFAOOO What he needs is to go to therapy and alcoholic anonymous. Which she also needs therapy because girly needs to stop letting people treat her like s***. But anyways they proceed to have sex (surprise surprise) and all I kept thinking is if he even showered after his “three-day bender with Tabitha and Zetty.” Like I’m sorry are we supposed to believe that he loves Marley???????? When he literally just got done having a 3**** and all it took is for him to read her letters lol
Also, his dad, stepmom, best friend and everyone in town should get arrested for letting him drive drunk practically every day. Like yea I get that your mom died but why are his family/friends normalizing the fact that he goes to the bar every single day and also don’t speak up when he drives drunks every day even though a DRUNK DRIVER was the reason the mom died???? I seriously never hated a love interest until I read this book.
I also gagged when he would call her sweetheart bc HE ALSO USED THAT NICKNAME FOR OTHER WOMEN lmfaooooo
OMG of course Ms. Doormat changes her mind to move to NYC even though she had everything packed, she had a new job, and was ready to start her new life ALL FOR A MAN THAT DOESN’T TREAT HER RIGHT for the second time in the book. Girly please have some self respect!
I’m sorry but who is in love with Hunter????????? Like whooooo? Because there’s no way someone fell in love with him. There’s nothing to fall in love with!!!! He’s a terrible human!
Also does this man even work???? Because it is mentioned that he works for his dad but how does he ever managed to work when he’s always drunk??? Also Marley’s marketing skills were so GREAT that she was able to help the Lane family open multiple businesses in like less than 2 months HAHAHAH How realistic. Also Hunter really sent a picture of Marley’s behind to her ex to let him know what he’s missing??????? Like what??
After they kissed for the first time the rest of the book is basically all s** scenes and absolutely no character development. He just stopped drinking even though he had a serious drinking problem all bc he’s dating her? And their relationship just simply worked with no issues even though they both have incredible amounts of issues???
I’m sad I lost sleep over this book. It was so painful trying to finish it but I did it lol
April 30, 2022
I’m sorry but I was really excited for this book and I was so happy when I finally found out it came out but reading it really let me down.
First, there was so much scenes with the OW.
Some of the scenes were not okay to me.
SPOILERS
Hunter is stupid.
For example when Marley called the authorities on Hunter for drunk driving it made it seem like the blame was all on her and she was in the wrong when really it was him. He blamed her the whole time and she thought she was in the wrong too and I just made me so angry because it was not her fault at all.
and also I don’t really know how the friendship between Josh and Hunter can be considered a friendship when Hunter does not seem like a good friend
so if you wanna read about scenes with OW‘s for half the book then sure leave this one
Also i did not like how Marley decided to tell him and his family all about her ex bf issues five minutes into meeting them then after hunter being rude for 200 pages or so and the one single time he is nice she tells him all about her family … no
There were some scenes that i did like just not enough to read this again.
First, there was so much scenes with the OW.
Some of the scenes were not okay to me.
SPOILERS
Hunter is stupid.
For example when Marley called the authorities on Hunter for drunk driving it made it seem like the blame was all on her and she was in the wrong when really it was him. He blamed her the whole time and she thought she was in the wrong too and I just made me so angry because it was not her fault at all.
and also I don’t really know how the friendship between Josh and Hunter can be considered a friendship when Hunter does not seem like a good friend
so if you wanna read about scenes with OW‘s for half the book then sure leave this one
Also i did not like how Marley decided to tell him and his family all about her ex bf issues five minutes into meeting them then after hunter being rude for 200 pages or so and the one single time he is nice she tells him all about her family … no
There were some scenes that i did like just not enough to read this again.
May 2, 2022
I am so confused over the hype for this book. The MC was a man child who was sleeping with other women for literally 2/3rds of the book? There were too many time jumps where the author told us about the couples relationship rather than showed - made it very difficult for me to actually care about these two?
Struggled to finish this, wouldn’t recommend 2/5 stars.
Struggled to finish this, wouldn’t recommend 2/5 stars.
May 2, 2022
I was really excited about this book and I did think the characters had a lot of potential, but Marley and Hunter's immaturity was just not believable and I felt like the tension between them at the beginning was forced. And the phrase "hate my guts" was used way too many times in one book by two adult characters.
August 2, 2023
When I tell you I couldn’t put this book down and I literally had to finish it in one sitting!
May 16, 2022
I don’t like to post bad reviews, it’s not normally my thing because it’s usually a preference thing but for this I felt like I need to for various reasons.
1. This book was marketed all over TikTok as something COMPLETELY different. This is barely a romance. The author made it seem as if Hunter was going to be some avenging hero for our FMC, after a shitty ex boyfriend. Turns out Hunter was even worse IMO.
2. The hero is fucking OW for 65% of the book and hates the FMC. And when he supposedly realizes he loves her is just hours after he has a 3some and then immediately kisses the FMC. Uhhh I’m sorry, are we supposed to not have an entire ICK about this? I full body cringed and it never got better.
3. We get an explicit sex scene of Hunter and OW just mere pages prior to him being with FMC. I’ve read books with explicit sex scenes with other people besides the MC’s but it’s usually in the beginning/towards the beginning. How are we supposed to read this and believe the relationship between these two people
4. Marley is a doormat the ENTIRE book, she never grows. There is no character growth or redemption moment. She gives up EVERYTHING for a man who was cruel to her and just hours before was fucking other women. I can’t. What would have been redeeming was her leaving and making him chase her and grovel and prove himself. But we got none of that. She just stays a doormat for shitty men.
