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Off Balance #5
Dismount
Adrianna and Kova let caution fly for love despite the odds. Each lesson learned formed a new scar for them to bear. And now that her father knows their secret, the damage left behind is irreparable. They both must pay for their actions.
Torn apart, Adrianna is forced to face the last challenge of her gymnastics career alone. While Kova, the beautifully anguished man who has been at Adrianna’s mercy giving her everything she’s demanded, has no choice but to walk away.
Adrianna and Kova survived deception and betrayal. Now they face their greatest enemy. Time. With just one hurdle left, the clock is winding down to the final moment. Adrianna must soon realize life is more than an Olympic dream. But in order to live and salvage them both, she will first have to save herself.
Torn apart, Adrianna is forced to face the last challenge of her gymnastics career alone. While Kova, the beautifully anguished man who has been at Adrianna’s mercy giving her everything she’s demanded, has no choice but to walk away.
Adrianna and Kova survived deception and betrayal. Now they face their greatest enemy. Time. With just one hurdle left, the clock is winding down to the final moment. Adrianna must soon realize life is more than an Olympic dream. But in order to live and salvage them both, she will first have to save herself.
471 pages, Paperback
First published July 6, 2020
553 people are currently reading
7271 people want to read
About the author
Lucia Franco
28 books4,278 followersLucia Franco has written over a dozen romance novels. Her emotional stories often include an age gap and forbidden love.
Her novel Hush Hush was a finalist in the RWA 2019 Stiletto Contest. Her novels have been translated into several languages.
Lucia resides in South Florida with her husband, two boys, and five pets. She was a competitive athlete for over ten years – a gymnast and cheerleader – which heavily inspired the Off Balance series. When she isn’t writing, you can find her at the beach getting slammed by waves or wandering through her butterfly garden.
Her novel Hush Hush was a finalist in the RWA 2019 Stiletto Contest. Her novels have been translated into several languages.
Lucia resides in South Florida with her husband, two boys, and five pets. She was a competitive athlete for over ten years – a gymnast and cheerleader – which heavily inspired the Off Balance series. When she isn’t writing, you can find her at the beach getting slammed by waves or wandering through her butterfly garden.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,154 reviews
January 11, 2022
SOS! I AM NOT OKAY 😭
I’ve been patiently waiting for the final instalment of our dear Kova and Ria and it’s finally here. Lucia blessed me with allowing me to read Dismount before the release date.
My emotions are all over the place. I can’t believe this is the end and what an ending it was. Lucia did the damn thing.
This series has been a roller coaster and I feel many of us let Kova and Ria into our hearts because their story had so many elements to it that us readers could relate to.
I don’t cry sappy tears when the books I choose to read end but Dismount has done it ✔️
No one owns my heart like these two characters do.
I will never forget them and I only wish I could have more of them.
KOVA AND RIA 🖤
"He was the beast beneath my beauty."
I’ve been patiently waiting for the final instalment of our dear Kova and Ria and it’s finally here. Lucia blessed me with allowing me to read Dismount before the release date.
My emotions are all over the place. I can’t believe this is the end and what an ending it was. Lucia did the damn thing.
This series has been a roller coaster and I feel many of us let Kova and Ria into our hearts because their story had so many elements to it that us readers could relate to.
I don’t cry sappy tears when the books I choose to read end but Dismount has done it ✔️
No one owns my heart like these two characters do.
I will never forget them and I only wish I could have more of them.
KOVA AND RIA 🖤
"He was the beast beneath my beauty."
July 14, 2020
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ five “malysh” stars
It was everything I hoped for, but not what I expected. Hopefully, that makes some sense. I will try to make this relatively short and sweet since I do not want to reveal any spoilers, even though all I want to do is rant. It was very nice to read a five-star book that wasn’t a re-read. I have been in a book slump, so this was a real reprieve. So beautiful, so emotional.
The description and character growth throughout this series are spectacular. You can’t find that in all books. The writing is just brilliant and the writer is amazing for being so resilient through all the hate. It is a book, people, fiction, not a guide to life.
Adrianna is such a strong heroine. I rarely read a heroine that is so stubborn that I don’t get extremely annoyed with, in fact, she may be the only one. She feels so real, with such valid and strong emotions. I feel like she is a friend. She really showed her colors throughout this book.
Kova is… I don’t know how to describe him. He is one of the best-written heroes I have seen. I wish we saw a little more of him in the beginning, and, honestly, throughout the whole series. He is there for Adrianna when no one else is and is described so well, mentally and physically. I love that she kept up the lack of contractions, such great continuity! Loved the epilogue in his point of view, too! I hope there is a whole book from his point of view!
I know this couldn’t have been predicted by Franco or anything, but, for this book, it is kind of good that the Olympics may not be happening this year. It is like this book is an alternate universe. The changing of Adrianna’s age and the setting was more jarring than I anticipated but totally fine!
Overall, READ THIS BOOK, actually make sure to read the series first, then READ THIS BOOK! Just a wonderful, emotional read.🖤
P.S. There is going to be a deleted scenes book called Out of Bounds, and oh my goodness, Lucia Franco! I don’t know if you torture or spoil us!
Prereview:
Currently reading🖤🖤🖤
❤️FOURTH EDIT:
🥳Dismount is live early!🥳
🧡THIRD EDIT:
🖤Less than a week until release! Can I survive any more of this torture?🖤
💛SECOND EDIT:
The ARC came out and I am so jealous of the people who got it! I can’t wait to read this book!
💚EDIT:
🥰Dismount by Lucia Franco is coming on July 17th!
Blurb:
Adrianna and Kova let caution fly for love despite the odds. Each lesson learned formed a new scar for them to bear. And now that her father knows their secret, the damage left behind is irreparable. They both must pay for their actions.
Torn apart, Adrianna is forced to face the last challenge of her gymnastics career alone. While Kova, the beautifully anguished man who has been at Adrianna's mercy giving her everything she’s demanded, has no choice but to walk away.
Adrianna and Kova survived deception and betrayal. Now they face their greatest enemy. Time. With just one hurdle left, the clock is winding down to the final moment. Adrianna must soon realize life is more than an Olympic dream. But in order to live and salvage them both, she will first have to save herself.
💙Original:
Oh my goodness! This series is like a rollercoaster ride and right now I feel like the car is suspended in mid-air!🎢 I was at least lucky enough to only read the series recently and not be going through this sweet torture for years like a lot of people!
It was everything I hoped for, but not what I expected. Hopefully, that makes some sense. I will try to make this relatively short and sweet since I do not want to reveal any spoilers, even though all I want to do is rant. It was very nice to read a five-star book that wasn’t a re-read. I have been in a book slump, so this was a real reprieve. So beautiful, so emotional.
The description and character growth throughout this series are spectacular. You can’t find that in all books. The writing is just brilliant and the writer is amazing for being so resilient through all the hate. It is a book, people, fiction, not a guide to life.
Adrianna is such a strong heroine. I rarely read a heroine that is so stubborn that I don’t get extremely annoyed with, in fact, she may be the only one. She feels so real, with such valid and strong emotions. I feel like she is a friend. She really showed her colors throughout this book.
Kova is… I don’t know how to describe him. He is one of the best-written heroes I have seen. I wish we saw a little more of him in the beginning, and, honestly, throughout the whole series. He is there for Adrianna when no one else is and is described so well, mentally and physically. I love that she kept up the lack of contractions, such great continuity! Loved the epilogue in his point of view, too! I hope there is a whole book from his point of view!
I know this couldn’t have been predicted by Franco or anything, but, for this book, it is kind of good that the Olympics may not be happening this year. It is like this book is an alternate universe. The changing of Adrianna’s age and the setting was more jarring than I anticipated but totally fine!
Overall, READ THIS BOOK, actually make sure to read the series first, then READ THIS BOOK! Just a wonderful, emotional read.🖤
P.S. There is going to be a deleted scenes book called Out of Bounds, and oh my goodness, Lucia Franco! I don’t know if you torture or spoil us!
