A Standalone Second Chance Romance.It didn’t matter how young we were.We just knew.Forever was stamped on our hearts, no matter what forces tried to keep us apart. They tried, and they failed.We were happy. We lived, we loved, and we made plans.But as the years went by, we watched helplessly as those plans faded into dusty aspirations.Yet we endured. Time and time again, we came out stronger.… aspirations.
Yet we endured.
Time and time again, we came out stronger.
Until life threw the ultimate test our way, and he surrendered.
Defeated and desperate, he made a choice.
One that tore all our promises in two—leaving me pregnant, alone, and terrified.
Now he’s free, and that love is still there.
It’s everything else that’s changed.
more
Wow what a read. I started with reading the teaser and I just had to read this book. This book will have your emotions everywhere as you can feel the emotions rolling off the pages. This is a first book for me to read by this author and I’m amazed by the writing and story that keep me having the pages turning and had to put down.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.
“Because life doesn’t always need to be easy. And I’ve come to discover that it shouldn’t be. It just needs to be lived.”
Corrode is a magnificent second installment of the Surface Rust Series by Ella Fields.
After finishing Cyanide I was really curious about Felix’s story: Who is Felix (as a person)? Why was he in prison? Who’s Maggie? What happened in the past that Maggie left? What did change?
All of those questions have been answered in Corrode.
Corrode is a captivating second chance romance told from Felix’s and Maggie’s POV, playing in the present but also in the past. The basic structure is logical: The book starts with the present where Felix leaves prison, Maggie’s POV tells us what happened in the past and why she left and then the timeline changes back to present when they meet again and try to work things out.
To be honest, I really had an internal battle between love and hate for Felix. I came to love him during his past and how his young self was with Maggie. Not always perfect, but I could really feel how much he loved her. But around the middle of the story when the POV changed from past back to present I got really irritated with Felix and his behavior towards Maggie. I wanted to slam some senses into him. I got so irritated, that I was SO relieved when Jared showed Felix his place. Jared told him all those things which I wanted to tell Felix so desperately.
Maggie was an easy lovable delicate character and we learn a lot about her and where she comes from. In my opinion she did all the right things for the right reasons. The more I was in Maggie’s mind the more I grew fond and proud of her.
The inner battle of both, Maggie and Felix is heart breaking and feels so real. You feel the love, almost visible to me as a reader and yet at the same time you see and feel all the things they are afraid of doing, feeling, losing, forgiving.
The blurb describes this book perfectly. Somehow you get what you expect and yet you get something else. I had a great time with this book and Ella managed again to create two fantastic main characters and great side characters.
“…this kind of love, what we shared, was permanent. As if I’d just tattooed his name on my heart and sealed my fate.”
“With just a look, a smile, or a touch, he could pull all my heartstrings as if he was responsible for its every beat. And I guess he was. Every single one.”
“In you, I find strength. And it’s perfectly okay to find your strength in other people. As long as you know you can find it without them, too.”
“All roads in life … no matter where I’ve been or where I’m going … every single one will always lead me back to you. In this and every life after.”
An absolutely beautiful second-chance love story!
* First loves!
* First heartbreaks!
* Second chances!
* The cutest baby!
* Amazing family & friends!
Other than knowing this was Jared’s brother’s book…I had no idea what to expect! I didn’t read the blurb at all! I just started it and then now…hours later I am done. And yet again I am in love with another of Ella’s couples and a close knit group of friends & family!
The way that Ella wrote this love story between Maggie & Felix had me smiling so much through this book despite the heartbreaking moments that seeped from the pages. Are you wondering why? It’s because their love was just so powerful and vibrant even amidst the pain that sometimes took over their world. Their journey from the very beginning to the end captivated me in a way that I never expected. I could feel the struggles these two endured yet I could also see the strength that overcoming those struggles brought to their relationship. Sometimes the struggles can drown you though, without you even realizing it. Especially when you’re young…and sometimes we let them. What Maggie went through broke my heart and I wanted to reach through the screen and protect her from everything! Post prison Felix broke my heart so many times! My heart would swap between constricting and soaring every single time he went to see them! His dedication and perseverance to do right had me swooning!
I loved everything about this second chance romance! So much I didn’t want to leave their little world! I could have just sat to the side and watched Felix & Maggie live out their entire lives!
Corrode is Ella Fields second book in her “Surface Rust” series. A story of young true love that takes an incredible journey. Love isn’t always easy, life always seems to get in the way. Ella has a special talent of giving and taking until you are so totally hooked!! This second chance love story is angsty and has all the right feels we all want in a good romance! The anticipation throughout this story kept me riveted to my Kindle. The main characters were real and so believable. Love the way Ella brings a character to life! This book was just so beautiful I want everyone to experience it!!
