DECEMBER: The Odd Ones, Stories of Love and Grovel

by Rina Amara GrovelDoll, Rina Amara GrovelDoll

He never said I love you.

He never claimed me in public, never reached for my hand where someone might see.
And I told myself it was fine, that silence could still mean something, that stolen moments were enough. That being his secret was better than being nothing at all.

But then I heard him. I saw him with his ex, laughter spilling between them as they mocked me, tore me apart in ways silence never could. That was the night something inside me shattered, the night I realized I wasn’t unbreakable, just forgotten.

But while I was drowning in silence, he was waging wars I never saw — with his demons, his guilt, his ghosts.

And now it’s me who has to
keep loving him in the dark that ruined me…
or finally learn to stand in my own light.

Genres: Abuse, Second Chance, Friends To Lovers

263 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 15, 2025

Reviews

[Nikki ღ Navareus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story. This one hit close to home for me since I have a very close family member who was also abused by his girlfriend, and she left him bruised emotionally and physically. Our family was so happy to get this psycho out of our lives when the relationship ended, so this story really resonated with me.

This poor heroine grew up a little overweight, with an emotionally manipulative mother who systematically destroyed this heroine's self esteem with her hurtful and hateful comments about her weight. She never recovered and life was hard with the bullies and the hate from school buttheads treating her horrifically too. December finally sheds most of her weight, but she's still super insecure, when she starts a relationship with her first true love Ryder. She falls head over heels in love with him, but he keeps her hidden and treats her like a dirty secret, who he's embarrassed to show his relationship with out in the open for others to see. He's also a personal trainer with a godlike body, and he treats her like he barely knows her when she's at the gym working out close to him. That was extremely hurtful, but then there's an overheard moment with Ryder and his ex, where he says such devastating cruelty about December while looking right at her, that December loses every bit of confidence she's ever gained in her short time with him, and she spirals into depression.

So much more happens after this (there's a reason for Ryder's actions and it's all explained as the story unfolds), but the gut punch feels were epic. I absolutely got the angst I was craving from this story. I loved, loved, LOVED all the characters. The side characters were all lovely (you know, except the psychotic/nutjob OW), and December and Ryder were both such lovely characters too. I loved this story so much, it's definitely going on my re-read shelf!

[Grisette · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Wattpad author who turned to independent publishing! Bravo, it takes guts but well worth it. The writing was good, decent, as was the plotting. I expected loads of angst (overheard trope/ body image issues) and of course grovel.

The angst was on point and heartbreaking as we saw it through the heroine's eyes. However, from my personal view, the angstiness of it was dashed too quickly because the author chose to immediately provide the pov of the hero and thereby get the whole explanation for his behaviour. Too fast. Some tempering before the reveal would have helped the story better.

December and Ryder, the main characters, were broken characters that RAG depicted very well (warning: I hated Ryder's brand of selfishness in the first part - the plot explains it and acknowledges it, but I still seethe at the level of irresponsibility of the guy). The author invested in researching the psychological parts of it, making the healing feel realistic. However, I think her therapists characters sometimes spoke in too deep psy lingo that did not feel realistic, thereby making these chapters feel heavy. There was also some repetitiveness which a good editing would have prevented.

On the romance side, it was a sweet, subtle romance. In fact, this book was a good chunk self-healing and mutual healing than swooning romance. I don't consider that this book had grovel in the sense of a redemption arc, because both characters had so much hidden traumas that their initial relationship was bound to fail. But the apology and the efforts of Ryder to earn her trust felt very sincere.

All in all, a promising author. Based on the outlines of the other books (current and future) in this series, I think I might be tempted with a few of them - possibly, books about April and January.

[Pinky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trigger Warnings: Body comments, fat-shaming, domestic abuse both physical and emotional (OW to MMC), stalking (OW stalks MMC), blackmail, psychological abuse, threatening to suicide, orphan, death of parents, attempted murder, bullying, cheating ex, gun shooting

Originally, I said that you don’t need to read GrovelDoll’s books in order. Now I think it might be better to read in the publishing order:
October
June

I discovered GrovelDoll’s books on Wattpad and ADORED them. When I found out her books were being published, I was ecstatic. This series follows a group of girls who call themselves The Odd Ones. They met online, and they all have the names of the month.