5. The drunk driving. Nothing more. It was an awful plot point and the “twist” was mediocre at best.
6. AGAIN- I have to reiterate- The marketing of this book. I think if it would have been marketed more like an “Ugly Love” by Colleen Hoover, I wouldn’t have had such a visceral reaction to all of the atrocities Hunter commits but because it was marketed(on TikTok by the author) as this great love story, it was so disappointing. The author made it seem(on TikTok) like we were getting this amazing book boyfriend who stands up for our heroine against this awful ex but that’s not what happens. Her whole marketing plan was only derived from the last 20% of the book and seems really manipulative now.
I’m sorry I went on this rant but I’ve only been this enraged about a few books in the 8 years I’ve been reading romance, and this book happened to enrage me. I honestly wish I never read it 😬
1. This book was marketed all over TikTok as something COMPLETELY different. This is barely a romance. The author made it seem as if Hunter was going to be some avenging hero for our FMC, after a shitty ex boyfriend. Turns out Hunter was even worse IMO.
2. The hero is fucking OW for 65% of the book and hates the FMC. And when he supposedly realizes he loves her is just hours after he has a 3some and then immediately kisses the FMC. Uhhh I’m sorry, are we supposed to not have an entire ICK about this? I full body cringed and it never got better.
3. We get an explicit sex scene of Hunter and OW just mere pages prior to him being with FMC. I’ve read books with explicit sex scenes with other people besides the MC’s but it’s usually in the beginning/towards the beginning. How are we supposed to read this and believe the relationship between these two people
4. Marley is a doormat the ENTIRE book, she never grows. There is no character growth or redemption moment. She gives up EVERYTHING for a man who was cruel to her and just hours before was fucking other women. I can’t. What would have been redeeming was her leaving and making him chase her and grovel and prove himself. But we got none of that. She just stays a doormat for shitty men.
5. The drunk driving. Nothing more. It was an awful plot point and the “twist” was mediocre at best.
6. AGAIN- I have to reiterate- The marketing of this book. I think if it would have been marketed more like an “Ugly Love” by Colleen Hoover, I wouldn’t have had such a visceral reaction to all of the atrocities Hunter commits but because it was marketed(on TikTok by the author) as this great love story, it was so disappointing. The author made it seem(on TikTok) like we were getting this amazing book boyfriend who stands up for our heroine against this awful ex but that’s not what happens. Her whole marketing plan was only derived from the last 20% of the book and seems really manipulative now.
I’m sorry I went on this rant but I’ve only been this enraged about a few books in the 8 years I’ve been reading romance, and this book happened to enrage me. I honestly wish I never read it 😬
April 29, 2022
Ugh this book! I checked daily to see if the author posted new TikTok’s about it, so clearly I had high expectations, and shit it delivered!
I liked Hunter, even if I wanted to strangle him at times. I really like the commentary throughout the book on how he handled grief and the decisions he made because of it.
His relationship with Marley was adorable. It was clear that he was fighting himself for nothing by not being with her. You find yourself invested in their relationship and then you hit the end of the book.
I will be billing her for my goddamn therapy. When I hit the 3/4 mark and they didn’t break up, I was worried. They seemed too happy and things were going too well. The fear I had him for Hunter for insane and I anxious cried. Did it end up well? Yes. Did it traumatize me? Yes.
I liked Hunter, even if I wanted to strangle him at times. I really like the commentary throughout the book on how he handled grief and the decisions he made because of it.
His relationship with Marley was adorable. It was clear that he was fighting himself for nothing by not being with her. You find yourself invested in their relationship and then you hit the end of the book.
I will be billing her for my goddamn therapy. When I hit the 3/4 mark and they didn’t break up, I was worried. They seemed too happy and things were going too well. The fear I had him for Hunter for insane and I anxious cried. Did it end up well? Yes. Did it traumatize me? Yes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 29, 2022
Ok, so I sat on this for a little while before reviewing. Felt like I had whiplash when I finished & needed to gather my thoughts.
I went into this book with really high hopes, and was very disappointed. If you like A LOT of ow drama & a doormat FMC, this one might be for you.
*spoilers*
First, Hunter is a tool. Literally found zero redeeming qualities about him throughout the entire book. His entire personality is drunk driving & using women as toys. He decides he hates Marley on sight simply because she’s from NYC? He is straight juvenile & rude. He demeans & insults Marley constantly, without even knowing her. He’s a total jerk to his stepmother for absolutely no reason & is so self centered it made me cringe.
Marley is a doormat. There is literally no other way to describe her. She word vomits all of her past issues within minutes of meeting people just to make them like her, allows Hunter to consistently drag her & just keeps going back for more!
It takes a lot for me to not at least appreciate a book, but this one just was not my cup of tea. I read a lot of dark romance, so I tend to have a thick skin with insults & bullying but this had NO valid reasoning. 2/3 of the *fun* scenes in this book are Hunter with OTHER women. He literally stumbles out of a threesome & pulls a “maybe I should call her” with Marley.
The plot is basically: men can sleep around & it’s cool. Women have to cater to men & wait until he’s ready to commit.
Sorry, no. Total cringe.
I went into this book with really high hopes, and was very disappointed. If you like A LOT of ow drama & a doormat FMC, this one might be for you.
*spoilers*
First, Hunter is a tool. Literally found zero redeeming qualities about him throughout the entire book. His entire personality is drunk driving & using women as toys. He decides he hates Marley on sight simply because she’s from NYC? He is straight juvenile & rude. He demeans & insults Marley constantly, without even knowing her. He’s a total jerk to his stepmother for absolutely no reason & is so self centered it made me cringe.