Ella Fields is a gift to the book community. Her words, whether I’m reading them for the first time or the fifth, are always so powerful and so incredible. She creates these beautiful, flawed, layered characters and lets them tell her their story. Sometimes it’s sad, sometimes it happy, other times heartbreaking and joyful.
Felix and Maggie met at a young age, and fell in love before they knew what was happening. Their foundation was so strong though and through ups and downs, they were still there for one another. Until they weren’t. Until a mistake separates them. Until something horrific happens.
I knew they’d find their way back to one another, though. That’s what happens when your heart beats outside of your body, it’s able to sense it. They fought so hard, for themselves and one another.
I love the characters we met in this little world and I hope to be able to see them again in the future.
I’m pretty sure it is obvious that I’m obsessed with Ella Fields and anything she writes. This book was no exception. It was all consuming. It was downright amazing. The back story to their relationship was done just right in order to give us, the readers, connection to their present day relationship. It was heartfelt and raw. I don’t know how Ella can evoke such emotion through words but I’m so happy she can. For me, reading words written by Ella Fields is an experience. It’s full of life lessons, angst, life like characters, and damn good writing.
#avidreaderbookblog #readingislife #bookblogger #review #bookaddict #booklover #books #reading #angst #romance #emotional
I loved this book! Things definitely didn’t come easy for Felix and Maggie. They struggled and made some bad decisions, but they both managed to overcome those. They made good friends along the way, and I really liked that Maggie reconnected with her mother also.
I loved that once the air started to clear that Felix tried to make her promises, and her reaction was to say… “Don’t make promises, Felix.” Planting my hands on his bare chest, I push away from him. “Live them.”
This author always makes me feel all the feels. She writes stories that are angsty. Ones you wonder how are they getting over this to the happy ending. She does it masterfully. I would highly recommend her books.
Corrode is Jarrods brother Felixs story and I loved it. Felix hasn’t had an easy life, he’s made mistakes and he paid the price. When he’s free the only thing on his mind is seeing the love of his life and their child but his and Maggies relationship isn’t going to be fixed as easily as he hoped.
I love romances that span over the years, the ones where childhood sweethearts hit a few bumps along their way, the ones where the characters need to not only see their way mistakes but are willing to change for the better. Felix and Maggies had all that! I loved the characters (although Felix tested that love a few times) and their story was one I couldn’t put down. Another great book by Ella Fields.
I’m ashamed to say I have several of Ella’s books but just haven’t managed to read any of them. However after reading Corrode that is about to change. She has come highly recommended and now I understand why. This book had all the feels angst, love, humour, heartbreak, courage, friendship and throw in some overwhelming frustration. Terrific characters in this story and a fabulous storyline.
Opposites attract they say! Felix is the poor bad boy and Magdeline is from a better part of town. Her family has high hopes for her going off into the world to make a difference. We all know things rarely go to plan and Felix throws a spinner into the works. Love conquers all, going against her families advice Maggie gives Felix 100%. Is it a smooth ride, hell no there are enough bumps in the road to have your teeth chattering. There were times I wanted to throttle Felix for his dumb choices! One of them had devastating results, tearing them apart and I wasn’t sure they’d find their way back to one another. Maggie held her cards close to her heart. Did she love Felix? With every breath she took. Would she trust her heart or be guided by her head?
“Romance with a sting” is Ella’s slogan and this book most definitely brought that sting.
CORRODE was my last novel to read of Ella’s. Over the past month, I have been working my way through her backlist and with each book read, I fall deeper and deeper in love with Ella’s writing. It’s utterly addictive and captivating! I can NOT properly express how much I LOVE her stories! I love them so much that I am buying all the PB’s and I do NOT do that for just anyone.
A little bit about the book…CORRODE was a beautiful story about learning to LIVE through what obstacles life throws at you. This life is not easy and there WILL be errors made in it, but as long as you’re willing to show forgiveness where the heart is concerned, then you will make it through anything. CORRODE was also about finding your “heart”… the one person you can call “home”. Mags and Felix found just that in each other.
“Despite everything life tossed our way, we worked for a reason, Mags.”
She blinks, her dark lashes drawing my eyes like fluttering sirens. “What reason is that?”
“Because at the very foundation of it all, we had a deep understanding of each other. We were friends.”
“Friends who were in love,” she murmurs, looking back at Archie.
