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Seattle Blades #1
Rainfall
I met the love of my life at ten years old.
At sixteen, I gave him my heart.
Three years later he was drafted to the NHL and moved across the country.
Five years after, he’s back. And he’s meeting his daughter for the first time.
I still hate him.
Even if my heart says that’s a lie.
***
At ten years old, she changed my life.
At sixteen, I told her I loved her.
Three years after, I left and broke her heart.
Five years later, I’m coming back home to the surprise of my life.
I hate her for it.
Even though my brain says this is all my fault.
At sixteen, I gave him my heart.
Three years later he was drafted to the NHL and moved across the country.
Five years after, he’s back. And he’s meeting his daughter for the first time.
I still hate him.
Even if my heart says that’s a lie.
***
At ten years old, she changed my life.
At sixteen, I told her I loved her.
Three years after, I left and broke her heart.
Five years later, I’m coming back home to the surprise of my life.
I hate her for it.
Even though my brain says this is all my fault.
271 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 14, 2023
About the author
Alison Rhymes
6 books327 followersAlison lives somewhere in the shadow of a Pacific Northwest Mountain, bordered by the Puget Sound, and not too far from the country roads she grew up on.
When she’s not reading, she can be found avidly reading, traveling with youthful wanderlust, or slowly turning the inside of her home into her own personal houseplant jungle.
When she’s not reading, she can be found avidly reading, traveling with youthful wanderlust, or slowly turning the inside of her home into her own personal houseplant jungle.
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November 15, 2023Self note WITH SPOILERS
Cheating.
H and h met bc h’s dad is a hockey coach. H plays hockey. After some time finally H asks h to date and they begin to date. This is while they are teenagers. They date for some years and then H needs to live in another state for hockey. They have a long distance relationship and a woman that is a bit older starts to pay him attention. H and h are 18-19. This woman is the photograph of the team or social media thing. Anyway, h visits H and sees ow and starts to worry. Apparently ow knows a lot about h bc H told her. Also, H says that his hands are rougher bc he is killing himself with masturbating.
Then, h sees a post of H semi hard in the gym and ow was the one taking the photo. Ow was in a short sport outfit. In H’s pov we can see he was being hard for her.
h asks H to stop this and that it’s disgusting. H doesn’t listen. h learns that she is pregnant. Calls him but he doesn’t reply. His roommate sick of H’s behavior and asking him to break up with h or left ow reply to h’s call and hears this convo between H and his friends:
She texts H and let him know he knows about the convo and kinda breaks up with him and blocks him. H calls and talks with her sister. Tell him to give her space.
Apparently, the kisses were two. One after they had dinner in his place and was a goodbye kiss. He stops but doesn’t stop of hanging out with ow. The second is this one:
I’m jumping all over the place. Anyway, h knows about kissing but not really all the circumstances. Some hours later, she decides to call him and come back with him except that when she calls…:
He doesn’t remember any of this. He never knows that she was pregnant but also he never really search for her. He was waiting for her to come back but after some months he decides to move on and sleeps with others (this ow included) He never is in a relationship with this ow but he sleeps with her multiple times during the years and they are friends. Turns out that during the time that they sleep together ow was sending photos to h. Making her sick and having to go to the hospital for the pregnancy. So he didn’t wait that much bc she was some months until getting birth when she started to receive the photos. She was also having panic attacks. Then she had postpartum depression. During the years she had a hockey kinda bf (he is from a rival team of H) and some flings and some one night stands.
When H returns bc she is now a player in h’s dad team and sees that he has a daughter he is mad bc she didn’t tell him. After that he kinda wants her back. He is celibate after reunion but she isn’t. She sleeps with the hockey player again and H knows about it. This hockey player also saw their daughter grew up and is in her life. Probably will continue to be bc h and OM wants to be friends. This hockey player also calls h and daughter his girls. He said that in a hockey game to H against his team. To make him jealous.
After reunion H goes to talk with Ow and also sees her in a party. Imo he should have put a restraining order not talked with her casually after knowing all of this. He only tells her not to contact him again but kinda don’t do anything more about it.
H and h talks about the infamous night and how he probably was drugged or drunk too much to consent but he kinda brush it aside.
Then, ow breaks into H’s hotel room and tries to seduce him. H closes the door and calls for her dad (the coach)
Turns out ow had a gun and drugs and is crazy. Her dad put himself between the gun and H. Ow is arrested and they assume he was drugged on the FaceTime and maybe in the second kiss. Ow goes to jail for at least 3 years.
They epilogue is told from the daughter perspective. They had more babies and now he is retired and she is the one with the busy business. Hea
Things that I didn’t mention but think it’s important. H and daughter had a great connection and H steps into his role.
H’s mom and grandma also didn’t know about the daughter. H’s mom was a single mother and tells her son that he didn’t only kiss a woman twice. He had an emotional relationship with her.
The grandma never Mets the kid bc dies a year later. H never tries to hurt ow that much. I mean he lost time with his daughter bc his supposed “friend”/f buddy didn’t tell him about it. During years. She sends photos to h causing her distress and almost making her lose the baby. She abused him. He should have been WAY WAY WAY more furious and angry and betrayed that he was.
Anyway, that’s all if you have questions let me know 🫶🫶🫶🫶
Cheating.
H and h met bc h’s dad is a hockey coach. H plays hockey. After some time finally H asks h to date and they begin to date. This is while they are teenagers. They date for some years and then H needs to live in another state for hockey. They have a long distance relationship and a woman that is a bit older starts to pay him attention. H and h are 18-19. This woman is the photograph of the team or social media thing. Anyway, h visits H and sees ow and starts to worry. Apparently ow knows a lot about h bc H told her. Also, H says that his hands are rougher bc he is killing himself with masturbating.
Then, h sees a post of H semi hard in the gym and ow was the one taking the photo. Ow was in a short sport outfit. In H’s pov we can see he was being hard for her.
h asks H to stop this and that it’s disgusting. H doesn’t listen. h learns that she is pregnant. Calls him but he doesn’t reply. His roommate sick of H’s behavior and asking him to break up with h or left ow reply to h’s call and hears this convo between H and his friends:
“Tor answers after a few rings, but he doesn’t say hello. The other end of the call is garbled mumbling and rustling for a few seconds.
“Dude, you need to break up with her,” Tor says.
“I don’t want to do that. I love her, man,” Cillian answers him. I put my phone on speaker and set it on the coffee table in front of me, allowing my sister to hear the conversation as well.
“You say that, but that hasn’t stopped you from hanging out with Trina. Is she coming over again tonight?”
“I don’t know, probably.”
“How have you not fucked her yet?”
“Dude, it’s been so hard. After you crashed last night, we stayed up to finish the movie. She dropped her head in my lap, rubbing her face along my dick. It was all I could do to not pop it out and shove it in her mouth.”
My stomach rolls as they laugh.
“She’d have loved that, the way she’s always throwing herself at you. Have you kissed her?”
“Twice, but I stopped it and told her it was a mistake. Because it—”
Willa grabs my phone and ends the call.
“Fuck him, Isla! Seriously, fuck him.”
She texts H and let him know he knows about the convo and kinda breaks up with him and blocks him. H calls and talks with her sister. Tell him to give her space.
Apparently, the kisses were two. One after they had dinner in his place and was a goodbye kiss. He stops but doesn’t stop of hanging out with ow. The second is this one:
“Did you only kiss her? I mean, while we were still together, before that night on the video call.” It’s something I’ve always wanted and been terrified to know.
“Yes. The first time she gave me a kiss goodbye. It surprised me, but I stopped her immediately, reminding her that I had you. In hindsight, I should have made a bigger deal about that, been clearer. I promised you I would set boundaries with her and then failed at my first chance. The second time was… more. Knowing what I know now, I can see she took advantage of the situation. Torsten had a handful of people over, which wasn’t abnormal for him. We played some video games, watched movies, and sometimes drank more than we should. I’d gotten sleepy but hadn’t gone off to bed yet, Trina snuggled up and waited until I was almost lights out. That time, it took me longer to stop because my head was foggy with sleep, and I half dreamed it was you. I opened my eyes to her and told “her I couldn’t do that. But again, it didn’t stop me from hanging around with her.”
“What do you mean by knowing what you know now?”
“How am I supposed to admit that I wasn’t smart enough to avoid a trap like Trina? Or strong enough?
“At the time, I didn’t see her actions as intentional. I didn’t think she was purposefully trying to get between us. On my side, it was a friendship developing naturally and that, eventually, took step after step too far. Then you showed me what you’d been sent. I sat with that information and realized so much of my friendship with her wasn’t what it seemed.”
“You say friendship, but it was more than that, Cillian,” Isla interrupts.
“Yes,” I agree. “But also no. We were never a couple. Sometimes there were… uh, sexual benefits. I never loved her, I never wanted more from her. She knew that, because I never wavered on it. Sex with her was convenient, as much as that makes me an asshole, I made the parameters clear. What I didn’t know was that she must have felt threatened by how much I still loved you, and because of that she was doing awful things. Like what she sent you, even taking those pictures of me is a huge violation of the trust I had with her. She also “snuck around and read the letters I wrote you.”
“What?” Isla bolts upright, that temper that I used to love so much lighting up inside her. There have been sparks of it here and there, especially when she hit me with that right hook. But largely, it’s only been a simmer compared to how easily it boiled as a teenager. “She read my letters?”
“Yes. It’s how she knew when to send you the bullshit she did. I never shared anything about you with her.” The smile forms on my face without my control, as she jumps up in outrage.”
I’m jumping all over the place. Anyway, h knows about kissing but not really all the circumstances. Some hours later, she decides to call him and come back with him except that when she calls…:
“Turns out it only takes a few hours for me to succumb to the pressure of telling Cillian what lies ahead of us. Or, potentially, anyway. I’ve made no final decisions, it’s something I would like to do with him. Despite the late hour on the opposite coastline, I take a chance that he’s left his ringer on in the hopes I’d call. Opting for video, because I think this is a face-to-face conversation, I hit his contact.
He answers, but it takes a second for the video to pull up. The camera bounces around a few times before focusing on Cillian’s profile on the bed.
“I’ve missed this,” he slurs.
I nod, because we haven’t been video calling as much lately. “But we need to talk, Cill. Something has happened.”
“She’s never going to talk to me again,” he mumbles. “This feels so good.”
What?
Is he talking about Trina? Does this mean he broke off their friendship finally?
“Cillian, can you focus? This is important.”
“It is. It’s the most important time in my life and she’s not even here for it,” he says, and I know now he means me. I’m not there for him the way I’ve always been. He’s also never asked me to be, not once did he ask me to move with him to Boston.
