“…underneath all the layers of shoving tropes down my throat, there was a good story. I just think it would’ve been better without the bells and whistles.” ~Under the Covers
Sometimes a great cover can draw you in like honey to a bee. AGAINST THE ROPES has the same cover appeal as Jaci Burton’s Play by Play series. So of course, I have to read this!
And then I got a bit of a disappointment. See, I didn’t read any reviews about this book. I went in blind knowing just that it was about an MMA fighter. The good news, he’s a hot and brooding type of MMA fighter. The underground world that he moves in has a big bad boy appeal and can definitely get me interested. But that’s not where his story ended. There’s more to him, who he is and what he does behind the scenes. I guess for me, that was the bad news.
Well, that’s not the only bad news. Lets just say that Makayla wasn’t what I would consider top heroine material. She’s not very bright (even though she’s supposed to be book smart), but I do admire her tenacity in life and working with what she’s given to make the best of it. But common sense isn’t abundant here. However, I wouldn’t classify her quite as TSTL.
I thought Torment (yes, the hero of this story) had so much potential when the book started out, I wish the author would’ve continued the book with just that storyline without adding his “other side”. And I don’t mean sexually. I mean the melting pot of ideas the author was trying to cram into this one little story. I think editing some of that stuff out would’ve been beneficial. You don’t have to write it all in one book. There was the sports MMA fighter angle, biker hero, along with some mafia issues, the poor girl being rescued by the rich guy, and lets not forget about the BDSM and the 50 Shades of Grey vibe. Yes, I know a lot of people didn’t feel like this while reading the book but I kept thinking “why am I finding another billionaire book while reading this?”. I wasn’t expecting that!! And lets not forget the tortured, BDSM loving, town car riding, butler employer, sweet texting parts. I think that hit most in the checklist.
Nevertheless, the book is hot. I can’t take that away from it because Torment is alpha and very sexy when it comes to that. And underneath all the layers of shoving tropes down my throat, there was a good story. I just think it would’ve been better without the bells and whistles.
READING ORDER & BUY LINKS
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[about-author author=”Sarah Castille”]
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I was looking forward to reading this one but now nah think I’ll pass…thanks Francesca!
Thanks for your honesty…I’m starting to realize that is not what everyone puts out there and makes me appreciiate you and a couple other bloggers even more than I already did. Thankfully we seem to like the same things. Based on you and Melissa, I’m taking this off of my TBR. It sounds like my head would spin & that’s not why I read.
Honesty is hard to come by, I’ve noticed that too. Mostly because it’s never easy to say something bad but we always try to give an honest opinion while staying respectful to the author who puts their heart and soul into their work. Not everything can work for everyone and maybe what I don’t like is something someone else might want. 🙂
I really thought this book would be a winner. I mean look at that cover! But the general consensus is that the book is nothing to sneeze at. Oh well. Awesome review, and thanks for the fyi! 🙂