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GOOD GIRL: A Second Chance Revenge Romance
Ariana—the girl he once loved.
Grayson—the boy who gave her his heart.
Christian—the shadow between them.
On the night that should have been theirs, beneath the warm glow of their new home and in the middle of their engagement party, Grayson found Ariana in a room with his best friend. Betrayal burned in his veins. Rage blinded him. He dragged her out, into the night, paying no heed to the shocked whispers of their guests. His family, his blood, made sure every piece of hers was gone. Her belongings lay scattered on the lawn, shame woven into every discarded piece.
They did not ask. They did not question. They simply erased her.
But she had not betrayed him.
She had been ruined.
Christian had taken what was never his to claim.
Two friends gathered what remained of her—her dignity, her pain, her broken spirit. They drove her away, far from the house that should have been hers, far from the love that had turned to hate. She stayed with them for days, silent, shattered. And then, she vanished.
Three years passed.
Grayson had moved on, or so it seemed. Another woman wore the ring meant for Ariana. Another love had taken root where theirs had been torn apart.
But Ariana had returned.
Not as the girl he cast aside.
Not as the woman he once loved.
She came back with fire in her heart.
She came back for revenge.
Grayson—the boy who gave her his heart.
Christian—the shadow between them.
On the night that should have been theirs, beneath the warm glow of their new home and in the middle of their engagement party, Grayson found Ariana in a room with his best friend. Betrayal burned in his veins. Rage blinded him. He dragged her out, into the night, paying no heed to the shocked whispers of their guests. His family, his blood, made sure every piece of hers was gone. Her belongings lay scattered on the lawn, shame woven into every discarded piece.
They did not ask. They did not question. They simply erased her.
But she had not betrayed him.
She had been ruined.
Christian had taken what was never his to claim.
Two friends gathered what remained of her—her dignity, her pain, her broken spirit. They drove her away, far from the house that should have been hers, far from the love that had turned to hate. She stayed with them for days, silent, shattered. And then, she vanished.
Three years passed.
Grayson had moved on, or so it seemed. Another woman wore the ring meant for Ariana. Another love had taken root where theirs had been torn apart.
But Ariana had returned.
Not as the girl he cast aside.
Not as the woman he once loved.
She came back with fire in her heart.
She came back for revenge.
397 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 7, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
June 8, 2026
This is a betrayal / grovel / revenge second chance read. If you're in the mood for that, you might like it, as long as you don't mind it feeling undercooked. The premise is good, the execution is mid.
Ariana and Grayson meet in college and fall in love. A few years later, at their engagement party, she's set up to look like she's cheating on him. She's not. Instead of noticing that she is literally drugged and half-unconscious, or asking her any questions about what happened, Grayson is enraged about her "cheating," kicks her out, and lets his family be awful to her. A few years later, Ariana comes back for revenge against everyone who was involved in that disaster: Grayson, his family who set it up, etc. For extra angst, when she returns, Grayson is engaged to another woman.
That's a good angsty premise! I'm into all that. (I also like that Ariana is not celibate while Grayson is engaged to an OW). The problem is, this feels like the first draft of a story that needs to be fleshed out and put through at least 2 more drafts. We're told that Ariana and Grayson have this deep connection, but we just have to take the story's word for it, it's hardly shown. We're told that his family was mean to her for a while before the disaster at their engagement party, but we don't even get any scenes of his family being mean to her.
This book didn't have to be 500 pages long, in order to do that -- Cate C Wells' books are about the same length as this one, and in her books like Return to Monte Carlo, we get a scene of the hero's family being mean to the heroine, so that we really understand that dynamic. This book is just bare bones telling us this information, without showing it. So, the angst didn't land as well as it should have.
And weirdly, it skipped over relevant details like that, but then it picked odd irrelevant stuff to show on the page. For example, at the beginning when Ariana and Grayson meet in college, he hooks up a lot. Their "meet cute" is actually gross, because she sees him in the library getting a BJ from another woman. I know a lot of readers would hate that. I don't mind it, IF it's relevant to their relationship, or is deeply rooted in his character and understanding his behavior. Like, what was going on inside of him psychologically that made him such a playboy? Why is Ariana so special that he changed his ways for her? This story didn't address any of that, and it didn't end up being relevant to his character, or to their relationship.
So the story included random stuff like that, and then it didn't include things that it DID need to address. Like, Grayson kept saying he wasn't sure why he acted the way he did on the night of the disaster -- why he didn't even question Ariana "cheating" on him, and immediately threw her out. Him having anger issues and blindly trusting his family is much more relevant to this story's plot than him being a playboy!
Instead of showing us him hooking up with other woman (which didn't end up being relevant), why didn't this book instead show us why he was so blind to his family being evil? Why didn't it show us what could have been going on in his mind, to make him so angry and impulsive? It's not satisfying when we're 70% into this book and he's sorry about what he did, but he's still like, "I'm still not sure why I acted like that."
All of this stuff could have been fixed if the author spent like, 1 more month putting this book through another draft or two. This had potential. So, if she has anyone around her - beta readers, editors - they're doing her dirty, in not telling her that (unless they are, and she's ignoring it).
Ariana and Grayson meet in college and fall in love. A few years later, at their engagement party, she's set up to look like she's cheating on him. She's not. Instead of noticing that she is literally drugged and half-unconscious, or asking her any questions about what happened, Grayson is enraged about her "cheating," kicks her out, and lets his family be awful to her. A few years later, Ariana comes back for revenge against everyone who was involved in that disaster: Grayson, his family who set it up, etc. For extra angst, when she returns, Grayson is engaged to another woman.
That's a good angsty premise! I'm into all that. (I also like that Ariana is not celibate while Grayson is engaged to an OW). The problem is, this feels like the first draft of a story that needs to be fleshed out and put through at least 2 more drafts. We're told that Ariana and Grayson have this deep connection, but we just have to take the story's word for it, it's hardly shown. We're told that his family was mean to her for a while before the disaster at their engagement party, but we don't even get any scenes of his family being mean to her.