Marley is a doormat. There is literally no other way to describe her. She word vomits all of her past issues within minutes of meeting people just to make them like her, allows Hunter to consistently drag her & just keeps going back for more!
It takes a lot for me to not at least appreciate a book, but this one just was not my cup of tea. I read a lot of dark romance, so I tend to have a thick skin with insults & bullying but this had NO valid reasoning. 2/3 of the *fun* scenes in this book are Hunter with OTHER women. He literally stumbles out of a threesome & pulls a “maybe I should call her” with Marley.
The plot is basically: men can sleep around & it’s cool. Women have to cater to men & wait until he’s ready to commit.
Sorry, no. Total cringe.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 5, 2022
Wow okay I don’t think I can accurately describe how much I fell in love with this book. It’s been awhile since I’ve related to something as deeply as I do to this book. This book is about Marley who shows up outside of Hunter’s house after her car breaks down and after she ended her relationship with her boyfriend. Hunter is an extreme grump for good reason though.
This books talks about some heavy trauma of losing someone and learning to open up your heart again to the possibility of real earth shattering love.
Absolutely recommend it’s from an author on Tik tok♥️
This books talks about some heavy trauma of losing someone and learning to open up your heart again to the possibility of real earth shattering love.
Absolutely recommend it’s from an author on Tik tok♥️
April 30, 2022
SPOILERS AND TALKS OF THE TW: drunk driving
I thought this book had potential to be a great book. The plotline had was really good and if it was developed more and given more attention to some issues the characters went through I would’ve given this book a 4 or 5 stars
Hunter would go out everyday to get drunk and then would go drive back home while intoxicated. I thought this issue was so brushed off! Of course I don’t want to discredit anything Hunter went through as he was based off a real person but cmon no one did a thing in this book about it. Marley did do something about it but I thought the characters really didn’t appreciate it as much. It felt rushed and all of sudden that he was “okay” when he got with Marely. When I thought it could’ve been something deeper with his problems like drinking and driving was really big and he went from doing this everyday to having “no issues” about it anymore.
Marely opened up pretty quickly to Hunter about her family issues like pretty much in the first outing together. I’m not sure if this was intentional so that she felt that Hunter would open up about his problems. She also forgave Hunter pretty quickly for everything he said to her. He was pretty rude to her for a majority of the book and it made it seem like she didn’t even care that he was acting that way towards her. She still wrote him letter trying to give them another chance but I felt like she could’ve let him think for his own and give him a chance to grow as a person. Once he read these letters he immediately went to her house and all was forgiven and nothing was ever said. It was very rushed and there was no groveling in part of Hunter.
I also think that the timeline felt very rushed. I would be enjoying a chapter and then suddenly there would be a time jump. I feel like by doing it so often it would make it seem like nothing had developed between the characters. However besides being rushed I did think that the two characters worked well together in a relationship. They had a great relationship everything aside and you can tell they cared for one another. Marely helping Hunter through the ending of the book and Hunter being there for Marley. The nicknames of “Bambi” and “Sweetheart” were my absolutely favorite of the book.
I thought this book had potential to be a great book. The plotline had was really good and if it was developed more and given more attention to some issues the characters went through I would’ve given this book a 4 or 5 stars
Hunter would go out everyday to get drunk and then would go drive back home while intoxicated. I thought this issue was so brushed off! Of course I don’t want to discredit anything Hunter went through as he was based off a real person but cmon no one did a thing in this book about it. Marley did do something about it but I thought the characters really didn’t appreciate it as much. It felt rushed and all of sudden that he was “okay” when he got with Marely. When I thought it could’ve been something deeper with his problems like drinking and driving was really big and he went from doing this everyday to having “no issues” about it anymore.
Marely opened up pretty quickly to Hunter about her family issues like pretty much in the first outing together. I’m not sure if this was intentional so that she felt that Hunter would open up about his problems. She also forgave Hunter pretty quickly for everything he said to her. He was pretty rude to her for a majority of the book and it made it seem like she didn’t even care that he was acting that way towards her. She still wrote him letter trying to give them another chance but I felt like she could’ve let him think for his own and give him a chance to grow as a person. Once he read these letters he immediately went to her house and all was forgiven and nothing was ever said. It was very rushed and there was no groveling in part of Hunter.
I also think that the timeline felt very rushed. I would be enjoying a chapter and then suddenly there would be a time jump. I feel like by doing it so often it would make it seem like nothing had developed between the characters. However besides being rushed I did think that the two characters worked well together in a relationship. They had a great relationship everything aside and you can tell they cared for one another. Marely helping Hunter through the ending of the book and Hunter being there for Marley. The nicknames of “Bambi” and “Sweetheart” were my absolutely favorite of the book.
January 7, 2025
this book was SO boring, the writing was cringy and the characters were annoying. zero redeemable qualities in this book and felt like a recycled wattpad story i read when i was 13
mmc? a man whore who treats everyone like shit and sleeps with other women for about 90% of this book??? HATES the fmc but then magically falls in love with her and abandons the hatred he had for the 90% of the story???
fmc? the worlds dumbest person who allows a man to treat her like a door mat bc he’s “broken 🥺💔” and she can fix him!!! pls get a grip.
mmc? a man whore who treats everyone like shit and sleeps with other women for about 90% of this book??? HATES the fmc but then magically falls in love with her and abandons the hatred he had for the 90% of the story???
fmc? the worlds dumbest person who allows a man to treat her like a door mat bc he’s “broken 🥺💔” and she can fix him!!! pls get a grip.
