Caven and Hadley are caught in a mall shooting when he's a teenager and she's eight. Both are wounded but survive. Years later, Hadley has a one-night stand with him and becomes pregnant. Unable to care for the baby, she leaves the little girl with Caven. She reappears four years later, wanting to become reacquainted with her daughter, but Caven is dead set against it.
This is the premise for the story, but there are so many twists that nothing is what it appears. Ms. Martinez masterfully uses flashbacks to gradually reveal what's really going on with a big cliffhanger at the end of the first book.
This was recommended to me, and what a wonderful story it is. There are so many layers to uncover in this excellent story. I can't wait for the second book. ( )

This is such a good story.
It's a duet and you will need to read both books to understand the plot.
It's difficult to review without giving away the mystery, so im not going to say kuch about the plot, I will say this author is excellent at hidden connections between people.

The Hero is a playboy at the start of the story.
When it starts he is celebrating a business deal and he is planning a night with a woman, they start to get a bit handsy when a baby is left on his doorstep.
There are no intimate details of anyone other than the Hero and heroine, a few small snippets from their initial night together.
After the baby arrives he is busy being a dad so little is mentioned other than he has the very occasional ONS, but again there are no details.
The heroine is struggling with ptsd and grief so intimacy is rare for her, there are no details of anything for her, she is very inexperienced.
It is a bit heartbreaking in parts and also there is humour.

Dual POV.

Ends of a cliffhanger.

Sooooo, I'm not sure why but I put off reading the new duet.
I was in a wierd mood, I'd been jumping from genre to genre, rereading my favourites as nothing was gripping me.
I got to be honest I was a bit put off by the blurb, a woman giving up her child... hmmm that normally isn't something I'd choose to read, a hard one to redeem at times if the author isn't up to it.

So I took the plunge yesterday. I was blown away.... needless to say I couldn't put it down, very tired girl this morning.
I cried and I laughed, I thought I'd worked it out but was sketchy on the details.
It was amazing.
Thank you so much for sharing such an amazing story. What a journey. ( )

This is a great book. I loved the characters. The author has this amazing way of pulling you right into the story and making you feel everything. What a cliff-hanger! Can not wait for part two. ( )

In the best of 2019

I always know when I read a book by this author that I'm going to go on an emotional journey. That I will experience a maelstrom of emotions. She did it again to me. So many questions. I should be used to it with her. However, I never am.

There is always a twist. No matter how many times I think I have it figured out I'm ALWAYS wrong. As mad as I wanted to be at a certain character in this I couldn't because they were joy personified. Hadley, Caven, and Rosalee were life. I'm so hooked on them and needing to find out why this has evolved the way that it has. Caven and Hadley experienced something so horrible that my heart hurts. I just need to figure out how it all ties together.

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Find this review and others at Carlene Inspired.

4.5 Stars

Knights, princesses, happily ever after, it's the stuff little girl's dreams are made of, the stuff Hadley wishes she could still dream about. While she has to work for her happiness, she's found the light at the end of the tunnel after a long road of mishaps, a little girl she wants to promise the happily ever afters to. Caven was her knight at on point, now he might be the villain, but their connection is one that will always be there and it's time she sees him again. Consequences pushed aside, Hadley sets out to face Caven and her sweet little girl, the one she left behind.

I struggled starting this book, my PTSD is still very much a struggle for me sometimes and this book was a trigger for me. I am working on facing those triggers and reading a very descriptive scene is something I've been meaning to do, so in I went. I admit that I had my worries, after such a startling first meeting for the hero and heroine I didn't know how this book would go, but Aly Martinez proved once again why she is an author to remain faithful to. This is a story of hope, of love, of the ties that bind. Of course, it's a duet and the title gives just enough away to let you know it can't all be rosy. No, there is a twist, a ginormous one, and I docked .5 stars for the shock of it right in the last few pages. I never, ever saw that coming, not even an ounce of foreshadowing caught my attention, and so here I sit, desperate for the next novel and yet also wanting to live in the beauty of Written with Regret. If that doesn't tell you how much I enjoyed it, I don't know what does.

Caven and Hadley are such incredible characters, their personalities felt so true to them and the dynamic between the two was absolutely meant for this type of story. The push and pull between them, plus the charming little Rosie, made for the perfect romance and yet I continued to be surprised page after page. There's true-to-life events in the novel, plus some suspense that really ties it all together. I was never bored, it never felt like a book I'd read before, ever bit of it was new, interesting, and enchanting. Aly Martinez is a go-to, one click author for me and Written with Regret is just another novel in the long list of "you must read this" that I give to my friends.

ARC provided. ( )