I would have gone.
“Cillian, can you look at me?” He hasn’t looked at the phone once, still only giving me his profile while he’s focused on something else in the room. Someone? Oh god.
“No. If I look at her, she’ll look sad, and I’ll feel sorry.”
“You’re not sorry, you’ve wanted this as much as I have,” another voice purrs in the background and I tremble. With hurt, with anger. He didn’t even wait a fucking day.
“Are you kidding me? It’s been hours and you already have her in your bed?” His phone shifts, panning down his naked body to where Trina is perched between his legs, one hand on the phone, the other on his dick. “I’m fucking pregnant, you assholes.”
There’s a gasp from the other side of the call and then it ends. Someone hung up on me. Dread washes over me with my tears.
Every goal, every dream I’ve had slips away. Pregnant, no boyfriend, and a completely uncertain future.
I cry myself to sleep, gripping my phone, hoping that he’ll call back and ask for an explanation of what I just told him.
Morning comes; his call doesn’t.
So, I block him again and start building my new life, shaky brick by shaky brick.”
He doesn’t remember any of this. He never knows that she was pregnant but also he never really search for her. He was waiting for her to come back but after some months he decides to move on and sleeps with others (this ow included) He never is in a relationship with this ow but he sleeps with her multiple times during the years and they are friends. Turns out that during the time that they sleep together ow was sending photos to h. Making her sick and having to go to the hospital for the pregnancy. So he didn’t wait that much bc she was some months until getting birth when she started to receive the photos. She was also having panic attacks. Then she had postpartum depression. During the years she had a hockey kinda bf (he is from a rival team of H) and some flings and some one night stands.
When H returns bc she is now a player in h’s dad team and sees that he has a daughter he is mad bc she didn’t tell him. After that he kinda wants her back. He is celibate after reunion but she isn’t. She sleeps with the hockey player again and H knows about it. This hockey player also saw their daughter grew up and is in her life. Probably will continue to be bc h and OM wants to be friends. This hockey player also calls h and daughter his girls. He said that in a hockey game to H against his team. To make him jealous.
After reunion H goes to talk with Ow and also sees her in a party. Imo he should have put a restraining order not talked with her casually after knowing all of this. He only tells her not to contact him again but kinda don’t do anything more about it.
H and h talks about the infamous night and how he probably was drugged or drunk too much to consent but he kinda brush it aside.
Then, ow breaks into H’s hotel room and tries to seduce him. H closes the door and calls for her dad (the coach)
Turns out ow had a gun and drugs and is crazy. Her dad put himself between the gun and H. Ow is arrested and they assume he was drugged on the FaceTime and maybe in the second kiss. Ow goes to jail for at least 3 years.
They epilogue is told from the daughter perspective. They had more babies and now he is retired and she is the one with the busy business. Hea
Things that I didn’t mention but think it’s important. H and daughter had a great connection and H steps into his role.
H’s mom and grandma also didn’t know about the daughter. H’s mom was a single mother and tells her son that he didn’t only kiss a woman twice. He had an emotional relationship with her.
The grandma never Mets the kid bc dies a year later. H never tries to hurt ow that much. I mean he lost time with his daughter bc his supposed “friend”/f buddy didn’t tell him about it. During years. She sends photos to h causing her distress and almost making her lose the baby. She abused him. He should have been WAY WAY WAY more furious and angry and betrayed that he was.
Anyway, that’s all if you have questions let me know 🫶🫶🫶🫶
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 18, 2023
If Alison Rhymes continues writing angsty cheating stories, I’ll keep inhaling them. This was my jam. I can’t wait for the next one.
4 Stars
4 Stars
Shelved as 'do-not-read-cheating'
April 27, 2024SPOILERS
Rainfall-ing full of excuses
Not only does the H cheat on the “love of his life” who he’s “always been obsessed with” (suuuure buddy), but he makes so many excuses🙄
And he has the audacity to be mad at the h for not telling him she was pregnant/had a kid? 😐
How was she going to tell you? While you were getting a hand j by the ow you’ve previously kissed and had a hard time “not f’ing” in the past (and the h is FaceTiming him to tell him she’s pregnant)? Or maybe when you were hanging out with the ow and eventually sleeping with her after you and the “love of your life” broke up?
Boy psssshhh… Please ✋🏻
At least this one isn’t celibate 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
These cheaters are always like “I don’t know how it happened” ✋🏻
I guess it’s easy to just, you know, slip and fall into a vagina 😐 and then they’re so scared that their hips start rhythmically moving back and forth from all the scared trembling 🙄 and then, eventually, they finish…🙄
With all the women they’ve been 😐
But they don’t know how it happened 😒
Sigh…
I need me an active hero, not a passive one
Esther has amazing spoilers:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Rainfall-ing full of excuses
Not only does the H cheat on the “love of his life” who he’s “always been obsessed with” (suuuure buddy), but he makes so many excuses🙄
And he has the audacity to be mad at the h for not telling him she was pregnant/had a kid? 😐
How was she going to tell you? While you were getting a hand j by the ow you’ve previously kissed and had a hard time “not f’ing” in the past (and the h is FaceTiming him to tell him she’s pregnant)? Or maybe when you were hanging out with the ow and eventually sleeping with her after you and the “love of your life” broke up?
Boy psssshhh… Please ✋🏻
At least this one isn’t celibate 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
These cheaters are always like “I don’t know how it happened” ✋🏻
I guess it’s easy to just, you know, slip and fall into a vagina 😐 and then they’re so scared that their hips start rhythmically moving back and forth from all the scared trembling 🙄 and then, eventually, they finish…🙄
With all the women they’ve been 😐
But they don’t know how it happened 😒
Sigh…
I need me an active hero, not a passive one
Esther has amazing spoilers:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
April 22, 2024
God, it’s 2023 and authors are still in the mindset in using babies as a way to “redeem” scumbag, lower than cockroaches, disgusting cheaters and have them be a big happy family.
This man-child is not irredeemable nor is the author, methinks. The blatant disregard for the SA was shrugged so audaciously that the MMC’s reaction was far far too indifferent compared to when roles are reversed. Why do female authors do this?
Meanwhile he was raging mad when he thought the FMC kept their child a secret to him BUT he wasn’t *that mad* at the OW when he found out she was the one who kept it a secret.
The body-betraying-syndrome shit is so overly used by authors when they don’t know how to properly redeem their garbage, horseshit MMCs and it’s fucking gross behavior of them and degrading. I skipped all of their sex scenes because WHAT IS THE POINT. The FMC folded after a few sweet words 💩, her body betraying her 🙄, a half-heart reassurances and his fully equipped excuses for his every cheating behavior😃. SOOOO ROMANTIC 😍
I don’t know why I expected something from the author of Broken Play. That book was like a love letter to the STD-trap cheaters and how she glorify and romanticize them. I guess I expected a character and writing development from her lol silly me 😔
“Too.She thought she was going to lose Sadie on top of losing me. All while I was off living my dream career and fucking around with whatever woman I felt like, whenever I felt like it.
I don’t deserve to be forgiven.”
💀LOL see what this author was trying to glorify. Even he agreed he is a fugly trash.
This man-child is not irredeemable nor is the author, methinks. The blatant disregard for the SA was shrugged so audaciously that the MMC’s reaction was far far too indifferent compared to when roles are reversed. Why do female authors do this?
Meanwhile he was raging mad when he thought the FMC kept their child a secret to him BUT he wasn’t *that mad* at the OW when he found out she was the one who kept it a secret.
The body-betraying-syndrome shit is so overly used by authors when they don’t know how to properly redeem their garbage, horseshit MMCs and it’s fucking gross behavior of them and degrading. I skipped all of their sex scenes because WHAT IS THE POINT. The FMC folded after a few sweet words 💩, her body betraying her 🙄, a half-heart reassurances and his fully equipped excuses for his every cheating behavior😃. SOOOO ROMANTIC 😍
I don’t know why I expected something from the author of Broken Play. That book was like a love letter to the STD-trap cheaters and how she glorify and romanticize them. I guess I expected a character and writing development from her lol silly me 😔
“Too.She thought she was going to lose Sadie on top of losing me. All while I was off living my dream career and fucking around with whatever woman I felt like, whenever I felt like it.
I don’t deserve to be forgiven.”
💀LOL see what this author was trying to glorify. Even he agreed he is a fugly trash.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 7, 2024
Unlucky day for my choosing of books.
I knew I should not have read this author since she is not my thing.
I hoped that somehow there could be something I liked.
But nope.
The plot could have been a good point to start working with emotional and psychological insight.
But it tastes shallow.
The hero and the heroine have been dating for three years and are barely 19, he gets a big contract with a hockey team in another city and of course, he’s young, he’s hormonal, he becomes famous, the heroine is far away and they barely see and yada yada yada well, ok, I am older and wiser and I can see that it was difficult for him to stay celibate. Temptations were everywhere and especially a woman, a photographer, who stuck to him like glue, touching, hugging, slamming her boobs in his face, rubbing her pelvis on his young c**k. Annnnddd he’s not made of steel. He plays, he misses the heroine, but he’s not strong enough to stay away from ow, who’s older and more experienced. I almost felt sorry for the guy, almost, because if he was tempted and the woman was very aggressive and manipulative, he could have acted differently after the heroine find out he kissed ow and dumped him. She called him to tell him about the pregnancy, because she found out she was pregnant, and ow was giving him a hand job. He seemed stoned, and the heroine thought he didn’t want o have anything to do with her.
So five years later, she has a daughter. She had a difficult time , she almost miscarried, she suffered from PPD and is pissed with the hero. When he sees her he seems quite happy and he’s quite surprised that she still hates him.
Then he finds out about his daughter and he is angry because she never told him. Ok those two made my balls burst. Honest. It turns out ow was sending her pictures of them naked in bed together during the whole time they were apart, almost causing her to miscarry and to have a premature baby. Probably she also drugged him the night the heroine called him , because he doesn’t remember anything. He calls er his friends but this woman was the one who caused his break up with the heroine, and he eventually had sex with her and kept her as his f buddy.
I hated that: the hero never tried to get in touch with the heroine after she blocked him, he could have gone to her, begged , apologized, explained, but nope, he decided that he was young and wild and free and he could come back later when he had his fun with ow. Oh, he says it was because he was ashamed, but he never stopped fuggin ow and random hookups. What a sad sad life booohooo.
Thank god the heroine wasn’t celibate, she had some very good sex- and experienced a lot of new things too, naughty naughty!- with other men and even has a nice friend with benefit that she keeps hooking up with even after the hero comes back. Little joys in life. I was rooting for him but of course she has to go back with the loser.