Prereview:
Currently reading🖤🖤🖤
❤️FOURTH EDIT:
🥳Dismount is live early!🥳
🧡THIRD EDIT:
🖤Less than a week until release! Can I survive any more of this torture?🖤
💛SECOND EDIT:
The ARC came out and I am so jealous of the people who got it! I can’t wait to read this book!
💚EDIT:
🥰Dismount by Lucia Franco is coming on July 17th!
Blurb:
Adrianna and Kova let caution fly for love despite the odds. Each lesson learned formed a new scar for them to bear. And now that her father knows their secret, the damage left behind is irreparable. They both must pay for their actions.
Torn apart, Adrianna is forced to face the last challenge of her gymnastics career alone. While Kova, the beautifully anguished man who has been at Adrianna's mercy giving her everything she’s demanded, has no choice but to walk away.
Adrianna and Kova survived deception and betrayal. Now they face their greatest enemy. Time. With just one hurdle left, the clock is winding down to the final moment. Adrianna must soon realize life is more than an Olympic dream. But in order to live and salvage them both, she will first have to save herself.
💙Original:
Oh my goodness! This series is like a rollercoaster ride and right now I feel like the car is suspended in mid-air!🎢 I was at least lucky enough to only read the series recently and not be going through this sweet torture for years like a lot of people!
December 10, 2019
Lucia Franco has done an amazing job with this series and despite the bullying and harrassment done online, she continues to show class and integrity amidst the haters.
There are so many books out there that are taboo and forbidden and unlike some, I won't name names or throw authors under the bus because I believe people should have a choice in what they read and write.
For instance, I have read a book about a woman having to hide her identity and moving to a small town where she enrolls in high school to better blend in. She is over 18 and finds love with a Senior in her class.
I have read a book about a girl that sneaks into a bar, becomes intimate with a man in a bathroom and subsequently finds out he is her teacher!
I have read a book about a rich and famous girl that had her heart set on marrying her crush only to find out her father basically sold her to another. He is so damaged that he doesn't believe she is a virgin and is, in easier words, very roigh for her first time.
Lastly, I have read a book that follows several characters storylines, one of which is a girl, who is 13, that was sold by her brother to a savage for a throne. She becomes pregnant and after a series of unfortunate events, she ends up losing both her husband and her baby.
Over the years, genres styles have vastly changed and what some may consider disgusting and gross, others find enjoyable and engrossing.
Lucia Franco's Off Balance books have always began with "(the) Off Balance series is a highly forbidden romance story between a gymnast and a coach. If you find this genre of novels to be not to your liking in any way, shape, or form, this series is not for you. This novel is purely fictional and does not reflect on real-life events." And ends with, "intended only for readers 18 years of age and older. Reader discretion is advised."
There have been tons of books throughout our history that people didn't like and fought against and there have been tons of people who were divided on their feelings about them. There is a reason why this series is considered Taboo and Forbidden. You have already been informed before the stories even began.
**Note: I am not Lucia Franco, so pleas save your finger strength when typing.
There are so many books out there that are taboo and forbidden and unlike some, I won't name names or throw authors under the bus because I believe people should have a choice in what they read and write.
For instance, I have read a book about a woman having to hide her identity and moving to a small town where she enrolls in high school to better blend in. She is over 18 and finds love with a Senior in her class.
I have read a book about a girl that sneaks into a bar, becomes intimate with a man in a bathroom and subsequently finds out he is her teacher!
I have read a book about a rich and famous girl that had her heart set on marrying her crush only to find out her father basically sold her to another. He is so damaged that he doesn't believe she is a virgin and is, in easier words, very roigh for her first time.
Lastly, I have read a book that follows several characters storylines, one of which is a girl, who is 13, that was sold by her brother to a savage for a throne. She becomes pregnant and after a series of unfortunate events, she ends up losing both her husband and her baby.
Over the years, genres styles have vastly changed and what some may consider disgusting and gross, others find enjoyable and engrossing.
Lucia Franco's Off Balance books have always began with "(the) Off Balance series is a highly forbidden romance story between a gymnast and a coach. If you find this genre of novels to be not to your liking in any way, shape, or form, this series is not for you. This novel is purely fictional and does not reflect on real-life events." And ends with, "intended only for readers 18 years of age and older. Reader discretion is advised."
There have been tons of books throughout our history that people didn't like and fought against and there have been tons of people who were divided on their feelings about them. There is a reason why this series is considered Taboo and Forbidden. You have already been informed before the stories even began.
**Note: I am not Lucia Franco, so pleas save your finger strength when typing.
July 19, 2020
Full review below- slight spoilers ahead!
*Received an ARC*
"We are a team—I exhale, you inhale. We fight together. We work together. It is an amazing feeling when you find someone who shares the same passion as you. The possibilities are endless. I am the beast beneath your beauty."
4 years....I have invested four years into this story. When I first picked up Balance I wasn’t expecting to love it as much as I did. It had so many things that I usually dislike in books but at the end I found myself pleasantly surprised. I was new to Lucia’s writing style but I became a fan, I stuck with her throughout this series and if you guys remember correctly I defended these books (aggressively) all over the internet Lmao.
I still stand by my decision, I didn’t have an issue with the age gap and I actually Love Kova.
With all that being said buckle up it’s about to be a long review!
I loved books 1-4, book one was very slow burn but I felt like the story kept an amazing paste in the other books. Lucia is very wordy and while a lot of the actual books are about gymnastics I understood because it’s such a huge part of Ria & Kova’s story.
I wasn’t mad at it.
The story development, it got crazier as we went along lol, SO MANY things were happening at the same time but I was still enjoying it and that shocked me a lot. Usually I’m out the door when the OTT drama starts. So for me to still be invested into a story as long as this with so much drama, says a lot about her writing style. ( It’s amazing ) .At the end of Twist I was so worried about Dismount and looking back now all the issues I was worried about....I definitely saw them in this book.
"My Dearest Malysh, Enclosed is my soul".
I am so heartbroken to say that I did not enjoy this book, seriously guys I wanted to give this book 5 stars just because I’ve invested so much of myself into it but when I started reviewing books on GR I promised myself that I’ll always be honest so here I am being honest even if it hurts ( and it fucking hurts ).
This book was so ANTICLIMACTIC....I felt like everything was going in a circle instead of progressing...nothing happened in this book. There was no character development because it happened OFF SCREEN. The only thing that happened that I wanted to see was Ria at Olympics and even that was bland for me because of how it was written. There was so much wiggle room with this story, especially after the huge cliff hanger in Twist. Lucia had a million different directions to go.
I feel like with all the drama surrounding this series she played it safe and for fans of this series you will definitely be able to tell. It took so much away from the story and I’m so disappointed.
These books are usually very long (4-600 pages) and for me it was always justified because of the content but with Dismount I don’t understand why it was so long when it was just filled with fillers. So many things about this book felt out of place and unnecessary.
Out of all the books this one was the one where I wanted to see Kova & Ria’s relationship actually develop but instead we got the usual back and forth and the one conversation they’ve been having for 2 fucking years.
I felt NO CHEMISTRY whatsoever between them when I’m used to their attraction burning up on the pages..... it felt so cold here.
I actually disliked Ria the most in this book and it’s so sad because I really liked her in the previous ones. I felt like so much time was wasted here when we could of gotten to see Ria grow into her own and actually spend time with her in college when gymnastics is not consuming her life. She is so young I wanted to see her blossom, instead she was whiny and unfair in her expectations with Kova. I wanted to see Kova be the man she needed him to be. I felt like we got so many glimpses of his love in previous books and I wanted to see it in full color here....Instead we got a Nothing!!!!
Everything important in this book happened OFF SCREEN!
Then there’s the ending.....
