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Damaged
Nobody is invincible…
On a seemingly ordinary night, Tom Otso's life changes forever when he is ambushed, attacked and left for dead. Though he survives the ordeal, Tom finds out at the hospital that the gravity of his injuries has left him permanently disabled.
Eric Kontio is a physical therapist who is assigned to Tom's case to help rehabilitate and adapt Tom to his new way of living. In helping people for over 20 years, Eric has never met anyone with such an incredible spirit and positive attitude as Tom. Eric becomes infatuated with him and marvels at his incredible progress.
Being together every day, the two men grow closer as friends, but things become complicated by Tom's jealous and moody boyfriend, Adrian, and Eric's professionalism being doubted by his superior. When the true feelings of both men come to the surface, so do their painful pasts which could make or break their relationship.
On a seemingly ordinary night, Tom Otso's life changes forever when he is ambushed, attacked and left for dead. Though he survives the ordeal, Tom finds out at the hospital that the gravity of his injuries has left him permanently disabled.
Eric Kontio is a physical therapist who is assigned to Tom's case to help rehabilitate and adapt Tom to his new way of living. In helping people for over 20 years, Eric has never met anyone with such an incredible spirit and positive attitude as Tom. Eric becomes infatuated with him and marvels at his incredible progress.
Being together every day, the two men grow closer as friends, but things become complicated by Tom's jealous and moody boyfriend, Adrian, and Eric's professionalism being doubted by his superior. When the true feelings of both men come to the surface, so do their painful pasts which could make or break their relationship.
- GenresDisabilityM M Romance
74 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2016
18 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 20, 2016
2 Hearts
This is a difficult review to write. There were a fair few issues, but the overall premise was interesting, and the length meant I didn’t give up on it before the end.
I liked the idea of Tom and Eric. I liked the idea of a fairly easy relationship, and the friends to lovers premise is one of my favourites. I could get on board with the overall storyline, but the issues around plot holes, lack of depth of character, and poor relationship development was disappointing.
Tom wakes from a coma that lasts four weeks, and asks the Doctor to call his then boyfriend, Adrian. Adrian arrives at the hospital in hysterics, but I’m wondering what Adrian was doing for four weeks? How did he not know his lover was in the hospital? Crazy as it sounds, if my partner didn’t come home within 24 hours, and I was unable to get in contact with them, you can bet I would be calling the police, and every hospital in the area. This didn’t make sense to me at all and it was not explained. It just was. I can’t accept that. I need to know why Adrian was not around for four weeks, and had no idea his boyfriend had been attacked. Did Tom not have ID on him at the time? There was no indication he was robbed. He was attacked by known assailants, and since the Doctor knew who he was (using his name to address him when he woke up) then surely they would have contacted a next of kin, or gone to his house to see if anyone lived with him.
I also didn’t like the way Adrian was presented as a character. This is someone who has been in Tom’s life since college. I know some people are melodramatic - I have several of them in my family - but I felt that Adrian was presented in a way that made it easier for the ‘jealousy’ so that there was room for the Tom and Eric relationship. If the focus was on the breakdown of the relationship due to the stresses of Tom’s recovery, I would have found that more palatable. Throwing Adrian’s character under the bus was not good for me.
There was a lot of telling in this story, and some long winded, poorly timed dialogue. I think this would have been better if the writing was tighter. There was a lot of time hopping, with not much to tie it together, and while I can believe that Eric was interested in Tom, and vice versa, I didn’t get the impression that they were bonding in any meaningful way.
The things that were revealed during the story, and Tom’s big secret was rushed through and then stalled in a way that didn’t progress the story. Eric is supposed to be older, wiser, more put together, and he failed in being a mature adult and explaining himself. I felt this was used as an angst point, and the story would have been much better without it.
The single intimate scene was rushed, and I didn’t really feel it. Probably because there wasn’t enough showing. It was an important part of the story (important enough to include it) and I’m asking myself why it was even in there.
This story had a lot of potential with the subject matter. There are some social issues that should have had more time and depth to get the message across. These issues were part of the plot, so they deserved more exploration.
While there was a lack of showing, the writing style flowed relatively well. There were no obvious errors, and the grammar was pretty good. This has not put me off the author, because the ideas were good ones, and I think over time, with a more developed writing style, the execution will improve.
Recommended for those who want a quick read, with an injured MC and a friends to lovers story.