April 29, 2022
This book was captivating from beginning to end. The characters, wow the character… I loved every single one of them for their own reasons. I cried I laughed and then cried some more. The topics in this book are heavy so definitely read the trigger warnings. However the author shed light on mental health and loss in a way that took my breath away (in a good way). I have not read a book like this that made me fall in love with every single character, made me laugh, cry, break my heart and then putting it back together in a book.
If you’re out there in a reading slump this will make you fall in love with reading all over again
All I have to say is HUNTER FUCKING LANE. The book boyfriend to end them all. This is definitely a book worth reading over and over. ❤️
If you’re out there in a reading slump this will make you fall in love with reading all over again
All I have to say is HUNTER FUCKING LANE. The book boyfriend to end them all. This is definitely a book worth reading over and over. ❤️
May 2, 2022
i hate him. i hate hunter. after they met, he slept with other women while she was only devoted to him. i absolutely despise this trope. he was such an asshole to her for no reason. his behavior was so awful and unnecessary. he ignored her for weeks, she decided to left, he suddenly showed up at her door and they hooked up. that's it?!! she forgave him so easily???? she deserves better but she chose the worst. this book was a joke.
May 4, 2022
Wow okay, time to put some words to my thoughts on this book...
FREAKING AMAZING. This book tugged on my heartstrings. If you want pain, slow burn enemies to lovers then this is the book for you.
Marley (our female main character) finds herself stranded one night after leaving her cheating ex behind. She ends up at the house of Hunter (our male main character). They did not start on the right foot and have a rocky relationship. Hunter is an ass to Marley and is mad at the world because of the loss of his mother. This drives Hunter to be an alcoholic and somewhat suicidal (trigger warning). Marley tried to help as best as she can but you can't help someone who is it willing to change. And not to spoil the rest, I'll end my synopsis here. (Read the book, it's seriously good)
There were multiple time where I was just yelling at Hunter to just stop being mean:/ He was very rude but that is what made him so real. His pain and suffering really got to you, so you understand why he is the way he is.
I really enjoyed the story and my heart dropped at a certain part toward the end...so that was fun...
5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
FREAKING AMAZING. This book tugged on my heartstrings. If you want pain, slow burn enemies to lovers then this is the book for you.
Marley (our female main character) finds herself stranded one night after leaving her cheating ex behind. She ends up at the house of Hunter (our male main character). They did not start on the right foot and have a rocky relationship. Hunter is an ass to Marley and is mad at the world because of the loss of his mother. This drives Hunter to be an alcoholic and somewhat suicidal (trigger warning). Marley tried to help as best as she can but you can't help someone who is it willing to change. And not to spoil the rest, I'll end my synopsis here. (Read the book, it's seriously good)
There were multiple time where I was just yelling at Hunter to just stop being mean:/ He was very rude but that is what made him so real. His pain and suffering really got to you, so you understand why he is the way he is.
I really enjoyed the story and my heart dropped at a certain part toward the end...so that was fun...
5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
June 11, 2022
Hunter was like an older less mature hardin scott
Which is something i thought was impossible
Which is something i thought was impossible
May 11, 2022
Booktok deceived me again.
First: if you want to make the hero sleep with other women for most of the book, fade to black. I really don’t want to read the details of these encounters (that were even more interesting and detailed than the scenes with the heroine).
Second: Hunter was horrible. No redeemable qualities at all. He spend most of the book treating the heroine, his family and his supposed best friend like shit. Why are we supposed to like him? Just because he’s hot? No thanks.
Third: the heroine was a doormat. She never stood her ground and made him grovel as he should. She literally forgave him after 0.5 seconds. We prefer strong women that know their value, always. Also, she regretted leaving her life behind for a man, and guess what? She does it again.
Fourth: too many time jumps. We didn’t get a glimpse of how they became friends or started having feelings for each other. I couldn’t care less about them honestly.
This book is nothing but a red flag.
First: if you want to make the hero sleep with other women for most of the book, fade to black. I really don’t want to read the details of these encounters (that were even more interesting and detailed than the scenes with the heroine).
Second: Hunter was horrible. No redeemable qualities at all. He spend most of the book treating the heroine, his family and his supposed best friend like shit. Why are we supposed to like him? Just because he’s hot? No thanks.
Third: the heroine was a doormat. She never stood her ground and made him grovel as he should. She literally forgave him after 0.5 seconds. We prefer strong women that know their value, always. Also, she regretted leaving her life behind for a man, and guess what? She does it again.
Fourth: too many time jumps. We didn’t get a glimpse of how they became friends or started having feelings for each other. I couldn’t care less about them honestly.
This book is nothing but a red flag.
December 21, 2022
There’s no detailed spoilers in this review but still wanted to add just in case!
DNF at 70%… I usually love dual POV but I actually hated it in this book. Spent most of the time reading about how much he hates Marley and him sleeping with other woman, in detail, instead of seeing the relationship build between them. By the time they actually got together, I was still rooting for her to leave him and go back to NYC because he was such a dickwad the whole time. There was no coming back for me after what happened between them. I tired to give it some time after they got together but I couldn’t do it anymore. Makes me sad, I had high hopes!
DNF at 70%… I usually love dual POV but I actually hated it in this book. Spent most of the time reading about how much he hates Marley and him sleeping with other woman, in detail, instead of seeing the relationship build between them. By the time they actually got together, I was still rooting for her to leave him and go back to NYC because he was such a dickwad the whole time. There was no coming back for me after what happened between them. I tired to give it some time after they got together but I couldn’t do it anymore. Makes me sad, I had high hopes!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 27, 2023
no bc I was so excited to read this and I was thoroughly disappointed. hunter was just so unlikeable and had no chemistry was marley. i genuinely thought they’d be better off as friends but tbh hunter is a shit friend.
