Damaged Like Us (Like Us #1)

Not worth your time, for a number of reasons:

1) The writing is just plain bad. On every other page, someone’s eyes are “daggering” or “glassing”, or someone’s lips are upturning or downturning, or someone’s voice is “daggered,” or someone’s shoulders are “bound.” The word choice in the book is overall weird–what happened to tense, sharp, smiled, frowned, etc? It reads as overly flowery for the sake of being flowery, and is often confusing. Additionally, at times it seems that the authors sat with a thesaurus and slotted in words without really being sure what they meant. The end result is that many sentences simply do not make sense, and seem to include words that actually mean the opposite of what the author intended.

There is also a ton of exposition and internal thought. The telling-not-showing is the majority of the book, and often interrupts the flow of dialogue to the point that you need to flip back a few pages to see what was last said by the time you finally reach the response. I also get the impression that Moffy and Farrow are supposed to be frequently engaging in very witty banter. They are not. They sling childish insults at the level of “I know you are but what am I” and “guess no one ever told you that you suck” at each other and its presented as the height of cleverness.

2) The characters are ridiculous. Moffy is a billionaire 22-year old who runs charities (is he skimming off the top to have all that money? Its never explained) despite having no formal training/education in management. He apparently is amazing at his job, at being a sibling, at dying his own hair, at cutting hair, at caring for those around him, at sex, at literally everything he does or thinks about doing. He is a Mary Sue to the max, and Farrow isn’t any better. He is a doctor, a trained fighter, wealthy, always right, a great driver, full of bravado and arrogance and apparently its all justified. Neither of them has any flaws, and there is no true character development at any point in the story. Their emotional depths consist of lusting at each other, sleeping with each other, and wanting to sleep with each other more.

3) There is no plot. Moffy and Farrow want to sleep together, Moffy and Farrow do sleep together, Moffy and Farrow will continue sleeping together, now with a few more people knowing about it. That is it.

4) The ‘plot twist’ is beyond ridiculous. SPOILER: Moffy and Farrow’s relationship is forced to light when, out of nowhere, Moffy is accused of being in an incestuous relationship with his cousin Janie and all their parents, aunts, uncles, and bodyguards believe it. Moffy is presented as a self-sacrificing, honest to a fault type of character but the minute a tabloid throws an accusation against him the entirety of his family immediately assumes he is lying. The trust and affection previously displayed evaporates in an instant. Its clear every single set of parents in that room was convinced the incest was happening based on the evidence of a tabloid article (ie, once Moffy was seen outside in his underwear at night and no one thought to ask the bodyguards to corroborate the story that explained the incident). It destroyed the one redeeming quality of the book–the theme emphasizing the importance of family bonds. Clearly, for all the talk they don’t actually mean anything when things get tough for this family.

5) The suspension of disbelief required to buy in to the story is more than I could handle. The level of obsession with celebrity the entire world exhibited toward these families was unbelievable. The level of vitriol universally doled out toward the woman was repugnant, and was never tempered by any adoration–apparently, the entire world hates Jane and wants to rape her and not a single person thinks otherwise, as portrayed in the story. The fact that Moffy would repeatedly be racing away from paparazzi at over 90mph on Philadelphia-area highways is beyond ridiculous, both from a policing perspective and from a traffic perspective–anyone who has been to Philly knows the traffic patterns would prohibit anything of the sort. The helplessness of the family in the face of everything the world threw at them was unbelievable, especially considering the repeated emphasis on their wealth.

6) Finally, the book weirdly and uncomfortably sexualizes young children. I get that the authors are attempting to show that the public behaves inappropriately toward young celebrities in most of the instances, but they also have Farrow losing his virginity at 13, a 12-year-old girl in a passionate relationship, and a 14-year-old apparently being fawned over by the media for his attractiveness. I find it truly impossible to believe that there would be rampant, widespread discussions of the sex lives and sex appeal of underage teenagers by the media with no pushback, outrage, or consequence.

In conclusion, ridiculous story, boring characters, awful writing. There was a ton of potential but it went nowhere, and I would not recommend wasting your time on this one.

Damaged Like Us was my most anticipated book of the year. I was counting down the days until I could finally get my hands on Maximoff and Farrow’s story. In all honesty, I literally squealed when I found out this was going to be a male/male book. Given that Farrow is Maximoff’s bodyguard and they are both alpha males, I knew I was in for one wild ride. Once I started reading I had to remind myself repeatedly to slow down so I could enjoy every second of this story.

Maximoff was everything I hoped he would be and so much more. While I adore all of the core six, his parents will always be my favorite couple, so I was very much looking forward to seeing his relationship with them. I was in awe with Maximoffs commitment to his family, both immediate and extended. You could tell how important each and every one of them was to him. He would literally drop anything the moment someone needed him. His protectiveness and selflessness were so admirable. I would not want to be the person who messed with someone close to him.

I cant even begin to imagine what it would be like to be constantly hounded by paparazzi and tabloids the way Maximoff was. For the most part he truly took it in stride since it was the only life he had ever known. I loved his sarcastic side (it reminded me so much of Lo!) and the way he was able to roll with the punches so effortlessly. Maximoffs relationship with Jane was so special. I loved that they were best friends and supported each other without reservation. Their interactions constantly made me smile. Although he was rich in the area of family, it hurt my heart that Maximoff had closed himself off to having a romantic relationship.

From his very first appearance, I was in love with Farrow. He was cocky but in a way that made you smirk and enjoy every second. His early interactions with Maximoff were so much fun. The banter between the two of them was everything. Add in all of the sexual tension, and I couldnt get enough. They are simply perfect for one another. Farrow understood Maximoffs world and what made him the person he was. He knew how important his family was to him and respected his devotion to them. The chemistry between Farrow and Maximoff was electric, but I also enjoyed the more tender everyday moments.

