Against the Ropes
by Sarah Castille
ARC review: Release date Sept 3, 2013
Genre: New Adult
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2.5 stars
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Goodreads Blurb
“He scared me. He thrilled me. And after one touch, all I could think about was getting more…”
Makayla never thought she’d set foot in an underground mixed-martial arts club. But if anyone needs a medic on hand, it’s these guys. Trouble is, at her first sight of the club’s owner she’s the one feeling breathless.
All sleek muscle and restrained power, the man they call Torment plays to win at any cost. Whether it’s in the ring or in the bedroom, he knows exactly when to use a soft touch and when to launch a full-on assault. He always knows just how far he can push. And he’s about to tempt Makayla in ways she never imagined.
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Book Review
Well, what can I say about this book? I really wanted to like and rave about it. It has my favorite formula for a good book: alpha male fighter with issues and female lead who has her own issues. Although I have to say, before I right my critique, it was entertaining-but it felt like deja-vu.
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What do I mean? Well, I got excited when the plot starts with MaKayla trying to catch a supposed ticket thief, who happens to be the club owner and a fighter himself, “Torment”. But my excitement faded when I started reading words that had me feeling deja-vu.
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“I aim to please” -Torment
“I want your mouth”- Torment
“I couldn’t protect her. I couldn’t save her” -Torment
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There was even a predictable scene at a fund raiser auction, and guess what? Makayla ends up for sale along with an auction item. Torment bids the highest ($1 million dollars) and gets a date with Makayla-we all saw that one coming. There is also the token scene in which they use ice cream during a steamy encounter.
Torment also was very bossy, telling Makayla what to do and say. He has a very “I am used to people doing what I tell them to do” attitude – so what does that remind you of? Well it felt like a rewrite of the Fifty Shades of Grey series all in one book to me but if you have not read Fifty Shades of Grey you just might love this book. There were..
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- Makayla’s family issues: it was with her father instead of her mother, mirroring Christian Grey’s issue
- Torment has the same issues regarding his mother’s death as Christian Grey.
- Torment likes kinky stuff just like Christen Grey
- There are more similarities that I will not write about; else I would end up telling you about the whole story.
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Then there was the texting back and forth between Makayla and Christian – oh, I mean Torment – and it is very hard to follow. Unlike Fifty Shades, it was not clear who and what was text to whom. The back and forth texts in this book run together, which forces you to re-read sections multiple times.
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Ok, so you can tell that I was extremely disappointed in this book. I just feel that it needed to be something original. I really wanted to like the book but just could not do it.
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I was given a ARC of this book in exchanged for a honest review . Andrea’s Book Blog
