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Damaged Duet #1
Beyond Repair: Part One
I was held captive for 26 months by a faceless monster.
My first 12 months of freedom were spent in a psychiatric facility.
The next 18 months of my early twenties consisted of my childhood home and my parents coaxing me back into the land of the living.
I haven’t felt alive for 56 months.
Please tell me how something dead inside is supposed to make it in the real world. Because that’s what my mom and dad think is best for me…living. Moving out. Getting a job. Making my own food. Turning my light off before I make it to my bed.
But how? How do I live when I don’t even know how to survive?
Who will help me when the nightmares steal the air from my lungs?
Who’s going to tell me everything will be okay when I refuse to believe them?
One thing’s for sure…nothing is okay.
I’m broken beyond repair and that monster…he’s still out there.
Author's
This is book 1 of the Damaged Duet. You’ll find MPOV, MM content, and dark themes in this contemporary MMFMM why-choose.
Trigger
Each book is recommended for those 18+ due to sexual content, violence, and trauma. A further detailed list will be included in the forward.
My first 12 months of freedom were spent in a psychiatric facility.
The next 18 months of my early twenties consisted of my childhood home and my parents coaxing me back into the land of the living.
I haven’t felt alive for 56 months.
Please tell me how something dead inside is supposed to make it in the real world. Because that’s what my mom and dad think is best for me…living. Moving out. Getting a job. Making my own food. Turning my light off before I make it to my bed.
But how? How do I live when I don’t even know how to survive?
Who will help me when the nightmares steal the air from my lungs?
Who’s going to tell me everything will be okay when I refuse to believe them?
One thing’s for sure…nothing is okay.
I’m broken beyond repair and that monster…he’s still out there.
Author's
This is book 1 of the Damaged Duet. You’ll find MPOV, MM content, and dark themes in this contemporary MMFMM why-choose.
Trigger
Each book is recommended for those 18+ due to sexual content, violence, and trauma. A further detailed list will be included in the forward.
241 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 1, 2025
645 people are currently reading
404 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 96 reviews
July 9, 2025
⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️
Tropes:
🩷 MMFMM (with MM)
💜 Childhood Friends to Lovers
💙 Kidnapping
🩵 Hurt/Comfort
Honestly, I don't know what to say but if you like dark, emotional why choose romances with MM - read this book.
This was gut wrenching.
I received this book (ARC) for free in exchange for my honest review which I am leaving voluntarily.
🌶️
Tropes:
🩷 MMFMM (with MM)
💜 Childhood Friends to Lovers
💙 Kidnapping
🩵 Hurt/Comfort
Honestly, I don't know what to say but if you like dark, emotional why choose romances with MM - read this book.
This was gut wrenching.
I received this book (ARC) for free in exchange for my honest review which I am leaving voluntarily.
July 22, 2025
2 ★
For my full review on this duet, see: Beyond Repair: Part Two
:➛ post-read ── .✦
Full rtc. ✨
I’m going to have to sit with this one for a bit. I’m feeling a little conflicted
For my full review on this duet, see: Beyond Repair: Part Two
:➛ post-read ── .✦
Full rtc. ✨
I’m going to have to sit with this one for a bit. I’m feeling a little conflicted
July 2, 2025
Rediscovering something thought lost
Oh my this poor girl. Nina spent two years with a monster and has spent two more trying to heal. Unfortunately she is not actually getting very far. When her parents tell her its time for her to live on her own kept threatens a spiral.
Luckily there are four boys from her past that jump at finding out she is alive and do not care if they need to work around her new found triggers.
As the boys slowly bring Nina back to herself she actually begins to heal. The boys are also able to heal.
This is such a tragic story that was going so well that I knew part one would end in a terrible way and I was absolutely right. I absolutely need part two so I can see what happens next.
These guys and Nina deserve their happy ending.
Oh my this poor girl. Nina spent two years with a monster and has spent two more trying to heal. Unfortunately she is not actually getting very far. When her parents tell her its time for her to live on her own kept threatens a spiral.
Luckily there are four boys from her past that jump at finding out she is alive and do not care if they need to work around her new found triggers.
As the boys slowly bring Nina back to herself she actually begins to heal. The boys are also able to heal.
This is such a tragic story that was going so well that I knew part one would end in a terrible way and I was absolutely right. I absolutely need part two so I can see what happens next.
These guys and Nina deserve their happy ending.
August 18, 2025
I have to be honest and admit that I struggled quite a bit with this duet—not in the sense that I couldn’t get through it, but in the sense that I found myself feeling frustrated with certain aspects of the story. I’ve tried to sit with my thoughts on this for a while to really digest all of my emotions, and still find myself disappointed. Let’s talk about it.
1. The Initial Setup
I found it immediately off-putting that this story starts with our FMC being, essentially, forced by her parents to move into a house of her own almost forty minutes away from them. Perhaps it’s the immigrant in me that finds it appalling and confusing that loving parents would do this to their daughter (who is not even of legal drinking age in the U.S.)—their daughter that was kidnapped and missing for years, brutally traumatized during that time, who had to spend over a year in a psychiatric facility because of how suicidal the experience made her.
It just seemed wildly counterintuitive that this would be beneficial to her at all given that it’s happening against her will, is forcing her to once again feel isolated (in the same ways she did when she was kidnapped), and doesn’t seem like something a parent in this situation would willing to do, let alone actively want to do.
This also is hand-in-hand with my issue of therapy in this duet—or the lack thereof. I immediately clocked, early on in the first book, that our FMC was not actively going to therapy—at least not in any meaningful way in the story. Quite frankly, I could not get past the mere idea that a young woman who went through as brutal a trauma as our FMC did would not actively be going to therapy to help work through her issues, especially if she had spent such a long time in treatment prior to being with her parents again. Which makes my original point even more glaring; you’d think her parents would be prioritizing therapy over forcing her to move out on her own.
I’m well aware that our FMC living on her own is the catalyst for the guys returning into her life and for the romance that ensues, but I don’t think it’s good enough.
2. Adam & Our Kidnapper
I think the majority of readers went into book two with the assumption that Adam was probably the kidnapper—I mean, why else would the author suddenly introduce a man that was best friends with the FMC’s father back in the day as a part of the story? More specifically to introduce him right after the FMC is hurt seeing ‘Mr. M’ again for the first time, with him miraculously finding her, and then suddenly remaining in her life?
So, you continue to read and narrow your eyes every time Adam makes another appearance in the second book, gears churning in your mind and disgust brewing in your gut. Because you’re convinced he’s got something to do with this. Why else would this RANDOM man keep appearing, even when he has no real depth to add to the story?
I’m genuinely not sure if this was meant to be a red herring and ‘trick’ the reader, or if the author just genuinely didn’t realize what she was doing with him while she wrote her book. But in the end, Adam is literally just a dude who was friends with her parents, and our real kidnapper was just a dude that goes completely unexplained.
3. The Kidnapping
We don’t really get a lot of details. Now, I want to be very clear that I’m not looking for graphic or highly triggering descriptions of what our FMC went through. I think that it can be difficult to stomach that kind of content sometimes and, quite frankly, there is enough violence against women in all sorts of media that we don’t need to weigh this story down with trauma p*rn.
However, we don’t really get any sort of insight into what happened. Our kidnapper is literally a nobody—I don’t think we even get a real name for him. We don’t know who he is or what his motivations are. We don’t know if he was watching our FMC for a while before he first kidnapped her, or if it was a crime of opportunity. We don’t know what he really wanted from her… A slave? From the details we do get, it seems like he wanted her to cook, clean, and stay quiet in the basement otherwise. We also get that this man is somehow incredible at changing his appearance and disguising himself.
These are all random facts that are thrown into the story, but when combined, don’t really paint a clear picture of who this man is. And I get it—he’s not the story, our FMC is. Fuck this dude. But I still find it to be a necessary part of the story that we should get some clear idea of, given that this is part of the FMC’s past and present. To me, it just feels like it wasn’t properly planned out or given enough detail in the author’s outlines and mind map, and therefore it makes the story weaker.