Very rarely does this happen to me, but the second I finished Damaged Like Us I went back to the beginning and started all over again. Not only did I absolutely adore Maximoff and Farrow together, but the supporting cast of characters was very intriguing. I need stories for every single one of Maximoffs siblings and cousins. There was something so compelling about each of them that left me wanting more. I could go on and on about this book, but the bottom line is that it is absolutely one not to miss. Krista and Becca Ritchie are fantastic writers who know how to tell a beautiful, emotional, and sexy story that will steal your heart.

No seriously, what in the actual f*** did I just read?? This was SUCH a bizarre story… And by bizarre, I mean that it completely lacked a plot, the premise was totally unbelievable, and the writing style was odd. Most of the characters were VERY one-dimensional, hard to relate to, and for the most part, pretty unlikable. I never bought into the premise that an insanely rich & famous family that lived in Philadelphia, (and who became even more famous for being sex addicts & releasing sex tapes), would be hounded by paparazzi & abused by fans to the extent that they were. There was no real conflict in the story, other than the family dealing with their own fame & everything that came with it. Basically, there was no substance to this story at all. Not to mention, most of the “problems” these characters were dealing with were RIDICULOUS (for example, Moffy’s younger sister piercing her own tongue & it turning into an infection, Jane trying out all these bizarre “jobs” that she knew nothing about, in order “to find her passion”)… it was all just so unbelievable and ridiculous. It felt like I was reading about the Kardashians, only a way weirder and more stupid version.

The ONE thing that keeps this from being a 1 star review was that I did like the two main characters, Moffy and Farrow. They had great chemistry, and if the writing had been better, or if there had been any kind of reasonable plot or storyline, this could have been a much better book. As it was, this was truly one of the most ridiculous books I’ve ever read.

I can’t explain how desperate I have been to get my hands on this book, I can’t remember the last time a book release had me as excited as this one. And then for the first time, in a long time, I stayed up until 4.30am reading it after its midnight release. I couldn’t function in work the next day I was so tired, but also because I was so hungover from this book that I immediately started reading it again. Yes, that’s right. In the past 3 days I have read this book twice. It’s just that good.

“Our fame burns. And burns. None of us need to stoke the flames for it to stay lit. And mefame is my friend and foe. Its a part of me. A tangible thing that lives inside of me. This is the only life Ive ever lived. Its the only life I know.”

I have to start with Maximoff aka.Moffy because I’ve been in love with this character since he was born. He was cute as a child but as an adult he’s just beautiful both inside and out. I love his place in the family, basically the big brother to not only his siblings but also to his cousins. He’s the one they all know they can rely on and this is proved multiple times throughout the book when they come to him for help and he is there for them every single time. I loved seeing his relationships with all his cousins and I am really hoping for more scenes in the rest of this series with all the cousins together. Farrow is your typical alpha male with the big muscles but an even bigger heart. He’s a perfect mix of tough and caring and his ability to understand Moffy perfectly just solidifies how perfect he is.

“We can’t all be heroes,” I say matter-of-factly.
“If I’m not the hero, what am I?” Maximoff is waiting for me to call him a villain.
“You’re a prince who wants to be a knight.”

The romance between Moffy and Farrow was written PERFECTLY! I spent the majority of this book swooning with a tons of butterflies flitting around my tummy. The banter between these two is brilliant and I love their competitiveness to always have the upper hand, even in the bedroom. Speaking of which, damn the Ritchie sisters know how to write a sex scene. So much steaminess in this book, like off the charts steamy!

But I think the thing that made me love these two so much was just how perfect they fit together. Moffy care’s for everyone when they are at their most vulnerable but can never let himself be vulnerable around anyone else. But with Farrow he can be and doesn’t have to feel any weaker for it. I wondered how it was going to work with two alpha males in one relationship, sure that one of them would have to give it eventually and be the “less alpha” but it never happened. They just complimented each other perfectly.

“Im hooked by the way hes staring deeply at me. Like Im a fantasy. Like Im something made of heaven and stars that hes dreamt ofand I never thought to ask what a celebrity who could have anyone in the world fantasizes about. And I wonder how long its been me.”

I really loved the addition of the bodyguards in this series and being able to see the life of the people who protect the characters we love. The banter between the bodyguards was really funny but I also loved how emotionally invested they were in each of their clients lives. For me, they felt more like family and I can’t wait to see more from all of them in future books.

“His know-it-all smile kills me, and I swear hes one second from saying, do you like that? And I think, too damn much.”

We don’t get much of the core six in this book (Lily, Lo, Rose, Connor, Daisy, Ryke) and I think I actually preferred it that way. As much as I love them and adored their series this book was Moffy’s and the rest of the younger generation and I feel that having them appear in it more would have put the focus on them. That being said, I kind of would have loved a big family gathering with everyone, like someone’s birthday or Thanksgiving or something, to see the whole family together and how they all interact. Maybe that’s something to look forward to int he next book!

“Im watched and observed all the time. By strangers. By cameramen. By people. And never, never have I come undone. Until now, until his eyes feel like hands, and I want them all over me.”

There are so many amazing things about this book that I haven’t wrote about in this review, but if I did I would be typing for hours and you would get bored and stop reading. Basically, this book is amazing and you need to read it. Like now.

This is the first book by these authors I have read. It had been on my kindle for a while and I think I must have got it free at some point. Oh my word! I devoured it! The premis is a bit old hat but the story is totally new and exciting.
I rarely buy books as I read so many and have kindle unlimited but as soon as I finished this one I went and bought the next two in the series.
Absolutely brilliant read

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