CHOSEN LAST: A Betrayal & Grovel Romance

by Grovel Lady

Genres: Second Chance, Family Drama, Contemporary

265 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 16, 2026

Reviews

[Jenny · Rating 1 out of 5]

who wrote this???

The bones of this story were good if you like stories of betrayal, but the writing is horrendous. It started out ok and I was actually pretty into it. But the more I read, the more I found myself having to reread sentences because they didn’t make sense. The characters all use the same repetitive phrases constantly. There were some paragraphs in this book that were emotional and actually seemed well written—and then there were paragraphs that like I said didn’t make sense at all. I quit at 87% because reading this gave me a headache.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m going to be honest. To start with I thought this book was good, decent and the writing maybe a little quirky, I liked the ‘let this be said’ ‘I said, it was true’ ‘I want it on the record’ ‘I need this clear between us’ until it was too much, repeated again and again, over and over, and from all 3 POV’s I thought omg again, not again…. And that ‘let this be said’ annoyed the crapola out of me.
So it’s getting 2.5 stars rounded up because it was an ok story line, and I would have enjoyed it if not for the excessive repetition.
It is my first book by Grovel Lady, so I’m really hoping this isn’t her writing style because ‘let it be on the record’ I won’t be bothering with anything else in the future. Sorry

[Amee · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5***
Overall I really enjoyed Chosen Last by Grovel Lady. A couple issues I’ve had with authors books in past, repetitive information or dialog, were still issues, but for me didn’t distract too much. Just something to clean up. This is emotional cheating only, though ow was too handsy if he was my man. She took every instance to engage in physical touch with our MMC, but always made it look innocent so our fmc is seen as jealous to his family, and this small nosy town for no reason. But what I enjoyed most is we get all three pov’s in multiple chapters, the OW one of them. And honestly it humanized her which most books in this trope don’t, only demonize. And yes, what she was doing was wrong and she got what she deserved in the end, but we get to experience her thoughts and memories and see she was damaged early on and didn’t have much of a chance. Not justifying, just humanizing. Overall a quick, enjoyable read for those who enjoy the cheating/redemption trope.

[Mona · Rating 2 out of 5]

I skipped read this bc after the first couple of chapters it just felt like the author was dragging things out—honestly the book could’ve been a hundred pages shorter bc I skipped like whole chapters and I still knew what was happening.

Spoilers: The ow has a POV in this and like why?! That whole situation was odd with her wanting to belong to a family but she had to be needed, spread lies, and be a bitch to the fmc in order for that to happen!? I did like that the fmc punched her in the face and the fmc line to the ow after that punch was chef’s kiss 😘 I liked the Latin feel of the story.

But nonetheless, 1.5

[1derfulreviews · Rating 2 out of 5]

WHY IS EVERY EMOTION AN EQUATION?

I'm so fvcking over seeing the word arithmetic in books being published now. If you're going to use AI to write or assist with your writing, at least tell it to stop pulling from the same damn repetitive literary toolbox that makes everything start sounding like a robot trying way too hard to be profound. This book used that word so many times that by the end, I wanted to scream. Not every emotion needs to be an equation, a calculation, a ledger, or whatever other variation of “look how deep this is” we're going with.

This had a good premise, and if it had actually been fleshed out properly, I think I would've really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, the execution just wasn't there for me.

The dual narration was repetitive, and there was hardly any actual dialogue between the main characters. Instead, we got pages of repetitive, sometimes nonsensical mundane shit playing out in internal monologues. The narration style itself also wasn't executed well. It uses a retrospective first-person POV where the characters frequently address the reader directly and comment on events with hindsight, but it constantly blurs the line between the character's actual perspective and an almost omniscient narrator.

This was especially noticeable with Alonzo. We're shown his in-the-moment thoughts as he rationalises his behaviour and genuinely believes his own excuses, yet the narration will suddenly explain his behavior with a level of self-awareness that he doesn't actually seem to possess at that point in the story. Then later, when he finally DOES acknowledge what he did, those earlier passages become even more confusing because apparently we're supposed to believe he understood all of this before he actually understood it himself. He's literally gaslighting himself while the narration is simultaneously explaining to the reader why he's wrong. Pick a lane.