As an afterthought to this point, the author tries to make it explicitly clear that the FMC did NOT face any sort of sexual abuse while kidnapped. There’s not enough empirical, peer-reviewed data to suggest actual statistics on this, but it does feel a little unbelievable. More specifically, I kept catching on to this because it seemed like the author kept this component out of her trauma to aid in the romantic aspect of the story.
4. Is she unknown?
This maybe goes along a bit with the previous point, but I want to give it it’s own section. I found myself genuinely confused in this duet about how much of our FMC is publicly known. The information within the duet is contradictory.
-In book one, when the guys find out she’s alive, they’re relieved and adamant about seeing her immediately. When her parents come clean that she’s been back for over two years, the guys are mad. This sets up canonical information that when our FMC escaped, her identity was kept hidden—hidden to the point that her four best friends, who have been hopeful for her return all this time, had no clue that she was already back home with her parents.
-Later in book one, she goes out with the guys, and some random teenage boy immediately recognizes her as the kidnapping victim of this killer who escaped. This sets up new, canonical information that our FMC’s identity is known enough that a true crime fan could immediately clock her identity.
-In book two, the guys find news articles about her rescue and state that there’s some information about her but that it was very hard to find without looking for it.
As a reader, you’re left with a host of questions and concerns.
-What information of hers was actually released to the public, especially given the perpetrator is still actively at large?
-Given that he’s still out there, there is no reasonable explanation for her not being in some sort of WISTEC program to protect her, especially now that his victims are being killed.
-If some random teenage boy in Provo could recognize her, did NO ONE in Heber know she was back? This duet confirms that her parents still live in her childhood home, and so the assumption is that the neighbors would probably know she was back. Which begs the question, how did the guys not know? The excuse that her parents didn’t call isn’t good enough, when anyone else could have. Anyone could have posted about it online, too—which goes back to a concern for her safety given that this man is still out there.
I’m not looking for a perfect book with not a single flaw to be found or question to be had. But I should NOT have this many questions and concerns, which feel glaringly obvious as unanswered and potentially just plot holes.
5. The Relationship…
The relationship between our FMC and her guys really hinges on the fact that they were best friends before she was kidnapped, and that there was already a potential relationship blooming between the five of them. This is meant to explain why our FMC is so quick to trust the guys and let them into her life and why their relationships progress so quickly (both emotionally and physically).
Except, we don’t see their relationship before. We only see it now. So you don’t really get good relationship growth because the relationships are sort of predetermined by their past, and we’re not privvy to that.
And while I appreciate when an author doesn’t try to write perfect and unrealistic characters, there were multiple instances where the guys’ behavior towards Nina and her trauma and trauma responses felt a little to hot-headed and not understanding enough. I wasn’t a huge fan of this.
6. Unnecessary Duet
Both books are less than 250 pages, I believe, so I think two books is a bit unnecessary when it could have just been one book with the content we do have. That being said, to have this be a more successful story, I think the author *should* have kept this a duet, but should have made the story more robust.
I think it would have been more powerful for us, as readers, to have gotten:
-More of the FMC and the guys before the kidnapping. We’re told multiple times that they were very close and that there was a blossoming relationship happening between them already. It would have been more emotional for us to have seen some of this, to help us understand just why the guys care so much, why our FMC is struggling to believe they’ll still want her, etc.
-As previously mentioned, more about the actual kidnapping would have been great. Even more about our FMC after being found, while being in the psychiatric hospital, etc. We’re sort of thrown from her escaping to her years later in the present, and I think it makes the story not as powerful.
-In the same vein, I would have loved more build up into her growing fear of being watched and feeling unsafe. It would have been interesting to see her start to open up and live life more, and then retreat in a way that worries those around her and has them question her. I think the author tried to do this, but with so few words in the entire duet, this doesn’t get explored well.
-More therapy. Our FMC’s internal monologues about how she’s struggling are great. They feel raw and real. But I would have loved to see her working through this more with a professional and even her parents, as opposed to it literally just being that the guys come back into her life and fix her, which is more or less what happens.
7. The Epilogue
I’ll keep this part short because it’s personal preference more than anything, but I’m not a fan of the happy ending just suddenly appearing this way and being years in the future and she has KIDS. I think it’s a bit off kilter from the rest of the story, honestly, not to mention that I don’t think kids need to be part of HEAs
1. The Initial Setup
I found it immediately off-putting that this story starts with our FMC being, essentially, forced by her parents to move into a house of her own almost forty minutes away from them. Perhaps it’s the immigrant in me that finds it appalling and confusing that loving parents would do this to their daughter (who is not even of legal drinking age in the U.S.)—their daughter that was kidnapped and missing for years, brutally traumatized during that time, who had to spend over a year in a psychiatric facility because of how suicidal the experience made her.
It just seemed wildly counterintuitive that this would be beneficial to her at all given that it’s happening against her will, is forcing her to once again feel isolated (in the same ways she did when she was kidnapped), and doesn’t seem like something a parent in this situation would willing to do, let alone actively want to do.
This also is hand-in-hand with my issue of therapy in this duet—or the lack thereof. I immediately clocked, early on in the first book, that our FMC was not actively going to therapy—at least not in any meaningful way in the story. Quite frankly, I could not get past the mere idea that a young woman who went through as brutal a trauma as our FMC did would not actively be going to therapy to help work through her issues, especially if she had spent such a long time in treatment prior to being with her parents again. Which makes my original point even more glaring; you’d think her parents would be prioritizing therapy over forcing her to move out on her own.
I’m well aware that our FMC living on her own is the catalyst for the guys returning into her life and for the romance that ensues, but I don’t think it’s good enough.
2. Adam & Our Kidnapper
I think the majority of readers went into book two with the assumption that Adam was probably the kidnapper—I mean, why else would the author suddenly introduce a man that was best friends with the FMC’s father back in the day as a part of the story? More specifically to introduce him right after the FMC is hurt seeing ‘Mr. M’ again for the first time, with him miraculously finding her, and then suddenly remaining in her life?
So, you continue to read and narrow your eyes every time Adam makes another appearance in the second book, gears churning in your mind and disgust brewing in your gut. Because you’re convinced he’s got something to do with this. Why else would this RANDOM man keep appearing, even when he has no real depth to add to the story?
I’m genuinely not sure if this was meant to be a red herring and ‘trick’ the reader, or if the author just genuinely didn’t realize what she was doing with him while she wrote her book. But in the end, Adam is literally just a dude who was friends with her parents, and our real kidnapper was just a dude that goes completely unexplained.
3. The Kidnapping
We don’t really get a lot of details. Now, I want to be very clear that I’m not looking for graphic or highly triggering descriptions of what our FMC went through. I think that it can be difficult to stomach that kind of content sometimes and, quite frankly, there is enough violence against women in all sorts of media that we don’t need to weigh this story down with trauma p*rn.
However, we don’t really get any sort of insight into what happened. Our kidnapper is literally a nobody—I don’t think we even get a real name for him. We don’t know who he is or what his motivations are. We don’t know if he was watching our FMC for a while before he first kidnapped her, or if it was a crime of opportunity. We don’t know what he really wanted from her… A slave? From the details we do get, it seems like he wanted her to cook, clean, and stay quiet in the basement otherwise. We also get that this man is somehow incredible at changing his appearance and disguising himself.
These are all random facts that are thrown into the story, but when combined, don’t really paint a clear picture of who this man is. And I get it—he’s not the story, our FMC is. Fuck this dude. But I still find it to be a necessary part of the story that we should get some clear idea of, given that this is part of the FMC’s past and present. To me, it just feels like it wasn’t properly planned out or given enough detail in the author’s outlines and mind map, and therefore it makes the story weaker.
As an afterthought to this point, the author tries to make it explicitly clear that the FMC did NOT face any sort of sexual abuse while kidnapped. There’s not enough empirical, peer-reviewed data to suggest actual statistics on this, but it does feel a little unbelievable. More specifically, I kept catching on to this because it seemed like the author kept this component out of her trauma to aid in the romantic aspect of the story.
4. Is she unknown?
This maybe goes along a bit with the previous point, but I want to give it it’s own section. I found myself genuinely confused in this duet about how much of our FMC is publicly known. The information within the duet is contradictory.