The hero is a loser. He was young and yes, I understand the lack of maturity but he didn’t care too much about her. He could have tried harder. His anger finding out he had a daughter, even after what the heroine told him about it, really made me want to stop reading the book, and his regret is never too deep or too real. It always seems that he’s saying, yes, I fugged up but…whatever. I didn’t perceive his regret as real and as enough for what he did. He simply moved on, he posted pictures of him and ow in instagram only months after he had broken up with the heroine, he never went back. Because he wanted to have fun. He didn’t care enough.
But what I didn’t understand was the behavior of the heroines family. She has a father and a sister but none of them thought of going to the hero and put him in front of his responsibilities. The father knew the hero and his mother very well but he didn’t try to talk to them. Why? I can understand the heroine, she was young, immature, hurt, but she was only a teenager, he should have talked to the hero man to man. Of course they both made a mess of their lives, and if something can be learned by this book is that teenagers even if they are of age, are still teenagers and need some parental advice because they make a mess of things. I didn’t like it. I didn’t feel the hero’s love for her, he wrote her letters, but he never sent them. He was somehow cool with either being with her or not. No, definitely they are not twin soul, or destined as someone in the books implied. They were forced by circumstances and made the best of it.
Oh, and I don’t know what statistics is that the author read, only 16% of couple after a cheating stay together, which is from therapists’ statistics, not more than 70%, and it’s more than a half of those who cheated that cheat again. Not less than a half. But everything goes, here. To minimize the amount of pain and sufferings that a cheating means to a partner, to a couple, to a family is not fair. It’s a trauma that in some cases never heal.
For me it’s a big no.
I knew I should not have read this author since she is not my thing.
I hoped that somehow there could be something I liked.
But nope.
The plot could have been a good point to start working with emotional and psychological insight.
But it tastes shallow.
The hero and the heroine have been dating for three years and are barely 19, he gets a big contract with a hockey team in another city and of course, he’s young, he’s hormonal, he becomes famous, the heroine is far away and they barely see and yada yada yada well, ok, I am older and wiser and I can see that it was difficult for him to stay celibate. Temptations were everywhere and especially a woman, a photographer, who stuck to him like glue, touching, hugging, slamming her boobs in his face, rubbing her pelvis on his young c**k. Annnnddd he’s not made of steel. He plays, he misses the heroine, but he’s not strong enough to stay away from ow, who’s older and more experienced. I almost felt sorry for the guy, almost, because if he was tempted and the woman was very aggressive and manipulative, he could have acted differently after the heroine find out he kissed ow and dumped him. She called him to tell him about the pregnancy, because she found out she was pregnant, and ow was giving him a hand job. He seemed stoned, and the heroine thought he didn’t want o have anything to do with her.
So five years later, she has a daughter. She had a difficult time , she almost miscarried, she suffered from PPD and is pissed with the hero. When he sees her he seems quite happy and he’s quite surprised that she still hates him.
Then he finds out about his daughter and he is angry because she never told him. Ok those two made my balls burst. Honest. It turns out ow was sending her pictures of them naked in bed together during the whole time they were apart, almost causing her to miscarry and to have a premature baby. Probably she also drugged him the night the heroine called him , because he doesn’t remember anything. He calls er his friends but this woman was the one who caused his break up with the heroine, and he eventually had sex with her and kept her as his f buddy.
I hated that: the hero never tried to get in touch with the heroine after she blocked him, he could have gone to her, begged , apologized, explained, but nope, he decided that he was young and wild and free and he could come back later when he had his fun with ow. Oh, he says it was because he was ashamed, but he never stopped fuggin ow and random hookups. What a sad sad life booohooo.
Thank god the heroine wasn’t celibate, she had some very good sex- and experienced a lot of new things too, naughty naughty!- with other men and even has a nice friend with benefit that she keeps hooking up with even after the hero comes back. Little joys in life. I was rooting for him but of course she has to go back with the loser.
The hero is a loser. He was young and yes, I understand the lack of maturity but he didn’t care too much about her. He could have tried harder. His anger finding out he had a daughter, even after what the heroine told him about it, really made me want to stop reading the book, and his regret is never too deep or too real. It always seems that he’s saying, yes, I fugged up but…whatever. I didn’t perceive his regret as real and as enough for what he did. He simply moved on, he posted pictures of him and ow in instagram only months after he had broken up with the heroine, he never went back. Because he wanted to have fun. He didn’t care enough.
But what I didn’t understand was the behavior of the heroines family. She has a father and a sister but none of them thought of going to the hero and put him in front of his responsibilities. The father knew the hero and his mother very well but he didn’t try to talk to them. Why? I can understand the heroine, she was young, immature, hurt, but she was only a teenager, he should have talked to the hero man to man. Of course they both made a mess of their lives, and if something can be learned by this book is that teenagers even if they are of age, are still teenagers and need some parental advice because they make a mess of things. I didn’t like it. I didn’t feel the hero’s love for her, he wrote her letters, but he never sent them. He was somehow cool with either being with her or not. No, definitely they are not twin soul, or destined as someone in the books implied. They were forced by circumstances and made the best of it.
Oh, and I don’t know what statistics is that the author read, only 16% of couple after a cheating stay together, which is from therapists’ statistics, not more than 70%, and it’s more than a half of those who cheated that cheat again. Not less than a half. But everything goes, here. To minimize the amount of pain and sufferings that a cheating means to a partner, to a couple, to a family is not fair. It’s a trauma that in some cases never heal.
For me it’s a big no.
November 21, 2023
4.5 STARS!
Did the author milk the slightly implausible situations she created just for the story? Yes. Did I enjoy the fuck out of every last one of them? Also yes!
The arc's for these two very flawed characters couldn't have been better and it was pure genius the way the heartbreaking pieces of the story were doled out to slowly fill in what seemed to be plot holes.
I ate it all up.
Be aware this book contains CHEATING. Please don't read it and then moan about it.
Thank you, Lydia, for finding this gem for me. 🥰
"I hated you for moving on. I hated you for leaving me behind."Holy angst, this was so good!
Did the author milk the slightly implausible situations she created just for the story? Yes. Did I enjoy the fuck out of every last one of them? Also yes!
The arc's for these two very flawed characters couldn't have been better and it was pure genius the way the heartbreaking pieces of the story were doled out to slowly fill in what seemed to be plot holes.
I ate it all up.
Be aware this book contains CHEATING. Please don't read it and then moan about it.
Thank you, Lydia, for finding this gem for me. 🥰
Shelved as 'wot-a-pity'
November 19, 2023Spoilers in comments
🚨SHELVES ARE SPOILERS🚨SPOILERS IN MY SHELVES
🚨SHELVES ARE SPOILERS🚨SPOILERS IN MY SHELVES
April 24, 2024
ooooh this was so fun! i'm VERY iffy on secret baby romances, but i really enjoyed it! the daughter is adorable, both main characters are a lil messy and volatile at times and they have lots of anger to work out LOL but makes for a very tension filled HOT af book hehe
December 10, 2023
Rainfall was such an addictive read. Second chance and cheating. I ate it up. Isla and Cillian were great together and their way back to one another delivered some feels. It was fast paced which I didn’t mind. Good chemistry and their daughter Sadie was cute as a button.
My only issue was some of the repetitive dialogue that went on for too long but still a minor issue.
The overall story kept me entertained and glued to the pages. Excited for the next book.
My only issue was some of the repetitive dialogue that went on for too long but still a minor issue.
The overall story kept me entertained and glued to the pages. Excited for the next book.
Read
December 16, 2023DNF At 12% - Trina can get fucked
November 23, 2023
5 Isla and Cillian ( and Sadie ) Stars
Trust is a rare find. Hard to come by, easy to lose. So impossibly difficult to regain.
I could not put this book down. I borrowed it on KU but have since bought a copy to keep - I enjoyed it that much.
Lydia's Romance recommended it to me and as seems to be the case when she suggests I read something , I end up sleep deprived, coffee dependent and utterly captivated by the story and the characters.
Thanks Lydia for all the fabulous recs.
From the very first page I was hooked. This novel will not be for everyone, so if emotional and physical cheating is a hard pass for you then be warned it is in this book. If you love to hate the OW then this novel should satisfy that requirement beautifully. In short , this is a sports (ice hockey playing Hero), surprise / secret baby , five year separation romance where my angst loving self was very content with how it all unfolded.
Cillian and Isla are each others first everything and they see a great future together until he is on the brink of an amazing career in Ice Hockey and that means that at the age of 19 , he is signed up and moves state , away from Isla. Everything starts to implode and culminates in Isla's worst fears being very graphically confirmed.
I was devastated alongside her!
The break up is brutal and Isla blocks Cillian at every turn. They will not meet up for five years but what I really liked was that Isla eventually got on with her life in that she saw other people - she isn't celibate for their separation and in fact , even when Cillian comes back, before they are together again, she meets up with someone. This is off page. I liked Isla as a heroine because she is feisty and loyal and was no pushover. Her heartbreak runs deep and what happened truly broke her but she fought back for her and their beautiful little girl , Sadie, that Cillian knows nothing about...
I loved the reveal when Cillian finds out about Sadie and their subsequent relationship.
The secondary characters in this novel bring a lot to it. From Willa who is Isla's sister (I would love to read her book) to Cillian's team mates. I sense there is much more to come.
Cillian is likeable despite what he did and as the story unravels I felt sorry for him at times. He was not innocent but the story is not a black and white betrayal. Yes, he cheated but it is more complex than just that. There is a long path to healing for Isla and Cillian but it makes for great reading.
I love the way this author writes. Her style, her character development and the way she weaves the story , works so well.
It's a risk , to write about a Hero (or heroine) who cheats. You will lose some readers from the very start , because what's romantic about cheating? Well, not much BUT it's all about the reflection, the healing and redemption of a character that you should hate. Why and how did it happen? It's feeling all those visceral reactions to the words that leap off the page and punch you in the heart which starts you on that rollercoaster of emotions. I was thinking about this book even when I wasn't reading it and couldn't wait to get back to it.
If you can bear some angst and cheating and you enjoy the sports/ second chance / surprise child tropes then I recommend this book. Even if you don't , it's good to push your comfort zones sometimes.
HEA? Yes
Cheating? Yes
Trust is a rare find. Hard to come by, easy to lose. So impossibly difficult to regain.
I could not put this book down. I borrowed it on KU but have since bought a copy to keep - I enjoyed it that much.
Lydia's Romance recommended it to me and as seems to be the case when she suggests I read something , I end up sleep deprived, coffee dependent and utterly captivated by the story and the characters.
