Beautifully Damaged

Beautifully Damaged

By: L. A. Fiore

Narrated by: Amy Rubinate

Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

Ember Walsh is a trusting soul with the quiet beauty of her late mother, who perished in a mysterious car crash when Ember was three. A little tomboyish from being raised by her father, Ember packs a punch when a stranger gets pushy with her in a bar, catching the steely blue eyes of a tall, gorgeous tattooed man — Trace Montgomery. Still damaged from her last disastrous relationship and warned off the bad boy by friends, Ember fights the smoldering heat that Trace sparks in her when he begins shadowing her like a dark angel.

Burdened by a lifetime of horror and heartbreak, amateur fighter Trace doesn’t want to want Ember. His deep self-loathing keeps him from having any meaningful relationships, but Ember is an itch he can’t scratch. The two push and pull, slowly crumbling their walls, seemingly brought together by fate, because the turmoil that haunts their pasts is interlinked in undeniable ways. But can these two fighters finally lay down their arms?

In Beautifully Damaged, L.A. Fiore delves into deep scars and lets love and forgiveness uncover redemption.

©2014 L.A. Fiore (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

OMG

I love everything about this book!! I found it to be very refreshing and amazing!!

Great story.

Where does Beautifully Damaged rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Beautifully Damaged ranks highly on my list of audiobooks that I have enjoyed so far. This was a wonderful story of healing and forgiveness.

What other book might you compare Beautifully Damaged to and why?

I won't compare to any other books.

Which character – as performed by Amy Rubinate – was your favorite?

Ember was my favorite character. She was strong and devoted.

Emotional and Sexy Story

This is the first time I am listening to this book and I have to tell you that I was completely blown away! The struggle to love and be loved is at an all time high in this book and just when you think it is not going to get any more dramatic or fill you with any more anxiety, everything shifts and changes. It was a long process to get through this book because I just wanted the characters to let it all out and expose every little detail and then concentrate on the happiness. Of course, that is my one dimensional side talking. The angst and drama in Beautifully Damaged just set this book apart from so many others. It was beautiful and breathtaking and so full of hope, but at the end of the day the struggle to find peace is what left me craving for more, page after page.

Trace is an unbelievable hot guy. Shown by the swarms of women constantly surrounding him. But the thing about Trace, is though he is a fighter, fighting for the one thing he truly wants and needs provides to be the biggest battle of them all. He is afraid of the demons in his past and he knows that there is no way anyone will ever love him because of the torment that he has spent living his entire life.

Ember (by the way, I love her name) is a strong willed shy girl. She has so much going for her and wants nothing more than to be a writer. But she is not without flaws. She is shy and her best friend knows this and plays off it time and time again wearing down her self worth and image of herself. But Ember is not going to walk away quietly. She knows what she wants to do with her life and she is taking the chance to do it. She doesn’t have a lot of experience with relationships and she always feels so awkward when she meets a guy, words fail her and she tends to stumble over what she is saying, but when Trace shows up in her line of vision everything in her world changes.

These two are just so seemingly perfect for one another and it just broke my heart to see them struggle so much to find that common ground and common connection. But it wasn’t for a lack of trying, in a city as big as New York, the thought that they just keep running into each other is such a big coincidence, or is it? But one thing is so evident between the two of them, they love each other. And it may not always be spoken or said, but that connection is deeply rooted.

But with all great stories, the past has a way of coming to the surface and no matter what happens, once she finds out, Trace knows without a doubt that Ember will be running as fast as her legs will carry her. But what Trace doesn’t realize, is the strength and power of true love. Dark hidden secrets, hurt, anger and loss all combine into this novel and just make it gripping. There are so many characters that factor into the pain of the past but the question is whether together they can figure it out and become stronger because of it or will it ultimately be the end of the love they know to be true.

This book was not only a crazy emotional ride, it was full of love and hope. If Ember can get Trace to see the value in their love everything will change. But the emotional baggage he has carried through the years just makes it that much harder for him.

This is beautifully told story full of hope and promise and ghosts of the past; it left me breathless and wanting more. I loved them when they were together, I struggled with them when they were apart and I just kept reading until I had all the answers I wanted out of these characters. This is a truly amazing story of overcoming demons of the past and learning to love again and I was captured in the pages.