-In book one, when the guys find out she’s alive, they’re relieved and adamant about seeing her immediately. When her parents come clean that she’s been back for over two years, the guys are mad. This sets up canonical information that when our FMC escaped, her identity was kept hidden—hidden to the point that her four best friends, who have been hopeful for her return all this time, had no clue that she was already back home with her parents.
-Later in book one, she goes out with the guys, and some random teenage boy immediately recognizes her as the kidnapping victim of this killer who escaped. This sets up new, canonical information that our FMC’s identity is known enough that a true crime fan could immediately clock her identity.
-In book two, the guys find news articles about her rescue and state that there’s some information about her but that it was very hard to find without looking for it.
As a reader, you’re left with a host of questions and concerns.
-What information of hers was actually released to the public, especially given the perpetrator is still actively at large?
-Given that he’s still out there, there is no reasonable explanation for her not being in some sort of WISTEC program to protect her, especially now that his victims are being killed.
-If some random teenage boy in Provo could recognize her, did NO ONE in Heber know she was back? This duet confirms that her parents still live in her childhood home, and so the assumption is that the neighbors would probably know she was back. Which begs the question, how did the guys not know? The excuse that her parents didn’t call isn’t good enough, when anyone else could have. Anyone could have posted about it online, too—which goes back to a concern for her safety given that this man is still out there.
I’m not looking for a perfect book with not a single flaw to be found or question to be had. But I should NOT have this many questions and concerns, which feel glaringly obvious as unanswered and potentially just plot holes.
5. The Relationship…
The relationship between our FMC and her guys really hinges on the fact that they were best friends before she was kidnapped, and that there was already a potential relationship blooming between the five of them. This is meant to explain why our FMC is so quick to trust the guys and let them into her life and why their relationships progress so quickly (both emotionally and physically).
Except, we don’t see their relationship before. We only see it now. So you don’t really get good relationship growth because the relationships are sort of predetermined by their past, and we’re not privvy to that.
And while I appreciate when an author doesn’t try to write perfect and unrealistic characters, there were multiple instances where the guys’ behavior towards Nina and her trauma and trauma responses felt a little to hot-headed and not understanding enough. I wasn’t a huge fan of this.
6. Unnecessary Duet
Both books are less than 250 pages, I believe, so I think two books is a bit unnecessary when it could have just been one book with the content we do have. That being said, to have this be a more successful story, I think the author *should* have kept this a duet, but should have made the story more robust.
I think it would have been more powerful for us, as readers, to have gotten:
-More of the FMC and the guys before the kidnapping. We’re told multiple times that they were very close and that there was a blossoming relationship happening between them already. It would have been more emotional for us to have seen some of this, to help us understand just why the guys care so much, why our FMC is struggling to believe they’ll still want her, etc.
-As previously mentioned, more about the actual kidnapping would have been great. Even more about our FMC after being found, while being in the psychiatric hospital, etc. We’re sort of thrown from her escaping to her years later in the present, and I think it makes the story not as powerful.
-In the same vein, I would have loved more build up into her growing fear of being watched and feeling unsafe. It would have been interesting to see her start to open up and live life more, and then retreat in a way that worries those around her and has them question her. I think the author tried to do this, but with so few words in the entire duet, this doesn’t get explored well.
-More therapy. Our FMC’s internal monologues about how she’s struggling are great. They feel raw and real. But I would have loved to see her working through this more with a professional and even her parents, as opposed to it literally just being that the guys come back into her life and fix her, which is more or less what happens.
7. The Epilogue
I’ll keep this part short because it’s personal preference more than anything, but I’m not a fan of the happy ending just suddenly appearing this way and being years in the future and she has KIDS. I think it’s a bit off kilter from the rest of the story, honestly, not to mention that I don’t think kids need to be part of HEAs
July 14, 2025
This had me on a crazy ride of feelings. My heart was breaking for Nina. She was taken before she ever got the chance to truly grow up and know herself. So now she has to do that on top of all of her trauma and healing. I was also really sad for the guys, because they were grieving so hard for her. Not knowing for years if she was okay or not. This truly was so good. It was full of heartache and so many emotions. I can’t wait to dive into the next one, hopefully they get their deserved happy ending.
July 26, 2025
3.3 stars.
I like it, but definitely don’t love it.
It’s entertaining but other authors have pretty similar books that are just written better in my opinion. (Emphasis on ‘my’ lol)
I am gonna finish the duet still, though.
I like it, but definitely don’t love it.
It’s entertaining but other authors have pretty similar books that are just written better in my opinion. (Emphasis on ‘my’ lol)
I am gonna finish the duet still, though.
Read
June 4, 2025🔴 This is a poly romance, not a RH 🔴
July 2, 2025
Arc Review⭐️
Beyond Repair Part 1 by @y.v.larson
Available Now
07.01.2025
4.5/5⭐️
I feel like no mater what I say I can’t do this book the justice it deserves. It’s traumatic, and heart wrenching but at the same time gives the hope of healing.
Nina was kidnapped right before celebrating her sweet sixteen walking home from her friends house and held captive for nearly TWO years. When she eventually escapes she’s left with severe PTSD, anxiety and so many other issues that run very deep. After some time away and with a push from her parents, she ventures out on her own. Still rattled by the trauma, it’s obvious she needs help. Enter her four childhood best friends Ridge, Trevor, Henry, and Kai. All four are madly in love with Nina and are determined to help her find herself once again.
Each man is unique and honestly the mixture of sweet, caring, and dominant makes a perfect complement to Nina. All four seem to have something in their personalities that helps Nina navigate her way through her feelings and it’s just beautiful. I loved all four of them, how they coped with Nina’s disappearance in their own ways and how it brought them all closer together.
Also... THAT CLIFFHANGER!!! Ugh I knew it was coming but I was not ready not even a little bit! . I need part two NOW!!
If you’re in the mood for emotional trauma and overcoming the hurt, unbelievably loving found family vibes, and finding a love that is deep and learning to feel that you are worth it then pick up Beyond Repair immediately!
Beyond Repair Part 1 by @y.v.larson
Available Now
07.01.2025
4.5/5⭐️
I feel like no mater what I say I can’t do this book the justice it deserves. It’s traumatic, and heart wrenching but at the same time gives the hope of healing.
Nina was kidnapped right before celebrating her sweet sixteen walking home from her friends house and held captive for nearly TWO years. When she eventually escapes she’s left with severe PTSD, anxiety and so many other issues that run very deep. After some time away and with a push from her parents, she ventures out on her own. Still rattled by the trauma, it’s obvious she needs help. Enter her four childhood best friends Ridge, Trevor, Henry, and Kai. All four are madly in love with Nina and are determined to help her find herself once again.
Each man is unique and honestly the mixture of sweet, caring, and dominant makes a perfect complement to Nina. All four seem to have something in their personalities that helps Nina navigate her way through her feelings and it’s just beautiful. I loved all four of them, how they coped with Nina’s disappearance in their own ways and how it brought them all closer together.
Also... THAT CLIFFHANGER!!! Ugh I knew it was coming but I was not ready not even a little bit! . I need part two NOW!!
If you’re in the mood for emotional trauma and overcoming the hurt, unbelievably loving found family vibes, and finding a love that is deep and learning to feel that you are worth it then pick up Beyond Repair immediately!
June 30, 2025
It’s been 56 months since Nina last felt alive, last felt like herself. She was kidnapped and held captive for 26 months, spent 12 months in a psychiatric hospital recovering and then 18 months trying to rebuild her life. Now, her parents are insisting she moves out of their home into her own, to try and get some semblance of normality back. To try and get her life back. But Nina isn’t sure she can. The monster who took her is still out there and she doesn’t feel like she’ll ever be safe again until he’s gone. When she gets the chance to reconnect with her childhood besties she’s torn. She’s missed her boys but how could they possibly want to be around her now she’s broken beyond repair? But Ridge, Trevor, Henry and Kai aren’t going to let their girl go again. They love her and will whatever they need to do in order to keep her safe. But is it enough?