The constant direct-to-reader commentary also became increasingly distracting. The repeated “I want to be clear,” “I want to be honest with you,” “I'll tell it straight,” etc. started feeling less like an intentional narrative choice and more like the book constantly stopping to explain what I'm supposed to feel or understand. Retrospective narration can absolutely work, but here, it often felt like the author was explaining the emotional meaning of a scene instead of just letting the scene speak for itself.

Then there's the grammar. Some sentences were genuinely nonsensical, and the issues seemed to get worse as the book went on. Add in the repetitive dialogue, head-hopping/POV confusion(why did we need the ow pov and then the mid switch of hers in the h's pov), and the constant repetition of the same thoughts and conversations, and eventually, the writing became more distracting than immersive.

And don't even get me started on his family. They pissed me off almost as much as the OW, who was just a POS who needed to deal with her own damn issues instead of making them everyone else's problem.

There was a good story buried in here somewhere. I just don't think it was edited, fleshed out, or executed well enough to get it out.

[Carole Copeland · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe a 2.5 stars

Hmmm, ok, first. When you get past the weird being narrated aspect of the story, the repetitive phrases used over and over...and over, the lengthy repeated details of the relationships breakdown...it wasn't too bad. I was going to give this a 3 star but the author kinda changed what I so appreciated about the story. I was so happy to see an author introduce the "other guy " but he wasn't, the other guy. She had her lead female character, show herself as strong and in touch with her inner turmoil that this guy from her past was never anything more than a friend. He was someone else in her life that she didn't have to suppress herself around just like her other friends. I liked that there was no, hey, you want to go out, it was just... friends . No weird eye contact or anything. I LOVED that. Some authors always have the woman find her self worth by jumping into bed with another guy. I like this because it shows a woman who values herself and knows she is in the middle of too much pain. What I didn't like was the author then changed it to where this guy would have been a safe door. Huh??? That wasn't even on the table and the lead female character wanted us to... understand...that they were just friends. So I don't think the friend needed a moment to tell her she just wanted a wood stove, same words she used in her thought life, a safe choice. They weren't even flirting with the idea so that wasn't needed. Him being a friend and letting her watch as some people really do change was a friend move. That's my two cents worth. Did I smell AI...maybe but her other books all read the same so one gets bored after a few. When I see an author puts out a book every week, I get suspicious. A real author digs deep and that takes time.

[Shanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good

Alonzo is a fool who believes he's a good man. He's the one you call when you need something and he'll come running. He's there for his family, his restaurant and his best friend Lola. Beth loves that he thinks of others until she realizes he prioritizes everyone before her. She learns this in a heartbreaking way. She learns that she doesn't want to be chosen last. She doesn't want to settle and make herself smaller to keep a place at the table. So she finally chooses herself first and refuses to settle for anyone who doesn't. Betrayal, Angst, Gaslighting, Grovel, Redemption Arc. Great story by one of me newer to me quickly becoming one of my favorite authors I look forward to reading more from.

[Coven · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is my favorite OW trope, so points for that.
The build up of betrayal was well done. We got to live in it not just be told about it.

However, I really can’t stand when the POV talks directly to the reader with lines like “I need to make this clear…”, “this is the truest thing I’ll say”, “I need to be honest about this” etc etc.
Drives me up the wall and takes me right out of the story.

I also felt like timelines bounced around a lot & didn’t make sense.

I did appreciate all the separate reconciliations! & I do buy the HEA.

Last third dragged for me too. But yay for betrayal!