This book didn't have to be 500 pages long, in order to do that -- Cate C Wells' books are about the same length as this one, and in her books like Return to Monte Carlo, we get a scene of the hero's family being mean to the heroine, so that we really understand that dynamic. This book is just bare bones telling us this information, without showing it. So, the angst didn't land as well as it should have.
And weirdly, it skipped over relevant details like that, but then it picked odd irrelevant stuff to show on the page. For example, at the beginning when Ariana and Grayson meet in college, he hooks up a lot. Their "meet cute" is actually gross, because she sees him in the library getting a BJ from another woman. I know a lot of readers would hate that. I don't mind it, IF it's relevant to their relationship, or is deeply rooted in his character and understanding his behavior. Like, what was going on inside of him psychologically that made him such a playboy? Why is Ariana so special that he changed his ways for her? This story didn't address any of that, and it didn't end up being relevant to his character, or to their relationship.
So the story included random stuff like that, and then it didn't include things that it DID need to address. Like, Grayson kept saying he wasn't sure why he acted the way he did on the night of the disaster -- why he didn't even question Ariana "cheating" on him, and immediately threw her out. Him having anger issues and blindly trusting his family is much more relevant to this story's plot than him being a playboy!
Instead of showing us him hooking up with other woman (which didn't end up being relevant), why didn't this book instead show us why he was so blind to his family being evil? Why didn't it show us what could have been going on in his mind, to make him so angry and impulsive? It's not satisfying when we're 70% into this book and he's sorry about what he did, but he's still like, "I'm still not sure why I acted like that."
All of this stuff could have been fixed if the author spent like, 1 more month putting this book through another draft or two. This had potential. So, if she has anyone around her - beta readers, editors - they're doing her dirty, in not telling her that (unless they are, and she's ignoring it).
Read
June 14, 2026Self note:To be written in the front of this book in small, tired handwriting, possibly while lying face-down on a rug.
I am not reading this yet. I am waiting for one of my Goodreads besties to take the bullet first. This is not enthusiasm. This is risk management.
Based on past experiences with this author, I already know the structural reality of her books: nobody is held accountable except the people who were not cheating. The actual cheaters and actual assholes will be coddled like teething infants. There will be rocking. There will be coddling. There will be something described with the same gentle energy as "tum tum time," which is a phrase I have to live with now. The male lead will suffer exactly one kind of suffering, and it will be the kind that happens entirely inside his own head while he looks brooding and damp. He will not lose his job, his friends, or his parking spot. He will simply think "I am sad" for three chapters, and the narrative will treat this as redemption.
I am begging the universe, with the enthusiasm of someone filling out taxes, that this time the asshole actually suffers in real, external, humiliating ways. I want him to be embarrassed in public. I want someone to yell at him. I want consequences that are not just him frowning at a river. But I am not optimistic. I have been burned before.
Now....Regarding the comments.
I have already seen the readers saying the FMC should have ended up with Stephen instead of the loser MMC who destroyed her life because he thought she cheated. And to those readers, I say this with the emotional weight : please just go ask ChatGPT to write you one chapter of FMC and Stephen being happy. Because if this author had written that ending, it would have been exactly one chapter. Maybe two, if she was feeling generous. In those one to two chapters, Stephen and the FMC would be platonic for ninety percent of the page count, then suddenly fall in love, get married, have kids, and build a business. All of it would happen in dialogue like "I guess we're married now" and "the twins are named after your grandmother." And then the author would have to do the real work, which is writing a whole sequel love story for the original loser MMC.
And that sequel would feature a new female lead. You already know her. She is a manic pixie nightmare wrapped in blonde highlights. She is not like other girls. She will tell you this within three pages. She owns a bakery. She has a black belt. She says things like "I beat the shit out of losers" while standing directly in front of a loser she will spend the entire book drooling over. She herself got cheated on last Tuesday, but that will not stop her from staring at the MMC's jawline in chapter one. And this is not a hypothetical. This actually happened in a real book by this author. I read it with my own two eyes. The hero of that story had a name that rhymed with "asshole." And also with "troll." And also with "dole," as in the thing you might go on after spending money on that book. And also with "pole," as in the thing you would rather struck him with than read his internal monologue again. And also with "bowl," as in the thing you would like to vomit into. His name was exactly one consonant away from being a lump of carbon you dig out of the ground. You know who I mean. We all know who I mean.
And you know what? You are all too insensitive to make this author do the labor of writing a two-chapter love story for the FMC and Stephen. That would be labor. Actual work. She would have to make sure the FMC did not upgrade, actually. Because God forbid a woman ends up with someone who didn't ruin her life over a misunderstanding. That would require emotional nuance and page time. Meanwhile, writing a whole sequel about the original loser? That is not labor. That is not hard work. That is just... letting the wattpad girlies cry. That sequel would take an emotional toll. On them. Specifically. The kind of emotional toll that involves posting crying gifs in the comments and saying "he just needs love" while ignoring that he committed emotional arson on the FMC's entire life. That sequel would be the Temu version of Fifty Shades of Grey trauma porn. Same cheap packaging. Same red flags painted as romance. Same "I can fix him" energy but with worse grammar and a hero whose name rhymes with a hole in the ground.
So no. I am not reading this until someone I trust tells me there is no tum tum time, no boo-boo kissing, and no scene where the MMC cries softly and the FMC pets his hair like he is a rescue puppy who peed on the carpet but looked sad about it. I want him to face consequences. Real ones. Not thought-suffering. Not internal angst. I want him to be wrong and for the book to know he is wrong without making it the FMC's job to fix him with the power of her forgiveness.
Until then, this book sits on the shelf. Staring at me. Judging me. Waiting for me to be weak.
I will not be weak....well Probably.
Anyway....That's the note.
I am not reading this yet. I am waiting for one of my Goodreads besties to take the bullet first. This is not enthusiasm. This is risk management.
Based on past experiences with this author, I already know the structural reality of her books: nobody is held accountable except the people who were not cheating. The actual cheaters and actual assholes will be coddled like teething infants. There will be rocking. There will be coddling. There will be something described with the same gentle energy as "tum tum time," which is a phrase I have to live with now. The male lead will suffer exactly one kind of suffering, and it will be the kind that happens entirely inside his own head while he looks brooding and damp. He will not lose his job, his friends, or his parking spot. He will simply think "I am sad" for three chapters, and the narrative will treat this as redemption.
