Romance Addict Book Blog: REVIEW - Damaged by H.M. Ward

Damaged by H.M. Ward is currently on SALE for only .99¢!

Life sucks. And, as soon as Sidney picks up the pieces something always knocks her back onto her butt. It's never pretty, but this time is different. This time pretty isn't even the right word.

Peter is the personification of perfection. It's like he fell off his angel perch in purgatory, because let's face it--any guy that hot has got to be naughty. He was probably sent here to ruin her life.

Peter is beyond beautiful with his sexy blue eyes, dark hair, and toned body. Add in his charming wit and Peter is everything Sidney ever wanted in a man, but when things get hot and heavy Peter shows her the door. Sidney takes the walk of shame and leaves. It's the end of the worst blind date ever. Her life couldn't possibly reach higher levels of suckage, but it does.

The next morning everything comes crashing down. The insanely hot guy from last night, the one that saw her half naked, is teaching at the front of the class room.

Ever since Anna first bit her lip in Fifty Shades, lip-biting virgins have sprung up like weeds all over the world of romance novels, and honestly, I’m getting a little weary. I am not immune to the power of subliminal lip messaging—Remember LL Cool J? He was a habitual lip-licker, and more than once, I wanted to reach through my TV and lay one on him, but come on already! Lip-biters are a Strike One for me. So, when I started to read Damaged and Sydney bit her lip, and then Peter said something about wanting to kiss her, I thought, “I’m done. Story over.” But I held on—and I’m glad I did. (For the record, that is the last time I recall Sydney biting her lip and definitely the last time Peter responded to said biting. Thank you, H.M. Ward!)

After the lip incident, things started looking up again pretty quickly. There is a little tingle-time at the beginning of the book, but if you’re looking for smut, girls, look somewhere else. This book is about love and connection and learning to take a risk on someone again, sans sexy-time.

Sydney and Peter have a very natural and fun chemistry. You know these people, you could be these people. They’re funny and they flirt in this very authentic way that made me remember all the things I loved about meeting someone new. It’s possible that I even giggled like a middle-schooler once or twice, and I haven’t done that since Eric said he’d smile if Sookie kissed him two seasons ago on True Blood. It takes some serious sweetness to make me giggle.

And Sydney and Peter dance! They swing dance which totally took me back to the 90’s and swing classes with my friend Matty, and Vince Vaughn, and vintage shopping! I loved the scenes of them dancing because even a double lefty like me had fun twirling around when Big Bad Voodoo Daddy was playing. I could feel those scenes, and with all of the heavy that’s sprinkled through these pages, those scenes and that flirty chemistry balanced what could have been a big downer of a story because Peter and Sydney (separately) have not had it easy.

Both of these characters have big, fat traumas perched in their pasts waiting to swoop, and as traumas go, these were obese. Big. Fat. Relationship killers. Sydney’s big disaster is a doozie, and I believed it. I believed her reactions and her hesitations; I believed the details and the consequences; and I hate that I believed them because these things shouldn’t ever happen (but they do).

I had a tougher time with Peter’s past. I love Peter as a character. I think he’s so well-done and believable and always true to the person he was from page one, BUT his back-story pushed my melodrama meter a little too far. I hate to say that but I will. It tugged my heartstrings just a little too much, and coupled with the nature of Sydney’s story, I found myself thinking, “Dial it down, Ms. Ward.”

I loved the development of the story. This relationship wasn’t rushed, it was built one little Lego at a time—and if I hadn’t promised myself to another book boyfriend, I might have wanted to live in Peter’s little Lego house. Peter is on my list (maybe even my short list), but so is Sydney. Sydney is a girl I’d like to be friends with, and if you know me, you know it’s not everyday that I let a book girlfriend into my heart.

Not only am I tough on book girlfriends, I’m a stickler for a good ending. I prefer them happy, but at the very least, don’t leave me high and dry in the middle of the drama. Damaged leaves you in the middle of the drama BUT it’s a logical stopping point, and we are left knowing that both characters are physically okay and moving forward. I hate an “Is he/she dead” ending. Automatic #Fail.

Overall, my biggest problem with Damage is the title. To me, the word “damaged” implies that there is something wrong, in this case, with these two characters; and I would say, yes, they are injured, they’ve got some scars, but if they’re wrong, I don’t want to be right. Kudos to you, Ms. Ward. Sydney and Peter are on my “I’m Impatiently Waiting for the Sequel” list.

P.S. There’s a scene with a squirrel that was so funny it made me give away my book hiding place. When someone is hysterically laughing in the bathroom, it’s pretty clear they’re up to something besides the usual business, and this squirrel busted me.

H.M. Ward is a NEW YORK TIMES & USA TODAY bestselling author. Ward enjoys writing novels and novellas with twisting plot lines and unexpected turns. Her ability to shock the reader has grown a following of over 70,000 fans, and a social reach of over 17 million people. Ward has strong marketing skills and became a full time writer less than a year after her first novel appeared on the market.