A review copy was provided for an honest opinion
This is a difficult review to write. There were a fair few issues, but the overall premise was interesting, and the length meant I didn’t give up on it before the end.
I liked the idea of Tom and Eric. I liked the idea of a fairly easy relationship, and the friends to lovers premise is one of my favourites. I could get on board with the overall storyline, but the issues around plot holes, lack of depth of character, and poor relationship development was disappointing.
Tom wakes from a coma that lasts four weeks, and asks the Doctor to call his then boyfriend, Adrian. Adrian arrives at the hospital in hysterics, but I’m wondering what Adrian was doing for four weeks? How did he not know his lover was in the hospital? Crazy as it sounds, if my partner didn’t come home within 24 hours, and I was unable to get in contact with them, you can bet I would be calling the police, and every hospital in the area. This didn’t make sense to me at all and it was not explained. It just was. I can’t accept that. I need to know why Adrian was not around for four weeks, and had no idea his boyfriend had been attacked. Did Tom not have ID on him at the time? There was no indication he was robbed. He was attacked by known assailants, and since the Doctor knew who he was (using his name to address him when he woke up) then surely they would have contacted a next of kin, or gone to his house to see if anyone lived with him.
I also didn’t like the way Adrian was presented as a character. This is someone who has been in Tom’s life since college. I know some people are melodramatic - I have several of them in my family - but I felt that Adrian was presented in a way that made it easier for the ‘jealousy’ so that there was room for the Tom and Eric relationship. If the focus was on the breakdown of the relationship due to the stresses of Tom’s recovery, I would have found that more palatable. Throwing Adrian’s character under the bus was not good for me.
There was a lot of telling in this story, and some long winded, poorly timed dialogue. I think this would have been better if the writing was tighter. There was a lot of time hopping, with not much to tie it together, and while I can believe that Eric was interested in Tom, and vice versa, I didn’t get the impression that they were bonding in any meaningful way.
The things that were revealed during the story, and Tom’s big secret was rushed through and then stalled in a way that didn’t progress the story. Eric is supposed to be older, wiser, more put together, and he failed in being a mature adult and explaining himself. I felt this was used as an angst point, and the story would have been much better without it.
The single intimate scene was rushed, and I didn’t really feel it. Probably because there wasn’t enough showing. It was an important part of the story (important enough to include it) and I’m asking myself why it was even in there.
This story had a lot of potential with the subject matter. There are some social issues that should have had more time and depth to get the message across. These issues were part of the plot, so they deserved more exploration.
While there was a lack of showing, the writing style flowed relatively well. There were no obvious errors, and the grammar was pretty good. This has not put me off the author, because the ideas were good ones, and I think over time, with a more developed writing style, the execution will improve.
Recommended for those who want a quick read, with an injured MC and a friends to lovers story.
A review copy was provided for an honest opinion
July 9, 2016
3.5 Stars
I had to sleep on this review before I could write something. There was so much I liked and some that I didn’t. Trying to decide how much I liked the book was not an easy task. It was somewhere between a 3 and 4 star, so I settled on 3.5 stars. I guess I can write this by pointing out what did and did not work for me and then you can be your own judge once you read the book.
First what I liked. I loved Tom and I loved Eric. These two just fit as decent men and as a couple. They were more alike than different and I think that worked well for this short story. I also loved the ending. Finally getting answers to why the book started the way it did was necessary to my enjoyment and the overall rating. Eric was such a great guy, and the fact that he put his attraction to Tom on hold and still went above and beyond to assist a man who was in a relationship was admirable. His boss was a tool, but that’s another story. It was also pretty amazing to read about how well Tom progressed. I am not in the medical field, so whether it’s realistic or not didn’t matter. I think the purpose was to show his fortitude in the face of adversity.
What I struggled with was Tom allowing this to happen to him in the first place. Getting the reason at the ending helped tamper down that disbelief, but still, I can’t imagine anyone willingly allowing that type of trauma on their person. It was hard to wrap my mind around, but who knows what they would do in that type of scenario. I think the other big part that I couldn’t understand was Adrian not knowing where Tom was while he was in the hospital. For four weeks Adrian did what? We never knew what was going on with him while Tom was in coma. We can guess, though.