I enjoyed this! Nina went through some horrific things and clearly carried that trauma with her. Her parents I’m not fans of tbh. Basically kick her out (even if they have good intentions), finally tell her best friends she’s alive two and a half years after she comes home but then get the hump when they rock up and want to help her? Sit back down, both of you. Your part is over, let our take the reins. And those boys. My my my. Nina is one lucky girl 🤣🤣 so impatient for part 2 after the way this ended!! I need it now!!
I enjoyed this! Nina went through some horrific things and clearly carried that trauma with her. Her parents I’m not fans of tbh. Basically kick her out (even if they have good intentions), finally tell her best friends she’s alive two and a half years after she comes home but then get the hump when they rock up and want to help her? Sit back down, both of you. Your part is over, let our take the reins. And those boys. My my my. Nina is one lucky girl 🤣🤣 so impatient for part 2 after the way this ended!! I need it now!!
July 1, 2025
3.5⭐️
I got an arc, but my rating/review are my own!
I feel like this could have been only one book and not in 2 parts :( I just feel there wasn't much happening during part01 and I am someone that needs things happening in the book
but that didn't mean I didn't enjoy the book because I did and I am excited to see what part 02 gives us
quotes:
••
"𝕭𝖆𝖇𝖞 𝖌𝖎𝖗𝖑. 𝖂𝖊𝖗𝖊 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖙𝖙𝖊𝖆𝖘𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖚𝖘 𝖜𝖎𝖙𝖍 𝖙𝖍𝖔𝖘𝖊 𝖑𝖎𝖙𝖙𝖑𝖊 𝖓𝖔𝖎𝖘𝖊𝖘?"
"𝕴 𝖊𝖓𝖈𝖔𝖚𝖗𝖆𝖌𝖊𝖉 𝖍𝖊𝖗 𝖙𝖔 𝖍𝖚𝖒 𝖆 𝖋𝖊𝖜 𝖙𝖎𝖒𝖊𝖘. 𝕴 𝖇𝖊𝖙 𝖍𝖊𝖗 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖌𝖚𝖞𝖘 𝖜𝖔𝖚𝖑𝖉𝖓'𝖙 𝖑𝖆𝖘𝖙 𝖋𝖎𝖛𝖊 𝖒𝖎𝖓𝖚𝖙𝖊𝖘 𝖜𝖎𝖙𝖍𝖔𝖚𝖙 𝖙𝖆𝖐𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖎𝖙 𝖆𝖜𝖆𝖞."
••
𝓣𝓸𝓸 𝓼𝓸𝓸𝓷. 𝓘 𝓯𝓾𝓬𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓱𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝔂 𝓻𝓮𝓶𝓲𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻, 𝓫𝓾𝓽 𝓲𝓽'𝓼 𝓽𝓻𝓾𝓮. 𝓝𝓸𝓽 𝓽𝓸 𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷 𝓲 𝓼𝓹𝓮𝓭 𝓶𝔂 𝔀𝓪𝔂 𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝓫𝓮𝓬𝓪𝓾𝓼𝓮 𝓝𝓲𝓷𝓪'𝓼 𝓼𝓬𝓪𝓻𝓮𝓭. 𝓝𝓸𝓽 𝓫𝓮𝓬𝓪𝓾𝓼𝓮 𝓼𝓱𝓮 𝓪𝓼𝓴𝓮𝓭 𝓶𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝓮𝓪𝓽 𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓱𝓸𝓽 𝓬𝓾𝓷𝓽.
••
"𝕾𝖔 𝖍𝖆𝖗𝖉, 𝖐𝖆𝖎 𝖎𝖘 𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖘 𝖆𝖑𝖑 𝖋𝖔𝖗 𝖒𝖊, 𝖔𝖗 𝖎𝖘 𝖎𝖙 𝖋𝖔𝖗 𝕹𝖎𝖓𝖆? 𝕺𝖗 𝖒𝖆𝖞𝖇𝖊 𝖞𝖔𝖚'𝖗𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖓𝖐𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖆𝖇𝖔𝖚𝖙 𝖒𝖊 𝖙𝖔𝖓𝖌𝖚𝖊 𝖋𝖚𝖈𝖐𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝖌𝖎𝖗𝖑'𝖘 𝖘𝖜𝖊𝖊𝖙 𝖈𝖚𝖓𝖙 𝖜𝖍𝖎𝖑𝖊 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖗𝖆𝖎𝖑 𝖒𝖞 𝖆𝖘𝖘 𝖋𝖗𝖔𝖒 𝖇𝖊𝖍𝖎𝖓𝖉"
"𝕸𝖒𝖒𝖍𝖒𝖒𝖒. 𝖂𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝖎𝖋 𝖘𝖍𝖊 𝖜𝖊𝖗𝖊 𝖍𝖊𝖗𝖊 𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙 𝖓𝖔𝖜, 𝖜𝖆𝖙𝖈𝖍𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖚𝖘 𝖋𝖚𝖈𝖐 𝖊𝖆𝖈𝖍 𝖔𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖗'𝖘 𝖋𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖘? 𝕴 𝖜𝖔𝖚𝖑𝖉 𝖍𝖆𝖛𝖊 𝖍𝖊𝖗 𝖐𝖓𝖊𝖊𝖑𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖎𝖓 𝖋𝖗𝖔𝖓𝖙 𝖔𝖋 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖜𝖍𝖎𝖑𝖊 𝖘𝖍𝖊 𝖇𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖈𝖊𝖘 𝖔𝖓 𝖍𝖊𝖗 𝖋𝖎𝖓𝖌𝖊𝖗𝖘. 𝕴 𝖇𝖊𝖙 𝖍𝖊𝖗 𝖙𝖎𝖙𝖘 𝖆𝖗𝖊 𝖆 𝖕𝖊𝖗𝖋𝖊𝖈𝖙 𝖍𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖋𝖚𝖑. 𝕭𝖊𝖙 𝖍𝖊𝖗 𝖓𝖎𝖕𝖕𝖑𝖊𝖘 𝖜𝖔𝖚𝖑𝖉 𝖕𝖊𝖇𝖇𝖑𝖊 𝖔𝖓 𝖞𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝖙𝖔𝖓𝖌𝖚𝖊 𝖓𝖎𝖈𝖊𝖑𝖞."
"𝖂𝖔𝖚𝖑𝖉 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖜𝖆𝖓𝖙 𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝖘𝖜𝖊𝖊𝖙 𝕹𝖎𝖓𝖆 𝖙𝖔 𝖘𝖎𝖙 𝖔𝖓 𝖞𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝖋𝖆𝖈𝖊, 𝕶𝖆𝖎?"🥵🥵
••
tropes:
☆🍁dark romance?
☆🍁why choose
☆🍁childhood friends to lovers
☆🍁⚔️ 👀
☆🍁dom/sub vibes
☆🍁multi-pov's
☆🍁trauma healing
I got an arc, but my rating/review are my own!
I feel like this could have been only one book and not in 2 parts :( I just feel there wasn't much happening during part01 and I am someone that needs things happening in the book
but that didn't mean I didn't enjoy the book because I did and I am excited to see what part 02 gives us
quotes:
••
"𝕭𝖆𝖇𝖞 𝖌𝖎𝖗𝖑. 𝖂𝖊𝖗𝖊 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖙𝖙𝖊𝖆𝖘𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖚𝖘 𝖜𝖎𝖙𝖍 𝖙𝖍𝖔𝖘𝖊 𝖑𝖎𝖙𝖙𝖑𝖊 𝖓𝖔𝖎𝖘𝖊𝖘?"
"𝕴 𝖊𝖓𝖈𝖔𝖚𝖗𝖆𝖌𝖊𝖉 𝖍𝖊𝖗 𝖙𝖔 𝖍𝖚𝖒 𝖆 𝖋𝖊𝖜 𝖙𝖎𝖒𝖊𝖘. 𝕴 𝖇𝖊𝖙 𝖍𝖊𝖗 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖌𝖚𝖞𝖘 𝖜𝖔𝖚𝖑𝖉𝖓'𝖙 𝖑𝖆𝖘𝖙 𝖋𝖎𝖛𝖊 𝖒𝖎𝖓𝖚𝖙𝖊𝖘 𝖜𝖎𝖙𝖍𝖔𝖚𝖙 𝖙𝖆𝖐𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖎𝖙 𝖆𝖜𝖆𝖞."
