Damaged Goods

Damaged Goods

Author: L.J. Shen

Genre: Contemporary Romance / New Adult Romance

Book Rating: ⭐ 8.5/10

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ 4/5

Description

To everyone around her, Bailey Followhill looks perfect.

She’s the sweet daughter, the polished ballerina, the girl who always does the right thing. But behind the carefully controlled exterior, Bailey is slowly falling apart. When her future at Juilliard begins slipping through her fingers, the pressure and expectations surrounding her life become impossible to ignore.

Suddenly, the girl who always seemed flawless is becoming something else entirely:

A disappointment. A scandal. Damaged goods.

Then there’s Lev Cole.

Star quarterback. Golden boy. The guy everyone wants to be around. But beneath his easy charm and perfect reputation, Lev feels trapped in a life he never truly chose. Football means nothing to him, his relationship feels hollow, and the only thing he’s ever genuinely wanted has always felt out of reach.

Bailey.

As their friendship deepens into something far more complicated, Bailey and Lev find themselves drawn together in ways neither can resist. He sees the broken parts she tries so desperately to hide, while Bailey becomes the one person who makes Lev question the life everyone expects him to live.

But healing isn’t simple.

And love alone may not be enough to save two people struggling to save themselves.

Tropes

Friends to lovers • golden boy x good girl • emotional healing • ballerina heroine • football romance • childhood connection • mental health themes • opposites attract • angst romance