#marleydeservesbetter
#marleydeservesbetter
January 31, 2024
31st January 2024: 2★
just a bog standard, fun, cute, small town romance. was not a fan of hunt at the beginning though and his behaviour during their ‘breakup era’ then their honeymoon period felt crammed into the last 10%. THE ENDING THOUGH OH MY GOD MY JAW WAS ON THE FLOOR.
just a bog standard, fun, cute, small town romance. was not a fan of hunt at the beginning though and his behaviour during their ‘breakup era’ then their honeymoon period felt crammed into the last 10%. THE ENDING THOUGH OH MY GOD MY JAW WAS ON THE FLOOR.
May 4, 2022
Such a great story about love, loss, and overcoming all the obstacles life throws at you.
July 19, 2022
3.5 was like a 2.75 before the redemption but yeah🤩
February 10, 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️4
April 30, 2022
Not what I expected
I have a lot of feelings about this book. I wanted to love it, I really did. I love how broken Hunter was, and i totally understood his pain and his suffering. The beginning really got me hooked. however parts of this book seemed rushed and the build up lacked for me.
I liked Hunters character development and how obsessed he was with Marley. I did not like how much and how detailed OW encounters there were, it was hard to imagine this playboy detached guy going to obsessed mode for Marley in a matter of a few letters, it just didn’t have the grovel or emotional impact I wanted to see. Marley also did not have the character development I wanted, she spent a lot of the book saying how she won’t make decisions based on a man, but all her decisions were. The last thing that really took me out of the story was the POVs from Adam and Dex, it just wasn’t my thing.
Overall I think this was a great debut, and I loved the storyline and the emotional journey the characters went on
I have a lot of feelings about this book. I wanted to love it, I really did. I love how broken Hunter was, and i totally understood his pain and his suffering. The beginning really got me hooked. however parts of this book seemed rushed and the build up lacked for me.
I liked Hunters character development and how obsessed he was with Marley. I did not like how much and how detailed OW encounters there were, it was hard to imagine this playboy detached guy going to obsessed mode for Marley in a matter of a few letters, it just didn’t have the grovel or emotional impact I wanted to see. Marley also did not have the character development I wanted, she spent a lot of the book saying how she won’t make decisions based on a man, but all her decisions were. The last thing that really took me out of the story was the POVs from Adam and Dex, it just wasn’t my thing.
Overall I think this was a great debut, and I loved the storyline and the emotional journey the characters went on
May 6, 2022
Do Yourself A Favor and Read This
This book was everything’s and more! I cried so many times and if I could tattoo this book on my heart I would! Marie, you are incredibly talented. And to the real life Hunter, may your ending be as beautiful and happy as this one.
This book was everything’s and more! I cried so many times and if I could tattoo this book on my heart I would! Marie, you are incredibly talented. And to the real life Hunter, may your ending be as beautiful and happy as this one.
May 5, 2022
⭐️⭐️✨️ 2.5 stars
I was really excited for this book and I had been anticipating it ever since the author popped up on my fyp on tiktok. I was hyped.
It took fucking forever for me to get into the book. I nearly DNFd it but after seeing the author's tiktoks in which she explained the characters are based on real pple and events that happened in their lives and how the coped well I decided to keep reading and also I'm very anal about finishing a book I start.
From the start Hunter was a shit fucking person. He was reckless, irresponsible and an asshole. I understand that that was his coping mechanism and how he chose to grieve but it doesn't not excuse the fact that his actions were fucking stupid and dangerous and fucking selfish. But at the same time I can't hate him for it. He had no true support system. Yeah, Josh was his best friend but he never did anything to stop him. That's not what you do when you see your friend is hurting and causing public endangerment. Hunter was damn near suicidal and no one was doing shit. Everyone always walked on fucking eggshells around him bc they didn't want a confrontation, they turned a blind fucking eye and all this mans wanted was someone to care enough to notice and take action. Of course when Marley did just fucking that he fucking lost his shit but you know we can't win them all. Also I lowkey had beef with Dex bc what the actual fuck? He sees his son is a danger to himself and society and instead of you know TALKING to him and helping him he pushes him even further away -basically fucking shuns him bc talking too him hurts him too much bc he reminds him of his dead wife?? Father of the fucking year.
My only problem with Marley is that she be chasing all these shit men that treat her like shit and then be running away. I hate that she decides to leave bc of Hunter and I hate it even more that she decides to stay bc of him. Like no bbygirl, you make that man grovel and choose you first before any man. I wish she would have gone to NYC and have a long distance relationship with Hunter and after he had grovelled, come back and stay. Also not her blaming herself for giving Hunter a reality check and doing for him what no one else in that town did and hating herself bc he got pissed like bbygirl you did nothing wrong STOP apologizing!
I didn't really care if Hunter was hooking up with Britt and other girls prior to getting together with Marley. Like he wasn't exclusive with anyone. Mans was a single man and there is such a thing as casual sex and dating. He did nothing wrong in that aspect, he wasn't leading anyone on and he wasn't cheating.
I appreciate Hunter coming full circle. I'm glad he finally got his head out of his ass and appreciates life and was able to let go of his hurt and guilt.
This book was a fucked up mess, a bit of a rollercoaster and definitely gave me whiplash lol Definitely wasn't the worst book I've read nor the worst characters. -you can't help but kinda feel for them
If you do decide to read it be aware of the TWs.
