BOOK REVIEW Damaged Goods – Going Home Can be a Good Thing

Review by Lyndell Williams
DAMAGED GOODS
By Talia Hibbert
$1.99, pp 198, Kindle

Laura

Sometimes it takes turning back to move forward. We all make mistakes, and in Damaged Goods, by Talia Hibbert, Laura Burne made a big one in the form of her husband, Daniel. After years of abuse, she finally jets and makes her way back to Beesly—pregnant and alone.

The small seaside town is supposed to offer Laura solace from her torment as well as room to think about being a single mother to a child whose father is less than thrilled about its existence. However, she barely has a chance to swallow back nausea and make sure Daniel isn’t ready to pounce when she runs into her old flame, Samir Bianchi.

Sparks immediately crackle and all that—but what to do when you’re still married to a man you hate while lusting for the guy that was the first to make your toes curl?

Samir

Samir can’t believe it when he sees Laura, a woman he’s barely been able to get off his mind or out of his heart since their summer together.She may be allusive and hiding some stuff about her life during their years apart, but he has the wherewithal, muscles and patience to find a way to pull her back into his arms—maybe.

Well, she is pregnant and all, and those hormones are formidable. Nevertheless, he sets his sights on protecting and keeping her close, about which husband Daniel may have something to say.

Friends and Lovers and Sex – Oh, My!

Talia Hibbert gives readers a nice romance full of that special kind of connection when passion and friendships fuse, which is not an easy feat. It was very pleasing to read about two deliciously imperfect characters who get each other but fumble about getting with each other.

Laura can’t make up her mind about what to do with the hunky Samir. She loves having his companionship but finds it increasingly hard to control the tingling he causes to her nether regions.

Samir has a plan to have Laura, but she runs so hot and cold, he’s not sure if it will work.

Hibbert had me rooting for this couple. I couldn’t stand any of the things cock blocking my man, Samir. He was an ideal combination of sexy and adorable—and he could cook!

By injecting crude whit at the best moments throughout the novel, she kept things real and avoided the typical cheesiness one finds in these types of romances. She made me vacillate between gasping for air from busting out laughing and because of some steamy love scenes. I give the 4/5 steam lips

She also wrote Laura and Samir in a way that their awkwardness with the feelings they have for each other is not contrived.

I’m especially grateful that she didn’t infuriate me with a bunch of “close call” love scenes. I can’t stand the trope, especially if authors do it badly. Let’s just say the close calls are titillating without the mundane comical buzz killer. So, brava, author.

Playing Catch-up

Damaged Goods is the second book in Hibbert’s Ravenswood romance series. Although it is a satisfying stand-alone story, I will be reading A Girl Like That because I need me some more Daniel and Ruth. Like, what is the deal with those two?

I strongly recommend Damaged Goods for a fresh, quirky romance with the potential for all kinds of good feels.