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His Bittersweet Regret
Opal Morgan was always meant to be mine.
And she was, right up until I let everyone else inside my head and threw her away.
Six months after our last goodbye, I was on another lackluster date, regretting my life choices, when I finally saw her again.
She took my breath away for more than just one reason, the biggest being the well-rounded baby bump she couldn’t hide behind her bulky sweatshirt.
Marshall Kennedy was my one true love.
There had never once been a doubt in my mind, even as everyone around us tried to tell me that a love like ours could never last.
Then, one day out of the blue, he told me it was over and just like that, he walked out of my life.
I had to tell him my news via text and all I got back was that it didn’t make a difference. Goodbye meant goodbye.
So, why was he surprised when he finally saw me again?
Maybe it was just wishful thinking on my part, or bittersweet regret on his, either way, he was back and now I was the one second guessing everything.
And she was, right up until I let everyone else inside my head and threw her away.
Six months after our last goodbye, I was on another lackluster date, regretting my life choices, when I finally saw her again.
She took my breath away for more than just one reason, the biggest being the well-rounded baby bump she couldn’t hide behind her bulky sweatshirt.
Marshall Kennedy was my one true love.
There had never once been a doubt in my mind, even as everyone around us tried to tell me that a love like ours could never last.
Then, one day out of the blue, he told me it was over and just like that, he walked out of my life.
I had to tell him my news via text and all I got back was that it didn’t make a difference. Goodbye meant goodbye.
So, why was he surprised when he finally saw me again?
Maybe it was just wishful thinking on my part, or bittersweet regret on his, either way, he was back and now I was the one second guessing everything.
307 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 6, 2022
About the author
Christine Michelle
74 books761 followersChristine Michelle runs on coffee and giggles as she writes her angst-fueled romance stories (motorcycle club, rockstar, paranormal, college, & other contemporary as well as women's fiction and marriage in trouble novels).
She is a mom to four humans (2 girls, 2 boys – all grown now).
When she's not writing books, she enjoys reading, drawing, hiking, or feeding her soul with live music at concerts.
Christine is a traveler and has lived all over the USA (and other parts of the world). She currently lives in San Antonio, Texas with her two fur babies.
She is a mom to four humans (2 girls, 2 boys – all grown now).
When she's not writing books, she enjoys reading, drawing, hiking, or feeding her soul with live music at concerts.
Christine is a traveler and has lived all over the USA (and other parts of the world). She currently lives in San Antonio, Texas with her two fur babies.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 338 reviews
July 12, 2022
Two stars for the angst and the heroine but it is so -1000000 for the content and the way the writer dealt with this issue.
The plot is very simple. The hero and the heroine have been together since they were 15, now they are 23 and he's about buying her a ring.
They live together and are happy.
Quite.
Sadly he has two brothers and a friend who -continuously- try to break them because they tell him he's crazy not to date ow and he will surely regret not doing it afterwards.
Since he's a spineless beta without a mind of his own, he decides to dump the heroine telling her they will stay six months apart, date op and afterward, if they haven't found anyone better, they will be back together.
Yeah, that's it.
The heroine was goint to tell him she's pregnant, but he doesn't even let her speak.
He leaves her for six months and dates ow.
He kisses ow, makes out with them and never tries to see the heroine.
Oh, he's sad and he knows he made a mistake, but he wants to try this thing or he won't be able to know if he made the right choice. Really?
His friend and brothers, who are 26- yes, you read well, 26 not 12, crazy isn't it?- hate the heroine and during this time:
-send her pictures of him with every date, even making out with them
-mess with his phone: when he receives a sms from the heroine telling him she's pregnant they answer that he's not interested.
His parents:
-never call her
-never try to see if she's ok, even knowing she's living alone in the town, because her parents are in another state.
The heroine of course can't date, since she's pregnant and is also a decent human being who doesn't like to have sex with om while pregnant with the zero's child. This sounds very weird in the middle of all this debasement.
What else can I say.
Oh, the best part, here it comes.
When the hero, who's out with a date, sees the heroine and realizes she's pregnant, he immediately thinks she cheated on him and the baby is another man's.
Even if it were, he shouldn't have had any right to be angry.
But, since his brain is smaller than a jellyfish, he has an angry f**k with his date, who lives in front of the heroine, so she sees him when he goes out of her house after having sex with ow.
Ow tells him the heroine is pregnant with his child.
The second part of the book is about his groveling and the heroine eventually takes him back.
Something I so would have liked she didn't.
The only character who was really good was his younger brother who, at only 17, shows a maturity and a stenght of character who made me weep because he was too young to be with the heroine. LOL!
The heroine is not bad, she doesn't spare anyone a single thing, she makes the hero suffer but not enough and she is really a strong and smart woman. Not too smart though, since she takes the zero back again.
The angst is great, but it's all wrong.
Why one star?
Because the hero was really worthless.
The means to create angst are really cheap.
I hate cheating, but I can understand a drunk ONS or misunderstandings that keep a couple apart and one of them loses himself but this one was something.
-they were happy together, he decided to listen to those people who hated the heroine and bullied her for years. He chose to be with them not with her. Loser.
-He wanted another girl. He left the heroine because he felt something for another woman and this -IMO- means he was tired of the heroine, not in love with her. A girl should always- always- dump a man who acts like this when they are not even married. The time when you're with a person but not yet married should be a trial, if one is tired and doubtful during this trial imagine what happens when you're married and real life happens.
-He met only uninteresting and childish women so he eventually came back to the heroine, what if he met someone good?
-The reason he gave the heroine, that he wanted to be sure of his feelings dating ow is pitiful. They were together for 7 years, either you're sure or you are not. No need dating ow.
-Usual sick and tiring double standars. She doesn't even get to kiss another man. We are in the 21 century, please.
-You can measure a man's value also by his friends and people he surrounds himself with. In this case his choices tell all.
-The writer try to justify herself in the preface saying that this is a story with angst, but I suggest that she read some of older HP authors, as Michelle Reid, Charlotte Lamb, older Lynne Graham and older Carole Mortimer. These authors knew how to write an angsty book without a worthless spineless beta hero in it. At least most of the times. I've never read of a old skool hero who was in love with the heroine for years then he pissed his pants and decided he wanted to date ow because. What???
I'm too old for this bullshit.
There are such narrative devices as misunderstandings, deceptions, all masterly made by conniving people who want to break a couple for some evil reason. There are evil ows, evil parents, evil grandparents, and even if the hero is cruel to the heroine he's usually deceived by ginormous villains that make Satan cringe in shame.
There's no need to make the heroine a whipping dog because the hero is a pussy to create an angsty situation.
There's no need to make her settle for that spineless beta who dumped her then took her back just because the first man she dated was a cheating a** too.
I thought that we were past the date when women had to suffer because of Adam and Eve and original sin and all that stuff but it seems we are still there.
A woman is guilty because she's a woman and has to suffer by the hands of a man.
No, just no.
This hero is worthless and spineless and isn't worth a second chance.
Give me alpha heroes who know what they want and are not influenced by bullies, because his friends and brothers are just that, mean bullies.
This book only made me sad and unhappy.
Unfortunately I realized afterwards that this author loves cheating heroes and martyr heroines who accept any abuse and humiliation just because they are women and have to suffer, and I don't think I'll read any other of her books in future.
I like other ways to create angsty situation. This was cheap.
-100000 stars
The plot is very simple. The hero and the heroine have been together since they were 15, now they are 23 and he's about buying her a ring.
They live together and are happy.
Quite.
Sadly he has two brothers and a friend who -continuously- try to break them because they tell him he's crazy not to date ow and he will surely regret not doing it afterwards.
Since he's a spineless beta without a mind of his own, he decides to dump the heroine telling her they will stay six months apart, date op and afterward, if they haven't found anyone better, they will be back together.
Yeah, that's it.
The heroine was goint to tell him she's pregnant, but he doesn't even let her speak.
He leaves her for six months and dates ow.
He kisses ow, makes out with them and never tries to see the heroine.
Oh, he's sad and he knows he made a mistake, but he wants to try this thing or he won't be able to know if he made the right choice. Really?
His friend and brothers, who are 26- yes, you read well, 26 not 12, crazy isn't it?- hate the heroine and during this time:
-send her pictures of him with every date, even making out with them
-mess with his phone: when he receives a sms from the heroine telling him she's pregnant they answer that he's not interested.
His parents:
-never call her
-never try to see if she's ok, even knowing she's living alone in the town, because her parents are in another state.
The heroine of course can't date, since she's pregnant and is also a decent human being who doesn't like to have sex with om while pregnant with the zero's child. This sounds very weird in the middle of all this debasement.
What else can I say.
Oh, the best part, here it comes.
When the hero, who's out with a date, sees the heroine and realizes she's pregnant, he immediately thinks she cheated on him and the baby is another man's.
Even if it were, he shouldn't have had any right to be angry.
But, since his brain is smaller than a jellyfish, he has an angry f**k with his date, who lives in front of the heroine, so she sees him when he goes out of her house after having sex with ow.
Ow tells him the heroine is pregnant with his child.
The second part of the book is about his groveling and the heroine eventually takes him back.
Something I so would have liked she didn't.
The only character who was really good was his younger brother who, at only 17, shows a maturity and a stenght of character who made me weep because he was too young to be with the heroine. LOL!
The heroine is not bad, she doesn't spare anyone a single thing, she makes the hero suffer but not enough and she is really a strong and smart woman. Not too smart though, since she takes the zero back again.
The angst is great, but it's all wrong.
Why one star?
Because the hero was really worthless.
The means to create angst are really cheap.
I hate cheating, but I can understand a drunk ONS or misunderstandings that keep a couple apart and one of them loses himself but this one was something.
-they were happy together, he decided to listen to those people who hated the heroine and bullied her for years. He chose to be with them not with her. Loser.
-He wanted another girl. He left the heroine because he felt something for another woman and this -IMO- means he was tired of the heroine, not in love with her. A girl should always- always- dump a man who acts like this when they are not even married. The time when you're with a person but not yet married should be a trial, if one is tired and doubtful during this trial imagine what happens when you're married and real life happens.
-He met only uninteresting and childish women so he eventually came back to the heroine, what if he met someone good?
-The reason he gave the heroine, that he wanted to be sure of his feelings dating ow is pitiful. They were together for 7 years, either you're sure or you are not. No need dating ow.
-Usual sick and tiring double standars. She doesn't even get to kiss another man. We are in the 21 century, please.
-You can measure a man's value also by his friends and people he surrounds himself with. In this case his choices tell all.
-The writer try to justify herself in the preface saying that this is a story with angst, but I suggest that she read some of older HP authors, as Michelle Reid, Charlotte Lamb, older Lynne Graham and older Carole Mortimer. These authors knew how to write an angsty book without a worthless spineless beta hero in it. At least most of the times. I've never read of a old skool hero who was in love with the heroine for years then he pissed his pants and decided he wanted to date ow because. What???
I'm too old for this bullshit.
There are such narrative devices as misunderstandings, deceptions, all masterly made by conniving people who want to break a couple for some evil reason. There are evil ows, evil parents, evil grandparents, and even if the hero is cruel to the heroine he's usually deceived by ginormous villains that make Satan cringe in shame.
There's no need to make the heroine a whipping dog because the hero is a pussy to create an angsty situation.
There's no need to make her settle for that spineless beta who dumped her then took her back just because the first man she dated was a cheating a** too.
I thought that we were past the date when women had to suffer because of Adam and Eve and original sin and all that stuff but it seems we are still there.
A woman is guilty because she's a woman and has to suffer by the hands of a man.
No, just no.
This hero is worthless and spineless and isn't worth a second chance.
Give me alpha heroes who know what they want and are not influenced by bullies, because his friends and brothers are just that, mean bullies.
This book only made me sad and unhappy.
Unfortunately I realized afterwards that this author loves cheating heroes and martyr heroines who accept any abuse and humiliation just because they are women and have to suffer, and I don't think I'll read any other of her books in future.
I like other ways to create angsty situation. This was cheap.
-100000 stars
July 20, 2022
3 ⭐⭐⭐ Ok Decent reads
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S
P
O
I
L
E
R
A
N
D
R
A
N
T
Shit show of disrespect from Zero.
