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Hickey

Cora Brent (Goodreads Author)

3.81 · Rating details · 2,351 ratings · 210 reviews

RELEASE DATE: APRIL 6, 2017

A filthy hookup with your insanely hot ex-husband is NEVER a good idea.
Especially if you hate his guts.
Yet I can't seem to help myself.

Here's the story:
A long time ago, in a small town I’ve tried to forget…
I married the charismatic all-American king of high school.
He was sexy and charming.
I was shy and infatuated.
We were both eighteen.
Of c ...more

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Published April 6th 2017

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Community Reviews

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Average rating 3.81 ·

Rating details

· 2,351 ratings · 210 reviews

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Apr 08, 2017 Bev rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: married-or-relationship-troubles, second-chance, small-town-romance, seperation, annoyed-me, doormats-anonymous, misunderstandings-miscommunication

He's an idiot, she's a premier member of Doormats Anonymous. Geez, she spread her legs the first time she saw him after SEVEN years with no explanations, no apologies, no grovel - nada. That issue aside I felt the characters were one dimensional and boring, and I never connected with them.

What could have been an awesome book fell flat. ...more

flag 38 likes · Like · see review

Apr 06, 2017 Rachel K rated it it was ok

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Hero asks the heroine to marry him when they're 18 old. A few months later. His drinking is out of control and they end up arguing more and more. Then he lets the heroine believe he cheated on her with his stepsister (the same stepsister he'd been having an on-again-off-again thing with before hooking up with the heroine) knowing she'll leave. He then joins the army and comes back to find her seven years later.

Both of them moved on. Not much is said about the hero but I assume he had a very acti ...more

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Apr 05, 2017 Eve (Between The Bookends) marked it as to-read

Shelves: romance

Geez...they both better have moved on to have sex with others! The last thing I need to read is yet another book where the hero goes off to manwhore, and the heroine stays all pristine and virtuous! *lol*

flag 29 likes · Like · see review

Oct 05, 2017 Jo - •.★Reading Is My Bliss★.• rated it liked it

3.5 stars

This was an easy listener for me. Second chance love between Bran and Cecily, who fell in love in high school and were married at 18. They got caught up in the fairy tale aspect of being in love and married so young and after cracks appeared in their relationship they went their separate ways.

However, Bran never stopped thinking of Cess and never stopped loving her. This is why he has now enrolled at College and is living in the freshman dorms that Cess is now an RA at. He has been in ...more

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Apr 11, 2017 Sbell rated it it was ok

I don't want to be too harsh on
this book, because the writing was
not too horribly bad. I did not
like the premise. These kids were
too young, and everything just
happened too fast. That aside,
the setting, the conversations,
the feel of this book was just
really depressing. There was
no light in anything. It also had
one of my biggest pet peeves in
my reading. The author redeems
the OW. This ow was in form of
his step sister. Yes, they had
previously hooked up many times,
and she was down right NASTY
to Ceci ...more

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

Apr 06, 2017 Nikki rated it it was ok

Ewww, no!!! just plain no!!! Weird scenario with his stepsister, DNF for this, didn't like it at all!!! ...more

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Jan 13, 2018 Lu Bielefeld marked it as avoid-and-run-away

Shelves: kindle-unlimited

heroine friends with hero’s ex fuck buddy = stepsister

flag 7 likes · Like · see review

Apr 10, 2017 vicki zimmerman rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Couldn't finish

This story had everything it needed to be a great romance...sweet h, alpha H, young love, married, then divorced. Now both are 7 years more mature, and reunited.
But, it has just gone on and on and on, without ever really going anywhere. Page after page of unnecessary details, making it, at least for me, extremely frustrating and tedious.
It seemed to just be going round and round for ages, making no real headway. Then, I looked, and realized, I'm only at the 55% point! I can't take ...more

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Jan 13, 2018 Rejane marked it as nope

Oh my.. eye rolling ... yep.. let’s be friends with ow the husband used to have sex with. So nice, so forgiving, so understanding.. so ridiculous

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Apr 12, 2017 April Symes rated it really liked it

Shelves: alpha-overload, alternating-povs-shown, hea, angst, alpha-male, arc, arc-review, erotic, 2nd-chance-romance, heroine-that-you-root-for

2nd chance romance stories are my favorite and this was a good romance read. This is really about 1st loves and then 2nd chances.
Bran was a high school football star and Cecily was an artist. They were in love and they married young. and divorced less than a year later. It’s what killed the marriage that was unfortunate. It wasn’t anything that they couldn’t overcome but they were too young and circumstances broke them apart. Their breakup tears Cecily apart and picks herself up and starts over ...more

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Apr 11, 2017 Michelle added it

Shelves: eye-rolling-was-involved, college, dnf

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Apr 07, 2017 Three Chicks rated it really liked it

Review from Lisa Kane

Very good second chance at love romance. The story centers around a couple married at 18, and divorced less than a year later. They were madly in love but finances and circumstances broke them apart.

Years later both are at the same college (her choice for school-his choice to be close to her) Hero is genuine and likeable and totally forgiveable. Give this one a try!

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Apr 06, 2017 EliseSReads marked it as to-read

Love Cora Brent and would love to read this, hopefully both are celibate or both had sexual relationships during separation or it's a no-go ...more

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Dec 03, 2017 Gabriella rated it liked it · review of another edition

I was actually a little surprised by this book. I really wasn't expecting much, and I thought it was going to be a light hearted romance, but it wasn't that. It was actually quite angsty, and even though it was a little slow, I enjoyed it.
The story is about Branson and Cecily, they got married way too young, and neither of them was mature and ready for the work that marriage entails. Their short marriage ends when Branson makes some stupid decisions, thinking it's best for them. 7 years later h ...more

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Apr 09, 2017 Kayread rated it did not like it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I hate to leave a low rating but I did not like his book. Branson and Cecily get married at 18. I guess he begins to think he's holding her back from her dreams. She finds him in bed with his stepsister. She packs up and leaves. Fast forward seven years. They meet at the dorm where she is an RA. After seven years in the Army Branson gets out and decides to find Cecily. I really dislike how he treated her when he met her on campus. I felt like he acted like she owed him something. She didn't owe ...more

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Apr 10, 2017 Sue rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I love second chance romances...and although some may not like the reasoning behind the first big break-up and long separation...I get it. Teenage love/romance/marriage is always very emotional, all-consuming and feels like it will last "forever and ever" because the hormones are flying high, youth is very optimistic about the future and first everything (sex, love and all that goes with it) is always so exciting. I remembered those feelings as I read Cess and Bran's story and even though there ...more

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Apr 08, 2017 Gracie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

First loves, and second chances

Bran was a high school football star. Cecily was an artist. Both had plans for college, both had those plans fall through. Finding each other after crushed dreams, they fell quickly into each other. Youthful mistakes were made, feelings were hurt, a distance grew, and time marched on. What do you do when you realize the biggest mistake of your life was letting go so you could both grow?
This book brings all the feelings of that first love and first heartbreak back ...more

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Apr 09, 2017 Courtenay Bennett rated it really liked it

I liked the premise of this story - the idea of growing apart but never falling out of love and eventually getting a second chance. Although it was carried out completely differently to how I expected, I enjoyed it nonetheless.

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Apr 06, 2017 Jennifer rated it it was amazing

Another great book by Cora Brent! Loved the second chance love story of Cess and Bran! Can't wait for Cora's next book! ...more

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Apr 22, 2017 Cocktails and Books rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017-reading-challenge, contemporary-romance

There was something about the H/h that I couldn't connect with. They broke up due to a miscommunication, of sorts, and kept making those same mistakes seven years later. ...more

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Apr 10, 2017 Melanie rated it liked it

Shelves: books-read-in-2017

3.5-stars

I read this when it was a short story as part of an anthology. However it has since been updated and expanded into a full length novel.

Cess and Bran went to school together but never really connected until school was over. Bran was the football hero of the small town of Hickeyville and Cess is the quiet girl working at the diner after her father ran off and spent her college money.

Following a whirlwind romance they get married at 18, but not everything is roses. Following a misunderst ...more

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Aug 12, 2017 Shelly rated it liked it

Shelves: 2017-read, kindle-unlimited

My first from Brent and while I usually stay away from college themed stories I’m a fan of the married couple theme. There was a lot in this that should have worked but I thought it fell short. Cecily and Branson married when they were 18. They weren’t the typical high school sweethearts instead it was a whirlwind romance that last a few months before marrying. As with many marriages in that age-group these two didn’t last.

Seven years later, Branson’s discarded from the Army and Cecily is in he My first from Brent and while I usually stay away from college themed stories I’m a fan of the married couple theme. There was a lot in this that should have worked but I thought it fell short. Cecily and Branson married when they were 18. They weren’t the typical high school sweethearts instead it was a whirlwind romance that last a few months before marrying. As with many marriages in that age-group these two didn’t last.

Seven years later, Branson’s discarded from the Army and Cecily is in her final stretch of college. A unbeknownst to most including Cecily, Branson’s been keeping tabs on his ex-wife all these years. Branson’s decided its time for a reunion and heads west. Cecily, having left from Ohio by way of Pennsylvania, is an RA for freshmen at her college (she needs the free rent). Finding out that her ex-husband also attends the same college and lives in the same dorm comes as a surprise, to say the least.

After their impromptu reunion Cecily immediately begins to show her a*s. It’s been seven years but her emotions come to the surface like their separation and divorce is a recent thing. It threw me back a little because I expected…heck, I don’t know what I expected but I’m not sure why yelling was the go to.

This really could have been an interesting tell but the way it’s told is primarily in flashbacks. All of the marriage is told in flashback. All of it including their pseudo courtship. To me, it seemed that Branson’s motivation for pursuing Cecily was to get over his boredom. He’s the man-whore star football player who never paid Cecily any attention during their time in school. It wasn’t until he’d already injured his knee in a car accident and was told that football was no longer an option. Seeing no future for himself, Branson goes to work for his father at his used car lot. And of course, after Branson starts paying attention to her, Cecily easily falls for his game. I guess it was decent game.

The sex was good. The marriage - not so much. Neither Cecily nor Branson had good relationships with their parents and I’m not sure if that was too much of a hurdle for their teenaged minds to see and process what a good vs bad marriage looked like. Suffice it to say, they had a lot of problems stemming from their own insecurities. Cecily about her desires to create art and Branson about his lack of a future (his plan B was a spur of the moment decision).

There’s a lot of tell for Branson and Cecily’s past that made for fun reading. But that was seven years ago. I wanted to know more about them today. I wanted more about them being in each other’s presence today. I wanted to see them have reasonably decent conversation about their lives today. That’s what I wanted to see. The present stuff is almost glossed over, well except for the ‘hookup’ that’s described in the blurb. Even before that, sadly I wasn’t vested in either of these people. And I found the further the story tried to take me the less I cared.

Happy reading folks!

Rating: C

Also posted at www.redhotbooks.com ...more

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May 07, 2017 Kaitlin rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Ughh. This is so hard. I love Cora Brent and absolutely adore her writing...but this just did not do it for me. It was long, drawn out, and went in circles. I was so annoyed with the protagonist. The slow burn didn't even get it for me. The step sister component was weird and felt trashy. I just did not enjoy this book at all. ...more

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Jul 31, 2017 Bewaji rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Simplicity ....

This story lacks depth. It was too mired in repetitive flash backs. Same story retold by the hero and heroine. Instead of even knowing what, why and when, they started undressing each other. That was one tasteless sex that made me lose all respect for Cecilia. I don't like the way this is strung together. ...more

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Jul 27, 2017 Kristiej rated it liked it

3.5 out of 5

I read The Gentry Boys series by Ms. Brent and enjoyed them enough to try another book by her. First off, to avoid any head scratching over the title, Hickey is the last name of the hero and that’s where the title comes from – not those rosy red marks on your neck or other places when one gets carried away while ‘enjoying’ another person.

Bran, our hero, and Cecily, our heroine, met in kindergarten. They began dating right out of high school. Then they got married way too soon. Althou 3.5 out of 5

I read The Gentry Boys series by Ms. Brent and enjoyed them enough to try another book by her. First off, to avoid any head scratching over the title, Hickey is the last name of the hero and that’s where the title comes from – not those rosy red marks on your neck or other places when one gets carried away while ‘enjoying’ another person.

Bran, our hero, and Cecily, our heroine, met in kindergarten. They began dating right out of high school. Then they got married way too soon. Although deeply in love, they were just too young, married too soon, and were too immature for it to last. They didn’t have the basics of communication, their marriage fell apart. Bran thought he was being noble in letting Cecily go and live a better life to fulfill her dream of being an art teacher. In order to do this, he caused her a great deal of pain with his actions.

The story picks up seven years later. Bran joined the military and did a few tours in Afghanistan. All along he has still loved his ex and he has matured considerably and decided he wants to see if there is any chance they can start over again.

Cecily has moved on, though. She gave up her dreams of becoming an art teacher for a more boring but dependable job in the corporate world. In order to help save money while she finishes up her studies in college, she’s kind of a den mother in a dorm at the school she is attending in Arizona.

She is, therefore, shocked one day when she sees Bran, her ex, carrying a young woman who lives in the dorm who is unable to walk due to some stupid college stunt she pulled. She still has very strong feelings for Bran – most of them hatred for how he betrayed her and broke her heart seven years earlier. She is none too happy when he confesses he’s enrolled in the same college and is living in the same dorm even and it’s because of her. He had accepted an honorable discharge from the services when he’d been injured in an IED explosion. Though Cecily is glad he’s OK, she still doesn’t want him back in her life.

But the line between love and hatred is very thin, and, in part because of his dogged determination to win her back, she slowly comes to realize that she never really did hate him and, in fact, never stopped loving him.

Now, for my thoughts. I liked this book, but I didn’t love it. Unlike the Gentry series, this one isn’t going to stick in my head and because of the vast number of books I have yet to be read and those I read over and over, and I don’t think I’ll be reading this one again. I only paid $1.32 for it, so I don’t feel like I lost out or anything. But for me, it just didn’t give me the punch that ups the grade and makes me remember the book(s). And while this one didn’t quite work for me, it’s no mark against the author. I have more of her books lined up to read and have no hesitation in reading them. It’s just the time – so little for so many.
...more

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May 10, 2017 Brittany rated it liked it

Shelves: romance

I didn't expect much from this book to be honest. The synopsis didn't do this book any favors in my mind because it made the book seem like it wouldn't have much substance. I thought that it would be about two kids who attempted to play house, failed at it, and then met again years later and fell into bed even though at least one of them hated the other.

After reading the book, I can now say that I couldn't have been more wrong about the book. It was an interesting take on a second chance romanc ...more

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Jul 27, 2018 Copper78 rated it really liked it

I'm giving this 3.5 stars and rounding up to 4. This book is not great, and certainly not one of Cora Brent's better books, but it is a solid second chance romance with a H/h who never fully moved on from one another. I don't understand all the negative reviews. The h wasn't celibate during the 7 year separation, the hero was in the army and deployed for much of the separation so I don't think he was out sleeping with anything that moved. People have been talking about the "OW" but really there ...more

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Mar 14, 2020 Dawn rated it it was ok · review of another edition

.

So I don’t know what to think about this one. I liked parts but the author ruined it with the couple sleeping around. The heroine had slept with “a few” guys that were unsatisfactory, in this case I wish she had been celibate. They were married for Pete’s sake! it didn’t specify much about the hero, but that added to the confusion. I kept trying to figure it out because he was so sure that he loved her, and was only doing what he thought was best for her. At one phone he says to her “I didn’t c ...more

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Nov 26, 2017 Makeba Stewart rated it liked it

Shelves: hea, dual-pov, second-chances

This is the love story of Cess and Bran, who were married at the age of 18, but was broken up because Bran didn't want to hold Cess back from experiencing life. This is a second chance romance and I like to experience the characters finding love for the first time. Although everybody needs a second chance. There could have been a little more steam in the sex scenes, although they were alright. I feel like the storyline, characters, sex scenes, and sexual tension was alright. This was an alright ...more

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May 10, 2017 Me rated it really liked it

A Simple story but lovingly written. A proper second chance story where the hero relentlessly pursues his true love. Youth and immaturity are what drove Branson and Cecily apart, but not anymore. The college setting was the perfect juxtaposition; A kind of jumping off point and dramatic backdrop for Bran and Cecily to reignite their relationship. They're slightly older, slightly wiser, better equipped for dealing with challenges. ...more

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About Cora Brent

Cora Brent

3,268 followers

I'm a huge fan of insta-love , grunge era flannel, my vintage Kenmore sewing machine, embroidered dishcloths and absolutely everything that has to do with 1980s pop culture (i.e. leg warmers, scrunchies, big hair, early Madonna, boom boxes, wood paneled walls, stonewash jeans, etc).

If you believe in Happily Ever After and improbable love stories, chances are I'll love you too!!

Email: corabrentwrit ...more