secret relationships trope

Publish Date: June 27th, 2017
Number of Pages: 347 Pages
Publisher: Everafter Romance
Genre(s): New Adult Romance, LGBT

Total Star Rating: 4 Stars

Another book to check out for those who love M/M romance novels, Damaged Like Us was a fun addition to the genre. The relationship that grows between a hollywood heir and his roguish bodyguard is one that can be absolutely addicting to other readers to binge-read.

That relationship is, of course, the main driving force for most of those who’d want to read this book; it was also my favorite aspect of the book as a whole. The two main characters complimented each other very well, and helped each other grow as the story developed. The banter was funny, playful, sexy, and also just so spectacularly done. As you can probably tell by now in this review, It’s hard to say anything bad about the romance of this book.

The theme of family was also something important to take out of this book as Maximoff goes to extraordinary lengths for those he truly cares about. It may not seem like it to some who know me outside of this website and in real life, but the idea of a warm, close knit family is so incredibly important to me, and I always love to see it shown in even fictional families like the one in this book, who are also really popular reality TV stars. The main character even alters his appearance and carefully chooses what color clothes he wears in order to show his pride and loyalty to his father!

There are some parts of the story that I was less than enthused about as well. The writing was questionable in one aspect with the author’s going into 2nd person when describing a character’s path to fame and how you (the reader) should feel about them as a character. It’s a very minor critique from me, but this happened more often than I’d hoped in the story, so I wanted to point it out. The conflict of fame and the downsides to it seemed way too dramatic and over the top at some points as well, and the fact that this new series is actually a spin-off of not one, but TWO other series that are written by the authors. Some readers would love that, but as someone who hasn’t read the others, I also thought this was worth pointing out. I go into more detail on these matters below!

Overall, this was a fun book to read, and a great M/M romance for anyone to check out if they like those kinds of stories. Fans of Him by Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen and Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston will probably really like this book too!

What It’s About:

This story revolves around Maximoff Hale, the oldest son of what appears to be American royalty with his family being well known reality TV stars, and all his life he’s had to deal with having absolutely no privacy from the public. Paparazzi constantly follow him and his family around; even going to the gas station to fill up a car would have him end up all over the tabloids as “Stars: They’re Just Like Us!” (Basically, picture his life as being like the Kardashians mixed with the actual British royal family).

Because of this, him and his family have always had bodyguards to keep them safe and protected, but Maximoff’s longtime bodyguard is retiring after the many years they’ve been together. Anxious, he learns he’s getting a new one almost immediately after. Enter Farrow Keene, who’s Maximoff’s crush from his teenage years, and of course is now his new personal bodyguard whom he’s going to be spending countless hours a week with.

Almost immediately, they bash heads together about basically EVERYTHING…but beneath the snarky and cynical remarks, there’s definitely something building between the two. Romantic feelings soon resurface, and sexual tension boils to the surface, but are they willing to cross a line, break a integral code to end up together?

What I Liked:

The Romance Brewing Between Maximoff and Keene! It’s hard to believe this is the writer duo’s first M/M romance title! It was an obvious highlight of this book, the romance that develops between these two characters was one of my favorite parts of the whole story. They start off as reluctant partners as Farrow is assigned to be Maximoff’s new personal bodyguard, they get on each other’s nerves, sure…but as they spend more and more time together, they start to see sides of each other that no one else sees, and they understand each other a lot better. The attraction only becomes more intense from there, and soon they find themselves in a sexy, secret romance that they must hide from not only the public, but also they’re colleagues and Moffy’s family. Is it worth it? What if someone finds out?
The Theme of The Importance of Family! Besides the secret, forbidden romance, family is another huge theme to take away from this book, and probably the rest of the series as well. Even with fame, Maximoff is extremely close to his family and will do just about everything he can to help them, protect them, and make them proud. For every 10,000 fans, there’s probably another 1,000 that hate them, and some people will go out of their way to bring them down, and Maximoff will literally break his back in order for that to not happen. From his many siblings, to his best friend and cousin, and his father with a spotty past, Maximoff is so proud of his family, and I found it to be incredibly noble of him and is so obviously a huge part of his character. Very admirable how far he goes for those he loves.