Zero and Zeroine have been together for 7 years and supposedly happy. But Zero decides to listen to his brothers and best friend, who hate Zeroine and want him to have sex with other people and participate in their parties.
He decides to empty the house that the two share and leave Zeroine for six months, in search of something better and to have sexual experiences with other women, since he was attracted to a woman at a party.
On the day that Zeroine was to announce her pregnancy, she finds her apartment empty and he dumps a bucket of cold water on her, letting her know he's leaving and dumps her like a disposable trash.
The brothers intercept her message and reply that he doesn't care about the pregnancy. She spends 6 miserable months of abandonment and lack of means to survive. Zero leaves her penniless, without a car and without alternatives.
Meanwhile he has dates with other women, dinners, parties, making out and unprotected sex with one of the women. Zero is a lord!
In my view he is a backboneless cheater who is easily influenced by his brainless brothers. I know he kicked Zeroine before he went out with other women…but he was attracted to the other woman and set the plan in motion when they were still together. He's not worth it. He was looking for an excuse to kick her out.
And Zeroine was suffering without any support while Zero was a selfish SOB who only thinks about his own well being.
Zero had unprotected sex with another woman the first time they went out together, with our Zeroine claiming that he waited three years with her to discard the condom. This fully demonstrates the lack of respect for her.
Unfortunately she didn't have sex with anyone else, I was hoping she would find another partner and at least have a good experience. But no…she remained faithful to him, while he tarnished their entire relationship with cheap dates and cheap sex.
I'm pissed off about all this. Why does Zeroine have to remain chaste and pure while Zero taints their entire relationship as if it were nothing?
=======================================
S
P
O
I
L
E
R
A
N
D
R
A
N
T
Shit show of disrespect from Zero.
Zero and Zeroine have been together for 7 years and supposedly happy. But Zero decides to listen to his brothers and best friend, who hate Zeroine and want him to have sex with other people and participate in their parties.
He decides to empty the house that the two share and leave Zeroine for six months, in search of something better and to have sexual experiences with other women, since he was attracted to a woman at a party.
On the day that Zeroine was to announce her pregnancy, she finds her apartment empty and he dumps a bucket of cold water on her, letting her know he's leaving and dumps her like a disposable trash.
The brothers intercept her message and reply that he doesn't care about the pregnancy. She spends 6 miserable months of abandonment and lack of means to survive. Zero leaves her penniless, without a car and without alternatives.
Meanwhile he has dates with other women, dinners, parties, making out and unprotected sex with one of the women. Zero is a lord!
In my view he is a backboneless cheater who is easily influenced by his brainless brothers. I know he kicked Zeroine before he went out with other women…but he was attracted to the other woman and set the plan in motion when they were still together. He's not worth it. He was looking for an excuse to kick her out.
And Zeroine was suffering without any support while Zero was a selfish SOB who only thinks about his own well being.
Zero had unprotected sex with another woman the first time they went out together, with our Zeroine claiming that he waited three years with her to discard the condom. This fully demonstrates the lack of respect for her.
Unfortunately she didn't have sex with anyone else, I was hoping she would find another partner and at least have a good experience. But no…she remained faithful to him, while he tarnished their entire relationship with cheap dates and cheap sex.
I'm pissed off about all this. Why does Zeroine have to remain chaste and pure while Zero taints their entire relationship as if it were nothing?
do-not-read-cheating
May 24, 2024SPOILERS
Sigh…
—the MCs were each other’s firsts
—together for 7 years
—the H’s brothers convince him to f others because he can’t only have sex with his soul mate 🤬
—he tells the h peace out for 6 months. I’m gonna date (f***) other women. Basically let me sow my wild oats. But you can wait for me while I do this 🤬
—the h is pregnant and his brothers interfere with her telling the H
—the H can’t seem to f ow, until he sees the h pregnant and the ow tells him it’s some om’s baby
—so he sows his wild oats 🥴
—the h lives across the ow, so of course she sees the H leaving the ow’s place
—oh and he doesn’t use protection with ow
—the h goes on ONE bad date… because, duh, why the HELLLLL would it be a good date 🙄🤬
—which means, she’s celibate, while he clearly was not
—he leaves her with no car, no money
—so she has to walk everywhere (like her doctor appointments, the store, etc) and struggles to keep their place so has to move out to a shitty one
—at least she tells him like it is
—but she takes him back way too easily 🙄😑
Raffaella has all the spoilers https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Sigh…
—the MCs were each other’s firsts
—together for 7 years
—the H’s brothers convince him to f others because he can’t only have sex with his soul mate 🤬
—he tells the h peace out for 6 months. I’m gonna date (f***) other women. Basically let me sow my wild oats. But you can wait for me while I do this 🤬
—the h is pregnant and his brothers interfere with her telling the H
—the H can’t seem to f ow, until he sees the h pregnant and the ow tells him it’s some om’s baby
—so he sows his wild oats 🥴
—the h lives across the ow, so of course she sees the H leaving the ow’s place
—oh and he doesn’t use protection with ow
—the h goes on ONE bad date… because, duh, why the HELLLLL would it be a good date 🙄🤬
—which means, she’s celibate, while he clearly was not
—he leaves her with no car, no money
—so she has to walk everywhere (like her doctor appointments, the store, etc) and struggles to keep their place so has to move out to a shitty one
—at least she tells him like it is
—but she takes him back way too easily 🙄😑
Raffaella has all the spoilers https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
September 11, 2022
I used to enjoy some of this authors books before but because she did write the male characters besotted with their females. Her recent books though nearly all seem to have cheating between main couples. Why is cheating such a popular trope with some authors? I have read enough books where you can have angst and drama without needing to make your main characters into cheaters. Books like this I need to avoid now as it leaves such a horrible feeling after reading. Another author I need to avoid now thanks to her recent love of writing cheating “hero!s”!
September 12, 2026
4.5 A painful love story ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
This is an emotional, messy, authentic story about love, loss, choices and finding out sometimes far too late what something was actually worth.
The premise:
Opal and Marshall became sweethearts when they were both sophomores in high school. They were each other’s first almost everything, first love, first relationship, first sexual experience, and also best friends.
They went to college together, moved in together, got their first jobs together. For eight years, they built a life that felt solid and inevitable.
Except Marshall’s family doesn’t quite see it that way.
They think he is limiting himself. That a high-school sweetheart isn’t necessarily meant to be your adult life. His brothers put a serious amount of pressure on him to “sow his oats,” become more worldly, and experience other women.
Because he has only ever loved Opal. ❤️🩹
And then, after eight years, Marshall leaves her.
There is no huge betrayal.
Just a quiet, calculated decision.
He moves all his furniture out while Opal is at a doctors appointment. Takes their possessions. Empties their apartment of the life they built together. Then he waits for her to come home so he can tell her he’s leaving.
Opal is completely blindsided.
She thought he was going to propose.
She had actually planned to tell him that day that she was pregnant. ❤️🩹
Marshall tells her he wants six months to figure out whether they are still right for each other.🔪
Except what he really means is: if he doesn’t find someone better, he’ll come back.
Opal is devastated.
She knows she has to tell him about the pregnancy, so she texts him.
His response is cold and dismissive.
No calls. No checking in. No concern. No “How are you?” No interest in the baby growing inside the woman he supposedly loved for 8 years.
She’s a music teacher struggling to make ends meet, heartbroken and pregnant, trying to build a life from the wreckage Marshall left behind.
Meanwhile, Marshall is out living his best life and dating other women.
The only proof of what he’s doing comes from his friend, who keeps sending Opal pictures of his dates. Which is honestly a special kind of torture. 🔪
And while Marshall is out discovering the world, Opal is growing a baby.
Then Ryder, Marshall’s youngest brother, starts reaching out. He helps with rides, doctor appointments, and eventually becomes the support system Opal desperately needs. One day Ryder is driving her home from an appointment and at the same time Marshall is leaving the neighbors building being handed his underwear by a woman in a robe.😢 Opal saw all of it. She is emotionally done. But Marshall sees her big belly….
Listen Marshall’s journey is rough to behold and I found him immensely weak, but by the end, I genuinely understood both sides.
Not necessarily agreeing with everything either of them did, but understood it.
That is difficult to pull off. 🙌
This felt like a story about what happens when two people can love each other deeply and still make choices that irrevocably hurt each other. How do you actually move on from other’s mistakes or your own? Is there a path?
People making very real, very painful mistakes and sometimes realizing what they had only after they’ve destroyed it.
Why not 5 ⭐️?
Too many characters were used as plot devices whose primary purpose was to push Marshall toward the breakup. I could see the author’s hand a little too clearly in places.
Also, this is women’s fiction with a strong romance thread, and it is NOT a story where everyone behaves perfectly.
If you need your characters to be likable, sensible and emotionally mature at all times, this probably isn’t what I would recommend.
Should you read it?
Yes, if you like angst, complicated relationships and books that hurt a little.
Chance of divorce: 40%
Honestly? I don’t think I could have done what Opal did. Tbh.
But she listened to her heart, I guess. And who am I to judge? ❤️🩹
This is an emotional, messy, authentic story about love, loss, choices and finding out sometimes far too late what something was actually worth.
The premise:
Opal and Marshall became sweethearts when they were both sophomores in high school. They were each other’s first almost everything, first love, first relationship, first sexual experience, and also best friends.
They went to college together, moved in together, got their first jobs together. For eight years, they built a life that felt solid and inevitable.
Except Marshall’s family doesn’t quite see it that way.
They think he is limiting himself. That a high-school sweetheart isn’t necessarily meant to be your adult life. His brothers put a serious amount of pressure on him to “sow his oats,” become more worldly, and experience other women.
Because he has only ever loved Opal. ❤️🩹
And then, after eight years, Marshall leaves her.
There is no huge betrayal.
Just a quiet, calculated decision.
He moves all his furniture out while Opal is at a doctors appointment. Takes their possessions. Empties their apartment of the life they built together. Then he waits for her to come home so he can tell her he’s leaving.
Opal is completely blindsided.
She thought he was going to propose.
She had actually planned to tell him that day that she was pregnant. ❤️🩹
Marshall tells her he wants six months to figure out whether they are still right for each other.🔪
Except what he really means is: if he doesn’t find someone better, he’ll come back.
Opal is devastated.
She knows she has to tell him about the pregnancy, so she texts him.
His response is cold and dismissive.
No calls. No checking in. No concern. No “How are you?” No interest in the baby growing inside the woman he supposedly loved for 8 years.
She’s a music teacher struggling to make ends meet, heartbroken and pregnant, trying to build a life from the wreckage Marshall left behind.
Meanwhile, Marshall is out living his best life and dating other women.
The only proof of what he’s doing comes from his friend, who keeps sending Opal pictures of his dates. Which is honestly a special kind of torture. 🔪
And while Marshall is out discovering the world, Opal is growing a baby.
Then Ryder, Marshall’s youngest brother, starts reaching out. He helps with rides, doctor appointments, and eventually becomes the support system Opal desperately needs. One day Ryder is driving her home from an appointment and at the same time Marshall is leaving the neighbors building being handed his underwear by a woman in a robe.😢 Opal saw all of it. She is emotionally done. But Marshall sees her big belly….
Listen Marshall’s journey is rough to behold and I found him immensely weak, but by the end, I genuinely understood both sides.
Not necessarily agreeing with everything either of them did, but understood it.
That is difficult to pull off. 🙌
This felt like a story about what happens when two people can love each other deeply and still make choices that irrevocably hurt each other. How do you actually move on from other’s mistakes or your own? Is there a path?
People making very real, very painful mistakes and sometimes realizing what they had only after they’ve destroyed it.
Why not 5 ⭐️?
Too many characters were used as plot devices whose primary purpose was to push Marshall toward the breakup. I could see the author’s hand a little too clearly in places.
Also, this is women’s fiction with a strong romance thread, and it is NOT a story where everyone behaves perfectly.
If you need your characters to be likable, sensible and emotionally mature at all times, this probably isn’t what I would recommend.
Should you read it?
Yes, if you like angst, complicated relationships and books that hurt a little.