All I ever wanted was to be seen.
And he made me invisible.

December meets Ryder in the gym, he’s her coach. They date secretly, but it’s been 8 months. After overhearing Ryder speak about what he really thinks of December, she is heartbroken.

Now for spoilers


December met Ryder in the gym, he’s her coach. Throughout her life, her mother has been calling December fat. So December lost weight while Ryder was her coach. Ryder flirts and asks December out. But he asks to keep the relationship private cuz it wouldn’t look good for him to be dating his client. At the gym, Ryder acts professional, while quietly encouraging her. Ryder only comes over to December’s place, she’s never been to his. She gave Ryder the keys to her apartment, saying he can move in since he spends most nights at her place. But Ryder said it was too soon. 8 months later, December tells Ryder that she loves him. Ryder calls her cute, kissing her forehead. But it bothers December that he didn’t say it back. Ryder comes to her apartment to cook, but she is hurt. When Ryder notices, he asks if it’s cuz of the three words. He tells December that she means a lot to him and cuddles her in bed. December cries in his arms while he is asleep. Since December has been bullied in school and at home, she is grateful for the crumbs of affection that Ryder sends her way. I felt bad for December, the girl just wanted to be loved.


December is a science teacher, and when she saw cake that Ryder will like, she packs some for him. When Ryder saw December, he is talking to two other guys. She gives him the cake and Ryder says he doesn’t have room for sweets, making it seem like December was some weird client that liked him. When December goes out with her coworker Esme, they see Ryder in a café. He is with two other friends, so December goes to say hi. When his two friends ask who December is, Ryder says that she is just a client. Esme says that Ryder is hot and asks to join them. A girl goes up to Ryder to ask if he is single. Ryder says he is, and December is heartbroken. When Ryder goes to the washroom, the girl catches him in the hallway. They laugh together, so December leaves with Esme. As she is leaving, Ryder watches her and feels bad. When she gets home, Ryder calls her phone, and she doesn’t answer. So he knocks on her door and says he is sorry. He wants to keep their relationship private until he's the owner of the gym. His ex currently owns the gym, and she is very controlling. He doesn’t want her to find out that he is in a relationship. He promises that it’s in 4 months, and then they can become public.

“You won't even tell people we're together. You won't hold my hand in public. You won't let me into your life unless it's behind closed doors. If this is what it takes to be known as your girlfriend, then I don't want to be your client anymore.”

So December sucks it up, but her head is full of comments people used to say to her, especially her mom, calling her fat. But she is tired of that mentality and wanted to do something bold. So she decides to surprise Ryder when he is working a late night in the gym, wearing lingerie under her coat. She is not prepared to hear Ryder talking shit about her to a girl. This girl is his ex Mira, they were together back in the day and broke up. Mira says she is excited to be with Ryder once they have ownership of the gym together. She asks about December, saying there’s a weirdo that follows Ryder around. She comments on December’s appearance, and December gasps. When Mira saw the lingerie underneath December’s coat, she starts making fun of December. Rather than stand up for her, Ryder acts like he doesn’t know her.

“She's no one, Mira. Just a client. A girl who shows up every time I smile at her. Honestly? She seems desperate. It's like... she thinks being pitiful is cute.”

And he just keeps going
“She's a charity case," he said, voice low but not low enough. "I feel bad for her. She's sweet, yeah, but come on. Do you really see me with someone like that?”

