Lovin' los libros

 

 

I first picked this one up because it reminded me of Katy Evan's Real, what with Brad being a boxer and Marianne being an athletic trainer. That's pretty much where the similarities end though. Brad is not only a boxer, but he is actually a Marine and is training to win a spot on their boxing team. Wanting to follow in his father's footsteps, Brad has worked hard to get a tryout and he is determined to become a part of the team. I really enjoyed seeing Brad go from isolating himself and wanting to be left alone to him actually engaging with his comrades and helping them out. After being put in charge of a small group of his peers, he eventually starts to see the value of helping his teammates out and just how much of an impact he has on them.

 

Marianne is the new athletic trainer and she is determined to do a good job. Her career is everything to her and it is her job to make sure these men don't overexert themselves and end up doing lasting damage to their bodies because they're too stubborn to quit. I really liked Marianne. She was such a great character, even though she drove me crazy because she kept saying 'Bad Marianne' in her head. A couple times was enough. Regardless, she's a strong woman who isn't afraid to handle these big, strong Marines.

 

Brad and Marianne first cross paths before they're formally introduced, and neither one can deny the attractiveness of the other. However, after their introduction Brad becomes a bit more closed off and guarded, as he knows she has the potential to ruin his dreams of boxing, should something happen. Of course, Brad ends up hurting his knee that very first day, but is too proud and stubborn to seek help. This ends up being the one looming thing between him and Marianne as things progress, because he is unwilling to tell her the truth for fear of her telling the coach. What starts off as a dinner date to distract her from asking him about his knee, eventually turns into more as the two realize they have some serious chemistry together.

 

I liked Brad and Marianne, though I hated that he was keeping his injury from her, especially when it's her job to be aware of these things. She has an inkling, but he keeps brushing her off, telling her it's nothing. Of course, this will cause problems later on! They have some really sexy scenes together and I enjoyed seeing them become more comfortable in their relationship with one another. I personally didn't feel that connection between them. I think it's more of Brad than anything- he was so gruff to start and his character just didn't show that much depth in the beginning.

 

I really enjoyed getting to know some of the secondary characters though. It's always humorous to watch guys interact with one another with their teasing and banter. Brad came a long way from the beginning of the book to the end and I liked seeing that camaraderie between him and his teammates.

 

Overall, this was a pretty good read. It was a bit slow in the beginning and took awhile to get things going, but it did pick up. There is one element of the story that doesn't get resolved though, but because this is a series, I saw from the sneak peek of the next book that that storyline will be continued. Again, this wasn't a bad read, but I don't know how memorable it will be for me.