[Leigh Cleary · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t think I’ve just read a book; instead I read the following lines (or a version of) hundreds of times until a migraine formed at the base of my skull:

- I want that on record, because it will matter later
- That was the part that ____, the one I didn’t know until later
- I want it noted, because it matters

Along with sentences that didn’t make sense, repeated lines behind the ones I noted above (from every character), this was complete rubbish. The worst of it was the story could’ve been a good one, if emotional affairs and betrayal are your thing. Unfortunately, this was my second Grovel Lady story, and I’m pleased to confirm it will be my last (because it was exactly the same with different names).

Terrible.

[Jill S · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, rounded up.

I was rooting for the other guy.

[Libby · Rating 1 out of 5]

Questions. I have questions. Was Lola back for a month or two years? How did she save the family catering business? Did anyone else feel super sorry for Lola? Could Alonzo been a bigger loser? Why did she not end up with Caleb? Is it really that hard to fall for a man with character, looks, a spine, no awful family, empathy, and his own veterinary clinic?

[CassInTheStacks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Won't be reading anymore.

The storyline is great. The problem is that the repetitive lines, and how slow it is. There was so much unnecessary repetitive filler.

[Dre · Rating 1 out of 5]

This could've been really good, but it was repetitive. I did think Alonzo earned his second chance, and I'm really interested in the om's (was it Caleb?!) story with the vet tech, but I'm not going to read it because I'm sure it will also be repetitive and have the same weird phrasing. I'm guessing this was AI or partly written by AI. I struggled to keep track of what happened when. I originally thought the MCs started dating two years ago, but then it sounded like the ow came back two years ago, and the fmc had been dealing with her BS for two years, and timing kept being thrown out, but it never seemed to make sense. I did like that the fmc left him and didn't just take him back when he apologized and sent gifts. She made him earn it as he should. But I didn't get the whole family thing, so I know they didn't know Alonzo had a fwb relationship with the ow in high school and even a few years after, but they had ended before he met the fmc. So I do get them thinking the fmc shouldn't have been jealous of him helping her at the beginning, but then they let her take over the fmc's place and treated her like she was Alonzo's gf and made really awful and rude comments to the fmc about how perfect Alonzo and the ow were and they were always in each other's pocket, etc. OK yes, she didn't need to originally be jealous, but you allowed the ow to take her place at the dinner table and everywhere else, and you couldn't see that? I am glad the fmc called the entire family out for not sticking up for her when they've known her for years and letting the ow throw her under the bus at the wedding, and basically telling the fmc she's crazy. I wouldn't have so easily accepted their apologies though. And the excuse that they didn't know about the fwb relationship doesn't matter. They're acknowledging they let the ow fill a bigger place in his life than she should have had while saying previously she shouldn't have been jealous that the ow was filling that place cuz they were always just friends, so which is it? She was filling too big a place in his life or the fmc was crazy for being jealous of her filling that spot in his life? Also, I'd have liked to hear more from Diego who had the ow pegged from the beginning. And Alonzo's comments about the ow not dating some other decent guy in town and how he wasn't good enough for the ow was never addressed. If he never had feelings for her, and was so in love with the fmc, then why wouldn't he let his brother set the ow up with the other guy? Why wasn't he good enough? He seemed jealous, but I guess because the fmc wasn't around for that conversation, it was forgotten about or was supposed to be nothing.

[Claudia]

The storyline of this book is completely up my street. Emotional cheating, a hero who is far too dumb to realise that his “friend” is interfering in his relationship, a fiancée who eventually has enough and leaves… honestly, this is exactly the sort of story I’d usually devour on Patreon or Wattpad.

There is no physical cheating, but we do have some emotional cheating. The hero and the OW did sleep together when they were younger, but he hadn’t been honest about that with either his family or his current fiancée, which obviously makes everything that happens between them even more hurtful. His family also take the friend’s side and blame the fiancée for quite a lot of what’s going wrong.

Eventually, the fiancée overhears a conversation between the hero and the OW, and that’s what finally pushes her over the edge. She leaves, and of course then he starts realising just how stupid he’s been and how much he’s allowed this woman to interfere in his relationship.

You also get the OW’s POV, which I actually thought was an interesting addition.