I am begging the universe, with the enthusiasm of someone filling out taxes, that this time the asshole actually suffers in real, external, humiliating ways. I want him to be embarrassed in public. I want someone to yell at him. I want consequences that are not just him frowning at a river. But I am not optimistic. I have been burned before.
Now....Regarding the comments.
I have already seen the readers saying the FMC should have ended up with Stephen instead of the loser MMC who destroyed her life because he thought she cheated. And to those readers, I say this with the emotional weight : please just go ask ChatGPT to write you one chapter of FMC and Stephen being happy. Because if this author had written that ending, it would have been exactly one chapter. Maybe two, if she was feeling generous. In those one to two chapters, Stephen and the FMC would be platonic for ninety percent of the page count, then suddenly fall in love, get married, have kids, and build a business. All of it would happen in dialogue like "I guess we're married now" and "the twins are named after your grandmother." And then the author would have to do the real work, which is writing a whole sequel love story for the original loser MMC.
And that sequel would feature a new female lead. You already know her. She is a manic pixie nightmare wrapped in blonde highlights. She is not like other girls. She will tell you this within three pages. She owns a bakery. She has a black belt. She says things like "I beat the shit out of losers" while standing directly in front of a loser she will spend the entire book drooling over. She herself got cheated on last Tuesday, but that will not stop her from staring at the MMC's jawline in chapter one. And this is not a hypothetical. This actually happened in a real book by this author. I read it with my own two eyes. The hero of that story had a name that rhymed with "asshole." And also with "troll." And also with "dole," as in the thing you might go on after spending money on that book. And also with "pole," as in the thing you would rather struck him with than read his internal monologue again. And also with "bowl," as in the thing you would like to vomit into. His name was exactly one consonant away from being a lump of carbon you dig out of the ground. You know who I mean. We all know who I mean.
And you know what? You are all too insensitive to make this author do the labor of writing a two-chapter love story for the FMC and Stephen. That would be labor. Actual work. She would have to make sure the FMC did not upgrade, actually. Because God forbid a woman ends up with someone who didn't ruin her life over a misunderstanding. That would require emotional nuance and page time. Meanwhile, writing a whole sequel about the original loser? That is not labor. That is not hard work. That is just... letting the wattpad girlies cry. That sequel would take an emotional toll. On them. Specifically. The kind of emotional toll that involves posting crying gifs in the comments and saying "he just needs love" while ignoring that he committed emotional arson on the FMC's entire life. That sequel would be the Temu version of Fifty Shades of Grey trauma porn. Same cheap packaging. Same red flags painted as romance. Same "I can fix him" energy but with worse grammar and a hero whose name rhymes with a hole in the ground.
So no. I am not reading this until someone I trust tells me there is no tum tum time, no boo-boo kissing, and no scene where the MMC cries softly and the FMC pets his hair like he is a rescue puppy who peed on the carpet but looked sad about it. I want him to face consequences. Real ones. Not thought-suffering. Not internal angst. I want him to be wrong and for the book to know he is wrong without making it the FMC's job to fix him with the power of her forgiveness.
Until then, this book sits on the shelf. Staring at me. Judging me. Waiting for me to be weak.
I will not be weak....well Probably.
Anyway....That's the note.
July 16, 2026
2.5 Frustrating ⭐’s
This was a frustrating read for me because once again, I’m sitting at the lunch table by myself trying to understand everyone else because I just don’t get this. The blurb is vague so if you want ZERO details please stop here. 🛑
In a nutshell, Grayson and Ari have a relationship and get engaged. On the night of their engagement party his best friend Christian drugs her, strips her, and pretends to have sex with her. Gray seeing this, flies into a rage and drags her out of the house with her stumbling along mumbling and throws her out right in front of the guests.
We’re later told that Ari for some reason has been hanging out with Christian going on like hangout dates without Gray and that he openly flirts with her, but she blows it off as harmless. And that Gray was sent sus looking pics of the two that he didn’t believe until he caught them naked.
Pushing aside the fact that he didn’t notice she was inebriated which seems like a stretch. I could not understand the events that followed.
Ari went to the hospital/clinic and got a rape kit. She verified she was drugged but it didn’t look like she was penetrated (which she wasn’t although it was still assault). But rather than taking that proof and calling the authorities to press charges and clear her name; she immediately starts talking about her long game revenge plan (that will take years) and how she will get them all back. Like what?
Why would she need revenge when she could just have Christian arrested? Why wouldn’t she try to let Gray know the truth if she loved him? She could’ve phoned, sent a text, forwarded the hospital documents, sent a telegram, sent her friends… any of that would have fixed it. Was it that crazy that he saw his naked fiancée “having sex” and ASSumed they were having sex?
She did not deserve to be drugged stripped naked and humped, but her RAGE should have been directed at Christian and the people that set it up, not Gray. Ari was Christian’s victim not Gray’s, and it was INSANITY that this book repeatedly not only compared and put Christian and Gray’s offenses in the same column but acted like Gray’s needed punished more. In what world is breaking up with your girlfriend (or even throwing her out of your house) when you see what you think is cheating worse than committing SA?
And Ari kept saying he didn’t believe me when she never denied it… not once. He believed his eyeballs then she disappeared. She didn’t give him a chance to believe her.
Then she seemed like such a hypocrite when she’s giving her assaulter a pass while trying to RUIN the man she supposedly loves (not to mention all the innocent people he employs) while acting like she’s perfect meanwhile she’s knowingly and admittedly using and stringing along Stephen. And don’t get me started on her stomping in his office FURIOUS, yelling when she thinks he tried to block her food orders that he’s a dick and trying to sabotage her when that’s EXACTLY what she’s been doing to him, then still acts all sanctimonious after she knows he didn’t and doubles down on being a bitch.