Thanks Lydia for all the fabulous recs.
From the very first page I was hooked. This novel will not be for everyone, so if emotional and physical cheating is a hard pass for you then be warned it is in this book. If you love to hate the OW then this novel should satisfy that requirement beautifully. In short , this is a sports (ice hockey playing Hero), surprise / secret baby , five year separation romance where my angst loving self was very content with how it all unfolded.
Cillian and Isla are each others first everything and they see a great future together until he is on the brink of an amazing career in Ice Hockey and that means that at the age of 19 , he is signed up and moves state , away from Isla. Everything starts to implode and culminates in Isla's worst fears being very graphically confirmed.
I was devastated alongside her!
The break up is brutal and Isla blocks Cillian at every turn. They will not meet up for five years but what I really liked was that Isla eventually got on with her life in that she saw other people - she isn't celibate for their separation and in fact , even when Cillian comes back, before they are together again, she meets up with someone. This is off page. I liked Isla as a heroine because she is feisty and loyal and was no pushover. Her heartbreak runs deep and what happened truly broke her but she fought back for her and their beautiful little girl , Sadie, that Cillian knows nothing about...
I loved the reveal when Cillian finds out about Sadie and their subsequent relationship.
The secondary characters in this novel bring a lot to it. From Willa who is Isla's sister (I would love to read her book) to Cillian's team mates. I sense there is much more to come.
Cillian is likeable despite what he did and as the story unravels I felt sorry for him at times. He was not innocent but the story is not a black and white betrayal. Yes, he cheated but it is more complex than just that. There is a long path to healing for Isla and Cillian but it makes for great reading.
I love the way this author writes. Her style, her character development and the way she weaves the story , works so well.
It's a risk , to write about a Hero (or heroine) who cheats. You will lose some readers from the very start , because what's romantic about cheating? Well, not much BUT it's all about the reflection, the healing and redemption of a character that you should hate. Why and how did it happen? It's feeling all those visceral reactions to the words that leap off the page and punch you in the heart which starts you on that rollercoaster of emotions. I was thinking about this book even when I wasn't reading it and couldn't wait to get back to it.
If you can bear some angst and cheating and you enjoy the sports/ second chance / surprise child tropes then I recommend this book. Even if you don't , it's good to push your comfort zones sometimes.
HEA? Yes
Cheating? Yes
April 19, 2024
3 ⭐⭐⭐ - OK or decent reads.
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I was sad about his cheating, because they were each other's first in everything, but it ended up being tarnished by him. But the positive side is that she had good sex with other partners and was not frozen in time. I wanted to see evil OW fuck up even more and be completely destroyed. I thought she got off easily.
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I was sad about his cheating, because they were each other's first in everything, but it ended up being tarnished by him. But the positive side is that she had good sex with other partners and was not frozen in time. I wanted to see evil OW fuck up even more and be completely destroyed. I thought she got off easily.
April 17, 2024
3.5 stars! Rainfall is an angsty, second chance, secret baby, hockey romance! This is definitely a super messy read with toxic characters and has cheating, but like it’s fun too if you are down for the ride! 😅
Isla is the daughter of a former hockey player-turned coach and has always grown up around the sport. She meets Cillian for the first time when she’s 10 and he’s a youth player at a hockey summer camp her dad is coaching. She ends up giving him some tips to improve his game and they continue to see one another year after year where she briefly chats with him about how he could improve. He eventually gets picked up to play for the Seattle junior team her dad coaches and they start dating shortly after that and fall in love at 16!
We get a couple different time jumps in this book! We see when they’re 19 and Cillian gets signed to play for a Boston team. After just a few months of long distance, their relationship crashes and burns! Right around this time she realizes she’s pregnant and we time jump again! Now it’s been 5 years, Isla has been a single mom raising her daughter and Cillian ends up back in Seattle playing for the NHL team her dad is now a coach for and she also works for the team.
This was super messy and the ow drama will drive you bonkers, but it’s just a quick addictive read to binge! Isla and Cillian are a mess and a bit immature even in the current-day moments but they seem to really love one another and their daughter. This was a good enough time and a quick, fun KU read.
Isla is the daughter of a former hockey player-turned coach and has always grown up around the sport. She meets Cillian for the first time when she’s 10 and he’s a youth player at a hockey summer camp her dad is coaching. She ends up giving him some tips to improve his game and they continue to see one another year after year where she briefly chats with him about how he could improve. He eventually gets picked up to play for the Seattle junior team her dad coaches and they start dating shortly after that and fall in love at 16!
We get a couple different time jumps in this book! We see when they’re 19 and Cillian gets signed to play for a Boston team. After just a few months of long distance, their relationship crashes and burns! Right around this time she realizes she’s pregnant and we time jump again! Now it’s been 5 years, Isla has been a single mom raising her daughter and Cillian ends up back in Seattle playing for the NHL team her dad is now a coach for and she also works for the team.
This was super messy and the ow drama will drive you bonkers, but it’s just a quick addictive read to binge! Isla and Cillian are a mess and a bit immature even in the current-day moments but they seem to really love one another and their daughter. This was a good enough time and a quick, fun KU read.
November 17, 2023
3.5 ⭐️
April 21, 2024
This book… chile idk I did read it in one sitting but I rolled my eyes so many times I’m surprised they didn’t fall out.
I went into it blind which is my fault bc I had no idea it was secret baby otherwise I wouldn’t have read it but by the time I did realize it was too late. The miscommunication was dragged out for way too damn long. They could have talked about what happened way sooner than they did.
The whole angle of him being upset didn’t sit right with me and her kissing men and being spiteful when he came back into town was odd.
I loved the moments with the kid but that’s about it. I finished it to see how it would end but I will probably forget about this by Monday.
I went into it blind which is my fault bc I had no idea it was secret baby otherwise I wouldn’t have read it but by the time I did realize it was too late. The miscommunication was dragged out for way too damn long. They could have talked about what happened way sooner than they did.
The whole angle of him being upset didn’t sit right with me and her kissing men and being spiteful when he came back into town was odd.
I loved the moments with the kid but that’s about it. I finished it to see how it would end but I will probably forget about this by Monday.
December 4, 2023
I devoured the heck out of this book. Honestly, I wish it was longer. I've quickly become a huge fan of this author and every time I see she has a new book out, I jump at the chance to read it immediately and I have yet to be disappointed. I think what I love most is her stories are so raw and far from perfect and contain so much hurt. No love story is perfect and it's so refreshing to get stories like these.
When the story started out, I was so mad at Cillian for his actions and how it seemed like he gave up so easily. Then as the story progresses and the holes in the plot start to fill, it was easier to understand him. Not saying he was right for his actions, but again loved that he wasn't made out to be perfect. I also loved that even though Isla was hurting and was going thru a lot, she didn't stop somewhat living her life and allowing herself to enjoy companionship from other guys, whether it be friendship or more. Why should she sit around being miserable the whole time?? SO many stories are written where years have passed and the FMC waits around being celibate and pining for her love lost and I'm so happy this wasn't like that. Both Cillian & Isla were wrong, dealt with it and took blame in their part. I loved the growth.
Can we also talk about how great this author writes her spicy scenes!?!! They're f*cking hot! They're written in a way that they don't feel repetitive or overdone, and each one is hotter than the last. So many different scenes from each of her stories lives in my head rent free. She has a gift!
When the story started out, I was so mad at Cillian for his actions and how it seemed like he gave up so easily. Then as the story progresses and the holes in the plot start to fill, it was easier to understand him. Not saying he was right for his actions, but again loved that he wasn't made out to be perfect. I also loved that even though Isla was hurting and was going thru a lot, she didn't stop somewhat living her life and allowing herself to enjoy companionship from other guys, whether it be friendship or more. Why should she sit around being miserable the whole time?? SO many stories are written where years have passed and the FMC waits around being celibate and pining for her love lost and I'm so happy this wasn't like that. Both Cillian & Isla were wrong, dealt with it and took blame in their part. I loved the growth.
Can we also talk about how great this author writes her spicy scenes!?!! They're f*cking hot! They're written in a way that they don't feel repetitive or overdone, and each one is hotter than the last. So many different scenes from each of her stories lives in my head rent free. She has a gift!
November 27, 2023
I was conflicted about this one. It had good legs, and holy mackerel, that cover gives me the vapors! But ultimately, I didn't feel like I was buying what they were selling in terms of the hero's love. Apparently I have a lot of feelings about it, because this is long.
This is going to be full of SPOILERS throughout, because I don't know how to write this.
******SPOILERS**************
1. Blaming Infidelity on the Evil Woman, Being Young/Dumb
Cillian pulled some shit on Isla, and his actions surrounding their initial breakup were not reflective of someone who loves the heroine the way he was purported to. Ultimately, the way this was mitigated and explained away boiled down to blaming an OTT evil, manipulative OW that was obsessed with the hero. As this narrative emerged, the hero's sin was described differently. The way they talked about it, Cillian's mistake wasn't fucking around on his girlfriend and treating her like trash, it was "letting the viper in".
I thought that it was a bullshit cop-out to shift the bulk of the responsibility for the hero's betrayal onto the other woman. It seemed the story tried to convince the reader of this by making the OW out to be progressively more villainous and scheming, to the point where she was cartoonish. And all the while, the clear implication to the reader was that the guiltier she was, the more absolved the hero, until he actually became an innocent victim. Like, they even made it so that she drugged and SAed him at one point.
At other points, the hero also attributed his behavior to essentially being young, dumb and horny, and that he didn’t have his priorities straight. This also seemed like a shitty cop-out to me, and I was irritated that it wasn't poked at a little more. Isla herself said that she was just as young and sexual, and she was also getting attention from guys, but she didn't spare them a second glance because she was so devoted to Cillian.
The 'priorities' excuse didn't fare any better with me. As I see it, a guy who's as in love and devoted to the heroine as he was supposed to have been wouldn't want sex with other women. It shouldn't be a matter of whether or not he had self-restraint, or if he prioritized other things over his desire to fuck other women. He kept talking about how the other women he slept with couldn't compare to Isla, but he chose OW, consistently, over being faithful in his relationship.
Now, it may have been a little cheap, but I could still have potentially gotten on board with the whole, 'Cillian's infidelity was a product of the OW's evil manipulations' angle. Unfortunately, it failed in its execution. At the end of the day, it just wasn't very convincing. It was all kind of vague to be effective. We were never shown any of the OW's supposed manipulation/seduction/etc., and we weren't given much information as to what it looked like or how exactly it all went down. The most descriptive thst Cillian ever got was:
“Everyone around me was feeding a side of my ego I’d never known. Not just Trina, but especially her. You always called me Superstar and for a hot minute, I was just that. The press, the fans; they loved me. Every step of the way she was in my ear, offering help and advice. Eventually, she started offering other things that fed my libido along with my ego. This older, experienced woman wanted me. And even though I didn’t want her back in the same way I wanted you, the things she offered became harder and harder to resist. And I started to rely on her always being around in the same supportive role you had always been in.”
