Title- Damaged
Series- Outlaws Series # 1
By- Nina D’Angelo
Publication Date- February 28th, 2014
Blurb
Before Stephanie Carovella had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide, she was damaged.
Stephanie Carovella has been running from her past all her life. The survivor of a brutal attack which left her best friend dead, she has carefully built a protective wall around herself, but she knows sooner or later her past is going to catch up with her.
It’s why she doesn’t want to fall in love. It’s why she doesn’t want to let anyone get too close.
Dominic Delaney works hard and plays just as hard. He’s a love ‘em and leave ‘em guy who doesn’t believe in forever until Stephanie walks into Outlaws. She is wild, unpredictable and dangerous as hell, yet, he’s drawn to her.
He needs to know the secrets behind her eyes. He can’t walk away.
A sexy, tattooed womanizer, Dominic Delaney’s everything Stephanie wants to avoid. She knows she should stay the hell away from him, but he makes her want to stop running.
Sometimes, even the Damaged deserve to fall in love.
Links-
Goodreads- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18048276-damaged?from_search=true
Review
***ARC was provided by author in exchange for an honest review***
Stephanie Carovella is a chameleon. She knows how to change her personality to fit those around her, and she’s so good at it that no one knows who she truly is. She doesn’t do it to be vindictive; she does it because she wants to protect those she cares about. In Stephanie’s short life, she has been a witness to multiple murders, and six months ago, she was almost a victim of a serial killer. All of these events have left her damaged…she’s broken to the point that she won’t allow herself to get too close to anyone. But her nightmares are getting worse and playing it safe with a boyfriend she doesn’t truly love and friends who don’t really know her is weighing on her. She can’t and almost refuses to sleep because she doesn’t want to wake anyone up due to her screams, so she finds solace at Outlaws, a bar where she can sit in a booth in the back and get lost in her own head.
Enter Dominic Delaney. He’s the owner of Outlaws, and for the past month, he’s been studying Stephanie, trying to understand what brings her to a bar at midnight. He knows it’s probably not a good idea to talk to her because he’s not the relationship type, but there’s just something about her that draws him to her, and he’s not willing to let her go without understanding what’s beneath her wounded eyes.
Despite the fact that both Dominic and Stephanie have someone else in their lives, they can’t stay away from each other, and as much as Stephanie tries to not give in to her feelings for Dominic, she can’t help herself, but when someone has spent her whole life running from anyone getting too close…from anyone learning the whole truth about her, what happens when Dominic sees past the damaged person Stephanie thinks she is and promises her he’ll never leave? Will she finally let herself be loved by someone she feels the same way about or will outside forces and relationship complications force Dominic to do the one thing he swear he never would – make Stephanie feel like the damaged person she always felt she was?
Damaged is my first book by Nina D’Angelo, but it definitely will not be my last. This text has it all – suspense, angst, twists, romance, serial killers. It’s told in multiple points of view, which actually works well. There are many sides to the same story, and readers get to see the drama from every angle. There’s never a dull moment…it will keep readers reading until the very end, wondering who will get to Stephanie first – one of the killers or Dominic.
4.5 poison apples
Excerpt
Stephanie took in his nauseous expression, feeling guilty that she hadn’t noticed how tense he was. Shifting in her chair, she grinned when he gripped the bar again, the whitening of his knuckles revealing his fear.
Taking a deep breath, she cupped his face in her hands, bringing his mouth down onto hers for what was supposed be a gentle kiss; a kiss to make him forget his fear of heights and to thank him for sharing this moment with her. Instead, as soon as his lips touched hers, her whole body ignited into flames and she forgot about everything except the feel of his mouth on hers. When their mouths briefly parted, she impulsively delved her hands into his hair and held his lips to hers. Their kiss wasn’t gentle or sweet. It was hot and passionate, and promised so much more.
Stephanie moaned softly against his mouth. Caught up in his touch, she slid her hands from his hair to his broad shoulders. She pressed her chest tightly against his, twisting until she was in his lap.
Dominic stroked her tongue with his. Hearing her soft whimpers of pleasure, he closed his eyes, and a shudder rippled through him as she slid her hands under the back of his T-shirt and stroked his back.
He regretfully broke the kiss when he realized the ride had finished. Lifting his mouth from hers, he grinned at her flushed expression and felt a smug satisfaction as he looked into her eyes, unfocused with passion.
“We should get off,” he murmured softly, chuckling when she muttered underneath her breath, “I think we just did.”
Taking her hand, he led her off the Ferris wheel, guiding her through the crowds, and she let him. She was shaken by their kiss. She told herself she’d only kissed him to make him forget about his fears. She hadn’t expected him to take the kiss further; she hadn’t expected herself to let him, and she certainly hadn’t expected to find herself wanting so much more.
About the Author
Nina D’Angelo is the best-selling author of the Stephanie Carovella series. Her first novel, Nowhere to Run was released in February 2013 and reached #86 on the Amazon Top 100. Her second novel, Nowhere to Hide was released in August 2013.
They are both available in Paperback and ebook format.
Damaged is the prequel to the Stephanie Carovella series and the first in the Outlaws series. Nina has already started working on Deadly Secrets, the third in the Stephanie Carovella series and Shattered, the second in the Outlaws series. Both are slated for a 2014 release.
Links
Goodreads- https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6810732.Nina_D_Angelo
Twitter- https://twitter.com/janinedangelo
Website- http://www.ninadangelo.com/
Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/ninadangeloauthor
Facebook Event- https://www.facebook.com/events/248533191988862/
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