“And that’s the kind that lasts. No matter how much shit you throw at it. It endures; it survives.”
“So much has happened, though, Felix.”
“Yet we still love, and you’ve survived, and I’ll endure whatever else I need to.”
-CORRODE
This novel packed #allthefeels into it. My heart was bursting with love in the beginning, then withering with hurt and despair further in, then trampled on by even more emotions, and then FINALLY mended and SO FULL of happiness at the end! I will be honest, I am not a huge fan of second chance romances, to be completely honest, I typically avoid them, but after reading FRAYED SILK and CYANIDE, my curiosity got the best of me and forced me to give this one a try and I AM SO HAPPY I DID! CORRODE is my favorite of those 3 books!
#FirstLove #SecondChanceRomance #LittleDoe #HeCanBeMyBigGuy #5stars
5 stars
Suggested reading order:
FRAYED SILK
CYANIDE
CORRODE
**FRAYED SILK is a separate novel, but it contains characters within the SURFACE RUST world. All novels can be technically read as standalones, but I recommend you read them in that order.
Felix and Maggie fell in love at 18. If only holding onto forever was that easy.
Maggie had a strict upbringing. Barely allowed to have friends, let alone a boyfriend. Her father was a controlling tyrant.
Felix was a player with a foster dad and lived in a rougher part of town.
The two meet at a party and become inseparable. But once her father finds out, she is forced to choose between her family and the man she’s falling in love with.
Maggie makes her choice and it doesn’t come without consequence or sacrifice. Being young, with a waitressing job and trying to make a life is not easy. Add in a failing business, a death and seemingly insurmountable debt and you get a disaster in the making.
Felix loves Maggie but makes some bad choices and it leaves him behind bars and alone.
This is a story about living with the consequences, second chances, forgiveness and a love that never ends.
This story will make you swoon, leave you in tears, get you hot and bothered, and then leaves your heart full. I loved catching up with Jared and Vera and seeing both couples succeed and find their forevers. Another great story that will stay with me.
I loved this book from beginning to end. A heartbreaking romance story with a second chance. Maggie i loved her strength even though she thought she was weak. Felix at first I was angry with him but I fell deeply in love with the man we saw his true side of himself come out and I cried with him. If you love romance book this is definitely a must read. 5/5 stars *** I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Copy of this book ***
Ella Fields, you have my heart all warm and full after reading this beautiful second chance romance. Felix and Maggie are friends who blossom into something more than are trying to survive all the life stumbles that are thrown in their directions. I can’t tell you how many times my heart broke for the two characters individually with all their personal struggles and then trying to make it as a couple. This book is an amazing ride that will take you on an adventure that you should be able to feel straight to your heart and your bones.
Love isn’t always an easy ride but well worth it when you fight for it.
Wow, just wow!!!
Corrode is a standalone story but with interconnected characters from Cyanide but totally can be read as a standalone. With that said Felix and Mags story is one for the books.
Once I stared this book I could not put it down.
It has so much emotions that you get sucked in.
Ella gives us the back story of this two characters how they began their love during the years and now in the present. We get a glimpse of the other characters like Jared he is Felix brother, Vera she is Jared’s girl and their friends. This characters are so real and blend in well with the story.
Felix and Maggie go thru a lot. They have a kid together but the pass is hard to forgive. You cry, you laugh and you feel the love that Felix and Mags have for each other. You go thru so much emotions and heartbreak. But you will survive.
This is one of my top reads of this year. I loved every second of it. A second chance love story that will break your heart and put the pieces back together in the end. Do your self a favor and read it you will not regret it. 5 starts read!! Ps I Love Felix but my heart is with Jared
Ella Fields has quickly become one of my all time favorite authors! Her words have shattered, broken and gutted me, but somehow she manages to mend the pieces back together and has left me with a serious book hang over. Each of her books have stayed with me long after I finished. Corrode is no exception. Felix and Maggie’s story is gut wrenching at times, ugly and hard, but it is so beautiful. I was able to feel every single one of their emotions through Ella’s words. They struggled on so many levels, but always knew they would survive because of the other. Thier relationship was tested so many times, but they were each other’s constant even when things were doubtful. Despite the anger and hurt their love shined and gave them hope. Corrode teaches you to never give up, no matter how hard it gets and that second chances are possible. I wish I could give this book more than five stars because it is beautifully written and a story I won’t forget!
Felix and Magdalene seem to have a charmed existence. They meet young, work hard, and sure things are tough but they’re living the dream.
