Review of Damaged Goods by Eliza Lentzski, Audiobook narrated by Lori Prince

This is the sequel of Don’t call me Hero and book two of a total of four in the series. I strongly suggest you read them in order as they follow the story between the mains chronologically and you’ll miss too many important developments in the story if you skip one of them. The good news is that this series is fantastic so it’s worth reading it all.

To avoid spoiling the story, I’ll keep the blurb short. Former Marine Cassidy Miller is still adjusting to her new life after leaving the military and trying to navigate her relationship with lawyer Julia Desjardin. But new and old issues get in the way of their happily ever after…

I’m always wary when reading the second book in a series where the main characters are already in an established relationship. Sometimes it’s hard to keep the tension in the romance, especially as in book one the tension between the mains could have been cut with a knife. However, Ms. Lentzski makes it work perfectly here.

Written in first person from Cassidy’s point of view, in book one, Ms. Lentzski manages to keep Julia as an enigma for both Cassidy and the reader. Julia is the epitome of an ice queen who doesn’t thaw in book one. However, book 2 slowly starts to reveal Julia’s human side beyond the calculated lawyer and guarded lover, and it’s a pleasure to read how Cassidy slowly discovers different aspects of Julia’s personality and family history. One enjoyable aspect is to see how their relationship dynamic changes intimately which is one of the big successes of this book. Ms. Lentzski manages to keep the sex scenes and the sexual tension as hot as in book one.

With so much family conflict for Julia and PTSD for Cassidy, it’s good that the author finds a balance with the romance, Cassidy’s self-deprecating and witty sense of humour, and Julia’s sarcastic remarks. It reflects very well the dynamics of some couples who connect and communicate as much with banter as with physical intimacy. These two have chemistry in and off the bedroom in spades.

The audiobook is narrated by Lori Prince who does a fantastic job. I love her performance of both mains, I think she’s got their personalities right and their voices also reflect that. The book has equal parts of emotional turmoil and light banter which Ms. Prince performs outstandingly. I’m glad that she is narrating this series as I think it’s a perfect match for this voice actor. Here’s hoping that she will go on narrating the rest of them. 5 stars.

Length: 7 hours, 44 minutes