If you’ve been following me for a minute you know that nothing pisses me off more than the author giving couples these huge year gaps at the end of a story. So to say that I was upset with the end of this will be an understatement!!! I was using so many obscenities and I didn’t actually read the epilogue until a couple days after because I was so upset. I honestly did not enjoy the epilogue either. After all these years I feel like we deserved better. So may questions was left unanswered at the end and I felt cheated. Also the last 15% of this book felt so so rushed it’s not even funny.
So there it is!
It was.....hard for me to write this review because I felt so conflicted. I wanted to be honest but I wanted to keep it respectful because of my relationship with Lucia. I also wanted to be true to myself so there was a lot of back and forth and deleting while writing this.
I guess at the end of it, it all comes down to if I’ll recommend this series or not. I know the ages has been changed to conform to Amazon’s guidelines so I’m happy to say that all the books are now live on kindle. I do recommend because the first four books are worth it, maybe you’ll enjoy book 5 and it’s just me. No two people feel the same towards a book so take what you will from my review and if you do decide to jump into this series I hope you enjoy reading about Ria & Kova as much as I did.
"Relax for me, Malysh," I whispered, then kissed the top of her head.
*Received an ARC*
"We are a team—I exhale, you inhale. We fight together. We work together. It is an amazing feeling when you find someone who shares the same passion as you. The possibilities are endless. I am the beast beneath your beauty."
4 years....I have invested four years into this story. When I first picked up Balance I wasn’t expecting to love it as much as I did. It had so many things that I usually dislike in books but at the end I found myself pleasantly surprised. I was new to Lucia’s writing style but I became a fan, I stuck with her throughout this series and if you guys remember correctly I defended these books (aggressively) all over the internet Lmao.
I still stand by my decision, I didn’t have an issue with the age gap and I actually Love Kova.
With all that being said buckle up it’s about to be a long review!
I loved books 1-4, book one was very slow burn but I felt like the story kept an amazing paste in the other books. Lucia is very wordy and while a lot of the actual books are about gymnastics I understood because it’s such a huge part of Ria & Kova’s story.
I wasn’t mad at it.
The story development, it got crazier as we went along lol, SO MANY things were happening at the same time but I was still enjoying it and that shocked me a lot. Usually I’m out the door when the OTT drama starts. So for me to still be invested into a story as long as this with so much drama, says a lot about her writing style. ( It’s amazing ) .At the end of Twist I was so worried about Dismount and looking back now all the issues I was worried about....I definitely saw them in this book.
"My Dearest Malysh, Enclosed is my soul".
I am so heartbroken to say that I did not enjoy this book, seriously guys I wanted to give this book 5 stars just because I’ve invested so much of myself into it but when I started reviewing books on GR I promised myself that I’ll always be honest so here I am being honest even if it hurts ( and it fucking hurts ).
This book was so ANTICLIMACTIC....I felt like everything was going in a circle instead of progressing...nothing happened in this book. There was no character development because it happened OFF SCREEN. The only thing that happened that I wanted to see was Ria at Olympics and even that was bland for me because of how it was written. There was so much wiggle room with this story, especially after the huge cliff hanger in Twist. Lucia had a million different directions to go.
I feel like with all the drama surrounding this series she played it safe and for fans of this series you will definitely be able to tell. It took so much away from the story and I’m so disappointed.
These books are usually very long (4-600 pages) and for me it was always justified because of the content but with Dismount I don’t understand why it was so long when it was just filled with fillers. So many things about this book felt out of place and unnecessary.
Out of all the books this one was the one where I wanted to see Kova & Ria’s relationship actually develop but instead we got the usual back and forth and the one conversation they’ve been having for 2 fucking years.
I felt NO CHEMISTRY whatsoever between them when I’m used to their attraction burning up on the pages..... it felt so cold here.
I actually disliked Ria the most in this book and it’s so sad because I really liked her in the previous ones. I felt like so much time was wasted here when we could of gotten to see Ria grow into her own and actually spend time with her in college when gymnastics is not consuming her life. She is so young I wanted to see her blossom, instead she was whiny and unfair in her expectations with Kova. I wanted to see Kova be the man she needed him to be. I felt like we got so many glimpses of his love in previous books and I wanted to see it in full color here....Instead we got a Nothing!!!!
Everything important in this book happened OFF SCREEN!
Then there’s the ending.....
If you’ve been following me for a minute you know that nothing pisses me off more than the author giving couples these huge year gaps at the end of a story. So to say that I was upset with the end of this will be an understatement!!! I was using so many obscenities and I didn’t actually read the epilogue until a couple days after because I was so upset. I honestly did not enjoy the epilogue either. After all these years I feel like we deserved better. So may questions was left unanswered at the end and I felt cheated. Also the last 15% of this book felt so so rushed it’s not even funny.
So there it is!
It was.....hard for me to write this review because I felt so conflicted. I wanted to be honest but I wanted to keep it respectful because of my relationship with Lucia. I also wanted to be true to myself so there was a lot of back and forth and deleting while writing this.
I guess at the end of it, it all comes down to if I’ll recommend this series or not. I know the ages has been changed to conform to Amazon’s guidelines so I’m happy to say that all the books are now live on kindle. I do recommend because the first four books are worth it, maybe you’ll enjoy book 5 and it’s just me. No two people feel the same towards a book so take what you will from my review and if you do decide to jump into this series I hope you enjoy reading about Ria & Kova as much as I did.
"Relax for me, Malysh," I whispered, then kissed the top of her head.
February 7, 2023
I'm so sad this series is over. 😭 It's been a fucking ride, y'all! Emotional rollercoaster even seems like an understatement! Lucia Franco had me gasping for breath, crying my eyes out, clutching my heart, wanting to commit violence on fictional characters, fanning myself in several places, reaching for alcoholic beverages, and checking my Kindle warranty!
It was an experience I will never forget, and you won't either. The Off Balance series is my all time favorite taboo series and sports romance series ever. I highly recommend it to every taboo romance reader in existence! This author's writing is second to none!
It was an experience I will never forget, and you won't either. The Off Balance series is my all time favorite taboo series and sports romance series ever. I highly recommend it to every taboo romance reader in existence! This author's writing is second to none!
Want to read
July 20, 2020
July 19, 2020
10 stars!
I’m not ready to let this series go.I loved every word in this book, it was inspired.
I loved this book so much.
Thank you Lucia Franco for this story.
I’m not ready to let this series go.I loved every word in this book, it was inspired.
I loved this book so much.
Thank you Lucia Franco for this story.
September 24, 2022
4.5 stars
This series has been one of the most unputdownable series I’ve ever read. When I tell you I read books 4 & 5 (they weren’t on audio) in less than 3 days and they’re 500+ pages… I could not put them down. Kova and Adrianna’s story is an unforgettable one.
There were issues I had with these books at times, but this series as a whole captivated me and I felt so much love in these books. I know they won’t be for everyone, but I’m so happy I picked them up. I still can’t believe Kova is my favorite character in this series. Any author that can make me love a character I hated at the start gets my love.
"I would give everything up for you because you are mine and I am yours and that is all that matters. We will always be each other's. No one can change that.”
This series has been one of the most unputdownable series I’ve ever read. When I tell you I read books 4 & 5 (they weren’t on audio) in less than 3 days and they’re 500+ pages… I could not put them down. Kova and Adrianna’s story is an unforgettable one.
There were issues I had with these books at times, but this series as a whole captivated me and I felt so much love in these books. I know they won’t be for everyone, but I’m so happy I picked them up. I still can’t believe Kova is my favorite character in this series. Any author that can make me love a character I hated at the start gets my love.
Love and breathing went hand in hand for us. He exhaled and I inhaled. That would never change.
July 14, 2020
The wait is over! The last book in the Off Balance series is here and my heart was torn in so many directions while reading Ria and Kova's story for one last time. I knew that this was going to be bittersweet read for me, but I quickly devoured every word, desperately needing to know how Lucia Franco was going to end this deliciously angsty series.
