Damaged Like Us by Krista Ritchie and Becca Ritchie

Three out of Five Stars

One sentence summary: When your childhood crush becomes your bodyguard, it's impossible not to fall. 

First thought: This book was pretty good. I don't have any real complaints and I look forward to seeing where Moffy and Farrow head next. 

Why I read it: I saw a cover for Tangled Like Us and I had to read it! After checking out the Goodreads page, I learned Tangled is book four in the series and our authors totally advice reading these books in order. 

POV: Alternating M|M, First Person 

Setting: Philadelphia 

Tropes: Bodyguard, Childhood Crush, Billionaire 

Our Hero: Maximoff. The cover model helped me perfectly picture Maximoff's sharp cheek bones, but I don't know how I feel about them. Overall, Maximoff is one of the most selfless characters I've come across. It almost felt like it was too much into the character trait so it sometimes seemed disingenuous. I did love Moffy's voice through out his chapters. 

Our Hero: Farrow. Farrow's voice didn't come off the pages as strong, but he was by far my favorite character in the book. I thought that he had adorable moments of compassion and protective qualities. I wish we could have gotten more pages from his POV. 

Overall thoughts: I love when romances follow a huge cast of characters. I honestly look forward to reading the rest in the series. I found this story really enjoyable, but I'm not tearing into the next in the series. It's hard to pinpoint what exactly was missing for me. Maybe it's the fact that I compare every MM to my all time favorite, Him & Us series. But these are apples and oranges, so I need to let that go. 

While I thought these characters were great together, I really wanted more from their relationship. More questioning one another, more almost caught scenes-- but maybe those are next in Lovers Like Us. 

Bonus: At the end of the book, authors Krista and Becca suggest checking out their Pinterest page. Honestly, I loved that so much. When I pictured Farrow, I had a hard time seeing anyone but Eminem. But their Pinterest board delivered some beautiful character images. 

The sexy scenes: Don'tttttt have a MC describe a fantasy, then not have the two of them act on it later. This better be fixed in book two! Otherwise, I loved Moffy and Farrow together- very steamy. 

The best part of the book: This is not an intentional thriller like many bodyguard romances could be. It's just a celebrity family that needs protection and I liked that realness. It made the read fall comfortably in the contemporary romance category 

Worst part of the book: The cousin relationships and overtly open family dynamics gave me strange vibes. But, I fully respect that that could be what celebrity familial relationships are like. If there is not privacy with the public, then why have that with the family.  

TLDR: I enjoyed this story and certainly intend to read the next in the series-- It's just not an OMG IF I DON'T CALL OUT OF WORK AND READ THE NEXT TOMORROW, I'LL DIE. 

How I read it: I purchased this book for $3.99 and read it on my Kindle. 

Links: Damaged Like Us on GoodReads & Damaged Like Us on Amazon

Enjoy my blog? 

Follow me on Twitter, 

add me on Goodreads, 

or check out my Instagram!