When Mira tries to kiss Ryder, he moves away but kisses her forehead. December runs away and breaks down in her washroom. December is friends with The Odd Ones, they met online and coincidentally had the names of the month. She meets up with January, May, June, and March. March offered to draw her, to cheer her up. But none of her friends knew what was happening, since December kept her relationship private. But the twist? Ryder was actually being abused by Mira. When he first met Mira, she knew everything about him and he fell for her. It’s clear that she stalked him obsessively. One day, Mira got jealous, accused Ryder of cheating, hit him, and started screaming. It was a cycle, she would get mad, yell, and hit him. Ryder always wore long sleeves to cover his bruises from Mira. The problem was, Mira was the daughter of a powerful Senator, who cleaned up Mira’s messes. When Mira got into an awful fight with Ryder, she cut Ryder’s forearm with a broken wine glass. Mira monitored his apartment with secret cameras, she would obsessively text or call him and yell if he doesn’t answer. So Ryder eventually had the courage to break things off.

But I knew the truth. And I finally understood: if I didn't leave, I wouldn't survive her love.

Problem was, even after Ryder broke up with Mira, she still showed up. When he was out with a coworker named Ann, Mira got angry. So Mira finds Ann and yells at Ryder, saying Ann touched what was hers. She has a knife to Ann’s neck, and Ryder begs her to stop. So Mira pushes Ann and Ann gets hit by a car. Ann survived, medical expenses were paid for by the Senator, who paid her off. So Ryder was very careful with who he interacts with. Surprisingly, the Senator was the one who told Ryder to leave, since Mira was obsessed with him. He said that he will settle things after the election. So Ryder left, but Mira was the boss of his new gym. Ryder played along with whatever Mira wanted. I don’t really know if Mira tried to sexually do anything with Ryder. He says that Mira got upset when he refused to do things intimately. But he used the excuse of them waiting to get ownership of the gym. He said that they should go public with their relationship after the Senator’s election to stay outta the news. When Ryder meets December, he desperately wanted her since she was the light to his darkness. He was ashamed to tell December about Mira. And he knew that if Mira found out about December, December would be in danger. When December came to the gym to surprise him with the cake, Mira was watching, so he acted like he didn’t want it. That was why he said all that cruel shit about December in front of Mira. Mira slaps Ryder once December leaves and yells. He breaks down in a washroom, crying cuz he lost the one person he cares about.

I cried for the man still getting hit by a woman. I cried for the coward too scared to stop it. I cried for the liar who thought love could be hidden like shame.


Spence finds Ryder and takes him to his place, he was with a girl named Mel, and Ryder opens up about Mira abusing him. Mel knows a lawyer that can help Ryder, and Ryder has been collecting evidence. He didn’t want to tell people, since no one would believe he was abused. When he went to the police, they didn’t do anything, since Mira’s dad is the Senator.

“I'm six foot three. Built like a damn tank. Not exactly the image of a 'victim.' No one takes a man like me seriously when I say a woman's hitting me.”

Ryder’s lawyer is January, and January knew that Ryder was the one who hurt December. She is pissed that Ryder put December in danger. But, January says that she owes Mel a huge favour, so she is willing to help. Ryder opens up about the abuse and shows January all the evidence. January says that he is her client, that she won’t talk about December to him. January tells the Senator that she heard about Ryder being abused by Mira. But if he can reign his daughter in, they won’t go public. Ryder sends a message to December to apologize for everything. Since he felt that December needed time away from him, he just blocked her. I didn’t understand why he would block her, if December wanted to talk to him, that’s up to her to decide, which was annoying.

In the long, suffocating darkness of my life, you were the brightest flame.

The Senator confronts Mira in front of Mira’s mom. Mira’s mom babies Mira and acts like the Senator is ridiculous, saying Ryder is a man. Mira became this way since her parents enabled her. The Senator cleaned up her messes and her mom babied her. The Senator has built a name of being a family man. Mira asks the Senator to press charges on Ryder instead. Since his daughter is a girl, he thinks they can get away with it. So they go public with accusations that Ryder is the abuser. January made sure to submit all her evidence and had it verified.


