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Love TKO (A Love Unexpected Novel, #1) (2014)

by Selene Chardou(Favorite Author)

3.87 of 5 Votes: 3

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Midnight Engel Press

review 1: Can two wounded and scared souls move on from the sins of their pasts and find redemption in each other? For Chiara Bassi and Torin Duffy, that’s the ultimate question, but there’s not an easy answer. For most of their lives, they have had to endure constant hardships; the people who were supposed to protect them the most betrayed them both on grand scales, requiring deplorable acts to be taken. Both Chiara and Torin are plagued with regrets and find it extremely difficult to see the good inside themselves. To battle against their pasts and find some kind of absolution, they are going to have to rely on each other more than they have ever relied on someone before. But will it be enough to leave their pasts behind them or will they forever be members of the walking woun... moreded, never getting out from underneath their past decisions?Chiara Bassi’s life has really never been her own. At age 18, she signed her life over to a man for ten years in order to get treatment for her older sister’s bi polar disorder. For nine and a half torturous years, she has had to give her body over to numerous men without a say in what they do with it. Because Chiara finds herself so unworthy of love, she gave up hope for a happily ever after a long time ago. But that all changes when Torin enters her life. For once, she’s letting her feelings complicate her interaction with a man, and even though it terrifies her, it also feels good to have someone find her worthy of his love.Torin Duffy has lived by one golden rule: “women can never be trusted.” There’s not room in his life for more than a series of one night stands because his focus is on the MMA Championship. No matter the amount of success he has obtained, nothing will solidify his career but that championship, and Torin feels like this is his last shot because he’s getting too old. When he meets Chiara at a party, he feels a pull to her like he’s never felt, and now, he just might have to figure out how to win the championship and get the girl. Love TKO is a gritty look into the world of MMA fighters as well as high end escorts. Chiara and Torin are two tortured souls trying to not only save themselves but their family members as well. Selene Chardou created two incredibly strong characters in Chiara and Torin. The pasts they are fighting against and the demons that still haunt them are portrayed expertly in the text. Separately, they are incredibly dynamic characters, and while at times, I felt the connection they shared; other times, I struggled with their commitment. Once the main conflict is explained, I also felt like the story’s pace slowed down too much and left me wanting the resolution to happen earlier. But despite those issues, I really did enjoy the text. Two damaged souls finding love and redemption in each other always makes for an enjoyable read and adding in the MMA aspect with a bit of suspense helped boost my rating. Complimentary copy provided by author/publisher for an honest review.3.5/4 poison apples
review 2: Pretty Woman it ain’t … but I’ll take Torin Duffy over Richard Gere every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Torin is an Irish immigrant who has risen the ranks in Vegas’s legal MMA fighting league. Due to his success, good looks, and personal belief that his messed up childhood means he can’t have a healthy relationship, he is, in the author’s words, a man-whore. But his personal position on relationships gets thrown out the window when he meets Chiara. Chiara comes from an equally messed up childhood. Her mother was a whore (prostitution is legal in Nevada) who got lucky and married a rich client. However, when her mother married, she dumped Chiara’s older sister Sienna in her lap and left Chiara to deal with her sister’s mental health issues. As Chiara was only 18 when this happened and had very few options available when it came to paying for her sister’s care, she went to her mother’s former boss and followed in her mother’s footsteps. Fast-forward ten years and we find ourselves at the party where Torin and Chiara meet and their relationship begins. Neither of them ever believed they would meet someone to love and who would love them, they didn’t believe that person existed … at least not for them. Yet when they met, neither of them could ignore that magical pull and what starts out as a night of REALLY hot sex quickly turns into more. In case you’re wondering, Ms. Chardou can write some seriously hot sex scenes that will make you appreciate the athletic male body. Their relationship progresses quickly and they find themselves at the mercy of Chiara’s boss; because I like my reviews spoiler-free, that’s about all I can say about the actual storyline. As Torin is an MMA fighter, there is plenty of action, hot sex, and love that made Love TKO was a really good read for me. This is a well-crafted book about two broken people falling in love and I am looking forward to reading more of Ms. Chardou’s novels – especially the sequel about Torin’s brother Kieran … I can’t wait!I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. Reviewed by Angela at Crystal's Many Reviewers! less

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