••
𝓣𝓸𝓸 𝓼𝓸𝓸𝓷. 𝓘 𝓯𝓾𝓬𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓱𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝔂 𝓻𝓮𝓶𝓲𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻, 𝓫𝓾𝓽 𝓲𝓽'𝓼 𝓽𝓻𝓾𝓮. 𝓝𝓸𝓽 𝓽𝓸 𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷 𝓲 𝓼𝓹𝓮𝓭 𝓶𝔂 𝔀𝓪𝔂 𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓮 𝓫𝓮𝓬𝓪𝓾𝓼𝓮 𝓝𝓲𝓷𝓪'𝓼 𝓼𝓬𝓪𝓻𝓮𝓭. 𝓝𝓸𝓽 𝓫𝓮𝓬𝓪𝓾𝓼𝓮 𝓼𝓱𝓮 𝓪𝓼𝓴𝓮𝓭 𝓶𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝓮𝓪𝓽 𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓱𝓸𝓽 𝓬𝓾𝓷𝓽.
••
"𝕾𝖔 𝖍𝖆𝖗𝖉, 𝖐𝖆𝖎 𝖎𝖘 𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖘 𝖆𝖑𝖑 𝖋𝖔𝖗 𝖒𝖊, 𝖔𝖗 𝖎𝖘 𝖎𝖙 𝖋𝖔𝖗 𝕹𝖎𝖓𝖆? 𝕺𝖗 𝖒𝖆𝖞𝖇𝖊 𝖞𝖔𝖚'𝖗𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖓𝖐𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖆𝖇𝖔𝖚𝖙 𝖒𝖊 𝖙𝖔𝖓𝖌𝖚𝖊 𝖋𝖚𝖈𝖐𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝖌𝖎𝖗𝖑'𝖘 𝖘𝖜𝖊𝖊𝖙 𝖈𝖚𝖓𝖙 𝖜𝖍𝖎𝖑𝖊 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖗𝖆𝖎𝖑 𝖒𝖞 𝖆𝖘𝖘 𝖋𝖗𝖔𝖒 𝖇𝖊𝖍𝖎𝖓𝖉"
"𝕸𝖒𝖒𝖍𝖒𝖒𝖒. 𝖂𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝖎𝖋 𝖘𝖍𝖊 𝖜𝖊𝖗𝖊 𝖍𝖊𝖗𝖊 𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙 𝖓𝖔𝖜, 𝖜𝖆𝖙𝖈𝖍𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖚𝖘 𝖋𝖚𝖈𝖐 𝖊𝖆𝖈𝖍 𝖔𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖗'𝖘 𝖋𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖘? 𝕴 𝖜𝖔𝖚𝖑𝖉 𝖍𝖆𝖛𝖊 𝖍𝖊𝖗 𝖐𝖓𝖊𝖊𝖑𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖎𝖓 𝖋𝖗𝖔𝖓𝖙 𝖔𝖋 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖜𝖍𝖎𝖑𝖊 𝖘𝖍𝖊 𝖇𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖈𝖊𝖘 𝖔𝖓 𝖍𝖊𝖗 𝖋𝖎𝖓𝖌𝖊𝖗𝖘. 𝕴 𝖇𝖊𝖙 𝖍𝖊𝖗 𝖙𝖎𝖙𝖘 𝖆𝖗𝖊 𝖆 𝖕𝖊𝖗𝖋𝖊𝖈𝖙 𝖍𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖋𝖚𝖑. 𝕭𝖊𝖙 𝖍𝖊𝖗 𝖓𝖎𝖕𝖕𝖑𝖊𝖘 𝖜𝖔𝖚𝖑𝖉 𝖕𝖊𝖇𝖇𝖑𝖊 𝖔𝖓 𝖞𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝖙𝖔𝖓𝖌𝖚𝖊 𝖓𝖎𝖈𝖊𝖑𝖞."
"𝖂𝖔𝖚𝖑𝖉 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖜𝖆𝖓𝖙 𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝖘𝖜𝖊𝖊𝖙 𝕹𝖎𝖓𝖆 𝖙𝖔 𝖘𝖎𝖙 𝖔𝖓 𝖞𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝖋𝖆𝖈𝖊, 𝕶𝖆𝖎?"🥵🥵
••
tropes:
☆🍁dark romance?
☆🍁why choose
☆🍁childhood friends to lovers
☆🍁⚔️ 👀
☆🍁dom/sub vibes
☆🍁multi-pov's
☆🍁trauma healing
July 29, 2025
Well... I finished it. I will admit that I was bored for most of this book. I wanted DARK and got off-white/light gray maybe? Not to diminish what this girl went through, but it just wasn't as bad as I was expecting. She was kidnapped at 16 years old and kept as a house slave for around 2 years. She got very physically abused during this enslavement but the author ensured to keep any sexual abuse from happening which just doesn't feel realistic. It feels shitty to say that it should have happened and would have added more depth and trauma to the story - but it was needed. She's covered in scars and still very triggered by every little thing after 2+years of escaping and therapy BUT somehow her parents decide its time for her to move 3 hours away in a giant house all by herself. 4 of her former male best friends are brought in to help her recover and of course, they all profess their undying love to each other. Sigh. I can't wrap my head around the fact that her parents didn't try to contact the boys more to at least tell them she was safe and escaped. They deserved to know and calling once wasn't enough. That pissed me off. I was so close to the end and I wanted to see if their relationships progressed further so I decided to finish the book. I was going to DNF the duet and move on and then that cliffhanger made me grab book 2 immediately, damnit. Started book 2 and its anticlimactic again and I'm not sure what I'll do tonight. I might give it a few more chapters or until they all at least have sex.... we'll see.....
July 7, 2025
Damaged
This story will have you crying, laughing, and raging. Nina has been through hell but is a fighter. Her men are amazing and what she needs. I need the next book now.
This story will have you crying, laughing, and raging. Nina has been through hell but is a fighter. Her men are amazing and what she needs. I need the next book now.
July 30, 2025
Totally my trope: abused and traumatized FMC, guys who were ready to do everything for her, threat still lingering, and HEA.
July 14, 2025
ARC Review
3.5 🌟
All through reading this bookall I could think was so strong Nina is.
I loved Kai and Henry's relationship, well all of their relationships.
I can't imagine how Meg and Will must have felt.
Bubwuatvwas that cliffhanger???
I Need part two ASAP!
Thanks to The Author agency for this Arc.
💛
3.5 🌟
All through reading this bookall I could think was so strong Nina is.
I loved Kai and Henry's relationship, well all of their relationships.
I can't imagine how Meg and Will must have felt.
Bubwuatvwas that cliffhanger???
I Need part two ASAP!
Thanks to The Author agency for this Arc.
💛
May 11, 2025
Heat level: 3/5. A young woman gets kidnapped right before celebrating her sweet sixteen and when she manages to escape months later, she's left with severe PTSD she can't seem to move on from. Enter her childhood friends. 4 men & 2 of them engage in MM action, all of them crazy about her. They're determined to help her find herself again and it's a beautiful journey of reconnection. That cliffhanger ending made eager for book 2.
October 23, 2025
Nothing made sense. This was suggested to me as an 'injured dove' with dark themes as in mental health RH. It sort of read as satire, nothing was taken seriously, and zero depth. Fmc was fighting off her hormones more than any internal trauma.
Parents were a joke and gave me whiplash. The Mmcs were just sad and horny. Fmc was..I have no clue
Even though the book does suggest a darker theme for mental health and healing, I would not recommend it as such.
🚩🚩All the TW are still relevant as they are still in the book.
NOT A HIGH 🌶🔥 just high hormones.
Parents were a joke and gave me whiplash. The Mmcs were just sad and horny. Fmc was..I have no clue
Even though the book does suggest a darker theme for mental health and healing, I would not recommend it as such.
🚩🚩All the TW are still relevant as they are still in the book.
NOT A HIGH 🌶🔥 just high hormones.
July 7, 2025
Beyond Repair: Part one is not only the 1st instalment of the Damaged Duet but it is also my very first read by Y.V. Yarson and is one that definitely delivered!
