Review: Twyla Turner’s Damaged Souls Series (Books 1 & 2 – Scarred, and Open Wounds)
I read Twyla Turner‘s ‘Scarred’ and ‘Open Wounds’ (Damaged Souls Series) back to back – reading ‘Open Wounds’ in just one sitting! Previously, I’d read a short story of Ms. Turner’s in a Valentine’s Anthology put out by Kinklectic – so I knew the Damaged Souls Series would be steamy, and she didn’t disappoint! Other than that, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I was hooked on the originality of the premise though.
The Damaged Souls Series features characters that most of society would be more than happy to sweep under a carpet and pretend did not exist – that is until you look underneath the surface of things and find out that there is a lot more to people than meets the eye, and that the old adage ‘you can’t always judge a book by its cover’ is never more apparent than when an author with some ingenuity and imagination forces you to see people in a different light, by employing some highly creative character development.
Lexi is someone society (wrongly) teaches us doesn’t matter, just another big girl with an extremely tough past. Ms. Turner refuses to let us see her that way; she shows us that a woman’s worth cannot be determined by the size of her frame, and that what makes a person worthy and deserving of love is not their physical attributes, but their willingness to give love to others, and their ability to open themselves up enough to receive it in return. These are important, and positive lessons that tend to get buried in the superficiality of today’s culture. Ms. Turner manages to deliver them despite the dark themes incorporated into her work.
I love the idea of Sloan. When Lexi first meets Sloan, he is a bum – one of the most marginalized and overlooked members of our society. One of the people most of us would refuse to give a second glance to as we walked by (on the opposite side of the street). Yet we find out that he is an American hero; someone who served our country, in the thick of battle, for nearly a decade, but who had to be discharged after being wounded. Sloan suffers from PTSD and has a very difficult time reacclimating and reassimilating to routine life back in the U.S.
Lexi sees something in Sloan from the beginning, refusing to let society dictate her behavior towards the man. She gives him a chance when no one else would. The first book in the series ‘Scarred’ focuses on the backgrounds of both Lexi and Sloan, and the formation of their friendship and beyond, while the second installment ‘Open Wounds’ takes a more external approach. We see more characters brought into Lexi and Sloan’s story. We see how pressure from the outside impacts their fledgling relationship and a whole lot more… It’s a wild ride, full of unexpected, yet alluring curves and turns. If you enjoy the underdogs getting a chance to shine their light, and a story that isn’t afraid to delve into dark subject matter to unearth that light, then you will enjoy the Damaged Souls Series.