This is a short story. I read it in one sitting, so you know that the character development will be limited and the timeline will jump to progress the story. For the most part, it wasn’t that big of an issue, but there were parts that needed a little more explanation and development for me to totally get on board. Otherwise, I liked the premise and the real Tom at the end was a shocker, so overall it was a pretty good read
Overall Impression: I liked it
The Blogger Girls
I had to sleep on this review before I could write something. There was so much I liked and some that I didn’t. Trying to decide how much I liked the book was not an easy task. It was somewhere between a 3 and 4 star, so I settled on 3.5 stars. I guess I can write this by pointing out what did and did not work for me and then you can be your own judge once you read the book.
First what I liked. I loved Tom and I loved Eric. These two just fit as decent men and as a couple. They were more alike than different and I think that worked well for this short story. I also loved the ending. Finally getting answers to why the book started the way it did was necessary to my enjoyment and the overall rating. Eric was such a great guy, and the fact that he put his attraction to Tom on hold and still went above and beyond to assist a man who was in a relationship was admirable. His boss was a tool, but that’s another story. It was also pretty amazing to read about how well Tom progressed. I am not in the medical field, so whether it’s realistic or not didn’t matter. I think the purpose was to show his fortitude in the face of adversity.
What I struggled with was Tom allowing this to happen to him in the first place. Getting the reason at the ending helped tamper down that disbelief, but still, I can’t imagine anyone willingly allowing that type of trauma on their person. It was hard to wrap my mind around, but who knows what they would do in that type of scenario. I think the other big part that I couldn’t understand was Adrian not knowing where Tom was while he was in the hospital. For four weeks Adrian did what? We never knew what was going on with him while Tom was in coma. We can guess, though.
This is a short story. I read it in one sitting, so you know that the character development will be limited and the timeline will jump to progress the story. For the most part, it wasn’t that big of an issue, but there were parts that needed a little more explanation and development for me to totally get on board. Otherwise, I liked the premise and the real Tom at the end was a shocker, so overall it was a pretty good read
Overall Impression: I liked it
The Blogger Girls
August 8, 2016
4.5 Stars
This book was intense and moving and the author did an excellent job of bring together the perfect amount of emotion and feeling. This was a book about learning to live again (not just because of a disability) but also a book about rediscovery. This author was able to do this in spades. I had an immediate connection with Tom but it took me a while to warm up to Eric, but once I did there was no going back. The characterization in this book was excellent and I was immediately drawn into the story and did not want to put it down. Excellent job!!
I received a free copy of this book to read for Inked Rainbow Reads in exchange for an honest review.
This book was intense and moving and the author did an excellent job of bring together the perfect amount of emotion and feeling. This was a book about learning to live again (not just because of a disability) but also a book about rediscovery. This author was able to do this in spades. I had an immediate connection with Tom but it took me a while to warm up to Eric, but once I did there was no going back. The characterization in this book was excellent and I was immediately drawn into the story and did not want to put it down. Excellent job!!
I received a free copy of this book to read for Inked Rainbow Reads in exchange for an honest review.
July 13, 2016
3.5 stars
This was an interesting short story that isn't all quite as it seems. Not too much time to really get to know the characters too well, and the twist is kind of big and difficult to comprehend through most of the book, but it all makes better sense by the end.
September 4, 2017
This is a story that I really wanted to love but I think the shorter format didn't do it any favours. There were areas where logical actions didn't happen or were not explained or were explained much later. Somewhere up to 3*.
It starts with a fairly horrific attack on Tom and progresses to his recovery which does take place over a long period as befits his injuries. Eric and he do have a mutual appreciation going on but it does take a while for them to connect on a personal level.
I did like it overall but wanted more depth to it - it could have been ultra angsty but wasn't.
It starts with a fairly horrific attack on Tom and progresses to his recovery which does take place over a long period as befits his injuries. Eric and he do have a mutual appreciation going on but it does take a while for them to connect on a personal level.
I did like it overall but wanted more depth to it - it could have been ultra angsty but wasn't.
July 27, 2018
Inspiring stories are one of the reasons we read. We are inspired to do better. Inspired to help others. Inspired to look at life and the way we approach it as we would never have been before.
Noah Willoughby gives us a story that helps us review things in our past that have irritated our sense of self regardless of how successful we have pushed it to the back of our lives.
Thanks to Noah Willoughby giving us some much-needed life therapy.
Noah Willoughby gives us a story that helps us review things in our past that have irritated our sense of self regardless of how successful we have pushed it to the back of our lives.
Thanks to Noah Willoughby giving us some much-needed life therapy.