And then the dream gets wrecked. Felix in an effort to get on top of bills, take care of a newly pregnant wife, and offer her a better life makes a dumb decision.
Twenty-two months later leaving prison he runs into Sam again, but still no sign of Maggie. Where’d she go? Why is she keeping his baby from him?
After finding her, Felix decides he can never forgive her, not realising he was in as much need of forgiveness as Mags.
A beautiful second chance romance that leaps off the page with the love Felix and Maggie feel, even years later.
This book will show you that forgiveness is still out there waiting, even if you only need forgive yourself.
Corrode to me is a definition of rusty… the part when it start to go bad slowly.. painfully before it goes total done..
Felix and Maggie were a highschool sweetheart.. both falling in love depth with hope and dream.. Life is real.. cruel with many thorns..reality than can rip you apart… everything was superficial.. bad judgemental… against the odd.. Maggie stick her heart… let the fate decide..
Harsh truth… everything fell apart.. Felix went away and bore a hatred feeling with life.. everyone including his Doe… but when you love someone so deep… love can heal wound…
This book was sad .. so many stakes… layers of secret…. I am happy when the secret ready to be reveal…its beautiful.. sad.. heartfelt.. honest.. forgiving.. i feel pain to see the emotion..can they find love back to each other again?
Ella.. you know how to play with emotions.. i have to dig deeper… there is nothing easy when the story may seem simple.. but the depth..only you can find it when you read the story slow and in details..
Everyone has their own story.. this is Felix and Maggie.. there is nothing simple about it.. they fought hard to be together.. for that, they deserve second chances 😉
When i was reading cyanide i was think ohh i need to find out more about Felix and i wasn’t sure if his story had been written and when i searched amazon i was super excited to see his book i bought it straight away. I went to start another book i don’t like reading books in a series or by the same author in a row, I’m not sure why but it’s how i am. Well i tried to start 3 other books and i just couldn’t do it i needed to know about Maggie and Felix.
This book i couldn’t love any more, i love Ella Fields writing it so easy to read and so easy to get so swept with her stories and holy hell did this story blow me away. This is another one of my favourite second chance romances. There was so much history with this couple.
I loved how we went back and got the back story of this love story we got to see how they became the loves of each other’s lives and what they had to do to stay together, but as you will read they had so much to overcome and sometimes it just doesn’t work out.
Felix brought all the emotions out of me i felt angry, sadness, i felt sorry for him and i really did like he’s character he was desperate to do right for the woman that he loved but it just didn’t go his way.
Maggie was a hard working, loving, beautiful character and she loved Felix with all her heart and i couldn’t believe the twist in what happened to her and just the fight she had to become herself was really emotional i really felt for her.
Another epic book by Ella Fields book she is becoming one of my favourite authors absolutely loved this story.
If you haven’t read cyanide yet this is a must and if you have but haven’t read corrode then you have to love it 5 beautiful Stars for this baby
I knew going in that this would do a number on me and I was not wrong. I had about 15 minutes left of it and stopped, and realized I didn’t want their story to end. So now, I have a book hangover.
Felix and Maggie, soulmates, each other’s heart. High school sweethearts, she defies her father choosing Felix over them. They live with Felix’s brother and step father, but when their step father dies suddenly it uncovers a secret that their business, a garage that is in debt up to it’s ear. Maggie and Felix make do with what little they have, but Felix makes a choice that Maggie can’t stand behind, it’s a choice that forever changes there lives. Maggie leaves, carrying their child, hoping it will jar Felix and make him go through with his plans. Felix ends up locked up and loses tough with Maggie. Years later, he’s released, Jared’s wife hires a PI to find her and they do.
The love is still there, more than ever but can they forgive each other and get their happy ending, to be a family. Maggie harbors a secret that could send Felix back to prison, She can’t handle that again, especially now that he has been getting to know their son, and him helping to raise him. What will happen when he finds out. Her secret is a bit shocking, and knowing who was involved makes it even worse.
Ah… Ms Ella Fields. The queen of love stories that have a way of gutting you first. Corrode is unique in that both h & H are strong likable people from the beginning, who just want to do right by one another. One terrible mistake changes their path, and tears them apart. The road to forgiveness is hard, and even in the midst of healing, threatens to destroy them both.
“Because at the very foundation of it all, we had a deep understanding of each other. We were friends. Friends who were in love.”
I love her writing style so much- sentences that flow, and are not endlessly wordy. Characters with flaws, but show tremendous growth. Supporting characters with important stories of their own. Ella Fields will always be an automatic 1-click for me.