Amy Rubinate was really good with the delivery of the story

Narration is terrible

Overall a good book.

I had to listening to and start reading the book after the second chapter. I don't believe the narration was done well. She is very airy and always ends a word with a nasally, breathy exhale. I will not listen to a book read by this Amy Rubinate.

Listen quietly....

This book is not for the faint of hearts. The title tells all! Tons of sex...so many twists and turns that keep you guessing at every bend. I had to force myself to put it down because I'm sure it kept me blushing. Please dig in and enjoy...

Insta-love at its finest

Listen to this book was a bumpy road for me. The writing style doesn't suit the narrator. She's a little raspy and robotic add that to an okay story and you get meh.

Loved this book!!!

Would you listen to Beautifully Damaged again? Why?

Definetely would listen to again and again.. It was a great listen.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

this book made me CRY (at some points) !! and that's hard for me to do with an audiobook.

Any additional comments?

WOW as soon as I finished this audiobook I came back on to look for another L.A. Fiore audiobook and to no avail. I really hope to see more from this author. I would recommend this listen!!!

this books will keep you guessing.

If you could sum up Beautifully Damaged in three words, what would they be?

I really liked all of the twists and turns. Really good storyline, I can't wait for the next one.

An Intense Rollercoster ride that was So Worth It

Any additional comments?

Wow this amazing story had my emotions skyrocketing up then screaming back down at 100mph.... The struggle to love and be loved is at an all time high in this book and just when you think it is not going to get any more dramatic or fill you with any more anxiety, everything shifts and changes. It was a long process to get through this book because I just wanted the characters to let it all out and expose every little detail and then concentrate on the happiness. This story was beautiful and breathtaking and so full of hope - at the end of the day the struggle to find peace is what left me craving for more, page after page.

Trace is an unbelievable hot guy. Shown by the swarms of women constantly surrounding him. But the thing about Trace, is though he is a fighter, fighting for the one thing he truly wants and needs provides to be the biggest battle of them all. He is afraid of the demons in his past and he knows that there is no way anyone will ever love him because of the torment that he has spent living his entire life.

Ember is a strong willed shy girl. She has so much going for her and wants nothing more than to be a writer, but she is not without flaws. She is shy and her best friend knows this and plays off it time and time again wearing down her self worth and image of herself. Digging deep and finding all her inner strength Ember is not going to walk away quietly... She knows what she wants to do with her life and she is taking the chance to do it... She doesn't have a lot of experience with relationships and she always feels so awkward when she meets a guy, words fail her and she tends to stumble over what she is saying, but when Trace shows up in her line of vision everything in her world changes.

This is beautifully told story full of hope and promise and ghosts of the past....it left me breathless and defiantly wanting more. I loved them when they were together - I struggled with them when they were apart - I just had to kept listening until I had all the answers... :)

Overcoming past mistakes one punch at a time

Audiobook
Ember saw past the damaged surface and found the man beneath it. Trace was an amateur fighter who brought anger and hostility into the ring. Fighting was a way for him to burn off excess energy. Ember was a waitress capable of knocking down a guy who behaved inappropriately.
Raised by her father Ember learned how to defend herself against people who tried to hurt her.

Overall:
I wasn’t too keen on Trace’s anger issues initially. Once I learned where the anger and hostility stemmed from I began to appreciate his mood swings.
This book had some violent scenes between men and women and men fighting men. I wasn’t expecting the fighting to be limited to men behaving like pigs. I assumed this was a story about an amateur fighting. Trace was a fighter in this story, but it wasn’t limited to fighting in the ring and it wasn’t the premise of this book. Trace was a complex character with various talents.

Ms. Fiore is an excellent writer. I was entertained most of the time. I enjoyed the few shocking twists and turns. However, I wasn’t convinced about the instant love between the main characters. I did like the protective vibe from Trace and I liked that Ember could protect herself. I didn’t like the way Trace treated himself nor did I like the way he treated Ember.

If your expecting a fighting storyline you won’t find it here. There are a few punches to the face, but that’s about all the fighting you will get.


Narrator:
Amy Rubinate was the sole female performer of Beautifully Damaged. I enjoyed listening to her perform all the characters. Her tone and sound enhanced by listening experience.