It is no secret that I am a lover of love stories.
I love all kinds of love stories.
Emotional ones. Sweet ones. Seriously angsty ones. Ones that make you want to throw the book across the room, ones that you want to hug tight and swoon in forever, and ones that have every kind of love story in between.
I love every kind of love story, but I have to admit that I find myself having not read enough of certain kinds of love stories. It’s not that I don’t want to read these books, it’s just that I haven’t found myself reading them. I haven’t made the time to read more of them.
But I want to fix that.
I want to read more kinds of love stories. I want to keep finding new authors. I want to keep broadening my love of love stories.
And that is where Dark Reads October was born.
A month dedicated to only reading dark romance novels.
You see, for a long time I’ve really wanted to read more dark romance books. I also love a good theme. Like a lot. (See: Summer of Series) So I decided to dedicate some real time to reading dark romance books. I want to not only read dark romance, I want to find some new to me authors to fangirl something fierce over. I want to experience the unique and dynamic kinds of love stories that you get within dark romance.
This is my TBR list for the month! THANK YOU to everyone who sent me recommendations!
Plus with it being October and all, it felt only fitting that this is the time I committed to finding myself some new dark romance to read. So for the next month I will be doing just that. I will only be reading dark romance. And let me tell you, I am ALL kinds of excited for this. I have a good long list of books and authors to read, and I am ready!
Super shoutout by the way to my fellow book lovers on TikTok and Facebook for helping me make my list of books and authors I want to try to read over the next month! I have so many amazing dark romance books to get me started this month. Even though I know there’s no way I’ll get to read them all this month, I’m SO dang excited that I have them so I can go back to them!
I’m ready to finally read some dark romance books that have been on my TBR list for years. I’m ready to experience a bunch of different kinds of dark romance books. I’m ready to fall even more in love with the dark side of romance.
And I’ll be documenting it all right here because that is what the best thing about book love; spreading it around! I truly will never get enough of sharing the book love and connecting with fellow readers about books and love stories. It is the absolute best, and I am beyond looking forward to connecting with y’all about these dark romance reads!
I can’t tell y’all enough how excited I am for this next month of reading! It’s going to be epic. I can feel it. I can’t wait to write about all of the amazing dark romance books I’m going to read. I can’t wait to discover some incredible dark romances. I can’t wait to share all of it with you, and I can’t wait to chat about all of the glorious, angsty, layered and dynamic dark romances.
So are you ready? I know I am.
Let the dark romance reading begin!
Welcome to Dark Reads October.
P.s. If you have a dark romance read recommendation that isn’t on my list, please let me know! I am always eager for more recommendations!
The Stars Duet Boxed Set, including the complete The Stars Series including the bonus story Christmas Beneath the Stars from Amie Knight, is available now!
Beneath His Stars I met Adam Nova under the twinkling lights of a nighttime sky. He was hiding, but that gorgeous boy didn’t belong in the dark. Nevertheless it was where he lived; a different world than mine. I was Livingston Montgomery, Southern debutante. With the world at my fingertips, I was well on my way to being another spoiled socialite. But I didn’t want money. I didn’t want social status. I wanted him; tattoos, sarcastic smirk, bad boy reputation and all. It didn’t matter that he was from the wrong side of the tracks. It didn’t matter that my family forbade me from seeing him. I just wanted to be Beneath His Stars.
In Her Space I was reunited with Livingston Montgomery in the broad sunshine of a Carolina morning, right where she belonged; in the light. It’d been too long since I’d seen her face. She had changed, but so had I. I was Adam Nova, reformed bad boy. Now, successful business man. I had it all, except for the one person I’d always wanted, and now I was back to claim her. She was living in the shadows, just a shell of the former girl I knew. But it didn’t matter that she tried to hide from me in the dark. I’d follow her into the deepest depths of hell. I just wanted to be In Her Space.
It was her turn to look disgusted this time. “Do you even speak?”
I nodded again and she shook her head in disbelief before reaching over the space between us and snatching the cigarette out of my mouth so fast I didn’t see it coming. I stood there dumbfounded. People didn’t snatch shit away from me. People were scared of me. Not this brave girl. I should have known.
“Smoking is disgusting.” She said it quietly like it didn’t matter, but I could tell it did to her. She bent over and put the butt out on the driveway before standing up again and shoving it in her pocket.
I smirked. “You gonna keep that?”
Her eyes ignited with anger. “No, I’m going to throw it in the trash because I’m not a litterbug.”
Shaking my head, I muttered under my breath, “Fucking litterbug.” She was being cute. The girl with the too long legs and too big mouth that I couldn’t get out of my mind was fucking cute, too. I was screwed.
I wanted to full-on smile at her cuteness, but I held my happiness close to my chest. God knew it always came with a price. And I was done paying.
“You kiss your momma with that smoke mouth?” she asked snarkily, clearly pissed off about my smirk.
I lowered my head and took a step back, running a hand through my dark hair. I wanted to tell this girl things. Things I had no business telling her, like that I didn’t kiss my momma with anything anymore. Instead, I asked the question that had been plaguing me since she’d seemed surprised it was me who had left the notes.
“Who did you think it was?”
Her face screwed up in confusion. “What?”
I stood straighter and licked my lips before answering. “Who did you think left the notes?”
I was feeling strangely vulnerable in that moment waiting for her answer and I didn’t like it one bit. Why did it matter to me who wrote her or didn’t? Or who else thought she was the most intriguing thing ever? For fuck’s sake, she was just another rich bitch from the island. Why did anything about what she was about to say matter to me at all?
She bit her lip again and I still wanted to reach over and pull it from her teeth. It was sexy that lip bite, innocent even, and for some reason that made it all the more attractive.
“I don’t know.” Her brow furrowed in thought and she looked away, almost like she didn’t want to tell me the answer to my question. But then her eyes landed on mine again. “I thought it was the other guy—”
“Boone?” I interrupted loudly.
A disgusted look crossed her face. “God, no. Not him. The blond. The other guy.”
I let out a long breath accompanied by a sarcastic chuckle. “Grady?” That guy didn’t even graduate high school and she thought he knew anything about astronomy. I would have laughed if the whole thing hadn’t annoyed me so much.
Her eyes brightened. “Is that his name?”
I pulled out my pack of cigarettes again. “You like him or something?”
“What? No!”
I walked out into the street and lit my smoke far away from her.
She started to follow me. “Where are you going?”
“Home.”
“But I don’t even know your name!” she yelled and stomped a foot.
I almost smiled again.
