Damaged Like Us by K & B Ritchie
Published: June 27, 2017
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary, MxM
Don’t date your bodyguard. It was the one rule he had to break. Maximoff Hale is a force of nature. A ship unwilling to be steered. Headstrong, resilient, and wholly responsible — the twenty-two-year-old alpha billionaire can handle his unconventional life. By noon, lunch can turn into a mob of screaming fans. By two, his face is all over the internet. Born into one of the most famous families in the country, his celebrity status began at birth. He is certified American royalty. When he’s assigned a new 24/7 bodyguard, he comes face-to-face with the worst case scenario: being attached to the tattooed, MMA-trained, Yale graduate who’s known for “going rogue” in the security team. Together, boundaries blur, and being exposed could mean catastrophic consequences for both.
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Rating:
Overall, Damaged Like Us was a cute story. It wasn’t as amazing as Amour Amour by the twins but I will still read book two in this trilogy. It was a quick and easy summer read. I don’t usually go for those but since I enjoyed some of their novels and I liked John & Timofei I wanted to give this a try. The romance was good not ground breaking and I hope they become even more developed in book two. I want to know more about what they love about one another and why. We got enough passion for one book I want the next one to be cute and have so much sweetness I get a tooth ache.
“Well, you can’t be first at everything. So one guy always tells me.” “One guy,” Farrow repeats. “Some damn guy,” I rephrase, my hand rising up the back of his neck. “The guy you love,” Farrow teases. Then he licks his bottom lip, and his mouth veers to my ear. Holding my head still, he whispers, deep and protective, “I love you too.”
I don’t want to mention it separately because it isn’t a lot to say but I really LOVED the banter the twins wrote in this story. It was the funniest one so far and I enjoy a comical book a lot. It is what really got me through the book. Also, the cute pet name Farrow had for Maximoff was so cute I am a sucker for pet names you have no idea.
“That’s something neither of us knows for sure, wolf scout.”
1) Family Dynamics
I am a huge fan of stories that touch on family and their loyalty to one another. Maximoff was super caring towards all his family and it was beautiful. I did feel him be over doing it at times but I can see why he was so caring. The media was relentless when it came to taunting and bothering the family so it was really understandable as to why he felt the need to consistently be in attack mode. The siblings and cousins relations were so sweet and caring for one another. They always had one another’s back and I love how the twins write about families and I hope they never lose that touch.
“The Hales are a bunch of dorks. For me, they’re instantly lovable.”
2) When the Romance Was Sweet
We didn’t get too much of this but when we did it meant so much. I love cute fluffy sweet romances as much as I love passionate romance that goes beyond limits. They were either being over sexual or they were being sweet and seeing as I hated the other one I LOVED the sweet moments.
“I’ve never been with anyone I’ve known. Not like this. Never have I had real feelings beyond physical attraction. Not until him.”
3) The Bodyguards Love for Their Clients
I found it so sweet that the bodyguards are like family with their clients. You see how much they care for them when they are being taunted, judged, ridiculed, and when they have big achievements.
““You didn’t realize,” I say, “your achievements are basically ours.” Our lives are dedicated to these families, and when they succeed, there will always be a part of us that feels like we succeeded too.”
1) The Over Sexualization
I read some reviews and saw many people complain about this. I didn’t think it would be as much of a problem as people would say but wow. When the authors wrote about John & Timofei, Luka & Baylee, and Thora & Nikolai they were romantic, sexy, and angsty. Those relationships were not rushed and they were developed beautifully. Farrow & Maximoff felt so underdeveloped. They were constantly becoming hot & bothered for the dumbest things. We got no real reason on what they liked about each other so much besides them saying it. They said they liked each other a lot and even claimed love but we weren’t shown that because they constantly wanted to be in each other’s pants. I was really happy with the sound of this story and I just hope in book 2 they develop them more.
“The guy has a way with people. I’m so impressed, my c*** actually pulses.”
There were so many lines like this and I am just like why????
2) Maximoff’s Voice
I didn’t feel like he had a distinct voice. We learn a lot about him through Farrow’s POV but we don’t see it all because when it’s Maximoff’s POV he’s always thinking sexual or he is writing some dumb threat to the reader about his family. Those threats were so over the top it felt like he was trying too hard. I loved his protectiveness over his family but the way he would freak out over stuff and “see red” was a bit much. I found myself constantly saying dude calm the hell down. I found his constant need for to be the one in control over whelming lol like dude let Farrow do his job.
“What the f*** are you doing?” Farrow sneers at me. “You can’t follow me.” I spot the briefest flash of concern, of trepidation, before his gaze mortars hard and hot again. I clench my teeth. I need to help.”
This scene specifically annoyed me because he should’ve stayed in the house protecting his cousins instead of running outside to get the cats. His issue with his Uncle Ryke was so irritating and I felt so bad for Ryke because he did nothing wrong.
3) That Plot Twist
I won’t say what it was but I HATE this type of twist in any story. I was especially grossed out with how the family handled the situation. They deal with media lies all their life and they always say how the family is first but they automatically believe the media??? That seems incredibly out of character.
All in all, I enjoyed it the second half got much better than the first like in Infini and I think now that they are in a relationship public to the family they will develop further. I will be getting book two in October and I think the twins will pull through and make a fantastic sequel. Hope you all enjoyed this post and enjoy the story if you read it. If you have what were your thoughts? What are some plot twists you hate?
