Healing after a tragedy is hard enough. Doing it when you’re haunted by past betrayal and so many things left unsaid?Feels nearly hopeless. Is it impossible to come back from so much anguish and all the regrets? Can you ever truly mend your heart and move on?Or are Penelope and Linc destined for a life of punishment and pain?They’re about to find out whether the line between love and hate is … line between love and hate is clear. And if moving on after loss and the sting of deception is even possible.
Reviews
Holy heartache. “Regrets slayed my heart. Angst-lovers, this book is not to be missed. Brilliant writing from Nicole Dykes. I couldn’t ask for more in a book!” – LJ Shen, USA Today and #1 Amazon bestselling author
“Tears flowed, my heart ached, and I could feel the anguish in my soul.” -Keri, Goodreads
“This is not your sweet, tragic love story. It’s got hard edges that keep you turning pages.” -Rmederios, Goodreads
“Nicole (Dykes) went really deep for this one and she didn’t disappoint. I highly recommend this book if you’re looking for forbidden love, love triangle, tragedy, and just a great love story.” -Alexandra, Goodreads
“It’s got heartbreak, betrayal, guilt, and forgiveness. Yes, all that emotion packed into one book. Absolutely phenomenal.” -Emma, Ever Growing Book Obsession
“Nicole Dykes delivers with Regrets. It is an emotional roller coaster of a book and it takes you for a ride and the best angsty/dark way. Five out of five enthusiastic stars.” -Ash, Goodreads
“This is a love triangle story. Don’t let the blurb fool you. Prepare yourself. And what you think you know… Just prepare yourself.” -Jessica, Goodreads
“This book just proves why Nicole Dykes is my favorite author.” -Stacy, Goodreads
“This book hits the ground running. The intensity is real. Buckle up, buttercup, you have no idea what you’re in for!” -Elle, @Literary.ya
“Nicole Dykes is a new to me author, and what a punch to the heart this book was for a first timer… I’m still slightly in recovery mode, but I can’t get over how much I felt while reading this book!” – Elizabeth, The Book Boutique
“Powerful, emotional, all consuming, painfully beautiful and worthy of more than 5 stars.” -The Book Fairy Reviews
“Regrets is everything I love about Nicole Dykes’ writing dialed up to the next level! It’s darker, edgier, and more deliciously addictive than anything she’s written before. A forbidden romance full of angst, lust, and passion I couldn’t devour quickly enough.” -Ari, The Red Hatter Book Blog
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We all destroyed our lives last night, and I know we’ll never be able to truly come back from the wreckage.
Nicole Dykes is a new to me author, and what a punch to the heart this book was for a first timer—which is said in the BEST way possible! I figured I would enjoy Regrets due to the angsty forbidden romance (totally my thing), but I did not see the emotional impact this story would contain coming.
Penelope and Linc’s story wasn’t pretty. It was full of raw, turbulent emotion—a story etched in pain. They were legitimately two broken halves that were made for each other with a slight edge of unrequited feelings. Their lives entailed a lot of navigation of the heart, and a hard path to healing. One that had me tangled up in every emotion imaginable.
Regrets is a look into lives that aren’t quite as pristine as they seem, and a love that burns hotter with every push and pull. I’m still slightly in recovery mode, but I can’t get over how much I felt while reading this book!
This was my first read by this author and although it took a few chapters to get pulled into it, once I did I was hooked.
Penelope and Linc had an undeniable chemistry but with that was so much pain, regret, should’ve, could’ve moments these 2 were a ticking timebomb and what an explosion it was.
I cried more than once while reading and not all because of sadness but because as I read, the more I got to know these characters and I felt with them as they went through the things I said above my chest was tight so many time throughout this because to get their happily ever after they had to endure an overwhelming amount of heartbreaking emotions.
I’m really hoping that this isn’t the last of these characters, I need to know more about Lola and Ash.
This book is arguably Nicole’s best work! I discoveded her books last year and I honestly have loved and devoured all her words since. Linc and P will grab your heart and take you on one hell of a ride, so be warned and ready. This book will hit you in the feels, hard!
This book will truly take you on an emotional ride. Nicole Dykes has out done herself, truly her best work so far.
2 Brothers, 1 Girl, A tragedy
Lincoln and Cole Sterling both love Penelope. Cole love her and wants her to be his forever. Lincoln however, keeps his love to himself to protect Cole and Penelope. When tragedy strikes the Sterling home, will anyone ever be able to come back from dark hole they have fallen in? Can hearts heal after so much damage has been done to one another?