What I Didn’t Like:

This Series Branches Off from Others…So I first notice there’s A LOT of side characters in this book, like, way too many even to keep track of at some points. It turns out, this series is a continuation off both the author’s two other book series: The Addicted Series and the Calloway Sisters. The parents, the uncles, and basically all the other older adults are actually stars of previous works, and that’s why they’re so prominent in this book because it’s going off the fans who’ve read their previous books and are familiar with all of them. Unfortunately, I am not one of those readers…the book is still enjoyable and is able to be read despite this, but you definitely feel like there’s quite a bit that goes over your head in reference to this fact. It’s also annoying because all the books in total equate to, like, 13 books to read, which is commitment I’m honestly not feeling up to doing at this moment.
The Instances of 2nd Person Narrating…This is a small tidbit that kind of bugged me because it happened more often than it probably should’ve, at least in my own opinion. It was lines that felt like: “You know this person because of….You feel this way about them because…” It just felt like lazy storytelling and could’ve been shown to me and not told to me, you know?
The Fame Seemed Over The Top…It feels bad to be criticizing this aspect of the story since it’s the cause of the whole story taking place, but it simply felt like it was overly dramaticized at times. Maximoff is like an American version of Prince Harry, but it seems like even an actual royal prince is able to live a somewhat low-key life. The paparazzi are constantly following Maximoff around, always chasing him in cars on the freeway, and sometimes even going out of their way to offend him and get a rise out of him. Sure, this stuff may actually happen in real life—I don’t truly know since I’m not famous—but the amount of it all that Max has to deal with felt over the top and highly exaggerated.

Conclusion:

A great M/M romance for anyone looking for that kind of story to read, I think readers will love how Farrow and Maximoff’s relationship forms and deepens as the story develops. It’s got the perfect amount of steam and heart that any great romance needs, and that any reader absolutely eats up. It’s not the perfect book; parts of it are way over the top and overly dramatic, but I do believe this book is incredibly enjoyable as long as you can’t take it too seriously. It’s just fun, sexy romance.

I can definitely say that even though there’s a HEA-style ending, I plan to read on in this series to see what happens next. There’s a few things that are left up in the air that will be answered in later books, and I’m interested enough to keep going to find out some of those answers that I specifically seek. Plus, I do really like both the main characters and see where their relationship will go next!

Thanks for Reading!

— Nick Goodsell

Editorial Articles

Fiction Tropes that I Love/Hate

August 5, 2019January 23, 2021 nicholasjgoodsell

The word “trope” is used to describe commonly recurring literary devices, motifs and clichés in creative. Clichés are usually viewed as a bad thing, but that’s not the case every single time, at least when it comes to tropes. Tropes, as overdone as they are, are usually what keeps the genre going forward in the world of literature and/or entertainment. They’re safe, they’re familiar, they’re comforting, and they’re usually what helps people connect stories to each other, like, when someone goes “If you love ______, then you’ll love _____.”

You’ve probably heard the phrase “The same…but different” before, which basically means that editors and agents of creative fields want something that seems different, but actually has a lot of qualities that have been used before. What I’ve deduced is that people want the same basic plot points to have as a comfort blanket, but they still want a new twist on it that makes it new, exciting, and original. Easier said than done, believe me…

Below here is a list that I generated thats composed of tropes that typically appear in the books/genres that I tend to read: Sci-Fi/Fantasy (both Adult and YA), Romance, a splash of Mystery and a dash of Horror. Some tropes I love and can’t get enough of…but then there are some I roll my eyes at, and hope that something else saves the story, so help me god…

Tropes that I Love:

