As a reader obsessed with characters in the world of MMA I was drawn to this second installment in the Worth the Fight series. Keep reading to get a tantalizing taste of Full Contact by Sidney Halston, along with my impressions of it, and learn even more about this book by visiting the other blogs hosting this tour. Make sure to fill out the form below for the chance to win a $25 bookstore GC as well as a Loveswept mug and tote too!
How could she have been so stupid? When Jessica Cross decides to give her violently jealous boyfriend—the otherwise influential and charming Dennis Stavros—a second chance, she very nearly becomes a statistic. After weeks of healing from a broken rib and collapsed lung, and with Dennis behind bars, Jessica finally feels ready to come out of hiding. But will she ever be able to take a chance on love again with someone new?
Mixed martial arts fighter Slade Martin knows he has a bad reputation. Hell, he's probably earned it. So it won’t be easy to convince beautiful, vulnerable Jessica that she can trust him—that from the moment she walked into his life, she’s been the only one he’s wanted. Powerful and confident, Slade knows he can honor his vow to protect Jessica body and soul. Winning her heart will be another matter . . . but a woman like Jessica is worth the fight.
Mixed martial arts fighter Slade Martin knows he has a bad reputation. Hell, he's probably earned it. So it won’t be easy to convince beautiful, vulnerable Jessica that she can trust him—that from the moment she walked into his life, she’s been the only one he’s wanted. Powerful and confident, Slade knows he can honor his vow to protect Jessica body and soul. Winning her heart will be another matter . . . but a woman like Jessica is worth the fight.
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MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:
After reading the first book in the Worth the Fight series I was left enthralled by the charming and sexy Slade and his life threatening health issues. Seeing him take the lead in this story had me clamoring to read it and he ends up being the highlight as he struggles to get the girl who's haunted his dreams for months.
Slade is a self-professed player who's brutally honest with his partners by telling them they're temporary. Despite that, women still chase after him and fight for his attention. Every woman that is except for Jessica who's still recovering from a physically abusive relationship. As domestic abuse affected his family his protective instincts come out in full force and he becomes Jessica's champion, protector, and ultimately lover. Slade's not used to being obsessed with a woman as he usually forgets them as soon as he's had them, but Jessica's always in his thoughts. He takes care of her while she recovers and then worms his way into her heart through his charm, sensuality, and encouragement of her dreams. He's a straight-up guy who doesn't like subterfuge or drama and unfortunately Jessica has a lot of drama surrounding her. Slade's a powerful man who would never hurt a woman and I fell for him as he oozed sex appeal and had a sexy way with dirty talk.
Just like in the previous installment the heroine here too frustrated me. She didn't want her friends and family to know what happened to her at the hands of her ex but it set her up to be hurt again as she ignored many threats to her safety. Other characters say she's strong-willed but I saw a woman with understandably low self-esteem who tended to jump to conclusions. No matter how much Slade proved himself to her she always assumed the worse. Jessica appears naive in many ways due to her ex's influence and it's only when she's with Slade do I see a woman starting to come out of her shell. He's good for her if she'd only stop fighting what's so obviously right.
This was a quick read that felt a bit choppy in its transitions. The relationship between Slade and Jessica evolved slowly from flirty to steamy with lots of speedbumps along the way from Jessica's inner demons to outside forces that often put their HEA in doubt. While I enjoyed the friendship displayed between the females in this story I was still left annoyed by their overly dramatic natures. Jessica's evolution wasn't as complete as I'd hoped but thank heavens for the men as they're all charming and seductive with larger than life personalities. The world of MMA fighting is again on display in vivid detail and I enjoyed the energy of these scenes. I also enjoyed the other fighters we get glimpses of as they have appealing and diverse personalities and I look forward to their stories being told as Texas is playful and sweet while Cain is strong and silent with mystery surrounding him. This is a good read but still has the same issues as I found in the previous installment. I have high hopes that these issues will be fixed in the next book as its fiery protagonists deserve a story that crackles.
My rating for this is a C+
*I got this book from NetGalley for review in exchange for my honest opinion.
Sidney Halston lives her life by one simple rule: “Just do it.” And that’s exactly what she did. At the age of thirty, having never written anything other than a legal brief, she picked up a pen for the first time to pursue her dream of becoming an author. That first stroke sealed the deal, and she fell in love with writing. Halston lives in South Florida with her husband and children.
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