Damaged by Hayden Hall (Unlucky 13)

Hayden Hall brings us the third installment of the Unlucky 13 multi-author series, with Damaged, featuring hurt/comfort, forced proximity and toxic parents. 

From the blurb:

Welcome to Black Diamond Resort & Spa…

I’m left on this strip of sand after my second round of rehab. Father says I should rest and build my strength back, but I know better.

I’m a toxic asset.

Father is launching his campaign of hate and bigotry in a presidential bid and I am the black hole for his reputation.

And not because I’m an addict. Oh no. I’m radioactive because I like kissing guys in clubs and the paparazzi love catching me in the act.

I am of such little importance that nobody bothered to find me a private house on this godforsaken island and I’m forced to share one with a dangerously handsome, self-proclaimed a-hole, and America’s eleventh luckiest lottery winner, Tiago Alvarez.

I’m the kind of guy who likes flirting with disaster and there’s no bigger disaster than the self-destructive daredevil I’m forced to share the bed with. The attraction is instant, but the scars on my soul rip and bleed as soon as I have a chance to get closer to him.

And Tiago is harboring dark secrets. Secrets that pull me in and won’t let go. He’s a handsome train wreck and I am a walking relapse. We’re a match made in the seventh circle of hell.

Being near him is like leaning from a skyscraper. It’s the highest high I know. But any good addict will tell you: after every high, there comes a low.

And us? We stand no chance against this bitter world.

We’re just so damaged.

Damaged is part of the Unlucky 13 shared world project, but it can be read on its own. However, this world is brimming with secrets and steam. Why not read all of them?

ReedKaye's Review:

Hayden Hall's Damaged blew my mind. Just when I think this author has already written one of the most touching stories, another shows up that is a winner.

Matthew the politician’s son whose father is so anti gay that Matthew has turned to alcohol and drugs to hide and live with being gay. He is just entering after treatment when he finds he is being forced to live with a stranger.

Tiago is suffering from Depression. He won the lottery but has suffered a loss and after acting out he is finding himself unable to see any reason to go on. He decides to share his bungalow with another and Matthew sends him down a path he had no plans of taking.

Two broken men. Life having dealt them major issues, find it hard to deal with daily lives.

This is a highly emotional story. Both men have issues that the author has so well described that I felt I personally could empathize with each. The author has done a fantastic job of pacing this story and while moving along, also did a great job detailing the events that brought a resolution for each. I cannot imagine what will come next from this author.

Rating: 5 Stars

Heather's Review:

Emotional and sometimes difficult, two men are hiding from the world for different reasons and brought together by circumstances that put them on a collision course with each other and the outside world.

Tiago is depressed and willing to give the world a huge F you, especially if it hurts Matthew's father and collapses a small part of the political climate that spews hateful rhetoric... Matthew struggles with past abuse and self-medicates with drugs, alcohol and risky behaviour until he is banished.

These two souls find each other and start to build a tenuous happiness - the story is both heartbreaking and hopeful and while both men struggle, they also learn to rely on each other and they fit together in ways neither of them imagined.  Beautifully paced and well written, you may struggle to get into the story, but it's worth watching them butt heads and let out the toxicity before really starting to connect.

Please heed the trigger warnings if you need to by highlighting the blue rectangle depression, thoughts of suicide , death of a partner,and past/current parental abuse.

Rating: 5 Stars

Damaged is available in paperback and e-book formats and can be read as part of your Kindle Unlimited subscription.