So premise-wise? This should have been completely my thing. Unfortunately, I’ve read a few books by this author now and I’ve realised that her writing style just isn’t for me. She writes in a very “telling you what happened” kind of way, rather than making me feel like I’m actually experiencing it with the characters.

There are a lot of sentences along the lines of, “I’m not going to tell you I didn’t feel that, because I did,” or “I’m not going to stand here and say I understood, because I didn’t.” At the beginning I don’t mind it, but as the story goes on it starts to feel really repetitive and tedious to me. Eventually I just find myself getting bored, even when I actually like what is happening in the story.

And that’s why I don’t really feel like I can fairly rate this one. The storyline itself has pretty much everything I normally love, but I just can’t get on with the way the story is told. That’s completely a personal preference though, because I can absolutely see this style working for someone else.

So unfortunately, no rating from me. Great premise, completely my kind of drama… just not my cup of tea when it comes to the writing style.

[Nikki ღ Navareus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm pretty sure that emotional cheating stories are my favorite trope out there. For me, these stories can be even more gutting than straight up physical cheating with no feelings stories. I can't get enough of this trope, so when I saw this story was another EC story, I had to dive in. And I was sucked in from the very beginning. This story had me getting that sick feeling in my stomach, experiencing the heroine's relationship slipping through her fingers, while watching the Hero devote all of his time and energy to his "close best friend" from his past. I haven't had that sick anxiety stomach feeling feeling since reading my all time favorite EC story Pulled Away. This story isn't quite that perfect, but for me it's pretty darn close. The OW/best friend was pretty freaking evil. And experiencing the devastation this heroine went through before she finally had a gut full and walked away from her Hero's shitty behavior as well as his family's shitty misjudgment, was exactly what I crave in these stories. I'll be a little honest though. This story did suffer a bit from some repetition (it wasn't enough to stop me or annoy me enough to count). AND the ending did drag a little bit, but aside from those two things, this story was pretty epic. I will ABSOLUTELY read this baby again in the future!

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cheating = while not explicitly said, I believe that there was emotional cheating occurring...you cannot keep choosing to spend time with OW and ignoring the h or cancelling on the h in favor of the OW always. H also gaslit the h and always took the OW's side. H spent a lot of time with the OW instead of with the h or fulfilling promises he made to others.

h sees H with OW = h is constantly sidelined by the H and OW. h has to watch the H give the OW his time and attention all while the OW gets to touch and cuddle up to the H like it is her right.

OW drama = OW knew what she was doing the whole time making sly innuendos and flat out accusations to belittle and humiliate the h. H never stood up for the h. H and his whole family turned on the h for the OW. Comeuppance? OW gets put firmly in her place by the h (and maybe the h's fist) then eventually, the whole town including the H sees the OW for what she is and they ice her out.

Grovel = H is so entitled to the h and her love that he has no issues making her dead last in all his considerations and expects to be the center of the h's world. That all crashes down on him and it takes about a year before the h even considers giving him another chance. H grovels by word and through deed.

[Margerm, Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

4 1/2 stars. At first this was one of those books that has me torn between needing to devour it quickly and wanting to savour it slowly. The H runs a restaurant with his family. The h owns a flower shop. They are engaged. Then the OW, someone from the H's past, comes back to town. The H chooses the OW instead of going to the h's father's birthday, allows the OW to replace her at the Sunday dinners and allows the OW to plant seeds of doubt without standing up for the h. These events are told from the points of view of the h, the H and the OW. The author used a very successful technique of sharing a character's thoughts and feelings in reacting during an event at the same time juxtaposing some reflections in hindsight. This resulted in intense angst almost on a par with Pulled Away by Siena Sloane which is a favourite of mine. The last quarter of the book dragged for me. There were several metaphors e.g., a wood burning stove, that bogged down the story. It's not uncommon for me to lose interest in the last part of a book so I might be difficult to please.

