What happens when in order to win, you’re forced to lose?
The only daughter of an infamous Las Vegas pimp, Raven Morretti grew up an outsider. Liberated from the neglectful home of her prostitute mother, she finds solace as a mechanic. With few friends, she’s content with the simple life. Flying under the radar is all she knows and more than she expects.
Until she catches the eye of local celebrity, UFL playboy, Jonah Slade.
Weeks away from his title fight, Jonah is determined to stay focused on everything he’s trained so hard to achieve. Undefeated in the octagon, he’s at the height of his career. But resisting Raven’s effortless allure and uncomplicated nature is a fight he can’t win.
Jonah trades in his bad-boy reputation and puts his heart on the line. But when her father contacts her, setting in motion the ugly truth of her destiny, Jonah must choose. In a high-stakes gamble where love and freedom hang in the balance, a war is waged where the price of losing is a fate worse than death.
Will the hotheaded Jonah be able to restrain his inner fighter to save the woman he loves?
Or will Raven be forced into a life she’s been desperate to avoid?
So yeah...uhm...well... I have a lot of thoughts about this book in my mind, though unfortunately they aren't always that positive. To me a lot of improvements can be made on this story, so it feels like it could have been better. The potential was there, but the execution could have been better. Now don't get me wrong, there were of course still a lot of good and entertaining parts.
The thing is I don't like instant love. I can deal with instant crush and instant attraction, but not "Hey, I just met you and this is crazy, but I can not live my life without you, I would die for you right now." It often feels very forced as was here the case. Jonah is a playboy, who doesn't even undress to have sex with women and as soon as he's done, he no longer cares about the girl. So him doing a total one-eighty in a span of hours doesn't feel realistic to me.
I can definitely see the attraction of Raven. She's young, pretty, independent, innocent and with her being a mechanic, has a certain chill side to her. Let's be honest, she's everything a man could ever want. I just wanted to see more buildup, getting to know each other, before there were all "move in with me" and "I'll lay my life down for you."
What also surprised me was Raven. In the beginning of the book she comes of as being pretty kickass. A female mechanic isn't the most usual profession, meaning that she sure has had to deal with a lot of prejudice. Also her dad was never in the picture and her mom raised her, but there wasn't any love in the family. Raven has overcome all these issues (I thought) and to me it showed that she was a strong young woman. Which is true in the beginning of the book, but the more we go on the more emotionally unstable she becomes (there is so much freaking crying), that has me WTH. Suddenly that strong girl is gone, replaced with this insecure cry baby.
Now I do get that when you're with an MMA fighter you don't always have to be strong and that Jonah is someone you can rely on. Just that switch from independent to codependent, doesn't sit well with me. Then there is some drama with her father, that comes straight out of a B action film, typical Las Vegas, all credibility went flying out the door. It just comes out of nowhere. I find it simply strange that her father let her grow up anyway she wants, and then after twenty-one years comes knocking. If he really wanted her involved in his life, the way he proclaims, I would figure that Raven would have grown up in his environment more. To be clear her dad is terrible news, and the environment is bad. Though it wouldn't have made it alright for Raven, it would have been more believable.
So yeah, I think those were about my biggest issues. Jonah in the end isn't so bad, and I actually like him. Just that switch from player to savior was a bit too extreme and sudden. Other than that he's a fine guy. Raven was really good in the beginning, but then it all went downhill. She was almost two completely different people throughout the story. The writing on its own was pretty good, and the sexy scenes well written.
After finishing Fighting For Flight, I was seriously doubting to continue this series. But the next book is about Blake, and he was actually one of my favourite characters in this book, so I'll give him a chance.
J.B. Salsbury, New York Times Best Selling author of the Fighting series, lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her husband and two kids. She spends the majority of her day as a domestic engineer. But while she works through her daily chores, a world of battling alphas, budding romance, and impossible obstacles claws away at her subconscious, begging to be released to the page.
Her love of good storytelling led her to earn a degree in Media Communications. With her journalistic background, writing has always been at the forefront, and her love of romance prompted her to sink her free time into novel writing.
The thing is I don't like instant love. I can deal with instant crush and instant attraction, but not "Hey, I just met you and this is crazy, but I can not live my life without you, I would die for you right now." It often feels very forced as was here the case. Jonah is a playboy, who doesn't even undress to have sex with women and as soon as he's done, he no longer cares about the girl. So him doing a total one-eighty in a span of hours doesn't feel realistic to me.
I can definitely see the attraction of Raven. She's young, pretty, independent, innocent and with her being a mechanic, has a certain chill side to her. Let's be honest, she's everything a man could ever want. I just wanted to see more buildup, getting to know each other, before there were all "move in with me" and "I'll lay my life down for you."
What also surprised me was Raven. In the beginning of the book she comes of as being pretty kickass. A female mechanic isn't the most usual profession, meaning that she sure has had to deal with a lot of prejudice. Also her dad was never in the picture and her mom raised her, but there wasn't any love in the family. Raven has overcome all these issues (I thought) and to me it showed that she was a strong young woman. Which is true in the beginning of the book, but the more we go on the more emotionally unstable she becomes (there is so much freaking crying), that has me WTH. Suddenly that strong girl is gone, replaced with this insecure cry baby.
Now I do get that when you're with an MMA fighter you don't always have to be strong and that Jonah is someone you can rely on. Just that switch from independent to codependent, doesn't sit well with me. Then there is some drama with her father, that comes straight out of a B action film, typical Las Vegas, all credibility went flying out the door. It just comes out of nowhere. I find it simply strange that her father let her grow up anyway she wants, and then after twenty-one years comes knocking. If he really wanted her involved in his life, the way he proclaims, I would figure that Raven would have grown up in his environment more. To be clear her dad is terrible news, and the environment is bad. Though it wouldn't have made it alright for Raven, it would have been more believable.
So yeah, I think those were about my biggest issues. Jonah in the end isn't so bad, and I actually like him. Just that switch from player to savior was a bit too extreme and sudden. Other than that he's a fine guy. Raven was really good in the beginning, but then it all went downhill. She was almost two completely different people throughout the story. The writing on its own was pretty good, and the sexy scenes well written.
After finishing Fighting For Flight, I was seriously doubting to continue this series. But the next book is about Blake, and he was actually one of my favourite characters in this book, so I'll give him a chance.
2.5
Fighting - Reading order and purchase links
The Author
Her love of good storytelling led her to earn a degree in Media Communications. With her journalistic background, writing has always been at the forefront, and her love of romance prompted her to sink her free time into novel writing.
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