Adrianna 'Ria' Rossi and her yummy Russian, Coach Kova, are back for one last goal, helping Ria attain her dream of making it to the Olympics. While her dreams are the glue that keeps Kova and Ria together, the outside world has other plans for this tortured, forbidden couple. These two are each other's home and it's devastating to see the consequences of their secret love.
Through the mess their tragic love affair has created, I'm finally seeing how much Ria has changed and grown, not only in her gymnastics skills, but within herself. The best part of Ria's personality is the strength she exudes in the toughest of circumstances. Through illness or anything Kova, her family, or the Olympic committee could throw at her, Ria never gives up. Ria is a fighter in a body made of steel and glass and I absolutely loved this version of her the most.
Oh, I'm going to miss this series so much! I love how Lucia Franco has created characters and a story that feels so real to me that it breaks my heart to say goodbye. This forbidden romance will definitely be on my top list of favorite book series. #KovaRiaForever
Adrianna 'Ria' Rossi and her yummy Russian, Coach Kova, are back for one last goal, helping Ria attain her dream of making it to the Olympics. While her dreams are the glue that keeps Kova and Ria together, the outside world has other plans for this tortured, forbidden couple. These two are each other's home and it's devastating to see the consequences of their secret love.
Through the mess their tragic love affair has created, I'm finally seeing how much Ria has changed and grown, not only in her gymnastics skills, but within herself. The best part of Ria's personality is the strength she exudes in the toughest of circumstances. Through illness or anything Kova, her family, or the Olympic committee could throw at her, Ria never gives up. Ria is a fighter in a body made of steel and glass and I absolutely loved this version of her the most.
Oh, I'm going to miss this series so much! I love how Lucia Franco has created characters and a story that feels so real to me that it breaks my heart to say goodbye. This forbidden romance will definitely be on my top list of favorite book series. #KovaRiaForever
February 22, 2024
i am sobbing i loved this series so so much, it has been AGES since i have been so hooked by a series the way i have this one
July 14, 2020
I was so honored to be able to meet Kova and Ria. They will forever be my favorite book couple. Kova is pure alpha hotness. I knew I would love him forever the first time he smirked at Ria. Needless to say his ego was very full. Ria is the cutest h I could have ever come across. The drive that she displayed was amazing. It was borderline inspiring.
I have been in a funk for days after finishing Dismount. I can’t believe that is actually over. My heart will never be able to fully be say goodbye. I’m mourning the loss of their love and journey. It was such an amazing ride and the passion that Lucia Franco wrote with was so real and raw.
This is such a hard review to write. I love and respect Lucia so much but I feel like I would be doing her a disservice if I wasn’t honest in my review. Books 1-4 were astronomical. The 5th installment was not what I was expecting. These characters were not the original Kova and Ria.
The characters felt very off and there was no passion between them. Books 1-4 the passion literally jumped off the pages. Even in release I still felt it. Ria was so different..instead of being more mature after everything she has gone through she seemed more immature than ever. She was being the kind of h I dislike a lot.
I have always been team Kova. I was very upset to see that this is not my Kova. I have never known for him to let someone push him around or let the love of his life go. I don’t understand the separation. It seemed off for these characters who were constantly sneaking around. They risked so much just to have a separation!?!
The loose ends did tie up easily. Honestly to easy. There was so much drama that should have been settled especially with Katja. The Olympics were very anti-climatic. I thought when we finally got here I would be giddy with excitement, but I actually had to skim the pages. Also, I wish the whole GA was left vague for us originals.
I wish we got to see more of Kova and Ria as a whole. I would love to have explored them forming a real relationship instead of a forbidden one like having movie night or date night. Things that fresh new lovers do. I wanted to experience Ria getting pregnant again and sharing it with Kova. I felt there was far to much back and forth that late in the series.
I by no means want to hurt lucia with this review. I just wanted to honest. I will always tell ppl how amazing this series is and I think lucia is an amazing person and author.
I have been in a funk for days after finishing Dismount. I can’t believe that is actually over. My heart will never be able to fully be say goodbye. I’m mourning the loss of their love and journey. It was such an amazing ride and the passion that Lucia Franco wrote with was so real and raw.
This is such a hard review to write. I love and respect Lucia so much but I feel like I would be doing her a disservice if I wasn’t honest in my review. Books 1-4 were astronomical. The 5th installment was not what I was expecting. These characters were not the original Kova and Ria.
The characters felt very off and there was no passion between them. Books 1-4 the passion literally jumped off the pages. Even in release I still felt it. Ria was so different..instead of being more mature after everything she has gone through she seemed more immature than ever. She was being the kind of h I dislike a lot.
I have always been team Kova. I was very upset to see that this is not my Kova. I have never known for him to let someone push him around or let the love of his life go. I don’t understand the separation. It seemed off for these characters who were constantly sneaking around. They risked so much just to have a separation!?!
The loose ends did tie up easily. Honestly to easy. There was so much drama that should have been settled especially with Katja. The Olympics were very anti-climatic. I thought when we finally got here I would be giddy with excitement, but I actually had to skim the pages. Also, I wish the whole GA was left vague for us originals.
I wish we got to see more of Kova and Ria as a whole. I would love to have explored them forming a real relationship instead of a forbidden one like having movie night or date night. Things that fresh new lovers do. I wanted to experience Ria getting pregnant again and sharing it with Kova. I felt there was far to much back and forth that late in the series.
I by no means want to hurt lucia with this review. I just wanted to honest. I will always tell ppl how amazing this series is and I think lucia is an amazing person and author.
July 20, 2020
How do you write a review that wraps up a series such as the Off Balance Series? I’ve got definite heart pangs, and teary eyes as I have now closed the final chapter for Dismount. This series consumed me last year, and I binged hard. Kova came into my heart like a wrecking ball, and forced a place there forever. This story consumed me. As a reader, I always want to be open minded with any book. You will never see me judge something or someone by their cover. I will always make judgements on things that I have read or actually know about someone. Kova & Ria will always have a special place in my heart. These books are like an adrenaline punch to the feels that grow stronger with each book. Bringing us to the final book, Dismount. Such an emotional read! Lucia never ceases to amaze me with her talent, and her resilience. She is a true Phoenix that came out of the ashes of hate, and now shines bright like a diamond. I will always read her words!
That Epilogue made all the tears, angst, and pain worth it. Kova will always be worth it. Hearing him say “Malysh” will always make my heart flip! Ria is one of the strongest heroines I’ve ever read. She deserves everything good. Thank you LF for giving us that. Xo
That Epilogue made all the tears, angst, and pain worth it. Kova will always be worth it. Hearing him say “Malysh” will always make my heart flip! Ria is one of the strongest heroines I’ve ever read. She deserves everything good. Thank you LF for giving us that. Xo
Want to read
July 13, 2020Woo Hoo! Dropping all other books to go back through the first 4. Team Kova all the way!
Here it is and I'm ready!!!
Here it is and I'm ready!!!
December 7, 2019
Child rape is not sexy. A 30-year-old man grooming and abusing a 15-year-old girl is not romance. It’s sick, it’s damaging, and it should not be glorified. Take it from someone who is an expert on the subject (aka survivor).
http://jennytrout.com/?p=12833
http://jennytrout.com/?p=12833
October 1, 2020
so this is the last entry alright? 450 pages 🙄🙈 do you think something happened here? NO!
yeah she got to the olympics don't even know how with her illness , but she is hulk..yeah right ,who cares? i swear i skipped almost all the first 60% of this book because was all full of non important things such as her training, Kova barely was there, barely a dialogue, barely a thing, well nothing up to 60%... then do you think there was something there? NO,still the same sh*t , Ria says that, Ria wants that, everyone need to do what she freaking wants, yeah right.