Nina was kidnapped and held captive by the monster for almost 2 years on the day she was supposed to celebrate her 16th birthday. Some how she had the strength to escape but it left her suffering with extreme anxiety and so many more much deeper issues. After almost another 2 years with her parents helping her to heal from the pain she’s suffered, they think her next step of recovery is to move out and give it a go without them. When it is obvious Nina is still in need of some help, her mum reaches out to her 4 best childhood friends, Kai, Henry, Ridge and Trevor that have been waiting years to find out what happened to her.
The four of them have always had a special bond with Nina and not knowing what happened to her all those years ago has made them realise that they are all deeply in love with her. Hearing about the pain and suffering she went through does not deter them and they are determined to help her work through her issues, even though she believes she is beyond repair.
I loved all 4 of these men, they all had such unique personalities and even though they had their own issues to content with, the differences in them was exactly what she needed to help her heal. The determination they each showed to help her through her anxieties and try and keep her as safe as possible was so perfect and they fitted so unbelievably well together.
The journey of healing and recovery all 5 of them go through together is heartbreaking, but what keeps you hooked is definitely how real and brilliantly authentic Y.V. Yarson is able to make you feel while reading along with this story.
Even though it was completely expected, I was definitely not prepared for that cliffhanger!!
I’m just lucky enough that I’m able to jump into the next instalment of this duet straight away, there is definitely no way I could have waited!
Nina was kidnapped and held captive by the monster for almost 2 years on the day she was supposed to celebrate her 16th birthday. Some how she had the strength to escape but it left her suffering with extreme anxiety and so many more much deeper issues. After almost another 2 years with her parents helping her to heal from the pain she’s suffered, they think her next step of recovery is to move out and give it a go without them. When it is obvious Nina is still in need of some help, her mum reaches out to her 4 best childhood friends, Kai, Henry, Ridge and Trevor that have been waiting years to find out what happened to her.
The four of them have always had a special bond with Nina and not knowing what happened to her all those years ago has made them realise that they are all deeply in love with her. Hearing about the pain and suffering she went through does not deter them and they are determined to help her work through her issues, even though she believes she is beyond repair.
I loved all 4 of these men, they all had such unique personalities and even though they had their own issues to content with, the differences in them was exactly what she needed to help her heal. The determination they each showed to help her through her anxieties and try and keep her as safe as possible was so perfect and they fitted so unbelievably well together.
The journey of healing and recovery all 5 of them go through together is heartbreaking, but what keeps you hooked is definitely how real and brilliantly authentic Y.V. Yarson is able to make you feel while reading along with this story.
Even though it was completely expected, I was definitely not prepared for that cliffhanger!!
I’m just lucky enough that I’m able to jump into the next instalment of this duet straight away, there is definitely no way I could have waited!
July 11, 2025
Poor Nina. Right before her 16th birthday, she is kidnapped and held captive. We don't get all the details of what happened to her, but we do get some and what we learn is that she was beaten repeatedly during her captivity that spans over 2 years. She's finally home and safe now and trying to navigate life with all the new fears and anxieties she's deals with. When her parents feel she is ready, they move her into her own house and contact her 4 best friends that she hasn't been in contact with since her return. These 4 men come in and together they try to help her heal through all the trauma and everything going on inside her head. Mr. M, her kidnapper, had never been caught and I can't imagine what life must be like for Nina living with that fear. I knew the cliffhanger was coming... I just wasn't prepared!
The main issue I have with this whole dynamic is, while the guys are great and helping her heal, they are too demanding and pushy! This girl just went through horrible trauma, give her time and space to accept not 1, but 4 MEN in her space after what she just went through with 1.
I will be diving into book 2 right now though because I can't wait to find out what happens. Book 1 wasn't as dark as I thought it would be, but I'm hoping that changes a little in the next one!
The main issue I have with this whole dynamic is, while the guys are great and helping her heal, they are too demanding and pushy! This girl just went through horrible trauma, give her time and space to accept not 1, but 4 MEN in her space after what she just went through with 1.
I will be diving into book 2 right now though because I can't wait to find out what happens. Book 1 wasn't as dark as I thought it would be, but I'm hoping that changes a little in the next one!
June 24, 2025
This is the first book of the Damaged Duet, a new adult contemporary why choose romance. I received an advance review copy and my thoughts are my own. Thank you to the author and The Author Agency for my eArc.
Tropes and themes include:
✨ Friends to lovers
✨ Why choose (mmfmm)
✨ Hurt/comfort
✨ Past trauma
✨ Lonely & scared
✨ She’s a smut reader
✨ Mental health rep
✨ She was kidnapped (not by MMC)
Rating: 4/5 Stars 2/5 Flames
The Lovely: I loved this story - not just the FMC’s healing journey but how the MMCs are trying to figure out how to help her at the same time. Their relationships and dynamics are different now but at the core, they want to help her and still care about her deeply.
The Mundane: I would have liked to have learned more about each of the four MMCs, in particular so I could better differentiate them. I found myself, even a good ways in, getting confused as to who was who.
Recommendation: The first book ended on a pretty big cliff, which I did see something. This reminds me of the hurt/comfort and relationship vibes of the author’s Torn Omega duet but without the omegaverse element. If you like a dark story with sweet MMCs and all the hurt/comfort feels, I think you would like this book.
Tropes and themes include:
✨ Friends to lovers
✨ Why choose (mmfmm)
✨ Hurt/comfort
✨ Past trauma
✨ Lonely & scared
✨ She’s a smut reader
✨ Mental health rep
✨ She was kidnapped (not by MMC)
Rating: 4/5 Stars 2/5 Flames
The Lovely: I loved this story - not just the FMC’s healing journey but how the MMCs are trying to figure out how to help her at the same time. Their relationships and dynamics are different now but at the core, they want to help her and still care about her deeply.
The Mundane: I would have liked to have learned more about each of the four MMCs, in particular so I could better differentiate them. I found myself, even a good ways in, getting confused as to who was who.
Recommendation: The first book ended on a pretty big cliff, which I did see something. This reminds me of the hurt/comfort and relationship vibes of the author’s Torn Omega duet but without the omegaverse element. If you like a dark story with sweet MMCs and all the hurt/comfort feels, I think you would like this book.
June 30, 2025
You'll be rooting for Nina from the first page as she works to be independent after a harrowing few years. Although there are glimpses of some dark moments, I thought it was going to be a lot worse than it was however that may change in book two.
I liked that this didn't begin immediately after Nina's escape and although we are starting in the middle of her recovery, it felt more like Nina was doing the work rather than the MMCs magically fixing everything by coming back into her life. I also liked how the MMCs were muddling through their own responses to Nina and they were all relying on each other to mend their broken pieces. The author did such a good job giving Nina depth and making her more than just her trauma, that the MMCs just paled a little in comparison and I found them a little interchangeable. It's a relatively short book though so I'm hoping we'll see more of their development in book two after that cliffhanger ending.
My interpretation of the star system;
3 stars - I enjoyed it; would read the author again
4 stars - I really liked it; I am invested and definitely want more from this author/series
5 stars - I loved it; I engaged with this book completely until I finished it and it is one I will re-read
I liked that this didn't begin immediately after Nina's escape and although we are starting in the middle of her recovery, it felt more like Nina was doing the work rather than the MMCs magically fixing everything by coming back into her life. I also liked how the MMCs were muddling through their own responses to Nina and they were all relying on each other to mend their broken pieces. The author did such a good job giving Nina depth and making her more than just her trauma, that the MMCs just paled a little in comparison and I found them a little interchangeable. It's a relatively short book though so I'm hoping we'll see more of their development in book two after that cliffhanger ending.
My interpretation of the star system;
3 stars - I enjoyed it; would read the author again
4 stars - I really liked it; I am invested and definitely want more from this author/series
5 stars - I loved it; I engaged with this book completely until I finished it and it is one I will re-read
July 8, 2025
I don’t know. I really want to give this a 3.5 because I only kind of liked it. It felt really repetitive in thoughts. It had some grammar errors and read like this was their debut book. Which it’s possible it is and it’s still decent.