“He has a piece of me that I’ll never get back.” Penelope says about Cole.
Nicole creates an amazing bunch of characters that make you want to laugh, cry, scream, and even throw your book across the room. She makes the characters real and makes you feel like you are part of the story.
I would defiantly recommend this book!
“With every breath I breathe, all I feel is guilt.”
Pain. Anguish. Guilt.
Regrets was an incredibly emotional read. The characters own pain felt like my own. I was living through them.
This was my first Nicole Dykes read and I’m scratching my head wondering why I haven’t read her before. This story was amazing.. painful, but amazing.
I don’t want to say too much about the story because I don’t want to spoil anything but get your tissues ready. Probably the Ben & Jerry’s too. I’d also get a case for your kindle if you don’t already have one.. Nicole rips your heart and hands it back in pieces.
I. Was. Not. Ready. For. This. Book.
“We’ve caused each other enough pain, but I can’t stop. It’s a drug, a release, and the only thing that comes remotely close to numbing the impossible amount of shame.”
I have mixed emotions about this book. There is just so much chaos, anger, tragedy and sex that I’m not sure which way is up. The story flicks between past events and current events which you need to stay focused on not to get lost in all the unfolding drama. It causes a lot of angst….skipping back and forth on a timeline like this was almost like a countdown to the final explosion of emotional turmoil. The sex was almost too much, but works in this book as it portrays all the love, hate, anger, regret, self loathing and pain the characters are trying to work through. It saddens me that the story in fact touches on topics that some people face in real life which makes it so raw…..great emotional read filled with intensity. Can’t wait to read what comes next!
This is not a love triangle for anyone that avoids those stories. It is about a girl and the two young men she loves. Penelope is shocked the day Linc and Colt show up at the run-down park where she hangs out. Her shock grows when they invite her to their home for dinner. Linc and Colt live in the rich part of town and Penelope has grown-up in foster homes, just trying to survive, knowing that her mother didn’t want her. What Penelope never expects is to find a family that embraces her and makes her feel safe. She connects with both brothers but Colt ‘sweeps’ her off her feet and they start dating. But life hasn’t ever been easy for Penelope which shifts her path and delivers loss and guilt that is all-consuming. Linc is the rebel in the family while Colt is the perfect son. Each one carries a different burden in their messed-up family. When the unthinkable happens, how will Linc cope with the loss? I love how this story was split with the past of how the three kids met to now. It allowed me to truly understand each character and the journey they were on. But even I wasn’t prepared for some of the realities that happened which were a fabulous surprise and twist.
This is beyond anything Nicole has ever given us & I AM HERE FOR IT.
Heartbreak, betrayal, brutal.
But it is everything.
The Sterlings are a whole new level of what we’ve come to love about Nicole, she knows how to write a dysfunctional family!
This book hits the ground running & is not for the faint at heart! The intensity is real. Buckle up, you have no idea what you’re in for!
You want angst then read Regrets! This story is about Penelope, a foster girl from the wrong side of town. As a young girl she meets brothers Colt and Lincoln and her life begins to turn around. It also begins the love triangle of all triangles. This book is about love and betrayal and finding the strength to have what you want no matter what. It hooked me from the start and I look forward to reading about the other characters in the future!
I received an ARC of this book for an honest review.
Nicole has done it AGAIN! Wow! Just wow! It actually took me a few days to get my words into place because this book took me and destroyed everything I thought I knew about her and her writing.
Penelope and Linc will destroy you. I’m not even going to lie about it. Their story will pull you in, tear you apart, shatter you, and then rebuild you again. You won’t be the person you were before you read this book. Not even close. The intricacy of each and every detail in this book is masterfully woven together to make you feel each and every emotion as it comes.
This book literally tore me to pieces. There is no before and there is no after. Just this book. Nicole has such an impacting way with words that she can leave you breathless in one moment and then wanting to throw the kindle across the room the very next. Each of her books are better than the one before it.
Five stars for this emotional read that will drop you to your knees and make you beg for more.
Nicole Dykes is a phenomenal writer.