Personally, I need a little more specificity to go on than that if I'm going to get in a forgiving mood. What kind of shit was she saying to him? A quick flashback scene showing her manipulation in action would have gone a long way. Without it, none of his explanations felt like they added up.
2. What Cillian Did Was Messed Up/I Don't Think He Loved Isla All That Much
On the surface, Cillian's infidelity might sound somewhat forgiveable-he kissed OW twice while he was with Isla-but the totality of his wrongs were much more grave. For one, there was the emotional affair. While Cillian talked about being lonely and relying on OW because the heroine wasn't there, he was originally talking with Isla everyday after the move, but as things progressed with Trina, he stopped answering Isla's calls and texts. So in reality, he was turning down Isla's support and connection in favor of Trina's.
Perhaps the worst of Cillian's wrongs, or the aspect of it that I just could not get past, was that his affair wasn’t a spontaneous, moment of insanity. He knew the direction that things were going with Trina, he felt the momentum, knew that it was getting romantic and sexual. His friend had been hounding him for weeks, telling him to either break up with Isla or stop hanging out with Trina, and he made the deliberate decision to do neither.
Not only that, when Isla correctly intuited Cillian's burgeoning betrayal, and candidly expressed her fears and concerns with him because the impending doom of her relationship was eating her alive, Cillian chose to be a manipulative dirtbag and gaslight the shit out of her, over and over, making her feel even more like shit in the process. He knew she was suffering, and he didn't care enough about her feelings to change his behavior, or even to be honest with her.
Cillian knew he was going to cheat on Isla if he continued on that path, and he chose it anyway. And he must have wanted it really fucking bad, too, to proceed despite the pushback of both his friend and his current girlfriend and supposed love of his life. He was determined. If it were so simple as an older woman flattering him and stroking his ego, I don't think it would have inspired such fervor in him.
When he and Trina kissed-for the second time-he didn’t put any steps in place to try to prevent anything from happening again. He had kissed her, he knew he wanted to fuck her, and continued to hang out with her alone all the time. The night of the breakup, Cillian was telling his friend,
“Dude, it’s been so hard. After you crashed last night, we stayed up to finish the movie. [Trina] dropped her head in my lap, rubbing her face along my dick. It was all I could do to not pop it out and shove it in her mouth.”
And yet, according to him, she was still probably going to come over to his house that night. It wasn't for lack of a wake-up call that he was cheating on his girlfriend and that it was escalating. He was very clear on what he was doing. His betrayal was deliberate. None of those decisions could be blamed on Trina's manipulation. However, it undeniably reflected the hero's lack of care, concern or respect for the heroine.
At one point, Cillian reflected on what he should have done better. His first thought was that he should have broken up with Isla sooner, before he cheated:
"When Trina and I got closer, I could have, no, should have, manned up and broke things off with Isla before the situation festered into what it became. Maybe then she wouldn’t have felt as blindsided and completely cut me off. Maybe then she would have felt like she could have told me about the pregnancy.
Better yet, I shouldn’t have fucked around with Trina in the first place. Heeding Isla’s warnings about her would have been the smartest move, but I wasn’t a smart guy. I was a lonely dumbass."
It struck me as really telling that breaking up with Isla came to mind first. Giving up Isla seemed like a more obvious decision than giving up Trina, even looking back years later. I feel like a guy that never had any real attachment to Trina would have automatically thought of getting rid of her first, and then the maybe, 'or at least break up with Isla first,' would occur to him as an afterthought.
Cillian's actions couldn't be adequately explained away as him being dumb, because, as we established, he was well aware what train he was on and where it was going. He knew the cost, he bought the ticket, and he took the ride with his eyes open.
The weirdest thing to me was that after the break-up, Cillian still had sex with Trina, but he said that it was just because she was 'convenient'. I don't get that. He blew up his life to fuck around with this woman, and then she's just someone he fucked because she happened to be there? He never explained what that sexual relationship looked like in terms of frequency or dynamic or anything, and those are details I kind of need to know. The one thing he said, and emphasized often, was that he never gave Trina a commitment. I felt like he wanted a fucking cookie for that or something.
3. Cillian Didn't Contact Isla for FIVE YEARS Because He Was A Coward and A Fuckboy (and He Was Still Fucking Trina)
Another piece of the puzzle that suggested the hero's feelings for the heroine were rather more lukewarm than we were supposed to believe was his behavior post-break up. Naturally, Isla blocked Cillian after everything blew up between them. And, for all Cillian supposedly cared about her, that was all it took to stop him from talking to the love of his life, apologizing or trying to salvage things with her for five years. He never tried to see her once, and when they finally did see each other again, it was happenstance that put him in front of her-not his enduring love or wish to be with her.
In the meantime, he kept up a FWB relationship with the OW he cheated with! And, even in the first few months of the separation while he was supposed to be desperately hoping for Isla to reach out to him after taking some time, he escalated Trina's presence on his social media, making it publicly clear, where the heroine could see, that the two had only grown closer since he and Isla broke up.
Cillian's passive acceptance during the separation was actually addressed on several occasions. Cillian posed the question to himself on more than one occasion why, in the five years they had been apart and he'd been in apparent agony over the loss of her, he didn't ever try to see her or reach out? Unfortunately, this explanation fell short for me as well:
"You’re what is missing, what I’m supposed to find. So why can’t I bring myself to do that? Why haven’t I taken any one of the million opportunities I’ve had to come find you? Shame for what I’ve done. Fear of the idea that you’d slam the door in my face. It’s the knowledge that I can’t get past either of those things that makes me not nearly a good enough man for you."
Cillian thought often in these musings about not being good enough for Isla, and that his plan was to become good enough for her before he tried to start things back up. Which, first, kind of a dumb move to not even bother trying to apologize, in my opinion. But more significantly, it seemed clear that they had been great other than the cheating. So, if the flaw that made him unworthy of her was his inability to be faithful, then I can’t help but conclude that, at the end of the day, Cillian didn't try to get Isla back because he was more interested in fucking around with other women. And, for all of his apparent pining for her, the reason why he never got off his ass to try to be with her for those five years was because he wasn't done fucking around with other women. It made it hard to buy the whole soulmate love shtick they were selling, no matter how many letters he wrote but never sent.
4. Secret Baby Trope, and the Loss of the High Ground
Now, the hardest part about this book for me is more of a personal preference, rather than a failing. For one, I don't like secret baby stories. I was cool with this one because I knew ahead of time that Isla had actually told Cillian she was pregnant, he just didn't remember. She was still seen as in the wrong for not trying harder, though.
This secret baby trope in particular sucked in this story though, because it ruined the heroine's high ground. She had no righteousness to stand on. Now, instead of it just being Cillian cheating and then going through the agonizing process of grovelling and beating himself up and striving to atone enough to be worthy of Isla, it was that they both screwed up, and they both had to forgive each other and meet in the middle. A lot of people probably love that, but it made the whole thing a lot less satisfying to me. It felt like Isla's own guilt over not trying harder to give Cillian a heads up about the pregnancy did a lot of the work of weakening her barriers against forgiving Cillian, and that was work that I would have preferred to see Cillian do himself.
I should note that he did put a good deal of effort in, and he did grovel. It's just that, again, he wasn't convincing because his explanations felt like excuses, and it's not as fun when they're both groveling.
These kinds of stories are hard to nail. The greater the hero's betrayal, the greater the angst, which is delicious and a major draw of the story. It's a tricky balance, though, because all of that broken trust has to be built back up again. In the end the hero has to be redeemed, and the reader has to be convinced of the hero's love and devotion for the heroine. When it works, it makes for a fantastic read, but it's very easy to bite off more betrayal than you can chew, so to speak.
I know I just wrote a huge litany of complaints about this book, but I actually thought there was a lot of good there. The writing was actually quite solid. The build up of their relationship was good, and the angst was great. The fact that I got invested enough to rant this much is testament to this. And the detail of the hero watching period romances when he missed the heroine really got me. I'm interested to see what this author comes up with in the future.
This is going to be full of SPOILERS throughout, because I don't know how to write this.
******SPOILERS**************
1. Blaming Infidelity on the Evil Woman, Being Young/Dumb
Cillian pulled some shit on Isla, and his actions surrounding their initial breakup were not reflective of someone who loves the heroine the way he was purported to. Ultimately, the way this was mitigated and explained away boiled down to blaming an OTT evil, manipulative OW that was obsessed with the hero. As this narrative emerged, the hero's sin was described differently. The way they talked about it, Cillian's mistake wasn't fucking around on his girlfriend and treating her like trash, it was "letting the viper in".
I thought that it was a bullshit cop-out to shift the bulk of the responsibility for the hero's betrayal onto the other woman. It seemed the story tried to convince the reader of this by making the OW out to be progressively more villainous and scheming, to the point where she was cartoonish. And all the while, the clear implication to the reader was that the guiltier she was, the more absolved the hero, until he actually became an innocent victim. Like, they even made it so that she drugged and SAed him at one point.
At other points, the hero also attributed his behavior to essentially being young, dumb and horny, and that he didn’t have his priorities straight. This also seemed like a shitty cop-out to me, and I was irritated that it wasn't poked at a little more. Isla herself said that she was just as young and sexual, and she was also getting attention from guys, but she didn't spare them a second glance because she was so devoted to Cillian.
The 'priorities' excuse didn't fare any better with me. As I see it, a guy who's as in love and devoted to the heroine as he was supposed to have been wouldn't want sex with other women. It shouldn't be a matter of whether or not he had self-restraint, or if he prioritized other things over his desire to fuck other women. He kept talking about how the other women he slept with couldn't compare to Isla, but he chose OW, consistently, over being faithful in his relationship.
Now, it may have been a little cheap, but I could still have potentially gotten on board with the whole, 'Cillian's infidelity was a product of the OW's evil manipulations' angle. Unfortunately, it failed in its execution. At the end of the day, it just wasn't very convincing. It was all kind of vague to be effective. We were never shown any of the OW's supposed manipulation/seduction/etc., and we weren't given much information as to what it looked like or how exactly it all went down. The most descriptive thst Cillian ever got was:
“Everyone around me was feeding a side of my ego I’d never known. Not just Trina, but especially her. You always called me Superstar and for a hot minute, I was just that. The press, the fans; they loved me. Every step of the way she was in my ear, offering help and advice. Eventually, she started offering other things that fed my libido along with my ego. This older, experienced woman wanted me. And even though I didn’t want her back in the same way I wanted you, the things she offered became harder and harder to resist. And I started to rely on her always being around in the same supportive role you had always been in.”