I was really excited for this book and I had been anticipating it ever since the author popped up on my fyp on tiktok. I was hyped.
It took fucking forever for me to get into the book. I nearly DNFd it but after seeing the author's tiktoks in which she explained the characters are based on real pple and events that happened in their lives and how the coped well I decided to keep reading and also I'm very anal about finishing a book I start.
From the start Hunter was a shit fucking person. He was reckless, irresponsible and an asshole. I understand that that was his coping mechanism and how he chose to grieve but it doesn't not excuse the fact that his actions were fucking stupid and dangerous and fucking selfish. But at the same time I can't hate him for it. He had no true support system. Yeah, Josh was his best friend but he never did anything to stop him. That's not what you do when you see your friend is hurting and causing public endangerment. Hunter was damn near suicidal and no one was doing shit. Everyone always walked on fucking eggshells around him bc they didn't want a confrontation, they turned a blind fucking eye and all this mans wanted was someone to care enough to notice and take action. Of course when Marley did just fucking that he fucking lost his shit but you know we can't win them all. Also I lowkey had beef with Dex bc what the actual fuck? He sees his son is a danger to himself and society and instead of you know TALKING to him and helping him he pushes him even further away -basically fucking shuns him bc talking too him hurts him too much bc he reminds him of his dead wife?? Father of the fucking year.
My only problem with Marley is that she be chasing all these shit men that treat her like shit and then be running away. I hate that she decides to leave bc of Hunter and I hate it even more that she decides to stay bc of him. Like no bbygirl, you make that man grovel and choose you first before any man. I wish she would have gone to NYC and have a long distance relationship with Hunter and after he had grovelled, come back and stay. Also not her blaming herself for giving Hunter a reality check and doing for him what no one else in that town did and hating herself bc he got pissed like bbygirl you did nothing wrong STOP apologizing!
I didn't really care if Hunter was hooking up with Britt and other girls prior to getting together with Marley. Like he wasn't exclusive with anyone. Mans was a single man and there is such a thing as casual sex and dating. He did nothing wrong in that aspect, he wasn't leading anyone on and he wasn't cheating.
I appreciate Hunter coming full circle. I'm glad he finally got his head out of his ass and appreciates life and was able to let go of his hurt and guilt.
This book was a fucked up mess, a bit of a rollercoaster and definitely gave me whiplash lol Definitely wasn't the worst book I've read nor the worst characters. -you can't help but kinda feel for them
If you do decide to read it be aware of the TWs.
February 26, 2024
2⭐️
Listen, it was a such good premise, and the characters and plot held SO much potential, but the execution and conclusion were so incredibly underwhelming to me. I just feel like everything in this book happened too fast for me to grasp and process in line with the story.
First off, the time jumps in Marley and Hunter's relationship made me feel detached to their characters. We never really get solid development from Hunter or Marley, and it was really disappointing to me.
Hunter. The MMC is this tortured man who drinks himself into oblivion every night to escape the pain of his Mother's tragic death. He's an asshole to everyone and is basically mad at the world. Listen, I LOVE tortured and flawed characters because they always end up having SOME TYPE OF GROWTH, which I absolutely eat up with a knife and fork. However, even though Hunter does end up seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and fixing his attitude in life, we NEVER see his progress and journey through it. He literally just switches personalities within the span of 2 chapters and then ends up being this great and caring guy for the rest of the book. Which I think is complete bullshit. WHERE is the turning point?? The angst?? THE DEVELOPMENT. It was such a slap in the face for me, because I was expecting so much more. Anyways, the only reason why this gets more than 1 star is because Hunter was actually funny and made me snort out loud more that once🙄.
And Marley. Our FMC is fresh out of a horrible relationship prior to meeting Hunter, and as soon as they meet, Hunter is such a piece of shit to her. This goes on for more than half the book, and after months of this mistreatment Marley decides to finally leave town. But then Hunter goes to her in the middle of the night and begs her to not go. They end up screwing....AND SHE ENDS UP STAYING??? GIRL STAND UP PLEASE. I really was expecting her to grow some balls and leave town, and Hunter to maybe chase/grovel after her and beg for forgiveness after, idk, all the months of being a horrible person?? That was just my wishful thinking tho.😔🤚🏽Marley growing a back bone and not taking shit from anyone anymore would have been such a pivotal aspect of her character development. But no. Girly doesn't learn her lesson, and remains a doormat to be stepped all over.
Anyways, this was such a rocky rollercoaster of a read to me, and I only ended up mildly enjoying reading this past the 85% mark because a lot of drama goes down and I live for the drama🤷🏽♀️.Although I am glad this had a happy ending, it wasn't a satisfying conclusion to me. Regardless, I'm actually eager to read the author's other novels, bc despite this one falling short to me, I did enjoy her writing style and her dialogue.
Listen, it was a such good premise, and the characters and plot held SO much potential, but the execution and conclusion were so incredibly underwhelming to me. I just feel like everything in this book happened too fast for me to grasp and process in line with the story.
First off, the time jumps in Marley and Hunter's relationship made me feel detached to their characters. We never really get solid development from Hunter or Marley, and it was really disappointing to me.
Hunter. The MMC is this tortured man who drinks himself into oblivion every night to escape the pain of his Mother's tragic death. He's an asshole to everyone and is basically mad at the world. Listen, I LOVE tortured and flawed characters because they always end up having SOME TYPE OF GROWTH, which I absolutely eat up with a knife and fork. However, even though Hunter does end up seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and fixing his attitude in life, we NEVER see his progress and journey through it. He literally just switches personalities within the span of 2 chapters and then ends up being this great and caring guy for the rest of the book. Which I think is complete bullshit. WHERE is the turning point?? The angst?? THE DEVELOPMENT. It was such a slap in the face for me, because I was expecting so much more. Anyways, the only reason why this gets more than 1 star is because Hunter was actually funny and made me snort out loud more that once🙄.