I didn’t really connect with any of the characters honestly. Kai and Henry are engaged but still love Nina and want to be with her. But I honestly feel like they’re more connected to each other than her. Plus she even has her own insecurities about their relationship but doesn’t actually talk to them at all. They just say we love each other and we love you etc. I feel like they could have just stayed their own couple without being involved.
Ridge and Trevor - they both kind of drive me crazy.
For someone so traumatized she really let them back in quickly, was easy for all of them to say I love you, it’s always been you. Spoiler - everyone but Henry slept with multiple women. Henry has only been with Kai. I absolutely cannot stand a “I always loved you. I waited six years for you except not really, I couldn’t keep my dick in my pants” meanwhile of course she’s a virgin.
It ends in a cliffhanger that you see coming. I will possibly read the next book but not my favorite.
I didn’t really connect with any of the characters honestly. Kai and Henry are engaged but still love Nina and want to be with her. But I honestly feel like they’re more connected to each other than her. Plus she even has her own insecurities about their relationship but doesn’t actually talk to them at all. They just say we love each other and we love you etc. I feel like they could have just stayed their own couple without being involved.
Ridge and Trevor - they both kind of drive me crazy.
For someone so traumatized she really let them back in quickly, was easy for all of them to say I love you, it’s always been you. Spoiler - everyone but Henry slept with multiple women. Henry has only been with Kai. I absolutely cannot stand a “I always loved you. I waited six years for you except not really, I couldn’t keep my dick in my pants” meanwhile of course she’s a virgin.
It ends in a cliffhanger that you see coming. I will possibly read the next book but not my favorite.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 25, 2025
Ma’am. You have done it again. Broken my heart, started to stitch it back up… and then ripped it apart again! I need book 2 like I need air.
I started this book, and could not put it down. I don’t think I slept. I may have lay on my bed for 3 hours, gave up, and went back to read. On a workday! Middle of the work week! And it was so worth it. Zero regrets.
First off, the opening of this story is anxiety provoking. A fight for her life. And the start to a long journey of healing.
Flash forward a few years… and she’s trying to move on, whether it’s her choice or not.
The devastation felt by her childhood friends, her family, and by Nina, for the life she could have had, was so visceral.
The slow burn of trust for each person, the way each person in her life holds a very important role to her healing… one she trusts to touch her, one she can talk to, one she can take direction from, and one who pushes her out of her comfort zone. And her parents - their dedication to her is just beautiful. Knowing exactly what she needs even if it’s terrifying for everyone to follow through.
Ok that ending though… I’m dangling on that cliffhanger ready to fall into the abyss of “what ifs”
I started this book, and could not put it down. I don’t think I slept. I may have lay on my bed for 3 hours, gave up, and went back to read. On a workday! Middle of the work week! And it was so worth it. Zero regrets.
First off, the opening of this story is anxiety provoking. A fight for her life. And the start to a long journey of healing.
Flash forward a few years… and she’s trying to move on, whether it’s her choice or not.
The devastation felt by her childhood friends, her family, and by Nina, for the life she could have had, was so visceral.
The slow burn of trust for each person, the way each person in her life holds a very important role to her healing… one she trusts to touch her, one she can talk to, one she can take direction from, and one who pushes her out of her comfort zone. And her parents - their dedication to her is just beautiful. Knowing exactly what she needs even if it’s terrifying for everyone to follow through.
Ok that ending though… I’m dangling on that cliffhanger ready to fall into the abyss of “what ifs”
July 1, 2025
This is another one of her series that is just amazing. It shows the FMC Nina, trying to overcome a horrific event that happened to her. Being kidnapped has taken a toll on her mental and physical health. Everyone wants her to move on quickly and be okay. But thats not how her healing is going. Her mom and dad, love her but are not listening to her. They do what they think is best for her.
Then come in the MMCs; Henry, Ridge, Kai, and Trevor. They knew her when they were growing up, and missed her while she was gone. Each guy has their own personalities and I loved seeing how each guy really brought a different element to the table that she needed. Nina was making some great strides with a few set backs.
There is a cliffhanger but it just makes me need to read book 2. I cannot wait to see what happens in part 2 of this duet and how Nina overcomes it all, hopefully with the guys and seeing their relationship grow.
"If you're made of broken pieces, then we can divvy them up, you stubborn, beautiful girl. You are perfect for sharing, Nina, and we will be keeping you forever."
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶️🌶️/5
Then come in the MMCs; Henry, Ridge, Kai, and Trevor. They knew her when they were growing up, and missed her while she was gone. Each guy has their own personalities and I loved seeing how each guy really brought a different element to the table that she needed. Nina was making some great strides with a few set backs.
There is a cliffhanger but it just makes me need to read book 2. I cannot wait to see what happens in part 2 of this duet and how Nina overcomes it all, hopefully with the guys and seeing their relationship grow.
"If you're made of broken pieces, then we can divvy them up, you stubborn, beautiful girl. You are perfect for sharing, Nina, and we will be keeping you forever."
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶️🌶️/5
July 3, 2025
Nina's journey began when she was kidnapped on her way home, a trauma that would haunt her long after she escaped. After her eventual rescue, her parents recognize the importance of giving her space to heal away from the familiarity of home. They hope that her best friends—Kai, Trevor, Ridge, and Henry—will be there to support her as she embarks on this difficult path toward healing and finding her new normal.
This story is incredibly poignant, capturing the dark and emotional struggles that Nina faces. The impact of her experience is profoundly felt, and it's heartbreaking to witness her pain, especially by the end. My heart goes out to Nina.
The characters are richly developed, and Ridge, in particular, stands out with his intensity. I found myself questioning whether the support from her four friends would ultimately aid in her healing journey or if it might complicate things further.
As I read, I was moved by the small, brave steps Nina took in her recovery. Her battles with panic attacks and dissociation reveal the immense challenges she faces, and it’s inspiring to see her resilience as she fights to reclaim her sense of self.
This story is incredibly poignant, capturing the dark and emotional struggles that Nina faces. The impact of her experience is profoundly felt, and it's heartbreaking to witness her pain, especially by the end. My heart goes out to Nina.
The characters are richly developed, and Ridge, in particular, stands out with his intensity. I found myself questioning whether the support from her four friends would ultimately aid in her healing journey or if it might complicate things further.
As I read, I was moved by the small, brave steps Nina took in her recovery. Her battles with panic attacks and dissociation reveal the immense challenges she faces, and it’s inspiring to see her resilience as she fights to reclaim her sense of self.
July 14, 2025
Beyond Repair isn't just a story—it’s a full-body experience. 😮💨💔 A raw, soul-deep dive into trauma, love, survival, and the painful road back to something like healing.
After two years in captivity, suffering unimaginable abuse, our heroine is forced back into the world by well-meaning but emotionally clumsy parents. And how do they help? By reuniting her with her four high school best friends—the boys who loved her before she vanished. 🥀💔
Only… they’re shattered too. It's been 4.5 years and they’ve lived every moment thinking she was gone. The weight they all carry is crushing. The reunion is powerful and heartbreaking—each of them fumbling through the wreckage of who they were and who they’ve become. 😩🫠
And looming over it all? Mr. M. 🕷 The threat that still lurks, making safety feel like a fantasy. The danger, the tension, the emotional spiral—it never lets go.
Is there even a future where all five of them can just exist, free from fear and pain? Can love survive the damage? 😭💔 The question haunts every page.
AND THAT CLIFFHANGER 😱🔥—Y.V. Larson, how dare you end it like that?! I need the next part yesterday. 😭
After two years in captivity, suffering unimaginable abuse, our heroine is forced back into the world by well-meaning but emotionally clumsy parents. And how do they help? By reuniting her with her four high school best friends—the boys who loved her before she vanished. 🥀💔
Only… they’re shattered too. It's been 4.5 years and they’ve lived every moment thinking she was gone. The weight they all carry is crushing. The reunion is powerful and heartbreaking—each of them fumbling through the wreckage of who they were and who they’ve become. 😩🫠
And looming over it all? Mr. M. 🕷 The threat that still lurks, making safety feel like a fantasy. The danger, the tension, the emotional spiral—it never lets go.