Personally, I need a little more specificity to go on than that if I'm going to get in a forgiving mood. What kind of shit was she saying to him? A quick flashback scene showing her manipulation in action would have gone a long way. Without it, none of his explanations felt like they added up.
2. What Cillian Did Was Messed Up/I Don't Think He Loved Isla All That Much
On the surface, Cillian's infidelity might sound somewhat forgiveable-he kissed OW twice while he was with Isla-but the totality of his wrongs were much more grave. For one, there was the emotional affair. While Cillian talked about being lonely and relying on OW because the heroine wasn't there, he was originally talking with Isla everyday after the move, but as things progressed with Trina, he stopped answering Isla's calls and texts. So in reality, he was turning down Isla's support and connection in favor of Trina's.
Perhaps the worst of Cillian's wrongs, or the aspect of it that I just could not get past, was that his affair wasn’t a spontaneous, moment of insanity. He knew the direction that things were going with Trina, he felt the momentum, knew that it was getting romantic and sexual. His friend had been hounding him for weeks, telling him to either break up with Isla or stop hanging out with Trina, and he made the deliberate decision to do neither.
Not only that, when Isla correctly intuited Cillian's burgeoning betrayal, and candidly expressed her fears and concerns with him because the impending doom of her relationship was eating her alive, Cillian chose to be a manipulative dirtbag and gaslight the shit out of her, over and over, making her feel even more like shit in the process. He knew she was suffering, and he didn't care enough about her feelings to change his behavior, or even to be honest with her.
Cillian knew he was going to cheat on Isla if he continued on that path, and he chose it anyway. And he must have wanted it really fucking bad, too, to proceed despite the pushback of both his friend and his current girlfriend and supposed love of his life. He was determined. If it were so simple as an older woman flattering him and stroking his ego, I don't think it would have inspired such fervor in him.
When he and Trina kissed-for the second time-he didn’t put any steps in place to try to prevent anything from happening again. He had kissed her, he knew he wanted to fuck her, and continued to hang out with her alone all the time. The night of the breakup, Cillian was telling his friend,
“Dude, it’s been so hard. After you crashed last night, we stayed up to finish the movie. [Trina] dropped her head in my lap, rubbing her face along my dick. It was all I could do to not pop it out and shove it in her mouth.”
And yet, according to him, she was still probably going to come over to his house that night. It wasn't for lack of a wake-up call that he was cheating on his girlfriend and that it was escalating. He was very clear on what he was doing. His betrayal was deliberate. None of those decisions could be blamed on Trina's manipulation. However, it undeniably reflected the hero's lack of care, concern or respect for the heroine.
At one point, Cillian reflected on what he should have done better. His first thought was that he should have broken up with Isla sooner, before he cheated:
"When Trina and I got closer, I could have, no, should have, manned up and broke things off with Isla before the situation festered into what it became. Maybe then she wouldn’t have felt as blindsided and completely cut me off. Maybe then she would have felt like she could have told me about the pregnancy.
Better yet, I shouldn’t have fucked around with Trina in the first place. Heeding Isla’s warnings about her would have been the smartest move, but I wasn’t a smart guy. I was a lonely dumbass."
It struck me as really telling that breaking up with Isla came to mind first. Giving up Isla seemed like a more obvious decision than giving up Trina, even looking back years later. I feel like a guy that never had any real attachment to Trina would have automatically thought of getting rid of her first, and then the maybe, 'or at least break up with Isla first,' would occur to him as an afterthought.
Cillian's actions couldn't be adequately explained away as him being dumb, because, as we established, he was well aware what train he was on and where it was going. He knew the cost, he bought the ticket, and he took the ride with his eyes open.
The weirdest thing to me was that after the break-up, Cillian still had sex with Trina, but he said that it was just because she was 'convenient'. I don't get that. He blew up his life to fuck around with this woman, and then she's just someone he fucked because she happened to be there? He never explained what that sexual relationship looked like in terms of frequency or dynamic or anything, and those are details I kind of need to know. The one thing he said, and emphasized often, was that he never gave Trina a commitment. I felt like he wanted a fucking cookie for that or something.
3. Cillian Didn't Contact Isla for FIVE YEARS Because He Was A Coward and A Fuckboy (and He Was Still Fucking Trina)
Another piece of the puzzle that suggested the hero's feelings for the heroine were rather more lukewarm than we were supposed to believe was his behavior post-break up. Naturally, Isla blocked Cillian after everything blew up between them. And, for all Cillian supposedly cared about her, that was all it took to stop him from talking to the love of his life, apologizing or trying to salvage things with her for five years. He never tried to see her once, and when they finally did see each other again, it was happenstance that put him in front of her-not his enduring love or wish to be with her.
In the meantime, he kept up a FWB relationship with the OW he cheated with! And, even in the first few months of the separation while he was supposed to be desperately hoping for Isla to reach out to him after taking some time, he escalated Trina's presence on his social media, making it publicly clear, where the heroine could see, that the two had only grown closer since he and Isla broke up.
Cillian's passive acceptance during the separation was actually addressed on several occasions. Cillian posed the question to himself on more than one occasion why, in the five years they had been apart and he'd been in apparent agony over the loss of her, he didn't ever try to see her or reach out? Unfortunately, this explanation fell short for me as well:
"You’re what is missing, what I’m supposed to find. So why can’t I bring myself to do that? Why haven’t I taken any one of the million opportunities I’ve had to come find you? Shame for what I’ve done. Fear of the idea that you’d slam the door in my face. It’s the knowledge that I can’t get past either of those things that makes me not nearly a good enough man for you."
Cillian thought often in these musings about not being good enough for Isla, and that his plan was to become good enough for her before he tried to start things back up. Which, first, kind of a dumb move to not even bother trying to apologize, in my opinion. But more significantly, it seemed clear that they had been great other than the cheating. So, if the flaw that made him unworthy of her was his inability to be faithful, then I can’t help but conclude that, at the end of the day, Cillian didn't try to get Isla back because he was more interested in fucking around with other women. And, for all of his apparent pining for her, the reason why he never got off his ass to try to be with her for those five years was because he wasn't done fucking around with other women. It made it hard to buy the whole soulmate love shtick they were selling, no matter how many letters he wrote but never sent.
4. Secret Baby Trope, and the Loss of the High Ground
Now, the hardest part about this book for me is more of a personal preference, rather than a failing. For one, I don't like secret baby stories. I was cool with this one because I knew ahead of time that Isla had actually told Cillian she was pregnant, he just didn't remember. She was still seen as in the wrong for not trying harder, though.
This secret baby trope in particular sucked in this story though, because it ruined the heroine's high ground. She had no righteousness to stand on. Now, instead of it just being Cillian cheating and then going through the agonizing process of grovelling and beating himself up and striving to atone enough to be worthy of Isla, it was that they both screwed up, and they both had to forgive each other and meet in the middle. A lot of people probably love that, but it made the whole thing a lot less satisfying to me. It felt like Isla's own guilt over not trying harder to give Cillian a heads up about the pregnancy did a lot of the work of weakening her barriers against forgiving Cillian, and that was work that I would have preferred to see Cillian do himself.
I should note that he did put a good deal of effort in, and he did grovel. It's just that, again, he wasn't convincing because his explanations felt like excuses, and it's not as fun when they're both groveling.
These kinds of stories are hard to nail. The greater the hero's betrayal, the greater the angst, which is delicious and a major draw of the story. It's a tricky balance, though, because all of that broken trust has to be built back up again. In the end the hero has to be redeemed, and the reader has to be convinced of the hero's love and devotion for the heroine. When it works, it makes for a fantastic read, but it's very easy to bite off more betrayal than you can chew, so to speak.
I know I just wrote a huge litany of complaints about this book, but I actually thought there was a lot of good there. The writing was actually quite solid. The build up of their relationship was good, and the angst was great. The fact that I got invested enough to rant this much is testament to this. And the detail of the hero watching period romances when he missed the heroine really got me. I'm interested to see what this author comes up with in the future.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 17, 2023
It’s my fault. I completely take full responsibility.
It’s my fault for expecting something from the author of Broken Play. The main female character of that book was so badly degraded and humiliated and this author partnered her up with an atrociously fugly cheater. But still I read this new book of hers and EXPECTED SOMETHING GOOD. Shouldn’t have anticipated anything from her. My fault.
It’s my fault for expecting something from the author of Broken Play. The main female character of that book was so badly degraded and humiliated and this author partnered her up with an atrociously fugly cheater. But still I read this new book of hers and EXPECTED SOMETHING GOOD. Shouldn’t have anticipated anything from her. My fault.
November 14, 2023
How do you award stars for a cheating romance? Do you give stars for how heartbreaking it was? For how much it wrecked you? Do you take away a star if she forgives him or do you take away a star if she doesn't?
tbh I wanted a trashier cheating book. this was kind of cheating-lite.
I fully recognize that cheating books aren't for everyone. I think Alison actually takes a pride in the fact that her books really upset a lot of people (see one of my favs: Brutal Play) actually. I don't share her work with everyone, because I know they wouldn't appreciate it the same way. But the secret FB groups I belong to? Yeah, those ladies are going to hear about this. specifically the gym scene staring grey sweats which I found super hot in an weird way. don't yuck my yum, okay?
Alison is a phenomenal writer. There is no two ways about it. Her ability to simultaneously break your heart and have you craving more is almost unhealthy.
Watching the train wreck these two made of their relationship and the messy way they tried to fix it was highly entertaining. A solid 3.5.
𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬. 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘈𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴.
tbh I wanted a trashier cheating book. this was kind of cheating-lite.
I fully recognize that cheating books aren't for everyone. I think Alison actually takes a pride in the fact that her books really upset a lot of people (see one of my favs: Brutal Play) actually. I don't share her work with everyone, because I know they wouldn't appreciate it the same way. But the secret FB groups I belong to? Yeah, those ladies are going to hear about this. specifically the gym scene staring grey sweats which I found super hot in an weird way. don't yuck my yum, okay?
Alison is a phenomenal writer. There is no two ways about it. Her ability to simultaneously break your heart and have you craving more is almost unhealthy.
Watching the train wreck these two made of their relationship and the messy way they tried to fix it was highly entertaining. A solid 3.5.
𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬. 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘈𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴.