And Marley. Our FMC is fresh out of a horrible relationship prior to meeting Hunter, and as soon as they meet, Hunter is such a piece of shit to her. This goes on for more than half the book, and after months of this mistreatment Marley decides to finally leave town. But then Hunter goes to her in the middle of the night and begs her to not go. They end up screwing....AND SHE ENDS UP STAYING??? GIRL STAND UP PLEASE. I really was expecting her to grow some balls and leave town, and Hunter to maybe chase/grovel after her and beg for forgiveness after, idk, all the months of being a horrible person?? That was just my wishful thinking tho.😔🤚🏽Marley growing a back bone and not taking shit from anyone anymore would have been such a pivotal aspect of her character development. But no. Girly doesn't learn her lesson, and remains a doormat to be stepped all over.
Anyways, this was such a rocky rollercoaster of a read to me, and I only ended up mildly enjoying reading this past the 85% mark because a lot of drama goes down and I live for the drama🤷🏽♀️.Although I am glad this had a happy ending, it wasn't a satisfying conclusion to me. Regardless, I'm actually eager to read the author's other novels, bc despite this one falling short to me, I did enjoy her writing style and her dialogue.
May 14, 2022
So Miss Marie-France Leger did a spectacular job marketing this book on tiktok the last few months, and I was so excited to finally get my hands on it. Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed.
⭐️⭐️/5
Overall the book has some decent ideas and has some things that I thought were super cute. I loved Hunter buying our FMC, Marley, Starburst and playing games to get her to eat the candy, knowing she restricted herself for years (and still does) due to her upbringing with her parents.
I loved Winter & Payton, and found them to be great women I wish we got to see just a little bit more of.
I liked the idea of there being a backstory for Hunter with his mom’s passing, and the irony of him being a drunk the way he is even though his mom’s life was taken by a drunk driver.
I did find Hunter to piss me off a LOT through most of the book, and I think he deserved to grovel a lot more than he actually did for Marley. Man was a menace to himself, to Marley, and honestly to society as a whole. He needed to have more redeeming acts to really get us on his side as the reader, I feel.
Marley also irritated me, because she really was just a doormat. She was not confident at all; she didn’t really fight for herself. For most of the book, she didn’t have any backbone and it was hard to back her as our FMC.
There were also some really bad plot devices used, and I would argue that the two that bother me the most are both Macguffins-the sole purpose only to further the plot. Those would be:
1.) Britt- the girl Hunter sleeps with for most of the book who doesn’t actually matter in the long run. She’s sort of the OW, but she plays no real role in the plot other than Hunter imaging Marley when he’s with Britt. That’s it. Britt is literally never brought up again after Hunter sleeps with Marley for the first time. 🙄
2.) Marley’s parents & the PI. The purpose here is really to give Marley something to make Hunter not hate her, and also to bring her brother there before the accident at the end. The PI does nothing for us. The parents are nothing to us.
Both of these plot devices are useless and take up so much space in the book without actually giving us anything.
⭐️⭐️/5
Overall the book has some decent ideas and has some things that I thought were super cute. I loved Hunter buying our FMC, Marley, Starburst and playing games to get her to eat the candy, knowing she restricted herself for years (and still does) due to her upbringing with her parents.
I loved Winter & Payton, and found them to be great women I wish we got to see just a little bit more of.
I liked the idea of there being a backstory for Hunter with his mom’s passing, and the irony of him being a drunk the way he is even though his mom’s life was taken by a drunk driver.
I did find Hunter to piss me off a LOT through most of the book, and I think he deserved to grovel a lot more than he actually did for Marley. Man was a menace to himself, to Marley, and honestly to society as a whole. He needed to have more redeeming acts to really get us on his side as the reader, I feel.
Marley also irritated me, because she really was just a doormat. She was not confident at all; she didn’t really fight for herself. For most of the book, she didn’t have any backbone and it was hard to back her as our FMC.
There were also some really bad plot devices used, and I would argue that the two that bother me the most are both Macguffins-the sole purpose only to further the plot. Those would be:
1.) Britt- the girl Hunter sleeps with for most of the book who doesn’t actually matter in the long run. She’s sort of the OW, but she plays no real role in the plot other than Hunter imaging Marley when he’s with Britt. That’s it. Britt is literally never brought up again after Hunter sleeps with Marley for the first time. 🙄
2.) Marley’s parents & the PI. The purpose here is really to give Marley something to make Hunter not hate her, and also to bring her brother there before the accident at the end. The PI does nothing for us. The parents are nothing to us.
Both of these plot devices are useless and take up so much space in the book without actually giving us anything.
