Book Review: Corrode by Ella Fields

About the book

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.

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.

My Thoughts

Ah, young love! When Felix and a sheltered and innocent Maggie meet, it’s a case of instant attraction for two people who are complete opposites. Love, real love does blossom and this sustains them through the years.

Unfortunately love is not enough. With little familial support, ever increasing debt and little income, the years slowly wear on this couple.  When Maggie falls pregnant, a desperate Felix commits an act that sees him separated from Maggie and his child for nearly two years.

And it’s here we start. Felix is back. He’s angry, confused, yet he still loves Maggie… when he’s not hating her, that is. Maggie’s time without Felix has been a tough road made tougher now having a child to raise.

This second chance romance certainly packs an emotional wallop. As they try to get along for their own sakes and that of their child, both new and old feelings rise up between them. Do they really still love each other? How are they going to stop the mistakes from the past? How do they reconcile what has happened between them? And how do they learn to forgive each other, if forgiveness is even possible?

Nothing comes easy for Felix and Maggie, yet the book is the better for it. Whatever journey they take together is a conscious decision on both their parts because that’s what they want. They want to be together. They want to love each other. They want to be good and strong enough for each other so they don’t repeat past mistakes. The book shows us that even having gone down a path neither wanted, that there is a way back.

In addition to finding their way to each other again, the thing I enjoyed most about this book is Felix and Maggie recognised they failed themselves and each other. This hard lesson learned, they are moving on together, stronger.

I haven’t read Cyanide, the earlier book in this series, so all these characters are new to me. While Corrode can definitely be read as a stand-alone, I do wish the plot had been revealed in a different manner. At times I felt irritation rather than anticipation in not knowing Maggie’s full story during the time of separation. All is revealed eventually but as a reader, I would have preferred to understand the what and how much earlier.

I enjoyed reading this book. I’m off to add Cyanide (Book 1 in the Surface Rust series) to my to-read pile.

About the Author

Ella Fields is a mother and wife who lives in the land Down Under. While her kids are in school, you might find her talking about her characters and books to her two cats. She's a notorious chocolate and notebook hoarder who enjoys creating hard-won happily ever afters.

https://www.ellafields.net/