Chance of divorce: 40%
Honestly? I don’t think I could have done what Opal did. Tbh.
But she listened to her heart, I guess. And who am I to judge? ❤️🩹
July 21, 2022
OM ever loving G! Because he's a big, fat wussy coward, he moves his stuff out before telling her he wanted to break up so he can go have sex with other women for six months. AND HE TAKES THE SHEETS OFF THE BED so she has to go lie and sob on an unmade bed!!!!! What a loser.
And, AND he "didn't worry about her going out with other men. She would still be there when the six months were up. I knew it.
***************************************************
Despite my hissy fit, this almost ended up being a 4 star book. Highly readable and very entertaining!
The h starts out as a sweet little dweeb who gets hurt, and I was sure that given the epic idiocy of the H it would be followed by an equal idiocy of the h as in accepting a facile, insta-apology. Nope, apologies go to the author and the heroine. She turns into a fierce ninja h that won’t accept false promises, all-about-me apologies, or bad behavior from any wrongdoers. Wrongdoers include the H, his manipulative brothers, his overbearing mother, and a seemingly nice guy who isn’t. Who’s the standout hero? The H’s awesome little brother who stands by the heroine from the very beginning, and schools and scolds ALL his older brothers as well his parents.
Redemption occurs for the H, but the heroine makes him work for it while expressing doubt and disdain over his choices.
What was entertaining? The H’s supreme stupidity as well as the h’s ability to lay it on the line to anyone who crossed her boundaries once she was done.
The main MMP (main male person as I can’t call him a hero) in this story is like the universe…correction, his stupidity is like the universe as it is ever expanding and infinite. There are no depths his stupidity will not plumb whether he has just dumped his “soul mate” for sexier times or, more pathetically, tries to get her back with the reasoning that his unprotected sex didn’t count because he didn’t finish and it was only the one time.
Other INSANELY, and sometimes entertaining, stupid stuff.
All in all, this worked despite the dumping and cheating.What kept it from being 4 stars was the author abandoning the bad twin brothers 3/4 of the way. They had only begun to grovel. The other issue is that no matter the grovel, the attempts to make things right, the redemption, the LOVE, the hero was still a clueless idiot. The heroine is now an awakened, inner snarky and dark h that I don't think will put up with him long term.
And, AND he "didn't worry about her going out with other men. She would still be there when the six months were up. I knew it.
***************************************************
Despite my hissy fit, this almost ended up being a 4 star book. Highly readable and very entertaining!
The h starts out as a sweet little dweeb who gets hurt, and I was sure that given the epic idiocy of the H it would be followed by an equal idiocy of the h as in accepting a facile, insta-apology. Nope, apologies go to the author and the heroine. She turns into a fierce ninja h that won’t accept false promises, all-about-me apologies, or bad behavior from any wrongdoers. Wrongdoers include the H, his manipulative brothers, his overbearing mother, and a seemingly nice guy who isn’t. Who’s the standout hero? The H’s awesome little brother who stands by the heroine from the very beginning, and schools and scolds ALL his older brothers as well his parents.
Redemption occurs for the H, but the heroine makes him work for it while expressing doubt and disdain over his choices.
What was entertaining? The H’s supreme stupidity as well as the h’s ability to lay it on the line to anyone who crossed her boundaries once she was done.
The main MMP (main male person as I can’t call him a hero) in this story is like the universe…correction, his stupidity is like the universe as it is ever expanding and infinite. There are no depths his stupidity will not plumb whether he has just dumped his “soul mate” for sexier times or, more pathetically, tries to get her back with the reasoning that his unprotected sex didn’t count because he didn’t finish and it was only the one time.
Other INSANELY, and sometimes entertaining, stupid stuff.
All in all, this worked despite the dumping and cheating.What kept it from being 4 stars was the author abandoning the bad twin brothers 3/4 of the way. They had only begun to grovel. The other issue is that no matter the grovel, the attempts to make things right, the redemption, the LOVE, the hero was still a clueless idiot. The heroine is now an awakened, inner snarky and dark h that I don't think will put up with him long term.
July 10, 2022
Let’s start by saying he’s a moron, an absolute moron. It’s hard to come back from this. He’s a moron with a toxic family, holy crap with the exception of one brother, these people are horrible.
Why is he a moron? Because for 7 years his brothers and bestie torment him about only being with his high school sweetheart. He needs more experience, he needs to live more, he needs to break up and date other woman.
And when he finds himself slightly attracted to someone else, he breaks up with her. Breaks up with her the day she was going to tell him she’s pregnant. He announces they need a 6 month break and walks out the door.
When she realizes he really isn’t coming back, she texts him she’s pregnant. And the response isn’t nice. The reader isn’t told, but it’s obviously not from him.
So basically, the hero ghosts her for 6 months, he unhappily dates other women, and assumes she is dating too—he’s miserable. And has no clue she’s struggling to make ends meet, and hold everything together while pregnant. His younger brother knows this and is supportive of the heroine, and believes his idiot brother actually sent the nasty text.
Blah, blah, blah… at 6 months he finds out she’s pregnant, and actually thinks it’s not his, and he does the one thing he won’t be able to come back from. Only to find out uh oh, the baby is his.
And he has one pissed off ex. This is the only thing that works for me. She’s burning with anger and she’s beyond hurt and heartbroken, and she holds on to the hurt and anger for the entire book. She has no problem verbalizing everything, she makes sure everyone of them knows exactly what she thinks and feels, and it’s not pretty.
By the 3/4 point, I’m thinking this may be a bait and switch book, that she might actually move on with someone else—and honestly, that probably would have worked for me.
And that’s why this only has 2 stars, it takes too long to fix, her anger with him and his pathetic family is justified. Everything he and his crazy family does adds salt to her wounds. There’s no real healing. He tries but is so clueless for so long that the end feels rushed and was very unsatisfying.
2 this needed less build up and more healing stars
Why is he a moron? Because for 7 years his brothers and bestie torment him about only being with his high school sweetheart. He needs more experience, he needs to live more, he needs to break up and date other woman.
And when he finds himself slightly attracted to someone else, he breaks up with her. Breaks up with her the day she was going to tell him she’s pregnant. He announces they need a 6 month break and walks out the door.
When she realizes he really isn’t coming back, she texts him she’s pregnant. And the response isn’t nice. The reader isn’t told, but it’s obviously not from him.
So basically, the hero ghosts her for 6 months, he unhappily dates other women, and assumes she is dating too—he’s miserable. And has no clue she’s struggling to make ends meet, and hold everything together while pregnant. His younger brother knows this and is supportive of the heroine, and believes his idiot brother actually sent the nasty text.
Blah, blah, blah… at 6 months he finds out she’s pregnant, and actually thinks it’s not his, and he does the one thing he won’t be able to come back from. Only to find out uh oh, the baby is his.
And he has one pissed off ex. This is the only thing that works for me. She’s burning with anger and she’s beyond hurt and heartbroken, and she holds on to the hurt and anger for the entire book. She has no problem verbalizing everything, she makes sure everyone of them knows exactly what she thinks and feels, and it’s not pretty.
By the 3/4 point, I’m thinking this may be a bait and switch book, that she might actually move on with someone else—and honestly, that probably would have worked for me.
And that’s why this only has 2 stars, it takes too long to fix, her anger with him and his pathetic family is justified. Everything he and his crazy family does adds salt to her wounds. There’s no real healing. He tries but is so clueless for so long that the end feels rushed and was very unsatisfying.
2 this needed less build up and more healing stars
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
avoid
February 16, 2023Worst book ever.
Cheating h.
Doormat preg h.
Cheating h.
Doormat preg h.
Read
September 13, 2026EDIT : So after Annika and my other lovely GR bestie bookwormdreamer dropped some extra intel, plus me willingly sliding headfirst into a couple of other reviews so y'all don't have to suffer, we need a quick patch-note update. Turns out zis little motherfucker didn't even get the pregnancy text because his garbagio brain-dead-brotherhood intercepted it, which honestly just proves his whole family tree is built out of toxic sludge and stupidity. But let's not act like this absolves zis walking skid-mark of a human being, non, because he still emptied out their joint savings account like a broke-ass burglar on his way out ze door. And zen, ze absolute unadulterated clown-show audacity: months later he bumps into her, sees ze baby bump, and instantly assumes she played him, so he sprints right home to have an angry, raging fuck-fest with ze side piece living directly across ze street, only to stumble out later looking like a battered rodent while some random broad hands him his stray underwear in a bathrobe. Have you lost your absolute gourd, you spineless dick-diddling skedaddler? You are the one who pitched this six-month fuck-around sabbatical in the first place. Zis is some next-level clown-ass hypocritish bullshit, brother! You threw a toddler tantrum, spent months swapping spit and playing tonsil hockey with every willing bystander on your little dating tour, and now you are clutching your fragile little pearls because she might have done the exact same thing? Zis is the pot calling the kettle a motherfucking black-hole-ass dipshit! Have you no shame, you
Holier-than-thou fence-straddling skunk, crying over spilled milk when you own the entire dairy farm of debauchery?did your mama not warm your backside with a willow switch until you learned how a two-way street works??? You do not get to draw up the playbook, run the damn ball, and then throw a penalty flag when someone else plays the game you invented, you brain-dead dingus-bongo. You were clearly built with scrap parts and left out in the rain till the rust set deep into your skull…
Rant wrapped, chow-chow-bellies besties!
ORIGINAL NOTE:
Note to Self:
Absolute hard pass. Shoutout to my friend Annika for her amazing review because this book is staying unread on my Kindle forever(still wondering when did I add this??)
Run the fuck away unless you want to watch an eight-year relationship get curb-stomped into oblivion because this spineless motherfucker let his family fill his empty skull with poison about how she was allegedly holding him back.
So he slinks out of their life like a absolute coward, packing up all their shit while she is at the doctor just so he can sit there and cold-bloodedly blindside her with a breakup when she thought a ring was coming. Then she finds out she is pregnant, texts this motherfucker the news like a decent human being, and gets treated like a stray dog. No phone calls, no human decency, just stone-cold radio silence from a garbage bag in human form.
You can never fucking trust or believe in the so-called love of a man who supposedly adored a woman for almost an entire decade, only to turn around and leave her to rot while she is carrying his own child through absolute hell. What kind of sociopathic, spineless motherfucker looks at the woman he built a life with, finds out she is pregnant with his baby, and decides his top priority is to go out and live his best life? Leaving a pregnant woman to navigate the physical and emotional trauma of a solo pregnancy while he is out there playing the field is a level of gutless betrayal that no amount of fictional redemption can ever wash off.
While Opal is drowning in misery, white-knuckling a solo pregnancy, and being systematically tortured by every wretched thing this piece of trash does to her (including getting sent photographic updates of his dates by a so-called friend) this motherfucker is out in these streets whoring around
and having the time of his life. And then to top it all off, she literally has to watch him step out of a neighbor's building while some random broad in a bathrobe hands him his stray underwear.
Forget about love, this Empty-headed slimeball didn't even have the basic decency you would give a stray dog on the highway. And what makes it completely repulsive is how the author tries to jam some pathetic excuse down your throat, acting like a sad backstory can somehow clean the slime off a guy who watches his pregnant partner crack up completely and just shrugs his shoulders. A motive doesn't bring a dead conscience back to life, and zero amount of fake character growth or forced redemption is going to wipe away the stench of a dickhead who walks out on his kid's mother just to go run around town. He doesn't check on her once, doesn't give a single flying fuck if she is eating or breathing, and is just living high on the hog while she suffers. Some sad chapter about a rough childhood doesn't shock a rotten soul back to life, and zero pages of forced character arc are going to scrub the filth off a guy who bails on his pregnant partner just to go play the field...
Holier-than-thou fence-straddling skunk, crying over spilled milk when you own the entire dairy farm of debauchery?did your mama not warm your backside with a willow switch until you learned how a two-way street works??? You do not get to draw up the playbook, run the damn ball, and then throw a penalty flag when someone else plays the game you invented, you brain-dead dingus-bongo. You were clearly built with scrap parts and left out in the rain till the rust set deep into your skull…
Rant wrapped, chow-chow-bellies besties!
