Book Tour for Fighting the Odds by Kristen Granata (Review & GIVEAWAY)

A young man with a dark and painful past fights his heart and mind on a rocky road to HEA with a young woman trying to find herself too.  Keep reading to get a tempting taste of Fighting the Odds by Kristen Granata, along with my impressions of it, then add it to your bookshelf.  In honor of this fourth installment in the Collision series make sure to fill out the form below for the chance to win a special prize too!

I’d prepared myself for a life without love. Lost my parents and anyone else I got close to. Nothing good ever stays for long. I’m a statistic after all. Former foster kid. Former drug addict, alcoholic. Always thought I was destined to be alone. Always felt like I wasn’t worth a damn.

Then Carla Evans walked into my life.

One look at her in that uptight, buttoned-up outfit and I knew I had to have her. For a night, I’d indulge myself in the fantasy of a girl like her actually wanting a guy like me.
Then she moved here with no job and that ridiculous bucket list.

I knew she needed my help.

I just didn’t expect to need hers.

I spent a long time letting myself believe I didn’t deserve happiness. It took me a while (and a whole lot of therapy) to realize I’d had it all wrong.

Now I know.

And now I have to tell her.

EXCERPT:

Carla

“I’ll take a Corona, please.”

I hand the bartender my fake ID and settle against the back of my stool. She pops the top off the bottle and slides it my way. I take a long swig.

“You don’t strike me as the beer type.”

I hold my hand up without looking at who the deep voice belongs to. “Save your energy for someone else, please.” Can’t a girl sit alone at a bar without being hit on?

“It doesn’t really take much energy to have a conversation, but thanks for your concern.”

I roll my eyes and take another few gulps of my beer. I pretend to watch the TV above the bar, though I can feel the stranger’s eyes on me.

“Who are you rooting for?” he asks.

“What?”

“The fight you’re staring at so intently. Who are you rooting for?”

“I’m not rooting for anyone. MMA is a barbaric sport. How these guys get paid mega bucks to beat each other up is beyond me. Just another testament to our Neanderthal society.”

“Those guys aren’t just beating each other up.”

I gesture toward the screen. “Those two dudes are throwing punches at each other. That guy is bleeding profusely from his nose. They certainly aren’t doing ballet.”

The stranger chuckles. “Okay, so they are fighting. But there’s more to it than that. It takes skill and training to do what they do.”

“Oh, look. Now they’re on the ground. That guy’s going to lay on top of the other one for the next five minutes. You’re right. Looks like they’ve had a lot of training.” I drain the rest of my beer and stand. So much for enjoying a drink alone.

“You should stay and watch the fight. I’ll prove to you just how much skill these guys have.”

I spin around to face the annoying stranger, allowing myself to look at him for the first time.

Holy muscles.

I clamp my mouth shut to keep it from falling wide open. Brawny. Strapping. Muscular. Built. None of the words coming to mind seem adequate enough to describe the Herculean god sitting before me. It’s almost a sin he covered himself up with all those tattoos. Almost. The intricate pieces of art twist around his muscular arms, all the way down to his knuckles. A tease of ink pokes out of the neckline of his shirt, stopping halfway up his neck. Every inch of his body has trouble written all over it.

His face though...his face is a different story. It’s so handsome it looks like it doesn’t belong on his body. The icy-blue of his eyes is warmed by his smile, which is complete with a set of dimples. A backwards baseball cap covers his hair, but his thick brows and scruff peppering his chiseled jawline are as dark as a cup of coffee.

He’s an oxymoron. The face of an angel with the body of Satan himself. A dark ray of light. A friendly nemesis. The man is menacingly beautiful.

And I’m gawking. I clear my throat and try to remember what it was he’d asked me. “I’ve had a long trip. I’m going to call it a night.”

“Where you coming from?”

“Florida. Just arrived.”

“And the first place you come to is a bar?“
My eyes narrow and I prop my hand on my hip. “Don’t judge me. You don’t know a thing about me.
His hands shoot up. “Hey, I wasn’t judging. I was just making an observation.”
“Well, don’t do that either.”

BUY AT AMAZON here.

MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:

When I first started reading this book I had no idea how many tears I’d shed or how wore out I’d be after turning the final page.  From start to finish this story captivated me, kept me on edge and kept me waiting breathlessly for more of TJ’s past to be revealed.  It’s a past that was laid bare, never sugarcoated by Ms. Granata as she pulled no punches in depicting living with an addiction while trying to navigate life once you hit rock bottom.  It’s a rocky journey of recovery and acceptance that pulled at my heartstrings before reaching its hard-won HEA that put a mighty grin on my face and solidified TJ as my undisputed number one book boyfriend.

