From L.J. Shen, the WSJ bestselling author of Vicious and The Kiss Thief comes a brand new angsty standalone in the All Saints High Series. This friends-to-lovers, boy-obsessed romance will make you ugly-cry and laugh your heart out while turning the pages.
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?
Purchase Damaged Goods or read in Kindle Unlimited now!
Amazon Print: US | UK | CAN | AUS
Available 25th January: Apple Books | Kobo | Google Play
Paperback UK: Waterstones | Blackwells | Foyles | WHSmith Bookshop.org
Paperback US: Barnes & Noble | BAM | Bookshop.org
Paperback CAN: Indigo
Narrated by Savannah Peachwood, Maxine Mitchell and Aiden Snow,
start listening to Damaged Goods
Beyound 5 Stars ~ Reviewed by Sharon Thérèse
My head has yet to stop spinning! What I have just read kept me up until the early hours, and I have one of the biggest book hangovers ever. My first thought for future readers is to take note of Shen’s message at the beginning of her fourth All Saints High novel. Mine? Put your big girl panties on, ladies! Damaged Goods is mind-blowingly intense, beautiful and ugly-crying, all rolled into one story that brought out feelings I didn’t know I had in me. Shen has undisputably gone to a lot of trouble to make her latest offering a standalone. However, by reading the previous books, you’ll gain a sense of familiarity with other characters who stole my heart.
Jaime and Melody Followhill’s youngest daughter is a perfectionist, the ‘good’ girl whom Dean Cole’s son, Lev, had leant on when he most needed her. I liked how Shen shifted their thoughts back and forth from past to present, learning what looked like an unbreakable friendship shattered beyond repair. Going separate ways, him playing college football, and Bailey chasing her dream at a prestigious dancing school, living up to their parents’ high expectations is taking its toll.
Turning page after page drew me deeper and deeper into Bailey’s downward spiral. Her folks and Lev knew what she had to do, but that feeling of impotence when someone doesn’t want to admit they’ve got a severe problem is heartwrenching. Shen tackling such a formidable topic and the distress it causes was so realistic that here I was, reading her storytelling at its very best. It’s hard to describe how the whirlwind of emotions left me—Bailey became my despair, Lev’s torment my torture.
What gave me hope was observing Lev man up. I could have given him a high five for standing up for himself. He not only acquires the skill of saying no firmly but also finds it in him to face Bailey at her worst–no less 24/7. Chapeau Lev. With all his responsibilities, he’s there, trying to make things right by her! Even though he came across as bitter well into the story, this young man’s devotion to her overwhelmed me. I lapped up every convo he had with his teammates and coach, his fling, well—hold on to your seats, folks! Hardly ever has a character rattled my cage as much as she did.
Laughable moments there are, however. Shen entwines the rough with the smooth, off-the-charts banter with harsh reality. She’s kept romance at arm’s length, which I appreciated since it wouldn’t have fitted Lev and Bailey’s story even a little. It’s about forgiveness, healing, trusting, and being there at the right time. Meeting up with the All Saints crew pleased me no end. I’m still swooning over ‘Uncle’ Dean and loving Bailey’s older sister, Daria, even more than I already had.
I’ve tried to keep my review spoiler-free (I highly recommend going in blind) when I couldn’t stop highlighting such shareable quotes, though this one brought home the importance of everlasting love.
‘Be proud of your scars, Dove. Because where you see hardship, I see opportunity.’
Indeed, Lev’s words weren’t just swoon-worthy; they were the crux of the matter! Bravissimo, Shen. You opened a can of worms, turning a well-crafted plot with its characters’ virtuous weaknesses, strengths and growths into an unforgettable reading experience.
Start binge-reading the All Saints High Series available in KU
DEFY #0.5
Amazon Print: US | UK | CAN | AUS
Pretty Reckless #1
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Alternate PB: US | UK | CAN | AUS
Broken Knight #2
Amazon Print: US | UK | CAN | AUS
Alternate PB: US | UK | CAN | AUS
Angry God #3
Amazon Print: US | UK | CAN | AUS
Alternate PB: US | UK | CAN | AUS
L.J. Shen is a Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Washington Post, and #1 Amazon bestselling author of contemporary, new adult, and young adult romance. Her books have been sold in twenty different countries, and she hopes to visit all of them.
She lives in Florida with her husband, three rowdy sons, and rowdier pets and enjoys good wine, bad reality TV shows, and reading to her heart’s content.
Connect with L.J. Shen:
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Instagram – @authorljshen | Twitter – @lj_shen | TikTok – @authorljshen
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