ORIGINAL NOTE:
Note to Self:
Absolute hard pass. Shoutout to my friend Annika for her amazing review because this book is staying unread on my Kindle forever(still wondering when did I add this??)
Run the fuck away unless you want to watch an eight-year relationship get curb-stomped into oblivion because this spineless motherfucker let his family fill his empty skull with poison about how she was allegedly holding him back.
So he slinks out of their life like a absolute coward, packing up all their shit while she is at the doctor just so he can sit there and cold-bloodedly blindside her with a breakup when she thought a ring was coming. Then she finds out she is pregnant, texts this motherfucker the news like a decent human being, and gets treated like a stray dog. No phone calls, no human decency, just stone-cold radio silence from a garbage bag in human form.
You can never fucking trust or believe in the so-called love of a man who supposedly adored a woman for almost an entire decade, only to turn around and leave her to rot while she is carrying his own child through absolute hell. What kind of sociopathic, spineless motherfucker looks at the woman he built a life with, finds out she is pregnant with his baby, and decides his top priority is to go out and live his best life? Leaving a pregnant woman to navigate the physical and emotional trauma of a solo pregnancy while he is out there playing the field is a level of gutless betrayal that no amount of fictional redemption can ever wash off.
While Opal is drowning in misery, white-knuckling a solo pregnancy, and being systematically tortured by every wretched thing this piece of trash does to her (including getting sent photographic updates of his dates by a so-called friend) this motherfucker is out in these streets whoring around
and having the time of his life. And then to top it all off, she literally has to watch him step out of a neighbor's building while some random broad in a bathrobe hands him his stray underwear.
Forget about love, this Empty-headed slimeball didn't even have the basic decency you would give a stray dog on the highway. And what makes it completely repulsive is how the author tries to jam some pathetic excuse down your throat, acting like a sad backstory can somehow clean the slime off a guy who watches his pregnant partner crack up completely and just shrugs his shoulders. A motive doesn't bring a dead conscience back to life, and zero amount of fake character growth or forced redemption is going to wipe away the stench of a dickhead who walks out on his kid's mother just to go run around town. He doesn't check on her once, doesn't give a single flying fuck if she is eating or breathing, and is just living high on the hog while she suffers. Some sad chapter about a rough childhood doesn't shock a rotten soul back to life, and zero pages of forced character arc are going to scrub the filth off a guy who bails on his pregnant partner just to go play the field...
August 25, 2022
Whew!! This was angsty. Marshall was hands down the most stupid Hero I have ever read before, but him having his head up his ass for most of the story sure made for some decent angst. Everything Opal went through was heartbreaking. Marshall's dating other women was awful, but his family treating Opal like crap during her abandonment instead of supporting her was equally as horrible. Lucky for me, I thrive on dumbass heroes acting hurtful, as well as mistreated/misjudged heroines in my stories! I loved all the angsty goodness this story elicited, and I enjoyed Marshall finally pulling his head out of his ass and becoming a better human again.
Did Not Finish
April 26, 2023DNFed @ 62% - no rating
As angsty as this should have been, it failed, miserably. I got very bored. And much of this story felt incredibly contrived. The hero was just a dummy who gave in to pressure from his brothers and friends; he was immature. There was a lot of groveling which normally is my absolute favorite thing in romance, but here, it became predictable and exasperatingly repetitive.
As angsty as this should have been, it failed, miserably. I got very bored. And much of this story felt incredibly contrived. The hero was just a dummy who gave in to pressure from his brothers and friends; he was immature. There was a lot of groveling which normally is my absolute favorite thing in romance, but here, it became predictable and exasperatingly repetitive.
September 5, 2022
Opal the long suffering and Marshall the Nitwit. ( 3.5 stars rounded up)
I really did enjoy this, much the same way I enjoyed The Forgotten Wife.
The only way to redeem Marsh is to make him a fool. -sigh-
But I still enjoyed his self recriminations and grovel.
...and there has to be a pseudo villain I guess
So Marsh and Opal have been together since early high school. They are in a bit of rut as they finished school and start their careers as teachers (at least I think he's a teacher too?)
So the trifecta leading to their downfall is;
Jealousy, idiocy and cowardice.
Not attractive qualities but there ya go.
Jealousy because lots of people are jealous of Marsh and Opal's easy happiness.
Idiocy because Marsh exhibits a distinct lack of logical thinking processes.
Cowardice because Marsh doesn't have the guts and commitment to discuss all of it with Opal before taking all the bad advice.
His brothers are even bigger idiots than Marsh and they and his conniving best friend talk Marsh into telling Opal that they are taking a 6 month break to see other people.
Opal was devastated because she thought he was about to propose and she had just found out she is pregnant. She tries to tell him about the baby (not very hard though) and his brothers delete her text.
I cut her some slack because of how he left her... no discussion or heads up. Basically no respect. But for the sake of her baby, she should have gone to a lawyer and made the selfish sh*ts pay!
Anyways, 6 months pass and Marsh hates the whole fiasco (still not knowing Opal is carrying their child), but does he call an end to it early or try to contact Opal? NO no the stupid self centered idiot does NOT. I loved reading about how poorly his first date with an OW went. Especially as it was someone he had the crass, conceited idiocy to ogle this woman at a party while Opal watched.
Fortunately Opal has his younger brother and her best friend to help her out. Because Marsh's parents, who were there for her for years, are not now. And her own parents are the worst characters in the book. They took negligence to a whole new level!
Opal ends up in a shitty apartment with only her pride to keep her warm
It takes months for Marsh to gain his way back into her good graces. And it will likely take years for her to fully trust him again. I was OK with Marsh's grovel by the end. She does get to go on a date with an OM although it doesn't end well. But it served to show Marsh just how poorly he'd thought out his dumbass plan. 'Cause of course he doesn't like it.
After all is said and done the only person who doesn't get forgiven is Marsh's judgmental mother.
When all is said and done, I quite enjoyed Opal's making Marsh prove himself. She was seriously not going to take him back for the longest time. None of that melt in a puddle and forgive without a serious apology. Nope. She stuck to her guns.
Safety is OK
There's a cute little epilogue but it's only from a couple months later.
I really did enjoy this, much the same way I enjoyed The Forgotten Wife.
The only way to redeem Marsh is to make him a fool. -sigh-
But I still enjoyed his self recriminations and grovel.
...and there has to be a pseudo villain I guess
So Marsh and Opal have been together since early high school. They are in a bit of rut as they finished school and start their careers as teachers (at least I think he's a teacher too?)
So the trifecta leading to their downfall is;
Jealousy, idiocy and cowardice.
Not attractive qualities but there ya go.
Jealousy because lots of people are jealous of Marsh and Opal's easy happiness.
Idiocy because Marsh exhibits a distinct lack of logical thinking processes.
Cowardice because Marsh doesn't have the guts and commitment to discuss all of it with Opal before taking all the bad advice.
His brothers are even bigger idiots than Marsh and they and his conniving best friend talk Marsh into telling Opal that they are taking a 6 month break to see other people.
Opal was devastated because she thought he was about to propose and she had just found out she is pregnant. She tries to tell him about the baby (not very hard though) and his brothers delete her text.
I cut her some slack because of how he left her... no discussion or heads up. Basically no respect. But for the sake of her baby, she should have gone to a lawyer and made the selfish sh*ts pay!
Anyways, 6 months pass and Marsh hates the whole fiasco (still not knowing Opal is carrying their child), but does he call an end to it early or try to contact Opal? NO no the stupid self centered idiot does NOT. I loved reading about how poorly his first date with an OW went. Especially as it was someone he had the crass, conceited idiocy to ogle this woman at a party while Opal watched.
Fortunately Opal has his younger brother and her best friend to help her out. Because Marsh's parents, who were there for her for years, are not now. And her own parents are the worst characters in the book. They took negligence to a whole new level!
Opal ends up in a shitty apartment with only her pride to keep her warm
It takes months for Marsh to gain his way back into her good graces. And it will likely take years for her to fully trust him again. I was OK with Marsh's grovel by the end. She does get to go on a date with an OM although it doesn't end well. But it served to show Marsh just how poorly he'd thought out his dumbass plan. 'Cause of course he doesn't like it.
After all is said and done the only person who doesn't get forgiven is Marsh's judgmental mother.
When all is said and done, I quite enjoyed Opal's making Marsh prove himself. She was seriously not going to take him back for the longest time. None of that melt in a puddle and forgive without a serious apology. Nope. She stuck to her guns.
Safety is OK
There's a cute little epilogue but it's only from a couple months later.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 30, 2022
3 ⭐'s
The attention this book has gotten called out to my cold, angsty heart and I couldn’t wait to read it. The reviews were harsh so my expectations were high. Unfortunately, the reviews were a bit over the top.
Marsh's brothers and friends have been giving him a hard time about Opal for years. Marsh and Opal got together when they were about 15 and now they are 23. They don't want Marsh to have regrets. The turning point for Marsh was hearing his own parents have the same problem.
He decided for them to take a six month break. He didn't discuss it with her and moved his things out of their apartment before she got home and that was pretty bad.
However, I didn't think what Marsh did after that was terrible. He didn't know about certain events that happened and when he found out, it was understandable how he felt.
Also, Opal was in no way a push over. She took control of her life and knew what she could do and what she couldn't. She didn't let Marsh get his way and that was a good thing.
There was one character that was too exaggerated and out of left field. I felt circumstances could have been handle differently or better yet, this plot just left out.
Overall, the story was just ok. I wanted more angst and heartbreak. Oh well.
The attention this book has gotten called out to my cold, angsty heart and I couldn’t wait to read it. The reviews were harsh so my expectations were high. Unfortunately, the reviews were a bit over the top.
Marsh's brothers and friends have been giving him a hard time about Opal for years. Marsh and Opal got together when they were about 15 and now they are 23. They don't want Marsh to have regrets. The turning point for Marsh was hearing his own parents have the same problem.
He decided for them to take a six month break. He didn't discuss it with her and moved his things out of their apartment before she got home and that was pretty bad.
However, I didn't think what Marsh did after that was terrible. He didn't know about certain events that happened and when he found out, it was understandable how he felt.
Also, Opal was in no way a push over. She took control of her life and knew what she could do and what she couldn't. She didn't let Marsh get his way and that was a good thing.
There was one character that was too exaggerated and out of left field. I felt circumstances could have been handle differently or better yet, this plot just left out.
Overall, the story was just ok. I wanted more angst and heartbreak. Oh well.
July 5, 2022
Things I liked:
The h was strong and didn’t give in to the H.
The h worked hard to make it on her own after the H selfishly left her with no warning
Things I didn’t like:
The author warns it a slow burn. She wasn’t kidding.
The story was loooooong.
A few words about the story. I think that this could read like a real life story. The family drama was a little unbelievable but it was still ok. The H’s ability to be manipulated was eye roll worthy. This author has written the dumbest H I have ever read about award.
The h was strong and didn’t give in to the H.
The h worked hard to make it on her own after the H selfishly left her with no warning
Things I didn’t like:
The author warns it a slow burn. She wasn’t kidding.
The story was loooooong.
A few words about the story. I think that this could read like a real life story. The family drama was a little unbelievable but it was still ok. The H’s ability to be manipulated was eye roll worthy. This author has written the dumbest H I have ever read about award.
July 6, 2024
I can't believe I will say this, but I despise this story and its MMC. I should have DNF'ed it at the start.
July 10, 2022
The f’king book was hysterical! The MMC straight blew up his life for the most absurd reason all the while SERIOUSLY thinking that the FMC would be okay with him dating/f’king other women before coming back to her. I was dying! I couldn’t put it down. I absolutely LOVED the pain, angst, real world struggles that went on in this book!! The FMC was incredibly fantastic to me!! She was clear and no holds barred on anyone who needed to hear about themselves. She was kind but direct in pointing out when you were simply wrong. She stood up for herself and that was that!!
I felt all the pain and strength from the FMC. She wasn’t a betrayed body typical FMC. However, the end was too quick and not on page.
