Alone With You by Aly Martinez is live!
Aly Martinez knows how to pull on my heartstrings, and wow, she had me feeling so much with this book! A devastatingly emotional yet beautiful story of strength and healing, intertwined with an incredible second-chance-romance that owned my heart. This is a beautifully written story, and I loved it so much.
Amazon
Blurb
From the USA TODAY bestselling author of From the Embers comes a new jaw-dropping standalone romance.
Pain trapped me in this house. Can love set me free?
Death had been chasing me my entire life. I survived the horrors of war, but it was the aftermath that truly destroyed me.
People called me a recluse, but the only time I didn’t feel like I was suffocating was inside that house.
For my daughter, I kept some semblance of normalcy by implementing a rigid routine. Once a week, I forced myself to walk to the diner at the end of the block—a ritual I despised but relied on as my last anchor to the real world.
Until the day a “Closed” sign on the door shattered my fragile existence. Worse, the new owner was the most haunting ghost from my past.
It had been years since I’d laid eyes on Gwendolyn Pierce. She hated me—and rightly so. But when a film crew arrived in town to dig into my past, she became my only ally.
With my secrets threatened, I leaned on Gwen, forging a connection neither of us could deny. But with a past as dark as ours, I feared it would eclipse any hope for a future.
I always said that when Death finally came for me, I would be ready, eager, and alone.
Always alone.
But for Gwen, maybe I could face the world again as long as it meant I could be alone—with her.
Review
5 “Come back to me” stars!
Aly Martinez knows how to pull on my heartstrings, and wow, she had me feeling so much with this book! A devastatingly emotional yet beautiful story of strength and healing, intertwined with an incredible second-chance-romance that owned my heart. It’s a difficult read at times, with some challenging subject matter that had me in tears, but it’s a beautifully written story, and I loved it so much.
Gwen is a recently divorced single mother who has just escaped an emotionally abusive marriage with a narcissistic man. She is proudly reclaiming her life, with a fantastic little boy and a solid group of friends supporting her, and has just bought a run down diner with dreams of turning it into a trendy café.
Truett is a man trapped by his demons. A Veteran who has suffered staggering loss and who, years later, is still drowning in his grief and trauma, he exists within a self-structured world, venturing out for only one torturous hour per week. His destination for his outing is the local diner, and he’s distraught when he learns that its closed. And his world is turned upside down when the new owner turns out to be Gwen, the love of his life and the woman he’s never been able to get over.
While I’d ruined us, she had always owned me. I hadn’t forgotten her. I hadn’t forgotten us.
Gwen and Truett share a complex and heartwrenching history. It’s revealed slowly throughout the book in a way that sucks you in, slowly uncovering pieces, and every new reveal grabbed hold of my heart even more. The story is well crafted for maximum impact, and holy damn, did it hit me in the feels!
The depth of emotion between these two is insane! I could feel everything. And even though I didn’t understand it all initially, the way it all unfolds had me aching for both of them. And as they started to revisit their past, and we saw the intensity of their connection, I was in tears for them!
“I deserve every bit of hate and anger and resentment you feel for me. But make no mistake, I have never, not ever, not for one fucking second of my entire god-forsaken life, stopped loving you.”
Martinez has included a trigger warning with this book, and take note, because there is some really difficult subject matter in the story. She writes it well, with respect and so much emotion, but there are parts that are a hard read. And had me shedding even more tears.
But in the midst of the drama and the trauma, there is the most beautiful love story, and it’s intertwined with Truett facing up to his issues in a way he hasn’t been able to do before, and finally starting to move on. It’s gorgeous, all of it, and watching these two cling to each other as they deal with their past and their shared trauma and find a way to deal with it, while acknowledging and accepting their feelings for each other, had me all up in my feels. And the love story is beautiful – it’s emotionally intense yet playful and sexy, and I just loved these two together. And watching Truett find the strength to open up again and finally fight for his happy ending, with his girl by his side, is uplifting and beautifully satisfying.
“Would you rather stand still in what could have been? … Or move forward with what we could still have?”
Oh Truett, you beautiful, broken man. I ached for him, for all that he had been through, and for the coping mechanisms that he needed just to get by. He’s the kind of guy you just want to wrap your arms around. His journey to heal is heartwrenching but so beautiful, and every glimpse of the fun and playful ‘old’ Truett that emerged as he started to heal was such a treat. And Gwen is an amazing heroine. She’s been through hell, but she’s pulled herself through it and is working hard to create a good life for herself. And though she has every right to be mad at Truett, she is nothing but supportive and protective over him, and works hard to help him deal with his demons and reclaim his life.
Despite the heavy subject matter, it’s not all darkness and drama. Bringing moments of lightness, Gwen’s friends are a freaking riot. They have their girl’s back through everything that goes on, and their frank and honest discussions are so much fun. Gwen’s son is also a bright light, and there are moments of sweetness between Gwen and Truett that had me swooning and sighing with happiness.
This is a beautifully written story with a happy and wholly satisfying ending. I loved it so much.
5 stars and all the feels for this one.
An Advanced Review Copy was generously provided by the author for an honest review.
About Aly Martinez
Originally from Savannah, Georgia, USA Today bestselling author Aly Martinez now lives in South Carolina with her four young children.
Never one to take herself too seriously, she enjoys cheap wine, charcuterie boards, and her mildly neurotic golden retriever. It should be known, however, that she hates pizza and ice cream, almost as much as writing her bio in the third person.
She passes what little free time she has reading anything and everything she can get her hands on, preferably with a super-sized tumbler of wine by her side.
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Instagram | Amazon | Bookbub | Facebook Reader Group
Check out our Aly Martinez Author Spotlight for more amazing reads!