Damaged by Layla Frost

Item: Damaged
Rating: 4
Author: Sparkles

May 24, 2021 Sparkles Book Review 0 ★★★★

Damaged by Layla Frost
Series: The Dillon Sisters #2
Also in this series: Deathly
Published by Self-published on April 27, 2021
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 260
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Available on KU at posting: Yes
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I’m effed up. A hot mess. Haunted.
Damaged.
But he doesn’t think so.
He thinks my imperfectness is what makes me perfect. He loves my flaws. My quirks.
My scars.
He wants to protect me. See me happy. Make me alive. He wants to give me everything I need, no matter how twisted and wrong and depraved.
He needs me to need him.
Which makes me wonder…
Is he damaged, too?
Warning: Recommended for readers 18+. This beautifully damaged romance deals with seriously heavy topics, such as depression, anxiety, violence, and self-harm. Be advised. And be mindful and kind to your own mental health.

This book may be unsuitable for people under 17 years of age due to its use of sexual content, drug and alcohol use, and/or violence.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

I just read a review that said this book should come with a warning. And I’d like to first and foremost point out that Damaged does, indeed, come with a warning. It’s right there at the end of the blurb: “this romance deals with seriously heavy topics, such as depression, anxiety, violence and self-harm.” I mean, if that is not warning enough for you, I don’t know what your concept of warning actually is. And while I overall loved it, this warning should not be taken lightly as all of the topics mentioned above feature heavily in this story.

As with Deathly, there’s not much I can say without revealing too much and spoiling all the “fun”, so I’ll just say that I really “enjoyed” Briar and Alexander’s journey to coupledom. You’re probably wondering “bitch, what is up with all the air quotes?” Well, the truth is that some aspects of the story were not really what you can call fun and/or enjoyable to me (like for example the self-harm) but I still ended up with a smile on my face when I was finished.

To be honest, this probably won’t be my favorite Layla Frost book. I felt like I wanted more of them being a couple, and I wasn’t as surprised as I thought I’d be with some of the plot twists. Still, this was a solidly good read and I “enjoyed” it quite a lot.

Damaged is most certainly NOT a fluffy, sweet romance. If you are not okay with feeling a bit uncomfortable at times while eventually getting the HEA, then you should probably skip this. If you can’t suspend reality and enjoy romantic fiction, you probably should skip it too: if this was real life, Alexander would not be the guy you want dating your daughter.

Now if you want to read about a super obsessed alpha pursuing a damaged but sweet girl and how they get the best HEA a la unicorns farting rainbows in spite of everything, then get ready cause you’ll finish it in one sitting.

Rating: 4 “love conquers all” Stars