Beautiful Damage: A Billionaire Romantic Suspense Novel

by Raina Ash

He’s her savior. She might be his redemption. But her vengeful ex will do anything to keep them apart.

Sienna thought she'd left her criminal history behind, reinventing herself as a struggling artist in San Francisco. But when her violent ex resurfaces, she has no choice but to flee.

Enter Declan Conte—moody billionaire, former boxing champion, and a man haunted by a tragic loss. Their electric connection during a chance meeting offers Sienna an escape to Hawaii. And the promise of protection in Declan's strong arms.

It also puts Declan in grave danger.

As passion ignites, Sienna finds herself falling for the gruff tortured man who sees past her damaged parts. But she knows her psychotic ex won't give up easily. And the secrets of her past could shatter any chance at happiness.

With danger closing in and Declan’s life threatened, Sienna must break Declan’s heart and keep running, or stand and fight for a love that could heal them both…if it doesn't destroy them first.

A sizzling, suspenseful romance full of twists, BEAUTIFUL DAMAGE will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page. Perfect for fans of darker, steamy reads with strong protective men and heroines in peril.

Content includes violence, organized crime, explicit intimacy, stalking, PTSD/trauma, suicide (mentioned graphically, though not depicted), family loss, and kidnapping.

Kindle Edition

Published October 22, 2024

About the author

Raina Ash writes stories about healing love—stories that are emotional, funny, and uplifting. Expect complex, resilient women searching for love, passion that's off the charts, neurodiverse characters, and protective men you can’t help but crush on.

Raina lives in Arizona with two cats and several plants she struggles to keep alive. She enjoys quiet moments, video games, crafting for nerdy causes, and sushi. Lots of sushi.

She can be found on Instagram and TikTok @RomanceByRaina. Visit www.romancebyraina.com for updates about soon-to-be released books and freebies.

Reviews

[charlotte ✩ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

This book started out very promising, and while I did enjoy it, I don't think it lived up to its full potential. It was a nice read, just not a memorable one, and if you know me, that's pretty much what decides the rating for me. I just couldn't help but feel slightly underwhelmed by it...

The first few chapters had me immediately invested. I loved the first look at our characters and their first interactions. Unfortunately, after that it became a little bit too insta-lust, insta-connection, insta-trust and just pretty much insta-everything.

જ⁀➴ Sienna
Our FMC is a young artist who's trying to leave her past behind and focus on helping others through art. She is a likable character, set on her goal and pushing for it. The only thing that bothered me about her was that she was really treading the line between damsel in distress and strong, independent woman . Not that there is anything wrong with either, I just like to know which one I'm reading about. And it's not even the inconsistency that bothered me, cause that's just the human nature, and with all the trauma she's been through, it's to be expected. But what really threw me off was how contradictory her switch-ups were. She was going from a making strong resolution to forgetting all about it the next minute. She was just hard for me to figure out.

જ⁀➴ Declan
Our MMC is a hot billionaire and generally just a walking, talking solution to all of Sienna's problems. I loved his honesty, he was very easy to sympathize with and I had way less trouble understanding his decision making process than with the fmc.

Also, for a book that's supposed to be a suspense romance, there really wasn't that much suspense, if you ask me 😅

Now, while there are things that bothered me about this, I still definitely enjoyed it. I had a good time and I didn't grow bored of it even once while reading. I don't think it's a book that I'll catch myself reminiscing about, but I would still recommend it.

Keep in mind that this book mentions some heavy topics, and while it's not a dark romance or anything close, I'd still check the trigger warnings before reading.


────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──────
Thank you BookSirens and Raina Ash for the ARC.

[Dora Koutsoukou]

Well, it was well written.
The mcs were surrounded by dark secrets, troubled pasts and a lot of baggage that tired me. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Dnf @ 47%

[Brittanica Bold · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you all have been following my content for a while, you know I’m always singing the praises of one of my favorites, Raina FREAKING Ash! As soon as I get that email that says “Author Raina Ash has listed a new book…” , I stop everything I’m doing and request that new ARC opportunity immediately. She is just that freaking good!