While December was depressed, January visits. Since January is rich, she got all of December’s bills paid for the upcoming months and tells December they need to leave. She got December time off work. She says that she is Ryder’s lawyer, and while she can’t discuss anything, everything will make sense. So she takes December to a cottage owned by an old couple, Billy and Margot. December is here to heal and stay safe. January tells her to stay off social media and to not contact anyone. When December asks how January knew Margot and Billy, she says they are her guardian angels who helped her when she needed it most. I am curious about January’s story, she is such a good friend, even to June in the previous book. Margot and Billy were so welcoming. They didn’t have kids of their own, so they helped people instead. Margot and December paint mugs together. Billy shows December his jewellery, he talks about different meanings of gemstones, talking about what represents who. December is healing, but then she sees Ryder on the news.


Ryder goes public, saying that Mira was the abuser in the relationship. Mira had support from the public, but people made fun of Ryder. Since Ryder had proof, people started to stand with Ryder. Mira and the Senator are arrested. January says that it will still take months to get rid of this case. So she tells Ryder to go to therapy and to go to group meetings with abuse survivors. While Ryder works on himself, we find out that his parents died when he was young. He grew up with his aunt and uncle, so he didn’t want to cause trouble. He is used to keeping his pain within himself. Meanwhile, December is told by Margot to go to therapy. December’s ex Alex, cheated on her with someone more attractive, and her friends said they don’t blame him in a subtle way. December is afraid her partner will leave her for someone better, thinking she isn’t attractive, cuz of her mom. Ryder writes December a letter to apologize for everything. He says that she only mattered to him, that he will make it up to December someday. January let Ryder stay with her until things were settled, she lives in a big mansion.

A couple of months later, we get the court hearings. All the evidence was perfect, two ex boyfriends (Sebastian and Brandon) came as witnesses. They dealt with the same patterns that Ryder dealt with and left the country. Brandon says that no one would’ve believed him, since he is a man that is built big. Then, Ann testifies, saying that she had to sign an NDA, but she doesn’t care. She was paid off, but she didn’t think she had a choice to accept the money. The Senator threatened to mess with her family if she didn’t. Everyone mentioned how the Senator was well-connected, so they couldn’t do much. Both Mira and her dad were found guilty. Mira was sentenced to 15 years, and the Senator was 28. Ryder wants to focus on winning December back. December moved in with Margot and Billy, she felt horrified for Ryder and yearned for him. But she also hated that he put her in danger and didn’t tell her anything. She went on dates, but no one gave her the sparks that Ryder gave her. When she hears a knock on the door, she is shocked to see Ryder. So she slams the door on him, and opens it again.


Ryder says he loves December, he is sorry for everything and hopes December can give him another chance. He didn’t want to tell her he loved her until he was clear from Mira, he wanted to say it when they were together for real. Billy offered Ryder a job in his jewellery workshop, so Ryder asks December if she is okay with that. December says okay and since Ryder lives next door (I think), she saw him at their house often. Ryder starts to make December smoothies of different colours. With each smoothie, he would explain the colour using Greek mythology while complimenting December. He was working tirelessly with Billy, and would run outside shirtless. At first, December would check him out. But eventually, she started to run with him. Finn works with December, but she also went on a date with him. She makes it clear to him that her heart is with someone else. Ryder starts to call December “Ven,” but wouldn’t say why. Ryder makes an anonymous donation to her school, and December knew it was him. He says it’s only cuz her school has a good teacher. When a girl asks Ryder out, he says that his heart is with someone else. But December is too scared to get with Ryder. Eventually, Ryder got a bunny and insists that December name it. Since December called him cute as a bunny, he decided to get one. Ryder started to walk December home from work.