They again don't interact for a month, then again a little sex, then again a month off...we are at like 90% and BOOM 3FREAKING YEARS OFF without contact (only journals from him, but they never talked and she never answered to his journals) ..like WTF????? WTF???????? WTF?????? so it's ok after she is finally 18 to stay away 3 years but not WHEN SHE WAS A FREAKING MINOR AND HE WAS MARRIED, YEP GUYS, they wanted to part ways when they finally could be together ahahahah lol, like i could get it to stay away a while but not 3 freaking years, which let me tell ya, we don't even know exactly what they did, did they go with other OM/OW? we don't know, i guess not but still we needed to know. OH and after the 3 years when he goes at her door , the chapter ends and guess what???? 13 freaking years later! what a waste of time, all that first 70% with nothings in it and when we needed to know more , we don't get the story. This last entry it's futile , the author run out of ideas. So how many pages were important from this 450 long book, probably all together will be 50 pages, no more. You can skip this all and read the last 10%.
I had problems with this story in the last books too but at least there were a lot of situations and kept me curious even if i didn't agree with what i read, but this one? totally waste of time, Ria is still the same kid , she didn't grow up a bit, Kova in this one, i felt almost pity for him, he deserved better than this.
yeah she got to the olympics don't even know how with her illness , but she is hulk..yeah right ,who cares? i swear i skipped almost all the first 60% of this book because was all full of non important things such as her training, Kova barely was there, barely a dialogue, barely a thing, well nothing up to 60%... then do you think there was something there? NO,still the same sh*t , Ria says that, Ria wants that, everyone need to do what she freaking wants, yeah right.
They again don't interact for a month, then again a little sex, then again a month off...we are at like 90% and BOOM 3FREAKING YEARS OFF without contact (only journals from him, but they never talked and she never answered to his journals) ..like WTF????? WTF???????? WTF?????? so it's ok after she is finally 18 to stay away 3 years but not WHEN SHE WAS A FREAKING MINOR AND HE WAS MARRIED, YEP GUYS, they wanted to part ways when they finally could be together ahahahah lol, like i could get it to stay away a while but not 3 freaking years, which let me tell ya, we don't even know exactly what they did, did they go with other OM/OW? we don't know, i guess not but still we needed to know. OH and after the 3 years when he goes at her door , the chapter ends and guess what???? 13 freaking years later! what a waste of time, all that first 70% with nothings in it and when we needed to know more , we don't get the story. This last entry it's futile , the author run out of ideas. So how many pages were important from this 450 long book, probably all together will be 50 pages, no more. You can skip this all and read the last 10%.
I had problems with this story in the last books too but at least there were a lot of situations and kept me curious even if i didn't agree with what i read, but this one? totally waste of time, Ria is still the same kid , she didn't grow up a bit, Kova in this one, i felt almost pity for him, he deserved better than this.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 16, 2020
Have tissues ready and brace yourself for an epic ride. You will laugh, will be excited, frustrated, and you will cry. This is the final book in the series, and I will miss Kova and Ria. I wasn't ready to say goodbye. Dismount was everything I was hoping for and more. What a beautiful story and emotional, and the epilogue was everything.
Lucia's writing is fantastic. I get bored with a series at times. But she sucked me in, and I was captivated with each book And those cliffhangers. She left each book with a doozy of a cliffhanger. Thank you for keeping my attention.
I did notice a few minor changes, such as age and state. I understand why they were changed. However, it sure didn't take away from a phenomenal book.
Adrianna is such a strong, amazing heroine, and they are my favorite kind. I was in aw with her and how wrong and stubborn she was. She really showed her true colors and shined brighter than ever.
He was my light when my world had been so dark, and now he was gone before I could really tell him how I felt.
Lucia's writing is fantastic. I get bored with a series at times. But she sucked me in, and I was captivated with each book And those cliffhangers. She left each book with a doozy of a cliffhanger. Thank you for keeping my attention.
I did notice a few minor changes, such as age and state. I understand why they were changed. However, it sure didn't take away from a phenomenal book.
Adrianna is such a strong, amazing heroine, and they are my favorite kind. I was in aw with her and how wrong and stubborn she was. She really showed her true colors and shined brighter than ever.
He was my light when my world had been so dark, and now he was gone before I could really tell him how I felt.
Kova, is by far my favorite hero in any book I have read. I only wish we had more of his POV. I would love to see a storage book with his POV. His emotions are raw and real. You can feel his love for Adrianna.
"Do not ever second-guess my love for you again," he said, then smashed his lips to mine
At times I screamed and wanted to smack a few charters In this book. Adrianna's father is disgusted, about his daughter's relationship with Kova. He does everything in his power to keep them separated. Kova's hands are tied and has to distance himself from Adrianna.
After the Olympics, Adrainna finds her self at a loss; she now has to focus on herself and her heath and tried to learn to heal. I loved her personal growth and determination.
What I really needed to do was heal my heart and learn to love myself again.
We see the next journey of Kova and Ria. Closure of some of the characters. I would like to see Avery, Xander, and Hayden have their own books. Fingers crossed.
I can not put into words how much I love and recommend this series and Thank you to Lucia Franco for writing and keeping us on a Phenomenal journey and push through.
August 8, 2020
It’s 3am. And I just finished reading this rollercoaster of a series.
This book had my emotions on highs and lows. More than once did I doubt their HEA, even though, esp deep down I knew they had to have it.
But that HEA? Perfect. Kova is ❤️
This book had my emotions on highs and lows. More than once did I doubt their HEA, even though, esp deep down I knew they had to have it.
But that HEA? Perfect. Kova is ❤️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 14, 2020
This is a book filled with sorrow and pain, but it’s filled with the beauty that make up Ria and Kova. I have so many words, so many emotions I want to convey on my last review in the Off Balance series. It’s such a bittersweet moment for me because I grew up these characters. I lived with them and was lost within pages of words that filled my soul with so much happiness and sadness.
Dismount was just so freakin brilliant. There isn’t enough words for me to convey all my feelings. I was already an emotional wreck because it was the last book and the cliffhanger from Twist didn’t help that factor. Right away, the story consumes you in this sadness for Ria and the anxiety of the unknown for Kova.
These characters are so flawed and forbidden, but so driven by their love. I wanted for them to just pick up and leave all the noise behind, but with Adrianna’s health I was so scared of what was to come.
There was a good 30-40% that everything seem to be going fine, but there was this anxiety in the pit of my stomach; the calm before the storm. Then, Kova was so distant. And my heart hurt for him because even though he was always having trouble expressing his feelings, we always knew what he was feeling.
That’s when I began to get really scared, but then BAM it hit the pain of them choosing themselves over each other. I wanted to understand it and I did, but it still hurt so much.
As a reader other than always being an emotional person is that I literally break for a character when they beg. They beg them not to leave or to love them. In this case they both begged each other and it was the hardest thing to read for me.
The time they spent apart was needed for Adrianna to allow herself to grow and rise to what she needed. There was something that Ria kept saying that really stood out to me, “Your love is making me sick.”
That hit me right in the soul and even though in some ways it did, but to a greater extent there was so much more to that statement.
Kova’s journal entries were my favorite ever. Getting to hear his thoughts was such a bittersweet moment. His thoughts were dark and broken, but they were Adrianna’s lifeline.
The ending was everything I needed for closure. It amended my heart and brought an end to just a heartbreaking beautiful story. It filled me with smiles and tears.
Kova and Adrianna will forever Hold such a special place in my heart.
Thank you to Lucia for sharing such an incredible story with us. Her story isn’t for everyone, but to me I found my favorite trope, my favorite characters, my favorite story, and my favorite author. So, thank you.
Favorite parts:
-Airport
-Airplane
-Adrianna’s Last Competition
-Kova’s Journal Entries
-Adrianna & Kova’s Last Goodbye
-Kova’s Epilogue
Dismount was just so freakin brilliant. There isn’t enough words for me to convey all my feelings. I was already an emotional wreck because it was the last book and the cliffhanger from Twist didn’t help that factor. Right away, the story consumes you in this sadness for Ria and the anxiety of the unknown for Kova.
