A woman with a broken dream.
A competition…
He even makes me forget my name. One night was all it took, and I forgot everything and anything except the sexy fighter in the ring who sets my mind ablaze and my body on fire with wanting…
Remington Tate is the strongest, most confusing man I’ve ever met in my life.
He’s the star of the dangerous underground fighting circuit, and I’m drawn to him as I’ve never been drawn to anything in my life. I forget who I am, what I want, with just one look from him. When he’s near, I need to remind myself that I am strong–but he is stronger. And now it’s my job to keep his body working like a perfect machine, his taut muscles primed and ready to break the bones of his next opponents . . .
But the one he’s most threatening to, now, is me.
I want him. I want him without fear. Without reservations.
If only I knew for sure what it is that he wants from me?
First I want to thank Gallery Books for providing me with a free copy, this was definitely one book that shocked the shit outta me. I've said it before but never go in with preconceived notions, it seems like I'll never learn. I'm sure many of you are well aware of who Katy Evans is, and are just as stalker obsessed as I, but see when I cam across Real it was a recommendation through Amazon and like no one knew her. I did end up purchasing a copy, but for some reason I was hesitant. Then the reviews started coming in, and messages asking if I read this simply orgasmic book. So of course I was like 'hold the phone bitches', Alii needs to get in on this action. All I can say is, is if I could time travel I'd bitch slap my past self for hesitating! Katy completely blew me away, I can honestly say I have never come across a book quiet like this. Don't get me wrong it was a rather pleasant surprise, which evoked so many emotions I'm surprised I could form coherent sentences when finished.
You might remember a while ago I mentioned I was going through a fighter phase, after completing Real I was never the same again I craved fighter romances with a fierce passion. I absolutely adored Brooke, as far as heroines go she is brilliant, seriously she's made it into my top 10. Why you ask? Because she was a strong, independent woman with a brain! When she describes Remy I gotta tell you I got shivers, so I could understand why a female would forget how to form a sentence, but not Brooke she managed to have her wits about her...most of the time. Their chemistry was explosive, it practically leapt off the page and smacked you in the face. There scenes together were always so damn intense, seriously while reading I was like
His lips curl and he meets my gaze. "Brooke Dumas." He just fucked my name right in front of me.
“There he is, a woman's living, breathing fantasy, doing his slow, cocky turn, spiky black hair, darkly tanned chest, dimpled smile-killer smile-all in the package of Remington Tate. He's perfection itself, and a new surge of hormones sweeps through me as I do what the rest of the crowd does and take in his visual, so blatantly on display in those low riding boxing shorts and so strikingly sexy, he becomes the center of my attention. The center. Of my. World.”
“I love him, Melanie. I love him He's not just a star, he's the whole fucking sky to me. He's the sun and every planet in this galaxy.”
Like I said I went in with preconceived notions, you know alpha hero, beautiful heroine mixed with a dose of sex, love and maybe a little drama. But it was so much freaking more, Remy is nothing like I expected, there was so much depth to his character I was actually left speechless, because behind the sexy, cocky facade we have a man who is heartbreakingly insecure and suffers from a very serious illness. I just wanted to wrap him up and hug him till it got better. Katy builds their relationship so slowly, you feel like scratching your eyes out at times but when all's revealed my heart just stopped and everything clicked into place. For more than half the book it seemed like Remy was toying with Brooke, like he couldn't make his mind up and I felt Brooke's frustration because I felt like I was getting whiplash with all the mixed signals. It was so heartwarming to see Remy try to put into words how he feels for Brooke, like nothing he could say would ever be enough. He is after all a man of few words. But it was more than enough, and I wanted to cuddle him for his words, because it was all quiet simply resplendent.
As far as couples go, they really were perfect for one another. Brooke was the light in Remy's darkness, and Katy illustrates that so beautifully I was a puddle of mushy goo. Their chemistry goes so far beyond lust it's not even funny, they needed each other to breathe, live and feel complete. Gah! How can you not swoon over that? It wasn't done in a cheesy way either, Katy's writing style is far to enthralling for that. No, it was all done rather tastefully, if not a little adventurously. Their love is the stuff dreams are made of, and Katy delivers it in a way that's not only plausible but exquisite. Not many could pull that off. While I loved their scenes, there was so much going on around them you were constantly on the edge of your seat. Brooke's family issues, Remy's issues, the fighting circuit etc. There was just the right dose of drama, angst, romance and sex. My god the sex, *fans self*, brace yourselves minions.
"I'm every woman's adventure, damn you, and I don't want to be yours. I want to be your fucking REAL."
“You’ve claimed me, little firecracker. You kicked a pair of two hundred pound men’s asses. I will never get over that. You kicked my whores out. Pete told me. You staked your claim on me, even before you realized I’d staked mine already.” He fists my hair and pulls me close to his lips. “I’m yours now … Even if I screw this up, I’ll still be your screw-up.”
“You’ll leave me the second it gets too steep, and you’ll leave me with nothing – when I want you like I’ve never wanted anything in life. You’re all I think about, dream about. I get high and low and it’s not about you now, it’s not even about me anymore. I can’t sleep, can’t think, can’t concentrate worth shit anymore and it’s all because I want to be the fucking ‘one’ for you.”
That being said, my rating stands at 4.5 ovary combusting stars. For a debut this novel was beyond my expectations, it blew me away and I cannot wait for the next books in the series. Katy Evans is definitely an author you want to take note of, because she's going places minions. As I mentioned the Mine tour is fast approaching, and yours truly is a part of it so watch this space. Come and get your Remy fix, you'll never know how much you needed it till you purchase your copy now. Warning symptoms may include: Swooning, hot flashes, weak knees, shortness of breath, sweaty palms and accelerated heart rate. Proceed with caution.