Damaged 1 & 2, by H.M. Ward

I know, I know, I've posted a blog entry for these books before. The reason I'm RE-posting it is because I've just finished listening to the audiobook version of Damaged, volume 1 and wanted publish my review on it (and it has NOTHING to do with the fact that this is my favorite book, by favorite author! *smirks*)! Below, you will first read my Damaged 1 audiobook review, followed by the remainder of my Damaged 1 & 2 book reviews, as previously posted.

Damaged, Volume 1 on AUDIOBOOK (narrated by Kitty Bang):
As far as audiobooks go, I'm not an expert. I haven't listened to many audiobooks so far but I do know what I like and Kitty Bang, the narrator of Damaged, is AMAZING! She doesn't just narrate, she acts! She puts so much emotion into her narration! I've read the book over and over (and over) again and listening to the audiobook just brought it to life even more! I know the story by heart, yet listening to the audiobook still got me all shivery! Peter and Sidney are my favorite fictional couple and Kitty Bang is my favorite narrator so it's a perfect match... like magic! Kitty Bang has a way of capturing the listener's attention and never let's it go. She also has a knack for creating very distinct voices for each character. She is also the narrator for all of The Arrangement and does a stellar job there too. 

The Ferro Family:
Damaged is a series of 2 novels in the Ferro Family. Damaged is centred around Peter Ferro (Granz). Other Ferro Family titles are The Arrangement (Sean Ferro), Stripped (Jonathan Ferro) and The Proposition (Bryan Ferro). You don't have to read the other Ferro Family books to understand Damaged but if you like H.M. Ward's books, you may want to read all of them. Reading order: If you are planning on reading all the Ferro books, I recommend reading them in the order they were published (starting with The Arrangement 1) to avoid any spoilers from one series to the next since they cross-over at multiple points in the timeline. The Ferro Family books are contemporary "new adult" romance stories involving characters mostly in their 20's.

Damaged by H.M. Ward
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So I've gone from "Pleasantly Surprised" to "Now my favorite book" to "Now my favorite author"

I bought this book for light summer road trip reading, not expecting much more than passing entertainment. It was inexpensive and got good reviews and book 2 had just come out so I figured, "why not?". Boy was I wrong about the "light" & "passing entertainment" parts! I have read it 3 times already and I am planning on reading it again many more times over (edit: I have lost count how many times I've re-read it!) & everytime I re-read it, I get the same reactions and emotions over and over and over again.

I loved the characters (main and secondary). I love the way Sidney thinks. It was great fun being in her head. She is smart and sassy and strong. And Peter... Don't tell my husband, but I think I'm in love with Peter Granz! The constant banter between the characters is hilarious! A contemporary teacher-student forbidden love story of 2 people who've been "damaged" by past relationships. Full of heart-pounding hotness, LOL funny and DANCING!!! OMG!!! Once the dancing began, I was a hopeless case.

Another thing I loved about this book: THE ANTICIPATION!!! What a tease this book is!!! I love it!!! Who knew that non-sex scenes could be sexier and hotter than full-on descriptive sex! This is what seperates "okay" writters from "awesome" writters. When a writter can make you feel like your heart is going to come out of your chest by describing simple things like 2 foreheads touching, lips only a breath appart without anything else happening... that's when you realise the power of the written word and how the writter has mastered it's use.

Damaged 2 by H.M. Ward
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Damaged 1 & 2 are by far my favorite books! I would have loved a trilogy!

Let me start by saying that of all the romance novels I've read over the last while, Damaged (1 & 2) are my favorite! I have read both books over and over and plan on reading both of them again. H.M. Ward has now become my favorite author as well.

If you haven't read book 1 (Damaged), I strongly suggest that you do so before reading book 2 because it starts off abruptly into the events of the previous book. I would have loved this series to have been written as a trilogy because I loved it so much and didn't want the story to end (book 2: the roadtrip; book 3: New-York & New Jersey). I love Peter and Sidney and their story is awesome. The angst, the anticipation, the laughter, the mess left by their pasts... *sigh*.

LOL... loved the bit about Mr. Turkey! I have trouble not laughing out loud when I get a mental image of the damn bird! H.M. Ward will often surprise her readers by adding unexpected hilarity like that.

I really missed the dancing in this one. Not enough of it!!! The dancing in the first one captured my heart and hooked me into the book.

In book 2, you meet up with Sean & Jonathan Ferro, Peter's brothers. Sean is the main character in "The Arrangement" series and Jon is the main character in "Stripped". You don't have to read the other series to understand "Damaged" but I have read all of the Ferro family books published to date (The Arrangement, Damaged and Stripped) and I love them all. They criss-cross at various points, making the reading experience a little more intriguing (H.M. Ward leaves little teasers and clues about her various series through these cross-overs). Damaged is my favorite.

Having learned more about Peter Granz's past in Damaged 2, I'd love to see a "Damaged" prequel about his life before moving to Texas, when he was Pete Ferro, the playboy who got into fights & who eventually got tamed by Gina.