December opens up to Finn about Ryder while getting coffee, and Finn says that they should just communicate. When she leaves, she hugs Finn, but Ryder sees them. He is heartbroken, thinking they are together. December says they are not together, but Ryder says she doesn’t need to explain herself, that she is the only one for him. December says that his words hurt her, when she saw him with Mira. She brings up everything he said, saying he called her a charity case. Ryder apologizes, saying he repeated things that Mira said to him while panicking. December yells about how much it hurt her, and Ryder keeps apologizing. He holds her while she cries and says he will make up for it. For 3 days, they don’t talk, but eventually, she goes to him with a smoothie. It’s white to represent a peace offering. Then December asks if they can go to couple’s therapy. While I enjoyed this book, I did feel like most of it was dealing with healing. We do see Ryder grovel, but not gonna lie, I was kinda bored during the therapy scenes. January is going through something, she calls December to ask that no matter what, she won’t change the way she sees January. I’m so curious to see what she means. When Ryder contacts January for relationship advice, January says me? Ryder says that its “his loss,” so a guy fucked up with January. Ryder also said he didn’t watch the video or something, I wonder if this guy posted a video about January? I NEED TO KNOW. Anyway, the therapist tells Ryder and December to communicate more and they both feel that even if Ryder was publicly with December without Mira around, they wouldn’t have lasted. Ryder never would’ve told December about Mira since he would be ashamed, and they would both deal with miscommunication. The therapist tells them to spend time telling themselves positive things. Ryder surprises December with a truck. December is terrified, but she drives the truck while Ryder encourages her. Margot and Ryder start decorating the truck dashboard. Then Ryder sets up a picnic in the truck. When Ryder invites December to a fair to have a happy date, they don’t expect things to head south.

Mira’s mother shows up after Ryder and December kiss on a ride, Ryder screams that he loves her. Mira’s mother says that December ruined everything, that her husband and Mira are in jail. Mira’s mom pulls out a gun to shoot December. But Ryder saves December, he gets shot instead. His thoughts were only focused on December surviving and him loving December. He is relieved that he is the one dying, telling her to be happy. December is in the hospital with Billy, Margot has trauma from hospitals and can’t come. January says that Mira’s mom is arrested, Mira gets more years to her sentence cuz this was planned. Ryder is in the afterlife and meets his parents. He hugs them and says he misses them, but his parents say that December is waiting for him. When he wakes up, December takes care of him. For the next couple of weeks, December moves in with Ryder to help him. She kisses his forehead, but never his lips. She says that he almost died for her, saying she didn’t deserve it. After loads of therapy, Ryder tells December that he wants her, they kiss, and have sex. Billy gives Ryder his jewellery shop. Ryder gives December a necklace he was working on for months. The necklace is of a woman named Venus, explaining that he saw December as beautiful and strong. The crown was made of diamonds since his stone was a diamond, and he thinks December is his queen. Ryder named his store Golden Venus, Billy and Margot were so giving, they say it’s cuz they are rich and have no kids. Years later, Ryder and December get a place together. They named their rabbit Nova, meaning new beginnings. It was cute, NOW I WANT JANUARY’S BOOK.

Stay safe folks!

[Soph · Rating 3 out of 5]

★★★. The representation of male domestic abuse was done well and how nobody thinks or believes a man can be abused was done well too, however if you are going to write a book about that maybeeeee we can promote it as such and not a grovel book?

For my safety readers, safe kinda. There’s no cheating, but there is other woman drama which leads to the third act. The fmc doesn’t forgive him after that until 90%.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two broken sould

Ryder and December both have issues caused buy years of torment. However, they do find their way to heal and come out on the other side.

[I’m a Paula too… Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shades of Johnny’s abuser…

Not very many books ever address female on male abuse. It seems to be a sort of taboo subject, or maybe authors don’t find it believable. The MMC, Ryder, is a huge guy with muscle, and he’s a personal trainer. When it turns out that the new owner of the gym is his ex, who is essentially a stalker, he knows he has to hide his relationship with December. Because the ex will attack.

This gave me shades of the domestic violence that my favorite pirate endured. There are still people who scoff at that woman causing him harm. Having watched the trial and seen the evidence, it seemed straightforward to me. She wanted over half of his assets for a marriage that lasted roughly 10 minutes. The parallels are obvious…

Anyway, the ex’s whole family are nutz and they enabled the ex by covering up all of her violent behavior. The third act here culminates in the ex’s mother pulling a gun.

