{"id":74207,"date":"2024-03-25T08:44:48","date_gmt":"2024-03-25T12:44:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=74207"},"modified":"2024-03-26T07:48:28","modified_gmt":"2024-03-26T11:48:28","slug":"audio-review-damaged-goods-all-saints-high-4-by-l-j-shen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=74207","title":{"rendered":"Audio Review: Damaged Goods (All Saints High, #4) by L.J. Shen"},"content":{"rendered":"

Buy:\u00a0\u00a0Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Review<\/b><\/h4>\n

4.5 stars<\/b><\/p>\n

The fourth book in the All Saints High<\/i> series, this is a dramatic and intense best-friends-to-enemies-to-lovers story with oh, so many feels. I was effortlessly sucked into the story and couldn\u2019t put this one down. Chock-full of emotion, heartache, angst and love, and full of the fabulous characters of this world, this is a fantastic read, and I absolutely loved it.<\/p>\n

Just as a recap \u2013 this series is a second-generation spin-off from the Sinners of Saint<\/i><\/a> series. Lev is the son of Dean and Rosie from Ruckus<\/a>, and Bailey is the daughter of Jamie and Mel from Defy<\/a>. There is a lot of character crossover, and a lot that has happened earlier in the series, but there is good background given, and you could read this one as a standalone.<\/p>\n

Lev and Bailey are the youngest of the Hothole offspring, and are the \u2018good kids\u2019 \u2013 sweet and kind, they got good grades and never caused any trouble. They grew up side-by-side, each other\u2019s \u2018person\u2019, and the centre of each other\u2019s worlds. Their families even call them \u2018Bailev\u2019, knowing that they come as a package in all things. But when Lev declared his feelings for his best friend, she turned him down and moved away for college. They haven\u2019t spoken since.<\/p>\n

Now, Bailey is in trouble. She\u2019s struggling with Julliard\u2019s intense ballet program, and her injuries have her turning to painkillers. When she accidentally overdoses, it\u2019s Lev that she reaches out to and he ends up saving her life. Now she\u2019s back home to recover, though she refuses to admit that she has a problem, and wants nothing more than to go back to school.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Lev has his own problems. He has a girlsomething<\/i> who knows their relationship is casual, but who keeps pushing for more. He\u2019s also a star football player, and his father and brother are pushing him towards the NFL, but he doesn\u2019t want it. He has his own dreams, but he\u2019s such a people-pleaser that he doesn\u2019t want to let anybody down. The biggest issue of all though, he\u2019s in love with his best friend, and though they haven\u2019t spoken for a while, he\u2019s more determined than ever to be there for her.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s gravity. She\u2019s oxygen. In this moment in time, she\u2019s everything. <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Despite the chaos swirling around them, Bailey and Lev are both thrilled to be back in each other\u2019s lives. But their relationship is so complicated \u2013 their pasts are completely intertwined, but things have become murky due to their strong feelings for each other. Lev is so madly and devotedly in love with Bailey, and he is right out there with his feelings; teasing, flirting and full of heartfelt declarations, he is desperate to get through to her that they are perfect for each other. But Bailey is a bit of a wreck, in a bad place, and she is descending further and further into her problems.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re my sun. Lovely as you are, I can only admire you from afar.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There\u2019s a lot going on in this story, Lev and Bailey are both dealing with so much personally, and their relationship is complicated by so many factors, and becoming more complicated the more time they spend together. It\u2019s angsty and emotional, raw and real, and I felt so much for both of them. My heart ached, and I wanted to hug them both so much.<\/p>\n