My past experiences with Raina’s works are her beautifully emotional romances with fantastic mental health representation. Beautiful Damage was a slightly different side of Raina than I’ve personally read before, given it was a billionaire romance/mafia-esque romance. It still had the emotional and mental health rep romance, the completely fantastic spicy moments, and the telltale Raina heart and soul, but it offered suspense and worldbuilding that has me super interested in where these characters are going to go!

The biggest theme running throughout this book is the idea of escapism. Escaping your past, escaping your conscience, escaping your parent’s grasp and disapproval. Everyone in the story, from the MCs to the side characters to even the “villain” was painted as a complex character who was escaping something in their life. One of the things I love so much of Raina’s work is her ability to create these incredibly complex characters who have many flaws but are still incredibly worthy of love.

I loved how FMC Sienna did not check the boxes of a typical “strong FMC”, yet she very much was! She may not have been super feisty or a combat master, but she had such a resilience to her that I don’t think many in her situation would. Through her use of mantras and her selflessness, she was able to press on and even sever relationships that meant the most to her in order to keep those around her safe while she knew she would figure out how to keep herself safe later.

And Declan. Phew! This man has been THROUGH IT! And despite trying to escape his past and lock himself away from others, he has a heart so full of good and a mind for strategy that I had no doubt at any point in this story that he would be there for Sienna. I also just wanted to give him a big hug! With every morsel of his backstory he gave us along the way, I got more and more emotional for him. He definitely deserved his happy ending.

I also really liked Sean, Declan’s former marine bodyguard. He sounds delicious, he freaking READs all the time, he’s funny in that sarcastically cheeky way when he’s comfortable with you, and he’s definitely got scars that extend beyond the physical. I CANNOT WAIT FOR HIS STORY!! I’m calling it now, in this anticipated 5 book series, Sean is going to be my man. Done, thanks other ladies and gents, no additional applications needed! I don’t even know who the other 3 men are going to be and I’m confident in this prediction!

And as much of a baddie as he was, I definitely saw the good aspects that still survived in Anthony, the main villain. I can't like him overall for what he had done, but he definitely had lines in the sand and a love for Sienna that made her villain her protector at many times in her life. No doubt about it, he was a bad dude, but even bad dudes can have good moments and qualities. I loved that the characters were not written in black and white. The good guys were all good, and the bad guys weren't all bad.

Finally, I really liked the suspense aspects and villain group involved. It was not daunting in the way some romantic suspense books are, nor was it an afterthought making you think “Why is this considered suspenseful?” It struck the perfect balance, and this is coming from someone who isn’t typically a suspense romance reader. And there is so much left to explore with the villain group; I can’t wait to see where Raina takes it!

Thank you to Booksirens and Raina Ash for the opportunity to read this book. The thoughts and opinions expressed above are honest and my own.

4.5 stars

[Erin Reads Things ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Beautiful Damage" by Raina Ash is a strong start to a new saga of billionaires, romance, and villainy, with characters with well-defined past traumas. Sienna, a struggling art student and Declan, the widower billionaire, fit well together from their first meeting, and their respective experiences make their romance all the stronger as they slowly stop hiding themselves and their pasts and move forward together.

While some portions of the story felt too abrupt, such as Sienna weaponizing Declan's past to get away and wanting to start her own art program to incite her meeting with Declan in the first place, the story itself was entertaining and suspenseful as intended, and the characters each have enough depth to continue their stories in the future. I will definitely look forward to the next installment in the series! I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Heather Dudley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful Damage is quite suspenseful and a definite page-turner. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know both Declan and Sienna who are well-developed and amazingly executed throughout the book. I couldn’t get enough of Declan and Sienna’s story. Author Raina Ash has created a remarkable romance book. Beautiful Damage is the first book that I have read by this author and she did NOT disappoint me in anyway whatsoever. I will definitely be checking out more of her books in the near future. I’m not going to reveal anything about this book because I don’t want to reveal any spoilers. I would certainly recommend this amazing book for anyone to read.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Shantrellia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not put this book down. Declan is everything I needed, omg your heart just breaks for him too. Sienna was great to, and you just wanted to hug her. I was so invested from beginning to end. The plot was amazing, the little twist at the end was everything. The way heart the author makes you feel for Anthony as well, good writing. The spice was good, and Declan loves control. I really enjoyed this book and what a great ending.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Aussie · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Art is not a mirror held up to reality, but a hammer with which to shape it. —Berthold Brecht"