There’s a lot of stuff happening in this one, and the chapters with the therapists are excellent. Lots of food for thought…

Great read, needs some editing though. Misplaced words, pronouns wrong, etc.

[Chronic Chihuahua · Rating 1 out of 5]

Abuse Does Not Excuse Abusing December And The Story Is More About Mira....Who I Don't Care About, Then Dr Klein Justifies Ryder's Abuse Of December

Wow, I really don't like Dr Klein and I really don't like the way they pretend a secret relationship isn't abusive.

I wanna headbutt her, can I headbutt her?

"Awk no, overweight girl, obviously you were supposed to feel good about being kept a secret and you should have said."

Dr. Klein, you are an Empathetic Abuser.

[Ari · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unsafe. There actually is cheating that is never addressed.

There was no reason for Ryder to take that girls number and then meet her in the bathroom while December watched.
Mira didn’t force him and no of those actions had anything to do with her stalking him.

He CHEATED on December plain and simple.

Unsafe. Avoid because there is cheating.
For those who want to read, the cheating happens in Chapter 4 when Ryder takes the OW to the bathroom (probably to fuck) right after he told her he was single and took her number.
He and December had been dating for 8 months by this point.

He never really grovels for all of the hurtful things he did he just grovel for the hurt that “December feels”. This author is an out and out misogynist. Don’t support her just pirate her books if you’re curious.

[Ale · Rating 1 out of 5]

You don't need to be an engineer to write a character who is one, you don't need to have lived in the 1950s to set your story in that decade, but you **need** to research.
If you've ever watched a trial you'll know that the "courtroom drama" in the story is the distilled version of a bad tv show. Are the real proceedings more boring and pretty slow? Yes. Would a truly faithful recounting possibly be rather boring? Maybe, but a good writer could do a good job of it though. No one expects to see every pretrial motion mentioned, but .... "overly dramatic"? As a legal objection? With the judge not laughing in the lawyer's face? One lawyer by the way! One for two defendants with, obviously diferent charges and no conflict of interest? None? It felt like a bad parody.
That's what self publishing did. It democratized the field, which is nice, gave an opportunity of expression to everyone, but also created a system in which writers don't spell check accurately, don't do research, don't write characters but tropes, and are more worried about churning as many "books" as possible in the shortest time possible to make more money and who cares if they're bad... Book mills.
In short: I am fucking tired of mediocrity. I wish there were a lot less books (in the order of thousands), but the ones that made it to publication were, I won't say good, but at least written with a little care.
Sigh.

[Carole Copeland · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmmmm

It started out ok. Fast paced...which I liked...then the author took a turn and for a large chunk of the book, they were apart. I get stories sometimes have and walk you through healing processes but with this book it just dragged on and on. The chapter of revealing his trauma was repetitive and long. I hated that all I felt...alright, we get it already...for such a serious topic. I wasn't 100% on board that both if them had to have serious trauma and it felt that she didn't reach out enough and be there for him after everything he went through. I get what she was going through, believe you me! But I wanted to see her feel the gravity of just what he was going through and that her safety was a reality. The author should have had her sneak in the courtroom or meet Anne or something. For me, something didn't click with the book as it turned more into a self help book than about the characters if that makes sense. Wish I could say something more positive.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

First read on Wattpad.

Angst = h has been overweight and the things people say about her are ugly and she has such a poor view of herself.

h sees H with OW = h goes to visit H and H is with OW. OW confronts h and is horrible to her.

OW drama = OW is in actuality a cruel villain in that she has been physically abusing the H for a while and has done the same to others in the past. When the H tries to escape the situation and file charges on OW, it gets ugly quick. Comeuppance? OW ends up going to prison.

Grovel = H must make up for comments he made that were actually his attempt to protect the h from the OW. h comes to understand that the H had reasons, but she still did not give in to the H. She forgave him eventually. H and h go through a lot to get their happy ending. Don't want to give it all away, but it is an emotional read.

