Book Title: Flawed and Damaged
Author: Emily Krat
Genre: New Adult/Contemporary Romance
Release Date: 22 July, 2014
Two people haunted by their past…
The collision of two damaged hearts…
Meet Elizabeth Williams. She is at the airport on an important work assignment. If everything goes smoothly, after three years of hard work, she’ll get a promotion and a much-needed raise. Elizabeth is putting her life back on track after it was ripped out from under her feet four years ago when she lost her parents along with all her dreams. Standing here, she believes her life is going to change for the better any moment now. Nothing can go wrong, right?
Meet Ryan Price. He came to Moscow on business. Right now, Ryan is standing at the airport looking at a ‘present’ from his brother, judging by the sign a beautiful young woman is holding. Damn his brother for not cancelling this arrangement as Ryan asked.
Miscommunications and misunderstandings and a love story begins.
There will be a scary flight, lovely breakfasts, long evening conversations, sharing a secret or two, discovering one another, a lot of laughter, tender moments and some tears, a fight and, of course, the I-am-ready-for-the-end-of-the-world kiss.
Somewhere along the way, they won’t be able to fight their feelings any longer.
For the first time in his life, Ryan will experience a different shade of lust. And for the first time in her life, Elizabeth will have to trust despite all of the times she has been hurt.
Will these two wounded lost souls find love, peace and comfort in each other or will they just break each other more? Is it a train wreck of a love story or a happily ever after?
“Ryan, I love you.” He looks confused, but relief is evident in his eyes, so I continue. “It was wrong of me to tell you about my feelings like I did yesterday. I was being a coward. I’m glad you shared all this with me. I won’t run, Ryan.”
“But, I don’t understand. How can you love me? Even after I told you about what I’ve done … How can you love someone so … horrible?” he says bitterly.
“You are not horrible, Ryan. I know it. I feel it.”
“How?” The desperation in his voice squeezes my chest.
I stare into the deep green pools that are his eyes and wonder how I can show him what I see.
“In here,” I point to my heart, “I believe my heart. And from what you told me, I can tell that you had no family except Mark. You were a kid at thirteen who didn’t want to lose his brother, you were a young man who sacrificed his own freedom for someone he loved the most. Now you are a big business mogul who may be harsh toward his employees, but puts them first even when seeking revenge. It’s an honor for me to love someone as devoted as you.”
“Liz, I’ve lied – ” I interrupt him.
“We are people, Ryan. We all make mistakes. You think I’m so pure? I wanted to use David to stay in Seattle. I agreed to marry someone for my own selfish reasons. Then I came to Russia and spent more than six months making my Granny’s life a living hell. She lost her only daughter. I never once thought about her feelings. She was old, she needed my care, and all I did was sulk for my old life. Even with you, how do you know I’m not using you? Maybe I just like this sense of fulfillment I feel with you that overwhelms the loneliness I've felt for so long. I am not a saint, Ryan. I also did awful things.”
Ryan contemplates my words for several minutes. Then says quietly, “I lied to you.”
I sigh. Now I don’t like the direction this conversation is taking. “You already told me that you didn’t need an assistant. There’s more?”
“I read your journal.”
The blood drains from my face.
“You what?” My voice trembles.
“When we were in Nice – the night you got drunk with Mark – I saw your notebook and I read it.”
“I … I …” No words come out of my mouth because I don’t have any. I can’t believe he did it. I wrote my sacred thoughts there, poured some raw feelings on those pages. They were never meant for anyone’s eyes other than mine.
“I’m sorry I did it. I was at a loss, I couldn’t understand what I was feeling for you.”
“So you read my journal to understand yourself? Ryan, it’s private. I poured my soul there. How could you do this?” I may be screaming now, but I don’t care. Some boundaries can’t be crossed.
“That’s who I am, Elizabeth. I don’t care about people’s privacy.”
“I’m so mad at you right now. I don’t even know what to say. Is that all?”
“No.”
Oh God!
“Tell me.” He almost looks scared. That’s when I know there are so many more lies he doesn’t want to tell me about. “Now, Ryan. You are going to tell me every damn thing. You owe me this.”
My 4 star Review
Elizabeth Williams finally has her life back on
track, four years later and lots of hard work, she is up for a promotion and a
much needed raise. Taking care of her grandmother hasn’t been easy nor has it
been cheap.
Working as an assistant
she is determined to show her boss that she is ready. Her assignment is to pick
up a client from the airport and take him to the meeting. Easy right?
Ryan Price is handsome,
smart and very rich and determined to get back at his father and yeah, he is a
bit jaded when it comes to woman and their motives. He knows all too well the
lengths they will go through, the lies they will tell, just to get to his bank
account and their pictures in the paper.
While on a business trip
he runs into Elizabeth *insertchaoshere*. When he sees Elizabeth he is
immediately attracted to her but he thinks she is a “friend” of his brothers.
*insertassholeryhere*
When Elizabeth meets Ryan,
there is something about him that makes her whole body hum. She tries hard to
fight her attraction to him. She is confused by his attitude with her but when
they realize a miscommunication of GIANTIC proportions was made, it ends up
costing Elizabeth her job. Ryan, feeling bad, does something unexpected to help
her out.