Fake Relationships. Whether it be to make someone jealous, to have a last minute date for a wedding, or to bring someone home to meet the parents, two people pretending to be in a relationship, then *gasp* unexpectedly falling for each other for real before their deal is up is a romance trope that I can always get behind! I find it amazing when they appear as a new couple in love to the masses, but get snappy once they’re alone, the sexual tension rises oh so amusingly until they reach the climax [of the story].
Enemies-to-Lovers. Instead of Insta-love (which is mentioned down further), the two characters meet and absolutely HATE each other. Whether it be over opposing views, a misunderstanding, or maybe one of them is just a huge asshole; they don’t get along to any degree and readers always wonder “how will they ever get together?” How indeed…this romance trope usually leads to some comedic/touching moments where they have to team up and sort out their differences before they eventually, but inevitably, get to sexy time.
Player falls for “Average Jane.” So, in the past it’s usually the popular guy who falls for the invisible girl, and she’s just entirely clueless to it all. How could he like her right? She’s so weird, so geeky, so not cool, and the guys would give him so much shit for it…Sometimes it’s a bet amongst the bros, or maybe its because she sees a side of him that he never opened up to before; the boy unexpectedly falls hard. Usually, he doesn’t see it until the girl gets a dramatic makeover (ladies, quick reminder that in 2019 you don’t need to change for your man), which is kind of ugh…but I can’t help but swoon when the guy gets that shocked, starry-eyed look in his eyes and he becomes a total sweetheart to her from then on, and maybe all douchey-ness is forgiven.
Forced to share a room/bed. In a lot of romance books, there comes a moment when the two love interests check into a hotel room, or they’re with a group of friends and all crammed into a room, or some other similar reasoning. As it turns out, they are forced to be in an enclosed space together, there’s usually some sexual tension, and there’s only one bed…So, will they or won’t they? I don’t know, but OH it’s so much fun to find out! A similar set up is the ever timelessly popular “trapped in an elevator” together; nowhere to go, the two are forced to acknowledge the elephant in the room.
The Alpha-Hole. The ever-popular “bad boy”: he’s broody, he’s gorgeous, he usually has dark (maybe ruffled) hair, stunning blue eyes, that smirk, plenty of sarcasm, a sketchy past, and loves to irritate the lead female to no end…but I love him, all variations of him. He’s usually one of my favorite characters because he usually has the smartass remarks, the one-liners and doesn’t care what anyone thinks. Dreamy, right?…I know, I’m going to be single forever if THAT is my type…
Fights that lead to Sexy Time. Now, this could mean they have a huge blow up at each other and battle it out in a combat of words, or maybe they go fists flying, literally kicking ass in a Mr. & Mrs. Smith style, but then leads to them hooking up because tensions are high, as are other emotions, and passions consumes them…I just live for the intensity of these kinds of scenes, okay?
Secret Relationships. Kind of like “Forbidden Love” in a way; there’s two people that decide to get together, but they can’t tell anyone else about it. Sometimes it’s the boss-employee set up, teacher-student, opposite social circles/cliques, friends with benefits, wrong for their image, etc. but one person isn’t ready for everyone to know or even admit their feelings to themselves, so they suggest getting in a secret relationship. This trope is fun, especially when the two have to get creative at sneaking around and make hilarious excuses when they’re almost caught together. It’s even better when their friends secretly find out anyways, as the couple always eventually either gets caught, or one of them blabs because they’re in love and want the world to know (i.e: The Friends episode where Rachel and Phoebe try to crack Chandler when he’s been secretly seeing Monica).
Sassy Heroine. Yas Queen, slay…She may not be big and strong, but don’t think that she can’t tear her enemies down with her sharp tongue and those snarky clap-backs. Usually, they are strong though, because usually they’re assassins or warriors that have killed men twice their size and flipped their hair like a queen while doing it. Celaena Sardothien, I’m raising my brow to you, girl. Love her and pretty much every Sarah J. Maas character (3/4’s of her male characters are on my book-boyfriends list (coming soon on here FYI)).
The Second Chance at Love/Reunited Lovers. There is a difference between the two, believe it or not. The second chance is where the couple breaks up, but then gets back together again. Reunited is when they’re torn apart by circumstance, like a job causing one to move away, or one goes off to war, etc. but meet again years later. Either way, it’s way tragic and I swoon at the big scene where they’re reunited all that time later and all is forgiven.
The Quest. In Fantasy books, the reluctant hero, along with his small group of secondary characters, set out on a long and perilous quest with a specific goal in mind. I like this one because it still leaves a lot of potential for something new and exciting because its so broad and open-ended. Anything can happen in Fantasy!

Tropes that I Hate:

