Release: 1 (The Release Series)

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Bree and I were the only survivors - not that either of us were truly living after that night. As a single dad with nowhere else to go, I moved into her guest house. And somehow, through the guilt and grief, we forged an unlikely team. No woman deserves to be verbally abused. I couldn’t understand why the heroine was so pathetic and took his verbal abuse. He just should have stayed in prison. What kind of a man blames the woman/girl he loves for ending in prison? She did not tell him to kill the boy that raped her. To throw it in her face was disgusting, he deserves to be hit with a bat in the face.

She refuses to give up on them even when she finds out that Ramsey and his sister have been lying to her for more than a decade. As for safety, neither of them sleeps with another person. She waits for him for so many years and when he comes out of prison, he doesn't sleep with anyone else although he pushes her away all the time. My heart went out for Althea Floye Hull, as he sits under a tree, mourning the loss if her mother. Ramsey Stewart jumps down the same tree, landing on her and breaking her foot. This could be a sign of things to come, he then proceeds to break her heart and her life in the years to come. Aly Martinez writes the best friends to lovers stories. They always have so much heart and give me so many feels. Some of her older books (Fighting Silence especially) are some of my favorite romances of all time. It's been a while since she wrote a book that gave me those same kind of feels, but Release did just that.There are two things in this world that Ramsey cares about. His little sister and a girl who stole his start from the moment he fell out of a tree. But when he goes to prison at the age of seventeen for doing something he felt was right at the moment, little did Ramsey know that he was going to spend the next twelve years without the love of his life and that one moment will change his loved ones. The twist towards the end just punched me in the gut and I wasn't ready to forgive either. #IStandWithThea.

Unlike many readers, I liked the heroine. I didn’t think she was a doormat, she just knew they belonged to each other and she never stopped believing it. Years ago, they promised each other to never let go and she didn’t let go although he tried hard for her to let him go. Sadly, I didn’t feel their connection, or chemistry or love. That’s why, I felt detached and the whole thing felt like a bit forced. I recommend this to those who likes: Aly Martinez, friends to lovers, second chance, coming-of-age, enemies to lovers, slow burn, emotional read, and a happily ever after.

Publication Order of Regret Duet Books

But he actually didn’t killed for her. So why blame her? The woman spent 12 years blaming herself when he and his sister lied to her face. Throughout the entire book, understanding was in the eye of the beholder. Perception was in the all knowing mind of a child. Turnabout was fair play. Given all the happenings in the book that we were privy to, and some that we weren't, it allowed for the emotions to consistently affect me mentally and emotionally. I wanted to MOM these kids, but I wanted to read as they came through on their own volition and made the world theirs. I loved their journey.

Oh my Lord. I can't even come up from air from this story without tearing up thinking about Ramsey and Thea and the love between them. I especially loved Thea's compassionate nature and the unfallible strength in her convictions. The amount of heartbreak and injustice she suffered was mindboggling but the sheer determination and drive to heal and reunite her family was the rainbow after such a terrible and tragic storm. Time and timing is the theme that drives RELEASE. The time when Ramsay Stewart entered Thea Hull's life. The time it took for them to become friends. When they shared their first kissed. When they went far beyond kissing for the first time. And when Ramsey left Thea's side for just a moment and their lives changed yet again. And the years that followed after, when Thea was counting every day, every minute, every second, until she would see the man again who told her he didn't love her anymore. When they're in high school, whats supposed to be one of the best nights of their lives turns into something tragic and traumatic and sets things on a whole different trajectory for them both. Though Ramsey is only seventeen, he's sent to prison for over a decade. For years, Thea stays true to him. She never gives up on him or their love. Even though Ramsey is insistent she lets him go and moves on with her life, she can't. She can never move past their love. For her, there is only him. And now that he's released, she's ready to prove it. But carved into my soul for the rest of my days would be the earth-shattering realization that the woman in my arms wasn’t my wife. Get ready to have your mind completely blown once again by the talented Aly Martinez. I don’t know why I keep forgetting to have my guard up whenever I read one of her stories. I thought I knew what road she was planning to take Ramsey and Thea down. I was 100% invested in getting to the HEA for this couple because if anyone deserved it, it was these two. Life had been entirely too cruel to them for far too long. The angst was at an all-time high but I’m used to that with Aly’s books, but MAN, I DID NOT SEE THAT PLOT TWIST COMING!!!

Publication Order of Retrieval Duet Books

Poor heroine. She wasted her life pining for a guy thinking that he killed for her but unfortunately he didn’t and was just taking the blame for his sister. Amazing. Nice book on a brother sister relationship but definitely not the hero and heroine.

I don’t think I’ve read anything by Aly Martinez before but I loved the writing style, the pace and the angst, it was perfect.

I didn’t know it then, but that day, Ramsey Stewart saved my life. And six years later, I’d repay him by ruining his life.” Going into this one, I decided to not even read the synopsis and go in blind. When it started, I enjoyed how the author decided to show us how the two characters met and how their friendship bloomed over their childhood. All you knew in the beginning was that the guy was in prison and had cut off communication from the main character. We get to see Ramsey and Thea learn to really trust each other when they're young, become best friends, and then become lovers. The relationship in this was very strong and this book was as much about their development as it was about their second chance in the future. Because when I was ten years old, I met a boy. I hated him. But I needed him like my veins needed blood. He broke my leg. He broke my patience. And eventually he broke my heart. But there hasn’t been a minute that’s passed that I haven’t loved him with every single broken shard.” It’s no secret that that I’m a HUGE fan of this author and I truly enjoy her books and this one was no different. I loved the dual povs and the past to present was executed beautifully. The only thing I would have liked to seen was more time in the present and how Thea and Ramsey navigated life “After". That felt a little too rushed for me and I was a bit disappointed but aside from that, I enjoyed this couple's journey and their love.