Making It by Christine d'Abo

****

From Riptide:

Devan knows exactly what he wants from life: a good career, a husband who loves him, and a child to call his own. He’s working at the perfect job, and has found the man of his dreams in Eli. That only leaves one box left to tick. When his friend offers to be a surrogate mother for Devan and Eli, he’s convinced all his dreams have come true.

Eli has been fighting his entire life. Fighting to keep his sick mother safe, fighting his frustration, and fighting daily as an up-and-coming MMA star. The one thing he can’t fight is the feeling that he’s made a terrible mistake agreeing to be a father with Devan. On the worst night of their lives, Eli knows Devan is better off without him, and leaves.

When Eli returns three years later, he comes face-to-face with Devan and a son who might be his. Devan has moved on with his life, but seeing Eli once again reignites forgotten passion. Yet if Eli wants to make it work with Devan, he must decide if he’s ready for the biggest fight of his life.

Source:  Advance electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.

Eli's a messed up dude.  His past has completely wrecked him, leaving him no ability to deal with emotions.  Couple that with living deep in the closet as an MMA fighter and he is just a mess.  Devan's actually got his life together, but sometimes ignores what others want or need when he's focused on his goals.  When Eli leaves him without warning, he's devastated.  When Eli suddenly comes back to town, he's conflicted.  

Devan has to figure out if he can move on from the past and Eli has to figure out what he's willing to do for love and family.  Making It has d'Abo's signature smoking hot sex, a sexy fighter, and a baby!  What more could you ask for?

Making It is the third in the Ringside Romance series, each featuring a different friend - Zack, Max, and Eli grew up together training at Ringside.  Now they are re-opening Ringside and finding love.  Book 1, Working It, is my favorite of the series, but all three are well worth the read.  

~Shel

Faking It by Christine D'Abo

***

From Riptide:

Max Tremblay should be happy. His nightclub, Frantic, is one of the most popular gay clubs in Toronto, and his childhood refuge, Ringside Gym, is well on the way to reopening. But when he finds yet another drunk in the alley beside the bar, Max isn’t sure this is the life he truly wants.

Grady Barnes has it all. He’s rich, famous, and wants for nothing. Well, nothing but a good relationship with his father. When he discovers that his father is going to force him into an arranged marriage, Grady has had enough. He tracks down Max, the man who got him to safety after a night of overindulgence, and makes him a proposal: pretend to be his fiancé for two weeks and he’ll invest in Ringside Gym.

When the pair travel to Vancouver to attend a family wedding, the flames of their mutual attraction ignite, and they discover that the only difference between pretend and reality is how well they can fake it.

Source:  Advance electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.

Faking It is a fun fake fiance story.  I love these stories - the couples in question are always to clueless and while the stories are often predictable, I find comfort in them.  And their silliness.  I hadn't read Working It, when I grabbed Faking It, but they can be read as standalones.  Max and Grady come together at a time when they are both are examining their lives and finding them wanting.  Grady's got some angst, but together he and Max find something worth fighting for.  

Faking It is an entertaining story.  It's not my favorite in the Ringside Series, but definitely enjoyable.  Making It is my favorite.  I love that book so much.  Book 3 - Making It released last week, you should check it out while you are at it.  

~ Shel

The Aftermath by R.J. Prescott

***1/2

Cormac "The Hurricane" O'Connell's star is on the rise. Billed as the most promising young boxer of his generation, his new career is taking him to places he never dreamed. But O'Connell only needs one thing in life: his wife.

In her final year of college, Em cannot follow him around the world but together they make it work. Just when everything they ever wanted is on the horizon, the past resurfaces to haunt them, and O'Connell realizes that justice might not be a part of his happy ever after. He couldn't protect Em once before, but in the aftermath of the hurricane, he will make sure that never happens again.

Source:  Advance Copy from Publisher in exchange for an honest review.  

We met O'Connell, Emily and the gang in The Hurricane.  The Aftermath really is just that.  It's told from O'Connell's point of view as he deals with the fallout and emotional aftermath of everything that happened in The Hurricane.  I'm staunchly anti-spoiler, so feel free to read my review of The Hurricane here without fear.  

O'Connell is trying to deal, but he's got so much anger and fear and guilt.  God, the guilt.  If you've been around the blog for a while, you know I'm all about the bromances in books and this series delivers.  This ragtag group of fighters are family and they are awesome.  They rally around O'Connell as he continues to make it as a championship contender.  They rally around Emily to be there when O'Connell can't.  