TJ Cutler grew up in an abusive household courtesy of an alcoholic father who left his son bruised and battered inside and out for years to come.  He also left TJ motherless after killing her, going to jail and leaving TJ weighed down by guilt and anger that took him down a self-destructive path of underground fighting, alcoholism, and heroin addiction.  TJ’s journey was painful to witness, the degradations of living the way he did broke my heart, but it made me appreciate all the more the few bright spots along the way.  Woods, the police officer who came whenever TJ called, and gym owner Reggie who helped TJ make a better future for himself, were men that left an indelible mark on him and gave him the push to be the quintessential hero who left me drooling while his actions warmed my heart.  Balancing his past with his present gave readers a powerful glimpse of who TJ is as where he came from was pretty bad with an emotionally intense battle fought to get out of the gutter.  The man he is now though hasn’t forgotten and goes out of his way to help those struggling with addiction and anger.  He’s unwaveringly supportive of others and his words of wisdom are empowering...too bad it took so long for him to see his own self-worth as he was so good at inspiring it in others. TJ’s a sexy dichotomy of bad boy looks and tats with a gooey center of kindheartedness and bits of self-doubt that had me wanting to hug him.  He’s flirty at times too, teeming with sensuality, and it made for a crackling connection to Carla from the moment they met.  They were a formidable pairing, her keeping him on his toes and standing strong beside him every step of the way.

Carla Evans is still dealing with her own grief and loss when readers first meet her.  Her long-term boyfriend left her after learning of her pregnancy, a pregnancy that ended in a miscarriage that has her wanting to leave everything behind.  She just wants to start fresh after her previous life plan went awry and her one-night stand with a tatted-up, sexy, and strong-willed man is the perfect way to start that new life plan.  Discovering he’s friends with her friend makes things awkward at first but it’s not long before she’s too drawn to him to turn back.  His hidden pain calls to her as she wants to help him as much as he helps others in a relationship that takes them from friends to something oh so much deeper.  It’s a slow and steady journey for them, one full of heartfelt talks and difficult truths that fully invested me in their future.  From start to finish Carla’s an admirable heroine who you can easily see yourself being friends with.  She’s funny with occasional moments of self-doubt, but when push comes to shove you definitely want her on your side as she’s not afraid to speak the truth and put her heart on the line early on.

Not having read the other books in this series I thought I might feel lost, but that wasn’t the case as this story quickly pulled me into TJ’s heartbreaking life and difficult struggles.  I was quickly consumed by the harsh reality Ms. Granata displayed and was rooting for this unforgettable hero from the very first page.  Despite all the wrong turns he made he was more than worthy of HEA and I look forward to more glimpses of him in future installments as his narrative throughout the epilogue pulled at my heartstrings. Carla was the perfect heroine for TJ and I loved the emotional give and take that was their relationship.  Being together made both of them better, stronger, with scenes that warmed my heart as well as making me blush a time or two.  Along with her intense romance with TJ was her equally unforgettable friendship with Charlotte (heroine from a previous book) and Mallory.  Their interactions were fun, playful in their banter, with each extremely protective of the other.  Mallory was especially brash and bold and I definitely hope to see more of her as her journey to HEA promises to be fun and flirty with surprising depth...just like her.  After turning the final page of this book I’m now ready to start this series from the very beginning as these characters called to me and I’m left wanting to know more about them.  Readers looking for an unforgettable romance full of realism and moments full of heart and soul will definitely want to add this story to their bookshelf as it’s still in my thoughts long after I read The End!

My rating for this is an A+

*I got this book from the author for review in exchange for my honest opinion.

AUTHOR INFO:

Kristen Granata is a teacher by day, and an (exhausted) author by night. Known for writing emotional New Adult Romance, she loves creating realistic, flawed characters who struggle through the darkest parts of life and come out stronger on the other side. Kristen is a self-proclaimed "bitter cynic trapped in a hopeless romantic's body." Her characters pack a sarcastic punch, make you laugh, make you think, make you ugly cry - and they will always live happily ever after. If you're a lover of moving, inspirational reads, Kristen's your girl.

Kristen was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1986. She moved to Staten Island with her family and lived there for almost twenty years. There she attended community college and became a teacher. Despite her passion for writing, and despite her professors strongly suggesting she become a writer, she took the more sensible route (bitter cynic, remember?) After going through a difficult divorce when she was only twenty-nine, Kristen returned to writing. The raw story that poured out of her led her to publish her debut novel, Collision, in March of 2018. Soon after in August 2018, the sequel, Avoidance, was published. Her third novel, The Other Brother, released in April 2019.

Kristen openly shares her mental health struggles with depression and anxiety with her Instagram following. Her message is a beacon of hope to anyone who is suffering: You are not alone. She delicately weaves this theme into her writing, and demonstrates the ability of love to heal trauma.

When she's not teaching or writing, Kristen is reading, Instagramming, indulging in her messy love affair with popcorn, and annoying her wife and step-daughters by incessantly singing along to The Greatest Showman soundtrack.

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