Past the first chapter, Gray was like a male martyr. Sad and moping, begging to make amends to the point of it getting boring. I did think he was more mature, and a much better partner to Lila than Ari was to Stephen. I wouldn’t have been sad if they (Lila & Gray) ended up together, but I thought Stephen deserved better than Ari, especially after she started whatever it was with the chef.
Bottom Line- I didn’t love it. I felt like she oversold the hate and made Ari look petty and honestly, she treated Stephen like dog shit. Maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t understand why Gray received so much hate. It would be different if he believed his friend over her, but that wasn’t what happened. He had no idea she was drugged, so his truth was that she cheated on him. I mean how many books have we read where the h runs out because of a misunderstanding? It’s a standard plot device. So, it was boring as hell when the groveling and bitterness went on for almost the entire book.
There were so many parts that needed fleshed out, and so many discussions that never happened about the breakup. They needed to put it all on the table, the pictures, the setup, his family, but not just focus on hate and revenge. I wish it was paced better, and they got together sooner, then spent a larger chunk of page time going after the real villains of the story… Christian and his family. I didn’t like Demi’s “comeuppance” at all… I LOVE the evil OW getting hers, but domestic violence isn’t it.
*This annoyed me a fair bit, but I’ve decided to round up books that are free of ai-isms as a thank you to authors that are still doing the work.
This was a frustrating read for me because once again, I’m sitting at the lunch table by myself trying to understand everyone else because I just don’t get this. The blurb is vague so if you want ZERO details please stop here. 🛑
In a nutshell, Grayson and Ari have a relationship and get engaged. On the night of their engagement party his best friend Christian drugs her, strips her, and pretends to have sex with her. Gray seeing this, flies into a rage and drags her out of the house with her stumbling along mumbling and throws her out right in front of the guests.
We’re later told that Ari for some reason has been hanging out with Christian going on like hangout dates without Gray and that he openly flirts with her, but she blows it off as harmless. And that Gray was sent sus looking pics of the two that he didn’t believe until he caught them naked.
Pushing aside the fact that he didn’t notice she was inebriated which seems like a stretch. I could not understand the events that followed.
Ari went to the hospital/clinic and got a rape kit. She verified she was drugged but it didn’t look like she was penetrated (which she wasn’t although it was still assault). But rather than taking that proof and calling the authorities to press charges and clear her name; she immediately starts talking about her long game revenge plan (that will take years) and how she will get them all back. Like what?
Why would she need revenge when she could just have Christian arrested? Why wouldn’t she try to let Gray know the truth if she loved him? She could’ve phoned, sent a text, forwarded the hospital documents, sent a telegram, sent her friends… any of that would have fixed it. Was it that crazy that he saw his naked fiancée “having sex” and ASSumed they were having sex?
She did not deserve to be drugged stripped naked and humped, but her RAGE should have been directed at Christian and the people that set it up, not Gray. Ari was Christian’s victim not Gray’s, and it was INSANITY that this book repeatedly not only compared and put Christian and Gray’s offenses in the same column but acted like Gray’s needed punished more. In what world is breaking up with your girlfriend (or even throwing her out of your house) when you see what you think is cheating worse than committing SA?
And Ari kept saying he didn’t believe me when she never denied it… not once. He believed his eyeballs then she disappeared. She didn’t give him a chance to believe her.
Then she seemed like such a hypocrite when she’s giving her assaulter a pass while trying to RUIN the man she supposedly loves (not to mention all the innocent people he employs) while acting like she’s perfect meanwhile she’s knowingly and admittedly using and stringing along Stephen. And don’t get me started on her stomping in his office FURIOUS, yelling when she thinks he tried to block her food orders that he’s a dick and trying to sabotage her when that’s EXACTLY what she’s been doing to him, then still acts all sanctimonious after she knows he didn’t and doubles down on being a bitch.
Past the first chapter, Gray was like a male martyr. Sad and moping, begging to make amends to the point of it getting boring. I did think he was more mature, and a much better partner to Lila than Ari was to Stephen. I wouldn’t have been sad if they (Lila & Gray) ended up together, but I thought Stephen deserved better than Ari, especially after she started whatever it was with the chef.
Bottom Line- I didn’t love it. I felt like she oversold the hate and made Ari look petty and honestly, she treated Stephen like dog shit. Maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t understand why Gray received so much hate. It would be different if he believed his friend over her, but that wasn’t what happened. He had no idea she was drugged, so his truth was that she cheated on him. I mean how many books have we read where the h runs out because of a misunderstanding? It’s a standard plot device. So, it was boring as hell when the groveling and bitterness went on for almost the entire book.
There were so many parts that needed fleshed out, and so many discussions that never happened about the breakup. They needed to put it all on the table, the pictures, the setup, his family, but not just focus on hate and revenge. I wish it was paced better, and they got together sooner, then spent a larger chunk of page time going after the real villains of the story… Christian and his family. I didn’t like Demi’s “comeuppance” at all… I LOVE the evil OW getting hers, but domestic violence isn’t it.
*This annoyed me a fair bit, but I’ve decided to round up books that are free of ai-isms as a thank you to authors that are still doing the work.
June 9, 2026
Nooooo, why the fuck did she take him back !?! Like gave him another chance. He betrayed, he ruined her, completely destroyed her and few sweet words after he gets to know the truth, that he didn't even try to find himself, and his too little, too late apologies start. Stephen my poor man. No I didn't expect this sort of betrayal from this author. 💔💔
June 10, 2026
I really have an issue with DV being used as a comeuppance. Particularly the way it’s casually dropped in and no one says boo about it.
2.5 stars
2.5 stars
June 17, 2026
A lot about this story just really bothered me.. first of all, he should have been able to tell that his fiancee was literally drugged??? Second, her not telling him the truth right away felt like a way to just prolong the drama. Third, he almost grovelled too much… like it got to the point where I felt embarrassed for him and when the MMC is no longer desirable, I lose interest. Also, of course she’s the girl every single successful guy wants 🙈
Personally, didn’t really like any of the characters in this book.