About the Amie Amie Knight has been a reader for as long as she could remember and a romance lover since she could get her hands on her momma’s books. A dedicated wife and mother with a love of music and makeup, she won’t ever be seen leaving the house without her eyebrows and eyelashes done just right. When she isn’t reading and writing, you can catch her jamming out in the car with her two kids to ’90s R&B, country, and showtunes. Amie draws inspiration from her childhood in Columbia, South Carolina, and can’t imagine living anywhere other than the South.
The Stars Duet Boxed Set, including the complete The Stars Series including the bonus story Christmas Beneath the Stars from Amie Knight, is available now!
Beneath His Stars I met Adam Nova under the twinkling lights of a nighttime sky. He was hiding, but that gorgeous boy didn’t belong in the dark. Nevertheless it was where he lived; a different world than mine. I was Livingston Montgomery, Southern debutante. With the world at my fingertips, I was well on my way to being another spoiled socialite. But I didn’t want money. I didn’t want social status. I wanted him; tattoos, sarcastic smirk, bad boy reputation and all. It didn’t matter that he was from the wrong side of the tracks. It didn’t matter that my family forbade me from seeing him. I just wanted to be Beneath His Stars.
In Her Space I was reunited with Livingston Montgomery in the broad sunshine of a Carolina morning, right where she belonged; in the light. It’d been too long since I’d seen her face. She had changed, but so had I. I was Adam Nova, reformed bad boy. Now, successful business man. I had it all, except for the one person I’d always wanted, and now I was back to claim her. She was living in the shadows, just a shell of the former girl I knew. But it didn’t matter that she tried to hide from me in the dark. I’d follow her into the deepest depths of hell. I just wanted to be In Her Space.
About the Amie Amie Knight has been a reader for as long as she could remember and a romance lover since she could get her hands on her momma’s books. A dedicated wife and mother with a love of music and makeup, she won’t ever be seen leaving the house without her eyebrows and eyelashes done just right. When she isn’t reading and writing, you can catch her jamming out in the car with her two kids to ’90s R&B, country, and showtunes. Amie draws inspiration from her childhood in Columbia, South Carolina, and can’t imagine living anywhere other than the South.
I may have carried her out of that fire, but the truth was, Bree saved me.
From The Embers, an all-new not-to-be-missed, standalone catastrophic romance from USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez is available now!
In the aftermath of tragedy, it’s strange the things you remember. The deafening boom as the house exploded. The paralyzing fear as I searched for my wife. The blinding smoke burning my eyes as I carried her out.
But carved into my soul for the rest of my days would be the earth-shattering realization that the woman in my arms wasn’t my wife.
Bree and I were the only survivors—not that either of us were truly living after that night. As a single dad with nowhere else to go, I moved into her guest house. And somehow, through the guilt and grief, we forged an unlikely team.
It took years, but I watched the gradual return of her smile—slow and life-altering. The two of us could sit outside for hours, talking about nothing, and it filled the massive hole in my chest with new life.
I may have carried her out of that fire, but the truth was, Bree saved me.
As we healed, the secrets and lies of the past smoldered in the ashes, threatening to ignite again.
Our love was born from the embers, and together we would go up in flames.
Using my arm to block my face, I carried her lifeless body to the door. The knob seared my palm as I yanked it open, but the pain didn’t even register through the adrenaline. The sound of my feet pounding down the driveway echoed in my ears as the fire crackled behind me. Our closest neighbor was over half a mile away, but there was no way they hadn’t heard the explosion. The fire department would be there soon. Once I got Jessica safe, I’d go back for Bree. They’d find Rob. Everyone would be okay. “Eason,” she croaked in my arms. My feet were still moving as I sprinted away, but time stopped as her voice permeated my senses. It wasn’t possible. She was covered in soot, and my eyes were caked with ash and what I would later learn to be blood, but I could still make out the large flowers on her yellow— “Uh, no. It’s my dress that your wife borrowed and I had to do an entire Tom Cruise Mission Impossible thing to get it back last week.” Oh, God. I kept running until the wind changed direction, clearing the smoke. With my heart in my throat, I prayed that my still ringing ears had deceived me. I set her down and used the inside of my shirt to clear my face. “Eason,” she croaked. But once again, she wasn’t my wife. “Oh, God,” I breathed, watching as she rose on unsteady legs. Tears carved twin riverbeds through the ash on her cheeks. “What happened?” Bree asked, her green eyes focused on the blazing inferno behind me. Acrid guilt devoured me. “I…” I saved the wrong woman. I left the mother of my child in a burning building. My final broken promise to the woman I’d vowed forever to was, “I’ll be right back.” Bile crawled up my throat. “I don’t know.” I glanced back at the house, the heat of the roaring fire scorching me even from yards away. Overwhelming grief hit me as I realized there was no way I could get back through those flames. Oh, God. Jessica. In the middle of tragedy, it’s strange the things that become engrained into your memories. Years later, I wouldn’t be able to tell you how long it took the firetrucks to get there. I couldn’t tell you what time it was or what I had been wearing. But I would never be able to forget the absolute devastation on Bree’s face when she realized we were the only two standing outside the burning house. “Where’s Rob?” she rasped, her voice sounding like it had traveled over a mile of gravel before exiting her throat. “And Jessica. Where are they?” She took an urgent stride toward me. “I tried…” I doubled over into a fit of coughing. It was probably for the best. There was no way I could have finished that thought.
*****5 UNFORGETTABLE STARS*****
From the Embers is Aly Martinez at her best.
Exceptional, out of this world writing. All-consuming and deeply emotional storytelling. Dynamic and beautifully complicated characters that will own you and your heart fiercely. All of the glorious emotional murder with simultaneous twists and turns that define an Aly Martinez book.
This book is EVERYTHING. It is everything and then some.
If I could scream that at you right now, I would. But I will not do that. Too much.
This book is hands down one of my favorites by this author and one of my top reads of the year.
It is also one of the most emotionally gripping books I have read in quite some time.
This book broke me. It killed me and all of my feels and emotions at times. It murdered and tore at my heart. It physically and emotionally hurt me more times than you can shake a stick at. There were moments within this book that simultaneously shattered me, took my breath away, and had my eyes tearing up again and again. At one point when reading From the Embers, I stopped reading, took a breath, and made myself an alcoholic drink because I was so consumed in the feels with Eason and Bree.
That is how much I felt every morsel of this book. That is how much I lived the events and unforgettable moments of this book. That is how much I breathed every second of this story.
And you know what?! I effing loved every second of it.