This heartbreaking story will have you ugly crying so be ready with tissue and perhaps some wine! Your heart’s hurts for Linc, Penelooe and Colt and their tragic story but the way Nicole shows the anger, rage, pain, and most important the process of healing is honest, creative, genuine and beautuful. Such a great story… looking forward to what is coming next!
Nicole Dykes has written a book that, to be perfectly honest, I was a little bit anxious about reading. I’m not a fan of love triangles….at ALL! But, I have to say, Regrets is NOTHING like I thought it was going to be, in the best possible way! Regrets is a little bit dark, a little bit unexpected….and a LOT MORE than I imagined! The jaw-dropping twist was totally unexpected and I loved that I did NOT see it coming!
I loved the way this story is told. The back and forth between past and present can sometimes be jarring and disconnected but Ms. Dykes nailed it! The build up to a tragic occurrence had me holding my breath, knowing that it happened but not knowing HOW it happened until much later in the story had my imagination doing cartwheels in anticipation (I’m being deliberately vague here to avoid ANY spoilers!) Well done, Nicole!
I also loved how Ms. Dykes very realistically developed all the lead characters, the push/pull between Penelope, Colt and Linc was EPIC! I felt like I was immersed in angst for most of this sometimes heartbreaking, quite sexy and steamy love story that had me gripping my kindle until the very last page! I can’t recommend this book enough for those that like a story that will make you FEEL, that will cause you to shake your head at times, that will make your heart hurt in the best way and that will, in the end, make you fall head over heels in love….in other words, PERFECTION!!!
Penelope, Linc and Cole’s story is a story about young love, finding yourself, and being able to move on from betrayal and anger, while still being haunted by the past. This is a beautifully written story which is dark, intense, and an emotional roller coaster journey throughout, as well as having angst, passion, and love which all lead to a heartfelt and all-consuming addictive page turner. This talented author has put her heart and soul into this story, and I recommend for all.
This is the first time I have picked up on of Nicole’s books, that I didn’t just blaze through and finish it in one sitting. No, I took my time. I read. I put it down. I went back and re-read. I walked away. I got mad, I got sad, I laughed. I felt conflicted. The main point…. I FELT.
This book hooked me from the beginning, and felt so raw I simply had to walk away. I didn’t want to like it. I hated the idea. I ASSUMED I would dislike the characters, the story. However I gave it a chance. I took time and digested the story, as it slowly churned its way through my psyche.
My thoughts on books are simple – if I linger over characters, if I obsess about finishing the story, if I dread it’s ending, I think it is a good book. This book covered all these bases. And more. While it is uniquely Nicole, she’s gone to another level with this story. Nicole knocked it out of the park with this one. I was rocked to the core and left wanting more of these characters. Thank you Nicole for taking me on this journey, even if I was kicking and screaming the entire way.
I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What a different spin from what this author usually writes. She took a chance and hit it out of the park. This was like a play I’d pay to see. It had it all; tragedy, unexpected twists and turns, emotional upheaval, torment, heat, passion, suspense and above all hope and love and major anticipation for the next book.
I really don’t want to go deep into the story because you need to read this for yourself. Linc grabs you from the moment you meet his character. You may actually want to dislike him. As we all know there’s more to a person than what you see on the surface. Penelope or “P” is just trying to do the right thing. She wants to be more than what she’s lived. The question for her is how do outlive your past? Can you, should you? Are you wrong to want more or are you destined to be what you are born into? Colt, the good son. The one who who is destined for greatness. The. “Golden Child”. Seriously though, Is there really such a thing? Is it fair to put all that responsibility on one person? How does it affect everyone else? These are just some of the issues brought to light in this mesmerizing story. This book holds you captive from the opening page and never releases you. I can’t wait for the next book. Well done Nicole!
“Two brothers. One girl. Tragedy for all.”
Wow! I was not expecting this story to go where it did. I plan to write a cryptic review cause you need to experience its beauty. Spoilers are just mean in my opinion.
This story travels back and forth in time revealing all. It tackles some really hard hitting topics. Young and unrequited love, loss, abandonment, and betrayal all have a voice in this telling. Our couple initially have a darkness that has them drowning in anger and grief. Ugh you will find out why too. Yes I had several emotional moments. I was either wanting to cry or shake sense into someone. Eek!
This is a full cast read and I am more than curious about ALL the characters. Tapping my chin… future storylines?!
Intense, intriguing, sad, and yep, sexy make this story 4.5 star worthy. Happy Reading Everyone! XOXO