Beautifully Damaged

3.5 stars Peyton and Jackson have a long, complicated history, but haven't seen each other for years. Peyton, a designer, is dating a want-to-be senator, but the relationship is far from perfect. When Jackson comes back into her life as a client, old memories are spoken of, and old feelings are brought back to the surface. I liked most of this story, and whilst I understand the chapters in the past help give more insight into both characters, I found myself skimming them. I much preferred reading the chapters set in the present.

Confession: Second chance is not my first choice in romance. Putting that aside, it was an easy, quick and enjoyable read. The characters were well developed and grew more so throughout the story. They felt like my friends by the end. I worried and cheered for them, while I also wanted to slap them a few times, sort of. The multiple POV style felt right, providing overall insight. The younger relationship between Peyton and Jackson was a struggle for me, but being teenagers, I gave them a pass. Their back story was necessary to understand the dynamics of the future relationship. I was a bit disappointed that it took more than half the book for Peyton and Jackson to give in to attempting a relationship again. Certainly, their relationship had a rock solid foundation. While not a large part of the story, my absolute favorite part was the MMA gym! I loved Peyton wanting to empower and protect herself. Jackson was completely hot when fighting in the ring – ripped, sweaty and alpha. Mick and Nico - I so want to train with them! And Peyton’s obsession with "Rocky” brought laughter every time. After reading Pavlov’s 'Legacy', I was excited to read ‘Beautifully Damaged’. While it was enjoyable, ‘Legacy’ was much more so to me. Not sure if I will read more of the Shine Design series, but I’ll take all of the Montgomery brothers! Overall rating: 3.75 stars, mostly due to personal preferences. You should read Peyton and Jackson’s story and decide for yourself. I received a complimentary copy of the book from the author via Voracious Readers Only in exchange for my honest review.

3.5/5 I'm thrilled that I finally got the chance to finish this novel. I recieved a free copy in exchange for a honest review. There were elements of this that I really liked, some I thought were really questionable and a few particularly notable absences. Beautifully Damaged is the story of Peyton and Jackson's second chance at love. They met at 10 and grew into childhood sweethearts however tragedy strikes on the cusp of their departures to college and they cut ties. Nine years later Peyton is a successful interior decorator in San Francisco, dating a aspiring politician, living a comfortable life. On paper she has everything but when Jackson reemerges in her life, Peyton has to reevaluate what it is that she wants. I really appreciated the little flashback scenes. I particularly liked the one showing how Peyton and Jackson first met and how weirdly open he was as a kid. He just outs his mother's 'dirty laundry' to a crying, complete stranger. I found his nickname for her cute (especially cute when he gave the nickname a nickname). One thing that bothered me was that they had a confrontation early on about something that the audience wasn't yet aware of, in her workplace. While the ambiguity did make it vaguely like overhearing some of a collegues life drama they perspective the story is written in (either Peyton or Jackson's pov) made it not make much sense. Jackson's storyline was pretty compelling. I really appreciated the Joesph character. I was personally frustrated with his reluctance to open up but that sort of was the point. A personal annoyance of mine is when male characters talk about things being "girly". I don't think Epsom salt baths could be considered girly. When we were introduced to Peyton's friends I almost groaned, Dani and Elle, it just felt ridiculous. While they were generally fine and a bit of comic relief or support, “I can go from southern belle to ghetto thug faster than you can say bless your heart”, really made me cringe. I feel like Maverick was just shoehorned in at the end. I'm not sure if he was intended to be included as a reference to the next story in the series but he could've been at least mentioned in passing before the final two chapters, especially if he was an old school friend. Finally, the main thing that bothered me about this novel was the absence of any real diversity. The only potential POC that I came across was Miguel... Sebastian's chauffeur. I was so disappointed. Overall it was a sweet, second chance romance.