Damaged

This is not a reverse harem. At all. It didn't impede my enjoyment. I love how Smauggy writes, but the tags lied, they lie. Maybe the subsequent books are. Yeah, I can see how I would like that to go down amongst some of the characters.

I was having a good old time reading this book and then frustration kicked in. Frustration for and at Gabrielle; frustration that evil people weren't being punished with a bullet to the head; frustration with Chris for some of his inconsiderate actions; frustration as I felt the mystery behind the Richardson family meant none of my frustrations would be resolved in this book as this is part of a series, baby! NONE of that meant I didn't enjoy myself, unfairly curse out characters for betrayals that weren't technically “betrayals,” but in my world, it is damn it! If an author can illicit such strong emotions from me and not make me want to throw my book into the fire, I know I am on to a good thing. It wasn't all eager frustration, I really loved the way the twists kept coming.

I also love, love, love to read black fmc's such as Gabrielle and her friends just being excellent and excelling in their chosen fields. More of this.

My two biggest criticisms were how easily Gabrielle fell for any man that showed her attention. She's so confident in her career but so easily pliable in any man's hands. All he needs to do is be a bit of an arsehole, bite his or her lip, and obnoxiously invade her personal space with his rich man's entitlement for her to start dripping. I just wish she'd stood up for herself a little more, especially with the sexy-arsed Richardson brothers. I don't include her pos fiancé in that; there is no judgement from me there; if you know, then you know.

Gabrielle grinding all over her boss, the slithery Michael (who, in my view, did not respect any boundaries or the power dynamic he had over Gabrielle), betrays how serious and how hard her character had to work as a black woman to excel in the medical field. Michael did nothing but act like another entitled arsehole. I wasn't sure if this was Gabrielle owning her sexual being, reacting to past events, or whether she lacked the ability to think coherently when it came to men. She came across as very needy. Also, who is he? I'm intrigued.

Also, there was so much lip-biting in this book that I am surprised the characters had any lips left. It was repeated throughout the book, to the point where it began to irk me.

I will be completing the entire series and saga. I thirst so hard to read The Unsettling and The Reckoning which will make no sense unless I read previous books, and I am happy to do so. I'm intrigued to find out where this story leads. I loved the ending. I very much enjoyed my second trip into Smauggy's mind.