\u201cDamaged goods are still goods. It\u2019s the dents that make them special. That make them them. Survivors. Molded by their experience. Be proud of your scars, Dove. Because where you see hardship, I see opportunity. Where you see imperfections, I see growth. Where you see failure, I see effort. Where you see despair, I see hope.\u201d He sucks in a breath. \u201cYou aren\u2019t just good enough- sometimes you feel too good to be true.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Lev stole my heart as the man completely devoted to the girl he loves so much. He is there for her even when she pushes him away, and is so open about his feelings, and I LOVE that! The romance is there, and though it\u2019s a slow and angsty burn, the tension builds beautifully. There are some beautifully sweet moments between them, laughs and fun, and of course there is sexy time. But there is a lot to be dealt with and resolved before they can get their happy ending, and I love that we get to see so much of the ride.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlmost eight billion people on this planet, Bailey Followhill and you\u2019re hands down my fucking favorite.\u201d
\n\u201cI may be your favorite. But you\u2019re my only. And that scares me, Levy. A lot.\u201d<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

All of the different elements come together perfectly. Bailey\u2019s story is so well done \u2013 heartbreaking yet hopeful, full of discovery and big realisations – and I loved the journey that we went on with her. It was Lev who owned my heart though, he is such a great hero, and he stole the story for me. He is caring and protective, smart and strong, he doesn\u2019t hide his feelings from anybody. Because of that, his interactions with Bailey\u2019s parents are so freaking entertaining. And his relationship with his own family is gold! Dean, Knight and Lev have such a fantastic dynamic, all up in each other\u2019s lives, with WAY too much oversharing, but God, it was funny! Dean also has his own stuff going on in the book, and I enjoyed seeing so much of him and the surprising direction of his story, and his own unique happy ending.<\/p>\n

I loved being back in this world, getting a glimpse of these beloved characters living their lives, and Lev and Bailey\u2019s story is a wonderful addition to these closely intertwined series. It\u2019s a beautifully written, emotional and heartfelt read, and I loved it so much<\/p>\n

4.5 stars!<\/p>\n

I listened to this as an audiobook, narrated by Savannah Peachwood, Maxine Mitchell and Aiden Snow, and they do a great job, bringing so much emotion and making it feel so real. I enjoyed listening to this one.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

All Saints High<\/strong><\/h4>\n

*Spin-off of Sinners of Saint series<\/em><\/a> featuring the Hothole kids*<\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0 \"\"\u00a0\u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

Pretty Reckless (#1) <\/strong>(Daria & Penn)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy: Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0Paperback<\/a> \u00a0| \u00a0Audio<\/a><\/p>\n

Broken Knight (#2) <\/strong>(Knight & Luna)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy: Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Paperback\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Audio<\/a><\/p>\n

Angry God (#3) <\/strong>(Vaughn & Lenora)
\nBuy: \u00a0Amazon<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Paperback<\/a><\/p>\n

Damaged Goods (#4)<\/strong> (Lev & Bailey)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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About the Author<\/strong><\/h4>\n

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L.J. Shen is a <\/span>USA Today<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Washington Post<\/span><\/i> and Amazon #1 Best-selling author of contemporary, New Adult and YA romance. Her books have been sold to nineteen different countries.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She lives in California with her husband, son, cat and eccentric fashion choices, and enjoys good wine, bad reality TV shows and catching sun rays with her lazy cat.<\/span><\/p>\n

Stay up to date with L.J. Shen by signing up for her MAILING LIST<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

WEBSITE<\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0FACEBOOK<\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0AMAZON<\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0GOODREADS<\/a>
\nTWITTER<\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0INSTAGRAM<\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0PINTEREST<\/a>\u00a0 | \u00a0BOOKBUB<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n

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Check out our Author\u00a0Spotlight<\/a> for more\u00a0books by L.J. Shen!<\/strong><\/h4>\n

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 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Buy:\u00a0\u00a0Amazon Review 4.5 stars The fourth book in the All Saints High series, this is a dramatic and intense best-friends-to-enemies-to-lovers story with oh, so many feels. I was effortlessly sucked into the story and couldn\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":73183,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":4.5,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[297,454,52,49,25,9,29],"tags":[986,540,48],"class_list":["post-74207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-angsty","category-audio-recommendation","category-drama","category-feeeeeeels","category-friends-to-lovers","category-romance","category-steamy","tag-all-saints-high","tag-l-j-shen","tag-review"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Damaged-Goods.jpg?fit=200%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-jiT","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=74207"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74207\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/73183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=74207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=74207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=74207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}