i adore this book as it had romantic suspensee that is filled with plot  twists, trauma and spicy romance ..

The main FM Sienna, is who she say she is as she is running from her past trauma that has secrets. 

The main MMC Delcan, he has some post trauma aswell which does make him avoid relationships

They end up being together in Hawaii as they both agree to have a little getaway fling but eventually their pasts came back to haunt them which took the story for a very wild turn

Sienna is very guarded that is the result of her past and she doesnt  let anyone in that easily which i can easy relate to her as i did see myself in the same way as she did

let me get started on Delcan , he is possessive billonaire , worthy and he need to be protected at all cost... He does comes off dark and broody but he is a biggest softie deep down when it comes to the people he cares about .

it is very spicy ..... That plot twist shocked me as i didnt expect that to happen ... in the end everything was just perfect

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sienna is an art student trying to get funding for a community art program for teens. Declan Conte offers to help but she is attracted to him and declines his offer. He does send her a list of people to contact and they end up texting. He asks her to go to a convention in Hawaii with him and when her ex is released from prison and she needs to hide, she agrees to go along. Sienna has so many secrets and so does Declan. I enjoyed the discussion of art as Sienna would paint. Declan was a generous man with secrets that tormented him. This is a great book with story and characters to draw you in.

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful Damage delves into themes of secrets, lies, and the unsettling presence of a stalker. Declan, a brutally honest and blunt man with a mysterious past, becomes obsessed with Sienna, a woman on the run from her own dark history. As they cross paths, both must navigate their survival in a harsh world that seems set against them.

While the story is intense and engaging, I found Sienna’s character frustrating, particularly when she used Declan’s painful past as a weapon, which felt like a step too far. On the other hand, Anthony had his redeeming qualities, and I even found myself low-key rooting for him.

This is the first book I’ve read from this author. And I highly recommend this book! I can’t wait to see where this series goes because I am excited to read the stories about the other characters. Please check for TW’s.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Jaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful damage is a romantic suspense filled with plot twists, trauma, and spicy romance. Sienna is not who she says she is and running from a past filled with secrets. Declan also has some past trauma of his own, making him avoid relationships. They end up together in Hawaii and agree to a little getaway fling. Both of their pasts eventually come back to haunt them and take this story for a wild turn.

Sienna is very guarded due to her past and doesn't let people in easily. She was very relatable, and I saw some of myself in the way she thought.
Possessive billionaire sayyy lesss. Declan is drool worthy and needs to be protected at all costs. At first he comes off dark and broody, but deep down, he's the biggest softie for thise he cares about.

This is probably the spiciest book I've read, which is not my preference, but putting that aside, the story is well written and an exhilarating read. I did not expect the plot twist, and I was sitting on the edge of my seat, STRESSING, but things wrapped up really nicely in the end.

[Jamie Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a fantastic read! The plot with all its twists and turns kept me hooked till the very end. The themes of trying to overcome your past and find yourself really resonated with me. I loved Declan and Sienna and how they refused to give up on each other. They had both been through so much, but they had such determination and such passion. There were so many other interesting characters in this book: Jada, Sean, even Anthony. I can’t wait to read the next book in this series and see where the story goes from here!

[Laura Black Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous! I'm biased, because I betaread it, but it's clever and interesting and the romance is as hot as 🌶🌶. There's Hawaii, and secrets, and art and lies. And even better there's more in the series to come.

This is a change of direction for Raina and it works so well!