Is there even a future where all five of them can just exist, free from fear and pain? Can love survive the damage? 😭💔 The question haunts every page.
AND THAT CLIFFHANGER 😱🔥—Y.V. Larson, how dare you end it like that?! I need the next part yesterday. 😭
June 26, 2025
💔Why Choose
💔Childhood Friends
💔Mental Health Rep
💔Romantic Suspense
Poor Nina has been through something incredibly traumatic, and even years later, she’s still trying to piece herself back together. Her journey is raw, emotional, and so real. I absolutely loved her parents. They weren’t just background characters, but a strong, loving presence who supported Nina in every way they could. Their decision to encourage her to live on her own felt like a hard but necessary step in her healing process.
Then come Nina’s four childhood best friends. Each of them is so unique, yet together, they bring out the strength in Nina that she didn’t know she still had. I loved how their different personalities balanced each other out and filled the emotional gaps in Nina’s life. They were exactly what she needed, each in their own way.
Also… THAT CLIFFHANGER 😱 I knew it was coming but nope, wasn’t ready. Book two needs to be in my hands yesterday.
Highly recommend if you love emotional healing arcs, strong found family vibes, and stories that stay with you.
💔Childhood Friends
💔Mental Health Rep
💔Romantic Suspense
Poor Nina has been through something incredibly traumatic, and even years later, she’s still trying to piece herself back together. Her journey is raw, emotional, and so real. I absolutely loved her parents. They weren’t just background characters, but a strong, loving presence who supported Nina in every way they could. Their decision to encourage her to live on her own felt like a hard but necessary step in her healing process.
Then come Nina’s four childhood best friends. Each of them is so unique, yet together, they bring out the strength in Nina that she didn’t know she still had. I loved how their different personalities balanced each other out and filled the emotional gaps in Nina’s life. They were exactly what she needed, each in their own way.
Also… THAT CLIFFHANGER 😱 I knew it was coming but nope, wasn’t ready. Book two needs to be in my hands yesterday.
Highly recommend if you love emotional healing arcs, strong found family vibes, and stories that stay with you.
July 1, 2025
The first book in this duet and I am already hooked!
This book is part of another standout series by the author, centered on Nina, a woman navigating life after surviving something deeply traumatic. The aftermath of her abduction has left lasting scars, both emotionally and physically. While those around her are eager for her to bounce back, her recovery is anything but simple. Her parents care deeply, but they struggle to truly hear her, often making choices based on what they believe is right instead of what she actually needs.
Four men from Nina’s past—Henry, Ridge, Kai, and Trevor—reappear in her life, each carrying memories of her absence. Their individual strengths and personalities offer the support she hadn’t realized she needed. While her healing journey is far from perfect and includes some obstacles, their presence helps her make noticeable progress.
The ending to this hand me just, gasping with this cliffhanger. The anticipation I already have for book too is overwhelming and I can't wait to see what these characters have coming next.
This book is part of another standout series by the author, centered on Nina, a woman navigating life after surviving something deeply traumatic. The aftermath of her abduction has left lasting scars, both emotionally and physically. While those around her are eager for her to bounce back, her recovery is anything but simple. Her parents care deeply, but they struggle to truly hear her, often making choices based on what they believe is right instead of what she actually needs.
Four men from Nina’s past—Henry, Ridge, Kai, and Trevor—reappear in her life, each carrying memories of her absence. Their individual strengths and personalities offer the support she hadn’t realized she needed. While her healing journey is far from perfect and includes some obstacles, their presence helps her make noticeable progress.
The ending to this hand me just, gasping with this cliffhanger. The anticipation I already have for book too is overwhelming and I can't wait to see what these characters have coming next.
July 2, 2025
This is the second duet I have read by Y.V. Larson and I am a fan. This story follows Nina a woman who was kidnapped when she was sixteen. She was held captive and tortured for over two years. She escaped, but the woman who came home was not the same. She was broken and hopeless. Nina hid from the world that scared her and clung to the only people she could trust, her parents. The first part of this duet tells the story of Nina learning to become more independent and reconnecting with the men who were her childhood best friends. Will they be able to help her heal? They never forgot about her and Nina was their whole world.
This book was full of trauma and heartbreak but this author writes hurt/comfort so well. Watching Henry, Kai, Trevor and Ridge heal Nina’s broken pieces was so sweet and I can’t wait to read the conclusion of their story. If you love why choose romance with mental health rep you will definitely enjoy this book. There is a cliffhanger between part one and two, but part two will be released this month as well!
This book was full of trauma and heartbreak but this author writes hurt/comfort so well. Watching Henry, Kai, Trevor and Ridge heal Nina’s broken pieces was so sweet and I can’t wait to read the conclusion of their story. If you love why choose romance with mental health rep you will definitely enjoy this book. There is a cliffhanger between part one and two, but part two will be released this month as well!
July 4, 2025
This was a good book.
I was immediately intrigued from the description of this book & I found myself anxiously awaiting the release date.
When I finally got to read it, I found that I was immediately empathetic towards Nina. I mean we read about what happened, not in super long detail, but enough to know that she was traumatized. And when she runs away & makes it back home with her parents, we see her struggle with the paranoia of her captor still being out there whilst also battling with the fear of being alone again.
And when her 4 beat friends find out she’s alive & are determined to be there for her, we get to see the struggles she has with coping when they’re around.
It was so absolutely heartbreaking reading how she felt she was beyond broken & not worthy of their friendship anymore. But they stuck by her, persistent to show her they care.
I was absolutely rooting for her happiness with them but that cliffhanger…yeah I’m gonna need the next book soon….pretty please!
Amazing job!
I was immediately intrigued from the description of this book & I found myself anxiously awaiting the release date.
When I finally got to read it, I found that I was immediately empathetic towards Nina. I mean we read about what happened, not in super long detail, but enough to know that she was traumatized. And when she runs away & makes it back home with her parents, we see her struggle with the paranoia of her captor still being out there whilst also battling with the fear of being alone again.
And when her 4 beat friends find out she’s alive & are determined to be there for her, we get to see the struggles she has with coping when they’re around.
It was so absolutely heartbreaking reading how she felt she was beyond broken & not worthy of their friendship anymore. But they stuck by her, persistent to show her they care.
I was absolutely rooting for her happiness with them but that cliffhanger…yeah I’m gonna need the next book soon….pretty please!
Amazing job!
dnf
July 30, 2025DNF
- Emotional
- Why Choose
- Childhood Friends
Y.V Larson, I wanted to love this series and I gave it my all but I was not pleased. This series was everything I loved. Between Why Choose, Emotional, and Childhood friends, I thought I would give this series 5 stars, but unfortunately, I was not able to finish book 2 as it lacked detail and even plot.
I would love to have the first part of the 1st book before FMC gets kidnapped. I want to see her grow up with this MMC and who she was before she was found. I would love to see the time while being kidnapped, and then the 2 years before she saw the MMC again. I would love to see how the MMCs were dealing with her being missing. Y.V Larson did an ok explaining what happened after the fact, but it wasn't done the way it should have been done. It was like watching a show through a mirror and a window; you get some facts, but you are missing so much of the show.
I just wasn't able to finish the series and I wished that Y.V Larson had done many things differently when it came to this series.
- Emotional
- Why Choose
- Childhood Friends
Y.V Larson, I wanted to love this series and I gave it my all but I was not pleased. This series was everything I loved. Between Why Choose, Emotional, and Childhood friends, I thought I would give this series 5 stars, but unfortunately, I was not able to finish book 2 as it lacked detail and even plot.
I would love to have the first part of the 1st book before FMC gets kidnapped. I want to see her grow up with this MMC and who she was before she was found. I would love to see the time while being kidnapped, and then the 2 years before she saw the MMC again. I would love to see how the MMCs were dealing with her being missing. Y.V Larson did an ok explaining what happened after the fact, but it wasn't done the way it should have been done. It was like watching a show through a mirror and a window; you get some facts, but you are missing so much of the show.
I just wasn't able to finish the series and I wished that Y.V Larson had done many things differently when it came to this series.
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