[Authentic Annalist · Rating 1 out of 5]

Getting Really Tired, And Bored Of The Evil OW Who Is Stuck In Poverty Being Made Into The Villain For All The Poor Capital Owners, Really Stinks Of Sexism

Never met a poor woman that is a "gold digger" and honestly I'm bored of the white liberals determined to make a cash strapped woman their scapegoat.

And the deliberate introspection from him and pretending he didn't know he didn't show up for two years.

Feck off.

Vulnerabler Narcissists don't care.

The Communal Abuse this community threw at her, nah I'd never forgive Communal Abuse, its too traumatising.

I think people who excuse it, are horrible.

I needed him to harm himself, some ego death, instead he is too quick o every answer.

He cheated and was cheating.

Was giving parts of himself to another person and knowingly only using her as a sleep aid.

Pathetic.

The idea that this man can grow, is toxic but I do love to watching Abusive Flying Monkeys, the authors, try.

[Kris · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok. Definitely had continuity issues. Very repetitive. I kind of felt more from the OW than the MMC and FMC. The MMC never really redeemed himself in my opinion, and he never actually had to do any work to earn forgiveness. He never fought for the h in the same way he did OW. He just let her go. In the end, he even wrote a letter telling her he didn't change his ways for her and that he could be without her and be fine, but he was letting her go and hoped she would be happy with whomever she chose, but she didn't need to let him know anything about it. Romantic, right. She had to come to him and she even proposed to him later.

[Tiffany M · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the plot and the format. But around the 70% I felt fatigued. The book became to wordy and fell into a linguistic calisthenics rhythm, IYKYK. I also found the MMC and his family not redeemable. I understand they were sorry and felt actual remorse, mistakes were made, but I don’t know if I would ever feel safe (emotionally) with them again. And even though he may never had physically cheated he did emotionally and at some time let his mind wonder the “what ifs” and I don’t know if that was addressed enough, maybe I just want my pound of flesh.

[Glenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but long

This was really a good story. Good plot, good characters, good villian in the OW. But it also felt long. The inner musings of the characters was repeatative. The same lines, her friend was like a woodstove, kept you warm and cozy but could be put out. Got it. There were many other lines, so many I started to skim.
By the end I just wanted the HEA to hurry up and get there.
Ok book, but needed less words and more feelings.

[Diedre · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was awesome giving you a complete picture of all three MCs. The hero in his rescue complex, the heroine trying to fit in with his family when the OW came on the scene, the OW in her poverty level of trying to be accepted so she manipulates people to get what she wants. It took me all the way to the end. I loved the way the author built the crisis little by little until you got the full picture of how selfish the OW was, how blind the hero was and how lost the heroine became. Loved it.

[Mrs R A Needham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Not the usual betrayal arc.

A well written, dual p.o.v, that doesn't follow many of the more two dimensional betrayal stories. The characters are human, with flaws that make them more real. I wanted to kill off the male lead in the beginning, for being so dense, but I'm happy to say he redeems himself after a lot of soul searching, and they get their HEA.

[Chase A M · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not impressed. Little to no grovel. FMC too weak and MMC bulldozes

Toxic untrustworthy MMC and MMC's family. Only in fiction would a FMC put up with toxic behavior then get back together with bulldozing man child. Don't waste your time or brain cells. There's loads of better books.

[Shanelle Willis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Realistic characters

Nicely written by a human, with realistic characters.

I have to wonder if there is an in joke that I’m not in on with these stories, when the author writes ‘four little words’ to describe five words the character said. Anyone know?

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Super repetitive - skimmed a lot of the last half

[Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story, skimmed the end though.

[Paige Whitecotton · Rating 5 out of 5]

oh wow.

Being chosen last. Bless her heart. Seeing it and nobody else what a horrible time. I can’t even imagine. Alonso the idiot.

[Saucy Sierra · Rating 4 out of 5]

The description says "cheating". Its OW drama, family drama, no physical cheating. Its the traditional "girl from my past, she needs help, she has no one, mmc family loves her" story.