Wednesday, December 3, 2025

Book review: IF HE HADN’T CHEATED, by Carmen Rosales


The book opens in raw despair: a woman unraveling after the ultimate betrayal. With a wedding planned, a venue booked, graduation on the horizon, and dreams of conquering the world, everything collapses like a house of cards when she discovers her fiancé in bed with another student.

The fallout is brutal. She drops out of college, numbs herself with booze, drugs, and strangers, and lives in a loop designed to erase memory and feeling. Yet every morning, she still checks her phone—hoping for a call, a message, anything—and finds nothing. The cycle begins again.


Then, by accident, she dials her ex’s best friend. He hears her break down in the street and rushes to her side. Against her protests, he becomes her reluctant savior. Slowly, their history unfolds: he was her first choice, but he didn’t want commitment. She settled for someone else—and paid the price.


The narrative weaves between past and present, showing her destructive spiral alongside his quiet determination to pull her back from the edge. What struck me most was her flicker of self-awareness: even in the darkness, she knows she wants better. She insists she doesn’t need help, but what she truly craves is hope. Knox offers that—just enough light, just enough push—for her to rediscover her strength.


I’ll admit it: cheating romances are my forbidden pleasure. I love watching heroines claw their way back from devastation, and this one is among the darkest I’ve read. I admired her resilience and the love she eventually finds. Still, the book wasn’t perfectly structured. The backstories felt hazy, Luna’s family was absent, and the timeline wavered—sometimes the betrayal seemed fresh, other times years old.


Even so, the emotional intensity kept me hooked. It’s messy, it’s painful, but it’s also about survival, hope, and the complicated ways love can heal.


Purchase links


FREE in Kindle Unlimited

Amazon: https://amzn.to/4p5P1Fd

Add If He Hadn’t Cheated to Goodreads: https://tinyurl.com/ihhccrgr 


About the author


Carmen Rosales is a best-selling Dark Romance and Latinx author. She loves to write in different genres of Romance and erotic horror under her alter ego, Delilah Croww. Beyond her writing, Carmen is a devoted mother who loves spending time with her loved ones. Join her VIP list at www.carmenrosales.com

Book review: IF HE HADN’T CHEATED, by Carmen Rosales

The book opens in raw despair: a woman unraveling after the ultimate betrayal. With a wedding planned, a venue booked, graduation on the hor...