[Anonymous 5 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a heart-pounding, emotionally charged romantic thriller that grips you from the very first page. Sienna, a woman running from her violent past, finds unexpected refuge in the arms of Declan Conte, a tortured billionaire with his own demons. What starts as a chance meeting soon blossoms into a deeply intense, passionate connection—but not without serious consequences.

Declan is a man of few words, a former boxing champion with a tragic past, and his protective instincts are tested as Sienna’s dangerous ex resurfaces, threatening not only her safety but Declan’s as well. Their chemistry is off the charts, but their love comes with a dark edge that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Sienna’s desperation to escape her past leads her to make decisions that might break them both.

The romance here is sizzling, but it’s the suspense that truly drives this story. The stakes are high, and you’ll find yourself holding your breath as the twists and turns unfold. The dark themes—organized crime, stalking, PTSD, and trauma—add a layer of complexity, making this a compelling, if sometimes harrowing, read.

If you enjoy steamy, suspense-filled romances with complex characters and a touch of danger, this one’s for you. A perfect choice for fans of protective, tortured heroes and heroines who have to fight for a love that might just heal them—or destroy them.

I received a complimentary copy from BookSirens and am voluntarily leaving my review.

[Maven_Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Raina Ash's Beautiful Damage delivers a thrilling blend of romance and suspense, immersing readers in a world of wealth, secrets, and dangerous desires. Ash crafts compelling characters with complex backstories, making their interactions both passionate and fraught with tension. The pacing is well-managed, weaving together intimate moments with heart-pounding action, keeping the reader engaged from beginning to end. While some plot points might feel familiar to fans of the genre, the emotional depth of the characters and the palpable chemistry between them elevate the narrative.

The strength of Beautiful Damage lies in its exploration of the characters' vulnerabilities and the ways their past traumas shape their present. The romantic element is steamy and intense, but it's also grounded in genuine connection, adding emotional weight to the suspenseful plot. While the billionaire romance trope is well-trodden, Ash manages to infuse it with enough originality and emotional resonance to make it feel fresh. Overall, Beautiful Damage is an enjoyable read for those seeking a captivating mix of romance, suspense, and emotional depth.

[Hannah Irene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book a lot. Sienna is an artist trying to escape a very traumatic past through art and helping others. Declan Conte is a very wealthy man with a troubled past of his own, but is set on helping Sienna with her dreams.

The only thing I wish was more of the plot was Anthony. I actually enjoyed his character a lot and I feel like he had a chance to really redeem himself at the end, other than what happened. I started to feel bad for him when I learned of his past. I think that if he was more of an added twist in the plot, this book would have gotten 5 stars from me.

I received an ARC of this book for free and I am voluntarily leaving my review.

[Annie May · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I can say is WOW !! Definitely at the top of my list for best read. A love story builds. But with lots of baggage on both sides from past experiences then add in being stalked by a ruthless ex determined to have his girlfriend back. If you love romantic suspense, don't
miss this one. I couldn't put it down .

[JM G · Rating 4 out of 5]

WOW! What a great romantic suspense book. The characters are well developed and the storyline hooked me from the start. Sienna and Declan are holding secrets close. Once I started reading this book I didn't want to put it down. A definite page turner. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[BusyM3 · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read. The story is full of suspense, drama, romance and much more. The story flows well and will keep you interested till the end. The characters are likeable and fit well together. A good read.

I am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Pricilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was hooked the whole time. I didn't want to put the book down. It's an emotional read and keeps your attention throughout the book. Definitely recommend it but please check triggers. Some tropes in the book: slow burn, romantic suspense, protective mmc, emotional, billionaire.

[Jenna Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice fast read

Inhaled this book; nice writing style and a good mix of plot and spice to keep you engaged throughout it

[Themootinslive.Co.Uk · Rating 5 out of 5]

On edge all the way

I loved the edge, I had to make myself stop a couple of times to gather my thoughts as so much happened.
Loved it big time... 🫶🏻🫶🏻🥰