The entire book is the drama the MMC unleashed on all their lives. Some characters were villains some were shades of grey and some were just good people. The shades of grey ones confused me. You can’t do such massive wrongs on people but then turnaround and claim repentance or simply ignorance. The twins were this. What they did should never be forgiven. Point blank period. As for the other grey’ish person the mother in law, I didn’t get what happened. She was normal one moment and the next she needed to be institutionalized. It was literally that quick! So I’m not sure how to see her character or what the author was trying to do with her. Last grey character’s was the FMC’s parents. The FMC should have straight cut them out of her life. Just as they seemed to have done to her but more permanently. If your parents literally leave you in dire straits and have ZERO desire to be a part of not just your life but that of their grand child’s then f’kem.
I have three complaints regarding this story and they are we don’t see what happens to one of the most vilest characters I’ve ever read. The texted photos of every single date is the most despicable, insidious, vulgar thing I’ve ever heard of. The MMC’s supposed best friend Cramer was sick, in my opinion. We don’t hear about him other than that he would get handled, but did he? Or did the book just seriously close with no resolution on that part?
Which leads me to my second complaint. It just ends. The whole book is drama but as soon as they start actually talking and not just engaging with their feelings it quickly escalates to the HEA without the reader seeing the work they did to get there. We never see the true forgiveness as it’s sort of glossed over easily at the end. We don’t see any intimate scenes between the main characters except one dream scene, which doesn’t count in my opinion and one ugly hate f’k that the MMC did when he thought the absolute worst thing a moron can think of of the FMC, the supposed love of his life.
My last and more serious complaint. The MMC got exactly what he set out to do. He set out to experience others and while it wasn’t exactly what everyone expected, it was still experience and his plan that he would still get his girl back did in fact happen. Smh. I absolutely LOVED the FMC but she should have made him work for YEARS(!), to get her back. End of. He told her to her face this was what he was going to do and that’s exactly what happened. While I was totally into this story, them ending up back together less then a year after the “break” and less than 4 months after she witnessed the proof of his one and only other sexual encounter, negated all my built up respect for this character and this author. The author wrote the HEA as a rushed closing of this story without regard for how the characters should have played out. It should have taken years for them to get back to each other. Years! If at all.
I loved this story. I was literally hooked on every word. I will absolutely reread this book. I will absolutely buy more of these hot mess stories from this author and I look forward to reading them. I would love a story for ryker but I won’t hold my breathe. I gave four stars because I was highly entertained but that was a generous rating. It wasn’t worth five stars though due to the three issues I mentioned above. Enjoy.
I felt all the pain and strength from the FMC. She wasn’t a betrayed body typical FMC. However, the end was too quick and not on page.
The entire book is the drama the MMC unleashed on all their lives. Some characters were villains some were shades of grey and some were just good people. The shades of grey ones confused me. You can’t do such massive wrongs on people but then turnaround and claim repentance or simply ignorance. The twins were this. What they did should never be forgiven. Point blank period. As for the other grey’ish person the mother in law, I didn’t get what happened. She was normal one moment and the next she needed to be institutionalized. It was literally that quick! So I’m not sure how to see her character or what the author was trying to do with her. Last grey character’s was the FMC’s parents. The FMC should have straight cut them out of her life. Just as they seemed to have done to her but more permanently. If your parents literally leave you in dire straits and have ZERO desire to be a part of not just your life but that of their grand child’s then f’kem.
I have three complaints regarding this story and they are we don’t see what happens to one of the most vilest characters I’ve ever read. The texted photos of every single date is the most despicable, insidious, vulgar thing I’ve ever heard of. The MMC’s supposed best friend Cramer was sick, in my opinion. We don’t hear about him other than that he would get handled, but did he? Or did the book just seriously close with no resolution on that part?
Which leads me to my second complaint. It just ends. The whole book is drama but as soon as they start actually talking and not just engaging with their feelings it quickly escalates to the HEA without the reader seeing the work they did to get there. We never see the true forgiveness as it’s sort of glossed over easily at the end. We don’t see any intimate scenes between the main characters except one dream scene, which doesn’t count in my opinion and one ugly hate f’k that the MMC did when he thought the absolute worst thing a moron can think of of the FMC, the supposed love of his life.
My last and more serious complaint. The MMC got exactly what he set out to do. He set out to experience others and while it wasn’t exactly what everyone expected, it was still experience and his plan that he would still get his girl back did in fact happen. Smh. I absolutely LOVED the FMC but she should have made him work for YEARS(!), to get her back. End of. He told her to her face this was what he was going to do and that’s exactly what happened. While I was totally into this story, them ending up back together less then a year after the “break” and less than 4 months after she witnessed the proof of his one and only other sexual encounter, negated all my built up respect for this character and this author. The author wrote the HEA as a rushed closing of this story without regard for how the characters should have played out. It should have taken years for them to get back to each other. Years! If at all.
I loved this story. I was literally hooked on every word. I will absolutely reread this book. I will absolutely buy more of these hot mess stories from this author and I look forward to reading them. I would love a story for ryker but I won’t hold my breathe. I gave four stars because I was highly entertained but that was a generous rating. It wasn’t worth five stars though due to the three issues I mentioned above. Enjoy.
March 6, 2023
This was kind of fun in a nonsensical, soapy, drama-llama sort of way, but if you’re in the mood for anything swoony, realistic/serious feels, or drama not dependent on the H being an idiot or his family acting like crazy people… this isn’t for you.
The blurb sets this up, Marsh and Opal have been together many years when he decides to dump her (at his brothers’ urging) to see if the grass is greener and all that jazz. Unfortunately, he doesn’t realize Opal is with child, and the shit really hits the fan.
I don’t mind an ASSHOLE in fiction, especially in soapy-reads… cuz someone needs to generate the drama-llama. The key for me… and what many authors’ struggle with… is that there needs to be a dickwad-drama ➖ grovel ➖ make-up balance to pull it off. And this has a WAY better balance than my last read (To Dream a Dream), but it rushed through some of the good parts.
Marsh was a stupid jerk, but a lot of the dickwad-drama was rushed because the 6-month separation is raced through, and there aren’t any face-to-face gut punch H/h interactions. There’s several chapters of groveling (👍) but we fly through the actually reconciliation skipping days, weeks, and pivotal steps like having sex the first time after making up.
Bottom Line- Ok read if you enjoy OTT/trashy reads. The h isn’t a pushover, she goes at the H, his brothers, his crazy mother, and stays bitter for the majority of the book. The H was weak and dumb for letting people make him doubt his relationship, but his POV never waivered from questioning/regretting his decision and loving the h. The plot is paced pretty well, the breakup happens within the first few chapters, and the groveling picks up around 30% and last almost until the end.
BUT it’s overdramatic and relies on the characters not acting like regular people (illogical decisions, foolish reasoning, personality changes, etc.) so nothing feels realistic at all. Like…
Basically, this is a go where the plot blows you type of book.
This reminded me a bit of Love, Hate & Us with a long-time/one and only couple with a H wanting to test the waters after his brother gave him a hard time. Except Marsh is being manipulated by his horrible family rather than an evil OW.
Safety-
The blurb sets this up, Marsh and Opal have been together many years when he decides to dump her (at his brothers’ urging) to see if the grass is greener and all that jazz. Unfortunately, he doesn’t realize Opal is with child, and the shit really hits the fan.
I don’t mind an ASSHOLE in fiction, especially in soapy-reads… cuz someone needs to generate the drama-llama. The key for me… and what many authors’ struggle with… is that there needs to be a dickwad-drama ➖ grovel ➖ make-up balance to pull it off. And this has a WAY better balance than my last read (To Dream a Dream), but it rushed through some of the good parts.
Marsh was a stupid jerk, but a lot of the dickwad-drama was rushed because the 6-month separation is raced through, and there aren’t any face-to-face gut punch H/h interactions. There’s several chapters of groveling (👍) but we fly through the actually reconciliation skipping days, weeks, and pivotal steps like having sex the first time after making up.
Bottom Line- Ok read if you enjoy OTT/trashy reads. The h isn’t a pushover, she goes at the H, his brothers, his crazy mother, and stays bitter for the majority of the book. The H was weak and dumb for letting people make him doubt his relationship, but his POV never waivered from questioning/regretting his decision and loving the h. The plot is paced pretty well, the breakup happens within the first few chapters, and the groveling picks up around 30% and last almost until the end.
BUT it’s overdramatic and relies on the characters not acting like regular people (illogical decisions, foolish reasoning, personality changes, etc.) so nothing feels realistic at all. Like…
Basically, this is a go where the plot blows you type of book.
This reminded me a bit of Love, Hate & Us with a long-time/one and only couple with a H wanting to test the waters after his brother gave him a hard time. Except Marsh is being manipulated by his horrible family rather than an evil OW.
Safety-
July 23, 2022
Angsty
Boyfriend of 7 years worries he might be missing out and will regret being in his relationship in the future if he isn’t sure that she is the one. He moves everything out of their joint apartment, empties their bank account and announces a 6 month break. She comes home to find the place empty of his stuff and has to listen to his 5 min announcement before he leaves. She had come home to give him news that she was pregnant.
2/4 of H’s brothers have never been kind to the h. They encouraged the H to take a break. The H’s dad nearly had an affair as he regretted never dating others before the mother and wondered if they were the right match. Both of these things influenced the H to make this decision.
The h holds her own when the H tries to make amends. There is additional family drama but most of them regret their actions and want to fix things. It’s a bit weird the path the author had the mother go down.
All in all-a solid angsty read.
Boyfriend of 7 years worries he might be missing out and will regret being in his relationship in the future if he isn’t sure that she is the one. He moves everything out of their joint apartment, empties their bank account and announces a 6 month break. She comes home to find the place empty of his stuff and has to listen to his 5 min announcement before he leaves. She had come home to give him news that she was pregnant.
2/4 of H’s brothers have never been kind to the h. They encouraged the H to take a break. The H’s dad nearly had an affair as he regretted never dating others before the mother and wondered if they were the right match. Both of these things influenced the H to make this decision.
The h holds her own when the H tries to make amends. There is additional family drama but most of them regret their actions and want to fix things. It’s a bit weird the path the author had the mother go down.
All in all-a solid angsty read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 14, 2022
This H was dumber than a bucket of hair. Bless his heart.
July 9, 2023
she should have never taken him back. i know the baby deserves a father but she deserved so much better.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 5, 2026
¡¡¡PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE HEED THIS WARNING!!!
Or don’t. I can’t tell you what to do, it’s your life.
If you value your sanity, have self respect and dignity as a woman this book is NOT for you.
My bitter(not sweet) regret is not DNF-ing this book the moment Marsh (MMC) walked out on his girlfriend OF SEVEN YEARS Opal (FMC) “just to see what else is out there.” It does not ever get better from there. In fact it gets so much worse to the point that it made me feel ill to my stomach knowing the ending Opal was saddled with.
I’ll get right to it with one of, if not the worst offense in this story:
Marsh slept with another woman bareback after mistakenly thinking Opal got knocked up by someone else in the 6 months they were on a “break.” It’s his baby btw. He violently declared that he refused to raise another man’s baby and yet, when he realized that he had sex without protection he expected Opal to take him back and raise his one night stand child no problem.
I’m not sure what the author’s deal is with women, but she certainly does not seem fond of them considering this is the second book I’ve read from her—the first was called Bad at Love—where the FMC was just dealt with the literal shittiest man alive and forced to live a HEA with him.
One of the worst “romances” I’ve read in a while. As a matter of fact, the way this story ended with Opal and Marsh should categorically place this into horror because ending up with a man like Marsh and a family like Marsh’s (save for Ryker of course) is the stuff of nightmares for any woman in this day and age. A story that absolves despicable behavior with a meaningless grand gesture, and rewards it with a HEA is truly hell on a page.
This is the end of the line for me and any other work from this author. Can’t say I didn’t try. If anyone has any suggestions short of a lobotomy to help purge this story from my brain, I’d be eternally grateful.
Or don’t. I can’t tell you what to do, it’s your life.
If you value your sanity, have self respect and dignity as a woman this book is NOT for you.
My bitter(not sweet) regret is not DNF-ing this book the moment Marsh (MMC) walked out on his girlfriend OF SEVEN YEARS Opal (FMC) “just to see what else is out there.” It does not ever get better from there. In fact it gets so much worse to the point that it made me feel ill to my stomach knowing the ending Opal was saddled with.