You see I am an emotional masochist. I love it when a book makes me feel everything. I love it when characters allow me to peel back their layers, look at their flaws, understand their personalities and dynamics and complications, all while letting me feel everything with them along the way. I love it when a book hurts my heart. I love it when characters make me cry. I love it when the events of a story hurt my heart and envelope me within their feels in the deepest and realest of ways.
It is what I live for as a reader. It is what I LOVE. It is what I honestly treasure.
Aly Martinez is my dealer of choice when it comes to romance novels that make you feel everything, and From the Embers was no different. In fact, it was more. So much glorious more.
This book explores what happens when the unimaginable occurs. It follows the all-consuming and deeply emotional love story of Bree and Eason. These are two people who are friends, but not really friends. They’re kind of at odds with one another, but a life-changing and eviscerating event changes everything for them. A house fire kills their spouses, and in the moment when Eason thought he was saving his own wife, he realized he was saving Bree. Now the two of them have to pick up the pieces. They have to put themselves back together again after heartbreak, after devastation, after the death of their people.
From the Embers Is their story of how they go from being at odds, to being some version of friends with one another, to being so much more. Along the way is a deeply gripping and emotionally breathtaking story that will own you from start to finish. And just like any Aly Martinez novel, there are plenty of twists and turns through every page that will have you wondering what the hell that next moment will bring them.
I loved Bree and Eason. So damn much.
Even when those two broke my heart. Even when their struggles threatened to consume me right along with them. Even when I didn’t know which way was up or through with them, I loved them.
I loved their tenacity. I loved that this book was not only about them sharing and building what they were, but it was also about them discovering who they were. This book allowed them both to peel back the layers and the fronts and the sheilds, and to just become who they really were. It allowed them to embrace themselves, own themselves, fight for themselves. And along the way it also allowed them to realize that the one person who they never thought would mean anything, just might mean everything.
This book allows you to journey with them after the devastation of losing their spouses, as they try to heal, but as they soon realize that they are feeling a hell of a lot more for one another and they ever thought they could. Both newly single parents, they are just trying to pick up the pieces. They are struggling to wade through that ocean of grief that is starting to consume them. They are honestly just struggling to put one foot in front of the other, but they soon find that the one person who gets it is the other. That strength and that bond and that friendship that grows soon sparks a flame that cannot be doused. What ensues in this book between them is something very real, very deep, and fiercely emotional.
Bree and Eason thought the hardest part of it all would be picking themselves up after losing everything. But what they soon learn is that their new path is riddled with truths, and secrets, and lies….and that path ain’t easy. But what they also know and learn is that that path, while not easy in the slightest, might just be the path they were always meant to be on…together.
What I loved about this book, and what I’ve loved about every book by Aly Martinez, is that she always perfectly balances that emotion, that banter, that spark and connection and romance, with a story that just can’t be beat. She literally has everything in her books. She has characters with so much personality. She has moments that will make you laugh your ass off. She has other moments that will make you feel like you are dying and might actually drown in your tears. She has moments of pure swoon and heart.
She has everything within her books, and the way that she so fantastically crafts and creates that through her words truly sets her books apart. The moment you read one of her books, you know that and feel that with everything within you. I know I have. A million times over, and it is the actual best.
From the Embers Is truly one of the best books I have ever had the pleasure of reading. It had everything. It had this enemies to friends to lovers feel to it. It had a single parent romance going on, while it also had so much more. It had twists and turns and secrets and lies and truth to be revealed. It kept me on my toes. It broke my heart to smithereens, but it also put it back together again in the most beautiful breathtaking way. It had amazing complicated and dynamic characters that I loved with everything that I had. It had that buildup of intensity and that glorious level of angst to that topping point that I lived for.
It just had a feel to it that I will never forget, a story that is still with me, and characters that I will love for the rest of time.
Bree and Eason are truly some of the best characters that I have ever read. I loved their banter and dynamic. I loved that this book and its events forced them to not only look at their own lives, but to look at what they were sharing together. I loved that this story and its event made them re-evaluate everything they thought was important and who they were and who they wanted to be. I loved that they made each other want more. I loved that even though they had a very uneasy start, that this book allows them to see that there is so much more to the both of them.
I loved that they also completely got each other. I loved that they weren’t afraid to push for more when it really mattered. I loved that they had this he’s and this rightness that shined on every page of this book. I loved that that spark and connection between them grew and intensified through every moment of this book in a way that felt beyond right and meant to be. I loved that with each other they could just be themselves. I loved that they could create a friendship and a family that was built out of the deepest love. I loved that they got to feel it all with each other, and more than that they truly understood it and embraced it.
I am telling you now, there is no resisting the two of them. And more than that, you will not want to resist them. You will love them, you will root for them, you will feel every lick of it with them, and it will give you everything.
Simply put, this book had it all.
Aly Martinez once again delivers an absolutely phenomenal book from start to finish. Like I said at the start of this review, this book is her at her best. The storytelling and writing ability that she has is truly exceptional, and it shines on every page of this book.
This book will own you. It will consume you. It will take over every single part of your heart and mind and soul and feelings and just everything in between. And you will effing love it. You will love what these characters give you. You will love how it keeps you and your heart and all of your feelings on their toes. You will love that you don’t know what that next page will bring you. You will love everything between Bree and Eason.
You will just love everything this book delivers to you.
From the Embers Is one of the best books I’ve ever read. It is definitely a favorite of mine by this author, and it is a book that you need in your life this very second. Do not wait to embrace and live and feel this story. Do not wait on Bree and Eason and what they give you. Do not wait one more second to experience this unforgettable and all-consuming book.
It will break your heart, it will make you work for it, it will steal your breath at times, but you will love it. You will love what it so authentically and deeply gives you. You will love the spark of it all. You will love how it turns your world and your heart upside down right along with these characters. You will love that it isn’t easy, but through every word of it you know that it’s worth it.
You will love it all, and in the end, I promise that you’ll be damn glad you read this book.
So buckle up, grab some tissues and a drink, and get ready for one hell of a story that you will never forget. By the end of chapter 1 you’ll be simultaneously hooked, mentally cursing at Aly Martinez for what she’s already doing to your feels and emotions, and loving every second of what you’re getting with these characters. And really, it doesn’t get better than that.
Trust me.
About Aly Martinez
Originally from Savannah, Georgia, USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez now lives in South Carolina with her husband and four young children. Never one to take herself too seriously, she enjoys cheap wine, mystery leggings, and olives. It should be known, however, that she hates pizza and ice cream, almost as much as writing her bio in the third person. She passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a super-sized tumbler of wine by her side.
Our love was born from the embers, and together we would go up in flames.
From The Embers, an all-new standalone catastrophic romance from USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez is available now!
In the aftermath of tragedy, it’s strange the things you remember. The deafening boom as the house exploded. The paralyzing fear as I searched for my wife. The blinding smoke burning my eyes as I carried her out.
But carved into my soul for the rest of my days would be the earth-shattering realization that the woman in my arms wasn’t my wife.
Bree and I were the only survivors—not that either of us were truly living after that night. As a single dad with nowhere else to go, I moved into her guest house. And somehow, through the guilt and grief, we forged an unlikely team.
It took years, but I watched the gradual return of her smile—slow and life-altering. The two of us could sit outside for hours, talking about nothing, and it filled the massive hole in my chest with new life.
I may have carried her out of that fire, but the truth was, Bree saved me.
As we healed, the secrets and lies of the past smoldered in the ashes, threatening to ignite again.
Our love was born from the embers, and together we would go up in flames.
Originally from Savannah, Georgia, USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez now lives in South Carolina with her husband and four young children. Never one to take herself too seriously, she enjoys cheap wine, mystery leggings, and olives. It should be known, however, that she hates pizza and ice cream, almost as much as writing her bio in the third person. She passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a super-sized tumbler of wine by her side.
If you’ve been following me or this page for any amount of time, that is probably not a secret. And if you’re new here, welcome! Let me introduce myself. My name is Megan, I am a binge reader and am proud of it.
Like real proud.
I live my life in the midst of binge reads and binge watching TV shows. It’s something I’ve gotten really good at (I say that like it’s a skill you can develop and make stronger) over the years. Depending on what mood I’m in you’ll find me in the middle of a binge read of a certain trope or genre, series, or author. Same with TV shows. Sometimes my binge reads last a few days, other times they last a couple of weeks depending on what I’m reading.
Suffice to say, I am a pretty experienced binge reader. I love binge reading. I love getting so sucked into a series or an author’s backlist that I don’t know which way is up. I love getting to spend an extended amount of time in a certain world or within a certain feeling that books can evoke. I love that for days or weeks of time, all I can think about is that next book in my binge read and what it’ll bring. I also kinda love feeling like I’ve accomplished an Olympic level feat when I finish a binge read, especially a particularly long or large one.
I live for a good binge read. It is one of the things I love as a reader. And honestly, it’s something I highly recommend taking up as a reader because a good binge read can change everything.
And I do mean everything.
Case in point: my latest binge read.
The longest binge read of my life.
Let me set the stage for you.
Back in November of last year, I was feeling all kinds of down. Between the craziness of work virtually teaching my tiny humans, feeling isolated from those I love because of the panoramic (or pandemic for those of you not yet obsessed with Tiktok and its pandemic references), and all of the things happening, I was struggling. I was missing my people. I was just not in the best place and I was searching for whatever could be found to cheer me up.
Enter in Kristen Ashely and her amazing, unforgettable, and all-consuming books.
I don’t remember the first time someone told me I needed to read a book by Kristen Ashely, but I do know that the number of times her books have been recommended to me over the years is probably around 67 bajillion. She is a queen in the romance community, and I’m ashamed to say I didn’t listen to those 67 bajillion recommendations for almost 7 years because I am stubborn. Like real stubborn. I tend not to listen, and then find myself regretting that lack of listening for years to come. (Just ask my book friends how many times I’ve told them over the last few months that they was right and I was wrong and so very dumb for waiting to read KA’s novels.)
It’s not that I don’t want to read what’s recommended to me, it’s just that I really am a bad listener. I always think something along the lines of “one day I’ll get to that”, but one day always gets further and further away. I’ve even been known to buy those books recommended to me and hold onto them because I know that I need to read them, even though I have no idea when I’ll actually do just that.
Kristen Ashley is a prime example of that.
Me and some of those aforementioned book friends at Apollycon 2018, who’ve been trying to get me to read Kristen Ashley for years!
I was even lucky enough to meet her in 2018 at Apollycon, but at that point I hadn’t actually read her books. (Remember when I said I was stubborn as hell and didn’t listen?!) But I did know I needed to read her words, so I interpreted that as clearing out a full shelf of her books at my local Books-A-Million. Let’s just say I am equally so thrilled that I did that because I have so many of her books in print, but also so mad at myself that I waited SO long to read her books that I couldn’t properly fangirl over her when I met her.
Can you say holy freaking missed opportunity?!? *smacks head with e-reader again*
When I finally came around to pulling my head out of my butt and starting her books in the fall of 2019, I literally wanted to hit myself with my e-reader because I had waited to read them. I devoured the first 3 books in her Rock Chick Series, simultaneously falling in love with everything I was reading, while also telling myself that I should’ve been reading these books YEARS ago. I had planned to keep reading all of her romance book goodness then, but of course life got in the way and I was pulled away.
Flash forward over a year later, I found myself back to her books because I needed a sure thing. I needed a book I knew I would love, and after having read a few of her books the year prior, I knew I could count on her to deliver what I felt was missing. I went into that book needing a pick me up and needing something to take my mind off the craziness going on around me. I started that first book, Rock Chick Revenge on November 30th, and almost 3 ½ months later I completed the longest binge read of my life.
One of the TikToks I made in the middle of my binge read!
60 books. Over 3 months of time. Countless 5 star reads. Thousands and thousands and thousands of pages. So many all-consuming series that I will literally treasure forever. So many characters who will forever own pieces of my heart….and so much more.
And you know what? It saved me. In more ways than one.
This binge read, the longest I’ve ever done, saved me. It saved my mental health. Reading these books, living these stories with these characters, and just basking in every moment was my form of self care. This binge read gave me sooooo many things to look forward to. It gave me SO many unforgettable and dynamic characters that each took me on one hell of a ride. It gave me stories that swept me up and that never let me go. It gave me real and fictional worlds that owned me heart and soul. It gave me so many conversations with my book friends and people about these books that just made my heart and soul happy.
It gave me everything.
And let me tell you, after a year of serious craziness these books were the lifesaver I didn’t even know I needed. They not only saved my mental health and brought me back to me. reading them, talking to all my book friends about them over and over again, and experiencing every moment of them was the best. The actual BEST. (Seriously never doubt the power of a good book y’all.)
If I’m being honest though, I didn’t think I’d make it this far in this binge read. I can definitely tell you without a doubt that I definitely didn’t think I’d be sitting here having read 60 books by one author in the last 3 months. But here I am y’all, living the best kind of binge reader dream.
Me being absolutely ridiculous on TikTok when I got my KA book order in!
That’s not to say I didn’t want to read all of Kristen Ashely’s books, but I tend to be a big mood reader, so I often find myself jumping from trope to trope to subgenre to subgenre quite a bit when I am a reader. (Luckily KA has it ALL, so she delivered everything I didn’t even know I needed with her entire backlist.) I also might have a touch of a self-diagnosed focusing issue that can often prevent me from focusing on one type of book for too long. When I started that first book of the binge read back in November I thought I’d finish the Rock Chicks and maybe read some more of the paperback books I owned by Kristen Ashely and call it a day. I figured my reading mood would eventually shift, and one day I’d come back and finish wherever I left off.
Flash forward to mid March and I was practically in tears because I didn’t have any more Kristen Ashely books to read.
For 3 ½ months these books OWNED me, heart and soul. They consumed my every thought and feeling. They gave me life. They took hold of every emotion I had, every part of me, and truly, they never let me go. They were all I could think about. All I could talk about. All I could post about on my social media and blog page. All I wanted and needed to read. Really, just all I wanted and needed.
These books, this binge read, these stories, the writing and characters…they were everything I needed.
Everything and more.
Frannie & Frannie
I even named my new succulent plant after a character in these books. That’s how much I couldn’t get enough of everything I was reading and how much I loved these characters. That’s how addicted I was to everything I was reading. (Plus when you meet Frannie in Midnight Soul, you’ll understand why that was the perfect name for my succulent.)
Throughout this binge read I’ve joined the crazy wonderful Rock Chicks, fallen in love with the Dream Men and Dream Team, spent some time on the darker side with some Unfinished Heroes, and joined a motorcycle club named Chaos. I’ve spent my days running away to the Colorado Mountains, a Burg in Indiana, the coast of Maine, small towns and big towns across this country and world, and even a parallel world that doesn’t actually exist. I’ve fallen in love with Moonlight & Motor Oil, The Honey Club, and a blue genie named Fazire who will always own a piece of my heart.
These books encompassed so many moments, so many characters, so many stories that I will forever treasure. Told through some of the best storytelling and writing I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading, these books and stories gave me so many moments that shook me to my core.
Moments that took my breath away. Moments that made me laugh my ass off, cry my eyes out, and feel practically breathless with what these characters gave me. Moments that I will never forget. Moments that I’ve already gone back and reread multiple times. Moments that will go down in my book history as some of my favorite book moments ever.
Some of my favorite KA moments. (Not spoilery, as most are out of context and you won’t get it until you read the books…but look at the list at your own risk!)
Moments that I will truly never forget reading or experiencing.
I’ve lived and loved it ALL over the last 3 1/2 months with these books and fictional characters. I’ve traveled to worlds that aren’t real, and worlds that I wish with everything I have, were real. I’ve had some of the best reading experiences EVER.
And honestly? I just wish I could give Kristen Ashley the biggest hug right now because what she gave me within her books. I also want to say thank you to her a million times over. What she so infinitely created with her characters and moments and stories and worlds, what she allowed me to live and feel and breathe with her characters, and what she gave me to experience along the way is something I will treasure for the rest of time. Her writing is on a whole different level, and the moment you read and experience one of her books you will know that with every bone in your body.
You will love it, you will crave it, and you will need as much of it as possible. Trust me on that.
Simply put, Kristen Ashely has firmly cemented herself as one of my all-time favorite authors and reading these books, all 60 plus of them is something I will never forget.
Just a couple of weeks ago, I found myself reading my last Kristen Ashely book. (That is until she writes more romantic goodness, which I cannot wait for!). I purposefully chose her Loose Ends Anthology to end with one last little bit of some of my favorite characters, as well as to get the stories for a few characters that I had been dying for. To celebrate I got me a cinnamon roll the size of my face and a good as hell coffee to accompany me with that last KA book. If you read any of these books you too will have an appreciation for baked goods and coffee from small businesses.
And let me just say, as sad as I was for this binge read to end, I couldn’t be happier that I finally listened to the 67 bajillion people who told me I should’ve been reading these books years ago.
Y’all were right, I was stubborn as hell and didn’t listen, but I got there in the end. And I will be forever grateful that I did.
So there you have it.
The longest binge read of my life.
The best binge read of my life.
The binge read that brought me back to me. The binge read that brought me a multitude of fictional characters and stories and moments I will forever LOVE and cherish. The binge read that brought me to one of my favorite authors ever. The binge read that gave me so many moments that literally took my breath away. The binge read that showed me a million times over that a book, an author, a series can truly give you everything you need and more.
The binge read that truly gave me it all.
Never doubt the power of a good binge read y’all.
Seriously.
It just might be the pick me up you need. It also might be everything you didn’t even know you needed and then some. If you’re really lucky, it just might give you some of the best damn books and reading experiences of your entire life.
And really, it doesn’t get better than that.
Trust me.
A glimpse into my 3 month binge Kristen Ashely binge read.
Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward are excited to bring you the Cocky Hero Club: original works from various authors inspired by Keeland and Ward’s New York Times bestselling Cocky Bastard series.
BLURB
Dear Ida,
Never in a million years did I think I’d turn to an advice column for help, but I’m stuck. Moving to New York is my dream come true, but the big city is a tough place to navigate for a small-town, southern girl like me. Luckily, fate sent me my very own knight in shining armor.
Only Whitaker Aldrich didn’t ride in on his white steed to save me. He picked me up on his Harley Davidson, wearing a leather jacket and sporting a cocky smirk that doesn’t bode well for my man free diet. He screams one-night stand.
But there’s so much more to him than that bad boy billionaire persona. He’s thoughtful and kind and his six-year-old son is his entire world.
That twinkle in his brilliant green eyes makes me weak in the knees and I’m terrified that I won’t be able to protect my already bruised heart. I should probably say no when he asks me to be his nanny, right?
Yeah, getting involved with Whit would be a huge mistake.
I should definitely say no. Maybe… Possibly?
Help!
Yours truly,
The Billionaire’s Babysitter
Bad Boy Billionaire is a billionaire/single dad/friends to lovers romance inspired by Stuck-Up Suit.
Let me start this review by saying that if I could live in this book with these characters for the rest of time, I wholeheartedly would. And truthfully, doing that would just make me so beyond happy. I would be perfectly content spending the rest of my days with Grace and Whit and Andy. That is how good it felt to spend time with them. Those three burrowed themselves so deep into my heart and just made me my heart so full while I experienced their story with them.
Brought to life through Amie Knight’s exceptional writing and storytelling, Bad Boy Billionaire is the perfect romance.
It has dynamic characters with more personality and connection than you can shake a stick at. It has a romance that will hit the ground running from Chapter 1, and that you’ll never want to have end with its glorious fire and build up. It has a setting that truly takes on a life of its own and adds so much life to this story. It has a world of characters and moments that you won’t soon forget, and that will have you simultaneously swooning and melting with what you get with these two.
But most of all, it has a friends to lovers story that will own your heart from start to finish.
Grace and Whit are the actual best. Like the actual best. From the moment you meet them you will know that in your bones. Trust me on that. You will also know that no two people are more meant to be than the two of them. Through a series of chance and very memorable encounters, Grace and Whit become friends. And then, well then they become so much more. She’s a southern girl new to The Big Apple, trying to figure out which way is up, with big dreams of becoming a writer. He’s a lifelong city-goer, single dad, and business owner with a love of music. Their friendship blossoms and deepens, as their attraction and pull towards one another explodes exponentially.
Soon she’s working for him helping to take care of his young son, while they both find themselves wading their way through the growing feelings they share. She’s trying to find her place in the world, he’s desperate to show her that the perfect place for her is with him and Andy. They’re opposites in more ways than one, but they can’t help but need and want one another with all that they have. Too bad they’re scared to rock the boat in fear that they might all tip over.
Bad Boy Billionaire is an effervescent romance full of life and spark, coffee trucks and different boroughs, that will sweep you and your heart off your feet with everything that Whit and Grace share. Their romance is perfectly built, exceptionally captured, and there is no way that you will be able to resist the literal charm of those two. I know I couldn’t and nor did I want to because the moment I met those two, was the moment I fell in love with them and NEEDED them to be together.
Amie Knight continues to be one of my favorite authors for a reason. Her books truly have everything you need and then some. They’re romantic as hell. They’re charming and full of sass and fire and so much glorious personality. They’re emotional and real, honest and incredibly layered. They’ve got all the feels, and her words always do the most phenomenal job of giving you characters and a story and moments that you’ll live and feel and breath with your entire being.
Her books simply give you everything.
Bad Boy Billionaire was no different. Every memorable moment that Amie Knight brought to life with Grace and Whit (and Andy for that matter) is one that I treasured. Every page of this book, every moment those two shared in their glorious buildup of connection, and every word that allowed me to get them and love them and feel it all with them, seared me to those two. They made me melt and swoon. They made me laugh and smile until my cheeks were hurting. There were moments that I thought I would just die of happiness with those two, their connection, and their personalities shining through. They made me believe in love and in love stories, especially there. They made me feel like anything was possible if you just fought hard enough for it.
They made their love story, and everything they shared, feel like so much more. They made it feel like literal spark and magic, and I for one became utterly consumed with everything that was them and what they were sharing and building. They made it feel so damn good, like coming home to the most warm welcome that you never want to leave. They made it feel like them, memorable and fiery and full of so much heart.
Like I said, they made it all feel like so much more. And that is honestly just scratching the surface of what I loved about this book and their story.
Simply put, I loved every incredible word of this book.
I loved how this story connected into Graham and Soraya from Stuck Up Suit. (I seriously squealed with all the connections to that world and book!) I loved how everything Grace and Whit were building and sharing felt so inherently real and so needed. I loved getting to see their friendship grow into something so much more. I loved getting to experience his relationship with his son, and getting to be there as she built a relationship with him as well. I loved getting those moments that were so them, they practically leapt off the page with their personality and fire. I loved getting to be there as their connection and feelings for one another built and built and built some more to that inevitable tipping point that gave me everything and that ended up changing everything for them.
I loved that this story gave me two easy to love and root for characters that owned my heart from start to finish with everything they were sharing together.
Their love story was wholly enjoyable, so very them, and had me desperate to run away to New York City for my own chance at falling in love like the two of them do in this book. Swoon city central. They way that Amie Knight captures and creates everything with them is truly magnificent to read and experience, and had me basking in everything I got with them along the way. From the very first pages with them I fell with them, believed in them, and needed for them to find their way to happily ever after. That feeling only strengthened and consumed me more as I read this book, and that is just part of what makes this one of my top reads for the year and one of the best love stories I’ve gotten to read.
This book and this story will give you it all, and I promise that you will not soon forget it. It will make you laugh, it’ll bring all of the feels inside and outside of your heart, and through it all it will have you melting right along with Whit and Grace as they see what could be. Those two could not be more right for one another, and every word of this book will have you knowing and feeling that in spades.
From memorable chance encounters, to a blooming friendship. From North Carolina to The Big Apple and back again. From friends to lovers to so much glorious more. From a girl with a big heart, and a man with so much heart to give. From the little moments, the big ones, and every one in between. From the billionaire and his babysitter to so much MORE.
Bad Boy Billionaire is the perfect romance that will have you believing in everything that an all-consuming love can bring you. It will have you knowing in the deepest part of your heart that Grace and Whit are meant to be. It will have you in the thick of it with them, ready for whatever that next moment will bring them. It will have you desperate for the literal sweetness and heart and personality and rightness that lives and breathes from them and with them in the pages of their story. But more than that, it will just have you basking in every single thing they share together because it is pure magic, pure fire, and pure love.
This book is a prime example of why I am a lover of love stories. It gave me hope. It made me happy. It made me smile and swoon. It made me melt again and again with these two, and every character that made this book what it was. It had me believing in the heart and love story that was unfolding before my eyes. It gave me it all. And then some.
Amie Knight give you everything you didn’t even know you needed in this one. This book is just another example of her storytelling talent and the phenomenal reading experiences she continues to create. It was also another dip into the Cocky World, which I will never want to leave. But most of all, it was just a damn good love story that I will not soon forget. And you won’t either. I promise you that.
So get yourself a coffee, a comfy chair, plop yourself next to your favorite succulent, and strap in for a romantic, effervescent, and all-consuming love story that will have you believing that real love, give you all the butterflies, feel it in your bones, have you shouting with joy and happiness from the rooftops, love, is just a page a way.
Because in Bad Boy Billionaire, Grace and Whit will give you all of that. And then some.
Amie Knight has been a reader for as long as she could remember and a romance lover since she could get her hands on her momma’s books. A dedicated wife and mother with a love of music and makeup, you will never see her leave the house without her eyebrows and eyelashes done just right. When she isn’t reading and writing you can catch her jamming out in the car with her two kids to 90’s R&B, Country and Showtunes. Amie draws inspiration from her childhood in Columbia, South Carolina and can’t imagine living anywhere other than the South.
