Release by Aly Martinez

Category: Contemporary Romance
Publication date: 01/06/2020
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Cliffhanger: No

If you’re looking for extremely well-written high emotion and angst, look no further...  

Plot overview: Thea and Ramsey were childhood best friends and high school sweethearts until Ramsey went to prison (served 12 years on a 16 year sentence) for killing the guy who assaulted Thea. The book details the events leading up to Ramsey’s incarceration, and also everything that happens once he’s released.

First of all, Aly Martinez is one of the few authors who writes super angsty books that I really enjoy. I mean, I’m a grumpy old lady, folks. I have a low tolerance for youthful angst. But Ms. Martinez does it right. I never get irritated with the characters. I feel for them. That can only be credited to the author’s talent. 

Second of all, I adore Ramsey. Watching him change from the sweet, sensitive boy who loved Thea into a tough, jaded, just-out-of-prison man was heartbreaking. But under the tough exterior, Ramsey is still a gooey cinnamon roll of a hero at heart. Even when he was trying to be a jerk and push Thea away so that she could be free of his dumpster fire of a life, he was still a good guy underneath it all. I understood his motivations, so I never got annoyed with him for trying to push Thea away “for her own good.” (That kind of asshattery would normally make me DNF with a quickness, but...what can I say? There are exceptions to every rule, and Aly Martinez is DEFINITELY an exception to all my reading rules.)

Thea is a pretty awesome heroine, too. She never gave up on Ramsey, even when I think most women would’ve. AND, best of all, she never let his “I’m going to push you away for your own good” fuckery get in her way. She knew what she wanted, and she went after it. I really admired that about her. She was also a survivor of a horrific assault, and she didn’t let that event define her or drag her down. She was tough and resilient. There are few things I love more than heroines with surprising inner strength, and Thea had it in spades. 

All in all, I really can’t recommend this one highly enough. It’ll mess you up a little emotionally, but it’s totally worth it.          

Does this book contribute to or help crush the romance stigma?
This one kicks the crap out of the romance stigma.

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