And just like in The Hurricane, O'Connell is swoon-worthy.  Check this out:

Wrapping my arms around her tiny waist, I haul her in for a kiss.  The way that some guys kiss their long-term girlfriends or wives is an absolute travesty.  A kiss should never be routine, like saying hello or good-bye.  Kissing the person you love should be sign language for the soul.  It should say I love you, I need you, and I'm happy to see you or sorry to see you go.  If you can't kiss like that, you should really keep your fucking lips to yourself.

Seriously, why aren't guys like these real?!  No one can ask why we love our fictional boys after reading that.  Or how about this:

God, sometimes it's like she reached into my chest and held my heart in her hand, just to remind me why it belonged to her.

R.J. Prescott is killing me!  She had better write Liam's story and Kieran's and Tommy's and Earnshaw's!  And Danny could find himself a good woman through all these stories too.  Just sayin'.  Truth be told, I want Liam's story first.  The hints we got in The Aftermath about Liam's story were my favorites and I can't wait to read all about it!  

Anyway, if the smoking hot cover wasn't enough motivation for you to buy this book, well, you're crazy, but also, I'm telling you the story is also great.  

~Shel

The Hurricane by R.J. Prescott

***1/2

Emily McCarthy is living in fear of a dark and dangerous past.  A gifted mathematician, she is little more than a hollow, broken shell, trying desperately to make ends meet long enough to finish her degree.

Through an unlikely friendship with the aging, cantankerous owner of a boxing gym, Em is thrown into the path of the most dangerous man that she has ever met.  

Source:  Advance Copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

It recently came to my attention that I somehow forgot to review The Hurricane.  Apparently, I need adult supervision, because I really liked this book and want everyone to know it!  The Hurricane is Emily's story.  It's the story of how she survived a horrific childhood and escaped to a place where she hides - not just from her past, but from her present.  She meets Danny at the diner where she waits tables.  The old guy befriends the skittish young girl and eventually offers her a job at his boxing gym.

Enter Cormac O'Connell.  O'Connell is a rough boxer who fights to burn off his anger and frustration with his mother.  He's listless and lacks focus, but when he sees Em in the diner, he knows he has to shape up to create a life for her.  With that O'Connell dedicates himself to going pro as a boxer and winning Em's heart.  But with Em's background and secrets, the path to true love is like an obstacle course.  

The Hurricane is a beautiful love story.  Not just between Em and Cormack, but a story of the coming together of a family.  The guys at the gym have always been a family, but protecting and loving Emily while helping O'Connell become a champion gives them purpose.  

But O'Connell, man, he just lays it all out there.  This is guy that is not afraid of his emotions when it comes to Em - he embraces them and goes after her, no holds barred.  

                      "I wish I knew the words to tell you how much I love you and how                      much you've changed my life.  Meeting you was like seeing the sun                      for the first time, after a lifetime of living in the dark.  I know you                        can do so much better than me, but if you'll have me, I promise to                       spend the rest of our lives fighting to deserve you."

Aww, right?!  This book is filled with touching quotes from O'Connell and the rest of the guys.  I recommend The Hurricane to all of you.  And then you have to read The Aftermath, which is told from O'Connell's point of view.  *sigh*

~Shel

The Aftermath by R.J. Prescott Release Day Blitz

I LOVE me some O'Connell and company!  These Irish and English boxers are smoking hot romantics with hearts.  Be warned, this series will cause swooning!  

I mean, check out these covers  - holy hotness!  And this excerpt:

It never occurred to me that mail was something to fear. Not until the day I came home and found Em sat on the floor, her arms wrapped around her knees, and a ripped open white envelope on the bed behind her.

            “Sunshine, what’s wrong?” I asked. She swallowed hard and sniffed a few times like she was trying to hold back tears long enough to talk to me. I reached for the envelope, thinking it would give me some clue as to why she was so clearly freaked out.

            “Don’t,” Em croaked. “Please,” she added pleadingly. I knew then, as a tear rolled down her cheek, that whatever was inside had to be bad. Contained within a folded sheet of plain white paper were about a dozen or so photos. They were different sizes and all taken at different times, but Em was in every one of them. The earliest photo was of a smiling happy nine year old. Just a normal kid out riding her bike. When the next one showed the same kid, fast asleep in her bed, I felt sick to my fucking stomach. The older that Em was in the pictures, the more invasive they became and none of them looked like they were taken with her knowledge. The last photo was really grainy, like it had been through a window maybe, or within a really bad camera, but it showed in intimate detail, her frail, bruised body taking a shower.

            “Mother fucker,” I yelled, wanting to fucking hit something. Anything. I grabbed the envelope looking for some clue who’d sent it, like I didn’t fucking know. Frank was still in prison, pending trial, so someone on the outside must have sent this for him. The postmark on the envelope read London, which didn’t tell me much. The knuckles on Em’s hand were white where she gripping hold of her legs so hard.

