Review: Damaged Goods

 

Title: Damaged Goods

Series: All Saint High 

Author: LJ Shen 

Release Date: January 2024 

Underneath the goody two-shoes persona is damaged goods…but can the bad boy across the street save her?

Bailey Followhill is the perfect daughter. Sweet. Charitable. Pretty. Control freak. Not a hair out of place, not an inch out of line, she is everything her troublemaking sister Daria isn't. But when her A game turns out to be a lukewarm C- at Juilliard, Bailey's picture-ready life starts fraying faster than the worn satin ribbons of her pointe shoes. She's becoming a piece of gossip. The Troubled Child. A drug abuser. No longer the girl her best friend once knew.

Lev Cole is so golden, he's got the Midas Touch. Prized quarterback. Football captain. Hottest guy in SoCal. A textbook cliché. But with a girlfriend he doesn't love and a career path he doesn't value, Lev is coasting.
The only two things he cares about, Bailey and becoming a pilot, are out of reach.

But Lev is done being satisfied with the life others have chosen for him. He wants to pick his own cards. To demolish the seamless kingdom of lies his family stitched together on the ruins his mother left behind.

The question is, can he save his best friend and his dream before too much damage is done?

Goodreads | Amazon 

Oh my Marx where do I even begin with this book? 

First this is book 4 in the All Saints High series & while it is a standalone - I do highly recommend read at least all of All Saints High if not to reading Sinners & Saints before hand before diving I to this book to get the full picture & references. 

Bailey is the sweet perfect Followhill daughter - a goody-two-shoes who never steps out of line. Always does what she is supposed to and has the hopes and dreams of all those around her resting on her shoulders. She never had a rebellious phase as a teen, but instead was their for Lev - the golden boy next door - literally - and her best friend after his mom passed. He was the prizes quarterback & also would do whatever it took to make his dad and brother happy. Even if that meant fulfilling their dreams instead of his own. 

When Bailey takes leave from Juiliard due to injuries and an overdose - she winds up back at home. Across the street from her ex-best friend that she pushed away before leaving for school. The boy she is in love with, who she knows loves her. The boy she is hurting with her new-found addiction especially since his brother is an addict himself. 

But she can't stop. Because stopping will be failure and she won't fail. Not at her dreams, not when they were within reach. And Lev will be there for her through all the pain and hurt. Even while fighting to obtain his own dreams of being a fighter pilot. 

But will Lev and Bailey find their happily ever after or did their love crumble like a ruined castle in the aftermath of all that has transpired? 

So I loved the Sinners of Saint series & All Saints High series when I read them years ago. I was pleasantly surprised when LJ released Damaged Goods - and while I bought it when it releases I held off on reading it. I wasn't ready - knowing it would be an emotional roller coaster, & didn't want the possible triggers (definitely check any TW before going in to this one), then I was struggling for over a year off and on with a book slump that wouldn't quit, plus as a mood reader it never was right. 

But I finally picked it up after owning it for over a year. Don't get me wrong - I love the connecting books, love the series and world and characters as a whole but this one... It felt off. I never know what it is but any traditional published romance books that I read always feel off, like they are missing something that I can never quit place, which is a shame especially if the rest of the books/series were indie published and well loved prior. I still wanted the closure, still wanted the world and my heart still aches for these characters - but it didn't quite hit the same as the rest of both of the series did. I am glad I finally read the book, and finished off the series that gripped me from the start. I am glad these characters finally got their HEA - even if it was hard won through everything they have endured. But I I didn't spend my nights staying up to finish the story. I didn't ignore all responsibilities over these characters. I don't know what is missing in traditional published romance books but it they always manage to let me down. I'm not as giddy and happy to read them, not as invested in the characters and story and certainly don't feel the whole range of emotions as an Indie published book gives me, unfortunately. So while this story was good - it wasn't great, which makes me sad and disappointed. 

Don't get me wrong, I still absolutely recommend both series - just know Damaged Goods doesn't hit quite the same as the rest of the books. Bailev's story could have been epic instead it was a bit of a let down. 

3.5 ⭐ out of 5⭐. 

Tropes: 

- NA Romance 

- Friends To Lovers 

- Sports Romance 

Trigger Warnings: 

•bullying & violence 

• drug & alcohol use 

• drug addiction 

• overdose 

• self harm 

• death of a parent 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

L.J. Shen is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Washington Post, and #1 Amazon bestselling author of contemporary and NA romance. Best known for her angsty, dark books and barely redeemable alpha heroes, she writes fairytales with teeth and claws.

She lives in a picturesque beach town with her family, pets and inner demons, and enjoys reading, traveling, cooking and spending time with her grumpy cat.

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