[Mariana Ponce · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5

Mmm... Me gustó que este libro visibiliza el tema de la violencia doméstica y que no es exclusiva de un género, en este caso, quien la sufre es un hombre, y nos hace ver qué ni todos los hombres son malos, ni todas las mujeres son buenas. Aún así, no acabe de conectar con los personajes, si me enojé, si lloré, pero definitivamente hubo momentos en los que pensé en abandonar la lectura. Ryder dijo cosas muy feas de December, fue directo a sus inseguridades y eso dolió, yo sé porque lo hizo, pero no quita lo que se sufrió. Me gustó que cada uno sanó por su lado, como muestran que él sentía vergüenza de su mismo y de como la sociedad lo iba a juzgar por ser tan fuerte(hombre de gimnasio) y haber sufrido violencia de una mujer diminita. Realmente creo tuvieron un proceso de sanación y terminó como debía hacerlo.

[sandra courshon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book

This book is NOT a simple girl meets boy, boy screws up and they live happily ever afterward. This book actually had depth. There was emotional baggage for both of them that they had to work through together. Of course there is also the crazy stalker girlfriend. With some books I feel cheated not with this one.

[Sabtina · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow, what a journey! I did not see that twist coming, bold of her to choose this subject matter, I loved the love, the compassion, the growth and the meaning of the cover!
loved Margot too, and can't wait for January's story

[UH1340 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!

December is a deeply emotional journey through two amazing yet broken people! I was unable to put it down, reading it straight through even though I didn't finish it the early morning hours. What a terrific, compelling story. I would highly recommend it!

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say that the first chapter from Ryder's POV made me cry and it touches a theme that is not common, and he's so wholesome that you feel so bad for him and then December it's just a sweetheart.

Those two deserved each other after everything they went through.

[Athena Que Será, Será · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tags: abuse, betrayal, curvy-beauties, damaged-broken_hero, damaged-broken_heroine, doormat_heroine, friends-with-benefits, grovel-remorseful, hero-hurts-heroine, hero-loved-or-loves-ow, hurtful-words-overheard, mean-mean-girls-women, ow-drama, read, second-chance, wattpad-mania

[Wombat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was so emotional and heartbreaking. I loved every bit of the heartbreak. AND I especially loved the perfect HEA ending. This story was the best. I cannot wait to read other works by this amazing author!

[Gloria A Lopez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness!

Heartwarming and so sad. Emotions all over the place as I read this story full of feelings of neglect, unworthiness, domestic violence and abuse, emotional abuse and finally the road to healing.

[Diedre · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's hard for me to read a story about a man that was as broken as the hero was. Hats off to the author for writing this story. It was intense and both MC's were filled with some serious darkness that they had to overcome.

[Elly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read some on Wattpad. Lost interest.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting. Not a story I usually enjoy

[wench · Rating 3 out of 5]

It just didn’t hit the way her other works/heartbreaks did.

[Star · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe if i read it again i will give a higher score

[Paige Whitecotton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

What a different aspect. We always read about abuse but not usually like this. It was so real. These 2 have been through so much. Together they are better.

[Traci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read October and loved it.

December is self conscious due to her weight. Her gym coach becomes her lover but no one can know. To the point that she sees him in a restaurant and he introduces her as a client. A girl comes up asking if he’s single. He says yes, takes her phone number then laughs and flirts with her in the hallway.

He’s apologizing, he didn’t keep her number, he just needs 4 months then they can be public etc. Seems the owner of the gym, Mira, is his ex live in lover and she moving in 4 months.

She surprises him after hours in the gym. He’s not alone. Mira is telling him in 4 months this gym will belong to both of them, they’ll back together. He’s saying you’re the only one for me, not the sad chubby girl blah blah. Of course they see her and Mira is cruel to her while he calls her pathetic. Gut punch moment.

If domestic violence is a trigger, you may need to skip this book.

Safety

OWD for sure but no cheating.