The Chosen One…This one feels like its in literally EVERY YA fantasy novel out there, just slight variations of it. It’s where the main character discovers through some prophecy or mentor that they’re incredibly special, and they’re the “savior” with extraordinary power that could defeat evil and change the course of time. It’s not entirely a bad trope/cliché, and it really works for some stories, but for the many that have come out all these years later after Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, it’s hard to be able to make it seem effective or original in terms of driving the overall story. I could still enjoy stories with this idea, but authors need to get more creative with how they use it in their stories moving forward.
The Main Characters an Orphan…This is usually a package deal with #1, but the main character is usually an orphan who doesn’t have their parents in their lives anymore because they’re dead, missing, or just absent.
Girl doesn’t see her beauty, despite instigating Love-Triangle(s)…She’s awkward, she’s clumsy, she’s mortal enemies with the mean girl (more on that bitch later), and is pretty much the Bella Swan or Lizzie McGuire of fiction in these modern times. She thinks she’s just average or even ugly, usually thanks to the mean girl putting her down with their own inner insecurities, but is actually incredibly attractive and has multiple guys chasing after her anyways. I no longer find it endearing or adorable, I’m just over it.
Kinky, Emotionally Traumatized Millionaires…“Mr. Grey will see you now…” According almost every romance/erotic work of fiction, those readers LOVE the ultra rich, 20-something, gorgeous, brooding CEO of a company or some sort of position of power. Unfortunately, he usually had a pretty messed up/traumatizing childhood which made him get into some really kinky shit, BDSM usually. He also gets incredibly possessive with their love interest, gets upset if they wear too revealing of clothes and probably says these lines: “I want you so bad” “You’re mine” “I’m so hard for you” or something creepier or about their penis…Men, you have a lot to live up to…
The Nerdy Best Friend who’s been in love with the Main Character for years but never said anything…So, the main character is falling for someone else, and things are going great, but their best friend begins to get moody and distant themselves. The main character confronts them about it, and then their best friend comes out and reveals that they’ve been in love with them for years…Usually it’s the smaller, skinny, sensitive guy friend with glasses, and it’s usually at the most inconvenient time. Umm this trope is also inconvenient for me to actually enjoy the story!
Werewolves-vs-Vampires…I just want to give a huge shout-out to Twilight for that and every similar teen paranormal romance book that came out through the years of 2008-2014…thank god that this fad is pretty much over.
Creepy Children in Horror…This one is just a big, fat NOPE. Usually they’ll giggle menacingly, or terribly sing some sing-along song that you loved as a child thats now ruined because of them. Like seriously, Ring Around the Rosie and even Happy Birthday…traumatizing.
Insta-Love…I’ve seen and experienced insta-interest, but can someone really look at a complete stranger and all of a sudden everything but that person pops matters and the rest just fades into the background? It’s just been so overdone, and it’s not even realistic, so authors, lets develop those relationships and watch them grow before the word “love” is even mentioned, yeah?
The Mean Girl…Like a token character, the Regina George wannabe in contemporary YA fiction is just there to be elitist, shallow, and just be the antagonist to the main character. Even worse, there’s literally no reason for them to be mean, they just are…so not fetch.
Faithful Sidekicks…The minor characters that are literally only inserted to pretty much pimp out the main character are just so bleh…The story can move forward without them, they’re just there as cheerleaders, and are usually tokened off as a minority (either gay or as a person of color (POC)).
The Belated Love Epiphany with a Chase Scene…You know the big romantic gesture where the person realizes they love someone, so they chase after them to catch them before they’re gone forever? Like running through the airport to catch the plane? Good luck with that in 2019…
Token Diversity…It’s so offensive to any sort of minority who reads a character in a book that’s just been randomly added into a story just so it’s not all straight, white characters. They feel like an afterthought, and someone who just belongs in the background. It’s 2019, and representation matters so much now, especially in books, even more especially in YA fiction. The voices that feel like they’ve never been heard are the ones that are buying the books with lead characters like themselves so they don’t feel so alone and to feel like they matter, because they do.
Revolution led by Teenager in a Dystopian World…I mean, who decides that a teenager should lead a violent revolution over a cruel and oppressive government anyways? This obviously refers to The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, who did a tremendous job with that trilogy, but I’m talking about the other titles that came afterwards. For a short time, Dystopian YA was the popular theme that took over for Vampires and Werewolves, but none were really all that impressive or as close to successful with it in my opinion. Its literally just Miss Katniss Everdeen and Tris Prior from Divergent that made it look good, but even the latter had a questioning ending, so I rest my case.
Bumping into Each Other Meet-Cute…Girl is walking the halls, carrying an obviously heavy pile of books, eyes wide as saucers and she’s looking around, overwhelmed at the first day of class in a new school. Girl bumps into someone and all the books topple to the ground, the girl is embarrassed and bends over, the other person helps too, and she looks up to see a gorgeous guy assisting her with his charming smile…I’ll stop because you obviously need time to reminisce all the times you’ve seen this happen before, I get it.
The Black and White Morality Theme…Let me say first that this has NOTHING to do with race or ethnicity, so please put those triggers away, trolls…I’m talking about the obvious line of “Good” and “Evil” in fantasy genre books. There is no in-between; you’re either a beautiful elf that shoots arrows with their hair blowing in the wind, or and ugly AF Orc that looks like a spat out wad of gum from seven years ago. I’m going to go into one of my many Game of Thrones references, but one of the reasons it was so great was because George R.R. Martin wrote many complex characters who all thought of themselves as the hero of their own story. They all had their own sets of morality and integrity, and it either meshed or messed with the others, and they all had their own justified reasons for doing what they did, even when it was downright despicable…that, my readers, helps create an interesting story.