Slowly, they break down
each other’s walls and soon find themselves confiding in each other about
everything. Ryan has feelings he didn’t know could possibly exist and he also
has secrets, ones that if she were to discover them, will send her running the
other way.
I have to say, it took a
bit for me to warm up to Emily and once I did, I really enjoyed her character.
She is smart, puts other’s before herself, and she is beautiful and determined.
Ryan is the character when
you first meet him you are not fond of him but grow to love him. He is a jerk,
he doesn’t listen, it is his way or the highway but he has HEART.
This story is funny, sad,
romantic and a bit angsty and there is a bit of a cliffhanger- not a HUGE one
but one that will change the course of Ryan and Elizabeth...
Emily Krat did a wonderful
job. Flawed and Damaged is a great read.
I can’t wait to see where
Ryan and Elizabeth end up.
My Interview with Ryan and Elizabeth
KK Reviews: Do you still let
your past interfere with your future?
Ryan: Wow, you are starting with the hard one, Kristie. I
want to answer that I don’t let it, but it would be a lie. Liz changed me a lot
and, thanks to my beautiful fiancée, I now look at the world differently. She
says that my past shaped me into an amazing man I am today, so who I am to
disagree with her, right? Jokes aside, revenge is still important to me.
Nothing can change the fact that my father made the life a living hell for my
brother and me while he was alive. I still need to do something to put it
behind me. I can say what for sure, but something needs to be done. However, I
am curtain whatever I come up with, it won’t affect our relationships with Liz.
Elizabeth and her happiness will always be my first priority.
KK Reviews: When did you
finally realize that she was the one?
Ryan: Well, I should have known from the first shy smile she
gave me, but I didn’t exactly believe in ‘the one’ at that time. I knew for
sure I would never let Liz go after reading her journal. It was wrong to read
her sacred thoughts, but you know me… Privacy issues and all. My brother Mark also
helped talking some sense into me for what I am very grateful to him.
KK Reviews: What song would
best describe your relationship right now?
Ryan: Ed Sheeran’s ‘Kiss Me’. We are in love, we kiss a lot
(gives Elizabeth a mischievous smile). But I am still trying to persuade her to
settle down with me and I am not very good at it since obviously we still don’t
have a wedding date.
KK Reviews: How has Ryan
helped you deal with your past?
Elizabeth: Ryan helped me realize I wasn’t dealing with it
in the first place. I was living trying not to think about it, not to feel too
much. I was lying to myself thinking that I already coped with the loss of my
parents. Since we met, I made such a progress. I am seeing a grief counselor
now. And even though I still cry at nights, I feel better. Ryan’s encouragement
and faith in me made this journey less painful. He is always there to help me
and I couldn’t be more grateful to him for that.
KK Reviews:At what point did
you know that you would spend the rest of your life with Ryan?
Elizabeth: Well, I hope I will spend the rest of my life
with Ryan. It’s the dream come true to be with him. But sometimes I wonder if I
am dreaming. I am afraid to make plans and then see them disappearing right in
front of me. Life surprises us all the time and those surprises aren’t always
in my favor. So, I know he is ‘the one’ and I truly hope I get to spend the
rest of my life with him.
KK Reviews: What do you love
most about Ryan?
Elizabeth: Wow, Kristie, I don’t even know how to answer. I
love everything about him. Well, almost everything. I mean except for the times
when he is a hard-headed ass, he is
quite amazing. Such a special kind soul hidden underneath that handsome
hardcore exterior. Ryan is kind, loving, and attentive. He has such an amazing
good soul. He listens to me and he gets me. One look and he knows what I feel.
He tells that’s because I am an open book with my emotions written all over my
face. But it’s not true. Other’s don’t see what he does. I love that I am an
open-book for him. I also love that I can be myself around him.
KK Reviews: Okay Ryan and Elizabeth, it is time for the Lightning Round of questions. Answer with the first thing that comes to your minds:
1.
Favorite Food?
Ryan: Any food. I am the man that loves to
eat. Elizabeth’s homemade lasagna is on top of my list right now.
Elizabeth: Steak and French fries.
2.
Favorite Drink?
Elizabeth: Hot cocoa.
Ryan: Hot cocoa and scotch.
3.
Favorite Color?
Elizabeth: Green (looking at Ryan’s eyes).
Ryan: Blue and black.
4.
Favorite Place?
Elizabeth: The beach house we stayed at the
South of France.
Ryan: Near Elizabeth.
5.
Go out or Stay in?
Elizabeth: Stay in.
Ryan: Stay in. Preferably in bed.
Always an avid reader who consumes whole books in a single day, Emily Krat is ecstatic to now be on the other side of the page. For her writing stories and developing ideas for novels is a true passion and a dream come true. Emily is a chocolate junkie, “Grey’s Anatomy” fan, and admirer of good music. She loves summer rains, warm blankets on cold winter nights, as well as traveling, sleeping in late, watching TV shows, cooking, and baking. When she’s not writing or rewriting, she loves spending time with family and friends.
Thank you so much for the post and for the interview, Kristie!
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