Our love was born from the embers, and together we would go up in flames.
From The Embers, an all-new standalone catastrophic romance from USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez is releasing April 28th, and we have the gorgeous cover!
In the aftermath of tragedy, it’s strange the things you remember. The deafening boom as the house exploded. The paralyzing fear as I searched for my wife. The blinding smoke burning my eyes as I carried her out.
But carved into my soul for the rest of my days would be the earth-shattering realization that the woman in my arms wasn’t my wife.
Bree and I were the only survivors—not that either of us were truly living after that night. As a single dad with nowhere else to go, I moved into her guest house. And somehow, through the guilt and grief, we forged an unlikely team.
It took years, but I watched the gradual return of her smile—slow and life-altering. The two of us could sit outside for hours, talking about nothing, and it filled the massive hole in my chest with new life.
I may have carried her out of that fire, but the truth was, Bree saved me.
As we healed, the secrets and lies of the past smoldered in the ashes, threatening to ignite again.
Our love was born from the embers, and together we would go up in flames.
Originally from Savannah, Georgia, USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez now lives in South Carolina with her husband and four young children. Never one to take herself too seriously, she enjoys cheap wine, mystery leggings, and olives. It should be known, however, that she hates pizza and ice cream, almost as much as writing her bio in the third person. She passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a super-sized tumbler of wine by her side.
Reclaim, an all-new intense and heart-wrenching romance from USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez is available now!
Choices. Everyone makes them. From mundane to unimaginable, one choice can change the trajectory of your entire life.
My mother’s choice was to abandon us with our abusive father. My brother’s choice was to go to prison for killing the boy who assaulted his soulmate. Camden Cole’s choice was to fall in love with a shattered girl who had absolutely nothing to offer him but heartbreak.
It was one summer beneath the trees, but with Camden, I had a place where I belonged. A friend who was always waiting for me. A boy who I caught staring at me more often than not.
He was mine, but when the world closed in and secrets exploded all around us, it was my choice to let him go.
Choices. Everyone makes them. But mine would ruin us all.
Have you ever seen that music video for Before He Cheats by Carrie Underwood?
You know the one.
It’s the one where she’s walking around with the baseball bat ready to beat the crap out of her boyfriend’s truck, and by the end of the video that truck is in pieces with quite a few new dings on it. It’s the one that shows the true power and strength of a woman, a baseball bat, and the consequences that can come from the choices we make. Or the choices that are made for us.
Well, let me paint a picture for you.
In this situation, Aly Martinez is the one with the baseball bat, you and your heart are the truck, and every swing, every hit, and every impact is every breathtaking and all feeling word of Reclaim.
Now I want to note, there is no cheating in Reclaim, so do not worry your little heart about that.
But you know what there is in Reclaim?
There are emotions. ALL of the emotions. There are feels. SO many glorious feels. There are two characters who go through everything on their journey to try to be together. There is a story that will take hold of your heart, a story that will try to break you and its characters, a story that will hurt you…but you know what? It will hurt you so good. And in the thick of that hurt it will show you the true strength and grit and heart of these characters.
Reclaim will hurt your heart. It will flood you with the feels and emotions and struggles of its characters, but I promise you, in the same breath it will give you it all.
It will show you the true power and impact of choices and consequences. It will show you that even in the darkest of moments, and even in those moments when you don’t think you can go any further, you can do just that and find the light to pull you through. It will show you the true depth of what these characters feel for each other, and it will have you knowing in the depths of your heart and soul that no two characters were meant to be more than Nora and Camden.
Let me tell you about Nora Stewart and Freaking Camden Cole.
Those two, they’re the best. The actual best.
Reclaim follows them through many years of their life. From the first moments they meet as young children, through the many years and events that come after, and eventually to them as adults trying to find their way, Aly Martinez gives you it all with them. She allows you to experience and live every moment with those two. She lets you be there. She lets you get them. She lets you see their friendship grow, she lets you be there in those moments when everything changes and when everything changes again. She lets you be with them as things fall apart, and as things eventually begin to fall back together again.
And just like any Aly Martinez book, she lets you feel it all, and I do mean everything.
She lets you feel their struggles and heartbreak and pain. She lets you feel and live those moments of triumph and hope that pull you, and the characters, through even the darkest of moments. She lets you feel every breath of those moments that are so full of fire and connection that grow in intensity with every breath these characters take. She allows you to feel and experience the build up of what her characters share, and she puts you in the thick of that incredible dynamic that you will never get enough of.
She lets you live every unforgettable moment with Camden and Nora, and more than that, she lets you understand so much of why things go the way that they do for those two.
I will warn you now, this book and its events are not easy for them. Especially for Nora. This book is heavy. What Nora goes through is heartbreaking and completely eviscerating at times. (If you’ve read her brother Ramsey’s story Release, then you already have an idea of that.) What Camden goes through along with her and on his own journey isn’t all sunshine and roses either. This book will take you and your heart through the ringer. It will knock the wind out of you and it will hurt you again and again, but let me tell you, there is no better author to give that to you than Aly Martinez.
Aly Martinez does Nora and Camden and their story the justice they so deserve. She tackles very hard topics with the perfect balance of everything. She makes things wholly authentic and real, she allows you to understand so much of what these characters feel and experience, and she always does it in a way that is just enough. She never takes away or belittles these characters’ struggles, but she also doesn’t lament on it in a way that has you feeling like all is lost.
Aly Martinez once again find the most exceptional balance of allowing you to understand and feel and live the heartbreaks, struggles, and anguish of her characters due to their story and the events they live through, while also having you know with every part of your being that not all is lost. That hope, like the most fragile of threads, is interwoven in the most incredible way through every moment with Nora and Camden. Whether it’s something tangible like a 10 dollar bill, or something more transparent, it’s there.
No matter what comes their way, that hope is always there. And I promise you, that hope will see you, and Nora and Camden, through everything that comes their way.
It’s always there, pulling them through the devastation that threatens them at every turn. It’s always there to show them that no matter what, their strength and fire can see them through. It’s always there to remind them why they’re on the hook in the first place. It’s always there to show them that some things are truly meant to be.
The fact that you feel that and know that and live that with them throughout the events of Reclaim will have you LOVING every bit of what you’re reading. You will be a part of this story, a part of Camden and Nora themselves and their emotionally breathtaking journey. And in the end, you will love every second of heartbreak and healing and fight and devastation that comes their way because it will exemplify their tenacity, their connection, their fire, and most of all, their heart.
