Content levels
Trigger warnings
Hero archetypes
Heroine archetypes
Tropes
Themes
Synopsis
August I have been in love with Fletcher Calloway for five years. My best friend's older brother. Wealthy, guarded, and somehow the only man who has made me feel seen — while pretending he doesn't see me at all. Every summer at their beach villa, I convince myself it means nothing. Until this summer, when he brings his girlfriend. She is beautiful, polished, and cruel. She comes for me from the first day. I smile through every dig, every dinner table comment, every perfectly aimed insult. Until the night I stand behind a curtain and hear something that shatters my heart. Tropes: Overheard Betrayal Grumpy x Sunshine Dark Secret Other Woman Drama Epic Grovel Beach Romance Possessive Hero Author's Note: This is the first book in the Words of Ruin series — short standalones linked by one devastating truth: overheard words can destroy everything. Each book, a different season, a different secret. The same earth-shattering moment of hearing something you were never meant to hear. And the grovel? The knees-on-the-floor, heart-in-your-hands, please-give-me-a-second-chance grovel? Worth every page.
Tags
What August Heard: A Overheard Betrayal Grovel Romance: content & age rating
Intended for adult readers (18+).
This adult contemporary romance contains steamy intimate scenes, emotional manipulation including overheard betrayal, and intense romantic angst. Features mature relationship dynamics including a forbidden attraction and redemption arc.
What to know going in
This book has no graphic violence, steamy sexual content, and mild language. Content notes include emotional abuse, betrayal, and heartbreak (see the full list above).
Who'll love this
Adult readers will connect with the intense emotional journey of unrequited love, devastating betrayal, and the ultimate grovel that makes the heartbreak worthwhile.