            “Shit love. You okay?” I said, hating that she looked so fucking scared. She nodded unconvincingly, but didn’t answer. I gathered up the pictures and stuffed them back into the envelope, not wanting her to see them anymore, but I knew we’d need to give them to police as evidence. The idea of her being on display like that to the police and the prosecution lawyers was as bad as knowing what she’d been through. Sitting down next to her, I wrapped my arm around her tiny body and pulled her into my chest. She was stiff as a board and shaking slightly. Rubbing up and down her arms, trying to get her warm I waited for her to talk to me. That was the way of it sometimes with Sunshine. She needed to think shit over before she could get it off her chest.

            “I didn’t know about any of them. He’s been taking pictures of me for years. How could I not know? How could I let that happen?” she asked me.

            “You didn’t let anything happen. He’s a violent, abusive rapist who’s sick in the fucking head. He did what he did because he’s a fucking whack job. Nothing you said or did gave him permission to do this.” I could see by her face that the pictures shamed her. Fuck that. There wasn’t a single fucking thing for her to be ashamed of.

            “It was bad enough dealing with what happened, but he could have hundreds of these pictures and God only knows what he does with them. As if that’s not bad enough he knows where we live. Even in prison he can get to me. I’ll never be free of him will I?”

            “Sunshine, even if it means killing him, I swear he will never touch you again. This is just a sign of desperation. In a few more months he’ll be too concerned about how to pick up the soap in the shower without getting arse raped to worry about getting you back. He’s going away for a very long time and there’s fuck all he can do about it. This kind of shit just gives the barristers more ammunition against him.” I did my best to reassure her, but as I was as freaked out as she was. The fact that he could get hold of the pictures and post them from prison had me worried about what else he could do from the inside.

            She wiped her eyes and leant across to give me a quick kiss.

            “You’re right,” she told me. “A few more months and this will all be over.”  It had to be, because I hadn’t been exaggerating. If Frank came after her again, I’d kill to keep her safe.

O'Connell.  Sigh.  If you haven't read The Hurricane you seriously need to do so now.  It's heartbreaking, romantic and full of awesome.  I'll post my review of The Aftermath soon, but let me tell you -   My heart can't take it.  All the feels.  I mean ALL the feels.  

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: The Aftermath

Author: R.J. Prescott

Series: The Hurricane, #2

On Sale: August 2, 2016

Publisher: Forever

Formats: Trade Paperback & eBook

Price: $14.99 USD (TP) / $3.99 USD (eBook)

Add to Goodreads

Now available in Trade Paperback!

Cormac "The Hurricane" O'Connell's star is on the rise. Billed as the most promising young boxer of his generation, his new career is taking him to places he never dreamed. But O'Connell only needs one thing in life: his wife.

In her final year of college, Em cannot follow him around the world but together they make it work. Just when everything they ever wanted is on the horizon, the past resurfaces to haunt them, and O'Connell realizes that justice might not be a part of his happy ever after. He couldn't protect Em once before, but in the aftermath of the hurricane, he will make sure that never happens again.

THE HURRICANE SERIES

The Hurricane, #1

The Aftermath, #2

Series Page on Goodreads

BUY THE BOOK HERE

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

USA Today bestselling author R.J. Prescott was born in Cardiff, South Wales, and studied law at the University of Bristol, England. Four weeks before graduation she fell in love, and stayed. Ten years later, she convinced her crazy, wonderful firefighter husband to move back to Cardiff where they now live with their two equally crazy sons.

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That's What HE Said Thursday #39

Image courtesy of Kei at The Lovely Pages Review

That's What HE Said is a weekly meme hosted by the wonderful ladies at Chapter Break. It's a chance for us to spotlight and gush over a quote from our current book crush to the object of his desire. We like to pretend it's us ;)

What better way to celebrate our book boyfriends?

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Since the new Jake Gyllenhal movie, Southpaw is in theatres, we thought we'd throw in a book boyfriend from the boxing world. This is Shel's pick from The Hurricane by R. J. Prescott. Enjoy!

“When you’re with me, you never have to be afraid of anything.  I would decimate any fucker who so much as looked at you wrong if you asked me to.  Tonight, you believed that, and you dropped your guard.  You trusted me.  Every time you let down another one of those barriers, I know that you are a bit closer to being mine.  One day, when the last one falls, you’ll be as much mine as I am yours.”

~ O'Connell to Emily

The Hurricane (The Hurricane #1) by

R.J. Prescott