"This is the final round. Winner take all. I can’t…won’t lose this fight."
Wowza!!! I have mad, passionate love for FIGHTING BLIND by C.M. Seabrook. This is the author’s debut contemporary romance (she has penned PNR and fantasy under her full name) and she delivered a bona fide knockout!! This sizzling hot, achingly emotional, THRILLING second chance MMA romance, which features a PRIMAL alpha male and a beautiful, caramel eyed single mom in jeopardy, hooked me from page one. The feels in this book were UNRELENTING!! Each and every scene throbbed with such gutwrenching emotion, SCORCHING chemistry, and PALPABLE tension that it literally sent shock waves through my system.
Theo Ryan is the ultimate BBF!! Big, strong, hard muscled, this prize MMA fighter is tough and formidable with his opponents in the octagon, yet beneath his cocky smiles and sexy swagger, he is a good man, a natural born protector who would literally lay down his life for his loved ones. His raw intensity, fierce devotion and pure animal magnetism truly electrified my heart!!!
At the age of 25, Theo is in peak condition and at the prime of his career but looking to retire after his next fight and focus full time on running his own successful gym. But even though professionally he is at the top of his game, his love life is in shambles. He could have any woman his heart desires but there is only one female who owns him. Mackenzie Brooks, his childhood best friend. The girl he's been secretly in love with since the age of 16. She's always been trouble witch a capital T -- it’s what defined their friendship. Her messing up. Him bailing her out. He'd always been there for her no matter the cost. Until one night three years ago she up and left without a word, shattering his heart and wounding his macho male pride in the process.
"Those eyes. They could pierce a man’s heart with a single look. And they had. I’d have given everything for her. Would’ve sold my soul to the f*king devil just to please her. All she had to do was ask. Instead, she walked away. The question that’s been raging inside my skull for the past three years, screams out. Why?"
Now she's back, and shows up at his gym one day out of the blue, looking more beautiful than ever, despite the fact that she’s desperate, penniless, frail, and living in a homeless shelter, with a little toddler girl in tow. And as angry and disillusioned as he is with her for disappearing without a trace, Theo’s all-consuming love for her still flares brighter than ever. Now nothing will stop him from slaying her dragons, possessing her heart, body and soul, and making her HIS!!!
Although she made some terrible choices, I had a lot of admiration for Mac. She has had a hard life, and suffered her fair share of punches along the way, having to endure physical and mental abuse at the hands of her junkie mother. But she is still a fighter… and no sacrifice is too great to try to turn her life around and give her beloved baby girl the home, the family, she deserves. Leaving the man she loved behind was the hardest thing she ever had to face, but when a desperate move put her in dire straits, she refused to drag him down with her. So for the past three years she's been on the run, always looks over he'd shoulder, petrified of the past finally catching up with her. But now she's back, out of choices. No house. No money . No prospects. And she needs Theo now more than ever before. And despite everything, his need to protect her, take care of her, is overwhelming.
"Bottom line, I loved Mackenzie Brooks, and she demolished me. No matter the highs I chase –the booze, the women, the adrenaline rush of stepping into the cage –nothing can fill the void she left in my soul. Was I really about to let her walk away, again? "
But even as unbridled passion reignites between then and they begin to rebuild their broken trust, she is harboring dangerous secrets and a dark past that could decimate both their worlds….
Sighhhhh!!! This is a high octane reunion romance novel with a tsunami of feels, spine-tingling twists and turns and a plethora of passion and peril. I was on the edge of my seat from start to finish and was so enthralled I could not put this book down! The romance between Theo and Mac was just so achingly emotional, EXQUISITELY tender, uber angsty and utterly intoxicating!!!! They saw the same desperate hunger, heartache and pain mirrored in one another's eyes and it resonated in each and every scene together.
Theo took the job of protector and doting lover very seriously! I clung to his every gruffly whispered promise, every breathtaking kiss, every soul-scorching caress. He would do whatever it took to right the wrong that was done to her, to see that beautiful radiant smile again, crush anyone who dared to threaten her or “Princess Logan.” Speaking of that little girl. Cutest. Toddler. Ever!!!! My ovaries literally exploded in the endearing scenes with the Big Bad MMA fighter who was brought to his knees by that precious little girl. More than anything he wants to love, cherish and care for Mackenzie and Logan...if only his girl would stop running and learn to trust him--in their love. And holy smokes! These two set off some seriously explosive sparks in the bedroom!
I truly could gush on and on about this magnificent MMA book, penned by the sensationally talented C.M. Seabrook. But it will end with this: If you are looking for an exhilarating, hyper-intense, blazing hot romance chock full of EPIC feels and jaw dropping twists and turns, and, of course, a heart-melting HEA that will leave you all aglow, then this book is a win-win!
5 ++++knockout stars!