Personally, didn’t really like any of the characters in this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 11, 2026
1. Grayson and Ari met in college where he pursued her relentlessly to get her to go out with him. I wanted to give Ari a high five for knowing her worth and making him work for it. But after she finally agreed to go out with him, he humiliated her by constantly flirting with other girls and letting them hang all over him knowing that everyone on campus thought they were a couple. She finally had to give him an ultimatum to make him agree to be with just her. She should have grown a spine and some self respect, walked away and never looked back.
2. I think that Ari’s need for revenge was completely justified and I didn’t like that Grayson was “disappointed” in her and that her friends tried to make her feel guilty for it. At the same time, I lost respect for her when she had no problem with all of the people who were collateral damage in her schemes.
3. There are some acts that are irredeemable and I’m afraid that to me, Grayson’s treatment of Ari was one of them.
4. When there were whole scenes and conversations from chapter 24 repeated in chapter 29, I’d had enough.
DNF
2. I think that Ari’s need for revenge was completely justified and I didn’t like that Grayson was “disappointed” in her and that her friends tried to make her feel guilty for it. At the same time, I lost respect for her when she had no problem with all of the people who were collateral damage in her schemes.
3. There are some acts that are irredeemable and I’m afraid that to me, Grayson’s treatment of Ari was one of them.
4. When there were whole scenes and conversations from chapter 24 repeated in chapter 29, I’d had enough.
DNF
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 9, 2026
DV should not be used as comeuppance for OW. We see her showing up to an event at the end of the book with bruises and verbal abůse from her husband. Absolutely not. She absolutely deserved something for her part in what happened, but never DV.
June 9, 2026
I usually really like this author but this book felt really disjointed, the beginning and end of this book is written in a way that feels like the book was written by two different people as the style of writing is completely different.
Did Not Finish
June 11, 2026First red flag was the female lead getting turned on watching the male lead get blown in a library. I personally hate shit like that, added to the virgin heroine-manwhore hero dynamic.
I decided to skip ahead to the gut punch moment and then the moment where the hero finally finds out she was assaulted (and the heroine had plenty of opportunities to tell him but refused to because she was afraid of him not believing her? Despite her being here for revenge? Girl why do you care?), to see if things got better. And when the hero finds out his best friend Christian raped his fiancee... he asks how Christian could do this to him. I was already losing faith in how the book was gonna handle such a serious topic, considering it refused to call a spade a spade and said Christian "hurt" her, but the confrontation convinced me I was gonna be disappointed by the other 400 pages of this book so I DNF'd.
I decided to skip ahead to the gut punch moment and then the moment where the hero finally finds out she was assaulted (and the heroine had plenty of opportunities to tell him but refused to because she was afraid of him not believing her? Despite her being here for revenge? Girl why do you care?), to see if things got better. And when the hero finds out his best friend Christian raped his fiancee... he asks how Christian could do this to him. I was already losing faith in how the book was gonna handle such a serious topic, considering it refused to call a spade a spade and said Christian "hurt" her, but the confrontation convinced me I was gonna be disappointed by the other 400 pages of this book so I DNF'd.
July 2, 2026
Cheater playboy with less neurons than a jellyfish. And jellyfish are notorious for having like, 10 neurons in total.
And the heroine for some unknown reasons falls madly in love with the lesser being.
She’s actually a funny, strong, nice woman with a very bright personality so why did she fall for a scumbag like that? Is demeaning for all women around.
So, they meet at college, he’s the campus manwhore. She sees him having a bj and afterwards he asks her on a date.
And after a very little show of resistance she accepts.
He keeps flirting with ow, which didn’t endear him to me at all.
She eventually gives him an ultimatum and after some time he accepts, very unwillingly and very unpleasantly.
Why any woman with an ounce of self respect would find him attractive, I just don’t know.
Even with a face like harry caville and the body of Jason momoa I’d never give him the time of my day.
Never.
Whatever.
They get together and stay together for some years until his bff basically assaults her, drugs her and makes it look like they slept together.
The hero doesn’t even give her the chance to explain and tosses her out of his life, house and she leaves in despair.
I wonder why she didn’t file for sexual assault and didn’t ask for a drug test, there are many and she was forced to take the drug so why didn’t she at least prosecute the sob who drugged and assaulted her?
Years later she’s back for revenge.
I had great expectations for her revenge which I hoped included both the guy who assaulted, the hero’s relatives who wanted her out of his life and most of all the hero himself.
But sadly there was no jail time for anyone here, just recriminations.
Since the premises, that is the assault and drugging, were scenarios that reminded me a lot of C drama or K drama, I hoped her revenge would be very kdrama too, with some hard karma for the guilt parts, hero included.
Btw.
When heroine returns, she’s got a nice FWB and she’s not been celibate at all, but the hero did worse.
He is engaged to ow meaning he’s not been pining at all for the heroine.
He didn’t try to find her, he didn’t regret sending her away, he wouldn’t have done nothing and would have married ow if the heroine hadn’t been back with her uncomfortable truth.
And this is what I disliked most of him.
He regretted his behavior only when he found out the truth, and even then, I wasn’t satisfied with the level of regret and groveling.
I liked the om best, I wish she had married him and just got revenge on those who wanted her out of the hero’s life.
I still don’t understand why she took the hero back.
He was awful when they met, a shallow playboy who just committed to her because she left him, and not because he didn’t want anyone else, and he was unacceptable when he threw her out of his house and believed op lies, since his trust should have gone to her and not to any other people, relatives included.
He was such an unpleasant and empty character and the heroine should have moved on instead of having him still in her heart, what kind of woman accepts back a man who wasn’t even able to protect her and defend her from being physically hurt? She was drugged forcibly by his bff! Really? The man should have served jail time! This is much more than just deception, it’s not some AI scheme with false photos or false emails. She could have died if she had a bad reaction to the drug! And yet, no jail for anyone. Really? And he didn’t notice she was barely conscious? Because of his anger issues? Imagine my anger issues if my bf instead of defending me defended the people who hurt me! I’d ruin his, their life forever! They would become viral and I’d become rich with the kind of videos I’d post about them! They wouldn’t be able to walk out of their house without having people throwing rotten eggs to their ugly faces. This, is revenge.
It’s the bare minimum.
No self respect. No self love, no self confidence here, despite the author wanted to portray the heroine as a badass kind of woman. No, sorry but I don’t want this. In a couple of books this author had the heroine move on from betrayal to other men who were much worthier than the previous partner, but here she failed to persuade me that he was worth the while.
And the heroine for some unknown reasons falls madly in love with the lesser being.
She’s actually a funny, strong, nice woman with a very bright personality so why did she fall for a scumbag like that? Is demeaning for all women around.
So, they meet at college, he’s the campus manwhore. She sees him having a bj and afterwards he asks her on a date.
And after a very little show of resistance she accepts.
He keeps flirting with ow, which didn’t endear him to me at all.
She eventually gives him an ultimatum and after some time he accepts, very unwillingly and very unpleasantly.
Why any woman with an ounce of self respect would find him attractive, I just don’t know.
Even with a face like harry caville and the body of Jason momoa I’d never give him the time of my day.
Never.
Whatever.
They get together and stay together for some years until his bff basically assaults her, drugs her and makes it look like they slept together.
The hero doesn’t even give her the chance to explain and tosses her out of his life, house and she leaves in despair.
I wonder why she didn’t file for sexual assault and didn’t ask for a drug test, there are many and she was forced to take the drug so why didn’t she at least prosecute the sob who drugged and assaulted her?
Years later she’s back for revenge.
I had great expectations for her revenge which I hoped included both the guy who assaulted, the hero’s relatives who wanted her out of his life and most of all the hero himself.
But sadly there was no jail time for anyone here, just recriminations.
Since the premises, that is the assault and drugging, were scenarios that reminded me a lot of C drama or K drama, I hoped her revenge would be very kdrama too, with some hard karma for the guilt parts, hero included.
Btw.
When heroine returns, she’s got a nice FWB and she’s not been celibate at all, but the hero did worse.
He is engaged to ow meaning he’s not been pining at all for the heroine.
He didn’t try to find her, he didn’t regret sending her away, he wouldn’t have done nothing and would have married ow if the heroine hadn’t been back with her uncomfortable truth.
And this is what I disliked most of him.
He regretted his behavior only when he found out the truth, and even then, I wasn’t satisfied with the level of regret and groveling.
I liked the om best, I wish she had married him and just got revenge on those who wanted her out of the hero’s life.
I still don’t understand why she took the hero back.
He was awful when they met, a shallow playboy who just committed to her because she left him, and not because he didn’t want anyone else, and he was unacceptable when he threw her out of his house and believed op lies, since his trust should have gone to her and not to any other people, relatives included.
He was such an unpleasant and empty character and the heroine should have moved on instead of having him still in her heart, what kind of woman accepts back a man who wasn’t even able to protect her and defend her from being physically hurt? She was drugged forcibly by his bff! Really? The man should have served jail time! This is much more than just deception, it’s not some AI scheme with false photos or false emails. She could have died if she had a bad reaction to the drug! And yet, no jail for anyone. Really? And he didn’t notice she was barely conscious? Because of his anger issues? Imagine my anger issues if my bf instead of defending me defended the people who hurt me! I’d ruin his, their life forever! They would become viral and I’d become rich with the kind of videos I’d post about them! They wouldn’t be able to walk out of their house without having people throwing rotten eggs to their ugly faces. This, is revenge.
It’s the bare minimum.
No self respect. No self love, no self confidence here, despite the author wanted to portray the heroine as a badass kind of woman. No, sorry but I don’t want this. In a couple of books this author had the heroine move on from betrayal to other men who were much worthier than the previous partner, but here she failed to persuade me that he was worth the while.
June 8, 2026
Ok I am unable to leave a more detailed review at this time, but will be back to flesh it out at a later date!
Ariana and Grayson were in love. They consumed each other. However, evil forces were at work. Jealousy and greed along with valued friends, ow wannabes, and family were working against them. When Ariana is found in a compromising position with Grayson’s bff, he doesn’t give her a chance to explain. He is very cruel and removes her from his life in a brutal demoralizing way! He basically runs her out of town and makes her whole family outcasts.
She was set up. She is angry. She is out for revenge.
Neither one remained celibate in their years apart. Grayson is engaged to Lila, and Ariana has a very wealthy fwb going on with Stephen. But beneath all the hate, Grayson and Ariana still burn for each other. Is it love? Passion? Hate? Or a combination…
Ariana’s revenge took center stage. Even when truths started to be revealed, she was only interested in one thing…destroying Grayson and anyone who took part in her destruction. They underestimated her. They underestimated her connections. They might have burned down the relationship, but she rose from the ashes like a magnificent phoenix!
As the story progresses however, we see that revenge is not always worth the cost. Ariana risks losing her humanity in pursuit of justice and restitution. It makes one start to question who are the real villains and who are the victims? Some you will see stay the same throughout, while other character roles become more murky.
I started this story despising Grayson. How could he not see what was happening? How could he treat her the way he did? By the end of the story, I am asking myself Why is Ariana continuing in this scheme? Does she not see Grayson’s pain? His love?
Lots of people to despise in this story! Some secrets get revealed. And betrayals take many forms.
This is a second chance story. Our two original characters have a long bumpy road ahead of them, but they do make it back to each other. I cried when it looked like it was all lost, but Jona gives us a fabulous ending with and epilogue, that put my torn up heart back together again.
Ariana and Grayson were in love. They consumed each other. However, evil forces were at work. Jealousy and greed along with valued friends, ow wannabes, and family were working against them. When Ariana is found in a compromising position with Grayson’s bff, he doesn’t give her a chance to explain. He is very cruel and removes her from his life in a brutal demoralizing way! He basically runs her out of town and makes her whole family outcasts.
She was set up. She is angry. She is out for revenge.
Neither one remained celibate in their years apart. Grayson is engaged to Lila, and Ariana has a very wealthy fwb going on with Stephen. But beneath all the hate, Grayson and Ariana still burn for each other. Is it love? Passion? Hate? Or a combination…
Ariana’s revenge took center stage. Even when truths started to be revealed, she was only interested in one thing…destroying Grayson and anyone who took part in her destruction. They underestimated her. They underestimated her connections. They might have burned down the relationship, but she rose from the ashes like a magnificent phoenix!
As the story progresses however, we see that revenge is not always worth the cost. Ariana risks losing her humanity in pursuit of justice and restitution. It makes one start to question who are the real villains and who are the victims? Some you will see stay the same throughout, while other character roles become more murky.
I started this story despising Grayson. How could he not see what was happening? How could he treat her the way he did? By the end of the story, I am asking myself Why is Ariana continuing in this scheme? Does she not see Grayson’s pain? His love?
Lots of people to despise in this story! Some secrets get revealed. And betrayals take many forms.
This is a second chance story. Our two original characters have a long bumpy road ahead of them, but they do make it back to each other. I cried when it looked like it was all lost, but Jona gives us a fabulous ending with and epilogue, that put my torn up heart back together again.
June 9, 2026
Cheating = there was no actual cheating but the H was tricked into believing the h cheated with his bff at their engagement party
H sees h with OM = H walks in on his bff/om and the h looking like they are about to have sex
SA/R = h was drugged by the bff/OM and was assaulted but no penetration. h had thought she was sexually assaulted but at the hospital they told her that it did not look like she had sex
OW/OM drama = bff/OM was actually gay and was blackmailed by H's sister/OW1 to assault the h. Comeuppance? BFF/OM loses his boyfriend and exiles himself to live on a farm for years. Still terrified he will be outed, but he does come clean with both the h and H, then he ends up with his boyfriend and they leave town as the h really could not ever forgive him (as she shouldn't). OW1 along with several other OW (H's mom, chick that wanted the H) all worked to separate the H from the h and did so with the whole SA/R set up they made to look like the h was cheating. They also, out of H's earshot, were mean and insulting to the h. Comeuppance? When h comes back to town, she makes them all pay and it is a glorious takedown.
The h gets her pounds of flesh back and then some!
Grovel = once H knows the truth his grovel is selfless and intense. Takes a while but eventually they find their way back to each other.
H sees h with OM = H walks in on his bff/om and the h looking like they are about to have sex
SA/R = h was drugged by the bff/OM and was assaulted but no penetration. h had thought she was sexually assaulted but at the hospital they told her that it did not look like she had sex
OW/OM drama = bff/OM was actually gay and was blackmailed by H's sister/OW1 to assault the h. Comeuppance? BFF/OM loses his boyfriend and exiles himself to live on a farm for years. Still terrified he will be outed, but he does come clean with both the h and H, then he ends up with his boyfriend and they leave town as the h really could not ever forgive him (as she shouldn't). OW1 along with several other OW (H's mom, chick that wanted the H) all worked to separate the H from the h and did so with the whole SA/R set up they made to look like the h was cheating. They also, out of H's earshot, were mean and insulting to the h. Comeuppance? When h comes back to town, she makes them all pay and it is a glorious takedown.
The h gets her pounds of flesh back and then some!
Grovel = once H knows the truth his grovel is selfless and intense. Takes a while but eventually they find their way back to each other.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 13, 2026
really incredible journey
I wasn’t sure that there was a single way for me to forgive Grace. After everything that he did and the way he didn’t trust her coming back from that seemed an insurmountable mountain. However, as often found with this author, she found a way and after really sitting and thinking about this book and everything that they went through, I have to say it really was truly exceptional. I like that she did not have a celibate female. Too many authors continue to pigeonhole women to this role that we have fought for centuries to leave behind. I really liked the FMC. She stuck with the revenge until she could sit in a place with herself that she didn’t need it anymore. The only things I didn’t love about it were Stephen was an incredible character who I really wanted to find happiness and then the chef at her restaurant was also really great. I think I would’ve loved it even more if she had introduced some side characters that might’ve been the love interests for those men because they both deserve to happy ever after. Otherwise the book was perfect.
I wasn’t sure that there was a single way for me to forgive Grace. After everything that he did and the way he didn’t trust her coming back from that seemed an insurmountable mountain. However, as often found with this author, she found a way and after really sitting and thinking about this book and everything that they went through, I have to say it really was truly exceptional. I like that she did not have a celibate female. Too many authors continue to pigeonhole women to this role that we have fought for centuries to leave behind. I really liked the FMC. She stuck with the revenge until she could sit in a place with herself that she didn’t need it anymore. The only things I didn’t love about it were Stephen was an incredible character who I really wanted to find happiness and then the chef at her restaurant was also really great. I think I would’ve loved it even more if she had introduced some side characters that might’ve been the love interests for those men because they both deserve to happy ever after. Otherwise the book was perfect.
July 9, 2026
Only problem I had with this one is that Ariana was unlikeable to me throughout most of this book. It was the fact she kept messing with Stephen’s feelings, knowing he loved her and they’ve been hooking up for years and she not once sets him free. That was so selfish. THEN she decided to add Kenji into the mix? Why? The decision to take Kenji to the gala and not shoot his advances down straight away pissed me off, like girl you’re already stringing along one man for years now you wanna add another to the mix while you’re actually still in love with a third!?
I wanted to know more about Lila and Graysons relationship, why did he propose? Ariana didn’t ask many questions even when Grayson was professing his undying love and how he’s loved her all along and all I could think was “where was this love when you prosed to Lila after only one year?”. When there is OW relationship especially if the MMC is actually in love with OW I need to know everything about their relationship. I need to know the FMC is actually the one and the reasons why the MMC chose the OW.
I wanted to know more about Lila and Graysons relationship, why did he propose? Ariana didn’t ask many questions even when Grayson was professing his undying love and how he’s loved her all along and all I could think was “where was this love when you prosed to Lila after only one year?”. When there is OW relationship especially if the MMC is actually in love with OW I need to know everything about their relationship. I need to know the FMC is actually the one and the reasons why the MMC chose the OW.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 10, 2026
I like this author's imagination in that there is something a little uncommon in her approach to tropes. When I was about one third through this book so much had happened already I couldn't predict what more there could be to the story. The H "finds" the h with his friend during their engagement party and loses it and humiliates her in front of guests. This is a case of the H believing the worst rather than hearing the h's side and acting on it only to find out he was wrong. This trope is a favorite of mine. The h leaves town to avoid small town judgement and the H. Much to his surprise, she returns three years later and the bulk of the story becomes about her revenge. The H now has a fiancee and a horrible sister and parents. His grovel includes both small and large gestures.