April 6, 2023
hmm
i kinda…. hate hunter
Like i’m sorry idgaf if he changed or not PERSONALLY i think he changed a little too late like he was a litttle bitch boy omg and i’m glad marley called him out and said that what happened to him doesn’t give him an excuse to be rude to people YEA SHE ATE WITH THAT ONE. not only that but how tf can you like a girl and still sleep with other people like….??? manwhore😒 reading those scenes made me uncomfortable like woah girl you’re doing all this while main homegirl lowkey crushing on you. OH AND IT PISSED ME OFF WHEN HE GOT MAD AT MARLEY LIKE WOAHHHH HOLD ON NOW but he’s a virgo and virgo men are evil
omg just remembered hated him so much in the beginning like rude asf for no reason and him saying that she demanded them to fix her car… WHEN SHE LITERALLY DID NOT WANT ANY OF THAT TO HAPPEN LIKE SHE JUST WANTED TO CALL A CAB.
speaking of marley, i had like high hopes for her. Like in the beginning she slayed like yasss leaving her ex, helping a business and standing up for herself… but then she became one of those “i can fix him” people like bitch you are not bob the builder, leave him alone. idk like i feel like she forgave him too quickly. she’s a leo like i expected more from her
the main thing that pissed me off was the fact THAT SOMETHING HAPPENS WHEN THERES ONLY 5 CHAPTERS LEFT LIKE WTF hate when authors do that LIKE WHATS THE POINT because then when that happens i always feel like the ending is rushed, it feels empty or boring.
anyways 2/5 and that’s being generous but i finished it and that’s what matters
i kinda…. hate hunter
Like i’m sorry idgaf if he changed or not PERSONALLY i think he changed a little too late like he was a litttle bitch boy omg and i’m glad marley called him out and said that what happened to him doesn’t give him an excuse to be rude to people YEA SHE ATE WITH THAT ONE. not only that but how tf can you like a girl and still sleep with other people like….??? manwhore😒 reading those scenes made me uncomfortable like woah girl you’re doing all this while main homegirl lowkey crushing on you. OH AND IT PISSED ME OFF WHEN HE GOT MAD AT MARLEY LIKE WOAHHHH HOLD ON NOW but he’s a virgo and virgo men are evil
omg just remembered hated him so much in the beginning like rude asf for no reason and him saying that she demanded them to fix her car… WHEN SHE LITERALLY DID NOT WANT ANY OF THAT TO HAPPEN LIKE SHE JUST WANTED TO CALL A CAB.
speaking of marley, i had like high hopes for her. Like in the beginning she slayed like yasss leaving her ex, helping a business and standing up for herself… but then she became one of those “i can fix him” people like bitch you are not bob the builder, leave him alone. idk like i feel like she forgave him too quickly. she’s a leo like i expected more from her
the main thing that pissed me off was the fact THAT SOMETHING HAPPENS WHEN THERES ONLY 5 CHAPTERS LEFT LIKE WTF hate when authors do that LIKE WHATS THE POINT because then when that happens i always feel like the ending is rushed, it feels empty or boring.
anyways 2/5 and that’s being generous but i finished it and that’s what matters
May 4, 2022
I really wanted to like this book. I had been awaiting the release since I saw the author post about it on tiktok. However, there were very few things I enjoyed.
We were promised a strong, sexy, and traumatized love interest with Hunter; All I noticed was the trauma. I was not rooting for him in the slightest. He was hateful, arrogant, boastful, and just angry.
Hunter was fixated on hating Marley because she was from the city, because his ex was also from the city?? It came across as very misogynistic. His anger was misplaced, and was not excusable, even with the trauma of loosing his mom. I expected so much groveling when he realized he liked her, but she just... caved?
Which brings me to another problem I have with this book: Marley. I disliked this character so much! She was not compelling at all, and she was so... bland. Whenever Marley had a problem, she would either run away, or cry. When she called the cops on Hunter for driving drunk... she apologized to him later? And when she had made the decision to leave, Hunter shows up on her doorstep with a half-hearted apology. And she forgives him, on the spot, and then sleeps with him? It felt like Marley was not a person, she was just subject to Hunters whims.
I also really, really disliked Hunters father. He supposedly loved Hunters mother so much, but yet he remarried a year later? And he let his son suffer because he was unwilling to talk about his first wife? Hunter was supposedly working for him, but he never made any rules to try and prevent Hunter from drinking, or tried to help his son. He was pathetic.
Overall, I did not enjoy this book. The characters were lackluster, the plot was basically non-existant, and the spice fell flat. I commend the author, because writing a book is a great accomplishment. In the future, I think they need to have an editor of some kind as there were several spelling and grammatical errors.
Writing is a craft that can be improved, my best wishes to the author in their future endeavors.
We were promised a strong, sexy, and traumatized love interest with Hunter; All I noticed was the trauma. I was not rooting for him in the slightest. He was hateful, arrogant, boastful, and just angry.
Hunter was fixated on hating Marley because she was from the city, because his ex was also from the city?? It came across as very misogynistic. His anger was misplaced, and was not excusable, even with the trauma of loosing his mom. I expected so much groveling when he realized he liked her, but she just... caved?
Which brings me to another problem I have with this book: Marley. I disliked this character so much! She was not compelling at all, and she was so... bland. Whenever Marley had a problem, she would either run away, or cry. When she called the cops on Hunter for driving drunk... she apologized to him later? And when she had made the decision to leave, Hunter shows up on her doorstep with a half-hearted apology. And she forgives him, on the spot, and then sleeps with him? It felt like Marley was not a person, she was just subject to Hunters whims.
I also really, really disliked Hunters father. He supposedly loved Hunters mother so much, but yet he remarried a year later? And he let his son suffer because he was unwilling to talk about his first wife? Hunter was supposedly working for him, but he never made any rules to try and prevent Hunter from drinking, or tried to help his son. He was pathetic.
Overall, I did not enjoy this book. The characters were lackluster, the plot was basically non-existant, and the spice fell flat. I commend the author, because writing a book is a great accomplishment. In the future, I think they need to have an editor of some kind as there were several spelling and grammatical errors.
Writing is a craft that can be improved, my best wishes to the author in their future endeavors.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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