Devilishly Damaged

A Contemporary Dark Bully Romance (The Shadowed Souls Series, Book 1)

By: Maddison Cole

Narrated by: Stephanie Osborn

Length: 7 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

"The sad truth is we all have our own demons to fight, no matter what life we were born into.”

After surviving a traumatic childhood, Avery Hughes’ luck finally seems to have turned around when she is adopted by a famously rich couple and their son. Her new life is one of extreme luxury and filled with more love than she believes she deserves. However, when tragedy strikes, Avery finds herself in the care of her estranged brother and his gang of Shadowed Souls. Torn between their alluring charms and the darkness that lurks beneath, Avery is forced to rely on every tactic she’s learnt over the years to evade their torment, all the while needing to protect her heart.

This is a contemporary dark bully romance which may have triggers for some as there are dark love-hate themes, intense flashbacks and bullying, sexual scenes, and some violence. Not recommended for listeners under 18 or the faint of heart.

©2020 Abigail Cole (P)2021 Abigail Cole

Contemporary Dark Bully Romance

Devilishly Damaged by Abigail Cole is a contemporary dark bully romance that I listened to on audio narrated by Stephanie Osborn . This is the first book in The Shadowed Souls Trilogy and does end on a cliffhanger.

The book does come with a warning “This is a contemporary dark bully romance which may have triggers for some as there are dark love-hate themes, intense flashbacks and bullying, sexual scenes and some violence. Not recommended for under 18's or the faint of heart.”

This is the first book of Abigail’s that I have read and it definitely won’t be my last. I was hooked from the very beginning and had to know what was going to happen next. I love the chemistry between Avery, Dax, Axel, Garrett, and Huxley. I can’t wait to see how Avery and Wyatt’s relationship will go as the trilogy continues.

I really enjoyed getting Avery, Meg, Wyatt, Dax, Axel, Garrett, and Huxley’s points of views throughout the story. It really brought the story to life.

Stephanie did a good job on the narration. I liked that she used different tones/voices for each character. My personal opinion I couldn’t stand the narration at normal speed, it was a bit slow. So I listened at 1.9 speed and it was a lot better.

I would recommend this book if you like bully romances, contemporary romance, or reverse harems.

Family is what you make of it.

First off, this is not your typical bully romance. Avery is a college freshman who was adopted six years ago into a wealthy family. Her parent's biological son, Wyatt, felt overshadowed and emotionally-starved for love while they doted on the other golden child. Since then, Wyatt has refused to accept Avery as his sister. The resulting pain lead him to act out and blame Avery for everything. "She's an outcast, a charity case." Through his suffering, he stumbled upon the Shadowed Souls: a group of misfits, raised in privilege, who carry inner demons of their own. Their damage is what connects them. Their loyalty to each other is what sustains them.

This story is split between multiple point of views, seven of them actually. Perhaps you'll find this useful when trying to figure out who is who: Avery (British, blonde, blue Eyes), Wyatt (moody when he's around Avery, conflicted between his attraction to her and his hate for her), Dax (chill, likes to smoke weed), Garret (dude can literally gorge at an all-you-can eat buffet and still be hungry a few hours later), Huxley (southern twang, easy-going, sex enthusiast), and Axel (the sensitive one with an abusive past who now requires constant touch to feel safe).

This was such a slow-burn that at first, I was not sure if this was even a reverse harem. The guys were initially stand-offish, backing up their bro, Wyatt, from all the terrible things he's said about her. But the more time they spend around Avery, the more they start to question what they've been told and begin to care for her and vice versa. The steam-factor's pretty sparse, with only a menage sprinkled in mid-way to the end. There's hints of more than just brotherly love amongst some of the guys. The twist ending just leads to more questions than answers!

The narration was good for the girl voices (especially the British accent) and satisfactory for the boys. I think an age-appropriate male narrator voicing only the male parts would be a colossal improvement.
I was given a free copy of this audio book in exchange for an unbiased review.