There really is no way you can’t love Nora Stewart and Camden Cole.
Those two will definitely make you work for it. They will make you go the long haul and they will not make it easy, but that is what makes them them. That is what makes their story so special and unforgettable. That is what sets them apart.
Now don’t you worry your little head and think that this entire story will just be one emotionally murdering party with the emotionally murdering baseball bat Aly Martinez so incredibly wields. (Though it will be that to a certain extent and you will LOVE it.) While this book does have a world of hurt and emotion and feels running rampant through it, it also has one hell of a romance story. It has so many moments that will melt your heart and have you swooning before you can even mutter the words “Freaking Camden Cole”. It will also have so many moments where you just laugh your ass off with these characters and their banter.
Aly Martinez truly finds the best balance of everything to create one of the most magnificent stories I have ever had the pleasure of reading.
She makes you cry, she makes you want to throw that emotionally murdering baseball bat right back at her (in a totally loving way), she makes you laugh and melt and just swoon with these two, and really, she just makes you fall wholeheartedly in love with these two.
And you know what? You will just love everything this book so authentically gives you because it will give you it all. And then some.
Reclaim is hands down one of the best books I have ever read. With its emotion, its twists and turns, its authentic and dynamic characters, and its story and feels that never quit, this book had it all. I was consumed within every breath of this book from start to finish. Aly Martinez’s talent as a writer is truly on another level, and she shows that again and again in Reclaim.
I guarantee you haven’t read a book quite like this one or a book with this level of emotion and feels, so do yourself the best favor of the year and read this book. Read it, take it in, live its moments, and see how Nora and Camden fight to make it through it all. Like I said, their story isn’t easy and those two definitely put you through that ringer, but they make it oh so worth it with what they’re sharing and trying to build together.
And if you make the choice to read this book, to go into it with your heart open ready to feel it all, then I promise you you will love it. You will love it. You will feel it. You will be in awe of everything you get with these two along the way. You will be beyond invested in them and what they’re sharing, and by the time you turn that last page, you will know with everything you have that what Camden and Nora share is on a whole different level.
Those two are on the hook, and even when that baseball bat comes swinging and all of the emotional murder tries to throw them off, they’re there. On that hook, holding on with all that they have for the chance at a love that truly means everything, for a love that could truly save them.
And getting to experience a story like that? Getting to fall in love with two characters who feel and share that much? Getting to see first hand what it means to choose, to live, to feel and fight with all you have?
Well it doesn’t get better than that. Not one little bit.
Excerpt
He wedged his large body beside me in the bed. On his side, he draped one arm across my middle, curling his other under his head.
I watched him out of the corner of my eye, completely unsure if I was supposed to cuddle into him or what the hell we were doing.
“This okay?” he asked. “You comfortable?”
I was a lot of things. Confused. Lost. Overwhelmed by guilt.
But because it was Camden, comfortable was one of those things too.
As an answer, I rolled toward him and buried my face in his broad chest.
His whole body sagged as he began stroking the back of my hair. “Nora. Nora. Nora.”
In a way, Camden and I were strangers, but as his heart played in my ear, I felt two puzzle pieces clicking into place. A calm washed over me. The dark cloud of my betrayals still existed outside of Camden’s embrace; it just didn’t seem so ominous anymore. He knew all the dirty and broken parts of me and still came back, holding me as though he could keep me together.
Sliding an arm around his back, I curled in close, shifting to tangle my legs with his. “I’m tired, Cam.”
“I know,” he whispered, hugging me tight.
“No, you don’t. Nobody understands. I’m a disease who infects everyone who gets close to me.” My breathing shuddered. “It hurts. Everything hurts.”
“Do you remember our first summer together when a grasshopper got into the container where we held the extra worms? You screamed so loud when you opened that thing and it came flying out like a bat out of hell. It got on your shirt and then hung on for dear life. With all the racket you were making, the damn thing had to have been terrified, but he never jumped off. I had to peel it off your shirt, one leg at a time.”
I gagged at the memory. “Thanks for reminding me of that. Awesome timing.”
He chuckled and pressed his lips to the top of my head. “I’m the grasshopper clinging to your shirt, Nora.”
Now, if that wasn’t some good old classic Camden Cole rambling, I had no idea what was.
I tilted my head back, resting my chin on his pec, and peered up at him. “You do realize I have no idea what you’re talking about, right?”
My cold, hollow chest filled with a warmth I hadn’t felt in years when he grinned down at me.
“I genuinely thought you’d find your way back to me. A phone call. A visit. Anything. But as time passed and I got older, I realized I fell in love with a girl who had no idea how to be loved.”
My stomach wrenched, and emotion made my vision swim. “Camden, I—”
“No, just let me talk. Hear me out.” He tucked a stray hair behind my ear and let his thumb linger at my cheek, sweeping back and forth. “I know you love me, Nora. It’s flashed in your eyes every time you’ve seen me since we were kids. It’s like every light in the house suddenly comes on, but it terrifies you, so you spend the whole time we’re together running around, turning them all off, convincing yourself that you don’t deserve for people to love you back. But we still do it. Joe loves you. Thea loves you. Ramsey loves you. I’ll always love you.”
About Aly Originally from Savannah, Georgia, USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez now lives in South Carolina with her husband and four young children. Never one to take herself too seriously, she enjoys cheap wine, mystery leggings, and olives. It should be known, however, that she hates pizza and ice cream, almost as much as writing her bio in the third person. She passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a super-sized tumbler of wine by her side.
Reclaim, an all-new extremely raw and moving second chance romance from USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez is available now!
Choices. Everyone makes them. From mundane to unimaginable, one choice can change the trajectory of your entire life.
My mother’s choice was to abandon us with our abusive father. My brother’s choice was to go to prison for killing the boy who assaulted his soulmate. Camden Cole’s choice was to fall in love with a shattered girl who had absolutely nothing to offer him but heartbreak.
It was one summer beneath the trees, but with Camden, I had a place where I belonged. A friend who was always waiting for me. A boy who I caught staring at me more often than not.
He was mine, but when the world closed in and secrets exploded all around us, it was my choice to let him go.
Choices. Everyone makes them. But mine would ruin us all.
About Aly Originally from Savannah, Georgia, USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez now lives in South Carolina with her husband and four young children. Never one to take herself too seriously, she enjoys cheap wine, mystery leggings, and olives. It should be known, however, that she hates pizza and ice cream, almost as much as writing her bio in the third person. She passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a super-sized tumbler of wine by her side.
The Never Ending Book Basket 