Balance by Lucia Franco
Published: August 28th, 2016
Genre: Romance
Adrianna Rossi is no stranger to the rigorous demands required of her body. Years of pain and determination make her one of the best. Olympic glory is the ultimate goal, and she’ll do anything to achieve it. Even if that means leaving home to attend World Cup Academy of Gymnastics, a training center that serves one purpose—producing champions. Perfection, precision, and dedication are required of his athletes. When two time Olympian Konstantin Kournakova is persuaded into training the young hopeful, he immediately regrets it. She doesn’t come close to his high standards. As the relentless pursuit of her dream keeps her striving, a passion is ignited within him. Kova’s power and domination, coupled with Adrianna’s fierce tenacity, reveal there is more for her body to learn. Every interaction can be misconstrued, but there’s no mistaking the darkening of his gaze, the lingering of his touch, or the illicit image of his bare skin pressed against hers. Integrity is on the line. One toe off the beam and their forbidden desires could ruin everything they’ve worked for, throwing it all off balance.
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Rating:
“Champions are not made by complaining. They are made by the endless pursuit of their dream, despite the obstacles they are faced with. Push through it and do it.”
Balance was a book I liked and didn’t like. I enjoyed aspects of the romance and characters and hated aspects as well. Adrianna was an interesting character. She is 100% a strong-minded person and dream chaser. She doesn’t give up on anything even when the odds are stacked completely against her and I admire her for that. But I didn’t like how she was supposed to be this amazing gymnast but always seemed to be messing up and never good enough. I didn’t like how the author did that to her character because it felt like she had zero growth as a gymnast and was never going to be good enough for her Olympic dreams. Kova is her coach and I liked how he was Russian and his techniques for training were cool. I also liked how he was constantly pushing her to be better and even if he was super hard on her it motivated her. What I didn’t like was, as the older one, he was such a jerk outside of training. He emotionally hurt her way too much for my liking and blamed her for things that he really should’ve been able to control.
“You are so beautiful it hurts. You hold yourself together even during the toughest times. You are a force to be reckoned with, something no one will see coming.”
As far as side characters go, I really loved Avery. She was the perfect best friend who encourages, guides, listens, and is always there for you. I wasn’t feeling her parents at all. They seemed very single-minded they had zero growth which I hope changes in the other books. Hayden seems sweet and a genuine friend but now that he knows about the relationship I am curious to see what the author does. Regan was a tiring character. For a sport that is supposed to be all about teamwork and sticking together, she was exhausting. I was hoping the author wouldn’t make her the typical mean girl but alas.
“You are my greatest weakness. From the moment I set eyes on you…”
Now the romance itself was cute if you forget all the problematic issues. It was a nice slow burn, tension built up, sexy, and lingering looks and touches romance that explodes into something much more. With that being said, I despise cheating so I really don’t like that the author had Kova cheating on her girlfriend (A LOT) but then say he loves her (LOL OK) and Adrianna be ok with it. Taboo books are cool and I didn’t mind this being one because no incest was involved but that age gap was too much. I feel like the author should’ve made him younger or her a little older because it was just so weird especially if you’re going to have him blaming her for stuff.
I want to see where the author will take the other book I just hope some of these dislikes will fix because it was an enjoyable story. If you don’t like taboo topics then just stay away.
If you have read this tell me your thoughts.