I’ll get right to it with one of, if not the worst offense in this story:
Marsh slept with another woman bareback after mistakenly thinking Opal got knocked up by someone else in the 6 months they were on a “break.” It’s his baby btw. He violently declared that he refused to raise another man’s baby and yet, when he realized that he had sex without protection he expected Opal to take him back and raise his one night stand child no problem.
I’m not sure what the author’s deal is with women, but she certainly does not seem fond of them considering this is the second book I’ve read from her—the first was called Bad at Love—where the FMC was just dealt with the literal shittiest man alive and forced to live a HEA with him.
One of the worst “romances” I’ve read in a while. As a matter of fact, the way this story ended with Opal and Marsh should categorically place this into horror because ending up with a man like Marsh and a family like Marsh’s (save for Ryker of course) is the stuff of nightmares for any woman in this day and age. A story that absolves despicable behavior with a meaningless grand gesture, and rewards it with a HEA is truly hell on a page.
This is the end of the line for me and any other work from this author. Can’t say I didn’t try. If anyone has any suggestions short of a lobotomy to help purge this story from my brain, I’d be eternally grateful.
October 11, 2022
2.7 stars. This is not a good romance. But it IS a somewhat cathartic “men are dumb” book, if you want a drama-filled story where the hero is very stupid and the heroine makes him face the consequences of his actions. And, when he grovels, she doesn’t forgive him for a LONG time, until close to the end.
Opal and Marshall are 22. They’ve been together since they were 15 and have never been with anyone else. Marsh (which is a very unsexy name, but he deserves it) has terrible brothers who pressure him to dump Opal, in order to experience other girls. This moron thought that he could take “a break” for 6 months and Opal would still be waiting – even though he blindsided her and abruptly ended their 7 year relationship without discussing any of this with her. To add to the OTT angstfest, he leaves her the day she finds out she’s pregnant. She tries to tell him, but his brothers intercept the text. So, Marsh doesn’t know she’s pregnant for a few months while he’s dating other girls, and Opal thinks he’s abandoning the baby.
Marsh might be the most small-dick energy hero I’ve ever read (IF I hadn’t read Nox from Tragic Bonds). Marsh causes so much misery for Opal not even on purpose, just because he’s an idiot. When he leaves her, he takes money out of their joint account, leaving her with hardly any funds (he later says he didn’t even think about that, and feels guilty once he learns how it impacted her). So, she has to move to the bad part of town, and she can’t afford a car, so she has to walk everywhere while PREGNANT. The two OW that Marsh messes around with during their break also HAPPEN to work in the hospital. So, they keep getting shoved in Opal’s face during her pregnancy.
There isn’t a circle of hell deep enough for this man.
Once Marsh realizes that he’s a dumbass and tries to make it up to Opal, she doesn’t take him back for a long time, and does have a spine. She throws a lot of angry monologues at him about how his actions have effected her, and we get a lot of his guilt and suffering. That part of the book is satisfying.
If only Opal ended up with a different guy by the end, I might have given this a higher rating. But it feels like she eventually forgives him not because he truly earned it, but because the author was like, “This book is getting long, time to wrap it up!”
Opal also forgives his brothers too easily (but she DOES make them cry, which is good, they deserve it). And, when Opal tries to date another guy, he conveniently turns out to be skeevy. Since Marsh got to mess around with two OW during their separation, Opal should have been able to have an OM, too. So, I don’t like that aspect of the story.
I do believe that Marsh genuinely regrets his actions. But when I read a story where the hero wrongs the heroine (especially THIS deeply!), I need the consequences and follow up to be as huge as that wrong he did to her. So, while I felt his guilt and regret, I still didn't feel like this book delivered enough satisfying comeuppance, to balance out what he did to Opal. (There's also a weird subplot with his mom that distracts from the main story between him and Opal, that should have been cut from the book).
Overall, this book is a train wreck…but parts of it are oddly enjoyable, in the way that train wreck books can sometimes be.
Opal and Marshall are 22. They’ve been together since they were 15 and have never been with anyone else. Marsh (which is a very unsexy name, but he deserves it) has terrible brothers who pressure him to dump Opal, in order to experience other girls. This moron thought that he could take “a break” for 6 months and Opal would still be waiting – even though he blindsided her and abruptly ended their 7 year relationship without discussing any of this with her. To add to the OTT angstfest, he leaves her the day she finds out she’s pregnant. She tries to tell him, but his brothers intercept the text. So, Marsh doesn’t know she’s pregnant for a few months while he’s dating other girls, and Opal thinks he’s abandoning the baby.
Marsh might be the most small-dick energy hero I’ve ever read (IF I hadn’t read Nox from Tragic Bonds). Marsh causes so much misery for Opal not even on purpose, just because he’s an idiot. When he leaves her, he takes money out of their joint account, leaving her with hardly any funds (he later says he didn’t even think about that, and feels guilty once he learns how it impacted her). So, she has to move to the bad part of town, and she can’t afford a car, so she has to walk everywhere while PREGNANT. The two OW that Marsh messes around with during their break also HAPPEN to work in the hospital. So, they keep getting shoved in Opal’s face during her pregnancy.
There isn’t a circle of hell deep enough for this man.
Once Marsh realizes that he’s a dumbass and tries to make it up to Opal, she doesn’t take him back for a long time, and does have a spine. She throws a lot of angry monologues at him about how his actions have effected her, and we get a lot of his guilt and suffering. That part of the book is satisfying.
If only Opal ended up with a different guy by the end, I might have given this a higher rating. But it feels like she eventually forgives him not because he truly earned it, but because the author was like, “This book is getting long, time to wrap it up!”
Opal also forgives his brothers too easily (but she DOES make them cry, which is good, they deserve it). And, when Opal tries to date another guy, he conveniently turns out to be skeevy. Since Marsh got to mess around with two OW during their separation, Opal should have been able to have an OM, too. So, I don’t like that aspect of the story.
I do believe that Marsh genuinely regrets his actions. But when I read a story where the hero wrongs the heroine (especially THIS deeply!), I need the consequences and follow up to be as huge as that wrong he did to her. So, while I felt his guilt and regret, I still didn't feel like this book delivered enough satisfying comeuppance, to balance out what he did to Opal. (There's also a weird subplot with his mom that distracts from the main story between him and Opal, that should have been cut from the book).
Overall, this book is a train wreck…but parts of it are oddly enjoyable, in the way that train wreck books can sometimes be.
July 31, 2022
If you’re in the mood to be extremely irritated read this book. The wimpy H has been with the h for 7 years. He’s picking out a ring to ask her to marry him and his slimy twin brothers talk him into breaking up with the h. The 3 stars are for the Hero’s teenage brother and the fmc. The story is angsty but ludicrous as the H is tstl. His reasoning is juvenile… let’s break up for 6 months and get back together… oh btw I’m gonna eff around and date a million sluts but you just hangout and wait for me and don’t you dare do the same! I absolutely hate this prototype plot. He does grovel but I wish she had kicked his a$$ to the curb. Not w to author you can never convince a reader that the H loves the h when he pulls this shiz.
November 12, 2023
Marshal and Opal have been dating since they were 15 and are now 23. His brothers and best friend have been pressuring him to date other people, but Marshal is planning to propose.
Then, one night at a bar, Marshal meets Tandra. Opal leaves early, and Marshal stays behind talking to her. He enjoys the excitement of meeting someone new and convinces himself he wants the single life his brothers have.
He takes the money he’d saved for an engagement ring and prepays six months of rent on their apartment for Opal. When Opal gets home that day, he tells her he’s breaking up with her for six months and plans to return afterward. He treats it like a mutually agreed-upon hall pass, but Opal never agrees. To her, it's a permanent break up.
He also doesn’t know Opal has just discovered she’s pregnant and came home to tell him.
After he leaves, Opal texts him about the pregnancy. Marshal replies that she shouldn’t contact him again, so she blocks him.
Marshal proceeds with his plan to date, including Tandra, but Tandra is so disgusted by how he abandoned his long-term girlfriend that she cuts their date short. She says this is why she doesn't do committed relationships, she doesn't want to end up like Opal.
Three months later, Opal is five months pregnant. Marshal is blocked, and although his parents could contact her, they haven’t.
Opal accidentally runs into Marshal’s 17-year-old brother, Ryker, who realizes she’s pregnant. She tells him Marshal knows about, and has rejected, the baby. Ryker, the only brother who never encouraged the breakup, asks to be involved as the baby’s uncle and agrees to keep the pregnancy secret as long as Opal can hide it.
One of Marshal’s dates is Monica, an old classmate who works for Opal’s doctor. They see Ryker with Opal. Monica violates medical privacy by telling Marshal that Opal told the doctor the father knows about the baby but doesn’t want involvement. Marshal assumes she means another man, since Marshal didn't know about any baby.
Ryker convinces Opal to visit Marshal’s family for support rather than move across the country to live with her unreliable, estranged parents. During the visit, Marshal’s other brothers admit they thought Opal was lying about the pregnancy to get Marshal back. Brixton reveals that he intercepted and deleted her pregnancy text, meaning Marshal never actually knew about the baby.
While Opal is confronting the family, Marshal, still believing she is pregnant by another man, sleeps with Monica out of jealousy. When he leaves Monica’s apartment, he sees Opal being dropped off at their old apartment across the street and realizes she saw him. Monica tells him that everyone who once envied Marshal and Opal’s relationship now feels sorry for Opal, and now he has abandoned HIS baby.
Marshal learns the truth about the deleted text from his family. Meanwhile, the six months of prepaid rent end. Opal can no longer afford the apartment because Marshal took their entire savings, so she moves.
Marshal now wants her back again, since she's not pregnant with another man's baby, but remembers that his best friend Cramer warned him in high school that Monica had once tried to break him and Opal up. Now he realizes he may have destroyed any chance of Opal forgiving him, especially after sleeping with her old nemesis.
Marshal and Opal have limited contact through her pregnancy and ultrasound appointments. After baby Austin is born, Opal allows Marshal to see their son but refuses access to his brothers (except obviously Ryker). Marshal’s mother becomes increasingly hostile toward Opal over this. It eventually comes out that his mom developed a secret drinking problem after her husband’s affair years ago, and she is sent to rehab by her husband.
Watching his mother suffer, Marshal finally understands what his father’s emotional affair did to her, and realizes he has done something even worse to Opal. Marshal actually ended their relationship and actually had sex with Monica.
Marshal buys the house Opal and he had been saving for as a grand gesture for her and Austin, but Opal refuses to move in. She can’t risk depending on Marshal for housing again.
Opal later goes on a date with Joe, a man she met while pregnant, but they run into his ex, who reveals that he asked Opal out while they were still together. Even though Joe insists the relationship wasn’t serious, Opal ends the date because she doesn’t want to be with someone who is monkey branching to a new relationship.
Walking home because she still has no car after Marshal took their savings, Opal runs into Ryker and his evil brothers. She reluctantly accepts a ride and learns Marshal has never allowed the brothers to meet Austin. She assumed they would see the baby during Marshal’s custody time, she tells them to drive to his house immediately.
During the visit, Opal starts questioning whether everyone simply comes with baggage and whether she should give Marshal another chance. (Pathetic.) But she still can’t understand why he waited the entire six months to come back if he was miserable. Marshal admits he spent the entire break unhappy and moping, but because he had promised six months, he felt obligated to see it through.
A conversation about daycare reveals that Marshal has a secret inheritance and is now wealthy. He offers to pay for a nanny. Opal accepts without much reaction, which was weird, I thought she'd be mad that he hasn't been paying child support.
Marshal explains that there was never anything wrong with their relationship. He was struggling with the mundane parts of adulthood, working, staying home more, and no longer being able to go out constantly like they did when they were younger. Meeting Tandra made him feel excitement again, and he mistook that feeling for proof that he wanted a different life.
Marshal suggests that if they reunited, Opal could finally be a stay-at-home mom as they had once planned. She refuses. Even if they got back together, she needs her own income because she can’t trust him not to leave her without anything again.