Did Not Finish
June 18, 2026DNF @ 38%
I concur it’s humanly impossible to still be in love with someone who kicked you out after you were SAed. Like not an ounce of you would hold onto any love after facing such tragedy and yet being assaulted again within a minute by someone who should love and trust you.
No, not happening. After 3 years she is still in love?!?! I think she should have carved out some time out of her revenge plot to get therapy.
Also, why are The Hale’s investing in a business that’s run by an absolute new person with no experience whatsoever in the industry. Cmon you expect me to believe that 3 years is all it took for her to get backed up by such powerhouse.
I concur it’s humanly impossible to still be in love with someone who kicked you out after you were SAed. Like not an ounce of you would hold onto any love after facing such tragedy and yet being assaulted again within a minute by someone who should love and trust you.
No, not happening. After 3 years she is still in love?!?! I think she should have carved out some time out of her revenge plot to get therapy.
Also, why are The Hale’s investing in a business that’s run by an absolute new person with no experience whatsoever in the industry. Cmon you expect me to believe that 3 years is all it took for her to get backed up by such powerhouse.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 16, 2026
This started off great but then something went missing. I couldn't understand how she could give up her revenge plan against the one who actually assaulted her. Ariana became very wishy washy. I think it was trying to show how she really was a good girl and not an evil woman, but it made her look silly. I loved how Grayson quietly went about making amends. He wasn't looking for a medal he was just doing what felt right. I would have like a little more on his parents and sister, that felt like it was left hanging. What I absolutely did not enjoy was the scene at the restaurant at the end.
June 8, 2026
This was a new author to me, I just read the synopsis and I was sold!! The author wrote the longing,hate, angst soo good. I felt anger for grayson in the beginning of chapters for what he did to Arianna, but I fell in love with him later on. He was such a good soul it was astonishing that he belonged to such selfish and piece of shit family.. I loved Stephen's character too in this and I am hoping the writer gives his book to us bcs that man was sexy!!! Anyways, good book and I would definitely read her future books..
June 14, 2026
The story was pretty good but the execution was lacking. From the beginning of the story, the reason for revenge was weak and the build up of their love sounded more like obsession than love. Both Ari and Gray had chances later in life to rebuild and find happiness outside of each other but didn't bevause of the need for revenge but the reader hurts for those who were innocent and caught in the aftermath. I kept hoping to read what happened to the people who loved both these characters praying they get happy ending but there was no follow up. It was a little unsatisfying.
July 10, 2026
I have to give this story some grace because I do like this author's stories. They are about betrayal in some form or another, so I know going in they're going to be problematic. This one does end up with an HEA between the two mains.
IRL I wouldn't want Arianna to get back together with Grayson. But nor did I really want her with her other admirers either. This girl is gorgeous, has a queue of men after her and could get any man. Anyway the heart wants what it wants and all that, and all her heart wanted was Grayson... and I get that. So I'm giving it to them - problems, mess and all.
She did do Stephen a lil dirty, so one day I'd like to read about an HEA for him!
IRL I wouldn't want Arianna to get back together with Grayson. But nor did I really want her with her other admirers either. This girl is gorgeous, has a queue of men after her and could get any man. Anyway the heart wants what it wants and all that, and all her heart wanted was Grayson... and I get that. So I'm giving it to them - problems, mess and all.
She did do Stephen a lil dirty, so one day I'd like to read about an HEA for him!
June 13, 2026
this story was so good
At first I was anxious knowing that the point of no return for the story was coming. Then the FMC rise to vengeance was condoned yep I’ll say it. But the twist near the end…. I like a lot. Yes the original couple do come back together. But omg what happens to the villains of the story was karma at its best. I recommend to everyone 18+ due to mature themes.
At first I was anxious knowing that the point of no return for the story was coming. Then the FMC rise to vengeance was condoned yep I’ll say it. But the twist near the end…. I like a lot. Yes the original couple do come back together. But omg what happens to the villains of the story was karma at its best. I recommend to everyone 18+ due to mature themes.
June 8, 2026
Ohhh the gut punch!
This one gutted me, not once... but twice! Not only do you get the 1st brutal one that tore this beautiful cpl apart; you also got the 2nd when the mmc finds out what he thought happened was all a lie... This was a beautiful read and it was a written with such heart and soul. So much hurt and anger, so much love and longing. Another excellent book by Jona ❤️
This one gutted me, not once... but twice! Not only do you get the 1st brutal one that tore this beautiful cpl apart; you also got the 2nd when the mmc finds out what he thought happened was all a lie... This was a beautiful read and it was a written with such heart and soul. So much hurt and anger, so much love and longing. Another excellent book by Jona ❤️
June 8, 2026
Read this on her Patreon. I love how strong Ariana was systematically conducting her revenge and strategized her moves. Both had moved on with someone else before they met again but redeeming Grayson was not instant. He really worked hard for it.
June 9, 2026
he characters are terribly written, the female lead was the worst. It gave me a headache,and felt like some sort of teledrama.
Did Not Finish
June 9, 2026what in the storytelling t-t literally all tell, no show
June 10, 2026
Love the character development.. the villain got what they deserved.
June 11, 2026
Nice second chance book. Enough twists and turns to keep your attention. Definite fan of the author. Good summer read.
June 20, 2026
amazing read
Good book on betrayal and revenge. Liked both characters. Writing was solid and felt there was no AI or ESL element involved. Recommend to those who like this topic!
Good book on betrayal and revenge. Liked both characters. Writing was solid and felt there was no AI or ESL element involved. Recommend to those who like this topic!
June 21, 2026
Decent but Drawn Out
This was a good read, but a but drawn-out amd repetitive without much depth beyond revenge, but revenge cando that. OK, overall.
This was a good read, but a but drawn-out amd repetitive without much depth beyond revenge, but revenge cando that. OK, overall.
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