November 13, 2023
4.5 stars
My first book by this author, and I will be reading more. The blurb pulled me in, and the story held me captive. Ilsa and Cillian found love at an early age, were bad decisions made, yes, hearts broken, and secrets kept.
Killian has come home, playing for the expansion team, Ilsa’a father is the Coach. His return is not smooth; he has some groveling to do. It is the growth and truths that come out that make this story.
The angst and turmoil caused by one action healed by time and conversation, and a few letters. Do not let the early actions of a 19 year old, stop you from finishing this book, follow it through, it is a good one.
Thank you to the Author for the advanced copy; this is my voluntary review.
My first book by this author, and I will be reading more. The blurb pulled me in, and the story held me captive. Ilsa and Cillian found love at an early age, were bad decisions made, yes, hearts broken, and secrets kept.
Killian has come home, playing for the expansion team, Ilsa’a father is the Coach. His return is not smooth; he has some groveling to do. It is the growth and truths that come out that make this story.
The angst and turmoil caused by one action healed by time and conversation, and a few letters. Do not let the early actions of a 19 year old, stop you from finishing this book, follow it through, it is a good one.
Thank you to the Author for the advanced copy; this is my voluntary review.
Read
November 17, 20234-4.5 stars. This one hit a lot of my favorite checkboxes - second chance, secret baby, friends-to-lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers, other woman drama, cheating and angst. Cillian Wilder met Isla Cole because her dad is a former ice hockey pro turned coach. The way they met is cute and how Cillian really did fall head over heels for Isla to the point of no return. At age 19, the world was their oyster as Isla stayed in Seattle to finish college while Cillian moved to Boston to start his professional NHL career. Long distance wasn’t a problem until it was with Cillian juggling all of the demands of his job and all the perks that come with it, not all of them being good.
When Isla and Cillian went their separate ways, it’s another 5 years before they reunite with Cillian returning to Seattle. I actually loved how much Isla’s family stuck up for her and were not ready to welcome Cillian back any more than she was. Isla has her reasons for not reaching out to Cillian about his child, but Cillian is also justified in his reaction for being made out to be an absentee parent.
What I really enjoyed were several of the emotionally charged conversations between Isla and Cillian, but also the interactions with their respective families. The decisions made on both sides impacted multiple people. Not to mention that the betrayal had obliterated any trust that Isla had and even in Cillian’s anger, he still had to work for her forgiveness. While I was unimpressed with how easily Cillian succumbed to temptation a few years ago, he does prove to be a more mature and reliable man in the present. He did it all on Isla’s terms without adding any pressure or expectations and he eliminated the source of strife for her, which goes a long way to earning back her favor. If you are looking for a redemption story where the guy does a major wrong and has to deal with the consequences because of how negatively it impacted the girl, and they have to learn to forgive and to move forward, because angst, then this is it.
When Isla and Cillian went their separate ways, it’s another 5 years before they reunite with Cillian returning to Seattle. I actually loved how much Isla’s family stuck up for her and were not ready to welcome Cillian back any more than she was. Isla has her reasons for not reaching out to Cillian about his child, but Cillian is also justified in his reaction for being made out to be an absentee parent.
What I really enjoyed were several of the emotionally charged conversations between Isla and Cillian, but also the interactions with their respective families. The decisions made on both sides impacted multiple people. Not to mention that the betrayal had obliterated any trust that Isla had and even in Cillian’s anger, he still had to work for her forgiveness. While I was unimpressed with how easily Cillian succumbed to temptation a few years ago, he does prove to be a more mature and reliable man in the present. He did it all on Isla’s terms without adding any pressure or expectations and he eliminated the source of strife for her, which goes a long way to earning back her favor. If you are looking for a redemption story where the guy does a major wrong and has to deal with the consequences because of how negatively it impacted the girl, and they have to learn to forgive and to move forward, because angst, then this is it.
May 2, 2024
This book did nothing but piss me off.
TW: MMC cheats on FMC. Yes it happens on page. Yes he goes on to have a sexual relationship with OW for five years after.
TW: MMC cheats on FMC. Yes it happens on page. Yes he goes on to have a sexual relationship with OW for five years after.
December 19, 2023
There was nothing good about this read. Didn't care for the characters or storyline. But I will give book two a go(if there is one).
November 12, 2023
"Rainfall" by Alison Rhymes is the thrilling first installment in the Seattle Blades series, blending elements of hockey romance, second chances, and a surprise baby twist.
“You’ve always called me Superstar, but in my life the star has always been you. My true North, my guiding light. The one thing that’s always been true.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25
🌶️🌶️.5
This novel unravels the story of Isla Cole and Cillian Wilder, whose youthful love was torn apart by Cillian's pursuit of an NHL career, leading to heartbreak. However, when Cillian returns to Seattle five years later, he discovers an unexpected secret – he's a father.
“Let me get to know her, Isla. Let me be a real daddy to her.”
I'll start by saying that I'm not a fan of the cheating trope. So, if you share my sentiments, this book might not be your cup of tea. However, I received it as an ARC and decided to set aside my reservations to give it a fair chance. With that said, here's my honest review.
Cillian and Isla's relationship began when they were 19, deeply in love and dependent on each other. However, as Cillian's NHL dreams took him to Boston, their connection slowly unraveled. Cillian became emotionally attached to Trina, a photographer for a Boston hockey team. Although Isla sensed the growing emotional distance, it was difficult for both of them. Cillian's actions went too far when he kissed Trina while still in a relationship with Isla. Isla's life took a significant turn when she discovered she was pregnant and witnessed Cillian with Trina in a compromising situation during a video call.
Five years later, Isla is a part of the Fan Development Team, while Cillian is drafted by the Seattle Blades, a turn of events that Isla had anticipated but still found challenging. The animosity between them was palpable when they first reunited. Both were very young when their relationship faced these dramatic changes, and in their own ways, they had fault in the situation. Although not excusing Cillian's cheating, they both played a role. Isla's actions kept Cillian away from his daughter Sadie. Cillian returned to Seattle as a more mature individual, focused on his career, daughter, and earning Isla's forgiveness. Isla struggled to trust him again, fearing more heartbreak.
The book addresses important topics, including postpartum depression, which Isla battled after giving birth to Sadie. The pregnancy was a difficult time for her, but with family support and therapy, she managed to overcome it for the sake of her daughter.
Cillian sought a second chance with Isla, who still loved him but was burdened by her past fears. Forgiving someone who broke your trust is no easy feat, but they both worked hard to rebuild and rekindle their relationship. It was a journey fraught with challenges, yet their growth during their time apart allowed them to mature and work on themselves. Timing isn't always perfect, and sometimes we need to overcome obstacles and grow to be ready for a second chance.
“But faced with the consequences of our actions, we could rail against them or accept them and make the best of it. Make better of it.”
Sadie, their daughter, was undeniably a sweetheart. From the very first moment she met Cillian, she recognized him as her father. When she asked if she could call him "daddy," it was a heartwarming moment that melted the hearts of everyone involved. Their bond, right from the beginning, was truly unbreakable. 💕
The novel also offers a healthy dose of spice, especially as 19-year-old Cillian matures into a more experienced lover. His dirty talk is his expertise, and their intimate moments are fiery and passionate. If you enjoy the tropes mentioned earlier and steamy romance, this book is worth considering.
“Swallow it all, you little thief, take all of your punishment.”
Ultimately, "Rainfall" teaches us that we may not always understand why things happen or want to give someone a second chance, but if both parties are willing to work things out, it's a valid choice. Isla faced her fears and sought therapy, while both she and Cillian put tremendous effort into their relationship and becoming better for the sake of their daughter.
“But I do know that what we’ve been through has made us both stronger. And because of that we’re able to love deeper, more fully.”
This is my first experience with Alison Rhymes' writing, and I look forward to exploring more of her work. I'm eager to discover what's next in the series. 📖💕
“You’ve always called me Superstar, but in my life the star has always been you. My true North, my guiding light. The one thing that’s always been true.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25
🌶️🌶️.5
This novel unravels the story of Isla Cole and Cillian Wilder, whose youthful love was torn apart by Cillian's pursuit of an NHL career, leading to heartbreak. However, when Cillian returns to Seattle five years later, he discovers an unexpected secret – he's a father.
“Let me get to know her, Isla. Let me be a real daddy to her.”
I'll start by saying that I'm not a fan of the cheating trope. So, if you share my sentiments, this book might not be your cup of tea. However, I received it as an ARC and decided to set aside my reservations to give it a fair chance. With that said, here's my honest review.
Cillian and Isla's relationship began when they were 19, deeply in love and dependent on each other. However, as Cillian's NHL dreams took him to Boston, their connection slowly unraveled. Cillian became emotionally attached to Trina, a photographer for a Boston hockey team. Although Isla sensed the growing emotional distance, it was difficult for both of them. Cillian's actions went too far when he kissed Trina while still in a relationship with Isla. Isla's life took a significant turn when she discovered she was pregnant and witnessed Cillian with Trina in a compromising situation during a video call.
Five years later, Isla is a part of the Fan Development Team, while Cillian is drafted by the Seattle Blades, a turn of events that Isla had anticipated but still found challenging. The animosity between them was palpable when they first reunited. Both were very young when their relationship faced these dramatic changes, and in their own ways, they had fault in the situation. Although not excusing Cillian's cheating, they both played a role. Isla's actions kept Cillian away from his daughter Sadie. Cillian returned to Seattle as a more mature individual, focused on his career, daughter, and earning Isla's forgiveness. Isla struggled to trust him again, fearing more heartbreak.
The book addresses important topics, including postpartum depression, which Isla battled after giving birth to Sadie. The pregnancy was a difficult time for her, but with family support and therapy, she managed to overcome it for the sake of her daughter.
Cillian sought a second chance with Isla, who still loved him but was burdened by her past fears. Forgiving someone who broke your trust is no easy feat, but they both worked hard to rebuild and rekindle their relationship. It was a journey fraught with challenges, yet their growth during their time apart allowed them to mature and work on themselves. Timing isn't always perfect, and sometimes we need to overcome obstacles and grow to be ready for a second chance.
“But faced with the consequences of our actions, we could rail against them or accept them and make the best of it. Make better of it.”
Sadie, their daughter, was undeniably a sweetheart. From the very first moment she met Cillian, she recognized him as her father. When she asked if she could call him "daddy," it was a heartwarming moment that melted the hearts of everyone involved. Their bond, right from the beginning, was truly unbreakable. 💕
The novel also offers a healthy dose of spice, especially as 19-year-old Cillian matures into a more experienced lover. His dirty talk is his expertise, and their intimate moments are fiery and passionate. If you enjoy the tropes mentioned earlier and steamy romance, this book is worth considering.