These characters are so flawed and forbidden, but so driven by their love. I wanted for them to just pick up and leave all the noise behind, but with Adrianna’s health I was so scared of what was to come.
There was a good 30-40% that everything seem to be going fine, but there was this anxiety in the pit of my stomach; the calm before the storm. Then, Kova was so distant. And my heart hurt for him because even though he was always having trouble expressing his feelings, we always knew what he was feeling.
That’s when I began to get really scared, but then BAM it hit the pain of them choosing themselves over each other. I wanted to understand it and I did, but it still hurt so much.
As a reader other than always being an emotional person is that I literally break for a character when they beg. They beg them not to leave or to love them. In this case they both begged each other and it was the hardest thing to read for me.
The time they spent apart was needed for Adrianna to allow herself to grow and rise to what she needed. There was something that Ria kept saying that really stood out to me, “Your love is making me sick.”
That hit me right in the soul and even though in some ways it did, but to a greater extent there was so much more to that statement.
Kova’s journal entries were my favorite ever. Getting to hear his thoughts was such a bittersweet moment. His thoughts were dark and broken, but they were Adrianna’s lifeline.
The ending was everything I needed for closure. It amended my heart and brought an end to just a heartbreaking beautiful story. It filled me with smiles and tears.
Kova and Adrianna will forever Hold such a special place in my heart.
Thank you to Lucia for sharing such an incredible story with us. Her story isn’t for everyone, but to me I found my favorite trope, my favorite characters, my favorite story, and my favorite author. So, thank you.
Favorite parts:
-Airport
-Airplane
-Adrianna’s Last Competition
-Kova’s Journal Entries
-Adrianna & Kova’s Last Goodbye
-Kova’s Epilogue
July 21, 2020
*Thank you to the author for the eARC of this novel. My review is my opinions and thoughts only.*
"Even when I am dead, long buried, and forgotten about, I will still love you, I will still want you."
"We are not over, Adrianna. It will never be over between us."
"Only this time it would be ten times better. I would love her harder, prove to her she is my world and that we need each other. I would love her first."
"Adrianna was the love of my life. Her happiness was a radiance I was drawn to… Our love tested time."
Ah, Kova… I missed you. He just melts my damn knees. But I was so nervous. Book 4 ended in a crazy cliffhanger and I had no idea how these crazy kids were gonna get out of this situation.
Real talk for a second though. There have been some changes to this story and how it is laid out. According to the author's news letter, this is so the whole series can eventually be put back onto Amazon. As it was banned previously for having an underage heroine. (I personally don't have problems with this, because its FICTION! But whatever. Lucia had to do what she had to do to get this book to more readers. I previously had bought her novels directly from her website, but Amazon is what most people prefer. Anyway, enough of that rant.)
So, in this novel and what will be in all new copies of the previous books, Adrianna has been aged up a year, and the story setting has been moved to Georgia from Florida, where the age of consent is now 16, which will no be her age when they start their relationship and she is now 18 at the start of this book. This is the main reason for the delayed release of this final novel, as Lucia had to revise all previous novels.
However, you don't need to buy the new versions, as only those details have changed.
BUT, when I read this final novel, her age is brought up over and over again, as a defense against her father and others who question her and Kova. So…. I think aging her up did become important.
I don't want to write a spoiler review for this book yet, but wow… is it hard to keep things to myself. The last book had such an explosive ending and as we left Adrianna bleeding out on the floor after getting thrown and she miscarries her and Kova's baby. Which she now feels very guilty about because she meant to get an abortion but now she never got to say goodbye either. Which just hurt my heart so much.
This book focuses a lot on Adrianna's mission for the 202 Olympics. Which honestly, isn't why I am reading these novels, but it was very touching to see how dedicated she was. The way her brain works as an athlete is just so different from mine, but I was really proud of her for how things go.
I still don't understand her illnesses, and that remains a mystery to me.
The last thing I will say, is that I was so frustrated with how the ending happened… ugh! I can't say this without spoilers right now, but the author does something that just drives me bananas. It’s a story telling technique that always makes me mad when I see it. I know WHY it was done but it made me feel jipped out of time with the characters, I read hundreds of pages with them going back and forth and repetitive fights and angry sex and all the drama….
So, this book needed at 50 more pages of the aftermath. And you'll see what I mean when you get there.
This series made me squirm so many times. I had been excited, thrilled, aroused, angry, despaired and so many other emotions…. I loved these to crazy, passionate, broken people who make each other complete.
If you loved them up to this point, you are going to like this too. (but you are gonna want those 50 pages.)
4.5/5 OLYMPIC STARS!
TW: Miscarriage
"Even when I am dead, long buried, and forgotten about, I will still love you, I will still want you."
"We are not over, Adrianna. It will never be over between us."
"Only this time it would be ten times better. I would love her harder, prove to her she is my world and that we need each other. I would love her first."
"Adrianna was the love of my life. Her happiness was a radiance I was drawn to… Our love tested time."
Ah, Kova… I missed you. He just melts my damn knees. But I was so nervous. Book 4 ended in a crazy cliffhanger and I had no idea how these crazy kids were gonna get out of this situation.
Real talk for a second though. There have been some changes to this story and how it is laid out. According to the author's news letter, this is so the whole series can eventually be put back onto Amazon. As it was banned previously for having an underage heroine. (I personally don't have problems with this, because its FICTION! But whatever. Lucia had to do what she had to do to get this book to more readers. I previously had bought her novels directly from her website, but Amazon is what most people prefer. Anyway, enough of that rant.)
So, in this novel and what will be in all new copies of the previous books, Adrianna has been aged up a year, and the story setting has been moved to Georgia from Florida, where the age of consent is now 16, which will no be her age when they start their relationship and she is now 18 at the start of this book. This is the main reason for the delayed release of this final novel, as Lucia had to revise all previous novels.
However, you don't need to buy the new versions, as only those details have changed.
BUT, when I read this final novel, her age is brought up over and over again, as a defense against her father and others who question her and Kova. So…. I think aging her up did become important.
I don't want to write a spoiler review for this book yet, but wow… is it hard to keep things to myself. The last book had such an explosive ending and as we left Adrianna bleeding out on the floor after getting thrown and she miscarries her and Kova's baby. Which she now feels very guilty about because she meant to get an abortion but now she never got to say goodbye either. Which just hurt my heart so much.
This book focuses a lot on Adrianna's mission for the 202 Olympics. Which honestly, isn't why I am reading these novels, but it was very touching to see how dedicated she was. The way her brain works as an athlete is just so different from mine, but I was really proud of her for how things go.
I still don't understand her illnesses, and that remains a mystery to me.
The last thing I will say, is that I was so frustrated with how the ending happened… ugh! I can't say this without spoilers right now, but the author does something that just drives me bananas. It’s a story telling technique that always makes me mad when I see it. I know WHY it was done but it made me feel jipped out of time with the characters, I read hundreds of pages with them going back and forth and repetitive fights and angry sex and all the drama….
So, this book needed at 50 more pages of the aftermath. And you'll see what I mean when you get there.
This series made me squirm so many times. I had been excited, thrilled, aroused, angry, despaired and so many other emotions…. I loved these to crazy, passionate, broken people who make each other complete.
If you loved them up to this point, you are going to like this too. (but you are gonna want those 50 pages.)
4.5/5 OLYMPIC STARS!
TW: Miscarriage
July 28, 2020
The fascinating thing about Ria is that she is going to push her body to the brink every time. She is strong as hell. This series was an amazing and thrilling ride.
July 19, 2020
“ You are my other half, and well, I need you in order to be me. I am not whole without you.”
kova & ria are just perfectly imperfect.
this series isn’t for everyone. it’s chaotic, messy & raw but so worth it. that epilogue had my ovaries exploding.
-----------------------------------
so excited for this but so disappointed that revisions had to be made to this & the previous books (e.g. adrianna's age etc.) so it could be deemed "safe" & actually sell on amazon. i feel bad for the author. she shouldn't have to make changes to appease those who don't agree. it's a fictional story. if you don't like the themes don't read it..
kova & ria are just perfectly imperfect.
this series isn’t for everyone. it’s chaotic, messy & raw but so worth it. that epilogue had my ovaries exploding.
-----------------------------------
so excited for this but so disappointed that revisions had to be made to this & the previous books (e.g. adrianna's age etc.) so it could be deemed "safe" & actually sell on amazon. i feel bad for the author. she shouldn't have to make changes to appease those who don't agree. it's a fictional story. if you don't like the themes don't read it..
July 14, 2020
This is such a hard review to write, especially as I was expecting to write this over the top, excited 10-star review. I've been with Lucia and this series from the beginning. I'm an OG Off Balance member. I am devastated that I cannot give this book 5 stars.
Dismount was, in one word, disappointing. Lucia is one of the most talented authors I've ever had the honor of reading, and I could tell that the Lucia who wrote Dismount is not the same Lucia who wrote the other books. It's clear that what happened to her a few months ago greatly impacted her writing and what she chose to do with this story, which is heartbreaking. In the very first couple of chapters, Lucia went out of her way to ensure she repeatedly made it clear that Ria was 18 and she was in Georgia, and I know this is because she is terrified that her books will be removed from Amazon. It was very distracting for OG readers, however.
For the most part, the writing was still fantastic, and Lucia's talent definitely shines. I did feel like the way the chapters were done was a bit odd, and whereas I've never found a typo or grammatical issue in any prior Lucia Franco book, I did find some in Dismount. I am honestly shocked that those things were not fixed during the intense editing process every single Lucia Franco book goes through.
The biggest issue with Dismount is that it had no depth, which is the complete antithesis of the first 4 books in the series and what readers expect from a Lucia Franco book. The characters no longer had any depth, the story no longer had any depth, and it seemed like everything was just rushed, which is shocking for one of Lucia's books, especially one that's 400-600 pages long.
I'll be honest, I could have done without about a third of the book because it was all filler, and I would have preferred a deeper dive into everything. New characters were brought in, but they were not fleshed out. They were just thrown in. Like others have said in their reviews, all the growth was done "off-screen", and they couldn't have said it better. While some things were tied up (hurriedly and not always completely), I was left with so many questions.
As for the characters, I don't even know who they are anymore. Where did our strong, mature Ria go? Where did our strong, alpha Kova go? They certainly weren't in Dismount. I was expecting so much angst, which would reflect the rest of the series, but there was none and everything just fell flat. The Olympics were great, but I ended up skimming most of it because it was all filler.
I wish we had been given more time with Ria and Kova as a couple, and while I don't mind them being separated, I think the length of time was not a true reflection of these characters or this story. To be honest, it seemed like a cut and paste of "Hush, Hush".
To end my review, I want to say that I will always love this series, and I will always recommend it to people. Lucia will always be one of my most favorite people and authors, and I am so sorry if my review hurts her feelings because she is amazing. It would be a disservice to Lucia if I was not 100% honest. I just wish Dismount had done justice to the story and the readers, and in my opinion, it did not. I am hopeful that one day, Kova and Ria (and the readers) will get the Dismount they deserve.
Dismount was, in one word, disappointing. Lucia is one of the most talented authors I've ever had the honor of reading, and I could tell that the Lucia who wrote Dismount is not the same Lucia who wrote the other books. It's clear that what happened to her a few months ago greatly impacted her writing and what she chose to do with this story, which is heartbreaking. In the very first couple of chapters, Lucia went out of her way to ensure she repeatedly made it clear that Ria was 18 and she was in Georgia, and I know this is because she is terrified that her books will be removed from Amazon. It was very distracting for OG readers, however.
For the most part, the writing was still fantastic, and Lucia's talent definitely shines. I did feel like the way the chapters were done was a bit odd, and whereas I've never found a typo or grammatical issue in any prior Lucia Franco book, I did find some in Dismount. I am honestly shocked that those things were not fixed during the intense editing process every single Lucia Franco book goes through.
The biggest issue with Dismount is that it had no depth, which is the complete antithesis of the first 4 books in the series and what readers expect from a Lucia Franco book. The characters no longer had any depth, the story no longer had any depth, and it seemed like everything was just rushed, which is shocking for one of Lucia's books, especially one that's 400-600 pages long.
I'll be honest, I could have done without about a third of the book because it was all filler, and I would have preferred a deeper dive into everything. New characters were brought in, but they were not fleshed out. They were just thrown in. Like others have said in their reviews, all the growth was done "off-screen", and they couldn't have said it better. While some things were tied up (hurriedly and not always completely), I was left with so many questions.
As for the characters, I don't even know who they are anymore. Where did our strong, mature Ria go? Where did our strong, alpha Kova go? They certainly weren't in Dismount. I was expecting so much angst, which would reflect the rest of the series, but there was none and everything just fell flat. The Olympics were great, but I ended up skimming most of it because it was all filler.
I wish we had been given more time with Ria and Kova as a couple, and while I don't mind them being separated, I think the length of time was not a true reflection of these characters or this story. To be honest, it seemed like a cut and paste of "Hush, Hush".
To end my review, I want to say that I will always love this series, and I will always recommend it to people. Lucia will always be one of my most favorite people and authors, and I am so sorry if my review hurts her feelings because she is amazing. It would be a disservice to Lucia if I was not 100% honest. I just wish Dismount had done justice to the story and the readers, and in my opinion, it did not. I am hopeful that one day, Kova and Ria (and the readers) will get the Dismount they deserve.
July 15, 2020
Amazing!
Fantastic, emotional end to an incredible series! What a ride!
I am so happy for Lucia! She endured so much to finish the series, and is so brave to have shared her talent with the world!
Fantastic, emotional end to an incredible series! What a ride!
I am so happy for Lucia! She endured so much to finish the series, and is so brave to have shared her talent with the world!
December 12, 2019
pedophilia and rape are not romantic
Read
July 16, 2020Date read- July 16th, 2020. So glad these books were able to be put back on Amazon. If you want the uncensored editions of books 1-4, I'm pretty sure the author sells them on her website. I have a lot of conflicting emotions about this last novel, so I don't know how to rate it exactly, but I definitely recommend this series and I'll read whatever Lucia Franco comes out with next.
The story was underwhelming during the first half (no Kova!), addictive and engrossing during the middle, and completely anti-climactic near the end. I'm happy at the conclusion of these characters story though, even if the way they got there may have been dissatisfying to me.
Pre-review:
I feel like I'm done with Amazon. Can't believe the first book in this series got pulled off the website because a bunch of authors on twitter didn't approve of the content and campaigned to get it removed. Censorship is gross.
Update: I called Amazon to see if there was anything I could do to campaign to get the book back up, since other people campaigned to get it taken down, but apparently that's not the case. Only the author can fight to get the book back up, and I heard that Lucia Franco has already done that when the book was taken down the first time. I'm super bummed.
The story was underwhelming during the first half (no Kova!), addictive and engrossing during the middle, and completely anti-climactic near the end. I'm happy at the conclusion of these characters story though, even if the way they got there may have been dissatisfying to me.
Pre-review:
I feel like I'm done with Amazon. Can't believe the first book in this series got pulled off the website because a bunch of authors on twitter didn't approve of the content and campaigned to get it removed. Censorship is gross.
Update: I called Amazon to see if there was anything I could do to campaign to get the book back up, since other people campaigned to get it taken down, but apparently that's not the case. Only the author can fight to get the book back up, and I heard that Lucia Franco has already done that when the book was taken down the first time. I'm super bummed.
July 19, 2020
This series is the first I've read by Lucia Franco and to say she sucked me right in and kept me captured, is an understatement. Balance, Execution, Release were phenomenal books. The characters are complex and the plot is intriguing, forbidden, steamy and unique. Normally, I strongly dislike books with over the top drama and selfish characters. However, I can't deny it worked. For me I lost some love in Twist because if felt like we weren't really moving forward, instead there was just more and more drama added.
With all that in mind I was hesitant about how Dismount would turn out, but even that didn't prepare me for the fact it took me five days to finish the book. Normally I'm a rather quick reader, but I really had to force myself into finishing this book!
With all that in mind I was hesitant about how Dismount would turn out, but even that didn't prepare me for the fact it took me five days to finish the book. Normally I'm a rather quick reader, but I really had to force myself into finishing this book!
July 13, 2020
Oh :(
I don’t know what to say.. I’m a little disappointed to be honest. After the angst filled, sexy as hell, heated books we’ve gotten previously, my expectations for the finale of the Off Balance series were pretty high. Sadly I didn’t enjoy Dismount as much as I wanted to.
The plot felt lacklustre and flat. Nothing much really happened. The chemistry between Kova and Adrianna just was not there. It felt like a watered down, condensed version of everything we’ve already seen in the previous books.
The ending was the kicker for me. It felt very rushed. Time jumps are also not my thing at all, so I didn’t appreciate that either.
There were so many opportunities for this final book to be incredible and I’m sorry to simply say it fell short of what I had hoped to be reading. Everything was just a bit.. bleh.
And I feel awful for thinking this, especially after everything Lucia went through last year and the fight to get this final book to us. I know she had to edit the book quite a bit in order to publish, and it’s such a loss to think we’ll likely never get to see what she had originally intended for the final book. It makes me even angrier at those who campaigned ruthlessly to censor and stifle Lucia. It’s incredibly sad that those who could not simply ignore the series have affected the creativity of a fellow author.
So yeah. This book wasn’t what I was expecting and I feel the story and ending simply didn’t do justice to those characters we’ve come to love. Sorry to Lucia as I know she did her best given the shitty situation she was forced into. My only hope is that one day we get to read the true, unedited story as she originally wanted it to be.
I don’t know what to say.. I’m a little disappointed to be honest. After the angst filled, sexy as hell, heated books we’ve gotten previously, my expectations for the finale of the Off Balance series were pretty high. Sadly I didn’t enjoy Dismount as much as I wanted to.
The plot felt lacklustre and flat. Nothing much really happened. The chemistry between Kova and Adrianna just was not there. It felt like a watered down, condensed version of everything we’ve already seen in the previous books.
The ending was the kicker for me. It felt very rushed. Time jumps are also not my thing at all, so I didn’t appreciate that either.
There were so many opportunities for this final book to be incredible and I’m sorry to simply say it fell short of what I had hoped to be reading. Everything was just a bit.. bleh.
And I feel awful for thinking this, especially after everything Lucia went through last year and the fight to get this final book to us. I know she had to edit the book quite a bit in order to publish, and it’s such a loss to think we’ll likely never get to see what she had originally intended for the final book. It makes me even angrier at those who campaigned ruthlessly to censor and stifle Lucia. It’s incredibly sad that those who could not simply ignore the series have affected the creativity of a fellow author.
So yeah. This book wasn’t what I was expecting and I feel the story and ending simply didn’t do justice to those characters we’ve come to love. Sorry to Lucia as I know she did her best given the shitty situation she was forced into. My only hope is that one day we get to read the true, unedited story as she originally wanted it to be.
July 13, 2020
⭐️ 5 "Epic Journey" Stars ⭐️
I finished Dismount a few days ago and my thoughts are still all over the place. I feel exhausted by all the feels this book delivered. I just don’t know where to start about this phenomenal book! The fact Dismount was the last book in the Off Balance Series made me savor this read even more. Normally when I’m that eager about a book, I read it in one go. With this one, the process was different. I needed to take countless breathers throughout my read because I was attacked by too much feels knowing the end was near!
This final installment was exhilarating, heartbreaking, inspiring, passionate and utterly mesmerizing; this read being an incomparable experience! When you’re invested in a story like Adriana and Kova’s for five books, it’s clear that somehow you have expectations. I was afraid to be disappointed, and I’ll admit that some subjects felt rushed, brushed over and wrapped up too fast. The thing about this whole series though is that it’s all about the way it makes you feel, so after processing everything, I realized that these missing aspects didn’t diminish in the least my appreciation of Kova and Ria’s epic journey.
Watching those two was just amazing. As athlete and coach they just complement each other so well. Those gymnastic scenes where Ria is competing with so much passion and the special bond she shares with Kova had me dreamy eyed. Those moments were truly magical and my heart was beating so fast from the pure beauty. The passion of the sport they share is just breathtaking. On a more personal level, their relationship is paved with obstacles and true heartbreak. I just didn’t know what to expect for this doomed couple until the very end.
I won’t reveal more about the story line, but this novel was the most stunning conclusion to a series I could have hoped for. Letting go of these entrancing protagonists certainly is bittersweet, but at the same time I’m just filled with so much gratitude toward Lucia Franco for bringing to life one of my favorite couple EVER! The Off Balance Series will without a doubt stay at the top of my favorite reads for a very long time.
** ARC received in exchange for an honest review **
July 27, 2020
Wow. I finished it and I’m in tears. This was so heartbreakingly beautiful.
Reading romance heavy with angst is such a difficult task sometimes, it makes my palm sweat, my heart race and I feel this need to vomit. But I still read them because I love them. Sigh.
This was ANGST but multiplied by 10.
Book 4 cliffhanger was the worst. We find out she’s lost the baby. Her elbow is fractured. And she’s still competing. Making her dream a reality is quite literally right now.
Her and Kova not being able to talk about what happened right away kept making me nervous, I was SUFFERING.
I loved Ria’s growth so much. It takes a lot to walk away from the man you’ve loved since you were 16 to better yourself and focus on your health. Personally their love is my favorite. My heart is filled with so much joy after reading that epilogue. And because I’m a fan of their love story I wouldn’t mind if there’s a 6th book so I can see Ria and Kova’s love grow as they get older and how they operate as husband and wife. My god. This is seriously one of the best series I’ve ever read. I’ll be re reading all the books!
My body is a cage by arcade fire is the perfect song for this series. I kept listening to it when I wanted a break. I can’t get over this series.
Reading romance heavy with angst is such a difficult task sometimes, it makes my palm sweat, my heart race and I feel this need to vomit. But I still read them because I love them. Sigh.
This was ANGST but multiplied by 10.
Book 4 cliffhanger was the worst. We find out she’s lost the baby. Her elbow is fractured. And she’s still competing. Making her dream a reality is quite literally right now.
Her and Kova not being able to talk about what happened right away kept making me nervous, I was SUFFERING.
I loved Ria’s growth so much. It takes a lot to walk away from the man you’ve loved since you were 16 to better yourself and focus on your health. Personally their love is my favorite. My heart is filled with so much joy after reading that epilogue. And because I’m a fan of their love story I wouldn’t mind if there’s a 6th book so I can see Ria and Kova’s love grow as they get older and how they operate as husband and wife. My god. This is seriously one of the best series I’ve ever read. I’ll be re reading all the books!
My body is a cage by arcade fire is the perfect song for this series. I kept listening to it when I wanted a break. I can’t get over this series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 16, 2020
She has lupus stage three kidney disease and needs a kidney transplant and is also pregnant and might have had a miscarriage?
You really expected me to believe that a character who goes through all of this is still doing gymnastics and is going to the Olympics?
You can literally tell the author put no thought into her storyline here it makes no fucking Sense.
You really expected me to believe that a character who goes through all of this is still doing gymnastics and is going to the Olympics?
You can literally tell the author put no thought into her storyline here it makes no fucking Sense.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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