Despite everything, Opal agrees to start dating Marshal again, partly because she wants Austin to experience the good parts of the relationship they once had. Marshal also convinced her that they both messed up the relationship by not communicating, even though he was the only one feeling any doubts or wanting to cheat. So what was Opal supposed to communicate about?? (Pathetic.)
Marshal now has to prove that he can become the dependable partner and father he should have been from the beginning.
I thought the story was a little soap-opera-ish, and the plot depended a lot on them running into other people all the time, and a lot of big coincidences. Marshall's mom's secret alcoholism was just there to add drama but seemed disconnected from anything else. Marshal was a pathetic little bitch. If Opal expects him to be a good father and husband, she's in for a rude awakening.
Then, one night at a bar, Marshal meets Tandra. Opal leaves early, and Marshal stays behind talking to her. He enjoys the excitement of meeting someone new and convinces himself he wants the single life his brothers have.
He takes the money he’d saved for an engagement ring and prepays six months of rent on their apartment for Opal. When Opal gets home that day, he tells her he’s breaking up with her for six months and plans to return afterward. He treats it like a mutually agreed-upon hall pass, but Opal never agrees. To her, it's a permanent break up.
He also doesn’t know Opal has just discovered she’s pregnant and came home to tell him.
After he leaves, Opal texts him about the pregnancy. Marshal replies that she shouldn’t contact him again, so she blocks him.
Marshal proceeds with his plan to date, including Tandra, but Tandra is so disgusted by how he abandoned his long-term girlfriend that she cuts their date short. She says this is why she doesn't do committed relationships, she doesn't want to end up like Opal.
Three months later, Opal is five months pregnant. Marshal is blocked, and although his parents could contact her, they haven’t.
Opal accidentally runs into Marshal’s 17-year-old brother, Ryker, who realizes she’s pregnant. She tells him Marshal knows about, and has rejected, the baby. Ryker, the only brother who never encouraged the breakup, asks to be involved as the baby’s uncle and agrees to keep the pregnancy secret as long as Opal can hide it.
One of Marshal’s dates is Monica, an old classmate who works for Opal’s doctor. They see Ryker with Opal. Monica violates medical privacy by telling Marshal that Opal told the doctor the father knows about the baby but doesn’t want involvement. Marshal assumes she means another man, since Marshal didn't know about any baby.
Ryker convinces Opal to visit Marshal’s family for support rather than move across the country to live with her unreliable, estranged parents. During the visit, Marshal’s other brothers admit they thought Opal was lying about the pregnancy to get Marshal back. Brixton reveals that he intercepted and deleted her pregnancy text, meaning Marshal never actually knew about the baby.
While Opal is confronting the family, Marshal, still believing she is pregnant by another man, sleeps with Monica out of jealousy. When he leaves Monica’s apartment, he sees Opal being dropped off at their old apartment across the street and realizes she saw him. Monica tells him that everyone who once envied Marshal and Opal’s relationship now feels sorry for Opal, and now he has abandoned HIS baby.
Marshal learns the truth about the deleted text from his family. Meanwhile, the six months of prepaid rent end. Opal can no longer afford the apartment because Marshal took their entire savings, so she moves.
Marshal now wants her back again, since she's not pregnant with another man's baby, but remembers that his best friend Cramer warned him in high school that Monica had once tried to break him and Opal up. Now he realizes he may have destroyed any chance of Opal forgiving him, especially after sleeping with her old nemesis.
Marshal and Opal have limited contact through her pregnancy and ultrasound appointments. After baby Austin is born, Opal allows Marshal to see their son but refuses access to his brothers (except obviously Ryker). Marshal’s mother becomes increasingly hostile toward Opal over this. It eventually comes out that his mom developed a secret drinking problem after her husband’s affair years ago, and she is sent to rehab by her husband.
Watching his mother suffer, Marshal finally understands what his father’s emotional affair did to her, and realizes he has done something even worse to Opal. Marshal actually ended their relationship and actually had sex with Monica.
Marshal buys the house Opal and he had been saving for as a grand gesture for her and Austin, but Opal refuses to move in. She can’t risk depending on Marshal for housing again.
Opal later goes on a date with Joe, a man she met while pregnant, but they run into his ex, who reveals that he asked Opal out while they were still together. Even though Joe insists the relationship wasn’t serious, Opal ends the date because she doesn’t want to be with someone who is monkey branching to a new relationship.
Walking home because she still has no car after Marshal took their savings, Opal runs into Ryker and his evil brothers. She reluctantly accepts a ride and learns Marshal has never allowed the brothers to meet Austin. She assumed they would see the baby during Marshal’s custody time, she tells them to drive to his house immediately.
During the visit, Opal starts questioning whether everyone simply comes with baggage and whether she should give Marshal another chance. (Pathetic.) But she still can’t understand why he waited the entire six months to come back if he was miserable. Marshal admits he spent the entire break unhappy and moping, but because he had promised six months, he felt obligated to see it through.
A conversation about daycare reveals that Marshal has a secret inheritance and is now wealthy. He offers to pay for a nanny. Opal accepts without much reaction, which was weird, I thought she'd be mad that he hasn't been paying child support.
Marshal explains that there was never anything wrong with their relationship. He was struggling with the mundane parts of adulthood, working, staying home more, and no longer being able to go out constantly like they did when they were younger. Meeting Tandra made him feel excitement again, and he mistook that feeling for proof that he wanted a different life.
Marshal suggests that if they reunited, Opal could finally be a stay-at-home mom as they had once planned. She refuses. Even if they got back together, she needs her own income because she can’t trust him not to leave her without anything again.
Despite everything, Opal agrees to start dating Marshal again, partly because she wants Austin to experience the good parts of the relationship they once had. Marshal also convinced her that they both messed up the relationship by not communicating, even though he was the only one feeling any doubts or wanting to cheat. So what was Opal supposed to communicate about?? (Pathetic.)
Marshal now has to prove that he can become the dependable partner and father he should have been from the beginning.
I thought the story was a little soap-opera-ish, and the plot depended a lot on them running into other people all the time, and a lot of big coincidences. Marshall's mom's secret alcoholism was just there to add drama but seemed disconnected from anything else. Marshal was a pathetic little bitch. If Opal expects him to be a good father and husband, she's in for a rude awakening.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 1, 2026
So I've had this downloaded for awhile and finally got the energy to read through it. Honestly? It's ok, but a bit ridiculous with how Marsh acts. His two older brother's are f*** boys and they finally pull him to the dark side. He does everything juvenile while completely removing every memory of himself from their apartment after dumping the h. She's pregnant. She tries telling him through text, but his brother intercepts and basically tells her to f*** off. She sees him around town with girls on dates. While his bf sends her pictures of his hook-ups. He sees her preggers in the street and automatically thinks hobag. Sleeps with one of her bullies without a condom, but he didn't finish so you know everything's ok. 🙄 Then once he finds out it's his kid he tries worming his way back in. It doesn't work at first, but in the end he get's his HEA with the h. His and her family are both dysfunctional with zero communication while everyone jumps to conclusions until the end. The only good character was Marsh's brother Ryker who was 17 going on 40. The h was ok, but a little to emotionless for me. Though she was ridiculous at first not asking for help. But she also gave grace when people didn't deserve it. Overall it ended up being like I thought it would. Not terrible, but not great either.
November 20, 2024
It's kind of repetitive in places but over all I liked it.
It's well written and the author kept it interesting. I’ve read stories like this before and they’re all very cliche but this story had me captivated from the very first page.
I would've liked to have seen more of them rebuilding their relationship but it was cute and I'm glad it worked.
It's well written and the author kept it interesting. I’ve read stories like this before and they’re all very cliche but this story had me captivated from the very first page.
I would've liked to have seen more of them rebuilding their relationship but it was cute and I'm glad it worked.
August 20, 2022
4 stars
Why need enemies when you have your family and your best friend?
I just burned the midnight oil on this one. I could not go to sleep until I had read all of it. The drama, angst and emotional crash were that captivating.
Even with my lack of rest, I can say that the entirety of plot of this book is far from what would happen in real life. Not because the heartache and relationship shipwreck being improbable, but because the whole painful chain of well-orchestrated events/ face-offs, with honed spot-on discourses and visceral reactions from all the characters would not be likely to happen all together in the dramatic unfolding of a RL couple's romance. And I am not saying that to shoot down the book, bien au contraire. Yes, the book can be read as OTT drama, but for my part, there is much more than that. I am sure that CM's aim in sharing this book was not to pretend that everything in the book could happen in real life exactly as written but rather to bring out the maximum of realistic angles on what could happen to derail and challenge a seemingly solid relationship. I see this book more like the excellent result of a thought experiment where CM expertly brainstormed on the complexity of love, human nature, mistakes and forgiveness. In that sense, this book was just epically wow.
The high level angst, the emotional heartbreak, the deep, deep hurt, the sense of loss, the loaded questions and answers... all contributed for me to have a good cryfest on behalf of Opal and Marshall. CM's creative talent shined through as she came up with all the perfect dramatic triggers that would recount the tortuous journey of Opal and Marshall. And hopefully, that will help some couples in RL out there having experienced similar issues. I will not add more details, because one has to actually experience the hurt, torture and redemption in this book along with the characters. I will just advise to prepare tissues and uninterrupted reading time.
Did the grovel work? It was well-written and realistic. It worked for Opal and I understand her. And Marshall was genuinely there to work for it, even if he is definitely not the brightest one out there. I am not sure if I would have been as big hearted as Opal because I personally do have a problem with things that can never be undone. Opal's best friend got it right though, and maybe I should learn from her:
Beth’s motto was that all men were idiots, you just had to discover the level of idiocy you could tolerate.
I did not rate it 5 stars because I felt that some of the characterisation, including for the MCs, showed at times a duality of personality that, while serving to heighten the drama (to great effect!), also disserviced my reading experience because the contrast in the duality bumped against my logical mind. Also, given that the story was really all the way in, there should have been a huge epilogue at the end to show what the lives of Opal and Marshall were in the future, to see how the healing and lessons learned were integrated into their lives.
100% recommended to angst/heartbreak junkies as well as those readers looking to cry buckets of cathartic tears.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 10, 2022
Finally all the angst and Drama I needed - definitely on my reread list
My emotions were all over the place. This Author knows how to write a emotional book for sure that will tear your heart out, have your heart in your throat, and then slowly put it back together.
Marshal needed to be knocked upside his head many times. Opal she was so strong to go through what she did. She definitely knows how to stand up for herself and make sure the people that did her wrong know it.
Now where can I get a RYKER???? Omg! Swoon he was perfect in all ways was there for Opal and stood up to his family. Fantastic!
My emotions were all over the place. This Author knows how to write a emotional book for sure that will tear your heart out, have your heart in your throat, and then slowly put it back together.
Marshal needed to be knocked upside his head many times. Opal she was so strong to go through what she did. She definitely knows how to stand up for herself and make sure the people that did her wrong know it.
Now where can I get a RYKER???? Omg! Swoon he was perfect in all ways was there for Opal and stood up to his family. Fantastic!
August 18, 2022
⭐ 4.5 ⭐
Second chance.. Yes? No? Yes? Maybe or maybe not? Hmm... This book and this story is very realistic one. Never say never!
Through whole book I was like: GO GIRL, GO GIRL! 💪 Just like that, bravo! 👏 Make him suffer!!! And God, how he suffered...! 😁 She made it!
Opal, my girl... Wow, just wow. Finally, we got this kind of female main character. What "backbone" we got here. 😅 This heroine here, is so strong and so brave. We all need to have some of her character and determination in us.
“What happened to you?” He whispered.
“YOU DID! You happened to me. You broke me! Now get the hell out of my house!”
“No. Marsh, just no. You don’t get to feel bad about that. It’s what you wanted.”
"You put yourself in that situation and kept yourself there, Marsh. No one else. And now, you have regrets about your decision. Imagine that. You went from not wanting to have regrets about staying with me to having regrets about throwing me away and losing me forever.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
And Marsh... You... You are so stupid, foolish, selfish and weak boy, asshole and BIG IDIOT. Like she said: "Stupid brain. Stupid man."
Karma... Karma... Karma...
But somehow I was rooting for you. God... 🤦
"I was not just an asshole, I was a complete piece of shit."
"In fact, it was one of the worst, and most regretful experiences of my life.”
"It had all been about me and what I thought I needed in order to prove that I’d never become my dad. The crazy thing is, looking back, what I did was far worse than what my father put Mom through.
Far. Far. Worse."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * P.S. * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
If you want to see if this book is for you, see below (only from Opal's POV)...
* * * * * * * * * * SOME SPOILERS * * * * * * * * * *
“It was you who wanted your freedom. You who wanted to fuck other women. You who wanted to know what it was like to date someone other than me. I never wanted any of that, so you, Marshal Kennedy, can go fuck yourself and stay far away from me while you do it.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Marsh sat slumped into himself on the couch, face buried in his hands, and shoulders shaking as he cried. He wasn’t just crying, it was full-on sobbing, the likes of which I had never seen him do. For a minute, my heart broke for him. Then, I remembered he had been the one to put me in the same position, only I was left crying for many days and nights, for months on end."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“Was he a moron? Yes. Did he do idiotic things? Yes, again. Did he break your heart to pieces and make me want to break his legs and his dick in much the same way? Also yes. Does any of that mean you aren’t the love of his life? No. Anyone with a pair of working eyeballs can see that you two are soulmates. Hell, even a blind person could see it just by spending five minutes ina room with you. The energy you two put off is electric.”
“A soulmate wouldn’t do that to their other half,” I whispered.
“Normally, I’d agree with you. I’m not saying you should forgive him, forget what he did, or not go on living your life and making decisions like he doesn’t exist beyond his connection to your son. I’m just saying that the man never stopped loving you. It’s obvious.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“Christ! Opal, I swear to you, the whole time we were apart all I could think of was you. I wished away the six months, in hopes that we could get back together sooner.”
I scrunched my nose, whether in distaste or disbelief I couldn’t be certain. Probably a mix of both. “That is the grossest thing you could have ever said to me.”
“What? Why?” His voice grew excited, and I could see it plain on his confused face that he had no clue what he’d just implied.
“All you could think of was me? So, you went out on dates with a bunch of other women, and you thought of me?” He nodded his head. “Did you think about how knowing you were were with other women made me ache like my heart was going to beat right out of my chest and I would die?”
“You keep mentioning these six months, like there was some sort of Hallmark event that was supposed to happen. What did you think would happen after six months trying to find an upgrade for a girlfriend?”
“I was never looking for an upgrade. That could never happen,” he denied.
“Then why were you looking at all? If you already had the best person for you, then why were you out there searching for something else?”
“I thought we needed to both experience the things we never did when we were younger, so that neither of us would have doubts later, like my father did. I meant what I said, I only thought of you during that time.”
I scoffed at that. “So, when you were fucking Monica unprotected you were thinking of me? Thinking of the diseases you would bring home in a couple days? Thinking of the baby that you’d have me raise if you knocked her up?”
“I wasn’t thinking about anything, except how angry I was that some other man put a baby in your belly and you didn’t seem to wait very long before you went there with someone else,” he yelled at me.
I shook my head. “It never occurred to you that you were the asshole who left me with a baby in my belly to go off and sleep with other women? You thought so little of me that you left without so much as a conversation, and your first thought upon seeing me pregnant was that I was somehow more of a whore than you were, and slept around?”
“Opal, that’s not fair. What was I supposed to think?”
“I don’t know, Marsh, maybe that you left me so fucking heartbroken that I couldn’t function for months on end, especially since I was carrying your baby and having to listen to the gossip about your latest dates around town. You couldn’t even respect me enough to go on your dates somewhere else. No. I had people sending me pictures of you. Did you know I had to change my phone number to get it to stop? And all the while, I was sick every day because the baby we made together didn’t like the smell of food, or my anxiety, or my sadness.”
“Opal,” his voice broke...
“No. Marsh, just no. You don’t get to feel bad about that. It’s what you wanted.”
“It’s not what I wanted. It’s never been what I wanted! I didn’t want to see you in so much pain…”
“What in the hell did you think would happen when I got home that day to find the apartment cleaned out and have a less than five-minute conversation where you told me that you needed six months to date other people? Did you think I would be happy about that?”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"You put yourself in that situation and kept yourself there, Marsh. No one else. And now, you have regrets about your decision. Imagine that. You went from not wanting to have regrets about staying with me to having regrets about throwing me away and losing me forever.”
“No! Don’t say that! How can you say that?”
“Because it is the truth. You think I want a man who would so easily cast me aside for others? Who would think the worst of me and go sleep with another woman as an act of revenge when I did nothing wrong? You think I want a man who values everyone else’s opinions above our relationship? I don’t want you anymore, Marsh.
If I hadn’t been pregnant, I would have already been dating, or moved to another town to start my life over without you. That would have been the better option for me. Since you left me with child, I don’t even get the dignity of a fresh start in a town where I haven’t been made a mockery of.”
“Fuck!” He hissed under his breath as he turned away from me.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“Austin Jason Kennedy, these are your uncles, Bastion and Brixton,” I told my son. “You will never again see them in the same room with your mother for any reason. If you see them again, it will be because your father took you to see them. I hope you never hold that against me and know that it’s a rule I’m setting in place to protect myself from the two people who have bullied me for years – for no apparent reason – other than it was entertaining to them.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“I’m scared. I know you didn’t betray me by cheating, but you betrayed me by leaving the way you did. I don’t know if I could ever trust being with that version of you again.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Second chance.. Yes? No? Yes? Maybe or maybe not? Hmm... This book and this story is very realistic one. Never say never!
Through whole book I was like: GO GIRL, GO GIRL! 💪 Just like that, bravo! 👏 Make him suffer!!! And God, how he suffered...! 😁 She made it!
Opal, my girl... Wow, just wow. Finally, we got this kind of female main character. What "backbone" we got here. 😅 This heroine here, is so strong and so brave. We all need to have some of her character and determination in us.
“What happened to you?” He whispered.
“YOU DID! You happened to me. You broke me! Now get the hell out of my house!”
“No. Marsh, just no. You don’t get to feel bad about that. It’s what you wanted.”
"You put yourself in that situation and kept yourself there, Marsh. No one else. And now, you have regrets about your decision. Imagine that. You went from not wanting to have regrets about staying with me to having regrets about throwing me away and losing me forever.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
And Marsh... You... You are so stupid, foolish, selfish and weak boy, asshole and BIG IDIOT. Like she said: "Stupid brain. Stupid man."
Karma... Karma... Karma...
But somehow I was rooting for you. God... 🤦
"I was not just an asshole, I was a complete piece of shit."
"In fact, it was one of the worst, and most regretful experiences of my life.”
"It had all been about me and what I thought I needed in order to prove that I’d never become my dad. The crazy thing is, looking back, what I did was far worse than what my father put Mom through.
Far. Far. Worse."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * P.S. * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
If you want to see if this book is for you, see below (only from Opal's POV)...
* * * * * * * * * * SOME SPOILERS * * * * * * * * * *
“It was you who wanted your freedom. You who wanted to fuck other women. You who wanted to know what it was like to date someone other than me. I never wanted any of that, so you, Marshal Kennedy, can go fuck yourself and stay far away from me while you do it.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Marsh sat slumped into himself on the couch, face buried in his hands, and shoulders shaking as he cried. He wasn’t just crying, it was full-on sobbing, the likes of which I had never seen him do. For a minute, my heart broke for him. Then, I remembered he had been the one to put me in the same position, only I was left crying for many days and nights, for months on end."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“Was he a moron? Yes. Did he do idiotic things? Yes, again. Did he break your heart to pieces and make me want to break his legs and his dick in much the same way? Also yes. Does any of that mean you aren’t the love of his life? No. Anyone with a pair of working eyeballs can see that you two are soulmates. Hell, even a blind person could see it just by spending five minutes ina room with you. The energy you two put off is electric.”
“A soulmate wouldn’t do that to their other half,” I whispered.
“Normally, I’d agree with you. I’m not saying you should forgive him, forget what he did, or not go on living your life and making decisions like he doesn’t exist beyond his connection to your son. I’m just saying that the man never stopped loving you. It’s obvious.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“Christ! Opal, I swear to you, the whole time we were apart all I could think of was you. I wished away the six months, in hopes that we could get back together sooner.”
I scrunched my nose, whether in distaste or disbelief I couldn’t be certain. Probably a mix of both. “That is the grossest thing you could have ever said to me.”
“What? Why?” His voice grew excited, and I could see it plain on his confused face that he had no clue what he’d just implied.
“All you could think of was me? So, you went out on dates with a bunch of other women, and you thought of me?” He nodded his head. “Did you think about how knowing you were were with other women made me ache like my heart was going to beat right out of my chest and I would die?”
“You keep mentioning these six months, like there was some sort of Hallmark event that was supposed to happen. What did you think would happen after six months trying to find an upgrade for a girlfriend?”
“I was never looking for an upgrade. That could never happen,” he denied.
“Then why were you looking at all? If you already had the best person for you, then why were you out there searching for something else?”
“I thought we needed to both experience the things we never did when we were younger, so that neither of us would have doubts later, like my father did. I meant what I said, I only thought of you during that time.”
I scoffed at that. “So, when you were fucking Monica unprotected you were thinking of me? Thinking of the diseases you would bring home in a couple days? Thinking of the baby that you’d have me raise if you knocked her up?”
“I wasn’t thinking about anything, except how angry I was that some other man put a baby in your belly and you didn’t seem to wait very long before you went there with someone else,” he yelled at me.
I shook my head. “It never occurred to you that you were the asshole who left me with a baby in my belly to go off and sleep with other women? You thought so little of me that you left without so much as a conversation, and your first thought upon seeing me pregnant was that I was somehow more of a whore than you were, and slept around?”
“Opal, that’s not fair. What was I supposed to think?”
“I don’t know, Marsh, maybe that you left me so fucking heartbroken that I couldn’t function for months on end, especially since I was carrying your baby and having to listen to the gossip about your latest dates around town. You couldn’t even respect me enough to go on your dates somewhere else. No. I had people sending me pictures of you. Did you know I had to change my phone number to get it to stop? And all the while, I was sick every day because the baby we made together didn’t like the smell of food, or my anxiety, or my sadness.”
“Opal,” his voice broke...
“No. Marsh, just no. You don’t get to feel bad about that. It’s what you wanted.”
“It’s not what I wanted. It’s never been what I wanted! I didn’t want to see you in so much pain…”
“What in the hell did you think would happen when I got home that day to find the apartment cleaned out and have a less than five-minute conversation where you told me that you needed six months to date other people? Did you think I would be happy about that?”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"You put yourself in that situation and kept yourself there, Marsh. No one else. And now, you have regrets about your decision. Imagine that. You went from not wanting to have regrets about staying with me to having regrets about throwing me away and losing me forever.”
“No! Don’t say that! How can you say that?”
“Because it is the truth. You think I want a man who would so easily cast me aside for others? Who would think the worst of me and go sleep with another woman as an act of revenge when I did nothing wrong? You think I want a man who values everyone else’s opinions above our relationship? I don’t want you anymore, Marsh.
If I hadn’t been pregnant, I would have already been dating, or moved to another town to start my life over without you. That would have been the better option for me. Since you left me with child, I don’t even get the dignity of a fresh start in a town where I haven’t been made a mockery of.”
“Fuck!” He hissed under his breath as he turned away from me.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“Austin Jason Kennedy, these are your uncles, Bastion and Brixton,” I told my son. “You will never again see them in the same room with your mother for any reason. If you see them again, it will be because your father took you to see them. I hope you never hold that against me and know that it’s a rule I’m setting in place to protect myself from the two people who have bullied me for years – for no apparent reason – other than it was entertaining to them.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“I’m scared. I know you didn’t betray me by cheating, but you betrayed me by leaving the way you did. I don’t know if I could ever trust being with that version of you again.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 24, 2022
The H screwed up so bad in the sample there was no way he should have been able to come back from that.
I just wanted her far away from him and his nasty friends and family.
Knowing she was in for even more hurt before they got back together wasn't appealing.
I just wanted her far away from him and his nasty friends and family.
Knowing she was in for even more hurt before they got back together wasn't appealing.
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