August 2, 2016
This book in my opinion is a powerful story That is full of regret for past mistakes, fear for the future, acceptance of the bad that has happened, and finally hope for the future.
Tom is viciously attacked outside of a gay club. So much so that it changes his life forever. In some good ways and in some bad ways. Because of the attack Tom is now paralyzed from the waist down. He has to learn how to cope with the life changing events. And the person in charge of helping him with his recovery is Eric.
Tom and Eric both become friends. There is a level of attraction between the two but neither act on it because Tom who has a boyfriend.
That changes several months after Tom is finally released from the hospital and rehab. Tom and Adrian break up and Eric tracks down Tom again. From that point the two grow closer but there are still secrets that neither have shared with the other and those secrets will either tear them apart or will help them to grow closer. The question is which will they chose???
This book is a powerful book because it is an example of how bad things can turn out when bullies go too far. It also shows that when someone is strong not only mentally but physically they can move past a disability and still live a normal life just like everyone else.
I truly enjoyed reading this story and look forward to reading more by Noah Willoughby in the future.
Was given this book for free by inked rainbow reads for an honest review
Tom is viciously attacked outside of a gay club. So much so that it changes his life forever. In some good ways and in some bad ways. Because of the attack Tom is now paralyzed from the waist down. He has to learn how to cope with the life changing events. And the person in charge of helping him with his recovery is Eric.
Tom and Eric both become friends. There is a level of attraction between the two but neither act on it because Tom who has a boyfriend.
That changes several months after Tom is finally released from the hospital and rehab. Tom and Adrian break up and Eric tracks down Tom again. From that point the two grow closer but there are still secrets that neither have shared with the other and those secrets will either tear them apart or will help them to grow closer. The question is which will they chose???
This book is a powerful book because it is an example of how bad things can turn out when bullies go too far. It also shows that when someone is strong not only mentally but physically they can move past a disability and still live a normal life just like everyone else.
I truly enjoyed reading this story and look forward to reading more by Noah Willoughby in the future.
Was given this book for free by inked rainbow reads for an honest review
August 25, 2016
A Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words Review An Alisa Review:
This is the first book I have read by Noah and I was pleasantly surprised. Even though this is a shorter story a lot happens in a short amount of time. There are a lot of emotions going on throughout this story.
Tom is attacked and hospitalized for weeks before he wakes up and has to go through healing and therapy to learn to live on his own again. Tom did his best to stay positive while in the hospital and therapy without any real support from his boyfriend. While Eric is willing to support him from the sidelines even if they aren’t in a relationship.
I could feel Tom’s upbeat attitude that everything would work out and his embarrassment in how Adrian would treat him and the situation while Eric was hurting inside seeing Tom being treated badly. They meet back up again and begin to lean on each other however you can see Tom holding himself back because he doesn’t feel he deserves any happiness. My only real gripe with the story is Tom was in the hospital for 4 weeks after he was attacked and there was a news story put out, but his boyfriend never tried to find him, even if they didn’t have a great relationship you would think that he would at least be wondering what happened.
Cover art is nice, but doesn’t really catch my eye at first glance.
This is the first book I have read by Noah and I was pleasantly surprised. Even though this is a shorter story a lot happens in a short amount of time. There are a lot of emotions going on throughout this story.
Tom is attacked and hospitalized for weeks before he wakes up and has to go through healing and therapy to learn to live on his own again. Tom did his best to stay positive while in the hospital and therapy without any real support from his boyfriend. While Eric is willing to support him from the sidelines even if they aren’t in a relationship.
I could feel Tom’s upbeat attitude that everything would work out and his embarrassment in how Adrian would treat him and the situation while Eric was hurting inside seeing Tom being treated badly. They meet back up again and begin to lean on each other however you can see Tom holding himself back because he doesn’t feel he deserves any happiness. My only real gripe with the story is Tom was in the hospital for 4 weeks after he was attacked and there was a news story put out, but his boyfriend never tried to find him, even if they didn’t have a great relationship you would think that he would at least be wondering what happened.
Cover art is nice, but doesn’t really catch my eye at first glance.
September 26, 2016
Sorry this one just didn't work out for me.
1.5 Stars rounded up because I finished it.
1.5 Stars rounded up because I finished it.
December 15, 2016
3~3.5/5
A nice book for its length. However, the ending came quite abrupt.
A nice book for its length. However, the ending came quite abrupt.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews