Wow! Just... WOW! This is officially right at the top of my favorite books by Laura! Before reading Flawed, I reread Beautifully Damaged which was the first book I'd read by Laura. I remember absolutely loving Damaged and Laura became an insta-read author for me and I couldn't wait to see what she'd give us next. 1 year and 4 books later and we finally have the sequel and it is anything but flawed (obvious pun intended hehehe)!
This story was incredible! Full of raw emotion, great mental health and positive therapy representations, and the sexiness I've come to expect from Laura, its a sequel worth waiting for! Wrought with hilarious banter and sexual tension you could cut with a knife, Elle and Maverick are my new favorite couple for this series and probably my second favorite couple that Laura has written! Not to mention that Laura's writing has improved with every book she releases and you can 100% see her growth when she read Damaged and Flawed together. Its been a pleasure to watch Laura grow as an author and, even though I say it every time, I truly mean it when I say I can't wait to see what she gives us next!
Special thank you to Give Me Books Promotions and Laura Pavlov for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Favorite quotes:
“But without the dark, we’d never see the stars.”
“I promise you won’t have a choice if it’s the real deal.”
“Why?”
“Because there’s nothing more consuming than loving someone. Not even football. Trust me. You can’t run from it.”
She couldn’t shake the image of Maverick screaming for help and fighting off whatever haunted him.
She didn’t know what it was, but she made a promise to herself to find out. Then she made herself another promise: she’d fight his demons for him if she needed to.
“I love being with you. I love talking to you. Running with you. Eating with you. Watching you work. Hell, I love watching you twirl a fucking flaming baton. I don’t want to have sex with anyone else, I only want you. Only you, Peaches.”
“She didn’t want the Count on a white horse. She wanted the brute, rugged football player who said what he wanted. The man who made her laugh. The man who somehow understood her and liked her anyway. The man who saw her. Really saw her. He may be a bull in a China shop, but she’d ride that bull off into the sunset any chance she got. No pun intended.”
“The girl was a living, breathing metaphor for a glass half-full. While most people were both dark and light, Elle Fiore was all light. All goodness, with enough sass splashed in to keep her human.”
“Mom, Dad, we’re leaving. I have a migraine,” he announced to his family. His dad who sat completely enthralled with the gangster rap, gave him a thumbs up. His grandmother leaned into Marley and asked her to repeat what he’d said about a migraine, and his mom jumped to her feet, reaching for her purse.
“Oh, no. Let me get you some Excedrin Migraine, sweetie.”
Marley and Gigi both made their way over to him. Let the ten thousand twin power questions begin.
“Bullshit, Mav. You were fine five minutes ago. You don’t have a migraine,” Gigi said making sure only he could hear as she narrowed her gaze.
He didn’t have time for a lengthy debate with her. She had a gift for arguing, and he nor his erection had the patience for it right now. “You’re right, G. I don’t have a migraine. But I do have a raging boner, and no amount of Excedrin is going to help me.”
“Do you remember the night we met at Jackson and Peyton’s wedding?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Well, the next morning I called Mimi. I told her I met the girl I was going to marry the night before.”
She gasped. “You’re lyin’.”
“Nope. I speak the truth, Peaches.”
“How did you know we’d be together?” she asked.
“I thought you were beautiful, obviously, couldn’t stop staring at you. But when we were introduced…”
“Yeah?” she said, just above a whisper.
“All the hair on my arms stood up. Never felt anything like it before. My dad always told me he knew with my mom right away, and I never understood it. Not until the night I met you. But it scared the shit out of me, feeling so strong about someone I didn’t even know.”
“If those are flaws, then you are the most beautifully flawed person I’ve ever met.”
Her fingers intertwined with his. “Perfectly imperfect?”
“Perfectly mine.”
“Bullshit.” She rolled her eyes at him.
“What the hell does that mean?”
“Foolish, deceitful, or boastful language,” she said.
“What are you talking about?” His irritation always more prevalent when discussing his fucked-up nightmares. He hated his weakness.
“You asked me what bullshit means. I’m giving you the answer. But I prefer laymen’s terms, which is, you are full of shit, brother dear.”
“Are you this annoying with everyone?” He sat forward and rested his elbows on his knees.
“On my good days, yes.”
“He was afraid if you knew it was from him, you would throw the package out before you opened it.”
Well, this was a huge relief. Unfortunately, she’d just tortured one of Jackson’s employees. The package was from Maverick. Her heart raced. Did he miss her as much as she missed him?
“Why would I throw it out?”
“I don’t know? Because you’re a bit of a nutjob? Personally, I find you quite terrifying, so I’m probably not the right person to ask.”
“Now I know, without question—YOU are the single best thing to ever happen to me. Because I found my heart. And nothing else matters without it. You are my family, my passion, my heart—my everything.”
You are so much more than any of the princesses from the fairy-tales you read growing up. You are my forever queen. I may not have a white horse, I may not be perfect, but I will spend the rest of my life showing you why you belong with me.
“Thanks for being my fairy-tale.”
“Thanks for making me believe in them.”