Synopsis:
Austin Rogers’s dreams of domestic bliss involved watching Netflix and eating hot dogs with the love of her life. But then he cheated on her. And dumped her—as if the whole thing was her fault. To maintain her pride and restore her sanity, she decides to get revenge. It feels immensely satisfying to plot her ex’s downfall—but so does kissing him.
Thatch Holloway, a plastic surgeon straight out of residency, knows he ruined the best thing that ever happened to him. But not all cheaters are created equal. He got himself into this messed-up situation—true—but he has his reasons for what happened, and he’d do it all again to protect Austin.
He’s not over her. And she’s not over him.
Austin wants closure, but since Thatch refuses to give it to her, she takes matters into her own hands. She needs to write a human-interest piece for her MBA, so she demands the full plastic-surgery experience. Sparks fly as they’re forced to work together. But Thatch isn’t afraid to play dirty in return. And he’s still hiding something—something that has the power to destroy not only Austin but their second chance at finding forever…
(Synopsis from Goodreads).
My Thoughts:
Earlier this week, I read Cheater by Rachel Van Dyken. I wasn't a big fan of the book, but I decided I wanted to read the next book in the duology, Cheater's Regret. I was more interested in the couple that's featured in Cheater's Regret, and wanted to know why Thatch did the things he did in Cheater. I'm glad I decided to pick up Cheater's Regret. I enjoyed it a lot more than Cheater.
There were still a couple of issues that I had with Cheater's Regret. Although the abusive behavior wasn't as prevalent in this book, it still happened a couple of times that made me uncomfortable. Austin displayed abusive tendencies toward Thatch during the first half of the book. I don't want to get into too much detail because I don't want to spoil the book for those that haven't read it. However, during one part of the book, she slits his tires. I understand being mad at someone, but there's no excuse for that level of payback. Another part of the book, she slaps him so hard that he loses his balance and staggers. And we won't even talk about the whole soy thing. He treats both instances as if she's being cute. To me, that's abusive behavior, and shouldn't be encouraged. As I've previously stated in my review of Cheater, women abusing men is a real thing, and most people just brush it off. That's one of my biggest pet peeves. I feel it should be acknowledged for what it is, not encouraged.
In Cheater's Regret, it almost seemed like Austin was two different characters. In the beginning of the book, I had to keep reminding myself that she was an adult in college because of her actions. She still lived with her parents. She also talked a lot about the classes she was going through, and needing to get good grades. The last thing that made her feel so much younger than what she is was her behavior. She was incredibly immature, so much so that it pulled me out of the storyline. I can't believe someone her age would act that way in real life. However, something happened around the fifty percent mark. All of a sudden, I was really starting to like her. It was almost like she became a completely different person. She stopped treating Thatch in an incredibly jerkish, abusive way. She became a lot more mature. The book started to focus less on her parents, and school, and more on her relationship with Thatch. Instead of being so selfish, she started helping those around her. Her and Thatch started to have a lot of chemistry, even though I still feel weird about their relationship based on her previous abusive behavior. From that point on, I really started to get into the book and enjoy it until the last sentence.
Even though it had a rocky start, I really did enjoy Cheater's Regret. I had a lot more fun reading it than I did reading the first book in the series, Cheater. I especially loved the last half of the book. Between the two books in this duology, I think that this was just an okay series for me. Without the problematic issues, I probably would have loved it. I will definitely continue to read Rachel Van Dyken's books though because I've loved most of her other books that I've read. She will always be one of my favorite authors.
I give Cheater's Regret: 3.5/5.
Want to know more about the author?
Website: http://rachelvandykenauthor.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RachelVanDyken/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RachVD
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachvd/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4882127.Rachel_Van_Dyken
I received this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. I was in no way compensated for this review.
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