“Swallow it all, you little thief, take all of your punishment.”
Ultimately, "Rainfall" teaches us that we may not always understand why things happen or want to give someone a second chance, but if both parties are willing to work things out, it's a valid choice. Isla faced her fears and sought therapy, while both she and Cillian put tremendous effort into their relationship and becoming better for the sake of their daughter.
“But I do know that what we’ve been through has made us both stronger. And because of that we’re able to love deeper, more fully.”
This is my first experience with Alison Rhymes' writing, and I look forward to exploring more of her work. I'm eager to discover what's next in the series. 📖💕
April 20, 2024
“Sometimes life throws you a tricky hand and you make a choice that’s best at the time, but then it snowballs.”
Isla met the love of her life at 10, they got together at 16 but then Cillian was drafted to the NHL at 19. Distance, time and one stupid night changed everything. Walls came tumbling down, hearts broken, choices were made and now it’s five years later he is back in town and meeting his daughter for the first time. What could go wrong?
This pulled on the heart and I loved it. At the start I was really angry, I struggled to love the MMC. But then the real truth comes out and you still can’t forget what happened in the past that caused all this pain and hurt to the FMC. Then my heart was twisted. I was gutted as I could see all the manipulation, lies and all the years that were lost for both of them. These two are soul mates and even though everything went up in flames they found a way back to each other. The grovelling this man did and letters won me over. I'm a hopeless romantic and he never gave up. The only thing is he fell into the role of dad quite fast and was demanding time with Sadie which I appreciated but it sucked and made me frustrated and sad looking in from the outside. Other than that it was brilliant. The audiobook was fantastic by Austin and Megan mostly dual but had a few moments duet.
If you love:
🔹Sports Romance
🔹Second Chance
🔹Heartbreak
🔹Soul Mates
🔹Slow Burn
🔹Intimate Spice
Genre/Type: Romance 18+
APK: Audiobook - ALC
Audiobook Length: 7hrs 50mins
Narrators: Austin Stone and Megan Wicks - Dual
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟.5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️.5
Series or Stand Alone: First Book In The Seattle Blades Series
Tropes or Themes: Sports (Hockey), Second Chance, Accidental Pregnancy, Cheating, Workplace, Slow Burn, Jealousy, OWD, Tension, Always Meant To Be, Soul Mates, Long Distance, Letters, Panic Attacks, Past Tough Pregnancy, Manipulation, Lies, Grovelling, Cursing, Sexual Content, Praise, Dirty Talk (Both), Mirror Scene, Intimate Scenes, Spanking, Sir, Dom and Sub.
Mentions: Depression and Postpartum Depression.
Check Triggers ⚠️ 💫
All Round Romance Reader
Sienasummerrreads 💕📚
TikTok | Instagram | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Everand | Amazon | Audible Reviews 💫
Isla met the love of her life at 10, they got together at 16 but then Cillian was drafted to the NHL at 19. Distance, time and one stupid night changed everything. Walls came tumbling down, hearts broken, choices were made and now it’s five years later he is back in town and meeting his daughter for the first time. What could go wrong?
This pulled on the heart and I loved it. At the start I was really angry, I struggled to love the MMC. But then the real truth comes out and you still can’t forget what happened in the past that caused all this pain and hurt to the FMC. Then my heart was twisted. I was gutted as I could see all the manipulation, lies and all the years that were lost for both of them. These two are soul mates and even though everything went up in flames they found a way back to each other. The grovelling this man did and letters won me over. I'm a hopeless romantic and he never gave up. The only thing is he fell into the role of dad quite fast and was demanding time with Sadie which I appreciated but it sucked and made me frustrated and sad looking in from the outside. Other than that it was brilliant. The audiobook was fantastic by Austin and Megan mostly dual but had a few moments duet.
If you love:
🔹Sports Romance
🔹Second Chance
🔹Heartbreak
🔹Soul Mates
🔹Slow Burn
🔹Intimate Spice
Genre/Type: Romance 18+
APK: Audiobook - ALC
Audiobook Length: 7hrs 50mins
Narrators: Austin Stone and Megan Wicks - Dual
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟.5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️.5
Series or Stand Alone: First Book In The Seattle Blades Series
Tropes or Themes: Sports (Hockey), Second Chance, Accidental Pregnancy, Cheating, Workplace, Slow Burn, Jealousy, OWD, Tension, Always Meant To Be, Soul Mates, Long Distance, Letters, Panic Attacks, Past Tough Pregnancy, Manipulation, Lies, Grovelling, Cursing, Sexual Content, Praise, Dirty Talk (Both), Mirror Scene, Intimate Scenes, Spanking, Sir, Dom and Sub.
Mentions: Depression and Postpartum Depression.
Check Triggers ⚠️ 💫
All Round Romance Reader
Sienasummerrreads 💕📚
TikTok | Instagram | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Everand | Amazon | Audible Reviews 💫
April 10, 2024
“STICK THAT LYING TONGUE OUT, HONEY. I’M GOING TO WASH YOUR MOUTH OUT.” 🫠🫠🫠 SIR
I CANNOT EXPRESS HOW MUCH I ADORED THIS BOOK. WHICH IS SHOCKING AF TO ME SINCE THERE’S CHEATING AND A SECRET BABY, which are usually tropes that i could do without. but i ate. this. up. i don’t even know where to begin, yall.
rainfall is a second chance hockey romance between childhood friends, and it was full of heart break, longing, grovelling, pining, flirting, loathing, healing, suuuper hot spice, reconnecting. it was seriously perfection i cannot recommend it enough. cillian and isla we’re such beautifully developed characters. i literally feel lost now that im done the book and can’t hang with them anymore… 🥲 go read it! audiobook releasing soon! megan wicks and austin stone did a phenomenal job!
I CANNOT EXPRESS HOW MUCH I ADORED THIS BOOK. WHICH IS SHOCKING AF TO ME SINCE THERE’S CHEATING AND A SECRET BABY, which are usually tropes that i could do without. but i ate. this. up. i don’t even know where to begin, yall.
rainfall is a second chance hockey romance between childhood friends, and it was full of heart break, longing, grovelling, pining, flirting, loathing, healing, suuuper hot spice, reconnecting. it was seriously perfection i cannot recommend it enough. cillian and isla we’re such beautifully developed characters. i literally feel lost now that im done the book and can’t hang with them anymore… 🥲 go read it! audiobook releasing soon! megan wicks and austin stone did a phenomenal job!
May 1, 2024
Full disclosure, I drank at least a bottle of Prosecco while listening to the audiobook of 𝗥𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹 by Alison Rhymes because…𝘖𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘴𝘩. Chapters 2 and 3 had me practically shaking with anger, 4 and 5 gave me serious anxiety, and chapter 6 I just wanted to bawl my eyes out. And then the rest put me back together and then some. This book has everything. I want to listen to it all over again for the first time despite what it put me through 🤣😂 I pretty much went in blind and I am so glad that I did!!
The audio is narrated by Megan Wicks and Austin Stone and IT. IS. AMAZING. I was so enraptured by the characters and the voices given to them by these two. And shoutout to my husband who let me clock out from the kids while enjoying this one 😆
If you love:
🏒Hockey Romance
🖤Second Chance
🏒Angst
🖤Coach’s Daughter
🏒Secret Baby
🖤Cheating BUT HEAR ME OUT ON THIS ONE I SWEAR
🏒Cat Daddy (and the name he chose!! 😲🥹)
🏒Adorable Kiddos
🖤Postpartum Rep
🏒Dual POV
🖤Spice (with a huge side of dirty talk)
Then you’re going to want to grab this one, and plan to be obsessed! Especially if you go with the #audiobook. I will definitely be listening to this again and I rarely ever say that. And it’s the first in a series which is always exciting (𝗦𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘀)!
The audio is narrated by Megan Wicks and Austin Stone and IT. IS. AMAZING. I was so enraptured by the characters and the voices given to them by these two. And shoutout to my husband who let me clock out from the kids while enjoying this one 😆
If you love:
🏒Hockey Romance
🖤Second Chance
🏒Angst
🖤Coach’s Daughter
🏒Secret Baby
🖤Cheating BUT HEAR ME OUT ON THIS ONE I SWEAR
🏒Cat Daddy (and the name he chose!! 😲🥹)
🏒Adorable Kiddos
🖤Postpartum Rep
🏒Dual POV
🖤Spice (with a huge side of dirty talk)
Then you’re going to want to grab this one, and plan to be obsessed! Especially if you go with the #audiobook. I will definitely be listening to this again and I rarely ever say that. And it’s the first in a series which is always exciting (𝗦𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘀)!
January 17, 2024
So many feels. I think the way everyone's feelings and actions were portrayed were pretty legitimate and true to life. This was just the perfect Sports Romance that I had been looking for. Being from the PNW,always makes books more special when they're set here. I'm hoping to see the Kraken (Seattle's actual newish team) play, does not even have to be the Canucks.
I liked all the supporting family/ friends especially Ty and Zander. Sadie was well written and age appropriate for a toddler.
Oh the letters hit me deep as I'm sure they did for Isla.
I liked her character. I felt she was relatable. The depiction of depression/anxiety and Postpartum depression were valid for all she was going through.
For those looking for grovel, it is good. Cillian grew and reflected. But so did Isla and she asked for forgiveness.
This should tick boxes for many.
I liked all the supporting family/ friends especially Ty and Zander. Sadie was well written and age appropriate for a toddler.
Oh the letters hit me deep as I'm sure they did for Isla.
I liked her character. I felt she was relatable. The depiction of depression/anxiety and Postpartum depression were valid for all she was going through.
For those looking for grovel, it is good. Cillian grew and reflected. But so did Isla and she asked for forgiveness.
This should tick boxes for many.
November 17, 2023
H and h are childhood sweethearts , are living together at 19 when he gets drafted into NHL. Long distance relationship So he cheats. She over hears him
Spouting angsty crap about her when she calls his roommate to find him. She was trying to
Let him Know she was pregnant. The separation caused by his failure to own his shiz was too long and really made the H’s douchebag status hard to overcome… especially consigned long they had been together. This could have been better… even more angsty if it wasn’t so far fetched.
Spouting angsty crap about her when she calls his roommate to find him. She was trying to
Let him Know she was pregnant. The separation caused by his failure to own his shiz was too long and really made the H’s douchebag status hard to overcome… especially consigned long they had been together. This could have been better… even more angsty if it wasn’t so far fetched.
May 13, 2024
Well this book made me feel. It is too bad that the feeling it evoked was rage.
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